Diy calcium magnesium suppliment - calmag

NaturalFarmer

Well-Known Member
When I want to use calcium and magnesium on my plants I use Epsom salts and egg shells
Try Gypsum as a topdress if your in soil instead of the carbonates. Egg shells will take months/years to become available. The sulfate in most scenarios will release the calcium and bind to magnesium in your soil creating magnesium sulfate which is leachable and will correct situations of too much mag in your soil. Save the Epsom for foliar so that you can really push higher K levels by having the higher calcium levels in there. Does that make sense?
 
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Danomano

Member
Try Gypsum as a topdress if your in soil instead of the carbonates. Egg shells will take months/years to become available. The sulfate in most scenarios will release the calcium and bind to magnesium in your soil creating magnesium sulfate which is leachable and will correct situations of too much mag in your soil. Save the Epsom for foliar so that you can really push higher K levels by having the higher calcium levels in there. Does that make sense?
Farmer,

Does the same apply in hydro?
 
Ok I've been growing weed for decades and only listened to people that not only knew but could prove they knew what the fuck they were doing like everyone I went through the trial and error phase but once I found someone that really knew what they doing I paid attention and improved on it when I could back in the early 90s my mentor said caiman was just calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate(Epsom salt) I never questioned it we got really good results so if it ain't broke don't fix it then I took a break for a few years then they legalized it so boom I'm back in business the only problem is I'm used to growing 400 plants not 4 and back then the fastest way to grow was growing 30-50 plants on 4x8 flood and drain(ebb and flow)tables using 3 400 watt hope lights per table I was told a good grower could get 2lbs in 2 months but I always got 3 or more life was good till the cops showed up anyway starting back up after my break I had to learn how to get the most out of 4 plants a lot has changed we never used liquid nutes we had big grows and more then one so we used granular fertilizers and once you know what you're doing you can dial your nutes not only for indica or sativa but for whatever high bred you want with exelent results but a lot of the shit I used was either hard to get or non existent so it was back to square 1 I had to figure it all out again and in doing so I've got my nutes back producing nice big buds but I also learned that calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate don't make cal mag but they do seem to benefit the plants now I'm working out the math on how to make the cheapest real cal mag and will post it when I do but until then if you want to buy expensive shit go ahead but calcium nitrate is cheap and Epsom salts a buck at a dollar store and if you blow 20 bucks on the 2 of them it'll out last you! And your plants will love it at least mine did just be careful not to use too much or you'll burn you plants.I use equil amounts of 15.5-0-0 calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) don't use scented or colored and ya I didn't have to give you my life story but hey I'm not the dummy that read I'd............just kidding happy gardening all and if any newbies need some free tips from someone that's grown in every system I know of feel free to ask if I'm not 100%sure of the answer I won't give it but if theirs a problem I haven't seen I'd love to see it I haven't grown pounds I've grown tons and if you don't believe me ask the cops
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Longest run-on sentence I gave up reading really quick.

A liter of REMO CalMag Cost me $20 and will last me 2 years or until it goes bad whichever comes first. Way less hassle than making your own unless you're going commercial hydro then make all your nutes to save loads of cash but Calmag? Not worth the effort for the average home grower.

This REMO MagNifiCal is 3%N, 2%Ca, 1.3%Mg and 1%Fe. All chelated too so better than your average homemade stuff.

I got 2 5gal pails of calcium nitrate from the mud man when I was hauling water for the rigs. I asked for a couple cans like coffe cans or something then went to get a load of water. When I came back to my trailer there was 2 black pails full at my door. :) Never used it and now it's gone into one solid mass in each pail as it so hydrophilic. Could chip off what I need and dissolve it but meh. That was 10 years ago at least but still got the pails.

:peace:

PS: If you're growing that many plants a little calmag is just a minor business expense isn't it?
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I've never used a calmag product in my life. There is plenty of calcium and magnesium in the cheap base nutrients I use. I've grown hydro, coco, soil, and never once have I used a calmag product. I never have any calcium or magnesium deficiencies. It boggles the mind that people pay top dollar for nutrients that don't supply everything the plant needs and have to buy additional additives to provide what should already be present. I should say that I use tap water as well which is providing some calcium and magnesium. Those levels go up when they supplement the Bull Run water with ground water which happens when the Bull Run water level gets low.
 

