Thanks for the interesting link! I've heard about this method but have never read up on it b4. So my ph levels and ppms were steady as it could be up until I overfed about a month ago. I didn't do much documentation this grow(2nd) and first time using just trio and calmag. I also quit using bennies around this time as well, stupidly thinking they would still b there in the roots after a water change. That link did say something that the Gro part would add way too much nitrogen, something the micro part had enough of. So, stuff I need to think about for the next grow. I may look into Athena for nutes, but have enough trio to do another grow and I'd hate to just throw it away.
The gh trio is the easiest thing I've ever used, never had an issue. Never seen root color affected by the micro either. Only time i ever ever get ph dips is if i run for longer than two weeks without a change, or one week during peak flower when uptake is the highest.
One thing that got me was before was the mix process, once I got that, zero issues, easy peasy,i love the trio.
I add silica as the very first addition to RO water. This and the calmag i believe become your pH buffer if done correctly, which i admit i was fucking up for my first handful of grows causing defencies of calcium but not pH drops.
My process:
First, silica, stir vigorously, let sit for at least 20 minutes before next step, it takes time to stabilize and if rushed the mix is botched, imo.
After the 20 minutes then bring the pH down to below 7, some go down to 5.8, but I only get the solution on the acidic side of pH, 7 being neutral and anything lower is considered acidic, which is what you want before next step.
Add calmag, if ph is not lowered first you will have heavy precipitation of chelates i think it's called, basically the solution loses it's bond with the calmag, and is no longer available to plants and ruining the effect of calmag as a second ph buffer, as far as i understand it from one of the oldheads, moe i think.
I wait another 20 minutes after calmag.
Then you can zip through the rest of your supplements without time delay, micro, then either grow/flower next, then the rest of it.
At the end often only a very little amount of pH down is needed to bring from 6.2 to 5.8 pH. Then finally your king crab or other beneficials. Never skip this step.
I follow the ratios from gh recommend charts of lowest aggressive feed. I have my own tailored ratios i follow now based on past grow logs and plant responses. This logging has been my savior, i can look at previous grows to slightly tweek on individual strain needs from current grow.
I don't know if I've been as helpful as i hoped, just trying to help with the lessons I've learned.
I've had root rot before when using tap which causes drastic pH drops, but never with RO water and the water chiller.
Imo gh trio is one of the easiest and widely used nute system in the home grow market, even outside of cannabis, especially with hydro. There is little to zero sediment with the products, which is what i love, and the price point.
Hopefully I've been helpful, I'll get on my computer in a minute to share other info I've used to help guide my ratios outside of mfg charts. Imo the ratios are easy once understood and how the ratio is more important than even total EC, as important as both are, one is even more critical to plant uptake.
Much love and forgive me if this is already known, just always find it helpful to put it all out there.
, u r swinging urs around now?! Love this stage of the grow!! lol Excited and watching ur grow, what strain r u doing?
