Grow Mediums great white myco or real growers recharge?

[NorthernLights_420]

Next run I shall conduct a test start to finish. 1 sterile reservoir with Dutch master zone as I've read it's better and easier to use than uc roots. 1 hydroguard bucket, 1 great white myco and myco chum for carbs and sugar to feed the great white. 1 bucket with just real growers recharge and no food as it already contains it. 1 bucket with mammoth p which also doesn't need to be fed carbs or sugars such as organic unsulphered blackstrap molasses which people told me wreaks havoc on ph if you use molasses to feed your Bennie's or ACT=aerated compost tea or aerated worm casting tea. and my last bucket will probably use a mixture of growers recharge and mammoth p or great white and mammoth p or maybe I'll try brewing a tea for the last bucket to test Heisenbergs tea and feed it with myco chum instead of molasses. I will share my test and knowledge with you all on here.

 

[NorthernLights_420]

I've been down that testing road already and for me, sterile wins hands down. I guess it's what you consider bennies to be. If you're using synthetic nutrients you don't need bacteria and fungi. Their purpose in organics is to break the complex nutes down and make them available to the plant. Synthetics are immediately available and don't require that process, so running bacteria and fungi with synthetics is a waste of time and money. Trust me, I've ready plenty on bennies and I've done my share of trial and error using them. With a good nutrient line, one designed especially for hydro, additional bennies shouldn't be needed. The only thing I've had to supplement the CS line with is some epsom salts on one or two strains that like a lot of magnesium. I run their base A & B, cal/mag, and either their Early, Mid, or Late flower based on what growth stage I'm in. UC Roots to keep it sterile. Very simple and straight forward and a lot of money saved compared to running an organic line.

I've read the exact opposite online. I've read Bennie's win hands down. But I'll put it to the test against sterile and we shall see the results this year. Ordering about 300 dollars of stuff to conduct my tests. I've read Bennie's work in synthetic or organic gardens. They're not racist. They will thrive in soil and hydro, synthetic or organic. So I strongly disagree with your statement there. Sterile kills your yields and any beneficial bacteria you have in your reservoir. With Bennie's they allow your plant to uptake more nutrients, are more prone to disease and infestations from bugs. I'll share with you my results next run so we can all see the truth. I'm trying to learn all I can and I'm trying to improve every grow. The only way to do that is to experiment. Hydroponics without added Bennie's or adding a sterilizer will have bacteria relatively high just like soil, not as much as soil but no matter how much you clean or sterilize it will always be there. Not necessarily bad bacteria either unless you let water temps get to hot then they can grow to be bad bacteria.

 

[NorthernLights_420]

The UV sterilizers are an add on. My RO unit is a Hydrologic and it came with clips to attach it right on top of the RO membrane. It connects with the same 1/4 or 3/8" tubes, don't remember which, so it could be added to just about any brand of RO system. I think I paid about $80 for it, maybe less. I'd also suggest an bypass for back flushing your membrane. They are only about $20 on eBay and will greatly extend the life of the RO membrane. I back flush mine about once a week for 5-10 minutes.

I wish I did my research when I bought my 5 stage, when I purchased it I had no clue about uv sterilizing lights, lol I just read ro water was better for plants so I put it to a test against tap water, tap water was a bitch, had to use so much ph up and down to keep it in range, the ro water was much easier to work with so I ditched the tap and never went back. So far no problems with it but I think I'll upgrade to the same brand but a 7 stage with a built in uv sterilizer come tax season. I have the same brand ispring but will upgrade and sell my old one or give it to family or friends whoever wants it if no-one will but it locally.

 

[Muddy]

I've read the exact opposite online. I've read Bennie's win hands down. But I'll put it to the test against sterile and we shall see the results this year. Ordering about 300 dollars of stuff to conduct my tests. I've read Bennie's work in synthetic or organic gardens. They're not racist. They will thrive in soil and hydro, synthetic or organic. So I strongly disagree with your statement there. Sterile kills your yields and any beneficial bacteria you have in your reservoir. With Bennie's they allow your plant to uptake more nutrients, are more prone to disease and infestations from bugs. I'll share with you my results next run so we can all see the truth. I'm trying to learn all I can and I'm trying to improve every grow. The only way to do that is to experiment. Hydroponics without added Bennie's or adding a sterilizer will have bacteria relatively high just like soil, not as much as soil but no matter how much you clean or sterilize it will always be there. Not necessarily bad bacteria either unless you let water temps get to hot then they can grow to be bad bacteria.

In my experience it's usually the organic nutrient sellers who push organic over sterile. More nutes to sell. It was the H&G techs who convinced me to give up on organics and go sterile, even though that meant I wouldn't be buying their organic supplements anymore. I then did 3-4 sterile runs with their nutes with good results. Then one of the mods on another forum gifted me the complete Cultured Solutions line to test. Prior to developing their own Cultured Solutions line Current Culture recommended the H&G line for use in their systems. As good as H&G was, the CS nutes were a step up, designed specifically for RDWC systems. I'm getting far better results than I ever got with organics. Bigger plants, fewer, in fact almost no issues, bigger yields and higher potency. I usually veg my plants to about 18 - 20", then SCROG them. I'm averaging about 6 oz. per plant depending on the strain. I've tried vegging them bigger but find they overfill my screen and actually hurt the yields a bit do to over shading of the lower buds. Bottom line, a good nutrient line will supply everything the plant needs without adding any bennies.

The primary sterilizing agent in UC Roots is hypochlorous acid, which is basically stabilized bleach. Bleach kills organics, so that alone would negate any benefit from using things like Great White to break down organic nutes in a sterile environment. I've also experimented with using regular Clorax as my sterilizing agent. It works well but it's too unstable, requiring daily monitoring and application. At maintenance levels both hypochlorous acid and regular bleach will keep most pathogens in check. At higher levels they are effective at stopping most nasties that might effect the roots.

