WeedHound's Nute Schedule for Hydro/Botanicare

[Weedhound]

By request....I'm not very good at detailiing things analytically so I'll just babble it out.

My nute supplies consist of

Botanicare Brand:

Cal Mag Plus
Pro Grow
Pro Bloom
Hydroplex
Liquid Karma
Sweet

Store bought 3% hydrogen peroxide
Cannazyme (Canna)
Dutch Master Reverse
Dutch Master Penetrator
R0 water.

Extra: Advanced Nutrients VHO (very High Output) foliar spray.

I maintain a ph from 5.6-6.2 all the way through my grow..

Starting about week two I generally give them 2tsp (10ml/gal) of 3% H202 every OTHER day until I put them into flower....then I switch to Cannazyme.

I germ seeds in rapid rooters....generally 4-7 days until I see a taproot coming out the bottom, then they go into the w/f system with higromite rocks, RO water and a drop of Superthrive per gallon (my waterfarms generally have about 2 gals water in them)
under mh bulb 400 watts....fairly high up at first...about 2 feet and brought down slowly over time. I start counting time from the day I put them in the system....not the day they germ.

Week 2: I use Pro Grow and CalMag at a 50/50 ratio through veg ALWAYS. I put in 100 ppms ProGrow and 100ppm CalMag.
Depending upon how they do I will add about 50 more ppm of each the third or fourth day into the week, keeping ppms from 200-300 over the course of the week.

Week 3: 150 ppms/each CalMag/ProGrow plus 1ml/gallon Liquid Karma. ppms 300-350...again adding 1 extra ml/gal LK midweek if all looks good (ppms about 350-375)

It's also about this time I start using the VHO (three sets of true leaves) according the directions on the bottle as a foliar spray. I spray them with it daily, then turn the strong light off and let them dry with a fan before I turn lights back on. I'll use the VHO up until 10 days into blooming.

Week 4 CalMag/ProGrow 200ppms apiece plus 2ml/gal LK plus 1ml Sweet for the 2 gallons. ppms 400-450. About day 4, another ml of Sweet......ppms 450-ish.

Week 4: CalMag and Pro Grow/250ppm apiece plus 3ml/gal LK and 2ml/gal Sweet. Again...up Sweet by 1 ml gallon during week. ppms 500-600. I usually top them once during week 4 as well.

Week 5: CalMag and Pro Grow 300ppms each. 4ml/gal LK and 3ml gal Sweet.......adding 1ml/gal Sweet midweek. ppms 600-700.

I usually turn them in week 6.

Week one in bloom; Cal Mag and Pro Grow 400ppms apiece. 4ml/gal MK and 4ml/gal Sweet. I also start Cannazyme at the beginning of bloom at 5ml/gallon and keep it at this dosage until flushing. On the first full day of bloom I spray DutchMaster Reverse (with Penetrator)to help prevent hermies. Ppms 800-900

Week 2 Bloom: Cal Mag 400ppms plus Pro Boom 500ppms and 4ml/gal of LK and Sweet both. ppms between 1000-1100

Day 10 Bloom: Second Reverse Dose according to directions on bottle.

Week 3: CalMag 400ppms, Pro Grow 600ppms, 4ml/gal both LK and Sweet. ppms between 1100-1200.

Week 4: I start the bloom enhancer at a 50/50 ratio with my bloom nutes:

CalMag 400ppm
Hydroplex 350ppm
Pro Bloom 350 ppm
Lk./Sweet 4ml/gal ppms....between 1200-1300

Week 5:

CalMag.......300ppm
Hydroplex 350
Pro Bloom 350
Lk and Sweet......7ml/gal. The number comes up under 1400ppms and I don't go above that.,...I actually try to keep things at around 1375-ish.

That's pretty much where things stay until flush time....and that changes depending on what I'm growing. ;)

Adding and changing the solutions frequently are things that I've found seem to really help the plants grow well. Generally I'll drain some of the older nute solution out and toss it whehever I make some sort of change in the nutes etc....generally about twice a week. Towards week 5 and on Ill be adding several gallons of full strengh nute solutions every day or so and that helps keep things in balance as well.

With RH I was taught to always aim for the 30% and I try very hard to stick with that.

Fungus/mold spray; Serenade
Bug Spray Fox Farms Don't Bug Me Both of these used only as needed.

