West Coast Chronicles

[Phylex]

Looking through, the first thing that jumps out is the change in TDS meter. There are different scales of measurement that are used. So TDS meters can be either 0.5 or 0.7 scale. Your meters may be measuring at different scales giving you the discrepancy between the two measurements. If you backed off of your feeding, this issue may just be a couple of light meals.

I remember thinking the cheap TDS was on the 0.5 scale when I tried finding information on it awhile back. It was cheap and it didn't come with many details. But the readings started getting wonky lately which prompted me to upgrade it. After measuring with the Bluelab (set to the 0.5 scale), and seeing the discrepancy in readings between the two, I eventually assumed the cheap TDS meter might have actually been on the 0.7 scale. But I never referenced a chart like the one you provided. I was actually starting to think the numbers would have been the opposite between the two scales. So after seeing that chart, the cheap TDS meter must be out of calibration and not measuring correctly.

If these are fungus gnats, you would need to have an out of control population to cause widespread uptake issues (they like eating fungus and decaying matter).

Thankfully I don't think I've nearly reached the "out of control" arena and they should be easily manageable. I'm certain the "root" of my issues is PH and uptake as many of you awesome folks have suggested.

I always mix mosquito bits or mosquito dunk product with my soil and refresh every so often to keep fungus gnats controlled.

This is a great preventative tip! I actually went back through your thread yesterday or the day before seeking the post where you explained your preventative concoction and re-read it. At the time I was worried they might be root aphids. I'm a little more at ease now leaning toward fungus gnats.

Given the 3 suspects: possible ppm misread, water source pH fluctuation, and possible pest (most likely fungus gnats), I would:​

Check the pH scale used for your meters to get an idea of what concentration you were feeding.
Check to make sure which pest you're dealing with considering the pics and few descriptions. If you conclude fungus gnats, get a product similar to the mosquito bits to spread and water in to your top soil (with the correct feed and pH range).

I appreciate your feedback along with everyone else. Neglect, while even sometimes being out of our control, can creep up quick and bite us in the rear. I certainly need to get the PH corrected. I'm sure a good PH balanced, plain watering is in order. I blasted them with two, heavy, full strength feedings of Mega Crop the last two watering cycles. There's definitely more than enough, and more then likely too much in there now. A good leaching to clear some out and unlocking that lock out should put me back on track in a week or so. When the sticky traps come today, I'll put them in the tent. I'll also run by the store for some DE and top coat the pots. I'll take a look for some of those mosquito dunk products while I'm there.

Thanks Schwaggy, Jesse, Baja, and CW.

 

[Prairiefarmer]

Glad you are on the road to recovery,i seen your post the otherday.I was going to throw my 2 cents towards they were hungry Our tap water here is in the 300's but its all i use.Was having issues with clones taking weeks in the aerocloner.Got a ph text kit 8 grab some ph down,now i am getting roots in 5 days.Checked water for plants before watering,and ph down before use But when adding ferements to water before watering.Ph goes down with all the ferements i use,so just some due diligence thru out various stages of growing.You'll be back on track in no time

 

[Baja.Beaches]

I remember thinking the cheap TDS was on the 0.5 scale when I tried finding information on it awhile back. It was cheap and it didn't come with many details. But the readings started getting wonky lately which prompted me to upgrade it. After measuring with the Bluelab (set to the 0.5 scale), and seeing the discrepancy in readings between the two, I eventually assumed the cheap TDS meter might have actually been on the 0.7 scale. But I never referenced a chart like the one you provided. I was actually starting to think the numbers would have been the opposite between the two scales. So after seeing that chart, the cheap TDS meter must be out of calibration and not measuring correctly.



Thankfully I don't think I've nearly reached the "out of control" arena and they should be easily manageable. I'm certain the "root" of my issues is PH and uptake as many of you awesome folks have suggested.



This is a great preventative tip! I actually went back through your thread yesterday or the day before seeking the post where you explained your preventative concoction and re-read it. At the time I was worried they might be root aphids. I'm a little more at ease now leaning toward fungus gnats.



