# My PPM'S



## tim4960 (Mar 17, 2011)

Hey all, I am running a GH Rainforest66 aero sys, 17gal res but only fill to12 -14 gal. Im using GH 3 part nutes and mollasses. My PH is 5.9-6.3 and my ppm's are 1300. They seem to be doing ok and there is about 3 wks till harvest. Is this normal for my ppms to be that high? Thanks


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## v35b (Mar 17, 2011)

Well what is your ppm of the unnuted water???try to keep the ph at 5.8


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## tim4960 (Mar 17, 2011)

My unnuted water is only 40, it's not hard by a long shot. It seems that whenever the light is out the ph goes up. Is that because the plants are resting and not using so much nutes?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 17, 2011)

tim4960 said:
			
		

> Hey all, I am running a GH Rainforest66 aero sys, 17gal res but only fill to12 -14 gal. Im using GH 3 part nutes and mollasses. My PH is 5.9-6.3 and my ppm's are 1300. They seem to be doing ok and there is about 3 wks till harvest. Is this normal for my ppms to be that high? Thanks



Why are you using molasses?  How are you checking your pH when the lights are out?

Your pH is high--it should be between 5.5 and 6.0 for hydro.  Your ppms seem normal or maybe even a little low.  How much of each are you adding to a gallon of water?


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## trillions of atoms (Mar 17, 2011)

i agree with goddess...why are you using molasses??


and ppms sound low.


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## OGKushman (Mar 18, 2011)

I use GH3 part at 5.3-5.8pH, 1500ppm start flower, up 100ppm a week to 2000ppm or so max by end of flower. I hate molasses. I used it once as per anothers advice and it clogged my pump. Plants almost died. So it was right back to Liquid Carbo Load for a sugar booster.


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## tim4960 (Mar 18, 2011)

Goddess, I use mollassess because it's a natural bud sweller. How do I raise my ppms without raising my ph? I check my ph with the light out with a 3 way meter that is designed to stay in the res at all times. thanks for the help.
I woke this morning and my ph was at 7   HELP


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## tim4960 (Mar 18, 2011)

This Is What I Add To A Gal Of Water 10ml- Micro, 5ml Gro, 15ml Bloom, And 5 Ml Cal/mag Per Gal X 13, THIS IS FOR BLOOM


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 18, 2011)

tim4960 said:
			
		

> Goddess, I use mollassess because it's a natural bud sweller. How do I raise my ppms without raising my ph? I check my ph with the light out with a 3 way meter that is designed to stay in the res at all times. thanks for the help.
> I woke this morning and my ph was at 7   HELP



Molasses is not really a natural bud sweller--it aids microbial life in soil grows.  I do not know how you are even using it without it gunking everything up.

I am a little confused by your question about raising the ppms--if you raise the ppms, the pH goes down, not up.  What is happening with your ppms when the pH goes up?  IMO, you are starting with too low ppms and too high pH.  Raise the ppms and lower your starting pH to about 5.5.


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## woodydude (Mar 18, 2011)

I had a constantly rising ph a while back, it drove me insane, I was constantly checking it, adding drops of diluted ph- when it rose slightly. I was setting it to 5.8 and within hours it would be 6.1

I did what THG suggested, raised the nute concentration and set the ph lower.

You see, as the plants use the nutes, the ph will rise. So, to combat this, you have a few options:
1. Raise the level of nutes. This means there are more nutes available for the plants to chew on before it affects the ph.
2. Use a bigger res. The bigger the res, the more of a buffer your plants have, again before their feeding affects the ph.
3. Stop checking the ph. Now, the way I understand it, most nutes have "buffers" in them to keep the ph within the target range, let them do their work. I found that when I left mine alone and stopped checking, they stayed at 5.9/6.0. Higher than I would like but its not what I would like, its what the plants like that matters, they seemed happy, were growing much better than when I was constantly fiddling with them and giving them ph fluctuation to deal with, which can cause problems of its own.
4. Have a lower starting ph. I set mine at 5.8, so I was actually causing lockout of some nutes, I now set it to 5.5 as THG said and even though it does fluctuate a little, it settles in the 5.8/5.9 range now (AN nutes)

This is not exactly fact, it is my experience or similar problems. I listened to the guys here and it helped enormously.
Green mojo on its way.


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## tim4960 (Mar 18, 2011)

THG and woodtdude, You 2 are awsome with the info  thanks. Im going to raise my nutes when im done here and see what happens. THG, The reason I dont get everything clogged up is, 1) Im putting 6tblsp into 13 gal of h2o, the sprayer/mister i have is fairly new. Its called the vortex and it spins while spraying very oxagenated water over the root sys. If you go to GH site its the RainForest66. I love it and would love it even more once I get the ppm and ph thing fixed. Thank you again for taking the time to help me, it means a lot to me seeing how this is my meds. Be Safe and Happy Growing


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## trillions of atoms (Mar 18, 2011)

Drop the molasses, hit them with 1600ppm-1800ppm  nuted solution and add an 1/8 to 1/4 teas. of koolbloom per 4lt. of water  (less koolbloom if higher starting ppm).

ph should be in the zone if using GH but wait until the solution is mixed and sitting before you add ph down. Give the nutes time to buffer the solution and they will take the ph down better with less swing which keeps the solution in the zone longer as well, before having to ph down agian.

Running the nutrient solution to strong or weak will cause drift, combat that by keeping an eye on ppms of the solution when mixing acordingly...until you get use to the "batching". Soon it will become second hand for you and you know where the ph is sitting by adding what and how much.

kudos!