DISCLAIMER

This thread is not advocating a certain brand, schedule or anything else as being either "better" or "the only REAL" way to grow. It is simply the nute schedule that I use and have had good success with. I'm still experimenting with different things myself and as I find what works, doesn't etc I will add it on as needed. :)

2nd Disclaimer

I just read that too much phospherus can lock out certain nutes/etc so am thinking on my next grow to go with 400CalMag all the way during bloom and keeping the bloom nutes at about 600. I will report of that AS IT HAPPENS
:D

[Opie Yutts]

And coming soon: Liquid Light. Trust me.

[Weedhound]

Liquid Light? Who makes it? I'll google it.

I completely forgot to add.....I'm going by ppms @700 conversion.

[Weedhound]

DutchMaster. Do you use it? What's this about this stuff and the light? Spill YOUR beans...:wtf:

[MVP]

Thanks Amiga for the post! I'll have to read tomorrow when my tired eyes have rested and are working properly :D

MVP :jointsmile:

[Opie Yutts]

I can't get Liquid Light in my area yet, but I got a free sample along with a sample of Penetrator. I don't believe all their claims, such as it turns a 400W light into a 600W, but I do believe it's pretty darn incredible stuff. After the first application I swear they grew an inch in 6 hours. It sure seemed that way, anyway. My leaves were a little droopy before hand, and in general that's the way they've always looked after a long hard day of sucking in the sun. They looked a little better when I checked in on them mornings, but holy cow, nothing like this LL made em do. They all had their arms outstretched and raised as high as they possible could go, and after a few days they are pretty much staying that way. When I go to bend a fan leaf out of the way, now its like wrestling with an alligator. They will not go down easily or without a fight.

I plan at some point to give a more detailed report here (again):
http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-growing/146275-how-do-you-guys-gals-foliar-feed-what-s-miracle-food.html
I already had some decent stuff posted there and then the web site got improved and it all went away.

[Weedhound]

So you never got the rest of your stuff back Opie? I thought once they worked on it everything came back with the photos. Sorry to hear that about your post.

I'll look into The LL....always looking for something else to improve things and I've been very happy with the DutchMaster brand so far. :)

[Dutch Pimp]

I maintain a ph from 5.6-6.2 all the way through my grow..

Hi all...:)

I been looking for a place to stick this...it probably works for hydro too? If it's not appropriate here.. we can get it nuked...:stoned:

[Weedhound]

DP.... I wonder about you.....what else do you have hiding in your pockets? :D

[Dutch Pimp]

I smell hydro sticky here....:thumbsup:

[PlantHeadJ]

Thanks WH!!! I just have a couple simple questions. First if I'm using 7.0 tap water that I am phing do I need to modify the Cal/Mag numbers? Also in week two of bloom it says to use pro grow...typo or....? Thank You all so much for taking the time to help out!!

[PlantHeadJ]

Sorry it was week 3 bloom that it said to go with pro grow. Just trying to clarify. You like the Advanced foliar feed better than the Spray-n-Grow or the Dutch Master? Sorry for all the questions, but can anybody tell me anything about Dutch Master Gold? And what exactly does reverse do? Ok I'll stop talking and listen..hehe..Thanks

[Weedhound]

Wow that's a great question that has never occured to me because i've always used RO water.....and I must say I'm honestly not sure what would be the correct ratio imo. I'm really glad you asked that however because now I will go find out for you and then we'll be that much more in the know. With regular tap water you should not need your CalMAg at all but give a me a day or two to contact THE BRAIN (my hydro guy) and I'll find out for you about the correct ratios and whether or not you would use slightly lesser numbers for your base nutes.

When I turn my plants I actually do keep them on the grow nutes the very first week of bloom and then switch them over during the second week.....or perhaps even later if they've really taken a jump as they seem to do in the first couple weeks of blooming. ;)

[Weedhound]

Another detail.....I have since stopped using the VHO by AN; not because it doesn't work well but because I HAVE started using the Liquid Light as Opie suggested and ALSO (as he suggested).....the stuff works GREAT so I would highly recommend to one and all. Read and follow the directions VERY carefully however....Dutch Master makes some strong products.

Dutch Master (http://dutchmaster.com.au/hv_faqs.php?product=4)

[PlantHeadJ]

Oh WH you are #1 in my book. I'll wait till I hear from you to go forward. I keep hearing such great things about Liquid Light but not by anyone currently using the product. It's pricey but like Opie said that if it does 1/4 of what it claims then that's gonna rock! Thanks again all!!

