Just bought Liquid Karma... likely to muck my res?

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thegoodeye

Active Member
I am running an Aerogarden setup and using Dyna Gro Grow nutes. I ordered Liquid Karma but have since read several people saying that it dirties up the res in a dwc(don't laugh, I know the Aerogarden is hardly DEEP but it's still the same concept). The Aerogarden has a pump so that might be affected, but I am not sure. How likely is is that LK will muck up my res and what are your experiences with it? The LK arrived today and I really need to change the water in my res, so I would really like to get going on mixing but just need some opinions about how this stuff acts in hydro res.
 
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s0high

Well-Known Member
Its more a fact that organic nutrients or additives will do this rather than just "liquid karma"

It shouldnt cause any problems unless your working with high pressure aeroponics. which the aerogarden is not.
 
T

thegoodeye

Active Member
s0high said:
Its more a fact that organic nutrients or additives will do this rather than just "liquid karma"

It shouldnt cause any problems unless your working with high pressure aeroponics. which the aerogarden is not.
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Good, thank you. I have heard a lot of good about LK and am looking forward to implementing it. So I shouldn't worry too much about brownish sludge clinging to my roots? Is that normal for LK and no big deal?

My
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
Personally, I think liquid karma sucks for hydro and in general. It creates this dusty particulate that just sits at the bottom of the res and doesn't move when the pumps are on. I have no idea what this dirtiness is or if it would be of any use if it were actually able to get to the plants. 1ml of LK into a gallon equals about 30ppm and at their suggested dosage of 10mls per gallon, how much room is that leaving for the essentials coming from your base nutrients? The answer is; not a lot. I even called botanicare and asked them if this product is of any use at lower dosages and those folks didn't have an answer.

I was actually going to run a side-by-side with liquid karma but given how dirty my res was after a few days, I decided against using it ever again. IMO, you're using some excellent base nutes there, skip the liquid karma, it's simply not needed. I've never seen a definitive difference either way when using it in the dirt, now I'm stuck with a gallon of it. If I could send it to someone for free anonymously, I totally would.
 
Springtucky

Springtucky

Well-Known Member
^^^^agree totally ....its dark, it stinks, I dont see nutrient values in 0.1-0, 0,5 etc. I even tried just using it when I transplant my soil plants but now it rests unused. If you're using Dyna Gro just check out the nutrients in that compared to well any Botanicare products and you will find that you have purchased a COMPLETE nutrient. More bottles more problems like Biggie said. Oh and Nirvana too.
 
T

thegoodeye

Active Member
homebrewer said:
Personally, I think liquid karma sucks for hydro and in general. It creates this dusty particulate that just sits at the bottom of the res and doesn't move when the pumps are on. I have no idea what this dirtiness is or if it would be of any use if it were actually able to get to the plants. 1ml of LK into a gallon equals about 30ppm and at their suggested dosage of 10mls per gallon, how much room is that leaving for the essentials coming from your base nutrients? The answer is; not a lot. I even called botanicare and asked them if this product is of any use at lower dosages and those folks didn't have an answer.

I was actually going to run a side-by-side with liquid karma but given how dirty my res was after a few days, I decided against using it ever again. IMO, you're using some excellent base nutes there, skip the liquid karma, it's simply not needed. I've never seen a definitive difference either way when using it in the dirt, now I'm stuck with a gallon of it. If I could send it to someone for free anonymously, I totally would.
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I went ahead and used it since I already bought it. I am on my second res change and this time I used a touch over 1/2 the recommended dosage of DG and a touch under 40% of recommended dosage of LK. The res was slightly cloudy but not bad at all and I don't think I'll have a sludge issue as long as I never go over 60%. It's been a day and a half and the plants seem fine with it so far.

Are you big on using Dyna Grow Bloom and do you feel it compliments the Grow formula better than other stuff? What else have you used for bloom for any hydro runs(assuming you have done some hydro)? I've heard very mixed results from people who used DG Bloom and said they would choose from a few other options for bloom. Also, can you recommend a decent inexpensive mix/product for a foliar spray? All I am using now is distilled water to help keep up humidity along with some other methods.
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
thegoodeye said:
Are you big on using Dyna Grow Bloom and do you feel it compliments the Grow formula better than other stuff?
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Yes, I'm big on DG bloom since you don't need bloom boosters when using it.

What else have you used for bloom for any hydro runs(assuming you have done some hydro)?
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Protekt and magpro.

Also, can you recommend a decent inexpensive mix/product for a foliar spray?
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Yeah, anything with pyrethrin in it.
 
T

thegoodeye

Active Member
homebrewer said:
Yes, I'm big on DG bloom since you don't need bloom boosters when using it.

Protekt and magpro.

Yeah, anything with pyrethrin in it.
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I'm running a small hydro - do would I do better with DG Bloom by itself, Bloom mixed with a reduced dosage of Grow and Karma, or MagPro mixed with a reduced dosage of Grow and Karma?
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
thegoodeye said:
I'm running a small hydro - do would I do better with DG Bloom by itself, Bloom mixed with a reduced dosage of Grow and Karma, or MagPro mixed with a reduced dosage of Grow and Karma?
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Grow is great for veg, bloom is great for flower. I cannot recommend Liquid karma so if you use it, you're on your own. Use some grow and bloom in flower if your plants need more nitrogen.

Magpro is for people who use RO water, though there are advanced growers who use it in a different capacity with success. If you're not using RO water, stick to grow and bloom. I'd also recommend Protekt. Those three products should be all you'll ever need.
 
Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman

Active Member
Springtucky said:
^^^^agree totally ....its dark, it stinks, I dont see nutrient values in 0.1-0, 0,5 etc. I even tried just using it when I transplant my soil plants but now it rests unused. If you're using Dyna Gro just check out the nutrients in that compared to well any Botanicare products and you will find that you have purchased a COMPLETE nutrient. More bottles more problems like Biggie said. Oh and Nirvana too.
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It's an organic based beneficial bacteria/microbe supplement, I think.
Same idea as foxfarms BigBud. Nothing for NPK or micros, its just dirty and full of (microscopic) living stuff
 
T

thegoodeye

Active Member
homebrewer said:
Grow is great for veg, bloom is great for flower. I cannot recommend Liquid karma so if you use it, you're on your own. Use some grow and bloom in flower if your plants need more nitrogen.

Magpro is for people who use RO water, though there are advanced growers who use it in a different capacity with success. If you're not using RO water, stick to grow and bloom. I'd also recommend Protekt. Those three products should be all you'll ever need.
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Well I used RO water(actually the jug said it went through a few different processes including RO) in my second res change and will probably continue to use it since it's only about $1 at Walmart and the Aerogarden res is only about 1 1/4 gallons. So DG Grow + MagPro is definitely the better option as opposed to Grow + Bloom in RO water. correct?
 
Springtucky

Springtucky

Well-Known Member
Dennis Rodman said:
It's an organic based beneficial bacteria/microbe supplement, I think.
Same idea as foxfarms BigBud. Nothing for NPK or micros, its just dirty and full of (microscopic) living stuff
Click to expand...
better off with sea kelp humic acid and molasses yourself. I don't see any use for it in hydroponics. Very similar to Big Bloom by fox farm if that's what you meant.
 
los0420

los0420

Member
i have used liquid karma in my aeroponic set up for years no problems with pumps or anything else doesnt smell and 30 ppm in one gallon is nothing so i say use it
 
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