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EC Levels vs Nutrient Instructions


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Hi everyone,

 

Reading up on some general EC levels for hydroponic nutrient mixing and can't seem to find an answer to my question. I was thinking of this situation;

 

- Grower wants to reach an EC level of around 1.8mS during bloom on a run to waste system.

- Grower follows the labelled instructions on bloom nutrient + additives (ie. 4ml per 1 litre) and fills up the reservoir tank, EC reading is well below desired level.

 

Question is; Is it ok to continue adding nutrients above the recommendations until you reach that EC level. Obviously stirring and re-checking along the way?

 

Thanks again guys!

JA

 

 

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Yes you can, but that EC seems pretty high to me, 1.8, I found a marked decline above 1.7, my best results have been 1.4-1.5 but I must admit I'm doing recirc not RTW, but the salt build up at 1.8 I found to be huge and I needed to flush almost weekly. Less than 1.7 the plant had a marked improvement. But that is with my setup and everybody's setups are different.

 

Merl1n

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- Grower follows the labelled instructions on bloom nutrient + additives (ie. 4ml per 1 litre) and fills up the reservoir tank, EC reading is well below desired level.

First jobs for grower would be check ec meter is reading accurately and ensure nutrient solution is at the right temperature for testing... if nutrients are designed for the purpose the recommended dose should hit the right ec range.

not sure if this is right but im running ro water and was told coz the water ppm is near nothing I can run more nutes. but if I had hard water I wouldn't be able to add more if this makes any sense if im wrong can someone please correct me :bongon:

It will take a bit more nutrient concentrate to make a solution of a given strength if you are using very soft water (eg RO, distilled, rain in some areas) rather than hard water. Edited by louise
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4ml per liter is too much for any nutes.

Canna is around 0.6 E.C. per ml

 

so that's 2.4 E.C....a hungary plant with humidity control, CO2 injection, DWC, temps at 23, ETC might just be able to handle that, but doubt it.

 

Anything above 1.8 is asking for trouble as a  rule, and that's at the peak of flowering and should only be for a short time.

 

E.C. is pretty important and REAL nute manufacturers like Canna will tell you never to go above 2.8 and that's the top end.

 

My plants get a maximum of 1.8 to 1.9 for a week only in early flower then back to 1.4 to 1.5.

Edited by buzzo
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Yes you can, but that EC seems pretty high to me, 1.8, I found a marked decline above 1.7, my best results have been 1.4-1.5 but I must admit I'm doing recirc not RTW, but the salt build up at 1.8 I found to be huge and I needed to flush almost weekly. Less than 1.7 the plant had a marked improvement. But that is with my setup and everybody's setups are different.

 

Merl1n

Yep sounds right to me Merlin

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iv read somewhere that some breeder was saying anything in flower with a ec over 1.4 is goin to be wasting nutes. iv been giving my plants a ec of 1.2 to 1.4 and have very slight tip burn but in saying that some strains are heavy feeders while some are light :bongon:

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Thankyou for all the great feedback guys, all your comments have given me a lot to go back and think about.

 

I have referenced the Canna grow guide while punching in relevant litres, water type and heavy feeding. Buzzo's comments on setup have given me a better idea of what might be considered capable of a "heavy feed" schedule.

 

They show EC rating of 1.8 for the bloom weeks of 5, 6 & 7. When the schedule is changed to medium it shows EC of 1.6 which seems to be closer to everyone's advice. Thanks again, it's really helped me to put things in better perspective. Cheers!


 

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