[PlantHeadJ]

Sorry you posted so fast you read my mind and answered my question all in one shot...wow. Do you follow the label or dilute? It says twice a week until run-off is this correct? and also do you quit it 2nd week into flower?

[rhizome]

Apparantly I have to spread some rep around before I can hit ya again, WH.

[stinkyattic]

I smell sticky too. Oh wait- that's resin on my fingers.
This will be a good resource for new growers.

[PlantHeadJ]

This is Gold! Anybody else feel like writing out their feeding schedules that they have had good luck with? I don't want to endorse anybody's product, but if we had a good reliable feed schedule from multipule products....Valuable info for people switching nute brands or getting started! Thanks everybody for their input!

[Weedhound]

Plant:

I've erased my answer twice here iin typing (groan) so am going to answer your q quickly before I erase it again and then I'll go back and address the rest.

I spoke to The Brain. He suggested that if you use tap water to cut your total numbers by about one third and then add the number of your tap water on after that.
If I were using a total of 600ppm (CalMag 300 and Pro Grow 300) and were using tap water I'd go with Pro Grow 400-500 plus whatever number your tap water is. He felt doubling the base nute numbers would just be too much.

The Brain also said that among different plants, strains etc he has seen variations of plants' ability to take nutes from 900-1800 depending on the plants so it's quite individual. Start on the lower side and work up keeping a close eye out for nuteburn.

I originally put all this info in one post that I then accidently erased EVERYTHING so I'm going to post this part and in the next post I'll tell you what to watch for as far as nuteburn.

[Weedhound]

Thank god that one post made it. What kills me is that I know the entire page I typed is floating around somewhere.....but I can't access it......:wtf: C'est la vie....:stoned:

SO......here are the things I watch for in my plants that warn me my ppms are too high and I am burning them with too many nutes.

1. A quickly rising ph in a previously stable system. I find it will take more ph down than usual to get the ph in the solution back to normal and the number will rise again quickly over and over.

2. Leaf edges and tips curled down It pays to make sure your room temps etc are ok and then immediately check your ph....is it rising, etc? This is the stage that I like to solve the problem before it gets any worse.

3. The ppms in your solution will start rising very quickly......as the plant leaves the nutes behind and sucks up water like mad to try and compensate. It also pays to check your ppms daily since you WILL be checking your ph all the time just to get an idea of your daily trends. Then when something changes it will get you wondering whats up.

Luckily all an easy fix in hydro....just add water to drop your ppms back about 100-150. (check ph....always check ph!! ;)) It takes a few days for plants to get back on track from nuteburn so watch ph carefully and keep checking and diluting the solution as needed until the plant stabilizes.

[PlantHeadJ]

that sounds good, I wondered about the cal/mag with tap water. So my tap water is 130 so add 170 cal/mag and 300 nutes. no, go with 130 plus the nutes to get to my desired level? that is what I originally thought but I want to do the best job I can. Thank you for going through the trouble of finding out!!

[Weedhound]

To have been made a sticky.....I want to thank.......:jointsmile:

Stinky any chance we could change the title to Weedhounds Feeding Schedule...Weedhound Kindly Accepts Donations....:D

Plant, you are absolutely right about my error. Thanks for pointing that out.....I completely missed it.

In week 3 of Bloom the solution should be Pro Bloom NOT Pro Grow. Once I go to the bloom nutes in week 2 i do NOT go back to the Grow nutes at ALL. ;)

[Weedhound]

Hi Plant....actually no CalMag at all......Just the grow nutes and whatever supplements you want.

It's probably easier from your end to look at the total number of ppms for a certain week and reduce that number by one third.....then quietly add your 130 of tap water.

For instance......week 2 of veg....my total number of ppms are about 200 (using CalMag). In your case you want your number to be about 2/3 of that BEFORE YOU ADD the 130 ppms from your tap water. So you would want about 125- 140-ish ppms of Pro Grow and then add 130pp of your tap water on top of that. Your total ending number would be HIGHER than mine....yours would be 250- 270.

See with tap water you get to toss all that chatter about magnesium and calcium out the window......UNLESS you start having a problem later. For now you should just worry about using the nutes etc at 2/3 of the total....minus your tap water ppms. It would pay to start low and add things slowly as I mentioned before....easy to burn especially when they are young.

