Athena Pro Help

joe how

Active Member
Hi,

I recently switched from GH to Athena Pro line and have a question about target EC. My target EC is 2.0 in Veg and 2.7 in Flower (following the heavy feed chart). I converted the powder nutrients to liquid using 25lbs of nutrients to 25 gallons of water. I was very very careful with this step. I measured the water very precisely , used a aquarium heater to increase water temp to 90 degrees and used a aeromixer to mix everything.

I'm following the Athena guide to using Pro line as a liquid nutrient and for a 2.7 EC you need 33.3ml of Core and 55.9ml of Bloom. The individual EC chart states that for a 2.7 EC target, the Core should put you at 1.08 EC and the Bloom adds another 1.62 which is the 2.7 EC.
Now here's my issue, when i add the Core the EC is 1.10 which is on target but when i add the Bloom its only reaching 2.3 EC. So the Bloom is only increasing the EC by 1.20 EC and NOT the 1.62 like it should.

To get the EC to 2.7 I am adding approx. 50% more Bloom! For my 50 gallon res I should be using 2,795ml of Bloom but im having to add another 1350ml of Bloom to get to my target of 2.7 EC.

The Athena support rep i spoke with said its possible I had more than 25 gallons of water in tank i used to convert the nutrient from salt to liquid which I don't think is true since i filled the tank myself and was very careful to get it exact but assuming I was off by a few gallons, that shouldn't equal a 50% increase in nutrients needed.
Note: I used 3 Blue Guardian PPM/PH meters to confirm the PPM when testing the above.
My questions are,
  1. Can a few gallons really throw off the concentration by 50%?
  2. According to the Athena rep, as long as I hit my target EC's I will be fine from the standpoint that my plants are getting the correct EC with the correct rations of nutrients. Is this true?
  3. Has anyone else had a similar issue using Athena?
Thanks!!
 

2com

Well-Known Member
.......
  1. Can a few gallons really throw off the concentration by 50%?
  2. According to the Athena rep, as long as I hit my target EC's I will be fine from the standpoint that my plants are getting the correct EC with the correct rations of nutrients. Is this true?
  3. Has anyone else had a similar issue using Athena?
Thanks!!
IMO.

1. I duno about 50%, but yea. How did you measure the water volume? You starting with RO? Did I miss that?
2 You would think so, yea. But the fact you're having to add a different amount than what's stated doesn't inspire confidence, I understnad.
3. I've never used it. But from what I've heard of those using it (only 2 or 3 gardeners I've even heard of), they're all pushing their plants to quite high EC numbers.

Edit: Sorry I couldn't help more.
I know some people mix their solutions by EC. So that makes sense.

Maybe you could measure out separate gallon containers of water as precisely and accurately as possible, and meaure out "x" dose of both parts (or however many parts there) - like a dose from the chart with a related ec, or ask Athena for one, and see if you get the correct corresponding ec value for that dosage.
 
Last edited:

jondamon

Well-Known Member
On that chart I would be following the “light” schedule.

My nutrient manufacturer recommends as high as 2.6-2.8 during flowering for coco/hydro

This hasn’t exceeded 1.2
9AB3E299-83D8-4EBF-96EB-31EA6E3992C1.jpeg7B06C724-19E3-4165-AEC6-16EDCD6EC88A.jpeg


Now if you’re growing environment is PERFECT! That’s another story.

most of these places are quoting high EC feeding schedules based on PERFECT environmental factors.

There a things which will effect the strength of nutrients you should use.

The 2 biggest factors to consider are
PLANT SIZE
ENVIRONENT.

If your environment is less than perfect you’ll need To reduce Nutrient strength accordingly.

if your plants are small then you cant ram them with 2.7 like you could a 5-7ft tall plant if yours are only 2ft tall.
 

jondamon

Well-Known Member
Yes. Exactly.
VPD (and "environment" as a whole) plays a huge part, and dictates the strength of fertilizer that can be used.
Sorry I wasn’t specifically aiming that response directly to you. Lol.

just for info more than anything incase anyone else comes on here looking.
:bigjoint:
 

psychadelibud

Well-Known Member
On that chart I would be following the “light” schedule.

My nutrient manufacturer recommends as high as 2.6-2.8 during flowering for coco/hydro

This hasn’t exceeded 1.2
View attachment 4955282View attachment 4955283


Now if you’re growing environment is PERFECT! That’s another story.

most of these places are quoting high EC feeding schedules based on PERFECT environmental factors.

There a things which will effect the strength of nutrients you should use.

The 2 biggest factors to consider are
PLANT SIZE
ENVIRONENT.

If your environment is less than perfect you’ll need To reduce Nutrient strength accordingly.

if your plants are small then you cant ram them with 2.7 like you could a 5-7ft tall plant if yours are only 2ft tall.
What nutrients are you using and what strain is that?? Looks killer!
 

MisterKister

Well-Known Member
I recently switched th athena pro and they currently recommend 3.0 ec. My plants are loving it no burnt tips nothing but lush green growth.
 

psychadelibud

Well-Known Member
Dutch pro hydro coco grow and bloom
Plant magic MagneCal
Magnesium sulphate
MKP

strain was Dinafem White Siberian.
Nice! Its a shame Dinafem has went down. I had been planning on ordering a couple different strains from them that had been on my radar for a while. Looks like that won't be happening anytime soon. They were some of the greatest non US breeders and their gear never failed. Maybe eventually they will come back together but at that point I would be wondering about the genetics due to loss of mothers/males.

Never used Dutch Pro. Been thinking about switching to Athena after this run, which is what brought me to this thread.
 

James666420

Active Member
I recently switched th athena pro and they currently recommend 3.0 ec. My plants are loving it no burnt tips nothing but lush green growth.
i use athena pro too, my plant healthy at 3.0EC with som Additives (sweater, calmag, liqudkarma), In the next few weeks I will try combining athena with A/N Big bud and H&G shotting powder at late bloom
 
i use athena pro too, my plant healthy at 3.0EC with som Additives (sweater, calmag, liqudkarma), In the next few weeks I will try combining athena with A/N Big bud and H&G shotting powder at late bloom
Sorry i know this post is older but can i ask how did the AN big bud work with the pro line? Im starting athena pro line this run and im used to so many different addititives (some good, some just unicorn piss) but either way i was wondering what adds would work good on top of the pro line?
 
Top