Best answer enjoyed reading thisAlways add silica first then get out the pH down as unbuffered silica can push it up to 10. Just get it down around 7 then add the rest of your nutes starting with Micro if you are using a 3-part nutes. Then check the pH and adjust as needed.
I use silica starting around 2 weeks but only at half or less dose. Then stop using it after the stretch as there will be lots for the plant left in the soil and they don't need it so much once the stems are all grown and strong. Tends to make the leaves and the buds thicker so you get more plant material IMO. If it's weight your after then that's a good thing.
For DWC I never add things like enzymes, folics and for sure nothing bio-active like hydroguard etc.
For DWC I never add things like enzymes, folics and for sure nothing bio-active like hydroguard etc.
I've been active on many forums since '09 and my main focus has been helping nOObs get a grow to a happy end. I live way up north in Alberta and can't afford to go hang out at the various protests etc or donate money to various causes. I still volunteer my time to be Admin on one of the first pot forums ever started from a Vancouver cannabis culture base. Not for the owners but for the members. I'm still amazed every time the forums load when I log on but as they are part of a larger organization they keep chugging along. If I quit it'll be buried in spam in a week.
Your plan on how to mix nutes is basically fine and for those that like to use the other things I don't use it should work great.
Sure. Good to meet you too I guess.
Good read lolSure. Good to meet you too I guess.
I never knew AN had a forum. I met Big Mike in a bar in Abbotsford, BC when he was putting AN on the market and we discussed a few pot growing subjects while playing 8-ball but nothing of substance really and I never saw him again. At that time his vision was much like mine. Learn and share, Learn and get rich seems to have worked for him and I wish I'd bought shares in AN back then but I'd met I'd met Bill Gates at a lecture at UBC years earlier and never tweaked on Micro$oft either.
I rarely ask questions about grow problems because I have so few after decades of growing my own. If I won the lotto tomorrow I'd likely give up growing to pursue other desires like flying around the world seeking the ultimate fly fishing experience in my Lear jet.
My main focus now is developing effective CBD strains to help me and my growing circle of like-minded friends. Still cranking out some stoner strains to offer for top dollar but giving away cheap most of my medicinals to those truly in need. Got no money but like blood donations it cost me little or nothing to share with others.
I'm getting to be an old fart but I never stop learning and altering my point of view to take in new info.
Like wtf is up with Trump and why does anyone think he's a good president!
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CC forums was where I was back in 08/09 when I did my first grow and have been to busy in life to commit to growing my own. As I started up in the last couple months I went to CC but found the place was pretty much dead except the few very old timers. They said that since Marc got out of prison the forums went dead at that time.For DWC I never add things like enzymes, folics and for sure nothing bio-active like hydroguard etc.
For sure silica should be the first thing added to your water. With most the pH goes up so high that it can cause precipitation of many of the salts in the nutes added after.. The reason I say to pH down to around 7 is that the nutes to follow will have some buffers that work well in PH 5-8 but get overwhelmed with something like 10pH that cheaper types of potassium silicate can raise the water to. I have a bottle of that stuff that I will use if I run out of Rhino but will make sure to pH down before nuting.
For 3-part nutes it's recommended that Micro goes in first but after that the order doesn't really matter. I have my airstones going and just measure out what I want and toss in. The flow created by the stones will mix everything up fine.
Using Rhino Skin from AN for my silicate I've found that the pH only goes up to about 8.4 in RO water but after adding the rest of the nutes it drops down to around 5.8 which is where the pH Perfect nutes seem to like to sit for me. I've also noticed that my pH pen doesn't seem to read properly with the pH Perfect nutes like something in them does not compute. When I mixed up a test batch of H.O.G. nutes that are almost identical to GH 3-part they read fine even when dripping in some pH up or down so I know it's not the pen. (I have a diploma in chemistry and often inform people how to properly feed and care for their pH and other gear.)
I've been active on many forums since '09 and my main focus has been helping nOObs get a grow to a happy end. I live way up north in Alberta and can't afford to go hang out at the various protests etc or donate money to various causes. I still volunteer my time to be Admin on one of the first pot forums ever started from a Vancouver cannabis culture base. Not for the owners but for the members. I'm still amazed every time the forums load when I log on but as they are part of a larger organization they keep chugging along. If I quit it'll be buried in spam in a week.
Your plan on how to mix nutes is basically fine and for those that like to use the other things I don't use it should work great.
You should always wait to adjust your ph until after you've added everything else.Always add silica first then get out the pH down as unbuffered silica can push it up to 10. Just get it down around 7 then add the rest of your nutes starting with Micro if you are using a 3-part nutes. Then check the pH and adjust as needed.
I use silica starting around 2 weeks but only at half or less dose. Then stop using it after the stretch as there will be lots for the plant left in the soil and they don't need it so much once the stems are all grown and strong. Tends to make the leaves and the buds thicker so you get more plant material IMO. If it's weight your after then that's a good thing.
When using silica you want to bring down a pH that can be as high as 10 before adding nutes as it can cause precipitation of some of the salts at that high a pH.
Most of my other nutrients are completely organic and made with a very low ph to prolong their shelf life so I don't worry so much about the ph getting to high by adding silica after.
They were dying before that thanks to a mod who thought he was god and bullied everyone especially nOObs. I joined there in Feb. 09 but wandered off for a few years with very few posts then went back full time and raised hell with him in the Shout Box. He eventually got banned and I've been Admin there for a couple years now after being mod for a couple before that. Different nym there tho.
I couldn't find any of my posts from 2007-2009, I had to re-create an account. Like they lost a bunch of data...They were dying before that thanks to a mod who thought he was god and bullied everyone especially nOObs. I joined there in Feb. 09 but wandered off for a few years with very few posts then went back full time and raised hell with him in the Shout Box. He eventually got banned and I've been Admin there for a couple years now after being mod for a couple before that. Different nym there tho.
Marc showed up one time after getting out of prison vowing to be back more often but never saw him on again. Now that him and Jodie are court-ordered to not be involved in any business connected with CC I'm amazed the forums are still up.
It's a small but happy crew there with very few spammers or conflicts to deal with.
It's been archived and you can still find all the older posts with a Google search of the site. They did a major upgrade a few years back when Karlis was still the webmaster and I'm not sure why but all the older stuff prior to '09 was tucked away. Now there's a woman that does websites taking care of it on a pay-as-you-go kind of basis.
If you use pH up, with Potassium Silcate and a Ca source.....Your dead wrong!
Is this not what everyone is saying? Si > CaMg+ > Check PH > Nutes > Adjust Ph > Wait 30 min > Check and Adjust PH.