I appreciate your feedback along with everyone else. Neglect, while even sometimes being out of our control, can creep up quick and bite us in the rear. I certainly need to get the PH corrected. I'm sure a good PH balanced, plain watering is in order. I blasted them with two, heavy, full strength feedings of Mega Crop the last two watering cycles. There's definitely more than enough, and more then likely too much in there now. A good leaching to clear some out and unlocking that lock out should put me back on track in a week or so. When the sticky traps come today, I'll put them in the tent. I'll also run by the store for some DE and top coat the pots. I'll take a look for some of those mosquito dunk products while I'm there.

Thanks Schwaggy, Jesse, Baja, and CW.

I am glad you were able to track it down, I actually wrote & erased the PH calibration issue since it has bitten me in the butt too. I bought my current BlueLab pen at my hydro store instead of online because they offered free calibration, I bring it with me every trip now.

ur tap water here is in the 300's but its all i use.Was having issues with clones taking weeks in the aerocloner.Got a ph text kit 8 grab some ph down,now i am getting roots in 5 days.

I just figured out this same battle, note to self to always check tap water. My tap water had been fairly constant 7.7-7.8 for years. Same thing as you, suddenly the cloner was not producing. After the second problem run I tested the tap water, 9.1 on that day! Holy crap. No wonder, talk about alkaline, didn't think it possible to be that high. They are apparently replacing our water lines & PH is fluctuating big time although it is back around 8 now. I will not take that for granted again.

 

[gwheels]

I have a bluelab and another brand (in the flower room currently) both are waterproof.
TDS and PH meters and my understanding of range has been the single biggest improvement to my 100% no soil garden.

I am scared of gnats and shit after i got a bad bag and now its inert all the way !

 

[Phylex]

Update: Day 34 (1 of 3)

I took the time today to get the PH back on track. I top dressed the soil with DE and hung some sticky traps. Here's some individual pics of the girls.

Blackjack #1





Blackjack #2







Hyper Blueberry Blast

 

[Phylex]

Update: Day 34 (2 of 3)

Tangie







9 Pound Hammer







BCK

 

[Phylex]

Update: Day 34 (3 of 3)

Ghost Train Haze







Gelat.OG

 

[Baja.Beaches]

I have a bluelab and another brand (in the flower room currently) both are waterproof.
TDS and PH meters and my understanding of range has been the single biggest improvement to my 100% no soil garden.

I am scared of gnats and shit after i got a bad bag and now its inert all the way !

I love my Bluelab PH meter but felt I could not trust a TDS in soil. I had fiascos with soil PH meters, water works great tho.

You think it has helped you that much? Is it reliable?

 

[spyralout]

@Schwaggy P will your mosquito dunk trick work with coco? Both Royal Gold and Coco Loco (foxfarm owned) I used had fungus gnats straight out of the bag, especially Royal Gold. I'm thinking yes but because of the faster draining in coco, it would need to be recharged more.

 

[spyralout]

@Phylex do you have a bean of the month club or something? Not looking for handouts. I do love me some variety though and your stuff (grow, pics and layout, striped beans, journal content) definitely intrigues me

 

[spyralout]

When I want an accurate test for ph of the soil I do it this way. It's the way done in lab tests. Called a slurry test.
Get some distilled water, check it's ph as a baseline.
Take soil from a few various spots of the pot, put in cup or glass.
Submerge in distilled water to a half inch or so above soil level and mix.
Let settle a few minutes or more.
Remove water with a syringe, or baster or such and run through a coffee filter to remove any other solids.
Pen test the water for soil ph.

Nice method. Will runoff produce similar readings or is this much more consistent?

 

[spyralout]

Runoff will not be the same as it's pulling stuff from a large medium. You'll be reading the ph of the stuff leeching out of the whole pot vs the content of a selected volume of soil. And that'd be alot of distilled water. Lol..

Thanks. Just thinking of the best method to measure ph/ppm of the medium especially after watering.

 

[Phylex]

When I want an accurate test for ph of the soil I do it this way. It's the way done in lab tests. Called a slurry test.
Get some distilled water, check it's ph as a baseline.
Take soil from a few various spots of the pot, put in cup or glass.
Submerge in distilled water to a half inch or so above soil level and mix.
Let settle a few minutes or more.
Remove water with a syringe, or baster or such and run through a coffee filter to remove any other solids.
Pen test the water for soil ph.

