How much Iron Chelate do you add at a time

[Brent Wheeler]

Hi all,

Wanting to sort out just what the ratio of Iron Chelate to gal of water you add to a system, and at what point do you add too much and damage the system?  

Thanks.

[TCLynx]

I think how much you add should more properly be based on how much grow bed you have since it is the plants that will use up the iron, not the water.  I usually add about a heaping tablespoon full to my 100 gallon media filled grow beds.  Of course different products will have different strengths.  I add it probably once every 3-6 weeks or more likely when the plants tell me they need it.

[Brent Wheeler]

hmm  good point, I have rafts and about 400 gals in those area, and 800 gal total system,,,  so how does one really know what is a proper amount,,, I am getting 10% iron,,  I really dislike guessing,.,..  lives are at stake,,,,  :/ 

[TCLynx]

Does the iron package say how much you would use when using it to water into a certain square footage of plants?  I would try to base the amount I use on that.  For example, if you have 400 square feet of plant beds and the package instructions say use 1 ounce per some amount of water and use that to water 100 square feet.  Then I would say use 4 ounces.  those numbers are just an example since I don't even know what your iron supplement is and don't have access to the package.

Anyway, that above example is kinda how I figured dosing for maxicrop and that seem to work for me.  I did something similar with the iron but I started out going on the shy size with my dosing and upping it over time as I saw how the plants reacted and the fish didn't seem to care.

[Brent Wheeler]

thanks I will give that a shot,,,   still waiting for my iron to arrive,,,  system is new and plants already showing bad signs of iron issues,,

[Vlad Jovanovic]

2-3 ppm should do for most plants that are growing in any soil-less culture. In any case, use the hydroponic portion of the manufacturers instructions (if they provide them) since the fertigation ones (for plants in soil) are usually between 10 to 100 times what you would need in an AP or hydro re-circulating scenario. 

mg/L is the same as ppm so 800 US Gallons is 3026 litres. Times 2-3 equals 6000 to 9000 (so 6 to 9 grams so far) then taking into account your product is 10%...60 to 90 grams would seem right.

Over doing it with the iron (within reason of course), will most likely negatively impact your pocket book, rather than plants, or even fish it would appear.

I've noticed that foliar feeding seems to get results quicker than if I just add it to the water reservoir.

[Brent Wheeler]

thanks for the info and numbers!   

I have just recently received my iron and it has NO instructions for hydro use.  looks like its time to do some math...

OK one more question,,,,  ABOUT how often is treatment needed?  

Vlad Jovanovic said:

2-3 ppm should do for most plants that are growing in any soil-less culture. In any case, use the hydroponic portion of the manufacturers instructions (if they provide them) since the fertigation ones (for plants in soil) are usually between 10 to 100 times what you would need in an AP or hydro re-circulating scenario. 

mg/L is the same as ppm so 800 US Gallons is 3026 litres. Times 2-3 equals 6000 to 9000 (so 6 to 9 grams so far) then taking into account your product is 10%...60 to 90 grams would seem right.

Over doing it with the iron (within reason of course), will most likely negatively impact your pocket book, rather than plants, or even fish it would appear.

I've noticed that foliar feeding seems to get results quicker than if I just add it to the water reservoir.

[TCLynx]

Perhaps as often as every few weeks.  But I usually just let the plants tell me when.

[Brent Wheeler]

Great,..   that was my thoughts but, why test a new wheel? maybe someone else has already ...lol    

THANKS  Everyone  for your replies

TCLynx said:

Perhaps as often as every few weeks.  But I usually just let the plants tell me when.