# Cal Mag +



## stevetberry (Oct 18, 2011)

Do you all use Cal Mag + in flowering only or do you use it in veg also?  My plants are 6 weeks into flower and I might have a slight Cal Mag deficiency and I have been using Cal Mag since the 4th week of veg.  I am using the lower dose.  I have also had lots of trouble with algae on this grow.  I might have let it go a little to far before I started using H2O2.  Do you all use H2O2 for the entire grow or do just use it if you see algae?  I have no light leaks and am using opaque buckets from Gen Hydro.  I can mix up a new batch of nutes and clean resevoir and within a few days my airstones are starting to get covered with a sponge like material.  This is my 8th grow using this same system.  It is a Gen Hydro waterfarm.  Any advise is appreciated.  I use the Gen Hydro 3 part with Cal Mag +, liquid Koolbloom, Florablend, Floricious Plus and now H2O2.  Even though I am having some problems the girls look good.  I am growing AK-48 and LSD.


----------



## pcduck (Oct 18, 2011)

I use cal/mag at 7ml/gallon in flower do not use in veg.

If you have algae you have a light leak or your rez/buckets does not keep the light out.


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Oct 18, 2011)

I use 5 ml per gal all through flowering, none in veg.  I'm with the Duck--if you have algae, you have a light leak.  

Nutrients can become locked out if your pH is not correct.

How are you using all the additives?


----------



## Sol (Oct 18, 2011)

What potting medium are you using? As we know our nutrient mixes will have to be different depending on if you are using soil or coco or hydroton.  I use a mix but i know that Coco ,for example will suck up certain nutes itself, and leave a lesser amount for the plant. I can't remember the value for the NPK shortages but it might be worth looking into.


----------



## stevetberry (Oct 18, 2011)

During flowering my mix is:  25 ml ph down, 40 ml FloraMicro, 20 ml FloraGro, 60 ml FloraBloom, 20 ml liquid KoolBloom, 20 ml Cal Mag +, 40 ml FloraBlend, 4 ml Floralicious Plus and 20 ml H2O2 mixed in this order.  The resevoir has half strength in it.  All of these amounts are per 4 gallons.  I use a continious monitoring ph, ppm and temperature apparatus throughout the grow but it only reads correct when the old digital ballast is off but I do keep a good eye on the ph and adjust as needed.  I keep my ph around 5.5 to 5.8.  The only light leak that I have is the small gap that the air line goes thorough, it is smaller than your little finger nail.  THG and Duck do you use H2O2?  This is my 8th grow using the same equipment and every time that I have grown I have noticed a small amount of snot like substance after the first week but it has always gone away by the second week when I start adding nutes.  I mean a very small amount as in maybe the size of a quarter.  I am using hydroton by the way.  Thanks for the help.


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Oct 18, 2011)

I do not believe that all those additives are meant to be used at one time.  In addition some of them are organic and may be causing you problems because you are using chem nutes.  Plus, You should not be pHing and nuting the water at the same time.  You should mix your nutes, let them sit for 12-24 hours and then pH your solution.  Then wait another 12-24 hours for everything to work right.

No, I do not use H2O2.  I also just use GH Flora Series 3 part and Cal-Mag.  I do not get any icky in my buckets.  I use black buckets.  I suspect the organic additives you are using.


----------



## stevetberry (Oct 18, 2011)

The nute schedule that I am using is the one found on the GH website and I put the settings on Flora Series, Recirculating, Normal water type, Normal Program Level and Normal Feeding Schedule.  The only difference is the Cal Mag +, however obviously what you are saying might be the problem.  I change my nute solution once a week.  Before I did the Sticky on Slimy Roots with the H2O2 I was getting almost an inch of spongy like material growing on the cylinderical air stone in my resevoir in less than one week.  Any suggestions on which one or all of the additives that I should quit using.  Thanks for the help by the way,I do not post much but I do read the forums alot.  By the way I do have lots of ventilation, because I know how important that is thanks to you.


