Buffering solution coco, and the following flush. Need input.

Hi.
I have read quite abit on this topic for the last week but people and articles say different things. Here is what I'm still confused about:


Should the solution be made of normal nutrients and a bit strong calmag, or just a very strong calmag?

I followed a guide who said to mix calmag only until u reach 1.2-2.0 EC, which ended up in 3x max recommended strength.



Flushing is for getting the ec down I get that, but guide didn't say if I should PH the water or not. I'm guessing yes so I don't fuck up the perfect adjusted pH from buffering, but im a noob and could be wrong?

I have to flush it until I get around 0.4 EC so bet I have to use slot of water.

I start by rinsing the coco when i get it a few times by soaking it and straining it.
I then add my nutrients into the coco water.
. cal mag at recommended dose and every thing else 1/2 dose or so (1tsp/gal?) which ends up around .5-1.0 EC I charge a little higher for established plants)
after letting this sit for an hour I adjust the ph. I wait another hour and get pH to 6.0. after pH looks stable I strain it and use it. I also use CANNA coco which people say you don't have to rinse charge and buffer, but I do it anyways.

I'm a little confused.
Are you talking about buffering your coco before you use it?

MickFoster said:

I'm a little confused.
Are you talking about buffering your coco before you use it?

Click to expand...

Yes

Nizza said:

I start by rinsing the coco when i get it a few times by soaking it and straining it.
I then add my nutrients into the coco water.
. cal mag at recommended dose and every thing else 1/2 dose or so (1tsp/gal?) which ends up around .5-1.0 EC I charge a little higher for established plants)
after letting this sit for an hour I adjust the ph. I wait another hour and get pH to 6.0. after pH looks stable I strain it and use it. I also use CANNA coco which people say you don't have to rinse charge and buffer, but I do it anyways.

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So me doing no other nutrients but a 3x max dosage for buffering is a major fuck up?

Doing a 3x max doage with calmag only*

Destroyer of chairs said:

So me doing no other nutrients but a 3x max dosage for buffering is a major fuck up?

Click to expand...

I don't know I haven't tried it. 1.2-2.0 EC of just cal-mag seems a little crazy lol I think it might be a bad fuck up
can you dump half the water out or something then pH it after?
I would do somewhere like 200-300 PPM of calmag I think, I usually just measure it I don't check the PPM till I add and mix everything.
I use GH trio to add nutrients for charging as well as cal-mag

Nizza said:

I don't know I haven't tried it. 1.2-2.0 EC of just cal-mag seems a little crazy lol I think it might be a bad fuck up
can you dump half the water out or something then pH it after?
I would do somewhere like 200-300 PPM of calmag I think, I usually just measure it I don't check the PPM till I add and mix everything.
I use GH trio to add nutrients for charging as well as cal-mag

Click to expand...

I also thought it seemed crazy high when I saw amount needed. Though in the video(and article) he said he only used 1.5 max recommended dosage to get that ppm(ec), which is why I'm confused.

What u mean dump it out and pH after? Like dump half and fill half with plain water ?

Destroyer of chairs said:

I also thought it seemed crazy high when I saw amount needed. Though in the video(and article) he said he only used 1.5 max recommended dosage to get that ppm(ec), which is why I'm confused.

What u mean dump it out and pH after? Like dump half and fill half with plain water ?

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Yeah that's what I'd do to not waste it... start by diluting it in half then try to drop ppm down to like 400 or so, then add some base nutrient to bring it back up to like 700 or 800 (500 scale)

what was the PPM of the coco water when you started?

From the article:

"Before adding seedlings or plants to your coco/perlite mix, you should always verify that the EC is in the appropriate range for their stage of growth. Since the buffering solution is high EC, you may need to rinse the coco with plain water prior to adding plants. Seedlings in particular are vulnerable to being burned by the residual EC in the coco remaining after the buffering process.

Fill the container you will be using with coco/perlite and add water slowly until you can collect run-off. Measure the EC of the first run-off water to leave the pot and confirm that it is in the appropriate range for seedlings (less than 400 or 0.4 EC) or vegetating plants (less than 1000 or 1.0 EC). If the EC is high, continue pouring plain water through the pot until run-off readings are in the appropriate range. After rinsing the EC down like this, it is a good practice to then fertigate (add water with fertilizers) at the appropriate EC prior to adding plants."

If I'm gonna follow this guide further, and flush the medium down to appropriate range and then adding nutrient solution with the correct ec and pH, I see no point in dilluting it?
Maybe it doesn't matter if I flush with plain water either then?

Nizza said:

what was the PPM of the coco water when you started?

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I didn't check.

I start with 0-50 PPM water with the coco in it after rinsing it... how did you rinse it?
I just take a bucket, fill half way with coco, then top off with RO water... now i stir it and wait a few hours... check PPM. strain and repeat until its clean.

after that fill bucket back up with half coco and water, and charge 200- 300 or so cal-mag and 300-700 ppm of base nutrient depending on how young the plant being transplanted is.

let that sit and adjust ph to 6... wait a few hours.. check ph re adjust to 6 and repeat until stable. Now strain it and it is good to go.

wash it, charge it, then buffer the PH

I rinsed it excessively with a DIY strainer and a hose using tapwater. My tap is 0.07ec.

Ur way seem so fast and efficient! The guide takes. If its needed so be it. But if not its just waste of time. Here is the link if u wanna have a look.

