After growing in soil for a couple years, i have finally made the decision to switch to hydro. I am currently in the VEG stage of my first "fill-and-drain" hydro grow, and i just ran out of nutes - so before i buy my next bottles of nutrients, i wanted to get some feedback... For the time i grew in soil i had always used Flora-nova brand nutrients, but when i started growing hydro, the guy at my local hydroponics store suggested and sold me "Hydro Flakes" nutrients, and insisted it was my best choice... However, ive never heard of it, and im not so sure i like it... Rather than using a "veg" mixture, and a seperate "flower" mixture like most nutrient brands, the nutes he sold me uses the same nutrients for both stages of the grow, and simply changes the amount you use when you start flowering.. Which seemed kind of odd to me. ...So what kind of nutrients does everybody suggest i buy this time? Whats the best kind/brand i can get for hydro? and what does everybody else use? Thanks ahead of time guys!
I do the Lucas Formula with General Hydroponics nutes. You use the same nutrients between veg and flower, just different quantities.
Thanks for the reply! i'll have to look into that. Can i get some more opinions from everybody else? ...Whats the best kind of nutrients for growing hydro? I just emptied the last of my current nutes into my water resevoir, so i need to go buy more nutrients soon - and i want to get the best kind of nutes i possibly can... ...So what does everybody recommend? I'd really like to see a good amount of feedback and get a few different opinions before i decide what to buy... Thanks again everybody, i really appreciate it!
I think im starting to lose faith in GrassCity... I remember back in the day when i first started growing, i could post any question i had, and i would get replies within minutes... Now i find myself begging for a reply, to a question i posted days ago... Very sad...
Your Join date is this year ! Dude . Alot of us are too stoned off of our grows . That's why there is no reply ... The way I see it is . You find a strain you like to smoke or eat in your food or however you applicate it . Then you get used to it's soil grow by using a rainbow choice of nutrients . Alot of us use pure NPK such as Urea Freeze Dried for nitrogen in hydro or Blood meal for soil and to be honest if you just go to your local shop and try their upsaling with SMALL amounts you buy ... Only to wait for up to two weeks for a response from your babies because all nutrients need to be absorbed and processed before the effects take hold anyhow .. So I suggest blood meal for soil and urea for nitrogen based needs in hydro along side fertilome's bloom of 0-59-0 mixture for root and blooming growth . You also could just go and read the backs of ALL of the ingredients you are considering including the flakes he suggested then take the time to read the back to see why if how it could be a better choice .. LIke .. Do the flakes absorb their weight in moisture and gel up ? or are they like the water soluble type of nutes etc ? Alot of this forum has been pruned so even I have a time trying to find answers... be patient... And if the mountain won't come to Mohammid then Mohammid ( you ) will have to go to it ... So in other words go check out the current grows Like AW's grow and even ask on his grow page ... August West and others around here don't mind TOO much if you don't do it too often and it allows others to find a more centralized string for answers ..
The simplest and proven effective hydro nutrient formula I've seen is the Lucas Formula using General Hydro's Flora series. Just two bottles of nutrients, some water and you're good to go. But really, you could achieve successful results using any of the well known and established nutrient brands. You just need to learn how to use them appropriately. General Hydroponics, Humbot, Advanced Nutrients, Roots Organics, Botanicare, Pure Vida, Fox Farms, are just a few but there are many more brands that will provide similar products, of similar quality. Ultimately though, success is determined more by the growers application of these nutrients, than by the actual nutrients themselves. I've seen people using the exact same products end up with results on the opposite ends of the spectrum, both success and complete failure. You can get great results with all of them. I think this is why you haven't received any quick responses to your question... there really isn't an answer to "Whats the best kind of nutrients for growing hydro?" It's very subjective and people will use what they like, and usually love what they use. Personally I mix and match to suit my needs... which I'm in a constant state of fine tuning. If you're interested... here's a breakdown of my nutrient regiment, I started with the concept behind the lucas formula as a base and then tweaked it to my liking: Advanced Nutrients: Micro, Bloom, Barricade, Voodoo Juice, Carbo Load. (pH up & down) Botanicare: Liquid Karma, Cal Mag+ HydroTek: Fulvic Gold Dr. Benson's Natural: Seaweed Extract As you can see it's quite the hodgepodge of different brands and products. This works for me but I've taken the time to get to know them and have learned how to use them appropriately... However I wouldn't recommend this mix to everyone because I'm not sure how well it would translate to their particular setup... Well I hoped this info is what you were looking for... and good luck with your first hydro grow.
Hey I use cns 17 It makes my plants all green n shit I like it a lot and reconmend it but if ur more advance get some additional nutes with it but byitself it good .
Thanks alot for your input guys... Madhatter - yes this account is very new, because i couldnt remember the username/pw for my old one. but i was active on the site for over a year, and then just recently created a new account after taking a break from the forum for a while. Anyway - I've always grown in soil, but just recently switched over to hydro.. But even when i grew in soil, i mixed nutrients in with my water.. So realistically wouldnt it be easier to calculate nutes in hydro than in soil, since soil may or may not provide additional nutrients when growing in soil? I know any nutes can work, but im in a hurry because i just ran out of nutes, and i want to stick with the same kind of nutrients from now on, so i want to buy the right stuff... I mean, as long as you follow the directions on the bottles for how much of it to add per galon, and according to your plant size, etc, wont all be well? I know there are other things i can add to the mixture that might benefit things, but as far as your base nutrients go, isnt it pretty straight forward? Like i said, i need to buy nutrients right away, so unfortunately i dont have time to test different brands or anything... This is why i wanted to know what the most popular, proven, overall best brand of nutrients i can buy was.. Ive been looking into some of the brands you listed... but im still not sure which one to go with, and what i should do differently than whats listed on the bottle. not to mention what other "must have" products i should add to my base nutes that are the most highly recommended for grow.
Hey bro ... I got your back ... Here's something that's worth the money and time ... Docmojoman turned me onto this ... And it's cheap yet it's brand name ! Recipe for Success Starter Pack - Worm's Way
I dont know how much money your willing to dump into this but Advanced Nutrients line up is where its at... if you get anything from advanced i HIGHLY suggest VooDoo Juice and Parana... both are great for getting some amazing roots which in turn will let your plants get bigger faster
