for those of you who measure your runoff EC hydro coco

[Billy the Mountain]

I know people who have nutrient specific probes, so they are able to check more than just overall EC. I agree that checking runoff isn't necessary, and that understanding proper plant nutrition is more important. However logging runoff data can show you trends which can be useful in better dialing in your grow. I don't do it now, but I've done it in the past, and it has helped me to improve my grow.

Who?

I didn't think individual element analysis was available outside an expensive lab test; if so, it's a very recent development.

 

[PJ Diaz]

Some hobby grower checking runoff from a few pots of coco doesn't give you anything other than if it's too high and in that circumstance you were feeding too much

So you are now agreeing that checking runoff can tell you if your input EC is too high or not? Got it.

 

[medidedicated]

Coco wicks water very well, it's never been an issue for me. Most people can only hand water once, maybe twice a day. With an automated system, you can provide your plant with multiple daily feeds, with zero additional effort.

a bit advanced, i can stick with twice a day in flower and perpetuate so i can get my desired yield and start somewhere then look into the dryback methods which i know nothing about, giving it shots of nutrients 6 to 12 times a day in tiny pots and etc. startup costs are higher than i anticipated so auto feeder would be a month or two or more as my official flower room doesnt exist yet. just a 2x2 for practice and a veg room for autoflowers as extra flowering space until i set up fully and THEN look into auto feed. by then id of hopefully made 2 harvests.

 

[PJ Diaz]

Who?

I didn't think individual element analysis was available outside an expensive lab test; if so, it's a very recent development.

My college horticulture department has them, not for all elements but for a few of the most important. I forget the company who makes them. I'll see if I can find the name.

 

[medidedicated]

So you are now agreeing that checking runoff can tell you if your input EC is too high or not? Got it.

if you can afford the probes lol the advanced once which i think one is about to say

 

[medidedicated]

They're all in my diaries if you doubt me lol

no i was just hoping as idk who would do that, its kind of why i said thats more credible than just loose he say she say from what they may of saw someone do and how close they are to that grower and knows what they all really do to potentially be the reason they get well results.

 

[PJ Diaz]

Who?

I didn't think individual element analysis was available outside an expensive lab test; if so, it's a very recent development.

if you can afford the probes lol the advanced once which i think one is about to say

Here's one you can get for under $2000.

CleanGrow Multi-ion Nutrient Analyzer kit

Measure hydroponics solutions #hydroponics dispositifs d'analyse multi-ions Multi-Ionen-Analysegeräte dispositivi di analisi multi-ione 多離子分析裝置

www.ionselectiveelectrode.com

 

[Snickerpus]

How about some pics of your grows newbie?
Or are you just a poser?

This is my current setup, one plant in room lets say a month left, one plant in the tent starting to flower just right now and two seedlings germinated at 0,9EC. Pure coco, tap 0,5, all purpose fert, epsom and pH down. I do not have more since the times I was doing fotos are far behind, so these are actual and done for you

 

[harrychilds]

 

[twentyeight.threefive]

What measurements of nutrients are you using exactly, ml/gal? How many gallons are you mixing up? How are you measuring the Flora Trio out?

The simple solution for getting your plants healthy probably comes down to 3 things.

1) Use tap water. Unless you have extremely hard water it's not necessary to use distilled water or RO water.

2) Stop using CalMag. It's hands down the most overused additive and more often than not causes issues. If you use tap water it will already contain calcium, as well as the calcium you are already providing from your Flora Trio nutrients.

You are giving excessive calcium, which is causing nutrient lockout and preventing the uptake of other nutrients. Excessive calcium with prevent the plant from being able to uptake Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Zinc, Boron, and Iron. I see examples in a couple of your plants showing some of these deficiencies.

3) Don't let any part of the pot come in contact with runoff during feeding. It looks like you're currently feeding the cloth pots and letting the runoff sit in the tray the pots are in. Coco and the cloth pots will act as wicks and suck runoff back into the bottom of the pots. This is asking for issues if it's not already part of the problem.

And before you ask I know you like to know what people grow in. I use coco.

 

[rkymtnman]

i had the over/under on this thread at 8 pages. lost again...

 

[medidedicated]

What measurements of nutrients are you using exactly, ml/gal? How many gallons are you mixing up? How are you measuring the Flora Trio out?

The simple solution for getting your plants healthy probably comes down to 3 things.

1) Use tap water. Unless you have extremely hard water it's not necessary to use distilled water or RO water.

2) Stop using CalMag. It's hands down the most overused additive and more often than not causes issues. If you use tap water it will already contain calcium, as well as the calcium you are already providing from your Flora Trio nutrients.

You are giving excessive calcium, which is causing nutrient lockout and preventing the uptake of other nutrients. Excessive calcium with prevent the plant from being able to uptake Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Zinc, Boron, and Iron. I see examples in a couple of your plants showing some of these deficiencies.

3) Don't let any part of the pot come in contact with runoff during feeding. It looks like you're currently feeding the cloth pots and letting the runoff sit in the tray the pots are in. Coco and the cloth pots will act as wicks and suck runoff back into the bottom of the pots. This is asking for issues if it's not already part of the problem.

And before you ask I know you like to know what people grow in. I use coco.

calmg 1 tsp per gal, 2.25ML micro, 2.25ml gro and .6 ml of bloom and that makes 1.27EC or 1.2EC wirhout mixing when using distilled. could add less or make seperate solution with no calmg and test it out but as stated my original source says some leaf issues are common with early veg but they figure it out with a little time like the other mother plants show. says its the plant adjusting to coco taking plenty of calmg and iron from the solution and figuring out how ti uptake but thats what that source says. the pots are on drainaway trays that dump into a throw away tray that helps indicate runoff percentage to get a feel for how wet the media is and frequency. the trays are designed at a slight slight angle so the water runs off the circle structure that holds up the pot into another lower level to immediately runoff to the pvc drain into what ever u want. will try dirrent NERs as suggested on a couple different plants. so far i would say this is steady quick growth for photoperiod. will see how the others do with new advice but according to my source the young plants should stay green in new growth. tw will tell, and theyll growth spurt once i transplant

 

[PJ Diaz]

Use tap water. Unless you have extremely hard water it's not necessary to use distilled water or RO water.