You will also want to make sure that your tap water will hold a stable ph....that was the problem I had with my well water that made me turn to RO water. I could not get the ph to stay in the desired range for long no matter what and immediately stopped having the problem after switching to RO water. :thumbsup:

[PlantHeadJ]

well I've been soaking hydroton in ph'de water for two days and so far so good. Town water and never had trouble in past. PH stays pretty darn good once set. Should have everything up and running soon. Just having second thoughts on which system to go with this time around. DWC, flood...I really liked the scrog years ago when I used it, but that is so much veg time and work!! I'll also have some pics soon! Thanks again for your valuable help!

[Weedhound]

If your tap water stays stable with the ph it sounds like you are good to go. :thumbsup: Don't let that hydroton escape until it submits phwise...that stuff is a BEAR to keep stabilized.

I've only used the one drip system so cannot offer any pearls about different systems better/worse. Hopefully others will chime in about which ones they like and why. :)

[MVP]

To have been made a sticky.....I want to thank.......:jointsmile:

Stinky any chance we could change the title to Weedhounds Feeding Schedule...Weedhound Kindly Accepts Donations....:D

Plant, you are absolutely right about my error. Thanks for pointing that out.....I completely missed it.

In week 3 of Bloom the solution should be Pro Bloom NOT Pro Grow. Once I go to the bloom nutes in week 2 i do NOT go back to the Grow nutes at ALL. ;)


I am so glad that you got Stickified! I'm smiling a bit too since I am proud to be one of those that 'nudged' you into putting this together. I think something like that happened to Flameon with the Cann Caps... Hmmm, now who might have done that?? :D

Anyhow.... Cheers WH -- puff puff pass -- to the right!!
:joint1:

[MVP]

well I've been soaking hydroton in ph'de water for two days and so far so good. Town water and never had trouble in past. PH stays pretty darn good once set. Should have everything up and running soon. Just having second thoughts on which system to go with this time around. DWC, flood...I really liked the scrog years ago when I used it, but that is so much veg time and work!! I'll also have some pics soon! Thanks again for your valuable help!

DWC and SCROG can be used together super easily. It just takes a bit of planning to make sure you can check and change your res easily. I used to do drip but went to DWC and have stayed there as it is simple and easy to maintain. No problems with roots clogging up the bucket drains or hoses. That is my :twocents:

[Weedhound]

I definitely wrote this at MVP's request........yes, you may have my autograph but no royalties....:D

[MVP]

OOOH, OOOH, an AUTOGRAPH! :D Whoopie!!! Do I get the ONLY autograph? It's gonna be worth that much more now! Somehow I thought there were other 'nudgers' involved in getting this masterpiece published... but I will proudly take the Sole Autographed copy.... :woohoo: :lol5: :lol5: :woohoo:

[Weedhound]

Actually I was incredibly flattered that MVP even ASKED me to write it down much less the movie rights, DVD's......

buuuuut....no its me...all me.......nobody but me.....mememememememeME :D

[rhizome]

...and dahrlink, you look fah-bulous...

Congrats on the sticky.

[8182KSKUSH]

I think this might be relevant here, so I will ask.
When you use the ph down, or if you are dilluting you dwc because of high ph, and are using ph'd water, how does that affect ppm? I know that when I add ph down for example, to get the ph from 6.4 down to 5.5, it ups the ppm, how does that affect the plant? Does this make sense? Thanks.

[Weedhound]

Hey Kush good to see you,

If you use too much of the up or down I know it can adversely affect your plants but the stuff used in hydro to adjust ph are things that the plants use anyway like potassium chloride and such (please don't ask me the exact ingredients because Id have to look them up.....:() so a smaller amount of these things are actually beneficial for your plants. However, I have heard that in rathr high doses they can cause issues so if you find yourself having to use large amounts or reset your ph again and again it could cause an issue. Otherwise I would just add the ppm number on after you measure out your normal nutes. ;)

To babble on.....this is one of the reasons that ph adjusters for fish or aquariums (not the testers...just the adjusters) are not recommended for using on plants.....they are made from different ingredients and can be too high in salts for our beloved ganja.

[8182KSKUSH]

Okay, as you know I am stupid, so just to clarify.
I don't understand what happens when, I add ph down, my water is at around 250ppm out of the tap and at 8.5ph, after ph'ing it down it is almost 300ppm! so if I want to be at 400 total, I can only add 100ppm with nutes, (doesn't seem like much?) or do I just add the 400ppm with the nutes in addition to what it starts at?

