a few questions about reservoir nute solutions

simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
i've been growing a few years... just recently switched from soil to hydro...

i had a couple questions regarding nutes in an ebb and flow setup...

1) is it a good idea to ph the water prior to adding nutes, and then again after adding nutes or will once ph adjusting in the end be ok??

2) if your water is not ph'd correctly can it cause your nutes to solidify into salts and settle at the bottom of your res while mixing?? im not sure the techincal term, if there is one for it, but i'm sure you know what i mean.. basically like locking them out... and im not talking about the incorrect ph after the nutes are added.. im talking prior to adding the nutes... and then them solidifying when you add them to the res...

3) and lastly, is it best to wait until you fill you res before adding nutes? or can is it ok to add them as you fill?? while i fill my besides having the filtered water spraying into the res i have my water chiller pumping water through it as well as an aerator...

i usually add my nutes in during the fill.. i do make sure each nute has time to circulate before adding the next nute.. but i am wondering now if its better to wait until i have all the reservoir full of water, ph the water, and then add my nutes. and the ph adjst again...
 
SliverMeMembers

SliverMeMembers

Active Member
Hello, hope this helps...

1) is it a good idea to ph the water prior to adding nutes, and then again after adding nutes or will once ph adjusting in the end be ok??

A: All that matters is the final pH. You can adjust pH before you add nutrients. Nutes generally lower pH, but if you’re just topping off, it won’t make that much difference. If you are starting with fresh water, you’ll have to add a lot of nutrients, which can lower the pH, so in general, adjust the ppm levels of fertilizer first, then adjust pH. Note: pH is a moving target, it will likely move up or down everyday. There is no secret pH level, for hydro just keep it between 5.7 and 5.9 for veg, 5.6 to 5.8 for flower. This is my recipe, other growers may have a different range they like. Very strain-dependant.

2) if your water is not ph'd correctly can it cause your nutes to solidify into salts and settle at the bottom of your res while mixing?? im not sure the techincal term, if there is one for it, but i'm sure you know what i mean.. basically like locking them out... and im not talking about the incorrect ph after the nutes are added.. im talking prior to adding the nutes... and then them solidifying when you add them to the res...

A: Not really. You’ll notice a build-up of salts eventually no matter what. When salts get too built up, they can create a lockout. When salts are visible, just flush out with clean water or use a flushing agent.

3) and lastly, is it best to wait until you fill you res before adding nutes? or can is it ok to add them as you fill?? while i fill my besides having the filtered water spraying into the res i have my water chiller pumping water through it as well as an aerator...

A: It doesn’t matter. The only reason someone might suggest that is if your pump came on while you have a very strong (non-diluted) solution. Just make sure your pump doesn’t come on, sequnces of how you get there are irrelavent. Note: Be careful how strong you mix your nutes. I use the Lucas formula, it’s a great starting place. Individual strains may end up liking stronger or weaker solutions, higher or lower pH. The Lucas formula is a “catch-all” formula that works for pretty much everything, optimized for none. If you don’t know what the Lucas formula is, search the forum, there’s lots of info on it already.
 
simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
SliverMeMembers said:
Hello, hope this helps...

1) is it a good idea to ph the water prior to adding nutes, and then again after adding nutes or will once ph adjusting in the end be ok??

A: All that matters is the final pH. You can adjust pH before you add nutrients. Nutes generally lower pH, but if you’re just topping off, it won’t make that much difference. If you are starting with fresh water, you’ll have to add a lot of nutrients, which can lower the pH, so in general, adjust the ppm levels of fertilizer first, then adjust pH. Note: pH is a moving target, it will likely move up or down everyday. There is no secret pH level, for hydro just keep it between 5.7 and 5.9 for veg, 5.6 to 5.8 for flower. This is my recipe, other growers may have a different range they like. Very strain-dependant.

2) if your water is not ph'd correctly can it cause your nutes to solidify into salts and settle at the bottom of your res while mixing?? im not sure the techincal term, if there is one for it, but i'm sure you know what i mean.. basically like locking them out... and im not talking about the incorrect ph after the nutes are added.. im talking prior to adding the nutes... and then them solidifying when you add them to the res...

A: Not really. You’ll notice a build-up of salts eventually no matter what. When salts get too built up, they can create a lockout. When salts are visible, just flush out with clean water or use a flushing agent.

3) and lastly, is it best to wait until you fill you res before adding nutes? or can is it ok to add them as you fill?? while i fill my besides having the filtered water spraying into the res i have my water chiller pumping water through it as well as an aerator...

A: It doesn’t matter. The only reason someone might suggest that is if your pump came on while you have a very strong (non-diluted) solution. Just make sure your pump doesn’t come on, sequnces of how you get there are irrelavent. Note: Be careful how strong you mix your nutes. I use the Lucas formula, it’s a great starting place. Individual strains may end up liking stronger or weaker solutions, higher or lower pH. The Lucas formula is a “catch-all” formula that works for pretty much everything, optimized for none. If you don’t know what the Lucas formula is, search the forum, there’s lots of info on it already.
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thanks bro.. sort of what i thought.. but wasnt sure..

i had read a few things here and there.. and it made me think that if your ph wasnt correct prior to adding nutes that the nutes could "bond" and create salts that equal sediment, which made little sense to me... so i wasnt so worried to much about that..

i was more worried about the mixing of the nutes... again i read a few things that alluded to something like if the nutes were mixed incorrectly then it could cause "lock out" issues.. basically it's along the lines of this, if using a 3 part system if the micro/boost part isnt added first and mixed thoroughly with the water before adding the grow or bloom part it can cause the same thing as above... the nutes can combine and bond, forming solid salts that settle in the bottom of the res... i have always added the micro part first.. i just always didnt wait until it was mixed as well as i should..

im just going to thoroughly mix the nutes before adding different nutes... better safe than sorry.. ill be able to compare salt build ups between changes using different mixing techniques to see which seems to work best...
 
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