I wish you luck with your experiments, I've already been down that road. In the end I suspect you will reach the same conclusion that I did. Sterile is easier, more cost effective, and produces results equal to or exceeding organics.

 

[Muddy]

I wish I did my research when I bought my 5 stage, when I purchased it I had no clue about uv sterilizing lights, lol I just read ro water was better for plants so I put it to a test against tap water, tap water was a bitch, had to use so much ph up and down to keep it in range, the ro water was much easier to work with so I ditched the tap and never went back. So far no problems with it but I think I'll upgrade to the same brand but a 7 stage with a built in uv sterilizer come tax season. I have the same brand ispring but will upgrade and sell my old one or give it to family or friends whoever wants it if no-one will but it locally.

Since my tap water is over 250 ppm I could never use it, so I started off with an inexpensive RO unit I got off eBay. It never really did the job, so I then bought the Hydrologic. It's 100 gallons per day, which is plenty for my application. I have two 55 gallon drums for RO storage, so even if I change out a system, which is 50 gallons, plus mix a top off, 30 gallons, I've got more than I need. If memory serves me, I paid about $180 for it, $80 for the UV, plus $20 for the bypass, so about the same.

 

[Muddy]

Next run I shall conduct a test start to finish. 1 sterile reservoir with Dutch master zone as I've read it's better and easier to use than uc roots. 1 hydroguard bucket, 1 great white myco and myco chum for carbs and sugar to feed the great white. 1 bucket with just real growers recharge and no food as it already contains it. 1 bucket with mammoth p which also doesn't need to be fed carbs or sugars such as organic unsulphered blackstrap molasses which people told me wreaks havoc on ph if you use molasses to feed your Bennie's or ACT=aerated compost tea or aerated worm casting tea. and my last bucket will probably use a mixture of growers recharge and mammoth p or great white and mammoth p or maybe I'll try brewing a tea for the last bucket to test Heisenbergs tea and feed it with myco chum instead of molasses. I will share my test and knowledge with you all on here.

lol, I can't imagine what would be easier than adding UC Roots at the recommended rate once a week. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the active ingredient in Zone was also hyrochlorous acid, same as UC Roots. Just reading your post, the amount of work involved and the expense, makes my head spin!

 

[NorthernLights_420]

Uc roots is supposed to get added every few days I thought. Maybe I was wrong. I thought Dutch master zone needed to be added less often. Maybe my misunderstanding, I'll look into it more later after work. But I decided to drip mammoth p and real growers recharge for now and stick to brewing a tea with the great white, ancient forest humus soil, unsulphered organic blackstrap molasses, and hydroguard in the tea. I'm also going to try great white by itself with just myco chum to feed carbs. And then I'll test the sterile with the zone. Little cheaper dropping a couple products and I can still do my tests to find out for myself what works for me. What works for you might not work for me, what works for me might not work for you. There's lots of different variables, water source and quality being one of them. Grow room conditions. Etc..

 

[Simplicio]

lol, I can't imagine what would be easier than adding UC Roots at the recommended rate once a week. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the active ingredient in Zone was also hyrochlorous acid, same as UC Roots. Just reading your post, the amount of work involved and the expense, makes my head spin!

I switched from UC Roots to clorox, and it works fine. I add about 2 drops for each gal once a day.

 

[Muddy]

I switched from UC Roots to clorox, and it works fine. I add about 2 drops for each gal once a day.

I did extensive testing using Clorox last winter. I bought a Hanna Chlorine test kit, then an ORP meter to do the testing. I found the Clorox worked well but was too inconsistent and unstable for my liking. It tends to dissipate quickly, especially with the high aeration in these systems. I could add the Clorox, let it circulate for an hour or so, then test it to make sure it was in the correct range. Then the next day I would test it again. Often the next day it would register no chlorine, so it was impossible to tell how fast it was dissipating without doing almost hourly testing, which wasn't practical. There was also a big swing in the ORP readings on a daily basis. Once I switched to UC Roots things became much more stable. I find that giving weekly doses of UCR to be much less time consuming and a lot more stable.

I also tried sourcing hypochlorous acid with the thought of making my own version of UCR. Unfortunately I couldn't find any sources for it, at least not any that sold it in small quanties. Then I studied how it was made and attempted to replicate that. I built a small rig to apply 19 volts AC to salted water. While this was successful in making alcaline water, they type sold on the web for human consumption to lower body pH. But with an expensive membrane I couldn't produce the hypochlorous acid. In the end it was just easier to use UCR. I buy it 2.5 gallons at a time, which last me 6 months or so. Last jug I got was $65, which isn't too bad considering how long it lasts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you shouldn't use Clorox. Just passing on what I've learned in the hope you and others might benefit from my research.

 

[Muddy]

Uc roots is supposed to get added every few days I thought. Maybe I was wrong. I thought Dutch master zone needed to be added less often. Maybe my misunderstanding, I'll look into it more later after work. But I decided to drip mammoth p and real growers recharge for now and stick to brewing a tea with the great white, ancient forest humus soil, unsulphered organic blackstrap molasses, and hydroguard in the tea. I'm also going to try great white by itself with just myco chum to feed carbs. And then I'll test the sterile with the zone. Little cheaper dropping a couple products and I can still do my tests to find out for myself what works for me. What works for you might not work for me, what works for me might not work for you. There's lots of different variables, water source and quality being one of them. Grow room conditions. Etc..

Current Culture recommends weekly and my ORP tests have born that out. Three ml per gallon is a good maintenance dose and up to 5 ml per gallon can be used to address a root issue.