Once your res is full and you have nutes in there, take a ppm reading. Record this number. As the days go by, take readings every day. If your ppm number stays relatively the same, you are dialed in and your plants are drinking and eating nutes at an equal level. If your ppm goes up, they are drinking and not eating as much, and if your PPM numbers go down they are eating more then they are drinking, so you will adjust your nutes accordingly.
Good Luck.
For me personally, the way I prevent both my ph issues and ppm issues is to use RO water and the Lucas Formula with GH Flora micro and bloom. My grow is almost a month old and my readings everyday are spot on. I am also using the add back with nutes formula so I do not have to do any flushes for my entire grow.thanks.. i heard about that.. why does the ppm go higher? why dont they want nutes? is there a way to prevent or solve this issue when the ppm goes up?
For me personally, the way I prevent both my ph issues and ppm issues is to use RO water and the Lucas Formula with GH Flora micro and bloom. My grow is almost a month old and my readings everyday are spot on. I am also using the add back with nutes formula so I do not have to do any flushes for my entire grow.
So yesterday I check my res and I am a gallon low on water. I add a gal of ph adjusted RO water to the res. I give it time to mix in. I take my ppm readings and I plug the #'s into the add back formula. The final result was to add 8ml of micro and 16 ml of bloom, which is EXACTLY the numbers you add for the lucas form, 0-8-16.
So I am find that using this formula, with the GH Flora nutes, at least for my White Widow plant, and my Northern Lights plant, is so freaking spot on, that I do not know why more people don't use it. My plants are thriving, and my readings are always right where they need to be.
But I am not experienced enough with other nute systems to tell you how to correct/adjust/prevent your issues from happening. I am sure more experienced people will chime in to help you out.
I am in the US. I bought my nutes online (General Hydroponics Flora series. its a 3 part system, Micro, Grow, and Bloom, but you only need the Micro and the Bloom to run the Lucas formula. Cheaper.I also can buy them at my local hydro store, but I know everyone does not have access to them locally. But it can be purchased online at plenty of places.
If you want to learn the Lucas Formula (Its really easy, and works like a charm) read it from the man himself. The link below is to Lucas' question and answer thread. The first couple of pages explains everything you need to know. Its an awesome read. Check it out.
http://www.cannabis-world.org/cw/showthread.php?t=892
I don't use the 33%. I use the addback formula Lucas recommends.hey, nice answers. what formula are you using? For the addbacks. I just go by ppm. I read the 33% theory and it looked off for me. Can you elaborate for a + rep. I love this subjecy. I use tapwater and regular micro and bloom and am having awesome results with ph finally after initial adjustment. Go figure. Works tho.
Also what are anyones thoughts on what amount of ml it takes to get 5-0-1 of micro. I read over and over that it is 1 tsp. I am sure it is. But is anyone as dumb as I am and not quite happy with that. However I tried to work it at 2 tsp to get that and it burned my plants so 8/16 is good enough for me.
I don't use the 33%. I use the addback formula Lucas recommends.
Here is how it works. You add back however many gallons of water you need to fill your res (ph adjusted water). Do this before you do anything, including taking a ppm reading. Fill your res first.
Next, take a ppm reading and record it. (Also have your initial starting ppm handy as well. The other # you need is the amount in gallons that you have your res filled to. (The formula states res size, but if you have an 18 gallon res but only fill it to 12 gallons, you use the 12 as the res size, not 1.
With those 3 numbers, plug them into this formula:
((target ppm - current ppm) / target) * 8 ml per gallon * res gallons = Flora Micro (ml) double this figure to get Flora Bloom (ml)
ANd it works perfectly. The other night I was a gallon short in my res. I filled it up, took a reading, did the formula, and came out with 8 ml of micro and 16 ml of bloom needed to reach my target ppm, which is exactly what the Lucas formula uses per gallon. So that means my plants are eating and drinking at the exact same rate under the Lucas formula. I will say if my numbers stay steady through my whole grow, and I indeed never need to flush, I will always grow using this system. Why do anything else? lol.
You run both, for the entire grow. Combined, they have everything the plant needs for its entire life. For every gallon of water, you add 8 ml of micro, and 16 ml of bloom. You take your ppm reading, and that is your target ppm from there on out."he other night I was a gallon short in my res. I filled it up, took a reading, did the formula, and came out with 8 ml of micro and 16 ml of bloom needed to reach my target ppm, "
i am understanding the formula but little confused on one part... you said the formula calculated to 8ml micro / 16ml of bloom, needed for targeted ppm. are you adding it both? because the micro is for the growth and bloom for the flowering... why add both? sorry for sounding dumb but that bit confused me... the whole formula works perfect...
i had the following in mind:
((target ppm - current ppm) / target) * 8 ml per gallon * res gallons = Flora Micro (ml)
(finding the target ppm)
i USE a 12 gallon res. in the growth stage, i need (according to the flora app guide) 3.5ml per gallon. once filled, i would make a note of the ppm reading, as this will give me a static target ppm to use whilst adding more gallons later..
(finding the current ppm) - easy, just measure the ppm of the current state of res.
the other thing i am confused about is the last part of the formula, "... *8 ml per gallon".. why 8? or is this part of the formula which will never change no matter if you're on the growth or bloom stage?
oh i see... also, use the same water or do i have to drain every 2 weeks or so?You run both, for the entire grow. Combined, they have everything the plant needs for its entire life. For every gallon of water, you add 8 ml of micro, and 16 ml of bloom. You take your ppm reading, and that is your target ppm from there on out.
na, i will use the this formula... ((target ppm - current ppm) / target) * 8 ml per gallon * res gallons = Flora Micro (ml)If you use the addback with nutes formula that I posted above, you do not have to flush for the entire grow, assuming your readings stay where they should be. As long as your PH and PPM numbers remain where they should be, no flushes needed.
if you use the addback water only formula then you will need to flush.