@hoppiefrog yes sir a TDS bluelab pen. So the readings I’m getting are correct and the pen is not broken right? I need some explanation on this and how theyre read differently please.
@Slym3r thank you sir. Pretty much lucked out on this one. Appreciate all the help I’m getting
The bacteria need organic matter to live; if you’re growing full hydro (promix + Jack’s) there will be almost no bacteria living but that’s OK. Hydro plants still grow big and strong. I would feed them consistently. If you are watering to runoff each time then there is very little threat of salt build up and stressing the plants. They might not take all of the food you offer them, but having the food available to them is never a bad idea. Like with my pets; I always have water available to them. They may drink it or not, but they don’t have to wait until they’re dehydrated before I give them a drink.
Since you’re going to be transitioning over to Promix and Jack’s, give them food with every watering. Very little TDS means the pH can sway wildly without very much effort; there isn’t much of anything in the water to buffer it. Keeping your pH between 5.5 - 6.0 is best for cannabis grown the style you are following. I would stick with using pH adjusters made for use with hydroponics.
Thank you again for all your help @devjyarn
Is there a simple way to explain buffering?
English is my second language so explaining things as if I’m 5 helps a lot haha. I like how you used your pets as an example
Buffering is like making things happen in slow motion; like trying to run through a room filled with people. When there is greater buffering, pH swings happen slower. If there is no buffering, pH can swing a huge amount in a very short time.
Update
My AC Infinity T6 controller had an issue with the sensor and triggers. The fan wouldn’t go off when the low temp trigger is on. The replacement just came in today. Tested it and it works fine and nothing wrong with the sensor and the triggers.
I’m not going to feed until runoff TDS goes down and will stick with just water for now. everything seems to be dialed in at the moment. Temp and RH are at 23-25C & 58-60% during day time and 21-22C & 50-55% during night time.
I fed the plants 2 nights ago. Pots are still not that light and seem wet so I will wait till they dry a little bit more but not completely to I can water them. I’ll wait until they’re 25% the weight of what they are when they are fully drenched.
I did find some new signs on the White Caviar but that could be from the last feeding I gave her which had the high runoff TDS as new growth looks fine.
And here I did some LST to Open the branches up and even out the tallest branches with the rest to try and create an even canopy
WC
CN
Munson
GS
They are just hitting full veg they will start to grow this week. Just don’t over water,I’ll tag u in a post to help u use the tds meter. A ppm meter would work better for u .in a CPL months I’ll buy ur tds and u can put the $ towards a multi pen instead, I want a tds meter for organics anyhow;)
@hoppiefrog I have 3 questions
To avoid overwatering, I water until there’s 10% run off so around 1.6-2 cups. Should I water until 20-30%?
Should I change anything about the temp and rh? considering that these are clones
I thought a TDS meter is the same as PPM. I can switch the measurement to EC if I want. What’s the difference i’m so confused?
Can you show me an example of both
this is what im using
Yes I suggest 25-40%runoff to prevent scale
Tds is a measurement of all dissolved solids and is best to use on organics. Ppm is a count of dissolved salts and work best on hydro style nutes
Scale means nutrient buildup, is that correct?
Ya it’s the worst type of nutrient build up it has crystalized and will be almost impossible to get rid of without a major flush with a flushing solution
Like lime scale the stuff is tough to dissolve again. And scale absolutely messes ur pH up
I aim for 77 f for veg and follow the vpd chart for rh
@hoppiefrog gotcha! So i should stick to the ppm pen I have since im making the switch to straight promix, right?
I also have this, should I use this for soil?
PPM pen reads my tap water as 0 ppm
The blue vivosun TDS & EC pen reads 34-40 ppm for my tap water
Do u have a filter on ur tap? & Yes ppm way better for u
A .5 micron charcoal filter to remove chlorine.your tap water should read something
At least 150-500 ppm is normal
