Nutrient Recipes, Formulas, Guidelines, Implementations and Thoughts

[GreatLife4All]

I have a spreadsheet that I use to analyze the elemental composition of nutrient mixes - it comes in very handy when comparing products that you may want to purchase. It helps to see the overall effects of a complicated nutrient program... if you will.

I realized the other day that I have a spreadsheet for each of the nutrient recipes from the famous growers of years past - and from many different manufacturers. I have analyzed them to see what type of system I should be running. It is my way of breaking down what they do so that I can better understand things.

As I get time, I will take the information out of the spreadsheets, print it to an image, and then upload the images. I am not allowed to post excel spreadsheets as that has been deemed dangerous by the powers to be - so you will have to accept this format for information exchange

I will post the charts and tables, each in their own separate post, so that they will be well organized.

All of these will include the same schedule. A week for seed germination. Two weeks for being a seedling. Followed by a 5 week veg period, and finally a 9 week flowering schedule. This is my typical schedule that I run for germinating seeds - though many plants don't need this long in veg. I follow manufacturer recommendations for how to extend their (typical) 7 week grow. I don't think that matters as it gives a good outline for just about any grow.

In the spreadsheets I have Elemental PPMs as opposed to actual PPMs. There is a major difference between the two and if you use these recommendations and then expect your TDS meter to agree with this information - it will be way off.

The major reason for this difference are mineral ions such as Ca, Iron, and Magnesium. When they are in solution, they exist as CA++, Fe++ or Fe+++, and Mg++. So one elemental particle has the electrical conductivity of two particles. Iron is even worse as it is a mixture of ++ and +++ whose exact composition depends on where they source the iron. To complete the example, if a nutrient manufacturer dissolves the same quantity of Ammonium Nitrate and Calcium Nitrate in two different nutrient solutions, the EC of the Calcium Nitrate solution would be approximately twice as high - even though the elemental PPMs would be the same.

The lesson, you can't use these numbers to predict the EC or PPMs of your nutrient solution... though the elemental PPMs are obviously related to it. The only way to accurately predict EC/PPM is to use a dilution test.

Please Note: This is my second attempt on this type of thread - you couldn't read the information presented in the first, which makes it worthless, IMO. I have re-formatted everything and it looks much better. Now that I have a process - I will gather everything into this thread.

And thank you to 420 staff for helping me on this... It is appreciated. Hopefully a member will benefit one of these days...

 

[GreatLife4All]

Mel Frank's Marijuana Growers Insider's Guide

Introduction
This nutrient recipe comes from Mel Frank's Insider's Guide. The implementation was derived from various internet postings on this and other sites.

Intended Usage
There are two versions of this - one is for low intensity lighting and the other is for high intensity lighting.

The version given here is for high intensity lighting - which he defines as either outdoors in full sun or indoors under a 1,000 watt HID.

For indoor growing with less powerful lighting configurations - you should use the Low Intensity Lighting schedule.

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
First Two Weeks
The formula to use for this phase is 6G-4M-9B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 100-67-189-50 with an estimated TDS of 1038 @.7 CF.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]60-100[/td]
[td]30-50[/td]
[td]100-180[/td]
[td]30-50[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Growth Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 4G-20M-14B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 348-98-253-70 with an estimated TDS of 2517 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]250-350[/td]
[td]70-90[/td]
[td]150-250[/td]
[td]50-60[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Flowering Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 3G-5M-15B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 49-146-230-100 with an estimated TDS of 1200 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]40-100[/td]
[td]70-100[/td]
[td]100-200[/td]
[td]30-60[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG Charts

GL4A MFIG Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

I have never used this one as I felt it was a little too aggressive during the Veg Phase. It would be more approriate - in my opinion - for interrupted feeding systems.

But this man has undoubtedly forgotten more than I know about MJ...

 

[GreatLife4All]

Mel Frank's Marijuana Growers Insider's Guide - Moderate Lighting

Introduction
This nutrient recipe comes from Mel Frank's Insider's Guide. The implementation was derived from various internet postings on this and other sites.

