Perhaps the best advice for hydro you will ever get

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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
Now I am totally serious here, measuring your nutes in hydro just sucks. There is nothing easy about pouring out a gallon size bottle, using measuring cups, syringes and then pouring the left over back into those bottles. Complete waste of time. Few months back I had had enough of it. I am only ashamed that it took me 20 years to think of this. Like they say on Shark Tank, there has got to be a better way. Here it is.
IMG_5470.jpg
Squirt bottles @ Science Beaker thingie @ Milk jug pour cap​
You can get all of these off of amazon and if you use nutes these will save you so much time it's not funny. Sure you still have to fill these squirt bottles up as they only hold like 900cc but with the pour cap it's easy. By the way, is it just me or does the micro always and I mean always end up dripping down the outside of the bottle? Drives me nuts.
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
DaFreak said:
Now I am totally serious here, measuring your nutes in hydro just sucks. There is nothing easy about pouring out a gallon size bottle, using measuring cups, syringes and then pouring the left over back into those bottles. Complete waste of time. Few months back I had had enough of it. I am only ashamed that it took me 20 years to think of this. Like they say on Shark Tank, there has got to be a better way. Here it is.
View attachment 4330708
Squirt bottles @ Science Beaker thingie @ Milk jug pour cap​
You can get all of these off of amazon and if you use nutes these will save you so much time it's not funny. Sure you still have to fill these squirt bottles up as they only hold like 900cc but with the pour cap it's easy. By the way, is it just me or does the micro always and I mean always end up dripping down the outside of the bottle? Drives me nuts.
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5ml medicine dropper has worked just fine too
 
Logan Burke

Logan Burke

Well-Known Member
Airwalker16 said:
5ml medicine dropper has worked just fine too
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This is similar to what I use...having a close family member that works at a hospital, I have access to all of the oral syringes that I need, which saves me at least a little money. For additives (which i don't use much, maybe a silicate product) I use a 5mL oral syringe, and for my base nutes I use a 10mL oral syringe. But that is a good tip DaFreak, especially for those that are still new to hydro and are having a nightmare of a time applying their nutes every day and not wasting any! Appreciate the share :)
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
I have all sizes of syringes. These squirt bottles are quicker though, you don't have to put anything back into the bottles. To mix a 3 gallon bucket for 4 plants takes me less than 30 seconds now.
 
fartoblue

fartoblue

Well-Known Member
Nice idea DF I use syringes with a short length of airline on them to get into the bottom of the bottle, but this looks far easier.
 
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DaFreak

Well-Known Member
fartoblue said:
Nice idea DF I use syringes with a short length of airline on them to get into the bottom of the bottle, but this looks far easier.
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I've tried a lot and this blows everything away for speed and accuracy. But I do use GH 3 part so if you were only using a one part nutrient and only mixing 5 ml at a time I don't know if it would matter. I used to have huge syringes that had something like a 50cc capacity and reached the bottom of the bottles that were pretty cool, but they dripped, had to wash it off between bottles etc.
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I put some of each 3-part nutes into smaller bottles to draw from. Brown 450ml peroxide bottles actually. Just mark G, M or B on the white caps with a felt pen.

Have a bunch of different sized syringes from 1 - 60mls but my fave is a glass 30ml with a foot of clear tubing on. Small piece of shrink-fit tubing holds it on to the steel tip nicely.

Those wash bottles are handy for squirting solvents when making oils etc but I prefer the syringes. Just keep a shot glass of water to suck a bit up between the various things when making a batch of nutes and not having to rinse out my graduated cylinder after measuring the amount to use. The syringe does the measuring for me.

Anything is better than what my buddy was doing. Just slopping some in out of the jugs and eyeballing it. lol

:peace:
 
5BY5LEC

5BY5LEC

Well-Known Member
I like cheap kids squirt bottles from the dollar store. Whoever mentioned having a glass of water nearby to clean out syringe between uses is good.
Even better is the 5 pack of glass 5ml syringes on amazon. Each syringe goes with a nute. Calmag, Armor Si, and the three part.
Don't let the silica dry on your glass syringe. That shit is awful to get off.
 
M

metic

Well-Known Member
These work great if your using large 5-10L bottles. Small 200 ml beakers work well for a 20+ gallon res
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Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
wondering is it really a good idea to leave that bottle with its squirt top open to the air? Doesn't the air oxidize and ruin the nutrients after a bit? I would feel better with it capped and then taking syringes out of it
 
Dieseltech

Dieseltech

Well-Known Member
DaFreak said:
Now I am totally serious here, measuring your nutes in hydro just sucks. There is nothing easy about pouring out a gallon size bottle, using measuring cups, syringes and then pouring the left over back into those bottles. Complete waste of time. Few months back I had had enough of it. I am only ashamed that it took me 20 years to think of this. Like they say on Shark Tank, there has got to be a better way. Here it is.
View attachment 4330708
Squirt bottles @ Science Beaker thingie @ Milk jug pour cap​
You can get all of these off of amazon and if you use nutes these will save you so much time it's not funny. Sure you still have to fill these squirt bottles up as they only hold like 900cc but with the pour cap it's easy. By the way, is it just me or does the micro always and I mean always end up dripping down the outside of the bottle? Drives me nuts.[/QUOTE

I use ZEP electronic soap measuring dispenser that i tweaked up
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D

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
Nizza said:
wondering is it really a good idea to leave that bottle with its squirt top open to the air? Doesn't the air oxidize and ruin the nutrients after a bit? I would feel better with it capped and then taking syringes out of it
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I haven't done any scientific tests (nor would I know how to) but salts being oxidized is not something on my radar to be worried about. If that was a concern wouldn't the bottles be ruined when they are half emptied and half full of air? I think that if I didn't use it up for a year there might be enough evaporation to throw my numbers off, but the reason I use these bottles instead of 5ml syringes is because I use more nutes. These squirt bottles themselves need to be filled up every few weeks.
 
D

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
Jimdamick said:
Syringes to measure nutes?
Maybe if your making up a gallon, but I have 25 gallon reservoirs and I use shot glasses.
I oz of A + B + C = 1400 PPM and I'm done.
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Yeah, when I had 25 gallon rezes I used measuring cups. I think this method above is really only good when mixing up to 5 gallons at a time, after that you're better off with measuring cups.
 
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