What is dropping out of my solution?

TCH said:

It looks like piss because that is the nutrient solution that I continue to have issues with. I dumped it into the white bucket so I could see the color and get a better look at it and get a picture. Now the solution is nice and clear after 24+ hours since omitting the ArmorSi from the mix. My well water goes through a softener and an ro system. The water that comes out of the ro system can sit for a week or more and doesn't change color at all.

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If your water is coming through a softener + RO I'm mistaken unless your RO filter(s) are bad. Armor Si is Potassium Silicate, if your not adding it before ANYTHING else then it will cloud. Your also almost using twice what the maximum dose is @ 8ml/gal max is 5 ml/gal. Maybe your camera isn't great and the pics are misleading.

@ 2.00 EC I use 5ml/gal of Armor Si and hit 6.0 pH in RO with no other additives.
I use roughly 3/4 dry cups of MaxiBloom to 30 gallons of water after mixing 5ml/gal of Armor Si to achieve these values.

calvin.m16 said:

If your water is coming through a softener + RO I'm mistaken unless your RO filter(s) are bad. Armor Si is Potassium Silicate, if your not adding it before ANYTHING else then it will cloud. Your also almost using twice what the maximum dose is @ 8ml/gal max is 5 ml/gal. Maybe your camera isn't great and the pics are misleading.

@ 2.00 EC I use 5ml/gal of Armor Si and hit 6.0 pH in RO with no other additives.
I use roughly 3/4 dry cups of MaxiBloom to 30 gallons of water after mixing 5ml/gal of Armor Si to achieve these values.

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I never used 8mL per gallon. This is the last mix I made that turned into the piss:

6 gallons RO water
8mL ArmorSi
18mL CalMag
16.35g MaxiGrow




mix ArmorSi into 1 gallon water
mix CalMag into 1 gallon water
mix MaxiGrow into 1 gallon water
sit over night

pour 3 gallons ro water into reservoir
stir in ArmorSi
stir in CalMag
stir in MaxiGrow

The final numbers look like this:

~581ppm

TCH said:

I never used 8mL per gallon. This is the last mix I made that turned into the piss:

6 gallons RO water
8mL ArmorSi
18mL CalMag
16.35g MaxiGrow




mix ArmorSi into 1 gallon water
mix CalMag into 1 gallon water
mix MaxiGrow into 1 gallon water
sit over night

pour 3 gallons ro water into reservoir
stir in ArmorSi
stir in CalMag
stir in MaxiGrow

The final numbers look like this:

~581ppm

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Just simplify all that mumbo jumbo and do this

5ml/gal Armor Si (stir)
7g/gal MaxiBloom (stir)
2 ml/gal Calmag (stir)

I don't have anything like what you show happen, so if we're both using RO then there's something wrong with your system. Understand that maxi is meant to be dissolved into the final feed container meaning don't concentrate it into a bucket then add to a final large water volume. Maxi isn't designed to be added as a stock concentrate.

If Armor Si > MaxiBloom doesn't work for you, then something is wrong. I run over 6 genetics with that formula and don't need to tinker with anything and reservoirs can sit for days and not show anything weird. Just clear pink fluid.

Maybe your RO water is too hot and breeding anaerobic stuff or Algae. Hard to say cause I know many people who use maxi without any weird reactions like you show.

Another data point:

I've mixed this recipe hundreds of times without incident.

In a 5 gal bucket of R/O water

10ml ArmorSi
10ml CalMagic
20g MaxiGro
10g MaxiBloom

5ml ArmorSi

I added another 5ml ArmorSi to a 1qt. cup of R/O water, mixed it in at the end.
This was intentional, as a worst-case scenario. In my experience, so long as the Si is diluted, it's not likely to precipitate out, even if added after other ingredients.


Roughly 12 hours later, 100% clear
Not the greatest pic, but it should be obvious that nothing has precipitated.

Silica first, then ph, then add fertilizer. Use clean measuring tools for each.(I use oral syringes for my liquid stuff like silica and ph down)

What type of CalMag are you using? I know some of the organic based ones will have things like hydrolyzed soy and plant based acid chelates in them.

I am using the Botanicare CalMag that I had leftover from 5 or 6 years ago. My son just sent me this pic and the barrel is still clear. I filled it Thursday night and added 2 additional gallons of feed before I left Sunday morning.

Just got home after 5 days. Reservoir still clear. Plants happy and doubled in size. The kid never had to add anything or mess with anything. Just checked at least once daily and sent me pics.

Ppm 774
Ph 5.90

TCH said:

Just got home after 5 days. Reservoir still clear. Plants happy and doubled in size. The kid never had to add anything or mess with anything. Just checked at least once daily and sent me pics.

Ppm 774
Ph 5.90

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Good stuff, was probably just a slight mixing error. Looks crystal clear now!

@TCH I am facing the same issue as you now. Mixing the exact same as before. When you said previously your solution was omitting Armor Si what was your solution for pH UP?

I am stumped like you were, I have been mixing the same as always so either something changed with the Armor Si, something contaminated my MaxiBloom or my water is somehow contaminated..

I mix my reservoir as follows
30 gallon barrel of RO water
Mix in 5ml/gal of Armor Si
Wait 5 minutes
Mix in 7 grams/gal of MaxiBloom
Wait 5 minutes
Feed

Next day I come in and the tank looks cloudy, sometimes has slimy residue on the walls of the reservoir. Even using pool shock didn't resolve this issue.. I am really stumped. What was your solution again? I am confused because you said you removed Armor Si, but if that is the case you wouldn't have a good pH in RO water with maxibloom, as it's very acidic. Did you use a pH up instead?