Intended Usage
There are two versions of this - one is for low intensity lighting and the other is for high intensity lighting.

The version given here is for moderate lighting - which he defines as indoors with less than a 1,000 watt HID.

For indoor growing with more powerful lighting configurations - you should use the High Intensity Lighting schedule.

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
First Two Weeks
The formula to use for this phase is 6G-4M-9B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 100-67-189-50 with an estimated TDS of 1038 @.7 CF.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]40-80[/td]
[td]30-50[/td]
[td]100-180[/td]
[td]30-50[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Growth Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 4G-20M-14B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 348-98-253-70 with an estimated TDS of 2517 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]150-250[/td]
[td]60-80[/td]
[td]250-350[/td]
[td]50-80[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Flowering Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 3G-5M-15B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 49-146-230-100 with an estimated TDS of 1200 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]40-100[/td]
[td]70-90[/td]
[td]120-220[/td]
[td]30-50[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG ML Charts

GL4A MFIG ML Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

I have never used this one as I felt it was a little too aggressive during the Veg Phase. It would be more approriate - in my opinion - for interrupted feeding systems.

But this man has undoubtedly forgotten more than I know about MJ...

 

[GreatLife4All]

Marijuana Growers Handbook - Ed Rosenthal and pH Imbalance

Introduction
This nutrient recipe comes from Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Growers Handbook. The implementation was originally developed for use with General Hydroponic Nutrients and is available from many different places on the net..

Intended Usage
This formula is intended for use with any variety of weed. You may need to raise or lower the PPM levels for a particular strain to grow optimally.

No other usage constraints are given.

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
The following recommendations have been developed for use with Cannabis.

First Two Weeks
The formula to use for this phase is 0G-9M-15B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 146-99-175-68 with an estimated TDS of 1317 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]110-150[/td]
[td]70-100[/td]
[td]50-75[/td]
[td]Unspecified[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Growth Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 4G-14M-12B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 250-85-217-61 with an estimated TDS of 1916 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]200-250[/td]
[td]60-80[/td]
[td]150-200[/td]
[td]Unspecified[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Pre-Flowering Phase
This formula is intended to be used the two weeks prior to induction (the start of the flowering cycle).

The formula to use for this phase is 0G-6M-22B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 97-146-238-100 with an estimated TDS of 1401 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]70-100[/td]
[td]100-150[/td]
[td]75-100[/td]
[td]Unspecified[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Flowering Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 0G-3M-22B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 49-146-230-100 with an estimated TDS of 1140 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]0-50[/td]
[td]100-150[/td]
[td]75-100[/td]
[td]Unspecified[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG ML Charts

GL4A MFIG ML Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

Editorial Comments
I have used this one to grow successfully in the past. It was a long time ago - so I don't remember much about success or failure. I still use the philosophy espoused by this plan of giving seedlings a strong dose of nutrients - rather than weak like everyone else recommends.

 

[GreatLife4All]

Lucas Formula - US Version

Introduction
This recipe is for the US Version of the Lucas Formula - likely one of the most widely used formulas in the world of MJ. The Lucas Formula was originally 0-2-4 ml / Liter. It has been changed for us US guys to 0-8-16 ml / gallon. This makes it a little stronger than Lucas recommended - but nothing dangerous obviously.

From the Lucas Formula web site:

Lucas Formula, sometimes known as the Lucas Ratio, is less complicated than it initially seems. It is nothing more than a basic recipe of nutrients to give your plants during both the vegetative, and the flowering state.

The original recipe uses 2 parts of the General Hydroponics 3-part FLORA series (Gro, Micro, Bloom) nutrient system, but Lucas Formula may also be used with Advanced Nutrients, GH's dry nutes (Maxibloom), etc.
​

Intended Usage
This formula is intended for use with any variety of weed.

It can be used successfully during all growth stages - seedling, vegetative, and flowering.

No other usage constraints are given.

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
The following recommendations have been developed for use with Cannabis.

