Calcium Lockout?

[Kazman420]

Well @Mañ'O'Green, I got the calibration fluid. My TDS/EC meter was off by 224!

At least now I know why I burned the shit out of my Skywalker (she was stunted from heat/light stress to begin with) and why the tips of my Forum Stomper would burn anytime I pushed it past 350...

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

It looks like your meter is being interpreted correctly.

Thanks for letting me know about the tap water @Mañ'O'Green! Of course I just bought 10 bottles of distilled water the other day, lol. But at least I won't have to buy anymore. Do I need to do anything special other than let it sit out for 24 hours to remove any chlorine?


I plan to have the meter in hand for when the calibration solution arrives. This particular meter is very straightforward. Here's a sample of my current nutrient solution, showing all 4 modes the meter has:
View attachment 1384509 View attachment 1384510 View attachment 1384507 View attachment 1384508


As for the TPS CalMag, I wonder if they recently changed the formula and I have an older bottle? I can't offer any other explanation as to why the website would list different ingredients and I'll feel bad if you ordered it and it's not what you wanted.

But definitely let us know when you receive it.

Regardless to the formula if it works in hydroponics without adding Nitrogen it will solve one of the hardest things I do; provide enough calcium without adding N.

I love AFN and all it's members teaching me new stuff.

In DWC or any hydro it is best to mix your nutrients the day before you use them. It allows chlorine to gas off and calcium carbonate to drop ouot of suspension. This helps to stabilize the PH.

I never did that and plants were fine for 7-8 grows across different countries.

How I did kill a plant (over the course of 3 weeks)
was by using a de-calibrated PH meter.

you're supposed to re-calibrate your PH meter every 3-4 weeks, especially if used every 2-3 days when watering

I didn't know that, was running the PH meter as it came out of the box for about 3 months, it was slightly skewing down .2 every week / every two weeks so I literally burnt the plant in acid water although for all I could read on the meter - it was 6.5 spot on. in fact, it was 4.5

I was (and still, to this day) using Milwaukee PH meter
View attachment 1384555

now I calibrate it every 3 weeks... maybe a month tops. Never had another problem, feel like the bastard knows he owes me one now

I lost an entire 6 plant grow to a faulty PH meter- Hard lesson to learn.

Amazon has had the blulab combo meter on sale. It is an awesome meter that does both EC and ph. I am really glad I bought this.View attachment 1384603

I have 2 of these. One has the normal PH prob the other has a LEAP probe for the rock wool. The only thing I do not like about it is that the probes are only warrented for 6 months so if you have one sitting on the shelf as a back-up it can be out of warranty before you open it. I have opened a bad one! They are not cheap.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Well @Mañ'O'Green, I got the calibration fluid. My TDS/EC meter was off by 224!

At least now I know why I burned the shit out of my Skywalker (she was stunted from heat/light stress to begin with) and why the tips of my Forum Stomper would burn anytime I pushed it past 350...

Well I did not think plants could look like that with the PPM claimed.

You will be a much better farmer now!

 

[DCLXVI]

Yow! Yes, I suggested calibration since the plant v the numbers didn't make sense. Hope it starts going better for you! Calibration at the start of a new grow is a nice way to reset and prepare. Be sure to change the batteries if things seem wonky or won't hold a calibration well.

 

[Kazman420]

Well I did not think plants could look like that with the PPM claimed.

You will be a much better farmer now!

Yow! Yes, I suggested calibration since the plant v the numbers didn't make sense. Hope it starts going better for you! Calibration at the start of a new grow is a nice way to reset and prepare. Be sure to change the batteries if things seem wonky or won't hold a calibration well.

I'd have never considered checking the meter if it wasn't for you guys. Thank you! And thank you for the battery tip. Now that I have the fluid checking the calibration will be a breeze. I'll be adding it into my pH calibration routine.

I'll also keep an eye out for one of those Blue Labs all in one testers. Having something like that on my wall where I can easily look at the numbers would be really handy!

 

[Ryno_nuggs]

It looks like your meter is being interpreted correctly.



Regardless to the formula if it works in hydroponics without adding Nitrogen it will solve one of the hardest things I do; provide enough calcium without adding N.

I love AFN and all it's members teaching me new stuff.

In DWC or any hydro it is best to mix your nutrients the day before you use them. It allows chlorine to gas off and calcium carbonate to drop ouot of suspension. This helps to stabilize the PH.


I lost an entire 6 plant grow to a faulty PH meter- Hard lesson to learn.



I have 2 of these. One has the normal PH prob the other has a LEAP probe for the rock wool. The only thing I do not like about it is that the probes are only warrented for 6 months so if you have one sitting on the shelf as a back-up it can be out of warranty before you open it. I have opened a bad one! They are not cheap.

Hey Mañ'O'Green, hope you are doing good! Is the leap probe the one that you can use for soil as well? I saw there is a different ph probe available that fits the combo meter. It is a bit more pricey.

I can't say enough how much more I enjoy the combo meter vs 2 different pens. Especially now that I am using a nutrient reservoir, vs mixing and feeding right away.

@Kazman420 if you are going to continue to run coco, I recommend a system such as autopots or a drip system, which requires a reservoir. The blue combo meter allows you to just put both probe in the reservoir while you adjust your ppms and the ph level. It is so much easier.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Both probes on the combo meter are in the reservoir 24/7. I only take them out to clean the res once a week and calibrate the PH probe monthly or more often if I suspect they have wandered.

The Leap is a soil probe but is much more delicate than the regular probe. I keep it in the storage solution "cap" that comes with it. I check the Rock Wool Cubes often in the begining of the grow and then every couple of days when it seems steady. I am having the best looking growth with the PH in the cubes 6.1 to 6.3 but the fertigation is often much lower at 5.7 to 5.9. so the root systems are moving it up? This is the first grow I am using the Leap.

 

[Kazman420]

@Kazman420 if you are going to continue to run coco, I recommend a system such as autopots or a drip system, which requires a reservoir.

That's exactly what I was looking into for my next grow! However I'm completely torn between the two. They both seem to have pro's and cons. I will say the cost of those autopots is jaw dropping, but I understand that it's an investment. Just curious but which do you prefer?

 

[Ryno_nuggs]

That's exactly what I was looking into for my next grow! However I'm completely torn between the two. They both seem to have pro's and cons. I will say the cost of those autopots is jaw dropping, but I understand that it's an investment. Just curious but which do you prefer?

I have an autopot system I use. I have only done 3 cycles with it but I really like it. Way less time consuming than having to hand feed.

I have not used a drip system yet. Two of the key selling points for autopots for me was you don't have to deal with run-off, wasting water and nutes. Also the autopots system does not require any power, no plugs or batteries.

You can't really go wrong with either. Just a preference thing. You can use run-off to water other plants though.

You will be happy either way!

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Anything with a reservoir of nutrients really should get daily attention to at least the PH. Both autopots or a drip system will need this attention. With autopots they bottom water so a once a week top fertigation will prevent a salt build up and with a drip system just fertigate to 10%-15% run-off every day you fertigate (unless in soil, then a more precise fertigation with little to no run-off and more precise nutrient schedule is required). Both systems can allow you to be away for a day or two. If you add a PH dosing system you can safely be away a few days to a week?