COCO COIR A few questions about ph and meters/testing...also Coco question

[Tersky]

Ok so ive been growing for a little while but i took a break for a couple years (im a little rusty) and am getting back into the swing of things. One thing I'm trying to do is look at different ways i can do things and because i now use RO water ph has become a little bit of an issue. I use the testing drops and haven't had a problem in the past and really I'm not having issues with the testing right now but ive never used a digital meter. Im curious if anyone has experience with both and can tell me if a digital meter would benefit me. The main reason i haven't gotten one is because i've heard that you have to calibrate it a lot and im not a fan of that, but if it would benefit me im not opposed to doing it. I do nutes 1 gallon at a time to give you a perspective of the size of my grows. Im in a non legal state so i cant just have plants all over. I usually do 2 plants at a time but just got another tent so now im doing 6.

Another question i have is about coco and ph. For those who grow in coco, do you feed every time you water or do alternate nutes and ph'd water? And on that note do you alternate ph's on the nutes and ph'd water? By this i mean when i add nutes to water it raises ppm meaning i need more ph up or down, because of this i usually get my nute solution to 5.5 ish. On the other hand my ro water reacts more with the ph down so after one drop it gets to about 6.5 ish. If i add another drop it gets to 4 or below according to the drops so i usually leave it at 6.5 ish. Ive run into what could be a calcium deficiency or a ph problem and because it's been a while i wanted some feedback.

Speaking of calcium....RO water....So i know i have to add calmag (i use GH CaliMagic) to RO water and also for coco coir, the question is because i use both should i be doubling up on it? My instructions on CaliMagic say add 1 tsp per gallon to ro water. I add that first then do my nutes, but for coco do i need to add another tsp? I am using this schedule https://www.growweedeasy.com/wp-cont...s-schedule.pdf.

I know this was long and sorry about that. I hope you understand my questions lol,

[9fingerleafs]

first of all you should be feeding every time, dont do only water until pre harvest flush. when you are using ro water only you do not need to adjust ph. you dont need to double the calmag dose, one is plenty and calimagic has more calcium than calmag. i feed the same concentration (ml per gallon) for veg and flower, always 1.8ec or 900ppms, at a ph of 5.8 every time. this works for me. i dont know what coco you are using but if its not well washed or buffered you could be seeing the calcium deficiency because of that

[9fingerleafs]

and yes the meters are a pain in the ass, but once you get to know your water and nutrients you wont use it very often

[az2000]

if a digital meter would benefit me. The main reason i haven't gotten one is because i've heard that you have to calibrate it a lot and im not a fan of that, but if it would benefit me im not opposed to doing it. I do nutes 1 gallon at a time to give you a perspective of the size of my grows.

If you grow in soil, you shouldn't have to pH your nutrient solution. Especially if you don't overfeed. (You might need a soil ph probe to check your soil's ph. But, not a liquid pH meter.). I haven't pHed a nutrient solution for 4-5 years. Once I got my nutrient strength dialed in, I never had to pH anymore. The soil has more "gravity" to pull a mild nutrient solution to its pH. (If the nutrient solution were strong, then it might pull the soil's ph to it. But, what I always saw was that too-strong nutrient solutions accumulated unused salts n the soil -- which acidified the soil. When I didn't understand that was happening, I would add more "ph up" to the solution, which is more nutrients. Ph-up is essentially a fertilizer product. But, it's not labeled that way because it's not sold for that purpose. But, in effect, I was adding more salts to the nutrient solution, making it even stronger, trying to combat soil acidity which resulted from excess salts. It was a vicious cycle. Once I untangled that self-defeating ritual... I never had to ph anymore.).

I'm growing two plants in Kellogg Cactus potting mix (as a test, to see how that medium grows). Attached is a photo two days ago (Day 38). I'm feeding it MiracleGro All-Purpose & Pennington Fish Fertilizer. I haven't pH'ed anything. Had a rough start because it needed substantially more N than I initially fed. While sorting that out, I overfed four times in a row (mostly on purpose, to see what would happen). Some lower leaves show overfeeding. But, never had to pH it.

pH'ing might be "better" in some ways. But, like you said, a pH pen can be a maintenance burden (calibrating, storage solution, cleaning solution). Life feels simpler not doing it (And, honestly, the only reason I think I was doing it was because I was feeding too heavy.).