All phases of Growth
The formula to use for this phase is 0G-8M-16B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 130-107-183-73 with an estimated TDS of 1290 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]100[/td]
[td]100[/td]
[td]200[/td]
[td]60[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG ML Charts

GL4A MFIG ML Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

Editorial Comments
I use this formula successfully - but I admit that I do amend it in several ways.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to grow quality medicine, IMO.

Also great for newbies as you only use two ingredients, you mix it exactly the same way everytime, and it works great. Every person who is inexperienced and wants to grow should use this formula, IMO. Start with this and grow a crop, then add some humic and fulvic acid to compare. You will be pleased with both results... but humic acid really does add something to it.

I set up the spreadsheet so that you start at 1/4 dosage and then move to 1/2 - but you don't need to.

 

[GreatLife4All]

Lucas Formula - Metric Version

Introduction
This recipe is for the metric Version of the Lucas Formula. This version is a little weaker than the US version.

From the Lucas Formula web site:

Lucas Formula, sometimes known as the Lucas Ratio, is less complicated than it initially seems. It is nothing more than a basic recipe of nutrients to give your plants during both the vegetative, and the flowering state.

The original recipe uses 2 parts of the General Hydroponics 3-part FLORA series (Gro, Micro, Bloom) nutrient system, but Lucas Formula may also be used with Advanced Nutrients, GH's dry nutes (Maxibloom), etc.
​

Intended Usage
This formula is intended for use with any variety of weed.

It can be used successfully during all growth stages - seedling, vegetative, and flowering.

No other usage constraints are given.

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
The following recommendations have been developed for use with Cannabis.

All phases of Growth
The formula to use for this phase is 0G-8M-16B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 123-101-173-68 with an estimated TDS of 1220 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]100[/td]
[td]100[/td]
[td]200[/td]
[td]60[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG ML Charts

GL4A MFIG ML Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

Editorial Comments
I use this formula successfully - but I admit that I do amend it in several ways.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to grow quality medicine, IMO.

Also great for newbies as you only use two ingredients, you mix it exactly the same way everytime, and it works great. Every person who is inexperienced and wants to grow should use this formula, IMO. Start with this and grow a crop, then add some humic and fulvic acid to compare. You will be pleased with both results... but humic acid really does add something to it.

I set up the spreadsheet so that you start at 1/4 dosage and then move to 1/2 - but you don't need to.[/QUOTE]

 

[GreatLife4All]

GH / AN Label Formula

Introduction
This nutrient recipe comes from the label on the bottle of every GH and AN Grow, Micro, and Bloom container. It is, in many ways, considered the gold standard for hydroponic nutrients.

Intended Usage
This is labeled for general use on a wide arrangement of plants.

This is a 1 to 2 to 3 formula. That means that you use differing amounts of Grow, Micro, and Bloom at all times - but nearly always in that ratio. What you vary for strength is the amount of the multiplier. For the label formula - the multiplier is 1.32. A short calculation to show what I mean:

Basic Formula: Rate x Multiplier = Application Rate

Example:

Rate = 2

Multiplier = 1.32

Application Rate = 2.64 = 2 x 1.32
​

If you were to mix this up and the plants showed indications of nutrient burn - you would need to mix it a little less hot next time. So you can take 10% off the Multiplier and re-mix (Multiplier = 1.2). This will fix most issues with nute burn. If the plant continues to show burn - re-mix and dilute by another 10% (Multiplier = 1.1).

When the multiplier hits 1 - then you have a variation of this formula which is quite popular for MJ. It will be shown in a separate post and is called the 1 2 3 Formula.

If the plants don't show any stress from nutrients - then you can use the multiplier to increase the application rate in the same way. Change the Multiplier to 1.4 and remix. If they can still handle more - increase the rate to 1.5.

In this way, you can slowly build a nutrient plan using this formula which optimizes growth for your particular variety.

This plan works very, very well. But most who grow MJ end up with a Multiplier very close to 1.

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
First Two Weeks
The formula to use for this phase is either 1/2 or 1/4 of the regular Growth Phase strength.