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## tim4960 (Mar 19, 2011)

Well it's morning in sunny Ct, USA  and after checking my girls, Let me say that not only is my stress down but so is my PH. LOL. OK so I did what was suggested and here are my results as of this AM. PH 6.0. PPM-1750 and water temp is 75. God willing it will hold steady. Thank you again for all of your help, Its ppl like you all that make both these sites and growing a pleasure. Please Be Safe and Happy Growing All.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 19, 2011)

I would try and get the pH a little lower--6 is at the high end of where you want to be.  There are many nutes that are not taken up at that level.  Here is a chart that might help.

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1833&d=1141100090


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## my my (Mar 19, 2011)

THG, i have that Sheet posted right by my Res. to remind myself where i need the PH to be.
It was suggested to me in my rdwc to target the 5.4-5.6 range as the ideal area to stay in.
I think alot of my problem was in the nute choice i used. Seemed i got salt build up every couple weeks. 
As in, when ever i am around the girls. when i lick my lips i can taste the salt.
so every week when i did my res. change i also basically flushed threw the hydroton and the salt taste seemed to go away..And my Ph got back in line.

Hang in there Tim. This was my first grow and i certainly learnt alot, and have to thank a couple great members here for helping a newbie out..
My My


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## tim4960 (Mar 19, 2011)

Thanks for the added info my my and I agree totally with your comment about the help here. THG, My biggest fear right now is putting the girls threw such an up and down thing between the ph and my ppms that I think Im going to do this slowly. Not too slow but drop the ph a little at a time over the next day or so. That shouldnt hurt them any furher right? Here's the strange thing...There is no sign of distress on them at all. No spotting, no drooping leaves, its like time just stopped and the buds stayed at 2-3 inches long. I even checked the trichromes and their mostly clear with a few cloudy. I should have 1-2 weeks till harvest but not by the looks of things. Its white widow and unless they plan on working out in the dark in the next 2 weeks Id say uts gonna take linger than expected. Thanks THG and my my     tim


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## woodydude (Mar 19, 2011)

I would go with what TOA said and drop the molasses. It may not gunk up your system but it won't be helping your girls. http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55299 I just tested molasses in hydro, it will be the same results in your aeroponics setup, you dont have any soil, which means you dont have the microbes that feed on the molasses. What it will be doing hosever is possibly stopping your girls from feeding as they should.

I have some White Widow on the go just now and it is very nute sensitive. I know you are past the point of burning tips, but next time, give them as much nutes as they can handle without buring the leaf tips.

As this is your first grow, you are on a virtical learning curve. We have all been there and some of us value the help we got from people like THG, Hick, Rosebud, HIE (banned) and many others so we like to try and help the next batch of enthusiasts, hopefully one day you will do the same. Its all Karma dude!!!
Peace
W


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## tim4960 (Mar 19, 2011)

woodydude, I could'nt have said it any better. I beleive in karma and in the ol saying...you cant keep it unless you give it away. I did stop using the mollasses because of the no soil. I grew in dirt for a few years before switching over and have helped others in the past, it's a good feeling knowing that your making someone elses crop and knowledge expand. Thanks again my friend. Be Safe and Happy Growing.


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## tim4960 (Mar 23, 2011)

Well I got my camera to work so here's a couple of my White Widow girls with about 2 weeks left. Thanks for all the help I recived. enjoy


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 23, 2011)

tim4960 said:
			
		

> Well I got my camera to work so here's a couple of my White Widow girls with about 2 weeks left. Thanks for all the help I recived. enjoy



While I cannot see any pictures, I want to give you some advise regarding breeder's flowering estimates.......you generally need more time.  Over the years I have found that the breeder's estimates on flowering times are very optimistic (at best).  Most strains take 1-3 weeks longer than the breeder's estimates.  The only way to know if a plant is truly ready to harvest is to check the trichs with a microscope.


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## Bleek187 (Mar 23, 2011)

yeaaaaa... stop using mollasses first of all.. ive heard of it used for soil grows but never in hydro.. just the thought of pumping mollasses thru my hydro setup is upseting. you use mollasses in soil for organic grows. Not in hydro with nutes. GH sells bud enhancers to use with the 3 part nutes you already have. just buy those. 

as far as your ppm.. you can flower at 800ppm from start to end if you want. the plants will do fine. but most the time growers start somewhere from 800 to 1000 in week one (depending on the grower and the age of the plant) and push the ppm up every week. usualy by the last week your ppm is up around 1700+.  Personaly i start at 1000ppm on week one and end around 1750.. hope this helps. peace


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## tim4960 (Mar 23, 2011)

Bleek: Now that I have everything in sinc, I checked my ppm's this morning and their at 1770 .and my PH is at 5.7 my girls are smiling. 
THG - I could'nt agree with you more, Ive been checking the trichromes for a couple yrs. As of this morning, about an 1/8th are cloudy and the others are still clear. I usually harvest when a 3rd are amber and the rest cloudy white.. I tried to upload some pics but didnt seem to work. Ill try again now. Thanks again.


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## tim4960 (Mar 23, 2011)

y won't my pics upload. I dl'd picsa3,still wont work.


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## tim4960 (Mar 23, 2011)

Never mind I found them, their in hydro forum under....After the fix. Enjoy


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## trillions of atoms (Mar 25, 2011)

good growing.


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