And then once it is adjusted, do I need to account for the ppm change from adding the ph down?
In a few days my ppm will be higher than where they started, but it's just the ph down, will it keep the plants from feeding on the nutes? I will go away after this and bother someone else for a while I promise! Thanks WH.:)

[Weedhound]

I would add the number onto your total. If you want 400 ppm....do your 400 and then add your other numbers on after that (400 plus your ph up, tap water, etc...) If you find that you are having to adjust your ph too much and it's making your number too high after awhile then you should consider using something like RO water which tends to stay more stable and not jump around as much or do more water changes to compensate. After adding things for awhile your number WILL get way up there and you can lose track of which part of your total niumber is nutes or additives or ph down etc..and that can REALLY mess you up.

Kush if I am misunderstanding your question I apologize and feel free to keep pounding away until you get it into my head. :D

[8182KSKUSH]

You nailed it there, I am losing track! But I was also phing the water first, then adding nutes, I have swapped out resovoirs with water that I added the nutes to first then ph'd, the ppm were slightly less than when I did it the other way, now just to wait and see how long it holds at my desired ph. I tested some water and it was stable so it must be something that I am doing to it, hopefully switching the way I ph it helps, thanks again, you did nail exactly what I was asking!

[Weedhound]

Are you using new hydroton by any chance? That's the exact issue I ran into with the hydroton so that's probably why I know what you mean. ;) With that stuff my numbers would DOUBLE within a few days just from constantly having to add ph down to my res. I was ALWAYS having to do water changes to keep things in balance despite my RO water and you'd better believe THAT got old in a hurry. :wtf:

[8182KSKUSH]

Fucking Hydroton!
I thought that it was supposed to calm down after awhile, I also rinsed and soaked it forever, still, I get this!
Will it ever end? What would be a better choice for medium next time?
Now that you say that, I remember reading something about someone saying that exact same thing, it was probably you!

[Weedhound]

It took FOREVER until that stuff was stable imo. I also personally think it adds to fert build up problems myself but I'm known to grumble about hydroton in general so you have to take what I say with a grain of salt.

Higromite (http://www.truevisionhydroponics.com/Higromite_p/tvh1011.htm) Here is what I use and I like it but it does have its own drawbacks. Among them....weighs ALOT (weighs about how it looks....) and has the same dust issues at the beginning as hydroton so you have to rinse it and for some reason algae LOVES this stuff and will grow like mad on it so its best to keep it covered. I will say that since I've started using it again my plants are much better, healthier and yield better so I'm sticking with it.

[hippygirl420]

i use liquid light or should i say i used liquid light you have to raise the canopy a couple of feet cause if you dont your plants will burn right up i mean its really tricky to get the right amount and move the lights the right heighth.its like if you use a 400 hps your yeild would be like your using a 600wt if your using a 600wt its like 1000 ext.. so ,try it out, imean hey if we never try new things how are we ever going to get anywhere

[TheHourLateGang]

My nute supplies consist of

Botanicare Brand:

Cal Mag Plus
Pro Grow
Pro Bloom
Hydroplex
Liquid Karma
Sweet

Store bought 3% hydrogen peroxide
Cannazyme (Canna)
Dutch Master Reverse
Dutch Master Penetrator
R0 water.

Extra: Advanced Nutrients VHO (very High Output) foliar spray.

I am a complete newbie and I don't understand much of what these nutes do.
Can you explain when i would use these and what each one of these do. Sorry to be a pest. Hopefully it would clear somethings up for me and maybe anyone else who had the same question.


-Daniel:rastasmoke:

[Weedhound]

STINKY!!! HELP!! :eek:

Daniel I must say I am so bad with this kind of thing but I will give it a try. Understand that the way I grow is the way I was taught from a very kindly hydro guy whom I still think walks on water so when he tells me to do something I pretty much do it without asking why. I think that's why I loved teaching cm......he was a good boy who did what he was told. :D

I am only going to list the basics....anyone who wants in depth information on specific nutrients needs to talk to Stinky or rhizome or someone who actually knows.

First here is the website that explains the nutrients and supplements I use. DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with these products. They are simply the brand I use.

Botanicare : Products : Product Overview : Nutrients (http://www.americanagritech.com/product/product_category.asp?id=1)

This iincludes product overviews for the CalMag, Pro Grow, Pro Bloom, Hydroplex, Liquid Karma and Sweet.

