best nutrients to use in hydro

[im4satori]

I did a quick search and apparently the school of thought or rules have changed since I read this material 15+ years ago

so I stand corrected again...peeps are using humic acid in hydro

I personally wouldnt but to each there own

I might consider it in coco maybe but in my rockwool NO WAY!

I also don't want all that junk gumming up my drip lines over time and clogging the emitters

 

[im4satori]

https://manicbotanix.com/fulvic-acid-hydroponics/

I was unable to copy and paste from this site

scroll down to the last paragraph of the section titled humic substances and youll get the answer I was reaching for in my memory banks

also take note of how many times the discussion speaks of decomposition
humic acid isn't fully available unless its gone thru the process of decomp which happens inn soil...no so much in hydro, maybe fractionally im guessing with BB maybe!

fulvic acid is readily available in hydro without the need for decomposition and therefore a better choice for hydro vs humic acid

this info is what I was schooled on many moons ago, I also see lots of sites suggesting the use of humic acid in hydro but that doesn't make it correct, it just makes it the next fad in hydro trying to sell more bottles...idk

if you like what its doing for you then keep on trucking

 

[southernguy99]

Hey Im4satori Question for you if you don't mind, over your years of running hydro have you used or mixed any formulas from complete scratch, where its not soley based of NPK as those are subject to opinions and can easily be changed per liking in the formula , but more so based of ratios of elements to each other.I have some basic 6 pack formulas lab tested i'd send you if you would like to dissect , I'd be interested in your thoughts if you played with these before.

 

[Bernie420]

I did a quick search and apparently the school of thought or rules have changed since I read this material 15+ years ago

so I stand corrected again...peeps are using humic acid in hydro

I personally wouldnt but to each there own

I might consider it in coco maybe but in my rockwool NO WAY!

I also don't want all that junk gumming up my drip lines over time and clogging the emitters

Right on I'll keep on truckin and use it. Honestly I cant tell if it makes a difference or not but its in there at a very low rate.

Ive been mucking up my nutrient ratios for awhile, since I posted this thread and got put in the right direction it has dawned on me how bad I have had my ratios.

Whats BB? I couldnt figure it out by the context of your post.

 

[im4satori]

Right on I'll keep on truckin and use it. Honestly I cant tell if it makes a difference or not but its in there at a very low rate.

Ive been mucking up my nutrient ratios for awhile, since I posted this thread and got put in the right direction it has dawned on me how bad I have had my ratios. Not to be too bold but I expect to break personal records. The plants are all topped up and looking pretty good and have a good size to them. The only thing that I have a concern about is the bulbs as they are a year old, I was going to run them one more time but I guess I have to get new ones tomorrow and eliminate that problem. Fug if I want to do that though but it has to be done. I have no excuse's from now on. Well I have one, I suck at math and figuring out proper ratios is math so I guess I need to learn how to do that since I wont be filling a glass up to a line anymore, hell I didnt even do that right. Close enough isnt good enough.

Whats BB? I couldnt figure it out by the context of your post.

beneficial bacterias

 

[im4satori]

Hey Im4satori Question for you if you don't mind, over your years of running hydro have you used or mixed any formulas from complete scratch, where its not soley based of NPK as those are subject to opinions and can easily be changed per liking in the formula , but more so based of ratios of elements to each other.I have some basic 6 pack formulas lab tested i'd send you if you would like to dissect , I'd be interested in your thoughts if you played with these before.

I only mix my own nutes from scratch

I use a dosatron injection system and mix part A and part B tanks from the raw elements including the micros

 

[im4satori]

https://www.qcsupply.com/120602-dosatron-dm11f-diaphram-injector.html

 

[im4satori]

Hey Im4satori Question for you if you don't mind, over your years of running hydro have you used or mixed any formulas from complete scratch, where its not soley based of NPK as those are subject to opinions and can easily be changed per liking in the formula , but more so based of ratios of elements to each other.I have some basic 6 pack formulas lab tested i'd send you if you would like to dissect , I'd be interested in your thoughts if you played with these before.

if you want me to convert the nutrient packs you have into numbers that can be compared id can do that for you just DM me

I appreciate the offer but I got enough fertilizer to last me a life time buying them in 50lb bags I could make enough for me you and everyone else in the room lol

 

[im4satori]

calcium nitrate
magnesium nitrate
potassium nitrate
mono potassium phosphate
potassium sulfate
magnesium sulfate
potassium chloride
potassium silicate
pek acid

iron dtpa
zinc sulfate
copper sulfate
boric acid
manganese sulfate
molyb



the above list is what I have on hand plus a few other odds and ends and micro chelates if I want them

I also get my kelp and amino products from kelp4less.com

 

[im4satori]

anything with N goes in stock tank A along with iron dtpa (this tank has the calcium)
anything with sulfur goes in stock tank B (including all the micros)

calcium and sulfur kept in separate containers to prevent gypsum

I can pretty close to duplicate any brand of nutrient on the shelf for pennies

silica I don't use in my system, to do so id need a third injector but I don't need the ph rise associated with its use ... I foliar feed it along with the kelp or fulvic or aminos if I choose to use them

all of these prodcuts are more effective and usefull foliar fed and its a lot less expensive cuz youll use a lot less... and your reservoir wont grow sludge

silica in particular is extremely effective against PM if sprayed it works similar to the same as green cure

 

[Cold$moke]

What hydro method are you using??

