Grow Mediums Lucas Formula PH Confusion
- Thread starter nben
- Start date
heya dude can i add some help for you, im an oldtimer lucas,
GH nutes are good, work fine BUT advanced nutes jungle 3part is the same stuff exactly exept better quality... basicly gh and advanced was tested on liek 1000 bottles each, and GN shows like99.2 to 100% count where as advanced showed a 99.7 to 100% count so although notmuch advanced are more stable,
as for ph, if ur running small then ur gona need new all the time,
i never ever used ph , as my waters ph dropped i woudl add in tap water at 7.2 which woudl bring it back up, so i never needed ph but i was a 300liter system too, it stabilised itsself, Ro waterrs is 5.5 right? does it drift atall? could u not add some tap water without ro? it has soem crap ofc but also has calcium etc too otherwise id find a natural way to raise it liek lime etc, as i hate ph up and down chems,
GH nutes are good, work fine BUT advanced nutes jungle 3part is the same stuff exactly exept better quality... basicly gh and advanced was tested on liek 1000 bottles each, and GN shows like99.2 to 100% count where as advanced showed a 99.7 to 100% count so although notmuch advanced are more stable,
as for ph, if ur running small then ur gona need new all the time,
i never ever used ph , as my waters ph dropped i woudl add in tap water at 7.2 which woudl bring it back up, so i never needed ph but i was a 300liter system too, it stabilised itsself, Ro waterrs is 5.5 right? does it drift atall? could u not add some tap water without ro? it has soem crap ofc but also has calcium etc too otherwise id find a natural way to raise it liek lime etc, as i hate ph up and down chems,
I see this setup linked alot, but i never see any indepth youtube grows with this system, Its just me thou i would much rather watch vids of grows then read about them.
I wish someone would take the time to do a full video grow series of these setups
Thanks for the info!!Ph up and down does start the roller coaster effect for sure!! Frustrating! It came yesterday but I work two 11 hour shifts back to back every Saturday and Sunday so I will hook it up Monday or Tuesday and see how she goes. I think what I will do is make one gallon of Lucas and see what happens. I run a 3.5 gallon and now a 5 gallon Rez for plant reversal to get pollen for fem seeds. So by complete change do you mean once a week or after I have added all the water back with fresh RO?
Muddy
Proud deplorable!
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2011
- Messages
- 8,673
- Reputation
- 10
- Reaction score
- 1,554
- Points
- 0
- Currently Smoking
- OG Kush, Deep Cheese, Key Lime
Here you go. https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/forums/under-current.158/. They have a whole forum dedicated to the Current Culture systems. Lots of documented grows including some huge commercial ones. Maybe not a lot of videos but plenty of good pics.
Got the RO filter hooked up today. I have to say I think my expectations were off the mark with these units. I thought that you just turned on the faucet and the RO water came out exactly like a regular faucet. Not so, at least with this unit. You have to fill up the tank first, which the instructions say can take 2 to 3 hours... My tank holds 3.2 gallons. Use all the water in the tank, you have to wait for it to refill. I suppose you could just let the RO faucet drip into the empty one gallon jug however, just thought of that!
I guess this is still better than my old method of shoving the pointy end of a funnel into an empty milk jug and then putting the Zero Water filter into the funnel and THEN carefully balancing the shower sprayer in the filter
It was ingenuity at work that's for sure bahahaha!
I have done a little more research on the Lucas Method as well. It would appear that you indeed do not have to PH the water, even on the top offs. Again, I will have to do some independent field trials to see if I believe that one for sure.
It seems there are two different "flavors" of the formula. One is 0-8-16 (in ML per gallon) which seems to be the most widely used formula for HID lighting, and from what I can find high output LED as well.
Then we have 0-5-10, which is used under fluorescent lighting. The feeling behind this is that under the less intense lighting the plant will not be using the nutrients as fast so there will be less need for them, and perhaps even burn the plant at 0-8-16. I have a feeling that the 0-5-10 would be a good choice for younger plants as well since they most certainly won't be needing that many nutes. Lucas has said that he uses the full strength for all stages of life and has never had any problems however... I am just a tad bit cautious about this advice though since it seems to contradict all my previous experience with DWC. I wonder how the lower nute levels effect the PH as well... Something this simple seems to be more complex the more layers you peel back!