Growth Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 15G-10M-5B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 250-53-296-45 with an estimated TDS of 1770 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]250-350[/td]
[td]70-90[/td]
[td]150-300[/td]
[td]30-45[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Transition Phase
This formular is to be used the first two weeks of the flowering cycle.

The formula to use for this phase is 10G-10M-10B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 221-80-274-60 with an estimated TDS of 1720 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]220[/td]
[td]80[/td]
[td]275[/td]
[td]60[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Flowering Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 15G-10M-5B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 250-53-296-45 with an estimated TDS of 1770 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]190-220[/td]
[td]80-110[/td]
[td]250-280[/td]
[td]30-60[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG Charts

GL4A MFIG Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

Editorial Comments
I have never used this one as I felt it was a little too aggressive for use with MJ.

I have used a variant of this called 1-2-3 which is discussed in another post.

 

[GreatLife4All]

1 2 3 Recipe

Introduction
This nutrient recipe is a variation from the label on the bottle of every GH and AN Grow, Micro, and Bloom container. It is a very good recipe for making MJ.

Intended Usage
This is a variation of the general use formula for GH 3 part nutrients. THis version has been customized to e use on a wide arrangement of MJ plants. You should customize it to your plants and environment following the directions given below.

The GH Bottle uses ml / 100 Liters - and I will follow that convention in this section of the document. The spreadsheets have this converted to ml / gallon.

This is a 1 to 2 to 3 formula. That means that you use differing amounts of Grow, Micro, and Bloom at all times - but nearly always in that ratio. What you vary for strength is the amount of the multiplier. For this nutrient formula - the multiplier is 1.00. A short calculation to show what I mean:

Basic Formula: Rate x Multiplier = Application Rate

Example:

Rate = 2

Multiplier = 1.00

Application Rate = 2.00 = 2 x 1.00
​

If you were to mix this up and the plants showed indications of nutrient burn - you would need to mix it a little less hot next time. So you can take 10% off the Multiplier and re-mix (Multiplier = 0.9). This will fix most issues with nute burn. If the plant continues to show burn - re-mix and dilute by another 10% (Multiplier = 0.8).

If the plants don't show any stress from nutrients - then you can use the multiplier to increase the application rate in the same way. Change the Multiplier to 1.1 and remix. If they can still handle more - increase the rate and repeat.

In this way, you can slowly build a nutrient plan using this formula which optimizes growth for your particular variety and environmental conditions.

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
First Two Weeks
The formula to use for this phase is either 1/2 or 1/4 of the regular Growth Phase strength.

Growth Phase
The formula to use for this phase may be rounded to 11G-8M-4B. Implemented as shown in the spreadsheet, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 189-40-224-34 with an estimated TDS of 1345 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]189[/td]
[td]40[/td]
[td]224[/td]
[td]34[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Transition Phase
This formular is to be used the first two weeks of the flowering cycle.

The formula to use for this phase is 8G-8M-8B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 167-60-207-46 with an estimated TDS of 1300 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]167[/td]
[td]60[/td]
[td]207[/td]
[td]46[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Flowering Phase
The formula to use for this phase is 4G-8M-11B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 145-81-190-57 with an estimated TDS of 1260 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]145[/td]
[td]81[/td]
[td]190[/td]
[td]57[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG Charts

GL4A MFIG Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

Editorial Comments
This is the formula that I have used more than any other. Used on many different varieties and it can always be dialed in to produce good results. If you are not lost to the world of additives - you may want to grow one time using this as a baseline. You may be genuinely surprised by how good the results are.... especially if you add humic acid and b vitamins into the mix. Damn... there's those additives again.

At the current time, I am using the 3 2 1 phase for veg and then switching to the Lucas formula for flowering. I transition using a target of 2 2 2 ml/liter and then 1 2 3 ml/liter before settling on 0 2 4 ml/liter for the remainder of the flowering period. In reality - I usually mix up the 2 2 2 and let it ride for two weeks. If you change every week though, I would use the transition first listed.

