Okay so for promix hp (no coco in it) and/or mothers earth coco potted....could technically use coco/hydros or aqua flakes? I keep hearing aqua flakes as best to use for promix hp (peat base no coco) even in drain to waste and the coco for coco which we have used with good results. But when they got all these dang bases throws you in a pickle when your OCD and want to know exact differences and if one over the other may make a difference. Are any of them cleaner then one another in form of texture when mixing?
The Official House and Garden Thread
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Sativied
Well-Known Member
I used the aqua flakes in recirculating setups, dwc, and drain to waste (perlite and some sometimes some peat to cover it up and so it holds more water) and it worked great in all. In most cases didn’t use any additive, just A+B and tapwater. In theory the Hydro version is better for drain to waste because the nutrients are supposedly more directly available for uptake, which suggests you may waste more if you don’t recirculate aqua flakes. I’ve never used the hydro version so I can’t really compare to aqua flakes but I used 4 year old aqua flakes and it still worked great.
@a mongo frog when using the aqua flakes vs coco were the ppms/ec the same or was it lower using aqua? Asking because description on their site says low ppm blah blah
@Sativied are you still using this line? Your making me wonder with the statement that uptake is better using the hydro because of the formulation you think? Does aqua flakes just fall through the media? You know I tried to get ahold of house and garden forget about it if anyone ever picks up that phone...better quit playing before I call big mike.
@Sativied are you still using this line? Your making me wonder with the statement that uptake is better using the hydro because of the formulation you think? Does aqua flakes just fall through the media? You know I tried to get ahold of house and garden forget about it if anyone ever picks up that phone...better quit playing before I call big mike.
a mongo frog
Well-Known Member
Ive never used coco a&b, Ive only used aqua flakes with coco as my medium.
Gotcha...I read the last post wrong.
Sativied
Well-Known Member
I ran out almost a year ago and haven’t done a hydro run since but if I can get my hands on some again than yeah definitely.
I used very low ppms in different styles of hydro, 500ppm and less, including tap ppm. Ime it doesn’t just fall through the media, I was just repeating what H&G says is the difference. I don’t think you can go wrong with the aqua flakes but they do suggest uptake of Hydro is better in drain to waste:
That's really cool and thanks for the snippet.
So I wonder if one can conclude that with promix hp (peat base with perlite only) hydro may be superior to the aqua flakes and to run coco with coco media. However, the caveat that aqua/coco/and hydro could all be used with very close results in any soilless media with the exception of recirculating to roll with aqua flakes and hydro may work.
Sativied
Well-Known Member
Yes I think it would be a challenge to really determine a difference in practice, except for using coco or not for coco. If you’re premixing a container to hold an aerated nutrient solution for more than a couple of days and use it for either drain to waste or recirculating then aqua flakes seems the best choice.
I’ve used aqua flakes for peat-perlite mixes (mostly perlite) cause I already had it from growing in a recirculating setup, but would probably buy hydro version if I planned to use it for drain to waste only.
I’ve used aqua flakes for peat-perlite mixes (mostly perlite) cause I already had it from growing in a recirculating setup, but would probably buy hydro version if I planned to use it for drain to waste only.
calvin.m16
Well-Known Member
I just purchased some Cocos A+B instead of Aqua Flake and the reason was I'm a coco grower. Aqua Flake will work in Coco but not as good as Cocos. I can mix Cocos A+B in a 5 gal bucket and let it sit overnight and it stays in suspension and doesn't leave any residue on the clean white bucket. There are really specific nutrients you actually should use for Coco due to the Cation Exchange it has. It likes to suck up Iron, Magnesium & Calcium or any positive ions for that matter, the special magnesiums etc in the "COCO" formulations prevents this lockout from happening.
If your using Coco always use Coco specific nutrients for the best bang for your buck and insurance. Would Aqua Flakes work? Yeah probably so, but at what sacrifice, probably a big one or you'd end up having to supplement with CalMag additives to fix something that shouldn't have been broken.
ALWAYS use House & Garden Drip Clean with EVERY SINGLE WATERING and you shouldn't have any problems with gunk/buildup if used as directed. I also recommend adding any PH balancers to your nutrient solution in diluted form, put PH UP/down in seperate container of water, stir, then pour into final solution. I noticed some possible lockout when using Cyco PH UP with the H&G Cocos base in RO.
Cyco PH UP is Potassium Hydroxide which is also extremely caustic and will literally turn your skin colors if you accidentally get ANY on you. Use with extreme caution lol.. After all it does say "POISON" on the bottle. 2 ml brings my 10 gallon reservoir from 4.5 to 6.2 PH.. Quart (946 ml) is 10 dollars where I shop.
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@Sativied I gotcha and thanks for the sharing and info....you and @a mongo frog are OGs on this thread 2009! Man life flies, hope everyone is well.
@calvin.m16 I agree with your statements go with what is the right choice for medium.
Does everyone find that airstones in general will always raise ph (seems to do so) and best to using a mixing pump?...I know a lot of people use the air stones to oxygenate fast is mixing pump just as effective to keep ph stable?
calvin.m16
Well-Known Member
Good question, personally i do not have issues with my airstones. If your concerned about it you can always use HydroLogic air stones that are designed for gardening or look into other bubble makers. I know there is one for making teas for feeding plants but not sure what it's called.
Coco has a different cation exchange than any other medium really it loves to trap positive ions like a magnet. Speaking of magnets mixing pumps if they're magnetic drive can be a problem as you can actually deplete certain things from the nutrient solution such as iron etc there is also concern of breaking down certain elements passing them through a pump repeatedly. Then you have more temp issues, not to mention airstones are much cheaper to replace than a water pump that gets gunked up.
calvin.m16
Well-Known Member
Amazon.com : Compost Tea Aerator - The BubbleSnake : 5 Gallon Bucket Aerator : Garden & Outdoor
Amazon.com : Compost Tea Aerator - The BubbleSnake : 5 Gallon Bucket Aerator : Garden & Outdoor
www.amazon.com
The product is called a "Compost Tea Aerator" "The BubbleSnake" They've got one for buckets or barrels. Just definitely look up what sized airpump you will need.. lol
Sativied
Well-Known Member
According to H&G yes. If you maintain a large aerated reservoir with a nutrient solution and use that for more than a couple of days I’d stick with aqua flakes. If you mix it and shortly after or immediately use it, then you may notice an improvement with Hydro. If you do try Hydro, let us know here how it works out for you.So hydro for drain to waste? I've been using aqua flakes for the longest time with not a lot of issues. Some strains show calcium deficiencies but can be corrected with a little calmagI might have to use hydro instead now.
a mongo frog
Well-Known Member
I use terpinator at 10ml per gallon from week 4-9. Expensive, or is it?
Same! It’s not tooooo bad but not cheap. Works though. Wasn’t looking into trying some thing else like sugaree or sour D others rave about or the snow storm. You use any carbs?
a mongo frog
Well-Known Member
Ive used Sweet from botanicare with house and garden.
How ml per litre do you guys use with h&g Cocos?
Also what also you get up to?
My feed chart says 3ml/l as the max dose will give you a ec of 2.0 I'm at 2.2mll and that's gets me too 2.0 ec my tap water is 0.35. But even with that high a dose my run off is still around the 1.4 ec mark.
Also what also you get up to?
My feed chart says 3ml/l as the max dose will give you a ec of 2.0 I'm at 2.2mll and that's gets me too 2.0 ec my tap water is 0.35. But even with that high a dose my run off is still around the 1.4 ec mark.
budman111
Well-Known Member
Does it though? how do you know other than visual inspection?