-
As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.
Optimal EC values in Hempy Bucket?
- Thread starter pim
- Start date
Im using perlite/vermiculite and will be investing in pH- tomorrow. Thanks.
StickyBandit
Well-known member
If you get an expensive pH meter be sure to keep the tip moist!
Mine dried out because I knew my water and didn't have to test the pH anymore and when I went to use it again it was toast. Makes an expensive stirring stick
Mine dried out because I knew my water and didn't have to test the pH anymore and when I went to use it again it was toast. Makes an expensive stirring stick
Perhaps i will at some point.If you get an expensive pH meter be sure to keep the tip moist!
Mine dried out because I knew my water and didn't have to test the pH anymore and when I went to use it again it was toast. Makes an expensive stirring stick
After few experiments i've managed to come up with a solution which has pH slightly below 6 and EC 1.1 / 837 ppm by adding
- 1ml of pH-
- 11ml of all solutions in the Remo Supercharged kit
per 10l of tap water. Assuming the ratios are now correct and the plants will prosper, seems the fine shop keep was right, and the Remo feeding schedule supplied with the box is misleading. It suggests using almost 2x too much nutrients.
Big thanks to everyone who helped so far.
Last edited:
Dime
Well-known member
When I first started you couldn't safely go into stores to buy premade ferts without worrying about the narcs so I had to buy the salts in 30lb bags . I found a book that was written by a guy who was contracted by the military for growing in the desert using sand as a medium and it included optimum values for individual salts with formulas to achieve this. I made an A&B solution along with epsom salts and used a bit of well water and trace elements,then you simply diluted to get the ppm value .I can't remember the name or author now but these values worked well . The rest of your variables will determine nutrient strength and your PH and evaporation will effect your PPM reading
This is a safe baseline so you don't burn or starve ,you then tweek it after you get more experience or change your variables. Now I just buy GH 3 part and let them do the math.
PPM
Seedlings: 100- 250
Early Veg : 300-400
Late Veg Cycle : 450-700
Early Flowering : 750-950
Full Flowering : 1000-1600
This is a safe baseline so you don't burn or starve ,you then tweek it after you get more experience or change your variables. Now I just buy GH 3 part and let them do the math.
PPM
Seedlings: 100- 250
Early Veg : 300-400
Late Veg Cycle : 450-700
Early Flowering : 750-950
Full Flowering : 1000-1600
Development since yesterday:
- pH has risen in to 7.0
- EC has got lower to 677 ppm
This means the plants would like to get more nutrients, if i have understood my readings correctly, no?
Thanks for this.
- pH has risen in to 7.0
- EC has got lower to 677 ppm
This means the plants would like to get more nutrients, if i have understood my readings correctly, no?
Thanks for this.
Dime
Well-known member
JMO but I would wait a few days and see how they like it at that ppm and let them get used to it then gradually increase if needed. You can't force them and can only provide what they want .You can find the sweet spot by watching them react then jot it down in a log and compare over time to get your base. Everything is just a guideline,make small adjustments and don't change too many variables at a time. Just like PH(within reason) they will get used to it in time but if you keep changing it they won't have time to adapt.
Makes sense. I made a bit stronger juice (950 ppm) and will wait until tomorrow until i feed em again. The plants look already better.
CocoNut 420
Well-known member
Ec figures are only for guidance the actual figures vary from grow to grow.
Your environment has a big effect on ec, a hot dry environment evaporates more water from the leafs making the ec rise more than it would if parameters were ideal.
Then there's lighting...led needs a higher ec all else being equal.
Going into flowering there's a big increase in demand for nutrient but after circa 5wks it backs off and doesn't need as much to maintain good health.
The op suggested lowering his I put due to the tank ec increasing, that's what I've known to be the correct action that's what I use for a guide for any given period or phase.
Your environment has a big effect on ec, a hot dry environment evaporates more water from the leafs making the ec rise more than it would if parameters were ideal.
Then there's lighting...led needs a higher ec all else being equal.
Going into flowering there's a big increase in demand for nutrient but after circa 5wks it backs off and doesn't need as much to maintain good health.
The op suggested lowering his I put due to the tank ec increasing, that's what I've known to be the correct action that's what I use for a guide for any given period or phase.
Yup, this is the problem also currently: the environment gets too hot (28-29C) and the air is way too dry this time of the year. I've added co2 bag in the flowering chamber and i'm using humidifier, but unfortunately it's still too dry and hot. I will get more ventilation for the next round, but not sure if i ever get the space humid enough during winter.
StickyBandit
Well-known member
Nope, and i prolly wont be taking any.