I include this information for those who are seeking the same answers I am in the future. I plan on posting my results in this thread as they come in. "This is Major Tom to ground control"... Ha! (To all the youngsters out there it's a song
See youtube
I guess this is still better than my old method of shoving the pointy end of a funnel into an empty milk jug and then putting the Zero Water filter into the funnel and THEN carefully balancing the shower sprayer in the filter
It was ingenuity at work that's for sure bahahaha!I have done a little more research on the Lucas Method as well. It would appear that you indeed do not have to PH the water, even on the top offs. Again, I will have to do some independent field trials to see if I believe that one for sure.
It seems there are two different "flavors" of the formula. One is 0-8-16 (in ML per gallon) which seems to be the most widely used formula for HID lighting, and from what I can find high output LED as well.
Then we have 0-5-10, which is used under fluorescent lighting. The feeling behind this is that under the less intense lighting the plant will not be using the nutrients as fast so there will be less need for them, and perhaps even burn the plant at 0-8-16. I have a feeling that the 0-5-10 would be a good choice for younger plants as well since they most certainly won't be needing that many nutes. Lucas has said that he uses the full strength for all stages of life and has never had any problems however... I am just a tad bit cautious about this advice though since it seems to contradict all my previous experience with DWC. I wonder how the lower nute levels effect the PH as well... Something this simple seems to be more complex the more layers you peel back!
I include this information for those who are seeking the same answers I am in the future. I plan on posting my results in this thread as they come in. "This is Major Tom to ground control"... Ha! (To all the youngsters out there it's a song
See youtubeI am just adding this to my thread so I can come back to it in the future:
General Hydroponics Flora Series Feeding Strategy - Lucas Formula
G-M-B (Grow-Micro-Bloom)
0-5-10 - For Vegetative cycle (18/6)
0-8-16 - For Flowering cycle (12/12)
The numbers above indicate the number of milliliters (ml) of Flora Grow, Micro or Bloom formulas that I use in one gallon (US Liquid) of nutrients.
You will notice I dont use any of the Flora “Grow” formula, do not need to, the Flora "Micro" provides plenty of Nitrogen.
There are two ways to work with this formula:
1. Top off the reservoir daily using a pH corrected water solution as required to maintain full reservoir level. After adding back an amount of water equal to the amount of your reservoir capacity you should change the reservoir and put in fresh solution.
2. Top off the reservoir daily using a pH corrected 100% strength nutrient solution as required to maintain full reservoir level. Continue to use this nutrient solution without dumping the tank unless the PPM rises above acceptable levels.
Between vegetative and flowering cycles you should dump your nutrients, then flush (possibly with Clearex) to remove salt buildups, then change to the other feeding program. Always shake your GH nutrient bottles before using them!
For young plants, just transplanted into the hydro setup, give them 50% strength nutrient mix to prevent overfeeding them while their young. Gradually bring up the mix to full strength as they grow over the next few weeks or so.
The lucas formula is normally intended for use with RO or near 0 PPM water.
NOTE: The Lucas formula eliminates the need for Epsom salts to correct (Magnesium) Mg deficiencies in most normal feeding programs recommended by manufacturers. Cannabis needs a lot of Magnesium to thrive.
The Flora Micro is providing the Nitrogen and the Magnesium in the proper balance, thus there is no need for the Grow formula and little or no room under the maximum acceptable ppm limit of 1600 @ 0.7 conversion.
Calculated EC/TDS levels:
EC microsiemen:
0-4-8: 946 µS
0-5-10: 1184 µS
0-8-16: 1894 µS
TDS @ 0.5 conversion:
0-4-8 = 473 ppm
0-5-10 = 592 ppm
0-8-16 = 947 ppm
TDS @ 0.7 conversion:
0-4-8 = 663 ppm
0-5-10 = 829 ppm
0-8-16 = 1326 ppm
Addback Calculator - (For Advanced Users)
Say you were running the 0-8-16 formula, at 0.7 conversion with a 22 gallon res. When you first fill it up, your ppm will be around 1330.