TrippleDip

Well-Known Member
It boggles the mind that people pay top dollar for nutrients that don't supply everything the plant needs and have to buy additional additives to provide what should already be present.
I have started making my own nutes, but I grow vegetables and fruit trees too. Paying "top dollar" doesn't really increase your expenses very much. My nutes cost me about $4 per L or about 1/4 of what GH three part was costing (including koolbloom and calimagic), the change will save me only $40 per year less than $1 per oz (legal, four plant maximum, way more than I can smoke anyway). Was it worth the headache, the time? Just my 2c.

Nutes are less than 1/5 of my expenses and 1/4 of electricity costs, and we have cheap electricity here. Why not spend a bit..
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I have started making my own nutes, but I grow vegetables and fruit trees too. Paying "top dollar" doesn't really increase your expenses very much. My nutes cost me about $4 per L or about 1/4 of what GH three part was costing (including koolbloom and calimagic), the change will save me only $40 per year less than $1 per oz (legal, four plant maximum, way more than I can smoke anyway). Was it worth the headache, the time? Just my 2c.

Nutes are less than 1/5 of my expenses and 1/4 of electricity costs, and we have cheap electricity here. Why not spend a bit..
Oh I can afford to spend more but why? I grow healthy plants without the need for calmag. It might only be $20 a bottle but I'd rather keep that $20 in my bank account instead of dumping it down the drain. I use calcium nitrate, a micronutrient blend, and monopotassium phosphate. That's all I need. I've seen hundreds of pictures of plants on this and other sites from people using the fancy designer nutes and a shelf full of additives. My plants look healthier and I never have deficiencies. So it's not necessarily about the cost. It's about healthy plants that are not covered in crispy fried leaves suffering from deficiencies. I achieve that doing what I'm doing. I don't need to spend more money to have poorer results. I have thousands of posts and not one was asking what was wrong with my plants. In fact I've posted a significant amount of pictures of healthy plants I've grown.

I grow vegetables and a few fruit trees as well. It's no more difficult to mix the three things I use for cannabis than mixing cannabis specific nutes. In fact it's easier because I'm not following some feeding chart that has me changing amounts each week and adding different additives at different times. I mix the calcium nitrate and micronutrients for vegging. I use the same strength except for the first couple weeks. At flower I just add some MKP and run the same strength until I start to taper down the strength a couple weeks out from harvest. Easy peasy. It's much less of a headache than following Fox Farms, or Advanced Nutrients feeding regimens. No way I'm spending time and money with a dozen bottles when I can get the same things to the plants with the three things I currently use. I'm obviously not a fan of the cannabis specific nutrient industry. I'll forgo saying what I think about it. But I've been pretty vocal about it in other posts.

Anyway, too many more important things to think about right now. Stay healthy. :peace: bongsmilie
 

TrippleDip

Well-Known Member
No way I'm spending time and money with a dozen bottles when I can get the same things to the plants with the three things I currently use.
Right with u 100%, especially with "In fact it's easier because I'm not following some feeding chart that has me changing amounts each week and adding different additives at different times." <<so much this

Just wanted to add that for a lot of growers trying to replace name brand nutes doesn't make sense. I might save $18 on a $20 bottle of calmag that takes me three years to finish anyways. Everyone has their own way of growing, I'm not trying to discredit you or say that one way is better than another, just share perspective.

There is a lot of bad practices and price gouging by many companies, but that's true anywhere and people will move on as they learn.
 

nunyabidness420

Well-Known Member
I've been mixing my own cal mag after this thread.
7.5g calcium nitrate to 500ml of water
4.5g magnesium sulfate to 500ml water
add mag water to cal water
I add 50ml of this to 1 liter of water to get 200ppm ~7.4ph
When I add ph down (diluted phosphoric acid) I noticed that the ppm drops down to ~180ppm.
Any idea what's precipitating out of the water?
The ppm drop doesn't occur when i add ph down to the water alone so I'm assuming its pulling some of the calmag out of solution.
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
It's been 30 years since I got my diploma in chemistry so I might be missing something but there should be no reaction between 2 inorganic salts and a week acid like H3PO4.

Considering that the addition of nutes tends to lower pH I wouldn't bother using pH down on the blend at all. Just add your DIY CalMag first, then your nutes, and adjust pH with the final mix if needed at all.
 

nunyabidness420

Well-Known Member
It's been 30 years since I got my diploma in chemistry so I might be missing something but there should be no reaction between 2 inorganic salts and a week acid like H3PO4.

