Coco and calmag?

My tap water is 110ppm 7.3ph, i let it stand for 2-3 days before use and i hand water 2 plants in coco/perlite mix with canna coco full line nutes.

My question is: Do i need to add calmag to every feed/water or would adding it once a week be enough?

I have read where a good rule to grow by is take tap water up to around 240-250ppm with the cal-mag and consider that your baseline. Mine is near that as well, but my ph is always at or above 7.5 I now add about 30ml to 18 gallons every week and then start adding nutes, seems to be the magic number for my res.

I also use water clear tablets to eliminate the chlorine/chloramine that is in the tap water as well and that adds a few ppm to the mix.

Peace and Great Grows

Asmallvoice

ASMALLVOICE said:

I have read where a good rule to grow by is take tap water up to around 240-250ppm with the cal-mag and consider that your baseline.

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So i add calmag to everything i give to the plant, if i'm just giving water then add the calmag till it gets to 250ppm?
Luckily we don't have chloramine here just chlorine so it gasses off after a couple of days

Im in the uk to, and my EC is at 105 ppm. just about to give coco a go, so will add sum cal-mag, which brand are u thinking of geting reddiamond?
the only one i see forsell here is "Plant Magic Magne-Cal+" but its not cheap at £10 for a 500ml's

I already have calmag and used it in every watering on my 1st grow but i was thinking this time to maybe give it once a week and see how they cope with that. I actually have that same one, Plant Magic Magne-Cal+ as thats what the hydro shop recommended when i bought my coco bricks.

Allways adjust your water to 250/300 with every watering....

Thanks i will from now on

reddiamond said:

I already have calmag and used it in every watering on my 1st grow but i was thinking this time to maybe give it once a week and see how they cope with that. I actually have that same one, Plant Magic Magne-Cal+ as thats what the hydro shop recommended when i bought my coco bricks.

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Have you used coco before? Some bricks require soaking in a ph solution prior to use, it should state it on the bale somewhere. As for the calcium question...watch your girls they will show you when and if they need more. Some strains are hogs and some do just fine without additives. Have it there for sure and use it if you have too. If you have had issues with the strain then I would continue use, maybe try half strength is anything. JAS

JonnyAppleSeed420 said:

Have you used coco before? Some bricks require soaking in a ph solution prior to use, it should state it on the bale somewhere. As for the calcium question...watch your girls they will show you when and if they need more. Some strains are hogs and some do just fine without additives. Have it there for sure and use it if you have too. If you have had issues with the strain then I would continue use, maybe try half strength is anything. JAS

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No instructions with my coco bricks so i soak it with ph5.8 and calmag added for 24hrs just in case then drain it and use it
My 1st grow i didn't add calmag and veg was fine but in the first week of flowering i saw a deficiency so i used it every time from then on until the last week when it just got ph'd water.

That's about the right timeline. Usually the last week of veg and the first three weeks of flower is where you will need it the most. Coco will have no nutrients so you will need to add nutrients as well as calmag when you soak. Good Luck JAS

JonnyAppleSeed420 said:

That's about the right timeline. Usually the last week of veg and the first three weeks of flower is where you will need it the most. Coco will have no nutrients so you will need to add nutrients as well as calmag when you soak. Good Luck JAS

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Thanks for the heads up, i'll def give it every time i feed in 1st 3 weeks of flower
Yeah sorry that should have been "soak it with ph5.8 1/4 strength nutes and calmag added for 24hrs"

As for the Cal-Mag, one of its functions is to buffer the solution.....to keep the ph steadier. With coco it is a good idea to use it as part of your formula on any strain. Coco needs to have copius amounts of the product within the nutrient solution....it does not use it all. Adequate drainage and periodic "flushing" keep it from toxicity and aggressive dosages work well for RO users.

burgertime2010 said:

As for the Cal-Mag, one of its functions is to buffer the solution.....to keep the ph steadier. With coco it is a good idea to use it as part of your formula on any strain. Coco needs to have copius amounts of the product within the nutrient solution....it does not use it all. Adequate drainage and periodic "flushing" keep it from toxicity and aggressive dosages work well for RO users.

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I'm using tap water that is around 110ppm, my calmag+ ( also contains nitrogen) says to use it at 1 to 2ml per litre but to bring my tap water to 250ppm i only need 0.5ml per litre.
Should i add it at 1ml and use less base nutes to make up my feeding ppm or leave it at .5ml?

There are some in the base nutes, and that should more than make up for the baseline of 250ppm. I only have to add about 15ml to 5 gallons to get close to 250 and then I add my nutes. I never go full strength on anything, but I will go 85% from the last week of veg till the 6th week of flower.( about 7 weeks or so). I do recommend finding out if your water company uses chlorine or chloramine. If you can't, I would recommend a chlorine/chloramine remover and use it before you use the water for the plants. My base ppm is 170-180 and after I add the chlorine remover, it goes up to 200-210ppm.

The difference in the smell of the water is night and day when I use the treatment. Chlorine tends to be tough on most root microorganisms, so the products that work on or in the root zone will be better off if you make sure it is gone. Chlorine also makes plants brittle, they will look fine, but will lose a lot of there elasticity in the cell walls from what I have read and observed in my first grow. I let my water set for at least 4 days, then add the treatment and aerate it for a couple of hours before I add nutes.

Hope this helps.

Peace and Great Grows

Asmallvoice

ASV makes a good point about chloramine/chlorine. The best results with tap water and adding cal mag depend upon the base because they too will add C,Mg,Fe,S,Zn etc. Strains' prefer varying levels of all elements and OG varieties seem to have a healthy appetite for minerals. I tend to avoid full strength application of any products after my RO broke. I have been able to foliar spray cal-mag with good results and cost effectiveness. Honestly, a serious solution would be to use RO water and more cal-mag. I prefer to know my water is just water and it gives me a better sense of what is going on. Good luck.

We only have chlorine here no chloramine thankfully so as long as i let it stand its fine
Ro is not an option for me so its tap water all the way. Just for kicks i added magnecal+ at the full strength of 2ml per litre to some of my 110ppm tap water and it settled at 720ppm lol, i don't think i'll be using it at that level

ASMALLVOICE said:

There are some in the base nutes, and that should more than make up for the baseline of 250ppm.

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I did try that but still got signs of a mag def so i'll have to aim for 300-350 and see how that works out.

Here is the problem. Tap water comes out at 200 ppm of dissolved solids. Not specifically cal-mag and not at the proper ratio. 3:1 cal:mag is about right, however most of that remains guesswork out of a tap. So, what happens is not a deficiency of magnesium rather a poor ability to metabolize it. Too much calcium, N, P, etc can inhibit the plant to use it. Basically, when a deficiency is noticed the urge is to add more of that and ignore the catalyst of this problem. It gets complicated but maintaining proper ph and nutrient ratios is the next step. It is a circle of dependence, every function of every element is dependent upon the proper amount of its catalyst.