[Weedhound]

But this website has a cool way of waiting until you've written a 3 page post before it swallows the the entire thing forever so I've learned to post in stages.

Dutch Master: FOLIAR TECHNOLOGIES (http://dutchmaster.com.au/hv_product_ft.php)

Here is the website for the Reverse, Penetrator, and Liquid Light which are the foliar sprays I use.

Lastly here is the website for Cannazym

http://www.canna-hydroponics.com/products_additives/about_cannazym.html

[Weedhound]

Reverse osmosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis)

A quickie on RO water. The Cal Mag is used to replace the mierals etc that are lost in the RO process that the plants need.

Sooo...yes. You get to pay to take those things out of the water, and then pay more to put them back in.

[Weedhound]

Lastly a quick run through:

RO water: Water with close to nothing in it and usually used in hydroponics to control the exact nutrients and minerals the plants are getting and to assist in controlling the ph of the nutrient solution.

Cal Mag: Supplement to replace lost minerals in your RO or distilled water.
Pro Grow: One part hydroponic nutrient for vegetative growth
Liquid Karma: General supplement for plant health and to assist with ph control.
Sweet: Carbohydrate supplement to increase growth and flowers
Pro Bloom : One part hydroponic nutrient for flowering
Hydroplex: Bloom enhancer or "bud booster"


Reverse: Foliar spray to eliminate to possibility of hermaphrodites appearing and
pollinating the flowers.
Liquid Light: Foliar spray to increase growth.
Penetrator: Additive to foliar sprays to assist with leaf penetration

Cannazym: Added to resevoir to assist and maintain root health.

PS.....you folks are on your own with the 3% hydrogen peroxide.....google it. :D

[TheHourLateGang]

WOW! Thankyou so much!

-Daniel:rastasmoke:

[Dnutz]

hey weedhound, not to thread jack or interrupt, but has anyone seen kindprincess around lately?

[apoc04]

Hey WH you wrote in week 3 of bloom you use 600ppm of the pro grow did you mean to switch back to pro grow for a week and then back to pro bloom or is the just an error and you ment pro bloom? Only asking cuz I'm a noob :)

[Weedhound]

Actually you are right and that is a mistake. It should be Pro Bloom.....somebody else mentioned it also. Thanks for reminding me so we can get it straight. :)

[DOUGAL25]

thanks weedhound, going to use this as what I'm going to go off of....I'm sure some methods will be tweaked along the way.

[Weedhound]

Hi Douglas,

I've found that growing in larger buckets allowed for higher ppms in my grows so don't hesitate to try upping your numbers BUT BUT BUT .....watch your plants VERY carefully for their reaction. One of the joys of hydro is being able to change your plants nute needs immediately and either add or take away things right then and there as oppposed to soil growing. This is one of the things I LOVe about hydro. :)

[DasPachy]

Hi WH, I've decided I'm definitely going to use Botanicare Products (at least the Pro Grow and Bloom), but seeing as I'm doing an LST, all CFL grow, do you still think the other supplements (Liquid Karma, Sweet) will be all that beneficial or is there just not enough potential with the CFL lights?

Also, how much of the nutrients do you think 2 plants will consume from veg to harvest?

[DasPachy]

Bump

[stinkyattic]

DP, you keep posting individual stuff on stickies- start your own thread!
As for volume of nutes from seed to harvest... no one has answered because there are a lot of variables. What style? What strain? How often do you drain res? Etc etc etc.
Please start your own threads for your own questions, thansk.

[DasPachy]

Sorry bout that - starting one now where I will answer the questions you posed :jointsmile:

[Biggins]

Just dropped seeds from wet towels to rapid rooters.

When should I start using super thrive? After I see some foilage or now at 1/4 dose?

[Weedhound]

Use ST VERY sparingly......it's strong stuff. 1 drop a gallon is all i use for brand new babies (that's in ph correct RO water of course. ;))

[DasPachy]

WH, how would you alter your schedule if veg time was cut to 2 weeks?

[Biggins]

For RO water, how many stages do you use WH? I see 2 stage and 5 stage and I understand what they do, I know osmosis, but where is the return negligible? Also, on those RO units, how easy are they to hook up? I can do a lot of things and plumbing is not one of them.

[Weedhound]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you Biggins....somehow this thread slipped off my subscribed things.

I use a 2 stage filter....made by Spectra and it works just fine for us. We have well water....not true tap and our water is fairly hard but it does the job for us just fine. I change the filters in them once every six months and don't expose the filters to light (algae forms.)

