yes, continue with the lower EC for a while, you can allways add more food to raise the EC, later on. others will be able to help you better then i can on that one. i grow in dirt with amendments,
don't panic, your in good hands. keep this post going as your grow thread, that way all the questions and answers are in the one place.
and theres no such thing as a stupid question, if your concerned about anything, just ask if you can't find the answer in the search engine.
what are you useing for ph up and ph down?