Phase 3: Growing

1. Gather Materials

You’ll need:

  • Hydroponic nutrient solution (Grow A & B)

  • pH +/- solution

  • Apera Pen- if you do not have this, you will want to make sure to obtain the following:

    • pH meter (or test kit)

    • EC/TDS meter (to measure nutrient concentration)

  • Clean measuring cups

  • Clean water (preferably filtered or RO water)

    • This is to clean your pH/EC/TDS meter in between measurements

2. Fill the Reservoir with Water

  • Fill your reservoir with clean water first.

  • Record how many gallons/liters added using a flow meter, as this determines how much nutrient and pH solution to add.

3. Add Nutrients

  • Shake nutrient bottles well before use.

  • Add nutrients one at a time, stirring thoroughly after each to prevent chemical reactions between concentrates.

    • CaliPro provides recommendations on its back label, specifying how many milliliters of nutrients to add per gallon of water depending on the plant's growth stage.

  • If using additives (liquid seaweed, Great White or humic acid), add those after the base nutrients.

4. Mix and Measure EC/TDS

  • Stir the solution thoroughly.

    • Pro tip: turn on your system and let the water flow for approximately 15 minutes to ensure the solution has been properly mixed.

  • Use your Apera pen to measure concentration.

    • Match the EC (or ppm) reading to the growth stage of your plants.

      • Seedlings: ~0.5–0.8 EC (250–400 ppm)

      • Vegetative: ~1.0–1.4 EC (500–700 ppm)

      • Flowering: ~1.5–2.0 EC (750–1000 ppm)

  • Adjust nutrients if necessary—add more if EC is too low, dilute with water if too high.

5. Adjust pH

  • Test the pH using your Apera pen.

  • Ideal pH range for most hydroponic systems:

    • 5.5–6.5, depending on crop (5.8–6.2 is a common sweet spot)

  • If pH is too high, add small amounts of pH down.

  • If pH is too low, use pH up.

  • Go slowly, a few drops at a time, stirring and retesting between adjustments.

6. Final Check

  • After all mixing and adjusting, give the solution 5–10 minutes to stabilize.

  • Recheck EC and pH to ensure both are in the target range.

  • Make final tweaks if needed.

7. Apply to the System

  • Observe plants for the next 24–48 hours for signs of stress or improvement.

8. Monitor Daily

  • pH and EC can drift over time—check them daily or every other day.

  • Top off with plain water as it evaporates, then recheck and adjust pH/nutrients weekly or bi-weekly depending on system size and plant uptake.

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