Considering that the addition of nutes tends to lower pH I wouldn't bother using pH down on the blend at all. Just add your DIY CalMag first, then your nutes, and adjust pH with the final mix if needed at all.
Thanks for the reply.
I'm using the calmag to flush coco coir to check how my buffering is holding up.
The plant is doing great so this is more curiosity than an issue.
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the reply.
I'm using the calmag to flush coco coir to check how my buffering is holding up.
The plant is doing great so this is more curiosity than an issue.
I still can't quite see why people use coco. 4X the price of ProMix HP and 4X the hassle what with weird watering needs, buffering etc but to each their own I guess.

I can't get it locally either but everybody and their dog sells ProMix products up here in northern Alberta. Shipping would raise the cost to 8X too.

I just buy CalMag as it isn't that expensive and a 1L jug ends up going bad before I can use it up. I made my own calcium nitrate once with marble chips and concentrated nitric acid but wasn't sure how much of it to use with the plants. Did it with eggshells too once.

Good luck with your experiment.

:peace:
 

shackleferd

Well-Known Member
Cloned version of calmag plus=

Calcium nitrate—- 4 grams per gallon
Magnesium nitrate—— 2 grams per gallon
Chelated iron edta——— .145 grams per gallon

Nitrogen——- 220 ppm
Magnesium——50 ppm
Calcium——- 200 ppm
Iron——- 5 ppm


Notes- Substituted magnesium sulfate with magnesium nitrate, no worries of condensation. Magnesium/calcium nitrates are also more easily absorbed by plants.
 
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Dan_J

Member
Cloned version of calmag plus=

Calcium nitrate—- 4 grams per gallon
Magnesium nitrate—— 2 grams per gallon
Chelated iron edta——— .145 grams per gallon

Nitrogen——- 220 ppm
Magnesium——50 ppm
Calcium——- 200 ppm
Iron——- 5 ppm


Notes- Substituted magnesium sulfate with magnesium nitrate, no worries of condensation. Magnesium/calcium nitrates are also more easily absorbed by plants.
this calmag recipe sounds about right, should be able to use as a liquid concentrate to use just like a store bought version for quick use when needed if using magnesium sulfate as far as i understand can only be used as a ready to use solution eg 2 EC and under, cant be used as a liquid concentrate.

i'm just repeating common practices for commercial hydroponic industry, if mag sul and calcium concentrate works for anyone then do what works i guess
 

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shackleferd

Well-Known Member
this calmag recipe sounds about right, should be able to use as a liquid concentrate to use just like a store bought version for quick use when needed if using magnesium sulfate as far as i understand can only be used as a ready to use solution eg 2 EC and under, cant be used as a liquid concentrate.

i'm just repeating common practices for commercial hydroponic industry, if mag sul and calcium concentrate works for anyone then do what works i guess
Its actually the same thing, here are the listed ingredients in calmag plus, "Ingredients: Calcium nitrate, magnesium nitrate, iron EDTA. ".

If you know how to work a ppm meter or use "hydrobuddy" you can make your own bottle concentrate for about fifty to seventy cents a gallon. Just make sure you mix it with distilled water.

All the ingredients are listed on ebay or amazon. Amazon is a bit harder because they usually sell mag nitrate with other compounds. Have to look real deep but ebay its all over the place.

Calcium nitrate can be found at lowes, usually in the fertilizer section. Its mainly used to treat blossom rot in tomato plants. Cost about 8 dollars for a large bag enough for a lifetime supply if youre only using it for calmag.
 
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Queenbees

Member
Cloned version of calmag plus=

Calcium nitrate—- 4 grams per gallon
Magnesium nitrate—— 2 grams per gallon
Chelated iron edta——— .145 grams per gallon

Nitrogen——- 220 ppm
Magnesium——50 ppm
Calcium——- 200 ppm
Iron——- 5 ppm


Notes- Substituted magnesium sulfate with magnesium nitrate, no worries of condensation. Magnesium/calcium nitrates are also more easily absorbed by plants.
Looks like a good mixture. But how do i convert this into 5ml per gallon?

Thx
 

shackleferd

Well-Known Member
Looks like a good mixture. But how do i convert this into 5ml per gallon?

Thx
5 ml of store bought calmag pro is @ 200 ppm per gallon of distilled water. Keep adding to your concentrate till you hit 200 ppm. You can also
use the program hydrobuddy.

I made my bulk a long time ago, forgot the numbers. To make it easier start off with 32 ounces of distilled water and go from there. For example times each of those numbers by 50 and start measuring. If you go over just add distilled water to your diy concentrate until its at 200 ppm per 5ml.

If you dont have distilled water around you can use rain water. Rain water is usually 0 to 2 ppm per gallon, basically neutral.
 
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