The type I have literally screws on to a garden hose. I'm about as mechanical as a lima bean so that works perfectly for us. :D

[Weedhound]

WH, how would you alter your schedule if veg time was cut to 2 weeks?

Hmm.....good question. I would push up ppms quicker, check my system at LEAST twice a day for ph and nuteburn and watch the plants reaction. Some strains can tolerate (or even LOVE) high numbers of nutes whereas others just curl up and die with the exact same regimen. It's a matter of knowing your strain and/or watching everything like a hawk and changing or fixing things BEFORE they become a huge issue. In hydro things work very fast.......both good and bad so a small problem becomes a BIG problem in almost no time at all. That's why hydro needs more maintenance imo.

[dragonfly2dream]

this information was great, thanks, i will try this, i hope it works as good as your,

[Gatekeeper777]

FANTASTIC!!!! Liqiud light. I will try to find some at my local hydro shop.
I learned alot on this post.

[jOnJoNbLaZiNi]

i really need a dumbed down Extra N00b verson of this write up

[Biggins]

Read this on Botanicare's site

Q: Can I use hydrogen peroxide with Pure Blend Pro or Liquid Karma?
A: No, hydrogen peroxide will kill off the beneficial microorganisms present in Pure Blend Pro and Liquid Karma.

[Weedhound]

I've read that as well but my hydro guy insists he hasn't seen a problem with the botanicare nutes and H202.....just very DEFINITE issues when Cannazym or Rhizotonic are mixed with it. I prefer the Canna line anyway over H202 so don't really use it all any more.

[Prospector]

Weedhound,you mentioned you have a two stage filter that screws onto the garden hose.Can you tell me whay brand and model it is please?Thanks,Prospector

[Weedhound]

Yes, I know its a Spectra II stage and it came with a screw on valve that hooks right up to the garden hose which is good because you aren't supposed to leave it outside in freezing weather.

[Weedhound]

Prospector its' called a Spectra Pure Eliminator RO system ( ours is 100 gpd) and here's a photo. As you can see there are three lines coming from it.....one for good water, one for bad water and one that screws onto your faucet or garden hose. We paid approx $150 for it but I'm sure you can do better on E-bay. We Hounds don't do ebay....had a bad experience with them and refuse to deal with their issues.

Ps....We start with well water that is approximately 120 ppm but will NOT BUDGE AN INCH on ph which is why we ended up using RO water in the first place......we could not control our hydro ph with standard well water.

We change the filters every six months and protect the filters from light (algae) and that's it. Oh.....and you need place to drain off the "excess" unusable part of the system and a to keep your "good water" in and you should be good to go.

[greenthumbdanny]

Hmm.....good question. I would push up ppms quicker, check my system at LEAST twice a day for ph and nuteburn and watch the plants reaction. Some strains can tolerate (or even LOVE) high numbers of nutes whereas others just curl up and die with the exact same regimen. It's a matter of knowing your strain and/or watching everything like a hawk and changing or fixing things BEFORE they become a huge issue. In hydro things work very fast.......both good and bad so a small problem becomes a BIG problem in almost no time at all. That's why hydro needs more maintenance imo.

Hey there Weedhound can you elaborate a little more on this answer vs just guessing. Maybe the Brain would know a little more on that. Only being your veg time is a little to long. The formula looks pretty good thats why I want to give it a shot. Thanks in advance GTD:thumbsup:

[loco81]

quick question thats probably dumb how do you know what you ppm meters conversion is? and when you say 200ppm of cal mag or whatever what do you mean? how much per gallon? sorry kinda retarted questions but i gotta know. since you are using same products as me i want to try and mimic yours as best i can since you do well for yourself!

[Weedhound]

hydroponics articles - Electrical Conductivity (http://www.hydroponics.com/howtoinfo/hydroponics%20articles/electrical_conductivity.html)

Hey loco......we don't usually provide outside links but in the case of your question I think it's necessary and the mods can remove it if they see fit. This should answer any questions.....Blue Lab gives good info and makes it easier to understand than some other folks (like me trying to tell you.....:D)

I use my meters at a 700 conversion so make sure you understand WHICH conversion your meter is when you use it.......and that the formula you are following is doing the same with it's instructions.

Did that make sense?

[Mr. Champ]

Thanks for the incredible write-up. I just ordered my TDS meter so I should be able to be a little more accurate with my nute schedule.