Douglas.Curtis
Autistic Diplomat in Training
Drops work very well, and I still use them occasionally today.
Reliable meters are very inexpensive these days. Look up "HM tds" on amazon for a cheap and very reliable tds meter. pH meters are easy as well. Go to amazon and look up "Jellas pH meter" and if you're lucky you'll find the Jellas brand. If not, choose a yellow colored and under $20 meter. Keep a glass of r/o filtered water to keep it in while not using it. Before first use, let it soak for at least 24hrs in r/o and then calibrate it.
They literally last for yeaaaaars and work reliably.
Hempy? You can use the K.I.S.S. method with epsom salt and calcium acetate (eggshells and vinegar method).
Start with a lower EC.
Supplement magnesium and calcium.
Bump up the feed of the plants still showing mag deficiencies.
Err on the side of underfeeding.
StickyBandit
Well-known member
Hey bud, can you tell me the best methods of adding epsom salt and calcium acetate please? Both the watering method/strength and foliar spray methodDrops work very well, and I still use them occasionally today.
Reliable meters are very inexpensive these days. Look up "HM tds" on amazon for a cheap and very reliable tds meter. pH meters are easy as well. Go to amazon and look up "Jellas pH meter" and if you're lucky you'll find the Jellas brand. If not, choose a yellow colored and under $20 meter. Keep a glass of r/o filtered water to keep it in while not using it. Before first use, let it soak for at least 24hrs in r/o and then calibrate it.
They literally last for yeaaaaars and work reliably.
Hempy? You can use the K.I.S.S. method with epsom salt and calcium acetate (eggshells and vinegar method).
Start with a lower EC.
Supplement magnesium and calcium.
Bump up the feed of the plants still showing mag deficiencies.
Err on the side of underfeeding.
Douglas.Curtis
Autistic Diplomat in Training
I add calcium acetate to the r/o till approximately 200ppm, then I add my nutrients to the strength necessary for the plants I'm running. With hempy you want to mix to the weakest solution and highest pH you'll be feeding the plant. As the nutrient level drops the pH will go up and then it resets when you top off with plain r/o.Hey bud, can you tell me the best methods of adding epsom salt and calcium acetate please? Both the watering method/strength and foliar spray method
Mag depends a lot on conditions, genetics, nutrient line and more, so I add a pinch per couple gallons for a baselline mag and some sulfur for terps. Should plants show deficiencies, I'll mix some up in a spray bottle and treat a few leaves. When the leaves show an improvement over night I'll add a bit more to that bucket with the next top off. When the leaves show no improvement from the test spray, the issue is def not mag related.
I have had less time to fiddle with the liquids than i would prefer, and i've also acquired the spacedildo kind of pH meter to get exact values. I don't know what it is with LEDs but as many people have noticed they tend make problems more prominent or something.
So far i've noticed the easyness of Hempy SOG is gone with LEDs. I liked the fact that you could have plants in all different kind of stages, got finished product every 2 weeks, and needed total of 2-3 solutions: 1 for moms, 1 for flowering plants and 1 when cloning. Now i have 5 different solutions.
Plants are looking better tho. No more signs of magnesium deficiency, but some leaves look a bit lighter than i would prefer. I also calibrated the EC meter which threw the previous data off. I've measured pH and ppm values and for smaller plants ppm seems to be going up while in res, and for big plants its the opposite.
For all plants pH keeps raising. For big plants it becomes 5.6 -> 6.8-7.0 in a day, for smaller less. What gives? A cause of concern?
The plants also drink a lot more now, and i have to feed em every ~3 days instead of ~6, which i take as a good sign.
So far i've noticed the easyness of Hempy SOG is gone with LEDs. I liked the fact that you could have plants in all different kind of stages, got finished product every 2 weeks, and needed total of 2-3 solutions: 1 for moms, 1 for flowering plants and 1 when cloning. Now i have 5 different solutions.
Plants are looking better tho. No more signs of magnesium deficiency, but some leaves look a bit lighter than i would prefer. I also calibrated the EC meter which threw the previous data off. I've measured pH and ppm values and for smaller plants ppm seems to be going up while in res, and for big plants its the opposite.
For all plants pH keeps raising. For big plants it becomes 5.6 -> 6.8-7.0 in a day, for smaller less. What gives? A cause of concern?
The plants also drink a lot more now, and i have to feed em every ~3 days instead of ~6, which i take as a good sign.
Last edited:
Douglas.Curtis
Autistic Diplomat in Training
*Most* hydro nutrients act as pH down. As the concentration goes down the pH will go up.
