Hey guys. I’ve done a couple soil and a couple coco grows with General Hydroponics’ trio of nutes (floramicro, floragro, and florabloom) and had good results. Now I’m doing my first DWC setup and so far, so good. I was researching some supplements and found a whole new world of nutes. I’m thinking about adding botanicare’s hydroguard and then started looking at all the other nutrients available. Things like floraliscious plus, liquid coolbloom, armor si, ripen, florakleen, terpinator, and floranecter fruitnfusion. While I definitely want to take my growing to the next level, I’m also a dude on a budget. Which of these are must-haves, vs some which are just nice additions? Also, I’m open to hearing about different nutrient lines as well. Whatever info ya got is much appreciated.
A lot of these supplements are nothing more than additional P and K and aren’t necessary. Some additional Florabloom accomplishes the same thing. IMHO, FWIW is that these products are an attempt to get people to buy more products and not much more.
Armorsi is one exception. Most nute lines don’t supplement with silica and silica is a good addition to a grow.
Good to know. That’s sort of what i was wondering. In that case I’ll definitely get the hydroguard and armor si. Thinking about terpinator as well, but only for finishing off in flower. I figure adding molasses towarda then end of flowering does pretty much the same thing as the floranecter fruitnfusion. Thanks for the info!
Wow, quite impressive! What week are the first girls in? And you believe it’s worth the full line? I’m thinking about a quart of Ripen since its only used towards the end. I’ve already ordered and decided to add in Armor Si, Hydroguard, and Terpinator. Wondering if floraliscious, liquid cool bloom, ripen, and rapid start are worth investing in for the next grow. I feel florakleen is unnecessary. I typically flush the last 2 weeks with pure water, and add some blackstrap molasses towards the end. Thanks for the input!
*Oh, and you use the aggressive feed schedule? I assume of course working up to it and monitoring for any nute burn. That’s a very helpful bit of info as well.
@Jjackt19 I have been using the Gen Hydro products since I started my DWC adventure a couple years back. I have had good results with this mixture and may be a good starting place for you
Here is how I currently mix in 4 gallon buckets of distilled water
I started out a couple years ago with just the 3 part Flora series. Wanted to see if I could push them a little bit so I invested in the full line.
If you notice the ppm for each week is not that high. So basically your cutting back on the Flora veg, bloom and micro and adding the other to bring the ppm back up.
The floraliscious plus adds bioactive plant, marine, microbial and mineral extracts. The liquid cool bloom adds phosphorus and potassium. The ripen, I’m using Dry Kool bloom, 2-45-28 is a dry concentrated plant food supplement formulated to promote intense and abundant flowering. The rapid start kick starts the root development and probably the best thing I did to help my plants was taking care of them roots.
Nov. 27
Definitely on the must haves for Hydroponics is the CALiMAGic. Adds the calcium and magnesium that is lacking from a soil based medium. ArmorSi, Silica, as a growth enhancer with irrigation water or in addition to your regular fertilizers. Diamond Nectar applies the magic of humic acids to nutrient rich hydroponic environments by grabbing these nutrient minerals and transporting them into plant roots.
I do have calimagic, but I’m using the well water from my house. It’s not County/city water so its not treated, and I’m not sure how much to use. Should i still just follow the feed chart, or start with a diluted solution? Should I switch to distilled water? My thinking was the well water is close to “natural” water, since it’s coming from an underground aquifer.
I haven’t any experience with well water. I’m using rain water from a couple home made catchment cistern’s I put together. I do treat my water by filtering it with a aquarium 5 stage carbon filter. After filtering I check pH and TDS levels. On average my pH is 6.7-6.8 and TDS is 19-29. I think you should do the same with well water. But well water does have additional salts, microbes and bacteria that you can not check yourself. You may be able to check with your local agency for any studies of well water in your area.
Thanks for that. I should have done my due diligence for the well water. I may just go back to buying distilled water, and that way I’ll know that it’s pure.
Man, I’ve thought about an RO system with a passion, but it’s just not in my budget. But I also don’t go through enough water to really need it, thankfully. It’s up there with the “dream equipment,” like a CO2 system. But I get by with Exhale.
I hear you, I’ve been wanting one but walking buckets of water up to the second floor is morning exercise. If your well water is fit for human consumption it’s fit for your plants.
