Hydrobuddy

sidewing said:

Mine I posted works very well. You can tweak the application rate of the silica to get your ph perfect. On mix in ro ph is 7.0 with full strength silica. I'm sure if you lower it or drop it you can dial it to 5.7 with no adjustment

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Hello sidewing, I've never used silica, trying to find it here in the 3rd. world could be hard, mail/web ordering
runs the cost Too High!
I do coir R-W, your numbers are for your setup. It's down to the short hairs now and will start feeding plants
this monday with what I've got and work things out when my lights are finished.
Could I possibly use these numbers.? These are the micro's I have, and can't get new ones till next month,
spent my mad money in BKK. besides the basic salts, I have MAP, MKP and Potassium Sulphate.
SLITLOS

nutrient at a 1-125 dilution rate { 80ml per 10 litres of water }

Nitrogen - 205 ppm
Phosphorous - 47 ppm
Potassium - 292 ppm
Magnesium - 47 ppm
Calcium - 162 ppm
Sulphur 66 ppm
Iron - 5.2 ppm

EC = 2.0
Nh4 = 3.9%

Ec is pretty high on my opinion. I wouldn't run any higher than 1.4 or so.

SLITLOS said:

I've never used silica, trying to find it here in the 3rd. world could be hard, mail/web ordering runs the cost Too High!

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It can be made using caustic potash (potassium hydroxide, KOH, ph-up) and silica gel beads, silica gel cat litter or at a push silica sand.

sidewing said:

Ec is pretty high on my opinion. I wouldn't run any higher than 1.4 or so.

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I've got my EC at .80 as I'm also feeding my vegtable starts with it to.
The plants are still.
This is a Hobbit Auto after it's 2nd feeding.
SLITLOS

Atomizer said:

It can be made using caustic potash (potassium hydroxide, KOH, ph-up) and silica gel beads, silica gel cat litter or at a push silica sand.

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Sounds like too much work for this go round, are 3 cats have never shit in a box, and
they do have it in the big cities, thats 3 hours by bus-5 hours by train.
I've never had to use pH up or down as my pH is a little under 6. when I mix working
stock, and I only do run to waste.
Thanks for the info! Now I can get back to building my DYI LED and soon not to be
stickless
SLITLOS

I`ve never felt the need ro use silica, if i did i wouldnt pay hydrostore prices. If you ever need ph up. it (KOH) can be made from wood ashes .

Absolutely no need to pay hydro store prices. Agsil is reasonably priced. May not be necessary. In my opinion I see a difference with it. With ro water my ph is always low so I'll be adjusting the amount I use to dial ph right at 6.0. Then adjust using the sulfuric acid down to 5.5 and let it drift back to 6.0 during that week before res change. In dwc this ph drift is best to provide best elemental availability of each.

sidewing said:

Absolutely no need to pay hydro store prices. Agsil is reasonably priced. May not be necessary. In my opinion I see a difference with it. With ro water my ph is always low so I'll be adjusting the amount I use to dial ph right at 6.0. Then adjust using the sulfuric acid down to 5.5 and let it drift back to 6.0 during that week before res change. In dwc this ph drift is best to provide best elemental availability of each.

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i really see a diffrence in outdoor plants with added ksil. they seem to flatten their leaves and tune into the sun ....

I don't think anybody really knows how much a plant needs. But in soil some people think there's enough naturally. In dwc with ro water there's none. But I get crazy thick stems using it, and that means more uptake and bigger flower potential. But 4 pounds of agsil is 20ish dollars I believe. Which makes a lot of concentrated solution. Way more than any 20 dollar watered down bottle with a big name on it.

sidewing said:

I don't think anybody really knows how much a plant needs. But in soil some people think there's enough naturally. In dwc with ro water there's none. But I get crazy thick stems using it, and that means more uptake and bigger flower potential. But 4 pounds of agsil is 20ish dollars I believe. Which makes a lot of concentrated solution. Way more than any 20 dollar watered down bottle with a big name on it.

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i would not buy any water bottlesof anything but chitosan ogliosaccride lacateate....
oh i was speaking to foliar application the "lush zone period " has been proven from many dicots....""
Silicon is transported from the roots to the shoots in the xylem along with the transpiration stream, with silicon being deposited in the leaf epidermal cells, xylem vessels, cell walls, and cuticle following evaporation of transpiration water. The accumulation of silicon is epidermal cells and cell walls results in the development of more erect leaf blades and a thicker, stronger cuticle layer which limits non-stomatal transpiration and water loss.

Key Benefits: • Silicon in plants helps strengthen cell wall tissues and is found in epidermal cells.

• In grasses, silicon appears in intracellular bodies such as silica cells of the epidermis of leaf surfaces, located along the midrib of the blades.

• Reduced water loss during periods of dry weather.""

I think silicates are a waste of money, and a big distraction from what's actually important in making DIY hydro nutes. There's no such thing as a silicon deficiency because plants don't use silicon for anything.

The reason potassium silicate can have positive effects on stems and leaf veins is because of the potassium, not the silicate!

I'd forget about silicates altogether and get a pound or 2 of potassium hydroxide flakes if you really need pH up.

I ran some plants with my tom nute formula at an EC of 1.2 and bumped it up to
1.4, and now down to .9 EC with a 4 part bloom. Wasn't able to grow as planed
and had to pull my plants early(family problem) so ended up with only 1 plant hid
in some bushes. Had bug and snail problems because of the location.
Not having grown since the early 70's, I'm amazed by what seed can do now.
Feed the plants 2 times a day, in a run to waste coir perlite media. With the same
3 part grow at EC 2.1 is what I'm using for chili and tom's now. We'er in the cool
season and will be going into the HOT season in a month of so here in The Land
Of Sticks.
I really don't have anything to compare it to, I'm happy so far with how the nutes
worked, I can't be leave the bottle babes BS about their bottled nutes.
My plant has some more time before it finished I be leave and I will not be SLITLOS
soon, but the formula need some tweeking.
Only 3 Hrs. of full sun a day.
Dinafim Blue Amnesia Auto, tome to finish my light and get my tent.
SLITLOS

Some more of the tom nute of my last growing plant, nutes are 4 parts, with potassium sulphate as the #4 for bloom.
EC is .80 and I used wood vinegar for bugs as I didn't have neem oil and the neem trees are not in bloom to make some.
Did manage to find some when I picked up a new 25Kg bag of magnesium sulphate.
I may not be stickless for Christmas here in the land of sticks.
SLITLOS

It looks pretty good for an outdoor plant in the shade behind your house.

It definitely grows plants!