Silica/silicon questions

Cvntcrusher

Cvntcrusher

Well-Known Member
So I am wanting to add silica blast from botanicare to my feeding regimen. I read that adding silica throughout the entire grow is beneficial for your plants but apparently even more so during flowering. Well I just flipped and am about to start flowering so I figured I would ask you guys whats up?

How much should I add per gallon and how often should I feed my plants silica?
Is this actually going to benefit my plants in a significant enough manner to make the added effort worth it?

Thanks fellas.
 
NanoGadget

NanoGadget

Well-Known Member
I always use silica when running hydroponics. Excellent for strengthening the stalk and branches, overall plant vigor, and also improves the plants resistance to pests and disease. I typically use armor si at recommended strength with good results.

Just be aware that mixing your nutrients gets a tiny bit more complicated when adding Si. Always add Si first. I let it sit for a couple hours with just the water and Si. Then comes calmag if you're using it, the micros, then macros. Si can swing pH radically and if you mix out of order or let the pH swing too drastically certain minerals will fall out of suspension and become unavailable to the plants. Some folks will even measure pH after adding just the Si or Si and calmag and adjust pH at that point to prevent this from happening.
 
Cvntcrusher

Cvntcrusher

Well-Known Member
Okay. So this is what im taking in

Fuck yes to adding it to my regimen.
Add it to the water a couple hours before I add my calmag and nutrients. 1.5ml per gal every feed

Thanks guys!
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
Cvntcrusher said:
I have a PH and a TDS/EC meter. I just finished learning and properly utilizing PH. Running 6.0 in coco.

I'm assuming for PPM ill have to buy another meter?
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PPM is just another way to measure TDS. Personally I like ppm meters because they measure more decimal places than EC meters (ie: 500ppm = 1.0 EC). If your EC meter has more than one decimal place, that's great. My meter will measure either ppm or EC. I just don't like going my ml/gal, except as a general guideline, because it doesn't give me a real indication to what I'm feeding the plants.
 
Cvntcrusher

Cvntcrusher

Well-Known Member
PJ Diaz said:
PPM is just another way to measure TDS. Personally I like ppm meters because they measure more decimal places than EC meters (ie: 500ppm = 1.0 EC). If your EC meter has more than one decimal place, that's great. My meter will measure either ppm or EC. I just don't like going my ml/gal, except as a general guideline, because it doesn't give me a real indication to what I'm feeding the plants.
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Okay I see. I'll play around with EC today!
 
Wastei

Wastei

Well-Known Member
I use 25-50ppm from seed to harvest. I also use it as pH up. Like other suggested dial your dosage in with your EC/TDS meter. Cheers!
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
It's an alternative to ph up thats it, I've used it in the past but found it more hassle than benificial, imo it's not worth the trouble of mixing it.

I've read the marketing bull like most marketing stuff it sounds good but doesn't deliver ime.
 
twentyeight.threefive

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
Star Dog said:
It's an alternative to ph up thats it, I've used it in the past but found it more hassle than benificial, imo it's not worth the trouble of mixing it.

I've read the marketing bull like most marketing stuff it sounds good but doesn't deliver ime.
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Possible grower error then, it's more than "pH up". Not sure how measuring a small dose is a hassle. To each their own.
 
Wastei

Wastei

Well-Known Member
Star Dog said:
It's an alternative to ph up thats it, I've used it in the past but found it more hassle than benificial, imo it's not worth the trouble of mixing it.

I've read the marketing bull like most marketing stuff it sounds good but doesn't deliver ime.
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It's not marketing. It's based in science. There's many studies regarding silicon's role in plants. It is specially important in hydro for pH stability, it enhances resilience and aids in nutrient uptake.

You mean thicker stems, cell walls and nutrient transport systems is a bad thing? People who says potassium silicate make no difference in flowering plants can't understand the subject matter. Period.
 
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jondamon

jondamon

Well-Known Member
Wastei said:
It's not marketing. It's based in science. There's many studies regarding silicon's role in plants. It is specially important in hydro for pH stability, it enhances resilience and aids in nutrient uptake.

You mean thicker stems, cell walls and nutrient transport systems is a bad thing? People who says potassium silicate make no difference in flowering plants can't understand the subject matter. Period.
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Also helps with heat resistance when temps aren’t ideal etc. bongsmilie
 
twentyeight.threefive

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
Wastei said:
It's not marketing. It's based in science. There's many studies regarding silicon's role in plants. It is specially important in hydro for pH stability, it enhances resilience and aids in nutrient uptake.

You mean thicker stems, cell walls and nutrient transport systems is a bad thing? People who says potassium silicate make no difference in flowering plants can't understand the subject matter. Period.
Click to expand...
Gave me bigger stems and trunks.
PXL_20210206_162123625.jpg
 
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Cvntcrusher

Cvntcrusher

Well-Known Member
twentyeight.threefive said:
Possible grower error then, it's more than "pH up". Not sure how measuring a small dose is a hassle. To each their own.
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I couldn't believe my eyes. Its a hassle to add 1ml of silica in the morning and then later that day make your mix and ph like normal? One extra step that literally takes less than a minute? Shake, remove 1ml, cap &put away...

I can prove its not a waste soon. The stage im at now with these autos is too young for these guys to notice. But trust me, silica is helpful in more ways than just raising your PH.

Besides that you can't use it for just upping the PH. If you make your mix and the pH is too low, you don't add silica to raise it. Thats why you guys have problems! READ
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
Wastei said:
It's not marketing. It's based in science. There's many studies regarding silicon's role in plants. It is specially important in hydro for pH stability, it enhances resilience and aids in nutrient uptake.

You mean thicker stems, cell walls and nutrient transport systems is a bad thing? People who says potassium silicate make no difference in flowering plants can't understand the subject matter. Period.
Click to expand...
Yes I've read the sales pitch, I could say there's science behind all of the additives but none them please my eyes, I don't even try to understand the subject matter my eyes are my merchants.
 
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