My mixture causes the fan leaves of most plants to yellow during the end of flowering. So if you can't stand a little yellow in the fan leaves due to the low nitrogen... you may want to stay with the 1 2 3 formula instead. It produces beautiful green plants all the way through the end of flowering... generally.

 

[GreatLife4All]

Lothar's Recipe

Introduction
This is another one of the famous 3-part recipes available on the Internet.

I don't know anything about the creator... so if someone wants to add something to this post...

Intended Usage
This formula is a complete recipe for MJ using the GH / AN Flora series of nutes.

From public sources:

Lothar's recipe for General Hydroponics 3-part nutrient solution designed for interrupted feedings like ebb-n-flow or drip. Values are given in Millilitres per Gallon. (Nice mix of standards, eh?)

You should leach your system between the veg and the flower cycle or your plants may stretch. This is also designed for a 9 week strain so if you have a 7 week strain only go to 5 weeks then leach. Weeks 5-6 and 7 are the same anyways. Weeks 8 and 9 are plain water for clearing.
​

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
First Two Weeks
Unspecified in the recipes that I could find.

I used the typical 1/4 for a week then move to 1/2 strength for a week philosophy.

Growth Phase
There are two formulas to use for this phase.

The first week is 10G-5M-3B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 140-33-190-28 with an estimated TDS of 1050 @.7.

The second and each successive week is 12G-6M-3B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ration of 168-36-222-31 with an estimated TDS of 1230 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]140-168[/td]
[td]33-36[/td]
[td]190-222[/td]
[td]28-31[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Transition Phase
This formular is to be used the first two weeks of the flowering cycle.

The formula to use for the first week of this phase is 2.5G-6M-10B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 112-70-154-49 with an estimated TDS of 1015 @.7.

The formula to use for the second (and any following) week of this phase is 3G-6M-12B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 115-84-181-59 with an estimated TDS of 1135 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]112-115[/td]
[td]70-84[/td]
[td]154-181[/td]
[td]49-59[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Flowering Phase
The formula to use for the first (or third, depending on how you look at it) week of this phase is 3G-7M-14B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 131-97-204-68with an estimated TDS of 1295 @.7.

The formula to use for the second (and any following) week of this phase is 4G-8M-16B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 153-112-242-79 with an estimated TDS of 1505 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]131-153[/td]
[td]97-112[/td]
[td]204-242[/td]
[td]68-79[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG Charts

GL4A MFIG Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

Editorial Comments
I have never used this one and I have included it for completeness.

I DO find it an interesting formula. I like how he take everything down for transition and then right back up with a different mixture of nutes. He obviously believed that this helped to prevent stretch. I have no opinion on this - just an observation.

 

[GreatLife4All]

HighGrade's Formula

Introduction
This is the first nutrient recipe that I have presented that varies from the basic Grow, Bloom, Micro tradition. This is a very good nutrient recipe, IMO.

It takes the 1 2 3 Recipe as a base and adds Pro-Tekt and Epsom Salts. This is essentially enhancing the base with the addition of Silicon, and additional Potassium, Magnesium, and Sulfur.

Intended Usage
This nutrient formulation was designed specifically for use with MJ. It may be used for soil or soilless grows.

Because this uses the 1 2 3 recipe as its base - you would use the same system for reducing or increasing the strength. You should keep the original strength of all additives - and reduce the EC reading by diluting the strength of the base nutrients.

Here are the example calculations:

Basic Formula: Rate x Multiplier = Application Rate

Example:

Rate = 2

Multiplier = 1.00

Application Rate = 2.00 = 2 x 1.00
​

If you were to mix this up and the plants showed indications of nutrient burn - you would need to mix it a little less hot next time. So you can take 10% off the Multiplier and re-mix (Multiplier = 0.9). This will fix most issues with nute burn. If the plant continues to show burn - re-mix and dilute by another 10% (Multiplier = 0.8).

Example 2:

Rate = 2

Multiplier = 0.9

Application Rate = 1.8 = 2 x 0.9
​

If the plants don't show any stress from nutrients - then you can use the multiplier to increase the application rate in the same way. Change the Multiplier to 1.1 and mix the new strength of nutrient solution. If they can still handle more - increase the rate to 1.2.