----------



## Locked (Oct 18, 2011)

I wld go to the basics and lose all the additives....also THG is right about mixing Organic and Chem nutrients together. I use GH Flora series as well and ran out of Bloom so I used the GH Organic Bloom instead and it caused serious problems. I wld mix, stir well and check the ph and it wld be real low like 4.9....then I wld let it sit for about 12 hours and when I came back it was all foamy and warm like chemical reactions were occurring. When I checked the ph it was 7.8 ...needless to say I ordered more GH Flora Bloom. 

I wld stick with Grow, Micro, Bloom and Cal Mag +....jmo


----------



## stevetberry (Oct 18, 2011)

Thanks for the input HL, I have often thought about making it simplier after reading yours and THG's posts.  I know that both of you only use the GH 3 part and Cal Mag +.  As best that I can tell the Cal Mag + and the Floracious Plus are the only organics that I use.  I just do not want to go backwards on yield.  My last harvest after throwing some away due to bud rot was .75 gram per watt.  I know own a dehumidifier for those summer grows.  I understand that you do not grow in the summer.  If I decide to go the simple route should I up the amount of the GH 3 part or keep the amounts the same, I know the liquid KoolBloom is strong.


----------



## Dr.Drow (Oct 18, 2011)

I'm fully organic and would not advise using chem ferts at the same time. the thing about h2o2 is it kills good bacteria just as good as the bad, I only use it if i see my roots getting slimy usually this is from heat stress. looks like your post fit this bill so this is my reccomendation and my routine if i ever get snotty roots.
 I water down my store bought HydrogenPeroxide(3%)to 50-75% clorine free water, then spray only the infected areas. Give it about 5 minutes you will hear crackling maybe alitle fizz. then spray the infected area again with clorine free water to rinse the roots, a few hours later ill spray some soluble mycorrhizae via fungidotcom.(best ten dollar investment ever) so far ive never have a problem again. EzPz. Also i find 5.5 to be to alittle low and keep my ph around 5.8-6.2 with fully organic ferts and good air stones my ph remains 6.0 and the girls love it ;]


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Oct 18, 2011)

stevetberry said:
			
		

> Thanks for the input HL, I have often thought about making it simplier after reading yours and THG's posts.  I know that both of you only use the GH 3 part and Cal Mag +.  As best that I can tell the Cal Mag + and the Floracious Plus are the only organics that I use.  I just do not want to go backwards on yield.  My last harvest after throwing some away due to bud rot was .75 gram per watt.  I know own a dehumidifier for those summer grows.  I understand that you do not grow in the summer.  If I decide to go the simple route should I up the amount of the GH 3 part or keep the amounts the same, I know the liquid KoolBloom is strong.



Flora Blend is organic.  Cal-Mag plus is not.

I do not go by any set feeding schedule.  Different strains can and do have very different nutrient needs.  I use the ratios that GH recommends, but up the ppms until I see a little nute burn and then back off a little.  If you can look close at my pics, virtually all of my plants show a tiny bit of nute burn at the tips of the leaves.

Also, like I said, your solution should not be pH'd and then nutrients added as the nutrients affect the pH of the solution.  They also need to sit to buffer the water so you know how much to pH it.


----------



## olyippie (Oct 19, 2011)

I have heard that with RO water I need to put Cal Mag+ in every time Veg or Flower. Ain't that right?????


----------



## Hushpuppy (Oct 19, 2011)

I have read the same thing, and with my big grow that is in coco, I add it with every feeding. I think if you are in soil and/or are growing organic, you don't have to add it as often but rather add it in the bulk form of lime mixed in the medium whenever the medium is changed or added to the initial setup. I suspect with RO water or any water that has a low mineral content that it is good to add a little extra for organic, and regularly for hydro.


----------



## Locked (Oct 19, 2011)

Yes I believe RO water requires some added CalMag since almost everything has been removed from the water.


----------



## pcduck (Oct 19, 2011)

olyippie said:
			
		

> I have heard that with RO water I need to put Cal Mag+ in every time Veg or Flower. Ain't that right?????



I don't. I only use it in flower and I run R/O in my DWC


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Oct 19, 2011)

I do not run an RO but used to.  I was like pcduck.  I only used the Cal-Mag in flowering.  I have never seen any deficiencies in veg, so am figuring that the GH 3 part supplies enough during veg, but not flower.


