RO Water and Cal Mag in the Res

P

Parker

Just Washed Ashore
In my res I use 3 parts ro water to 1 part tap water to bring some minerals back into play. In the RDWC I use 3/4 the recommended amount of Cal Mag per gallon. Directions say to put the Cal Mag in first before adding the other nutes. I use a 5 gallon bucket, Cal Mag first, then the other nutes.

Any reason to NOT put Cal Mag in the Res? That way I can just add the nutes to the mix in the 5 gallon bucket.
Does the Cal Mag work better when it's not mixed with other nutes for a bit?
 
Most hydro growers i know bring their water up to a certain threshold EC with calmag before adding nutes.

Several nutrient lines have calmag already included, as well as being ph stable. Mega Crop is a good option, but if youre full on RDWC I would have a good look at Crop Salt. Mixes exceptionally well, and plants are quite responsive, especially in flower. A little pricey, but for RDWC it would make life much easier, and the quality would be hard to beat
 
Parker said:
In my res I use 3 parts ro water to 1 part tap water to bring some minerals back into play. In the RDWC I use 3/4 the recommended amount of Cal Mag per gallon. Directions say to put the Cal Mag in first before adding the other nutes. I use a 5 gallon bucket, Cal Mag first, then the other nutes.

Any reason to NOT put Cal Mag in the Res? That way I can just add the nutes to the mix in the 5 gallon bucket.
Does the Cal Mag work better when it's not mixed with other nutes for a bit?
Click to expand...
Silicone then CalMag followed by nutes. I always mix and let Silicone sit overnight then mix and add CalMag again, let it sit for a little before adding your nutes which the manufacturer may require its own order or bottles. Let it sit , then check and adjust PH to match stage in growth.

Just what I do and recommend.
 
Chico Cobra Snake Pit said:
Silicone then CalMag followed by nutes. I always mix and let Silicone sit overnight then mix and add CalMag again, let it sit for a little before adding your nutes which the manufacturer may require its own order or bottles. Let it sit , then check and adjust PH to match stage in growth.

Just what I do and recommend.
Click to expand...
Exactly what I do, but I don't usually let it sit overnight, more like an hour or so to make sure it's stable before adding the Calmag and nutes...
 
Chichón said:
Most hydro growers i know bring their water up to a certain threshold EC with calmag before adding nutes.

Several nutrient lines have calmag already included, as well as being ph stable. Mega Crop is a good option, but if youre full on RDWC I would have a good look at Crop Salt. Mixes exceptionally well, and plants are quite responsive, especially in flower. A little pricey, but for RDWC it would make life much easier, and the quality would be hard to beat
Click to expand...
I actually just got a shipment of the small bags of Crop Salt, which I didn't need. I had a coupon code maybe from the MJBizcon that I needed to use because I'm not the kind of guy that lets any coupon code expire lol. In any event, since it's dry, it can hang out in the closet for a year or 3 until I'm ready to use it lol....
 
Thanks for the advice. I'm going with RAW Silica from NPK industries. It says a 2 oz. package makes up to 200 gallons, so I'll get that size for starters
 
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Now I'm thinking of going to GS Plant Foods Cal-Mag 420 Dry Super Concentrate, for calcium and magnesium instead of Cal-Mag when the Cal-Mag runs out. A lot less expensive.
www.gsplantfoods.com

Cal-Mag Extreme – Calcium & Magnesium Feed | GS Plant Foods

Organic Cal-Mag 420 is a natural cal-mag powder for plants that supplies calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, promoting strong, healthy growth in soil, hydroponics, and coco coir.
www.gsplantfoods.com www.gsplantfoods.com

Currently using 3 parts RO water to 1 part tap water in order to get minerals back into play. Any reason to not go fully RO water as long as I'm using silica and cal-mag?
 
There no reason to be adding extra bullshit in your life adding tap water if your getting full ro. I used to only use silica as a ph adjuster. I always saw it as a waste of time on plants i was gonna chop,but at the same time why use ph up when you can raise your rez up with a cap of silica your plants can use. But great for your moms and wouldnt use it past week 4 5 of bloom for better burn.

Recirculation i liked 3-5ml per gallon cal mag.

For promix or coco regular media .. I used to like to do one feed nutes.. Then next time cal mag only rez. Then a water only.
 
Parker said:
Now I'm thinking of going to GS Plant Foods Cal-Mag 420 Dry Super Concentrate, for calcium and magnesium instead of Cal-Mag when the Cal-Mag runs out. A lot less expensive.
www.gsplantfoods.com

Cal-Mag Extreme – Calcium & Magnesium Feed | GS Plant Foods

Organic Cal-Mag 420 is a natural cal-mag powder for plants that supplies calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, promoting strong, healthy growth in soil, hydroponics, and coco coir.
www.gsplantfoods.com www.gsplantfoods.com

Currently using 3 parts RO water to 1 part tap water in order to get minerals back into play. Any reason to not go fully RO water as long as I'm using silica and cal-mag?
Click to expand...
The GS Plant Foods Cal-Mag 420 Dry Super Concentrate didn't work for me. I got a ton of residue and the plants got weaker.
 
Parker said:
The GS Plant Foods Cal-Mag 420 Dry Super Concentrate didn't work for me. I got a ton of residue and the plants got weaker.
Click to expand...
Maybe I should have added it correctly? I didn't adjust the Ph at all

Should have done the following
ph water to 7.0 (it was around 7.4) put in silica, mix well, waited awhile then
ph mix to 7.0 (it was around 7.4) add calmag mix well, waited awhile then
ph mix to 7.0 add GH micro then bloom mix
ph down to 5.8

I thought about not adjusting the ph after adding calmag since I waited until the cal mag mixed. Maybe I didn't have to but it can't hurt imo.

I added about 5 gallons to a grow, it takes ~23 gallons and the water looks good

I started another setup with no plants been 2 days and the water looks a little dingy

Drained the setup with no plants and there were particles in it. Going to start over but no silica in the mix. I am going to do silica foliar sprays until week 3 of flower
 
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