Live Stoners Opinions of “cleanest” nutrient line

[MrAutoGrower]

What’s your opinions of the cleanest synthetic nutrient line these days?

By clean I mean leaving no salt build ups behind and so on.

More of just a discussion and interested in what everyone thinks :smoking:

 

[American Hillbilly]

I have experience with 3 nutrient lines. I made the switch to Jacks a few years ago and will never go back to the other two big name brands, for reasons other than salt build up.

However, since you mention it, I have never fought with salt build up. DTW in coco and do not deal with any kind of salt build up over the course of a grow. Clean the drip tube at the end of the cycle and wash the grow bags in dawn.

 

[BII]

It's the total amount and concentration of the salts (nutrients) put into or otherwise remaining in the medium (not either taken up by the plant or drained off) that matters, not the brand or formulation. To attain highest "cleanliness" in terms of no excess salts buildup, you essentially need to constantly be feeding, replacing the your nutes with fresh nutes throughout the medium/soil, such as drain-to-waste feeding.

All base nutrients are composed of nearly all or are even all salts-based; that's how plants take up the nutes. Presuming the nutes have similar formulation (such as similar N-P-K rations), are good quality with balanced contents, they will all be pretty much the same in terms of salts accumulating in the medium/soil.

 

[MrAutoGrower]

It's the total amount and concentration of the salts (nutrients) put into or otherwise remaining in the medium (not either taken up by the plant or drained off) that matters, not the brand or formulation. To attain highest "cleanliness" in terms of no excess salts buildup, you essentially need to constantly be feeding, replacing the your nutes with fresh nutes throughout the medium/soil, such as drain-to-waste feeding.

All base nutrients are composed of nearly all or are even all salts-based; that's how plants take up the nutes. Presuming the nutes have similar formulation (such as similar N-P-K rations), are good quality with balanced contents, they will all be pretty much the same in terms of salts accumulating in the medium/soil.

Yeah I am aware that’s what it comes down to. But if you have try some nutrient lines and even mix up a feed, finish the feed and check the empty bucket the next day you will notice some nutrient lines leave more residue than others. Athena claims to Be super clean. By the time the nutrient water is mixed up, it’s clear and so on. Not that I am saying because the water isn’t dyed with color means it clean, but I'm sure you get the drift bro. Some nutrients leave nasty smells in the water/bucket too.

 

[Del boy]

What’s your opinions of the cleanest synthetic nutrient line these days?

By clean I mean leaving no salt build ups behind and so on.

More of just a discussion and interested in what everyone thinks :smoking:

Green planet is very clean i grow in coco so never get salt build up and if you leave it in the bucket for a few days still looks clean with no resadue in bottom and no strange stink coming from it

 

[BII]

Green planet is very clean i grow in coco so never get salt build up and if you leave it in the bucket for a few days still looks clean with no resadue in bottom and no strange stink coming from it

What determines/defines a line of nutes being "clean?" In my and perhaps technical view, all "synthetic" nutes are unclean, primarily composed of salts.

Salt build up in coco is primarily dependent on how much you drain the medium/soil with each feed; has very little to do with the nutes.

 

[JP1]

I ran Athena blended line for the past year. It is very clean and pH stable. Easy on the drip lines and equipment. Just switched to h&g and it needs much more mixing or it separates and I get a pink slime at the bottom of the tank

 

[BII]

I ran Athena blended line for the past year. It is very clean and pH stable. Easy on the drip lines and equipment. Just switched to h&g and it needs much more mixing or it separates and I get a pink slime at the bottom of the tank

There are now multiple persons making claims about their nutes being "very clean," but it remains totally unclear what this means. On what is being "clean" based, and what makes a base nutrient product "very clean?"

As originally cited, being "clean" involves no or minimal soluble salts build up in medium/soil. How are pH stability and lack of sedimentation in reservoir and lines involved in making nutes "clean," presumably in terms of what matters - interaction with the plant in the medium/soil?

It seems many even high quality nutes can present some visible sedimentation, it just being normal (I've seen it with AN pH Perfect and MegaCrop). And I don't think pH stability determines being clean, with very few base nutes actually being pH stable either in sense of heavily pre-buffered (adding even more salts), with most manually adjusting pH pre- or post-mixing; and/or having component nutes 'synthesized,' e.g., chelated, to be bioavailable over a wide range of pH (e.g., AN pH Perfect nutes).

 

[GreenBean]

If you are referring to no smell, buildup, sediment, etc in the bucket = clean...Floraflex is like that. But as most, I'm running coco and pretty much always to runoff - if I'm not being lazy. So, no buildup, smell etc after a couple days for me.

As far as being PH stable, IMHO that is down to your temps where the bucket is. Hotter temps where I am in the summer = constantly having the PH day to day pretty much. Cooler/cold temps I really only need to PH the bucket (5 gallon) when I refill and mix a new batch.

Water quality is another factor too. Here in Southern Cal we have a higher iron content. Anything left in a bucket for a prolonged period of a couple weeks, even straight water, can leave that orange iron residue.

 

[MrAutoGrower]

There is many reasons for the use of he term “clean” when it comes to nutrients. It comes down to quality. How the nutrients are blended, how the N P and K are sourced and so on.

I use advanced nutrients and have used it years. I really do like the nutrient line.

Yes we know they are salt based, and that they always leave some form of residue. However, some nutrient lines leave heavy residue behind, clog lines, don’t mix well and therefore the plant finds it harder to break them down.

I could go into why the term “clean” was used all day, but I’m assuming you will understand a bit better now.

It’s not the plant that leaves salt behind, it’s just the nutrients weren’t broken down enough and the plant won’t uptake them because they aren’t of use to it. That’s where DTW comes in and pushes out the salts that are left behind. However, a lot of salts aren’t water soluable meaning it takes longer to rid the medium of them. Ridding them quicker requires an agent, or Heavier volumes of feeding to try and push them out.

The salts isn’t the main concern that I speak of, it’s just one of many. Cleaner nutrients = happy medium + happy plant + cleaner buds