I absolutely agree with you Jesse on the slurry test for testing soil PH. I usually let it sit for approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. I also don't separate the soil from the water. Mainly because I use a soil pen. So I'm not worried about the debris.

I also personally measure the run off to give me an idea about the PPM's. When I'm not getting complacent thinking it's always going to be the same as it had been. Case in point, my pissed off girls right now. They're so dramatic.

 

[Phylex]

@Phylex do you have a bean of the month club or something? Not looking for handouts. I do love me some variety though and your stuff (grow, pics and layout, striped beans, journal content) definitely intrigues me

Nope, no bean of the month club yet. lol. I just went ham practicing so I'm better equipped for my future project. I learn by doing, so for me, experience is the best teacher. I definitely ended up with more seeds then I expected. I'm down to send some out if you can grow them. It helps me out to see what's in there since I won't be able to grow them out myself. I'm just trying to get through this current grow, and I'm doing my best to try and squeeze one more in for personal reasons. But after that, I'll have to shut it down for 2-3 months most likely. Hence not being able to run them. Because when I can start back up in late November, I'm diving in deep, right into my planned project. That's going to take all of my time and space. And it's going to most likely take me 18-24 months to complete I imagine. So you can see, I'd really like to see some of these grown out and get some feedback.

With my current run, I think there's something like 12 new crosses. Almost every single one of which really intrigues me in some way or another. So I'd always be down for testers if someone was genuinely interested and wouldn't mind growing them. They're all a limited batch as I won't be making anymore of them.

 

[spyralout]

"...experience is the best teacher" - I live by this mantra! Have quoted it many times at work and personally.
I am definitely interested, however it wouldn't be until after summer that I can get to them, not sure if that helps at all. Doesn't hurt to plan(t) ahead Thank you for giving me the opportunity! It is very appreciated!

 

[Schwaggy P]

@Schwaggy P will your mosquito dunk trick work with coco? Both Royal Gold and Coco Loco (foxfarm owned) I used had fungus gnats straight out of the bag, especially Royal Gold. I'm thinking yes but because of the faster draining in coco, it would need to be recharged more.

I have not tried it personally with coco, but I've read others having success with it. You can either throw a mosquito dunk into your reservoir (as the dunk breaks down, you'll get crumbles in the water and have to clean it out of the rez during turnover). You could just mix the bits into the coco. If you're uneasy about having the dunks/bits in the system itself, you could mix the dunk into water and add just the treated water to your system. The dunks/bits are just a bacteria that eat the fungus gnat larvae, so you'll still have to get the yellow stickies to deal with any adults. But you'll break their life cycle and get them under control.

 

[Baja.Beaches]

I absolutely agree with you Jesse on the slurry test for testing soil PH. I usually let it sit for approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. I also don't separate the soil from the water. Mainly because I use a soil pen. So I'm not worried about the debris.

I also personally measure the run off to give me an idea about the PPM's. When I'm not getting complacent thinking it's always going to be the same as it had been. Case in point, my pissed off girls right now. They're so dramatic.

The BlueLab slurry test is what I ended up with for PH too, but not until I tried cheaper PH soil testers that used a probe. Seemed like those probes were really inaccurate.

I am curious about the TDS in soil which I believe measures conductivity & does not require calibration. is it consistent?

 

[Phylex]

gather some growing info for you, so happy to do that

I look forward to it brother. I really appreciate it.

 

[Phylex]

I am curious about the TDS in soil

If I'm understanding correctly, I've never used my TDS meter in the soil. I only use it to check my mix before going in, and the run off for reference. Maybe I mistyped something above and didn't catch it.

I also personally use mine on the PPM setting more than the EC setting.

 

[spyralout]

I have not tried it personally with coco, but I've read others having success with it. You can either throw a mosquito dunk into your reservoir (as the dunk breaks down, you'll get crumbles in the water and have to clean it out of the rez during turnover). You could just mix the bits into the coco. If you're uneasy about having the dunks/bits in the system itself, you could mix the dunk into water and add just the treated water to your system. The dunks/bits are just a bacteria that eat the fungus gnat larvae, so you'll still have to get the yellow stickies to deal with any adults. But you'll break their life cycle and get them under control.

Thank you for clarifying and the suggestions, much appreciated