Watering question

I have a zero water filter that i use for my humidifier in my soil grow (ffof) and decided to water my plants with the same water. So my tds starts between 000 and 006 after adding 5 ml cal mag(2,0,0), base A(1,4,2), and Base B(4,0,1) my tds is usually in the mid 200's, after using Ph up to get it around 6.3
I also have a powder fertilizer with an npk of 20,10,15. Im wondering if i can use this fertilizer on my plants or if itd just cause nute burn, and also what is an acceptable tds for plants being watered with filtered water. Ive read anything around 1000 is acceptable, but is that still the case if its nothing but nutrients comprising the dissolved solids?

Exstoner said:

I have a zero water filter that i use for my humidifier in my soil grow (ffof) and decided to water my plants with the same water. So my tds starts between 000 and 006 after adding 5 ml cal mag(2,0,0), base A(1,4,2), and Base B(4,0,1) my tds is usually in the mid 200's, after using Ph up to get it around 6.3
I also have a powder fertilizer with an npk of 20,10,15. Im wondering if i can use this fertilizer on my plants or if itd just cause nute burn, and also what is an acceptable tds for plants being watered with filtered water. Ive read anything around 1000 is acceptable, but is that still the case if its nothing but nutrients comprising the dissolved solids?

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You don't need anything other than the base nutrients. Feed level with be dependent on the nutrient line. The manufacturer should have a suggested mixing and feeding schedule. It's best to follow that at a reduced level. The feeding level will vary based on the stage of life the plant is at.

I wouldn't use the powdered 20-10-15 fertilizer.

No need to post the same exact question in two different sections. I already replied to your other post.

what stage of growth are you? What soil. 6.3??? Is that coco? 6.3 is a little low for soil Not bad but low. 6.5 Would be safer. 200 ppm is pretty weak 0.4EC, unless they are very young Or your going on a continual feed program. How strong and how often to fertilize is really dependent on the environment. Temp, Rh and light. Light is usually the limiting factor. 1000 ppm is pretty stiff. That equates to 2.0 EC. You can run it to problems once you get in the 2s. If you are in veg and you have good lighting you could probably go to 5-600

twentyeight.threefive said:

No need to post the same exact question in two different sections. I already replied to your other post.

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If you look at the time stamps i made both posts before you replied.

Merlin1147 said:

what stage of growth are you? What soil. 6.3??? Is that coco? 6.3 is a little low for soil Not bad but low. 6.5 Would be safer. 200 ppm is pretty weak 0.4EC, unless they are very young Or your going on a continual feed program. How strong and how often to fertilize is really dependent on the environment. Temp, Rh and light. Light is usually the limiting factor. 1000 ppm is pretty stiff. That equates to 2.0 EC. You can run it to problems once you get in the 2s. If you are in veg and you have good lighting you could probably go to 5-600

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Im in veg, my plants were 28 days when i made this post, and i figured that 200 was low but was wondering if i could get away with a feed of the 20,10,15 or should just double the dose of base nutrients, as ive been giving 5ml but the label says up to 9 can be used per gallon. Ive seen people post about using broad spectrums, but never discuss what their ppm/ec was at feeding.
And right now my plants are in ffof under 245 led watts, plan on upping this to 490 for flower.
Temps stay in the mid 80's to low 70's and humidity ranges 50-60%

Adding dry while feeding though the nute water is a recipe of disaster, or has been my experience so far. No way to correct. Maybe a specific one item dry top dressing to address a specific problem. But almost anything can be got in a water soluble form.

Exstoner said:

If you look at the time stamps i made both posts before you replied.
Im in veg, my plants were 28 days when i made this post, and i figured that 200 was low but was wondering if i could get away with a feed of the 20,10,15 or should just double the dose of base nutrients, as ive been giving 5ml but the label says up to 9 can be used per gallon. Ive seen people post about using broad spectrums, but never discuss what their ppm/ec was at feeding.
And right now my plants are in ffof under 245 led watts, plan on upping this to 490 for flower.
Temps stay in the mid 80's to low 70's and humidity ranges 50-60%

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That 20 nitrogen is okay in veg but I'd avoid it in flower.

Exstoner said:

If you look at the time stamps i made both posts before you replied.
Im in veg, my plants were 28 days when i made this post, and i figured that 200 was low but was wondering if i could get away with a feed of the 20,10,15 or should just double the dose of base nutrients, as ive been giving 5ml but the label says up to 9 can be used per gallon. Ive seen people post about using broad spectrums, but never discuss what their ppm/ec was at feeding.
And right now my plants are in ffof under 245 led watts, plan on upping this to 490 for flower.
Temps stay in the mid 80's to low 70's and humidity ranges 50-60%

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You posted the same question in two different threads, just saying it's redundant and not needed. Having one thread keeps the entire discussion and suggestions in one place.

What nutrients are you using? Like I said I'd suggest looking at the manufacturer suggestions.

twentyeight.threefive said:

You posted the same question in two different threads, just saying it's redundant and not needed. Having one thread keeps the entire discussion and suggestions in one place.

What nutrients are you using? Like I said I'd suggest looking at the manufacturer suggestions.

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You are correct. I should have intially made the post in this section, but i made the newbie section post first. But In this section ive received more responses and people have provided more information than in the other section.
So far all ive used is calmag, and humboldts secret bases A and B, which has left my tds in the 200's. The broad spectrum im talking about isnt marijuana specific its Pennington smart feed, just some nutes i had laying around from growing tomatoes

Three Berries said:

Adding dry while feeding though the nute water is a recipe of disaster, or has been my experience so far. No way to correct. Maybe a specific one item dry top dressing to address a specific problem. But almost anything can be got in a water soluble form.

