Reverse Osmosis Water CalMag Amendment - How Much?

Underground Scientist

Underground Scientist

Well-Known Member
Just trying to make sure I'm doing this right. I'm not sure if I've been overly wary of feeding my plants in soilless, but when they are young I try to stay 2-300 ppms total. Then I build into 500 or so in mid veg. The thing is, and I realize going off the bottle is not always recommended but lets take the CaliMagic I have by GH. It says 1 tsp per gallon before adding nutes. This stuff adds 100 ppm per mL! Thats 500ppm of just CalMag. What my gut tells me is like 1 mL of calmag and 1 mL each of Micro, Grow, and Bloom. That's about a 300 ppm mix. That's a basic mix and I can dilute it down with water if I'm doing the first feeding it gets.

Does this make sense, and keep my formula in that ratio, 1ml cal mag per 3ml of base nutes?

If I do a plain watering, would I just add 1 ml of calmag?
 
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Underground Scientist

Underground Scientist

Well-Known Member
This is the lineup of what I'm trying to use for Vegetative Growth. I might not need the Advanced Microbes since there are Rhizos in the Sunshine, but I recently switched to the Sunshine from Promix. Maybe just ditch the Pirhana and keep the Voodoo.IMG_20170401_124025035.jpg
 
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Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
10 ml first watering just to get a heavy dose to the medium than afterwards between 2-5 mL per watering you can start off at 2 per watering and if you see any signs of calmag deficiency bump it up to 5ml per watering. 5 is usually a sweet spot IME
 
Underground Scientist

Underground Scientist

Well-Known Member
Kronickeeper said:
10 ml first watering just to get a heavy dose to the medium than afterwards between 2-5 mL per watering you can start off at 2 per watering and if you see any signs of calmag deficiency bump it up to 5ml per watering. 5 is usually a sweet spot IME
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Are you using CaliMagic or some other supplement?
 
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Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
Underground Scientist said:
What kind of ppms are you running say late seedling, early veg
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Tbh I haven't checked ppms in a couple years Ive been using the same nutrient line for about 4 years now so I stick to the same formula and don't have any issues with deficiencies or nutrient lock out. if I were to switch nutrient lines I would definitely go back to checking ppms though.
 
Underground Scientist

Underground Scientist

Well-Known Member
Kronickeeper said:
Tbh I haven't checked ppms in a couple years Ive been using the same nutrient line for about 4 years now so I stick to the same formula and don't have any issues with deficiencies or nutrient lock out. if I were to switch nutrient lines I would definitely go back to checking ppms though.
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Right, makes sense that once its dialed in its a no brainer. I've been struggling a bit and it's driving me nuts. Two in a set born two weeks ago, about 4-5 nodes, the lowest true leaves a little yellow with some necrotic peppering. That looks like calcium. Overall, the leaves look a little lime green. One has the cotyledons yellowed. Maybe a little light on the nitrogen? I was just watering with plain RO in week 1 after it emerged, then next was a 100 ppm with cal mag, then 3ml base and 1 ml calmag. The nute mix with base nutes was just given now after 2 weeks. I've been maybe too cautious about burning them. Lots of conflicting info out there. Lot of trial and error and it's frustrating.
 
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Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
You have pictures? Yea def a lot of conflicting info. The seed leaves will yellow and die after you have 4 to 6 nodes of true leaves. You don't need much nutrients at all when their seedlings calmag won't hurt them. If they look to light green bump of the grow nutrients a little bit and see how they respond it's better to have to bump it up than to over feed.
 
Underground Scientist

Underground Scientist

Well-Known Member
Kronickeeper said:
You have pictures? Yea def a lot of conflicting info. The seed leaves will yellow and die after you have 4 to 6 nodes of true leaves. You don't need much nutrients at all when their seedlings calmag won't hurt them. If they look to light green bump of the grow nutrients a little bit and see how they respond it's better to have to bump it up than to over feed.
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I've got a little leaf twisting. I just fed it 300 ppm recently, so I'm hoping it keeps coming around. It was lime green at 1 week old. I'm fearing it's cal mag deficiency is accelerating because the next leaf set emerging from the top has some purple on them. The stem is purple, but that might be the Blueberry trait in this SkunkBerry.
IMG_20170401_163102607.jpg
 
sanjuan

sanjuan

Well-Known Member
If you feed your youngsters straight RO in an inert medium, I'd say you're off to a bad start. I've never used that bag mix, though.
I've had similar frustrations using mapito (rockwool and foam). I'm using tap water but need additional magnesium so as an example, I add 1g epsom salts (MgSO4) per gallon of nute solution which increases the EC by 0.1mS (50ppm using 0.5 conversion factor).

Now that I see the pic, I vote Mg deficiency. I assume your bag mix is pre-treated for the coco CEC (cation exchange capacity).
 
Underground Scientist

Underground Scientist

Well-Known Member
sanjuan said:
If you feed your youngsters straight RO in an inert medium, I'd say you're off to a bad start. I've never used that bag mix, though.
I've had similar frustrations using mapito (rockwool and foam). I'm using tap water but need additional magnesium so as an example, I add 1g epsom salts (MgSO4) per gallon of nute solution which increases the EC by 0.1mS (50ppm using 0.5 conversion factor).

Now that I see the pic, I vote Mg deficiency. I assume your bag mix is pre-treated for the coco CEC (cation exchange capacity).
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This is actually promix, but I'm moving everything to Sunshine now, transplants, everything. Sunshine is a peat coco mix.
 
Underground Scientist

Underground Scientist

Well-Known Member
sanjuan said:
Not in my experience. High pH causes lateral turning while nitrogen toxicity causes tip droop (claw).
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That's what I was afraid of and why I'm switching soil. I swear the promix was too rich in lime. Feeding 5.8. My 1 gallons were laterally twisting too. Just transplanted those into 3.5 gal sunshine.
 
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Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
A
Underground Scientist said:
This is actually promix, but I'm moving everything to Sunshine now, transplants, everything. Sunshine is a peat coco mix.
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I wouldn't panic, but I would up the calmag and hit it with quarter strength from what the label of your veg nutes says. And than go from there. When you transplant on that first watering give it like 8 ml of calmag than just to saturate the medium.
 
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