# Testing the New PrimeAgra



## GROWINHYDRO.COM (Sep 16, 2007)

Hello all,

I feel I am about finished testing this new PrimeAgra, and the following is my conclusion and suggestions:

It is evident that this media should not be used straight out of the bag and requires some preparation; not unlike removing the salt from CHC. The media has enough residual ions from processing to take the TDS well over 1000 ppm. Washed and soaked, the TDS can be cut in half to under 500 ppm and I would surmise a drop in ppm over a period of use.

After some research and a few articles on-line (http://www.water-research.net/totaldissolvedsolids.htmhttp://www.water-research.net/totaldissolvedsolids.htm) and Ray himself even suggests this on his website in preparing the new media; it is suggested to soften the water with magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salts) 1 tbs/gal. I'm not going to delve into anons and cations, but the magnesium sulfate can remove these unwanted ions, thus reducing the TDS.

I have done this, and the results are promising. Here is what is recommend to prepare the media for use.

1.) Wash the PrimeAgra several times to remove the residual ions. 
I put 5 liters into a 2 gallon container and flushed it until the water ran clear, agitating the media a few times to get out the dust/dirt.

2.) Add about 1 tablespoon of magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salts) per gallon of water. I used rain water which had a TDS of 18. 

3.) Leave the media to soak for at least a day.

I say at least a day because I only have a day's worth of data so far but recorded results under 100 ppm so I felt justified in reporting this to you all at this point. I'm hoping the longer the soak, the more ions that will be removed. 

The TDS of the softened water was 637 and I left it to soak for 24 hours. I rinsed the media a few times and refilled with rain water (TDS 18 ppm) I stirred up the media a bit and tested. The TDS was *33 ppm.*

Now after soaking for 6 hours in fresh water the TDS is *68 ppm* and the *pH is 5.5*

I'm going to leave it to soak and record the change in TDS and and pH until I feel it is pretty much stable and I'll share those results at that time. 

In the interim, I would suggest that everyone follow the softened water soak and clean to prepare your new PrimeAgra; so far the results are promising.

Best regards,
Jesse


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## Candace (Sep 19, 2007)

I'm still concerned about Lance's ph findings.


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## Kyle (Sep 19, 2007)

Please refresh my memory, what did Lance find out about the pH of the new PrimeAgra?

Kyle


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## gonewild (Sep 19, 2007)

Kyle said:


> Please refresh my memory, what did Lance find out about the pH of the new PrimeAgra?
> 
> Kyle



The pH continued to creep downward as low as 4.0. 
EC (TDS,PPM) continued to creep upward. 
Both these occurrences over several months of use indicate that the media is not inert and is continually releasing dissolved salts into the root environment.

In my opinion I found the new PrimeAgra to be unacceptable for growing Paphs and Phrags to the point it caused stunting and death of some seedlings. A product that is "manufactured for horticulture" should be usable right out of the bag and not need months of soaking to clean it up.

The "new" PrimeAgra is not the same as the old and you should be careful about how you grow with it.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions about my observations as long as you remember they are my opinions based on the tests I did for my own growing purposes.


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## e-spice (Sep 22, 2007)

Anybody that is familiar with my posts know I am a huge fan of Ray and the S/H growing technique. I do wish the old PrimeAgra was still available though. I had several plants potted in the new stuff and they they just didn't grow well at all.

e-spice


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## e-spice (Sep 22, 2007)

BTW - Thanks to Jesse for all the testing and info he has provided to the forum.

e-spice


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## GROWINHYDRO.COM (Sep 24, 2007)

*1st week results*



e-spice said:


> BTW - Thanks to Jesse for all the testing and info he has provided to the forum.
> 
> e-spice


No problem at all. We need to know this stuff and adjust the culture accordingly. 


Quick update:

I just went and tested my PA experiment which has spent the past 8 days out side stewing in the sun.

The TDS reads 334 ppm and the pH is 4.86.

To be fair to the culture as it is highly unlikely that anybody is going to have much water in their pots after 8 days, I am going to do a flush/water change and again leave it for a week.

Cheers!
Jesse


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