What Athena Pro Core 14-0-0 Carries Through Every Stage The label reads 14-0-0 with 17 percent calcium, and all 14 percent of the nitrogen is listed as nitrate. Behind it is the micro package: boron 0.015 percent, copper 0.01, iron 0.07, manganese 0.025, zinc 0.01, each of the metals chelated, and molybdenum 0.002 percent. It is derived from calcium ammonium nitrate, iron DTPA, manganese, copper and zinc EDTA, boric acid and sodium molybdate. There is no phosphate and no potash in the bag, by design. Core is the half of the Pro Line that stays the same through the whole cycle. The other half changes from Grow in veg to Bloom in flower, and that is why calcium and the micros live here. Calcium cannot share a concentrate with phosphate or sulfate without dropping out, so Athena keeps it in its own bag and its own stock tank. For every 0.6 g of Pro Core the tank takes 1 g of Grow or Bloom, and the pair is dosed to the target EC from there. Nitrate nitrogen is the form roots take up fastest and the form that does not acidify a recirculating root zone. That matters for a feed that runs for months. The grind is large and the mix is 100 percent soluble. It dissolves at room temperature, faster in warm water. Nothing is left to settle in a reservoir or clog a venturi, a doser or a peristaltic pump. It runs through Dosatron and Netaflex systems, and the line has a low heavy metal content. The concentrate rate Athena recommends is 2 lb per gallon. Every stock tank in the room is mixed to that same strength so the dosage tables apply without arithmetic. Everything is measured by weight, and the powder is never combined with another fertilizer dry or in concentrate. The label marks it for hydroponic use. The 10 lb box and the 25 lb bag hold the same mix. Both keep for five years from the date of manufacture if they stay dry. Mixing a Soluble Base Fertilizer So the Calcium Stays in Solution A soluble base fertilizer built on calcium nitrate has one rule in the mixing room. It never meets phosphate or sulfate until the feed line. Pro Core gets its own stock tank, the Grow or Bloom gets another, and the two are drawn by separate injectors into the same water. At concentrate strength, calcium and phosphate drop out as a white solid that clogs an injector and takes the calcium with it. Weigh the powder every time. A large-grind mix settles in the bag and a scoop of it is a different weight every day. The whole Pro Line is written in grams. Fill the stock tank with warm water, add the powder slowly with the agitator running, and keep it running until the solution is clear. Mix every tank in the room to the same strength, because Athena's dosage tables assume it. A tank mixed differently has to be rescaled line by line. Set the injectors so the feed lands at 0.6 g of Core for every gram of the other half. Then read EC at the emitter and pH after it. A nitrate feed drifts pH upward over a week in a recirculating reservoir, so the check is weekly rather than once. Watch the new growth every few days. Tip burn on young leaves and sunken ends on fruit are calcium arriving too slowly. The answer is steady supply and good transpiration rather than a bigger dose. Check run-off EC against the feed in coco and rockwool, and widen the drain fraction when the gap grows. Keep stock tanks lidded and out of the light, since a clear nitrate concentrate in the sun grows algae within days. Close the bag or the box after every weigh-out and keep it off a damp floor. Calcium nitrate pulls water from the air and sets into a block, and a blocked bag still dissolves but no longer scoops. Key Features 14-0-0 with 17% calcium: All 14% nitrogen as nitrate; no phosphate, no potash. Full micro package: Chelated iron, manganese, copper and zinc, plus boron and molybdenum. The constant half of the Pro Line: Runs veg to flower while Grow and Bloom change over. 0.6 g Core to 1 g Grow or Bloom: The fixed ratio that doses the pair to any EC. 100 percent soluble, large grind: Room temperature mix; nothing to settle or clog a doser. 2 lb per gallon concentrate: Athena's recommended stock strength, same for every tank. Five year shelf life: Kept dry in the original pack. 10 lb box or 25 lb bag: Hydroponic use. Technical Specifications Specification Value Brand Athena Product Pro Core, soluble base fertilizer Analysis 14-0-0 Nitrogen 14%, nitrate Calcium 17% Boron 0.015% Copper 0.01%, chelated Iron 0.07%, chelated Manganese 0.025%, chelated Molybdenum 0.002% Zinc 0.01%, chelated Derived from Calcium ammonium nitrate, iron DTPA, manganese EDTA, copper EDTA, zinc EDTA, boric acid, sodium molybdate Form Dry, large-grind, 100% soluble Pairs with Athena Pro Grow or Pro Bloom at 0.6 g Core : 1 g Grow/Bloom Concentrate 2 lb per gallon recommended; up to 2.5 lb per gallon Use Hydroponic Sizes 10 lb box (PRO-CORE-10, UPC 850038693541); 25 lb bag (PRO-CORE-25B, UPC 850038693459) Storage Keep dry; 5 year shelf life from manufacture Hazard Eye and skin irritant; boron and molybdenum crop and forage cautions on the label