That could have an influence on one nute over another. Im guessing maybe one method could provide more,,,,, not just DO, but magnetic attraction, too.

Water flowing over waterfalls has the most measured DO AND is the most bioavailable to humans. Pretty sure that characteristic holds true for all living things/organisms that require water to survive. well, that's the knowledge that I am trying to simulate via inexpensive DIY

Rdwc with 6 waterfalls in 4 site set up

 

[southernguy99]

exactly Im4satori , it sounds like were mixing practically the same, as well as foliar feed I use a reservoir so usually mix direct to it , but I can also do the same by mixing a part A and B concentrate and use from them . my formulas is broke down to show everything including grams per liter for each element and then lab tested to show each elements individual ppm value. I'b interested in comparing element concentrations and ratio's

 

[im4satori]

exactly Im4satori , it sounds like were mixing practically the same, as well as foliar feed I use a reservoir so usually mix direct to it , but I can also do the same by mixing a part A and B concentrate and use from them . my formulas is broke down to show everything including grams per liter for each element and then lab tested to show each elements individual ppm value. I'b interested in comparing element concentrations and ratio's

ive been running organic soil for a bit just for something new...but im in the process of switching back to my dtw rockwool only because for me its less work than building and re-amending organic soil (true organic not the bullshit liquid organic nutes)

my bloom numbers look like this

2:1:3 RATIO NPK +/- depending on my mood and stage

80 to 120 ppm N
40 to 60 ppm P
150 to 180 ppm K
100 ppm Ca
50 pm Mg

veg

120 to 130 ppm N
35 ppm P +/-
130 to 150 ppm K
100 Ca
50 Mg

I usually sit between EC 1.2 to 1.4 max at full strength

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

Just did a run with Megacrop. Well, my results are different from what I've been reading here on RIU. I'm used to my PH being pretty much rock solid from rez change(weekly). With MC, I had to do daily PH adjusting - sometimes up, sometimes down. Not a big deal, since I had no trips on my schedule and had the time to tweak on it. First few weeks of flowering looked solid. Then around week three or four, the girls stopped drinking the amount of water they usually do. This trend continued till harvest. A couple weeks from harvest it was clear that MC was severely underperforming. Too late at that point. I harvested a third of what I usually do using Megacrop.

Lesson learned. Thankfully, I rock more than one flowering room, so my other room performed as well as it usually does.

One run of Megacrop cost me a couple grand.

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

And if anybody was wondering - ebb & flow in LECA.

 

[Cold$moke]

Thanks for the feedback

 

[im4satori]

And if anybody was wondering - ebb & flow in LECA.

what are the other nutes your rockin

was there anything about the megacrop run that indicated it was too much N?
did you get foxtails, was it a strain youd run before?

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

what are the other nutes your rockin

was there anything about the megacrop run that indicated it was too much N?
did you get foxtails, was it a strain youd run before?

I've run the same strains for years now. I generally run my own modified version of Lucas.

I don't know how to explain it. The flowers just never fully developed. And yeah, there was some slight foxtailing compared to what I'm used to. A lot more larf then I usually get too. Not good timing either, as I just made a new deal with a shop. The purchasing manager was understanding though and is still going to pick up from me next month.

 

[im4satori]

I've run the same strains for years now. I generally run my own modified version of Lucas.

I don't know how to explain it. The flowers just never fully developed. And yeah, there was some slight foxtailing compared to what I'm used to. A lot more larf then I usually get too. Not good timing either, as I just made a new deal with a shop. The purchasing manager was understanding though and is still going to pick up from me next month.

ya the fox tails and leafy buds and the high ratio of N in the mix might suggest the mix is heavy on N for bloom


the megacrop ratios are a long way away from anything even close to a lucas formula which has low N and super high P

looking back at the numbers comparing a lucas ratio at about the same EC te numbers would look like this

80 ppm N
80 ppm P
160 ppm K

you can compare that to the megacrop numbers I previously posted and see theres a huge difference in the amount of N compared to lucas

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

ya the fox tails and leafy buds and the high ratio of N in the mix might suggest the mix is heavy on N for bloom


the megacrop ratios are a long way away from anything even close to a lucas formula which has low N and super high P

looking back at the numbers comparing a lucas ratio at about the same EC te numbers would look like this

80 ppm N
80 ppm P
160 ppm K

you can compare that to the megacrop numbers I previously posted and see theres a huge difference in the amount of N compared to lucas

I knew all that going into it, but was convinced by many growers here and elsewhere claiming good results. The high ratio of nitrogen did cause me a bit of concern.