Destroyer of chairs said:

Hi.
I have read quite abit on this topic for the last week but people and articles say different things. Here is what I'm still confused about:


Should the solution be made of normal nutrients and a bit strong calmag, or just a very strong calmag?

I followed a guide who said to mix calmag only until u reach 1.2-2.0 EC, which ended up in 3x max recommended strength.



Flushing is for getting the ec down I get that, but guide didn't say if I should PH the water or not. I'm guessing yes so I don't fuck up the perfect adjusted pH from buffering, but im a noob and could be wrong?

I have to flush it until I get around 0.4 EC so bet I have to use slot of water.

Click to expand...

I run coco and have for the last 10-15 years.

Always PH the water to around 5.9-6.4 whether flushing or feeding.

For CALMAG. After you add your regular Coco nutrients add 25-30ml per 5 gal of water every feeding

Destroyer of chairs said:

I rinsed it excessively with a DIY strainer and a hose using tapwater. My tap is 0.07ec.

Ur way seem so fast and efficient! The guide takes. If its needed so be it. But if not its just waste of time. Here is the link if u wanna have a look.

Coco Coir Bricks - How to Prepare and Buffer Coco Coir - Coco For Cannabis

This tutorial covers the process of selecting, preparing & buffering coco coir. Includes perlite ratios & tips to make coco the best media for cannabis

www.cocoforcannabis.com

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lol my way takes quite a while ! But .07 EC tap water seems perfect.. The preparation for getting the coco ready takes a while and is labor intensive, but if you do it correctly it will be fine.

Since you probably washed it correctly, I would dilute it in half until the ppm rests around 300-400 (that would be basically just cal-mag)
add 300-700 PPM of base nutes
Then PH it. You will need to continually adjust PH until it stops moving. This is the potassium cation sites exchanging with the cal-mag and nutrients (maybe just nutrients) and the PH will drop.

Here is a good video about how the cation sites exchange http://www.cannagardening.com/videos/coco_and_buffering

PurpleGlurple said:

I run coco and have for the last 10-15 years.

Always PH the water to around 5.9-6.4 whether flushing or feeding.

For CALMAG. After you add your regular Coco nutrients add 25-30ml per 5 gal of water every feeding

Click to expand...

What about for buffering? Calmag only or normal nutrient + calmag?

How strong is 25-30ml per gal compared to ur product recommended dosage?

Nizza said:

lol my way takes quite a while ! But .07 EC tap water seems perfect.. The preparation for getting the coco ready takes a while and is labor intensive, but if you do it correctly it will be fine.

Since you probably washed it correctly, I would dilute it in half until the ppm rests around 300-400 (that would be basically just cal-mag)
add 300-700 PPM of base nutes
Then PH it. You will need to continually adjust PH until it stops moving. This is the potassium cation sites exchanging with the cal-mag and nutrients (maybe just nutrients) and the PH will drop.

Here is a good video about how the cation sites exchange http://www.cannagardening.com/videos/coco_and_buffering

Click to expand...

It have been sitting in the solution for a while so I might just do it on the next buffering(doing double to remove as much as possible of potassium and sodium).

Gonna use some of the medium for clones as well so not sure about making it too high EC in buffering stage. And I'm gonna flush it anyway so isn't that just more waste adding base mutes?

Gonna check out that link thx.

If I don't have coco nutrient(using hydro nutes), should I add full strength calmag to the base nutes? Was thinking doing 1/4 strength on base cause that's what my plants are used to. Gonna transplant in an hour or two. Mixing nutes atm.

Anyone? Last time I did full strength coco and 1/4 base nutes(hydro nutes made for soft water). They did get a tiny tiny burn on tips I think.
What is appropriate levels? Bit over a month old plant in veg.

This is my calmag composition

I just rehydrate bricked coco with 1/4 strength nutrients and call it a day. Coco's ready for planting. I don't measure EC or anything. I also never use calmag. The nitrogen source I use is calcium nitrate which provides all the calcium needed and the coco is already pre-buffered to begin with. Hydro nutrients are fine. I've never used coco specific nutrients.

Nizza said:

I don't know I haven't tried it. 1.2-2.0 EC of just cal-mag seems a little crazy lol I think it might be a bad fuck up
can you dump half the water out or something then pH it after?
I would do somewhere like 200-300 PPM of calmag I think, I usually just measure it I don't check the PPM till I add and mix everything.
I use GH trio to add nutrients for charging as well as cal-mag

Click to expand...

When quoting PPM you say which scale you are using, or much confusion and mistakes may be made!
500 scale, 640 scale or 700 scale

Blue Lab = 700 scale

Milwaukee = 500 scale

Hanna = 500 scale

Oakton = 700 scale

Eutech = 640 scale



Fertilizer companies also measure in different scales depending if they are US based or Europe based!

Manufacturer = Scale


Advanced Nutrients=700 scale

Botanicare=700 scale

CES/Cutting Edge Solutions=500 scale

Dutch Master=500 scale

Dyna-Gro=500 scale

FoxFarm=700 scale using dechlorinated tap water

General Hydroponics =500 scale using reverse osmosis water

General Organics =500 scale using reverse osmosis water

House & Garden =700 scale

Humboldt Nutrients=500 scale

Hydro Organics/Earth Juice =500 scale

Nectar for the Gods=700 scale

Rock Nutrients=700 scale

Roots Organics=500 scale

Rx Green Solutions=500 scale using distilled water

Soul=500 scale

Technaflora =500 scale