What additives are good to use in a DWC setup? I’m planning on using Jack’s nutrients as the main base. I was also thinking of adding Mammoth P since it’s a great bacteria product that works in hydro. But what other additives are beneficial and work well in DWC?
These are great questions, ones I should have asked before buying alot of the additives that are marketed to us. I've dug into this from the science end of it and what I have found is that the large majority are straight useless or at best unproven. Take Mammoth P for example it's a set of microbes that are very specific in the way they help break down organic materials and convert them into useable Phosphorus and that is great but if you're using bottled nutrients this product will have no benefit because you have already supplied Phosphorus in a readily available form. And this is a similar story that can relate to almost all the additives that we see. A perfect storm of misunderstandings, myths and marketing. Lol That being said I use GH nutes , starting with Armour Si (there is some evidence that this one works andit balancesmy ph ) I also use their Calimagic because I work with RO water but other than that I only use the base nutrients now. I also use Garden friendly fungicide made by Southern Ag. Its the same bacteria strain that is in Hydroguard but highly concentrated and a fraction of the price. Can't recommend this last on enough. Credentials below
Agree completely. A good fertilizer needs no supplements. Supplements might do more harm than good if their unnecessary ppm crowds out necessary base nute ppm. I use clorox daily in dwc, (2 drops per gallon per day) and have never had root rot.
With Jack’s I don’t think you need anything other than an inoculate meaning bleach or beneficial bacteria. I’d opt for the beneficial bacteria like orca or fish shit.
Thanks for everyone's input! So I've done more research and have some follow up questions for everyone. What does AN Nirvana do in a DWC setup? What about Fish Shit? I saw that at my LGS. For Silica I was considering Advanced Nutrients Rhino Skin or Botanicare Silica Blase I watched a video about PK Boosters and Bigbud was one that would work in DWC. So was GH Liquid KoolBloom But there's a big difference between these PK Boosters: Big Bud - 0-1-3 KoolBloom - 0-10-10 So since koolbloom has significantly higher values, wouldn't that be a better option between the 2? But if I'm using Jacks, can't I just increase my amount of PK in it's 3 part system and not even be bothered with either one of them? Or are there other additives to something like Big Bud that would be beneficial for a bloom enhancer? A lot of the products that I see that would work well with DWC are either Botanicare or Advanced Nutrients. I have no problem with the cost of AN, but if there are cheaper, better alternatives, I would lean their way. So some other Microbes & Beneficial Bacterias that I've found work in DWC are: Mammoth P Advanced Nutrients Voodoo Juice during early veg to help boost roots Advanced Nutrients Tarantula Botanicare Hydroguard Orca Southern AG Garden Friendly Fungicide So you're saying Mammoth P is only worthwhile for organic nutrients? It won't help using Jacks? It's not cheap, but if it's at all beneficial, I would add it to the recipe. But what about stuff like Tarantula, Orca or Hydroguard? Are all they different types of Microbes/Beneficial Bacteria? Could I use multiple of them together? I know using a beneficial bacteria in DWC is a very important thing to do and want to make sure I make the right choice(s). What about something like B-52 by Advanced Nutrients? Supposed to be a bunch of B vitamins? Is that something that's really beneficial for DWC? What about a sweetener or a sugar? I know sugars will help feed the system, what products work with DWC? What about sweeteners?
I use only base nutes plus clorox in DWC. Any fertilizer that needs supplements is an incomplete fertilizer. Supplements often do more harm than good by messing with pH and fostering over-feeding. Any good fertilizer will work. I've used GH, CurrentCulture, Greenleaf megacrop. all without any supplements, and can't tell any difference. Go with the cheapest.
I cant really prove anything to you with Nirvana. I would just recommend it in hydro and its so cheap. Organic source of food for bennies and possibly helps with flavor since hydro is notorious for not being that terpene rich. I believe organic food sources + thriving bennies + superb oxgenation is a the trick to better tasting bud in hydro. Too bad I moved to No-Till soil, couldve had more to go off of. The best trick is a healthy plant and a good dry and cure though. Silica is silica. Doesnt matter. Bennies, you could go the super expensive AN bundle or just Orca and you might not see a difference. Always use Hydroguard either way. Screw b-52. Sweeteners are usually just carbs and sulfur. Any sulfur product will do. Dont use molasses in dwc. Wish i could be rocking DWC. Right when I get the hang of it on lock, i go soil. The injustice
Ide stay away from solids and go gen hydro lucas form, but thats just me. Solids did me no justice and resulted in just more hassle or things to do. Liquid with liquid was so easy. One stir, and boom its all permanently mixed. No resolidifying, no heating up water, no agitating, just one stir. Base nutrients, silica, hydroguard, and some sulfur is all ya need. Also calmag if youre using RO or some purified water(which i would suggest or get your tap water tested first)
hi there my friend new grower here on my 2nd DWC grow had a great result 1st time out,,,but this 2nd been a nightmare,,,cant get hydroguard here in the UK,,,been looking into this southern AG for my 5gl set up,,,,using GH nutes going off the lucas formula have calmag also from them,,,,so looking to use this as an alternative to hydrguard,,,,so it i dilute to 1:20 1st,,,then use that at 0.5-1.0 ml per gallon so as not to have issues could I do this,, start with a like a tiny dropper and build it up slowly over 3-4 days like give 1 drop of concentrate and see how it goes for 3-4 days or so and then go for 2 drops and so on to try and find that balance without over doing it,,,,and being a new grower most said less is always best,,,,so would it be ok to try it like this or not,,,as will be using tap water which is quite stable,,,managed to harvest 300g on my 1st try,,,,,,but had issues with root rot but cleared it up with H202 and ran sterile after that,,,,and had no issues with water after that,,,,but this 2nd been a hell had 3 seedlings dampen off and think its spread to all my plants 5,,,which all about dead now which i think was spread from 1 to the other,,,,,so just working things out and learning as much as poss,,,,so just looking to cover all bases and get all sterilzed and cleaned down and reset everything before trying again,,,,,to would it be ok to use the SGFF as above,,,,,and could this be used alongside Great white