In this way, you can slowly build a nutrient plan using this formula which optimizes growth for your particular variety.

Assumptions and Statements
All measurements are given in ml/gallon. I accomplish this by using the conversion of 3.78 L / Gal in the spreadsheet.

For figuring costs, I assume that you change the reservoir once per week and that your reservoir holds 10 gallons of nutrient solution (which is 37.8 Liters). This gives a relative cost only - your mileage will certainly vary.

All prices for nutrients were taken from a sponsors site and are current as of the date of posting. So the costs are real world numbers.

To figure costs for 1 gallon - divide by 10. To figure costs for 20 gallons - multiply the figures by 2.

Recommendations
First Two Weeks
The base formula for the first two weeks of growth uses a straight 1 - 1 - 1 ratio.

The base formula to use for this phase is 5G-5M-5B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 111-40-180-180 with an estimated TDS of 860 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]111[/td]
[td]140[/td]
[td]180[/td]
[td]180[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Growth Phase
The base formula to use for this phase is 15G-10M-5B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 250-53-339-195 with an estimated TDS of 1780 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]250[/td]
[td]53[/td]
[td]339[/td]
[td]195[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Transition Phase
This formula is to be used the first two weeks of the flowering cycle.

The base formula to use for this phase is 10G-10M-10B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 221-80-317-210 with an estimated TDS of 1720 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]220[/td]
[td]80[/td]
[td]317[/td]
[td]210[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

Flowering Phase
The base formula to use for this phase is 15G-10M-5B, you should end up with an N-P-K-Mg ratio of 192-107-294-226 with an estimated TDS of 1665 @.7.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogen (N)[/td]
[td]Phosphorus (P)[/td]
[td]Potassium (K)[/td]
[td]Magnesium (Mg)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]197[/td]
[td]107[/td]
[td]294[/td]
[td]226[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

All of the charts are contained within two PDF documents. If you would like to download and print a copy - feel free.

GL4A MFIG Charts

GL4A MFIG Tables
​

Because this formula is implemented with Advanced Nutrients - I have done a dilution test and can give fairly accurate estimates on what you should end up with on EC. My dilution test on Micro comes out a little lighter than what they indicate - and thus that corrupts (or corrects for me) the estimate given above.

Editorial Comments
If you look back at most of the nutrient plans that I have posted, you will notice that they have been running somewhere in the $20 / grow range - very cheap. This is the first nutrient plan that includes additives - and we find that even these simple additives double the cost of the basic nutrients. I have additional spreadsheets that show more complicated nutrient plans - and the cost will continue to spiral. A rational person would be led to believe that the nutrient companies make their money off additives... and not the base.

The additional Potassium, Magnesium, and Sulfur make this a very good candidate for a Coco Coir grow. The only time that I ever ran Coco - this is the formula that I used and it worked very well. I had a mixture of Coco and perlite in some containers and straight perlite in others.

I am a big fan of Silicon as an additive. I believe that my plants do much better with this. I won't even grow without it any more under the HIDs - that is how much I think it helps. So, obviously, I like and believe in this addition.

If you are a new grower - start with the 1 2 3 recipe. After an initial grow, use this recipe and see what kind of a difference it will make. A little harder to mix and a little more expensive to run - but well worth it.

 

[Richard Richardson]

Thank you for taking the time to create and post this information, Great Life

Very interesting. It certainly demurkified the watery world of hydroponics for me

 

[GreatLife4All]

I am glad that you find this of value.

I have a lot more to post... just taking a break right now. A little boring doing all the cutting and pasting that is required - but I believe it is worth it from an educational standpoint. Doing this has taught me exactly how everyone is doing things... And I have been making changes to my own plans because of it. And taking the mysticism out of growing is always a good thing.

And honestly, I don't think anyone ever thinks about how much that little bottle of bloom enhancer costs per grow. It will certainly give some relative boost if used correctly and you have a deficiency... but proper planning means you don't need these. I have one of ANs published grows modeled which costs over $500 (mostly additives).... amazing. And I am not disparaging.... I believe that this is one of their BEST grow plans... but damn guys... can't I get a good commercial nutrient combination without spending $500 per grow?