Now you have been growing for a week, and some of the water has been taken up by the plants, some has evaporated, and now your res is at 947 ppm. You need to get your ppm from 947 to 1330. Here is the equation:
((target - current) / target) * 8 ml per gallon * res gallons = Flora Micro (ml) double this figure to get Flora Bloom (ml)
Example:
((1330 - 947) / 1330) * 8 * 22
(383 / 1330) * 8 * 22
0.3 * 8 * 22 = 53 ml Flora Micro
53 ml Flora Micro, double that and you get 106 ml Flora Bloom. So 53 ml Flora Micro and 106 ml Flora Bloom to add back to your 22 gallon res to get you from 947 to 1330.
Full page and referance
General Hydroponics Flora Series Feeding Strategy - Lucas Formula
G-M-B (Grow-Micro-Bloom)
0-5-10 - For Vegetative cycle (18/6)
0-8-16 - For Flowering cycle (12/12)
The numbers above indicate the number of milliliters (ml) of Flora Grow, Micro or Bloom formulas that I use in one gallon (US Liquid) of nutrients.
You will notice I dont use any of the Flora “Grow” formula, do not need to, the Flora "Micro" provides plenty of Nitrogen.
There are two ways to work with this formula:
1. Top off the reservoir daily using a pH corrected water solution as required to maintain full reservoir level. After adding back an amount of water equal to the amount of your reservoir capacity you should change the reservoir and put in fresh solution.
2. Top off the reservoir daily using a pH corrected 100% strength nutrient solution as required to maintain full reservoir level. Continue to use this nutrient solution without dumping the tank unless the PPM rises above acceptable levels.
Between vegetative and flowering cycles you should dump your nutrients, then flush (possibly with Clearex) to remove salt buildups, then change to the other feeding program. Always shake your GH nutrient bottles before using them!
For young plants, just transplanted into the hydro setup, give them 50% strength nutrient mix to prevent overfeeding them while their young. Gradually bring up the mix to full strength as they grow over the next few weeks or so.
The lucas formula is normally intended for use with RO or near 0 PPM water.
NOTE: The Lucas formula eliminates the need for Epsom salts to correct (Magnesium) Mg deficiencies in most normal feeding programs recommended by manufacturers. Cannabis needs a lot of Magnesium to thrive.
The Flora Micro is providing the Nitrogen and the Magnesium in the proper balance, thus there is no need for the Grow formula and little or no room under the maximum acceptable ppm limit of 1600 @ 0.7 conversion.
Calculated EC/TDS levels:
EC microsiemen:
0-4-8: 946 µS
0-5-10: 1184 µS
0-8-16: 1894 µS
TDS @ 0.5 conversion:
0-4-8 = 473 ppm
0-5-10 = 592 ppm
0-8-16 = 947 ppm
TDS @ 0.7 conversion:
0-4-8 = 663 ppm
0-5-10 = 829 ppm
0-8-16 = 1326 ppm
Addback Calculator - (For Advanced Users)
Say you were running the 0-8-16 formula, at 0.7 conversion with a 22 gallon res. When you first fill it up, your ppm will be around 1330.
Now you have been growing for a week, and some of the water has been taken up by the plants, some has evaporated, and now your res is at 947 ppm. You need to get your ppm from 947 to 1330. Here is the equation:
((target - current) / target) * 8 ml per gallon * res gallons = Flora Micro (ml) double this figure to get Flora Bloom (ml)
Example:
((1330 - 947) / 1330) * 8 * 22
(383 / 1330) * 8 * 22
0.3 * 8 * 22 = 53 ml Flora Micro
53 ml Flora Micro, double that and you get 106 ml Flora Bloom. So 53 ml Flora Micro and 106 ml Flora Bloom to add back to your 22 gallon res to get you from 947 to 1330.
Full page and referance
Similar threads