I've had issues in the past using tap water with coco. Due to the high amount of bicarbonates in the tap at the time, it would cause my ph to continuously rise over time. Switching to RO has kept my res ph rock solid.

 

[medidedicated]

I've had issues in the past using tap water with coco. Due to the high amount of bicarbonates in the tap at the time, it would cause my ph to continuously rise over time. Switching to RO has kept my res ph rock solid.

mines .5 EC and snickerpus here on the last thread helped me learn the levels of EC ranges of soft medium and hard water and .5 is considered hard. i like the last batch i made using 100% distilled, PHing is ten times faster and i always wondered if the ppm in tap is mostly harmful impurities pharmecudicals but that opens up 500 points of space for other things

 

[medidedicated]

and i store it in this bucket with lid completely on and the smaller cap is still on snug with cord going through it, for the fish tank pump as people helped suggest that on my last thread asking how to keep it fresh since it was stinky and funk smelling and one said “keeping water moving helps avoid salts binding back up” since we are talking about lock outs

 

[twentyeight.threefive]

calmg 1 tsp per gal, 2.25ML micro, 2.25ml gro and .6 ml of bloom and that makes 1.27EC or 1.2EC wirhout mixing when using distilled. could add less or make seperate solution with no calmg and test it out but as stated my original source says some leaf issues are common with early veg but they figure it out with a little time like the other mother plants show. says its the plant adjusting to coco taking plenty of calmg and iron from the solution and figuring out how ti uptake but thats what that source says. the pots are on drainaway trays that dump into a throw away tray that helps indicate runoff percentage to get a feel for how wet the media is and frequency. the trays are designed at a slight slight angle so the water runs off the circle structure that holds up the pot into another lower level to immediately runoff to the pvc drain into what ever u want. will try dirrent NERs as suggested on a couple different plants. so far i would say this is steady quick growth for photoperiod. will see how the others do with new advice but according to my source the young plants should stay green in new growth. tw will tell, and theyll growth spurt once i transplant

1 tsp/gal of CalMag is 5ml/gal. Way too much and again it's not needed despite what you've read. Leaf issues are NOT common with early veg, despite where ever you read that. I'd assume it was the same place that told you to use CalMag.

It sounds like the runoff doesn't stay in the saucer and in contact with the cloth pots, at least that's good.

In addition to what I already suggested I would suggest using the manufacturer's suggested feeding schedule, but probably the light feed schedule. Where did you come up with 2.25 ml Micro, 2.25 ml Gro, and 0.6 ml of Bloom?? If you wanted to get 1.2 EC the recommended light feed schedule is 4.9 ml/gal of Micro, 4.6 ml/gal of Gro, and 3.4 ml/gal of Bloom.

Also notice the manufacturer of your nutrients doesn't have CalMag listed? There's a reason for that, the nutrients already contain calcium and magnesium in sufficient quantities.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

got a decade+ of experience with coco but I didn't get the best from it until I got the nutrient sorted out, to sort out the nutrient I had to check the run off.
I said a decade, as in 10 and some years...wtf?

I've not problem reading my plants but that Is completely irrelevant to the point of checking run off periodically or at key stages of growth.

 

[twentyeight.threefive]

I've had issues in the past using tap water with coco. Due to the high amount of bicarbonates in the tap at the time, it would cause my ph to continuously rise over time. Switching to RO has kept my res ph rock solid.

I suppose it could cause issues depending on the content of the tap but in general don't think it's really needed to use distilled or RO.

I use tap, but then again I forget mine is almost RO quality at 34 ppm.

 

[medidedicated]

1 tsp/gal of CalMag is 5ml/gal. Way too much and again it's not needed despite what you've read. Leaf issues are NOT common with early veg, despite where ever you read that. I'd assume it was the same place that told you to use CalMag.

It sounds like the runoff doesn't stay in the saucer and in contact with the cloth pots, at least that's good.

In addition to what I already suggested I would suggest using the manufacturer's suggested feeding schedule, but probably the light feed schedule. Where did you come up with 2.25 ml Micro, 2.25 ml Gro, and 0.6 ml of Bloom?? If you wanted to get 1.2 EC the recommended light feed schedule is 4.9 ml/gal of Micro, 4.6 ml/gal of Gro, and 3.4 ml/gal of Bloom.

Also notice the manufacturer of your nutrients doesn't have CalMag listed? There's a reason for that, the nutrients already contain calcium and magnesium in sufficient quantities.

View attachment 5149447

yes so i was following a nutrient receipe that was this here


notice the calmag goes down to 3ml at some point which should bring the EC down alot but like i said i can try without it, it is adamant about buffering but the calmg is just to take lightly like heres what i do but you want to add some calmg but not none but this is for beginners really. just to get started out. i was only following the calmg and flora trio not the rest. also, i have the soft water GH flora trio as it doesnt say hard warmter just advanced nutrient system

 

[Scuzzman]

Bro science- in my view
have never checked e.c runoff in coco coir - waste of time and effort... Dont understand why people push this crap , never seen any proof it helps.....
Running Bato Buckets with recycled waste, auto top up PH water - feed full solution every 4-5 days ( read your plants not the run off)