Thanks for the reps... It is appreciated as always.

 

[GreatLife4All]

Mel Frank's Marijuana Growers Insider's Guide - Table 9.6

In order to be able to intelligently examine the nutrient plans given above, additional information is required. As such, we need some reference material to go forward.

So I have decided to post a table from Mel Frank's Insider's Guide "Table 9.6: Acceptable Levels of Nutrients". I won't post any of the explanatory material - you need to buy the book. Every grower should buy this book, IMO.

[table="width: 500, class: outer_border, align: center"]
[tr]
[td]Element[/td]
[td]Symbol[/td]
[td]Lower Limit[/td]
[td]Upper Limit[/td]
[td]Average[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Nitrogent[/td]
[td]N[/td]
[td]150[/td]
[td]1000[/td]
[td]300[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Phophorus[/td]
[td]P[/td]
[td]50[/td]
[td]100[/td]
[td]80[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Potassium[/td]
[td]K[/td]
[td]100[/td]
[td]400[/td]
[td]250[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Magnesium[/td]
[td]Mg[/td]
[td]50[/td]
[td]100[/td]
[td]75[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Sulfur[/td]
[td]S[/td]
[td]200[/td]
[td]1000[/td]
[td]400[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Calcium[/td]
[td]Ca[/td]
[td]300[/td]
[td]500[/td]
[td]400[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Iron[/td]
[td]Fe[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[td]10[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Boron[/td]
[td]B[/td]
[td].5[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Manganese[/td]
[td]Mn[/td]
[td].5[/td]
[td]5[/td]
[td]2[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Zinc[/td]
[td]Zn[/td]
[td].5[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[td].5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Molybdenum[/td]
[td]Mo[/td]
[td].001[/td]
[td].002[/td]
[td].001[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

The information from this table is posted in various places all over the Internet - they just don't state that this is the source. I am trying to split the line - post it without permission (as everyone else does) - but give the man credit for the work that he has done.

A couple of interesting points.

Nitrogen is way higher than I would have thought. Looking at the Lucas formula with it's low levels of nitrogen is fooling me.

Calcium and Sulfur are way higher than you will typically get by using commercial nutrients - in fact both are under the lower limit that Mr Frank recommends. Which is an interesting point... since both are relatively good pH buffers in hydroponics reservoirs. Hydro guys using R/O water would probably be wise to increase these elements to help keep pH stable - since it won't hurt the plant. Calcium Carbonate and Magnesium Sulfate... are your hydro friends.

 

[GreatLife4All]

How to Calculate PPMs for Nutrient Solutions

I also need to give some explanation on the basic math that I am using.

Basic Facts and Conversions

1 Liter = 1,000,000 mL
1 Kilogram (kg) = 1,000 grams (g)
1 Gram = 1000 milligrams (mg)
​

I will show everything in metric - but you can convert this to use for US by the following:

1 Liter (L) = 3.78 US Gallons
1 oz = 28.35 grams (we should all know this one!)
1 gram = .035 oz
​

Formulas
We want to calculate how many parts per million are present within a nutrient solution.

The information that is given to us by the nutrient companies are called "Guaranteed Analysis" and are posted on every bottle and bag of fertilizer sold. This information is given to us as a percentage... but what does this mean? It means that if you dried up all the water from the solution - there would be this percentage of the nutrient in what is left. So it is actually a dry weight that we are given. If you have a bag of dry fertilizer... it means the same thing only you don't have to get rid of the water.

This is important. As you add salts into water... the water keeps the same volume (roughly speaking) but gains weight. So every bottle of fertilizer should also contain the net volume (liters or gallons) and net weight (kg or pounds). In order to accurately calculate the PPMs - we need this ratio. So here is the first calculation:

W/V% = Net Weight / Net Volume
​

Since we are doing this in metric - the result we want is kg / liter - but this is exactly the same number when expressed as mg / ml.

