Need some good advice for using Botanicare Cal-Mag plus

It says on the bottle to use 5 ml per gallon for soil container gardens but it's kinda vague on how much to use for hydroponics. Is it the same for DWC?

Also I assume that you put it in your water for topping off your res because it says to to use with every watering with standard fertilizer program.

I just wanna know what's the best feeding schedule for this stuff?

+ rep for good advice.

Peace.

I've switched to another supplement, but I've used cal-mag plus in hydro extensively. I add 7ml/gal for res. changes. I only top up with plain water. It worked perfectly.

Right on, thanks for your input. What other supplement did you switch to?

I still use it Drop.
But only if my plants look like they need it.
The slighty yellowing from Cal/Mag deficiency looks different than Nitrogen deficiency, once you see them enough.
I use 2.5ml/gal in my 18ppm R/O water. Companies say to use more than you should MOST of the time anyways.
It can raise your ppm's quite a bit if you use enough of it too.
Add it last but check your ppm's before and after, you'll see.
Cal/Mag is also the reason I keep my rez at 5.8/5.9
It's absorbed with NPK only at those 2 ph numbers.

Flo Grow said:

I still use it Drop.
But only if my plants look like they need it.
The slighty yellowing from Cal/Mag deficiency looks different than Nitrogen deficiency, once you see them enough.
I use 2.5ml/gal in my 18ppm R/O water. Companies say to use more than you should MOST of the time anyways.
It can raise your ppm's quite a bit if you use enough of it too.
Add it last but check your ppm's before and after, you'll see.
Cal/Mag is also the reason I keep my rez at 5.8/5.9
It's absorbed with NPK only at those 2 ph numbers.

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I've been having problems with a calcium and magnesium deficiency for quite sometime now and I've been linking it to nute burn. So from the beginning of flower this round I started out with a real low ppm and gradually worked my way up and I was still seeing the same problems.

I had been trying to diagnose the problem myself but couldn't figure out what was going on. I'm a member of another forum and got to talking to some people over there and we all came to the same conclusion that I had a Cal/Mag deficiency. The whole time I was mistaking the deficiency to nute burn.

Lights go on at at 10 pm so I'll be adding some to my res tonight and hopefully I'll see some improvements soon.

After I get this problem squared away I'll consider using only 2.5 ml per gallon as you suggest.

Here is some pics of my plant.

Peace.

Right now I'm running 1100 ppm and my pH is a stable 5.8. I know they are looking underfed. (let me explain) When I put her into flower 3 weeks ago I started out at 350 then over the course of the 3 weeks I gradually increased the ppm to 850. I then realized that it couldn't be nute burn because I was experiencing the same problems.

You see this is my third attempt with this bag seed strain and my problems really started to show in flower. I was running 1300 ppm in veg with very little problems.

Starting out at a low ppm in flower was my way of seeing if it was actually nute burn or not.

I'm the kinda guy that want's to figure things out for myself, but I was doing a poor job of doing that. So I went to the other forum to ask questions because I like how they go about diagnosing problems. And they helped me to see the light.

When I'm done with this grow I got some NL#5 in veg that will be taking the place of this bag seed strain I'm growing now. I want to move on to bigger and better things.

Hope I covered everything.

Peace.

You certainly have everything covered and noted.
Are you using R/O water ?

I have noticed deficiencies when growing several plants per res or even letting a plant veg to full term in DWC. Its best to feed ur plants as hard as u can in VEG so they are ready to EAT when u really want them too in FLOWER. I use Cal/Mag exactly how it is instructed to be used on the Bottle. I begin using it in the First week of flower and would recommend anyone growing strong genetics in DWC to do so u will be very happy u use as directed. Keep ur PH proper and dialed in at 5.8 and dont be afraid to feed ur plants in VEG or FLOWER for that matter. A good rule of thumb i like to use is a max VEG and FLOWER PPM of 1400 for sativa dominant strains and 1800 for strong indicas. Hope this helps. Peace.

Flo Grow said:

You certainly have everything covered and noted.
Are you using R/O water ?

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No I make my own with a water distiller. I wanted to buy a R/O filter but my water pressure is only 35 psi and you need to have at least 45 psi to properly use one. So after doing some research I decided to buy a water distiller. It was only 100 bucks from eBay, and I can make 20 gallons a day with it. Way more than I need.

My well water is anywhere between 650 and 950 ppm. It varies depending on what season I'm in. After I distill it I get a pH of 5.6 and 0 ppm.

onthedl0008 said:

I have noticed deficiencies when growing several plants per res or even letting a plant veg to full term in DWC. Its best to feed ur plants as hard as u can in VEG so they are ready to EAT when u really want them too in FLOWER. I use Cal/Mag exactly how it is instructed to be used on the Bottle. I begin using it in the First week of flower and would recommend anyone growing strong genetics in DWC to do so u will be very happy u use as directed. Keep ur PH proper and dialed in at 5.8 and dont be afraid to feed ur plants in VEG or FLOWER for that matter. A good rule of thumb i like to use is a max VEG and FLOWER PPM of 1400 for sativa dominant strains and 1800 for strong indicas. Hope this helps. Peace.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. As I stated earlier I was running 1300 ppm in veg. But What I didn't say was I also ran 1500 ppm in flower. Hence my experiment to decide once and for all if it was me burning my plants or if it was a deficiency.

