This ‘too high’ doesn’t mean you have it wrong becauseĮven a nutrient mix that is suitable for larger plants can be too strong. Seedlings, cuttings or delicate plants willĮC level is too high. We have seen why these levels are significant, and here is how it affects plantsĬonductivity Levels Will Affect Plant Growth There are elements which can affect these levelsĪside from the amount of nutrients plants are absorbing. There are a few things growers should knowĪbout EC levels, and this is what happens to a plants growth, and what factorsĬan make EC levels change. ‘Nutrient burn.’ To resolve this, you need to dilute the solution with moreĬhecking in case it falls off and goes in the opposite direction. You may have seen this and know the symptoms as This does need to be checked after topping up in case your solution ends up too Need to make the concentration of your newly added nutrients a little stronger. Need to top back up your reservoir to the level it was, and it might mean you More nutrients (salts) than they are using water. It has stabilized and run through your system. With a nutrient mix of the same strength. When this happens, and reservoir levels drop, you need to top up Plants are absorbing the same amount of water as nutrients. Happening with plants when the EC levels change: Of what is happening in your nutrient solution, especially when tests areĬarried out as an addition to testing pH levels alone. These levels provide a detailed indication Need to understand why they are essential. Now we know what can affect EC levels, we Vast difference between what levels they prefer. These levels are worth knowing because, from the following three plants, you can see a – 1.6 in their vegetative stage, and once they reach flowering, they like the On top of this, most plants like the EC level to be in the range of 1.2 System, and some plants prefer different levels. Levels in Hydroponics and Why They are Important One thing worth noting with EC levels is,Īnd at what levels they are at, it is an overall number of nutrient concentration. The EC level or the electrical conductivity. The higher the amount of salts, the higher Once there isĪn introduction of minerals, salts are dissolved, and then the Water contains no EC because it has no minerals contained in it. To make this easy to understand, distilled EC, on the other hand, is an excellent guide to the quantity of available nutrients in your The pH levels of your nutrient mix give an indication of nutrient balance in your mix. At this point, you need to know the difference between In conjunction with nutrient solutions pH levels. On many occasions, you will see this EC written You might also see it as CF which stands for the Understanding EC LevelsĬonductivity in any solution. This is the EC level, and here we will see how it affects your plants, how youĬan test it and how you can adjust it if needed. Know this can affect how plants grow because some plants require very differentĮnough, there is one more element in nutrient solutions that needs constant monitoring and adjusting when required. Challenges when it comes to monitoring their nutrient solutions and pH levels.