Question about measuring PPM's for all you Hydro guys

Hey All,

I am traditionally a soil grower, but really want to build an ebb and flow system since i already have just about all the parts.

Here is my question about measuring PPM (purely hypothetical with easy numbers for easy math ):
So lets just say i need a ppm of 100. I have my water which has a PPM of 0. My nutes are Sensi Bloom and Big Bud.

I could technically just use Sensi Grow to get to the PPM of 100 right? Or even, i could get to a 100pm of JUST big bud. How do i know what the correct ratio of SensiGrow:BigBud is?

Also, i assume if PPM's are too high, just add water to lower them. What if PPM's are too low? How do I know which nute to add to bring the PPM's up?


Thanks

100 ppm of sensi would give you much better results than 100ppm of big bud. The NPK on that big bud is wack and I'd use it sparingly at the end of the grow cycle, if at all even. You want that vast majority of your ppms to come from your base nutes, not snake oils.

Also, i assume if PPM's are too high, just add water to lower them. What if PPM's are too low? How do I know which nute to add to bring the PPM's up?

Click to expand...

Add water to dilute. If your ppms are low, change your res or add more base nutes. Again, using additives with out of balance NPKs just complicates and otherwise simple process.

EXACTLY!! I tried bloom additives, and just stuck with the good old 3part An mostly. Im beginning to think that the ppms and ph arent THAT sensitive. As I get lazier in my measurements and mixes, I also allow more drift on both ph and ppm. Funny, Im using less kinds of nutes, testing/adjusting less, and growing better buds.

Add water to dilute ppm's, and after a while, you'll know how much nute to add per res size, to up the ppm's. 1oz of any of the 3part an brings my ppm in a 13gal res, up by about 80. Anyhow, I'd suggest starting at 0, adding 15ml of nute in a gallon, check ppm and do the math. then you'd have a tested baseline to answer your question. Happy growing.

Looks like they have you covered on this one. Solid advice.

You should be able to calculate exactly how much nute to add to get the desired PPM.

Fill your rez with the typical volume of water, mark where that water level is. Measure the PPM. Add a tablespoon of nutes, measure the PPM again. Subtract the base PPM from the nute PPM... Tadah.. this is how much the PPM will rise with each tbs of nutes. After you added everything and adjusted the PH, record the PPM so you can track changes.


Rocket science.

thanks all, plus rep

Also a thanks from me..