----------



## zardoz (Jan 13, 2012)

I agree 100% with this post, I've been told that coco should never have an excess of 800ppm's... over time I drive my ppm's past 1400-1600. It takes time to ramp up to this level, I have never had ANY problems so long as I allow the plants a reasonable time to get used to the higher nute levels.

  zardoz




			
				The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> Flora Blend is organic.  Cal-Mag plus is not.
> 
> I do not go by any set feeding schedule.  Different strains can and do have very different nutrient needs.  I use the ratios that GH recommends, but up the ppms until I see a little nute burn and then back off a little.  If you can look close at my pics, virtually all of my plants show a tiny bit of nute burn at the tips of the leaves.
> 
> Also, like I said, your solution should not be pH'd and then nutrients added as the nutrients affect the pH of the solution.  They also need to sit to buffer the water so you know how much to pH it.


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 13, 2012)

Not all plants can take levels like that, regardless of whether you work up to it or not.  I pretty much kick my ppms up until I see a little nute burn and then back off a little.  I run a lot of Mandala strains that are quite efficient in their nutrient uptake and therefore run a lot lower ppms than some.  There is no ideal nute level for every plant.  It is more experimentation to see what your plants want--some like their nutes quite strong, others like a lot lower levels..


----------



## Budders Keeper (Jan 13, 2012)

Hello steve, I was having the same deal if it's brown slimy stuff on your airstone. I was also using GH's chart. As soon as I quit florablend and florolicious+ the slime was gone. I don't know if that is your problem but it was mine. No more goopy chunky stuff for me, if it ain't relatively clear I don't use it.


----------



## stevetberry (Jan 14, 2012)

Hey BK thanks for replying.  At first mine was algae due to the fact that my nute solution was real warm and maybe a light leak.  I also quit using Florablend and Floralicious + for a while but have since started back.  I had to buy a water cooler for my outfit, not so much for flowering but for vegging.  Since I have started using the Florablend and Floarlicious + again I have not had any algae but I do have a little brown percipitate (spelling) showing but it is not bad.  Like yours mine is only in the resevoir and not in the controller but I cannot see inside my buckets without a lot of moving things around and will have to wait until harvest to see if it is in the buckets.  If it is in the buckets then I will quit using it again.  I use trellis's once my plants get about a foot tall, after that they are very hard to move.  I do not understand why GH would recommend using them if they create a percipitate.  The brown stuff in my resevoir is only on the bottom and a little on the lower walls, before it was floating everywhere.


----------



## NorCalHal (Jan 14, 2012)

I also use r/o water and use calmag from day one of clone, all thru veg and flower.

I recently switched from Botanicares Cal Mag to GH's new Cal Mag, caled CALiMagic.

I use GH, so it made sense to me to use thier brand of CalMag. It is new to the market, only on the shelves a month or so.
I was fortunate enough to go to the Hydro Trade Show nad got to talk to GH folks about it.
GH's CalMag has half the nitrogen botanicare does and more Calcium and Mag. You use about half of what botanicare calls for, I use 4 ml per gal.

hXXp://generalhydroponics.com/site/index.php/products/supplements/calimagic/


----------



## stevetberry (Jan 14, 2012)

I have also switched to the new CaliMagic because of my problems and I have read that other hydro people had trouble with the CalMag+.  My problem is that when I have a problem I never just change one thing, I change 4 things and then I do not know what helped or if all helped.  I am on grow number 9 and still learning.  I have not decided if this is a exact science or a feeling thing.  I perfer to use like things also, I use GH nutes and also run waterfarms.  I also just bought GH's new RapidStart root enhancer and started using it mid grow.  I have never used a root enhancer with my hydro stuff but always use it when I plant things outside.  I paid over $100.00 for 1 liter.  I always enjoy your posts, seems like you are still evolving.


----------



## 4u2sm0ke (Jan 14, 2012)

:ciao:

Happy Growing everyone...I use cal/mag+ and start a week befor flower starts...and then All through flower...


Stay Organic:lama:


take care and be safe


----------



## juniorgrower (Jan 14, 2012)

I am growing organic with a 2:1 ratio of Fox Farms Ocean forest to light warrior.  I use all organic nutes and compost teas.  I started using CalMag+ from botanicare when I switched my plants over to the flowering room.  Is that ok where I am growing organic?


----------