On the flip side, transpiration and evaporation will concentrate the nutrients and the pH will go down.
On the flip side, transpiration and evaporation will concentrate the nutrients and the pH will go down.
Grow is done and bud is gone. Now is time to prepare for next one.
- i learned how to come up with proper ppm values, thanks to fine people here (thank you again!)
- in addition to GZ i also had fast sativa strain called Jelly Rancher, which finised on time as it should
- GZ never did, not one of them got the kind of amber % i would like to see in indica, i wonder why that is? perhaps they dont like small LEDs or hotness?
- quality was mediocre at best, while its hard to compare to something i smoked a decade ago, i think ESLs produce by far better weed at least in unoptimal conditions
- while temperature was too hot, the humidity values were better as soon as spring started
- i still dont know enuff about optimal humidity values nor how much it affects the quality tho
- the last GZ plant, which was the only plant with pretty optimal ppm values from start to finish, produced total of 21,7g, which is by far the biggest yielding plant ive seen in Hempy SOG (this time second best was 12,9g iirc)
- im not going to have plants in multiple different stages anymore
What i have done for the next:
- ive bought 2 more fans, its hard to fit more than total of 8 fans there
- i fucked with AI, turns out the problem wasn't only the amount of fans but also the limited current PSU could provide
- i forced AI to design and code an Andruino based fan controller, which has pretty much every feature i could think of from logging to manual remote control via web
- remains to be seen how effective cooling is now, as the parts are still in the mail, but im hopefull
Should i go back to ESLs or should i just hope the cooling is enuff to come up with proper bud? Im after top self and while i understand getting there will take time, im really not pleased with LEDs. Humidity shouldn't be a problem until winter hits tho and i think i can worry about that later. Is there anything else i can do to increase quality assuming the heat wont be an issue anymore?
- i learned how to come up with proper ppm values, thanks to fine people here (thank you again!)
- in addition to GZ i also had fast sativa strain called Jelly Rancher, which finised on time as it should
- GZ never did, not one of them got the kind of amber % i would like to see in indica, i wonder why that is? perhaps they dont like small LEDs or hotness?
- quality was mediocre at best, while its hard to compare to something i smoked a decade ago, i think ESLs produce by far better weed at least in unoptimal conditions
- while temperature was too hot, the humidity values were better as soon as spring started
- i still dont know enuff about optimal humidity values nor how much it affects the quality tho
- the last GZ plant, which was the only plant with pretty optimal ppm values from start to finish, produced total of 21,7g, which is by far the biggest yielding plant ive seen in Hempy SOG (this time second best was 12,9g iirc)
- im not going to have plants in multiple different stages anymore
What i have done for the next:
- ive bought 2 more fans, its hard to fit more than total of 8 fans there
- i fucked with AI, turns out the problem wasn't only the amount of fans but also the limited current PSU could provide
- i forced AI to design and code an Andruino based fan controller, which has pretty much every feature i could think of from logging to manual remote control via web
- remains to be seen how effective cooling is now, as the parts are still in the mail, but im hopefull
Should i go back to ESLs or should i just hope the cooling is enuff to come up with proper bud? Im after top self and while i understand getting there will take time, im really not pleased with LEDs. Humidity shouldn't be a problem until winter hits tho and i think i can worry about that later. Is there anything else i can do to increase quality assuming the heat wont be an issue anymore?
Last edited:
Ca++
Well-known member
Interesting how an EC of 0.2 was a PPM of 198ppm (500 scale) then an EC of 1.1 was a PPM of 831 (700 scale)
In general, there is no PPM meter, and EC isn't measured in PPM, as has also been suggested here.
I can't move forward, when people are talking PPM. It's not a standardised value, and as such, can't be used comparatively. Different meters say different things. Non of which are right. Non of which can even measure PPM. It's been explained too many times already.
EC is real. If you have 1.1 and some of that is tap, then it's likely too low.
In general, there is no PPM meter, and EC isn't measured in PPM, as has also been suggested here.
I can't move forward, when people are talking PPM. It's not a standardised value, and as such, can't be used comparatively. Different meters say different things. Non of which are right. Non of which can even measure PPM. It's been explained too many times already.
EC is real. If you have 1.1 and some of that is tap, then it's likely too low.
Obviously there is at least 2 POVs to this subject. Only one of them was presented in this thread before, if you want to adress the issue, perhaps you should argue with the one who presented the opposite POV. I was doing just what i was told to.
And if not, perhaps we could focus on the issues i brought up on my previous post...
Last edited:
