hi, burr! i've been using the jack's hydroponic special 5-12-26 with calcium nitrate for about a year and a half. the jack's part is everything but the calcium nitrate and both must be used together. it can be mixed by several different methods but the easiest is to mix by meter. the ratio for mixing this way is 1/.67. for example, i have a .5 meter and i want 600 ppm. i take any unknown quantity of water and add 360 ppm jack's first and stir until it goes into solution. then i add 240 ppm calcium nitrate to get 600 ppm total. 240/360 = .666. 750 ppm is 450 ppm jack's and 300 ppm calcium nitrate. again 300/450 = .666.
this is the most stable and predictable nutrient package i have ever used. it is designed for distilled and therefore reverse osmosis water and jrpeterslab suggest a water analysis only if you are not using ro. we have found that most tap water under about 100 ppm will work well with it as is. if your tap water is greater than that and you don't want to go to ro filtering you can send them a water sample along with 35$ and they will give you precise mixing instructions for your water.
this product used this way is so ph stable that you will not use your meter after you get used to it. you will not need ph adjusters.
mixed as i have described above you get 150-52-215, which is approx the 3-1-4 ratio everyone is talking about now. it grows the hell out of weed.
i use no additives such as bloom boosters and feed at a continuous 600 ppm for life. i am growing large, healthy, high yielding plants with no displays of any problems.
you will not need cal-mag products either. magnesium in the base formula is over 6%.
well, good luck and i hope this info helps you, later.