Grow Mediums Whys ie my EC 4.0! PPM = 2090!

[pop22]

Do you have a different bucket that you could put your water/nute mix in? If so mix some nutes and let it sit then test it. Its has to be either the nutes, or your bucket is leaching chemicals into the water. IMO, its your nutes. Hopefully, someone with more experience will speak up. But I'm about willing to bet its your nutes, nothing else makes sense, kinda a Occam's Razor situation.

 

[steelrat]

Ye i was thinking maybe washing them may not have gotten rid of trace levels of silicone, i'll try another bucket that never contained any, i bought two topup tanks just in case i screwed up ;+}

So, with nutes in hydro, getting the PPM right means the nutes are automatically at the right strength for the plant ?

The two books i've been reading explain what to do but there's not a lot of 'why'.


Thanks pop,

steely

- - - Updated - - -

Summary of my water report :

[TABLE="class: data"]
[TR]
[TH="class: name"]Analysis[/TH]
[TH="class: value"]Typical value[/TH]
[TH="class: value"]UK/EU Limit[/TH]
[TH="class: units"]Units[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Hardness Level[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]Hard[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]No Standard Applies[/TD]
[TD="class: value"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Hardness Clark[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]17.00[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]No Standard Applies[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]Degrees Clark[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Hardness French[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]24.00[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]No Standard Applies[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]French Degrees[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Hardness German[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]13.00[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]No Standard Applies[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]German Degrees[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Aluminium[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]7.44[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]200[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]μgAl/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Chlorine[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.31[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]No Standard Applies[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]mg/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Coliform bacteria[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.00[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]no./100ml[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Colour[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]2.37[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]20[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]mg/l Pt/Co[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Conductivity[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]514.39[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]2500[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]μS/cm at 20°C[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]E.coli bacteria[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.00[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]no./100ml[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Fluoride[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.18[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]1.5[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]mgF/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Iron[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]10.53[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]200[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]μgFe/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Manganese[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]1.80[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]50[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]μgMn/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Nitrate[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]14.21[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]50[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]mgNO3/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Odour[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.00[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]Acceptable to customers and no abnormal change[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]Dilution Number[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Pesticides[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.00[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.5[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]μg/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]pH[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]7.37[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]6.5 - 9.5[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]pH Value[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Sodium[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]22.63[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]200[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]mgNa/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Taste[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.00[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]Acceptable to customers and no abnormal change[/TD]
[TD="class: units"]Dilution Number[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 4"]Plumbing Metals[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Copper[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.12[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]2.0[/TD]
[TD]mgCu/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Lead[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]0.69[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]25[/TD]
[TD]μgPb/l[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: name"]Nickel[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]3.05[/TD]
[TD="class: value"]20
[/TD]
[TD]μgNi/l

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

So the PPM is pretty high to start with in my area.

I'm looking at RO systems but they need to be fed from the mains in order to get the required pressure, is that right ?

I'm in a loft and we rent so i can't go modifying plumbing, and probably wouldn't try anyway,new taps and repressurising the boiler is about my most advanced plumbing!

I can't be the only guy with this problem, i've read UK hydro grows using non-RO water, i'll have to look them up again.


Cheers for advice

steely

 

[AeroHydro]

Hey, I grow DWC. What questions do you have at the moment?
If your water PPM was good before you turned on your airstone... you probably had a lot of shit inside your airstone when you turned it on which pushed that all that shit back in your clean water

 

[pop22]

The first time you mix your nutes is the learning curve after that, You'll have and Idea of how much to add to raise or lower your ppms. I never used the maker's guide for my nutes, I go strictly by the ppms.

As to your water, do you have a faucet that you can hook a hose to? if so, you can adapt your RO machine to run off that faucet when you need it, that way, no plumbing is altered.

 

[steelrat]

Thanks Aero, i did clean everything and soaked it in pH 6.0 water for four hours but maybe silicone just hangs around for a while.

Thanks pops but no faucet nearby

I'll see how this other bucket settles down.


Thanks,

steely

 

[AeroHydro]

After you add your nutes and let everything settle, mix it up right before you PPM your water and see what happens.

 

[steelrat]

Yes it's the nutes, but the silicone definitely got in there, at least i think that's what the grey sludge was or is that minerals depositing ?

But the bucket stayed at normal (for my tap water!) PPM (540ish) for an hour with nothing added.

pH down doesn't seem to have an effect on PPM, i would have thought it would, acid being more conductive than alkaline?

I added nutes at 0.5ml per litre, waited 15 minutes and the PPM had gone up to 720ish. Waited another 15 mins and still 720ish.

I'll try just keeping the pH and PPM on track and not worry about nute-to-water ratio (that's old soil-thinking, right?) like you said Pops

Having said all that, the manufacturers recommend an EC of 2.0, which is a PPM of 1400 on my meter.

I guess i'll let the plant tell me once she drops roots ;+}


Thanks for advice,

steely

- - - Updated - - -

p.s. that bucket shot was when i first drained them this morning.

 

[Grey Bear]

Going back over the thread, I think it is the soil you initially planted the seed in. You should have and still can gently rinse as much of it out of the roots as possible and then get it positioned back into your net pot and very gently put your hydroton back in. I used to repair fish tanks with fish in them with silicon, the "not suitable for aquariums" silicon has a mildicide in it that fish are susceptible to. It doesn't change the ph significantly. Especially once dry. You could do this at any point before you have a bunch of roots coming through the net pot, if you want to see if you have it fixed without doing that.

 

[steelrat]

Thanks gtron2