Grow Mediums Ec vs ppm in coco run off

[Clix]

Hey guys I have some questions. Does any one know if the run off ec or ppm is effected by the already present potassium present in coco? If so how much of an effect should I expect. I have never used a ppm/Ec meter before.I think I under stand the basics for using it. I could use any advice given though Thanx for your time peoples

 

[forestly]

EC meter measures (basically) salinity, so is the addition K from coco or from watering/feeding - it`s all the same to the meter.

 

[joke]

most of the time when your ppm/ec level goes down it means the plant has eaten some of the nutes / food and reduced the food level present !

 

[Clix]

Thanx for the replies @joke and @forestly

 

[Clix]

So the questions I have now are Should I test run off with an Ec/ppm meter and if anyone knows if the Calcium carbonate in your tap water is different then the calcium carbonate used in some grow nutrients?

I've been struggling to keep my ph of my medium correct and although AN has ph perfect nutes once the medium falls out of a certain range in ether direction I always end up with problems one way or another. I recently tested my tap water and its 0.2Ec or 100-140 ppm depending witch scale you use. If I mix nutes with my tap water my ph eventually rises to as high as 8(In medium). If I use r/o or distilled water I get a ph as low 4 or less (In medium) Ive tried mixing the too before but it always goes one way or the other lol I can keep "balance" by switching between the too but I almost always end up with issues when it dips to much one way or the other with out me catching it in time. I'm curious how do people here keep their ph stable in coco. AKA What methods do you use to do this extra cal/mag no cal/mag R/O or tap Ect. Ive done allot of reading but have still been getting similar results. I'm about to try using distilled with General hydroponics Cal/mag. It is Calcium carbonate but Magnesium nitrate. So my theory is that the the carbonate from the Ca will keep the ph more stable while not having carbonate from Mag as well wont over do it and send me the other direction lol My only fear is that apparently from what I have read. Coco binds to carbonates in a way that cause the coco to climb in ph and that using thing like lime is a bad idea. So if anyone has any advice or thinks I'm headed in the right direction or wrong any info would be great Thanks to anyone reading my rant lol

P.s I am not growing at the moment but will be starting a grow with in the week

 

[Habitual]

In Ro or Distilled water the PPm is low (little to no base minerals). Less OH- ions (alkaline buffer) to buffer the acidic fertilizers (H+ ions acidic buffer) so fertilizers will have a greater effect on the ph in Ro vs Tap. My tap water for Example is 150 ppm .5 scale or .3 ec = 120 ppm Ca and 30ppm Mg according to the city lab report. So it has a Higher base buffer and requires more acidic buffer to lower the ph. To combat this tap water buffering like what you see, I feed @ 5.5 ph as it swings ( swing = acidic nutes are used the ppm drops and the ph rises) up into 6.5 + hitting all the micro nutes on the way. I feed daily in coco and mix the feed every time keeping things closer balanced to the ph I chose. Bubbling your water before you mix will help slow the rising ph aswell, chlorine will affect the ph as it dissipates. I use scales and syringes to measure so everything is repeatable and exact. Also you can use water dilution to help with ph aswell. example you could mix up 1L feed with tap water then dilute it .2-.4 Ec with ro. 1.4 1.6 1.2 ec isn't going to make as much of a difference as ph will then dial it in more as you go.

This might not work as well in your water depending on the mineral content. I am in the rocky mountains our water is glacier fed and mountain runoff.

 

[Clix]

In Ro or Distilled water the PPm is low (little to no base minerals). Less OH- ions (alkaline buffer) to buffer the acidic fertilizers (H+ ions acidic buffer) so fertilizers will have a greater effect on the ph in Ro vs Tap. My tap water for Example is 150 ppm .5 scale or .3 ec = 120 ppm Ca and 30ppm Mg according to the city lab report. So it has a Higher base buffer and requires more acidic buffer to lower the ph. To combat this tap water buffering like what you see, I feed @ 5.5 ph as it swings ( swing = acidic nutes are used the ppm drops and the ph rises) up into 6.5 + hitting all the micro nutes on the way. I feed daily in coco and mix the feed every time keeping things closer balanced to the ph I chose. Bubbling your water before you mix will help slow the rising ph aswell, chlorine will affect the ph as it dissipates. I use scales and syringes to measure so everything is repeatable and exact. Also you can use water dilution to help with ph aswell. example you could mix up 1L feed with tap water then dilute it .2-.4 Ec with ro. 1.4 1.6 1.2 ec isn't going to make as much of a difference as ph will then dial it in more as you go.

This might not work as well in your water depending on the mineral content. I am in the rocky mountains our water is glacier fed and mountain runoff.

Thank you for this info I like how you let the ph swing to catch everything you want it to.

 

[fi540]

Bubbling your water before you mix will help slow the rising ph as well

@Habitual
Edit: I made a post saying the exact opposite happens to me, but you clearly said bubbling BEFORE you mix the nutes so I just look stupid, ignore me.