I was wondering how you added a specific PPM to your solution? I have a 25 gallon reservoir, so I add a set amount in tsp/gal. Would I mix the nute in a separate container to get the PPM before adding to the res?

Thanks for your help, and thanks again for the write-up!

[Weedhound]

Hi Mr Champ,

Good to hear you are gettng some meters.......sorry that I don't know the answer about your other meter. What brand are you getiing? Make sure you understand the difference between conversion at 500 as opposed to ec conversion at 700 and whichever conversion you are going to be working with.

Yes, I generally mix things up in a seperate bucket, ph everything last, and then add the solution to the regular res. I stick with pretty simple; add some then check the number, then add more. It's much easier than you think to overdo some nutes and ruin your wanted ratios.......I've had to stop and dump an incorrect mixture more than once. :D

[Prospector]

Thanks a bunch! I got one for 79.95 on Ebay.Mo betta than tap water,much more stable,etc. Prospector

[Mr. Champ]

Hi Mr Champ,

Good to hear you are gettng some meters.......sorry that I don't know the answer about your other meter. What brand are you getiing? Make sure you understand the difference between conversion at 500 as opposed to ec conversion at 700 and whichever conversion you are going to be working with.


I am not sure which conversion factor I will be working with. I had to take the cheap route till I can save up for a nicer meter. The one I found on ebay seems to be a knockoff of Hanna called HM Digital (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300289879289). Hopefully, it will be accurate enough to learn about my nutes and get the job done.

Does ppm matter when you are adding Liquid Karma, Sweet and Superthrive? These are the additives I have for this grow (which were purchased based on your schedule). Do you want to keep your ppm range after all nutes and additives are added or only after the nutes are added?

Thanks again!

[seesinthedark]

If your tap water stays stable with the ph it sounds like you are good to go. :thumbsup: Don't let that hydroton escape until it submits phwise...that stuff is a BEAR to keep stabilized.

I've only used the one drip system so cannot offer any pearls about different systems better/worse. Hopefully others will chime in about which ones they like and why. :)

Please, just get a R.O. unit, and have safe water,period.How long you guys been growing hydro? anyways!Peace and POT!:pimp:

[Dimpala]

Please, just get a R.O. unit, and have safe water,period.How long you guys been growing hydro? anyways!Peace and POT!:pimp:

ditto.

[Weedhound]

Or you can grow the way everyone else seems to think since they seem to have all the answers any way....which Im sure they'll help you payng for too if you can't afford it.

PS I dont at ALL aappreciate the dig seees in the dark dished out follwed by peace and good cheer crap.. One warning: dont do it again. Thank you.

[the image reaper]

I like the way you do things, Weedie ... just fine :thumbsup: ;)

[Weedhound]

I should specify: on MY thread I dont that kind of stuff..........and this IS my thread. Thankss IR ....;)

[sergentjunk]

WeedHound: I would have asked you if it was ok to do this before posting, but seeing as how there is not PM system in place here(and for good reason), I'm posting this anyway.

I took the liberty of taking the majority of your info from the grow guide and put it in an easy to read excel sheet. I am a new grower, growing in coco/perlite and came across your grow guide when I got into some trouble with a lady of mine. She wasn't doing so good, but seems to be doing a lot better since finding your guide and some other useful info.

Please let me know what you think...comments, questions, criticisms, bomb threats, etc... I really liked your info and just wanted something I can hang in my grow room for quick reference. It also has a couple rows to record runoff values for troubleshooting.

*junk

[JackdaWack]

I like the nutrient log, i always used botonicare products, nothing else! i have found that they tell you to add way more then your supposed to, this is very helpful!! I always had a hard time getting the quantity just right, im gonna use your log as a backbone and go from there, great!! I havnt been on here in a looooong time, looks like the place is kinda dead, but still finding the most useful stuff. Thanks!

Also what do you do about the sediment that builds up on the bottom of the res. also have you notice anything getting clogged? The liquid karma seemed to make it worse once i started using it. Other then changing the water once a week? and cleaning the lines? my drippers got clogges all the time i wound up just running them 24/7, i put a screen/pantyhose over the pump to keep it from sucking up solids.

[HydroLife]

Store bought 3% hydrogen peroxide



What does the Hydrogen peroxide do? When and where do you use it? Mixed into your res? foliar? Sorry if this is a dumb question :(

Thanks,
HL