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Probably shoulve been more clear. Its powered nutes but its meant to be dissolved into water. So basically im wondering if i could substitute the broadspectrum for my base nutrients (or use it with them) for one watering and not get nute burn as long as i keep my tds at or below a certain number.

Exstoner said:

If you look at the time stamps i made both posts before you replied.
Im in veg, my plants were 28 days when i made this post, and i figured that 200 was low but was wondering if i could get away with a feed of the 20,10,15 or should just double the dose of base nutrients, as ive been giving 5ml but the label says up to 9 can be used per gallon. Ive seen people post about using broad spectrums, but never discuss what their ppm/ec was at feeding.
And right now my plants are in ffof under 245 led watts, plan on upping this to 490 for flower.
Temps stay in the mid 80's to low 70's and humidity ranges 50-60%

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FFOF has nutes in it so really no need for nutes for the first 5-6 weeks. I put fertilizer feeding charts in the same category as breeder flowering times. Ignore both! Go by EC/ppm of the final solution after pH adjusting. 20-10-15 would be good for veg only. I run veg fertilizer through the stretch after flipping to 12/12. Lots of growth during that stage so the N comes in handy. Are you adding any CalMg?

Merlin1147 said:

FFOF has nutes in it so really no need for nutes for the first 5-6 weeks. I put fertilizer feeding charts in the same category as breeder flowering times. Ignore both! Go by EC/ppm of the final solution after pH adjusting. 20-10-15 would be good for veg only. I run veg fertilizer through the stretch after flipping to 12/12. Lots of growth during that stage so the N comes in handy. Are you adding any CalMg?

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Yes, since my ppm starts between 000 and 006 that 200 ppm comes after adding 5ml each of base a, b, and calmag to a gallon. So im guessing if i doubled the doses of base a and b id probably be somewhere between 300-400. Do you think I could add a pinch of the broadspectrum to get up to up 500 or 600 without causing nute burn?

Exstoner said:

Yes, since my ppm starts between 000 and 006 that 200 ppm comes after adding 5ml each of base a, b, and calmag to a gallon. So im guessing if i doubled the doses of base a and b id probably be somewhere between 300-400. Do you think I could add a pinch of the broadspectrum to get up to up 500 or 600 without causing nute burn?

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You seem intent on using the 20-10-15 fertilizer. Good luck. If you have such little faith in your base nutrients why are you using them?

twentyeight.threefive said:

You seem intent on using the 20-10-15 fertilizer. Good luck. If you have such little faith in your base nutrients why are you using them?

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This is my second grow im trying to see what can be done water wise, if anything, to receive better results than the last. Im not intent on using the broadspectrum but, honestly i would like to try it to see if a receive better result than my last grow where i stuck to 5ml each of base and calmag, assuming that it can be done safely. Which i believe it can because others have posted about using broad spectrums and most boosting nutrients have far higher npk than my base and cal mag nutrients which total to 7,4,3.
So its not about little faith its about experimentation, but doing it safely so i dont kill my plants, or burn them. I was trying to see if i could get more information about a safe ppm/ec for plants when it came to just nutrients and not the other junk that floats around in tap water.
And if i choose to reuse my soil next run most likely i will water it with the broad spectrum atleast once for a recharge, so i wouldve needed the information anyway
And if you dont mind me asking what npk levels would you recommend for veg stage in soil?

Exstoner said:

This is my second grow im trying to see what can be done water wise, if anything, to receive better results than the last. Im not intent on using the broadspectrum but, honestly i would like to try it to see if a receive better result than my last grow where i stuck to 5ml each of base and calmag, assuming that it can be done safely. Which i believe it can because others have posted about using broad spectrums and most boosting nutrients have far higher npk than my base and cal mag nutrients which total to 7,4,3.
So its not about little faith its about experimentation, but doing it safely so i dont kill my plants, or burn them. I was trying to see if i could get more information about a safe ppm/ec for plants when it came to just nutrients and not the other junk that floats around in tap water.
And if i choose to reuse my soil next run most likely i will water it with the broad spectrum atleast once for a recharge, so i wouldve needed the information anyway
And if you dont mind me asking what npk levels would you recommend for veg stage in soil?

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I'd suggest following the manufacturer recommended amounts to start. Sticking to 5ml the entire grow was detrimental to your grow as the plants needs change as they get bigger and flower.

Like I said I wouldn't use that fertilizer as quality base nutrients are all you need to grow fantastic plants. But go for it, give it a shot.

Exstoner said:

Yes, since my ppm starts between 000 and 006 that 200 ppm comes after adding 5ml each of base a, b, and calmag to a gallon. So im guessing if i doubled the doses of base a and b id probably be somewhere between 300-400. Do you think I could add a pinch of the broadspectrum to get up to up 500 or 600 without causing nute burn?

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It’s all about the total e.c. AND the ratio of primarily N,P,K,Ca and Mg to each other. The two base fertilizers you have, are what you are calling a “broad spectrum“ (“complete” would be a better word) fertilizer And probably a better one at that. The reason for 2 or three part fertilizers is that they can formulate using more available forms of the essentials without interacting with each other and precipitating out in the concentrate. That and to sell more bottles of fertilizer. Maybe the confusion is seeing though big numbers on the bottle. The numbers on the bottle are simply telling you the percent of NPK in the bottle. So if the numbers are high you will end up using less per gallon. In veg I aim for a 3:1:1 :: NPK and in flower I aim for 1:1:2. With some basic math you can figure out where you are for ratios. It’s not as simple as adding the numbers on the bottles, but in your case since you are adding the same amount of each, the ratio is indeed 7:4:3. The only reason to add the 20-10-15 would be to alter the ratios of NPK. I find that for mixing small batches of fertilizer, the liquids are easier to handle accurately. Solubles get messy and absorb moisture over time. I don’t think adding a “pinch” really makes sense.