Let's do a real world example...
My bottle of AN Micro has a volume of 1L. It also has a weight of 1.22 kg. So let's substitute and see what we get:

W/V% = 1.22kg / 1L

W/V% = 1.22 kg/Liter
​

This is really a percentage - which means if we didn't include this in our calculations - the resultant calculated PPMs would be 22% low. And an error of this magnitude can cause deficiencies with some nutrients.

If you are mixing a dry fertilizer into a solution, then you can use a value of 1.00 for W/V%.

Given this information, we can calculate many things, but of interest to us is the resultant PPMs. For now, lets assume that we are using 1ml / Liter of nutrient mixture - we can correct for actual use later.

So to calculate the PPM for any one element, we perform the following:

PPM = (((Usage * Label Percentage) / WV%)*1000)​

I have simplified this slightly - and ignored dimensional analysis. It works and is a little complicated to explain... so ask if you are interested I will write it up in a separate post.

Earlier, we assumed we would use 1ml /L of the nutrient solution. Let's assume that the Label's guaranteed analysis shows 5% Ca. We will further assume that we are using the Micro formula given above. So now we have all the information we need for an example calculation:

PPM = (((1 ml / Liter) * 5%) / 1.22 kg / Liter) * 1000g / kg)​

And when we solve the equation we get:

PPM (Ca, Micro, 1 ml/L) = 41​

Now, before we take the final step...

For calcium and other minerals - we are done. If we are looking at P, or K... we have some additional calculating to do. The problem is that the guaranteed analysis on the side of the bag discussed earlier doesn't give you elemental P and K - it gives you the value of the plant available forms. So rather than having 6% by weight of P - you actually could have 6% by weight of P2O5.

To figure out exactly how much is quite complicated. But once the calculations are done - they never change and can be approximated. So I will give the approximations at this point in time:

[table="width: 500, class: outer_border, align: center"]
[tr]
[td]Element[/td]
[td]Factor[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]P[/td]
[td]44%[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]K[/td]
[td]83%[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
​

For all other nutrients not listed, you can use a reduction factor of 1 (no reduction).

Now that we have reduced our PPM from plant available molecules to the actual elemental composition, we are ready to multiply by our actual usage.

Now let's set up another example. Let's say we repeated our previous calculation only this time we used Bloom and P, rather than calcium. Here is the result we would get:

PPM(P205, Bloom, 1 ml / L) = 57
​

Let's assume that our usage directions are expressed in ml / Liter as 1G-2M-3B then we know we want three ml / Liter of Bloom mixed into our solution. So we simply perform the final calculation like so:

PPM(P, Bloom, Z ml/L) = Z * 19 * 44%

PPM(P, Bloom, 3 ml/L) = 3 * 19 * .44 = 25
​

It seems obvious that these calculations are quite tedious - and the US versions even more so. But when you put them into a spreadsheet - it becomes quick and effortless to model various nutrient plans.

 

[WutUpCuuuz]

Hello all:

I have been searching and searching for a way to measure the ppm of individual nutrients (n, p, k, etc.) in runoff water. Unfortunately, I haven't been successful. At first I was hoping for something digital that could isolate individual nutrients and give me an accurate measurement of them. After a LOT of searching I'm thinking I won't find that (at least not cost-efficient), so I'm thinking maybe I could find some test strips/solutions that could give me a somewhat accurate reading. I'm not giving up on my initial goal though and was wondering if anyone here could point me in the right direction.

 

[kimmy]

Great info !
+ Reps.

 

[eebwen]

I'm growing with ff grow big and big bloom. Can anyone tell me how long the fertilizer stays viable once mixed in a gallon of water.

 

[spongey420]

I think its only good when mixed in water for bout day or two cuz it would start to settle at bottom

 

[spongey420]

I aways mix my food the morning of the day im feeding and i feed my veg and flower on same days so im never confused run 6 strains so im mixing 12 bottles but i get amazing results thats why im in magizines and all

 

[eebwen]

Thanks I appreciate it.