Bad or Good Film?

Howdy folks.


Using jacks 321 and have noticed that sometimes I get this film on top of the water and most of time I just toss it but I think that sometimes I'm just over thinking things and it may be beneficial?

Idk. I'm typically a soil/organic guy and still learning the ropes of this coco game.

Thanks.

Are u bubbling or using a pump to circulate your rezz

Any goopy controller like hydroguard or z7

Why is it orange? Home depot bucket?

Yes bucket. In a house that's not mine so I can't drill any holes in the ground so been hand watering and vacuuming runoff out 2 times a day. mixing my nutrients 1-2 times a day.

Was using a 27gal tote with a lid but still had this issue but it would get to the point it was cloudy.

Did have a pump in but temp got into the 80's and it still got a film and was SUPER cloudy.

Sometimes this happens sometimes it don't.

I went to the 5 gal home depot bucket thinking it would prevent it but I made this bucket last night around 6pm and this morning this is what it looks like. And I had a towel covering it.

Light will create goopies in those buckets..need black and a lid

If there is no circulation of the water, it will get stagnant, like your seeing


But if yer mixing daily, probably not an issue

What mixing order are you using with your Jacks? Are you giving time to settle between adding the parts, or are you adding, mixing, adding, mixing, adding, mixing?

If you're leaving the bucket overnight I'd drop an airstone in there and keep it bubbling. Static water leads to stagnant water.

And like Bob said, either replace with a black, lightproof bucket or make sure you store the bucket in a cool/dark place.

SuperiorBuds said:

What mixing order are you using with your Jacks? Are you giving time to settle between adding the parts, or are you adding, mixing, adding, mixing, adding, mixing?

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This. The mix order - and giving each step time to fully dissolve - is critical or you get a precipitate.

The correct mixing order is:
1) Jacks - give it time to dissolve completely = clear looking water with NO sediment.
2) magnesium sulfate - and let dissolve very very well
3) calsium nitrate - same as above.

Also note that the 321 ratios are by weight - not volume.

As mentioned earlier, its also possible that cloudiness is bacterial growth, which would be due to light getting to the mixture. Any slimy feel to the inside of the bucket or any smell?

Larry3215 said:

This. The mix order - and giving each step time to fully dissolve - is critical or you get a precipitate.

Click to expand...

The best purchase I've made since I switched to Jacks and powdered nutes was the magnetic mixer.


This ensures I am fully dissolved before I dump the concentrate into the actual tank I'm mixing in. I can do 25 gallons worth of nutrients in 200mL of water, just make sure the water is warm since that helps. (I mix the concentrate into cold water, which offsets the smaller volume of warm water I'm adding.)

SuperiorBuds said:

The best purchase I've made since I switched to Jacks and powdered nutes was the magnetic mixer.

Click to expand...

Very cool! I had no idea these were available that cheap.

I mix up 3ea1 liter bottles of each part of highly concentrated jacks, mag, calnit, then add small amounts of each to my rez each time I fill it up. Those bottles last me about 3 months at the EC levels Im running at. The higher the concentration, the longer it takes to dissolve. One of these will save me a lot of bottle shaking

Larry3215 said:

Very cool! I had no idea these were available that cheap.

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One thing to note this is only a mag stirrer. If I was to buy again I'd buy one with an integrated heating element so I don't have to warm the water myself.