Any help is appreciated. Cheers.

TCH said:

24+ hours later, the res is still crystal clear and no odor. Fingers crossed that we are good to go now.

View attachment 5308457

Separate question. If I am only running calmag and MaxiGrow with pH up and bleach, can I just add more to the res and top it off? Or do I need to empty it and make a whole batch at once? I would like to get 8 or so gallons in there for the next 5 days instead of just the 5 gallons I mixed up last night.

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What did you do to start getting a clear reservoir? It isn't very clear in your last posts.

calvin.m16 said:

@TCH I am facing the same issue as you now. Mixing the exact same as before. When you said previously your solution was omitting Armor Si what was your solution for pH UP?

I am stumped like you were, I have been mixing the same as always so either something changed with the Armor Si, something contaminated my MaxiBloom or my water is somehow contaminated..

I mix my reservoir as follows
30 gallon barrel of RO water
Mix in 5ml/gal of Armor Si
Wait 5 minutes
Mix in 7 grams/gal of MaxiBloom
Wait 5 minutes
Feed

Next day I come in and the tank looks cloudy, sometimes has slimy residue on the walls of the reservoir. Even using pool shock didn't resolve this issue.. I am really stumped. What was your solution again? I am confused because you said you removed Armor Si, but if that is the case you wouldn't have a good pH in RO water with maxibloom, as it's very acidic. Did you use a pH up instead?

Any help is appreciated. Cheers.

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I stopped using the ArmorSi completely. For me, that stuff was nothing but a headache. I just used the normal pH up from GH without issues. I did ultimately move to trying out the nutrients from floraflex to see how they worked but am currently switching back to Maxi. Just got in a fresh bag of bloom this weekend and will be mixing a fresh res this evening with calimagic, maxibloom, and pH up as needed.

I stopped using it aswell, i dont feel it contributes anything but what i would do was
Add silica then ph down to about 6.5 befor adding in calmag and the rest.
Silica causes your ph to skyrocket as im sure you know

Billytheluther said:

I stopped using it aswell, i dont feel it contributes anything but what i would do was
Add silica then ph down to about 6.5 befor adding in calmag and the rest.
Silica causes your ph to skyrocket as im sure you know

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Yeah. That's one reason people use it with Maxibloom because maxi tanks the pH as much as Si raises it. They even out nicely. As long as it doesn't turn into some weird ass black cloud that looks like a spirit from a horror movie.

TCH said:

Yeah. That's one reason people use it with Maxibloom because maxi tanks the pH as much as Si raises it. They even out nicely. As long as it doesn't turn into some weird ass black cloud that looks like a spirit from a horror movie.

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My problem was caused by my pump, hose, and airstone being contaminated with tough bacteria and algae.

I replaced the pump, PVC stir stick, hoses, air pump, and airstones, and now everything is clear. It wasn’t oil from the pump since it was a dry pump, and the air stones and lines were always fresh.

I don’t use airstones anymore. I bought an oxygen water sensor, and my levels stay good for seven days as long as I stir with a PVC pipe every day.

I was confused because I couldn’t solve this issue and never had it before. I thought it was a bad batch of Maxibloom. I mix Armor Si at 5 ml/gal for pH up, then add Maxibloom at 6-7 g/gal. I also add 0.2 grams of calcium hypochlorite to my 30-gallon reservoir each refill to keep chlorine levels around 1 ppm. The plants don’t mind. I’ve tested up to 4 ppm without issues but don’t use that level regularly. I can tell by smell if there’s too much chlorine, but I still use chlorine strips to test it.

Hope this helps anyone with similar problems!

Maybe its already been said and maybe its too obvious but its extremely important to dilute ph down or ph up in a glass of water before adding to the res, otherwise the strong chemical reaction will have nutrients separate from the solution.

SpectacularG said:

Maybe its already been said and maybe its too obvious but its extremely important to dilute ph down or ph up in a glass of water before adding to the res, otherwise the strong chemical reaction will have nutrients separate from the solution.

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This is irrelevant to the issue. Also from the looks of what was happening to TCH it looked like iron was falling out of suspension from the calmag. Starting water and ingredients blended into the solution really can cause a matrix of head scratch inducing issues.

I used to get that until I learned that one should dilute the pH adjuster. I get the solution stirring first and then pour the diluted ph down or up into it slowly. Problem solved.

Unrelated but I also learned that silica should be allowed to bind with the water for at least 15 minutes before adding the nutes. I wait 30 minutes or more.

Offmymeds said:

I used to get that until I learned that one should dilute the pH adjuster. I get the solution stirring first and then pour the diluted ph down or up into it slowly. Problem solved.

Unrelated but I also learned that silica should be allowed to bind with the water for at least 15 minutes before adding the nutes. I wait 30 minutes or more.

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Really?? If that is true I think it may be extremely important! Where did you find the info please

calvin.m16 said:

This is irrelevant to the issue. Also from the looks of what was happening to TCH it looked like iron was falling out of suspension from the calmag. Starting water and ingredients blended into the solution really can cause a matrix of head scratch inducing issues.

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This is what I feed I add everything in the order and give a fast stir every nute I add and so far no problems. I researched on it and it should be a proper way to order the nutes wdyt?