Ppm?

Dookay

Member
Ok would someone mind explaining Ppm to me in depth? Noob to dwc but as much as I've read I can't seem to find anything going into detail on ppm. How high? How low? What do the changes indicate? Things of that nature. Thanks.
 
avoid ppm's if you can... use EC instead... its a simpler use of numbers as depending on your type of pen one pens ph can be 400ppm and another can be 500ppm... but in the ec it will always be the same ec... view the chart i attached and you can see what i mean about the differences (information from another member whos name i cannot recall)...

start off low about 100-150ppms (if you need to use that) or about .2 ec... and follow the rules below

ec goes up, ph goes down = plants need less nutes
ec goes down, ph goes up= plants need nutes
ec stable, ph goes up= you got it dialed in proper

the plants can be delicate... so start LOW on the amount of nutes... its easy go overboard (add more food, make more buds) but that can backfire on you in an instant with "nute lockout"... i use about 1/4 strenth to 1/2 strength of my botanicare line and the plants thrive, as i near the end of the flower period i can be at almost full strength but i watch the leaves for the "claw" motion which usually means my ppm/ec is too HIGH... the plants should be reaching for the light. after each res change i allow the plants to just suck up water for a day or 2 before i add more nutes back in... i watch for changes in the plants behavior.

ph 5.8
h2o temp 68 degrees
air tem 78 degrees
humidity 70 veg, 50ish flower

the above helps my ppm/ec stay more stable along with the ph, i avoid swings and try to shoot for 5.7-6.0ph.

if you wanna just skip all this shit.. read up on the "lucas" formula... so simple and its widely used... and the success from growers im sure speak volumes.
 

TWS

Well-Known Member
Great post howawhatever. lol I like the explanation of the rules.

Quote :start off low about 100-150ppms (if you need to use that) or about .2 ec... and follow the rules below

ec goes up, ph goes down = plants need less nutes
ec goes down, ph goes up= plants need nutes
ec stable, ph goes up= you got it dialed in proper

ph 5.8
h2o temp 68 degrees
air tem 78 degrees
humidity 70 veg, 50ish flower


Got this the other day from Nunia720 quoted from Smokebros.

Seedlings, Early Sprouts 100 to 250

Early Vegging 300 to 400

Full Vegetation 450 to 700

Early Blooming 750 to 950

Full Mature Blooms 1000 to 1600




Im new to DWC to. I have three buckets going and likeing it. I luv the great info and are just eaten it up. Thanks for all the great info everyone.


In your example of rules I did not see the senerio I'm experianceing myself. Does this make sense ? Very little water usage : Ph goes up by .5 ppm's go up by 30 -50 a day hardly ever use any water. Plants are in great shape 10" tall if not LST'd. To fix this can I just take some water out and pour in PH'd water only ?


I've asked this before and believe I have the right ansewr but I just want to be sure. I shout NOT cout my tap water ppms/ec towards my desired TDS ppms/EC ?


Thanks
 

SirShmokeAlot225

Active Member
avoid ppm's if you can... use EC instead... its a simpler use of numbers as depending on your type of pen one pens ph can be 400ppm and another can be 500ppm... but in the ec it will always be the same ec... view the chart i attached and you can see what i mean about the differences (information from another member whos name i cannot recall)...

start off low about 100-150ppms (if you need to use that) or about .2 ec... and follow the rules below

ec goes up, ph goes down = plants need less nutes
ec goes down, ph goes up= plants need nutes
ec stable, ph goes up= you got it dialed in proper

the plants can be delicate... so start LOW on the amount of nutes... its easy go overboard (add more food, make more buds) but that can backfire on you in an instant with "nute lockout"... i use about 1/4 strenth to 1/2 strength of my botanicare line and the plants thrive, as i near the end of the flower period i can be at almost full strength but i watch the leaves for the "claw" motion which usually means my ppm/ec is too HIGH... the plants should be reaching for the light. after each res change i allow the plants to just suck up water for a day or 2 before i add more nutes back in... i watch for changes in the plants behavior.

ph 5.8
h2o temp 68 degrees
air tem 78 degrees
humidity 70 veg, 50ish flower

the above helps my ppm/ec stay more stable along with the ph, i avoid swings and try to shoot for 5.7-6.0ph.

if you wanna just skip all this shit.. read up on the "lucas" formula... so simple and its widely used... and the success from growers im sure speak volumes.
Ahhhh finally!!!
 

Illegal Smile

Well-Known Member
Feed them until they tell you to stop. No meter needed. The plants are always the best meter.

If my nutes didn't give me a suitable pH range of better than .5, I'd be looking for new nutes.

Humboldt feels that anywhere from 5.5 to 6.8 is fine for their products.
 

SirShmokeAlot225

Active Member
I just want to know what exactly I'm gonna be putting in and obviously check what the plants do but it's nice to know the exact amount of shit that's in your res so you can adjust accordingly instead of generally taking "good" guesses. But that's just me. And thanks for the explanation of EC and ppm. That little chart is Good to know.
 

jj2012

Member
I know this thread is old but if any of you are still around Im doing a 3 gallon dwc with advanced php GMB. My ppm started at 900 yesterday with a pH of 5.8, today ppm is 850 pH 6.6 and I'm getting the claw. If the nutes are too strong why is ppm going down?
 

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
I know this thread is old but if any of you are still around Im doing a 3 gallon dwc with advanced php GMB. My ppm started at 900 yesterday with a pH of 5.8, today ppm is 850 pH 6.6 and I'm getting the claw. If the nutes are too strong why is ppm going down?
Most likely case is your ratio has too much nitrogen for that plant. Its still using the other nutrients, but it has too much nitrogen.

This is assuming you're diagnosing the claw correctly and its not lack of DO in your water.

I got this with Foliage Pro by Dynagro. Which is a 3-1-2. I like 2-1-2 for veg a lot better.
 

jj2012

Member
Shouldn't be lack of Do cause water temp stays between 65 n 70 with 2 airstones on one pump and a bubblewand on another. I will adjust npk cause I believe your right. Thank you
 
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