I don't want any one of you three guys to take this as being rude or anything like that. But I got 1 guy telling me to put 7ml a gallon and another telling me 2.5 ml and now the third telling me to use as directed. Maybe it's just me but I don't believe the label clearly states how much to use per gallon for hydroponics. It says to use 5 ml a gal for a soil container and for accelerated formula use 10 ml per gallon and vague directions if any with hydroponics.

So now after hearing all three recommendations I'll assume the directions on the bottle are used for both soil and hydro. Now I'm sure each of your recommendations are spot on for your style of growing and I'm sure it has fixed your problems.

I think I'm gonna go with 7.5 ml a gallon right in between normal and accelerated because I want my girl to recover as soon as possible. After she recovers I can lower it to 5 ml a gallon and then maybe even 2.5.

I really appreciate all your suggestions.

I have given all three of you rep for your help.

Thanks.

No prob Drop.
If you read the labels on PBP products, they all say for soil or soilless hydroponics.
Says nothing about actually being for hydro such as hydroton or DWC with coolers, totes, or buckets.
I have their Grow, Bloom, CalMag, Liq Karma, Sweet, Silica Blast, etc.. Used nothing but these in my Pro-Mix HP or Coco and Perlite mix
But decided on actual hydro nutes, and that was Gen Hydro FloraMicro, Grow and Bloom.
I only use Micro and Bloom w/ just a hint of PBP CalMag.
Running their 2 or 3 part formula really is fool proof. No deficiencies to worry about like in soilless (coco, pro-mix, etc.).
That's why I wonder why ppl use PBP for DWC. It's not meant and if it does work, you'll run into probs eventually.

My bad DROP ur totally rite.. Let me clearify my post. During the first week of flower i add 5ml/gallon of calmag to my res to get them started at which time i also do about a 3/4 res change and apply my nutes as follows. Week 1 = 3 parts Flower 2 parts Veg and usually ends up 1 part CalMag.Later on around week 5-6 flower on an 8-9 week strain I switch it up again and run 3 parts calmag to 2 parts flower to 1 part Veg which would be closer to the soilless instructions. And bring it back down a week or 2 before harvest. I have noticed major difference in useing calmag on more resin produceing strains. Play with it u wont be dissapointed. But def see how ur particular strain does with it.

yeah I'm using GH flora series nutes. I was using the three part but now I''m just using Micro and bloom. I had a guy tell me I wouldn't need to buy any Cal/Mag if I Starting the Lucas method. So while I was waiting for the Cal/Mag to get here I switched to Lucas @ 1100 ppm. Next week I'll bump it up to 1400 and see what happens.

Well I'm off to add some to my res.

Peace.

onthedl0008 said:

My bad DROP ur totally rite.. Let me clearify my post. During the first week of flower i add 5ml/gallon of calmag to my res to get them started at which time i also do about a 3/4 res change and apply my nutes as follows. Week 1 = 3 parts Flower 2 parts Veg and usually ends up 1 part CalMag.Later on around week 5-6 flower on an 8-9 week strain I switch it up again and run 3 parts calmag to 2 parts flower to 1 part Veg which would be closer to the soilless instructions. And bring it back down a week or 2 before harvest. I have noticed major difference in useing calmag on more resin produceing strains. Play with it u wont be dissapointed. But def see how ur particular strain does with it.

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No problem and thanks for the tip.

Fuck Cal-Mag it's watered down bullshit that you pay up the ass for. I use Epsom salt 100% Natural Magnesium that costs $2

And Molasses
contains the greatest concentration of calcium, sulfur, potash, iron, and micronutrients from the original cane material. So it's not just the sugar content that makes molasses useful, but its trace minerals.




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I used Grandma's Molasses for my soilless grows.
It's CalMag content is rated with higher % than PBP !!

RealStyles is right about them trace minerals too.
If you're in soil/soilless, you need to be using molasses as part of your regular feeding schedule BUT NOT DWC !!!

Yeah I was considering Epsom salt but opted for the Cal/Mag instead. When I run out of the Cal/Mag I'll look into the Epsom salt.

Well I added 21 ml Cal/Mag to the res which was 1000 ppm and pH @ 5.8. Now it's @ 1300 ppm and pH 5.5. So I added 3 ml of pH up to bring it back to 5.8.

How long do you all think it will take to start seeing some improvements?

Ur never going to be able to undo the damage u have already done as far as the deficiency and color in ur leaves. Give it a week maybe 2 u will notice a difference in rapid bud growth and overall resin production actually im predicting a complete explosion. Anyway let it roll like that u may have u up ur feed regimen tho depending on how ur strain reacts. Again im guessing its gonna be nice.

Thank brah. I'm subbed to the dwc grow bible as well. I'm just lurking and soaking it all in. I hope that thread explodes with a lot of good info. Maybe someday I will have something to contribute.

Well I'm off to bed, check ya later, I'm sure are paths will cross again.

Peace.