Lets continue the silica talk here.
@WhereAreTheStones
@BG305
@The_Lone_Stiller
@Demontrich
@Greenleafpro
1,2,3 go.
8 Likes
I’m sure liking the power si, not cheap but it’s doing what it is supposed to be doing.
6 Likes
I like silica. That grow genius stuff looks wicked cool but hella expensive. I think we can make it for a little over $100/liter with the right formulation. It’s prolly the neatest formulation I’ve been reading about. I wanna try it but will not pop at the retail price even for 10ml.
5 Likes
Yeah, the GG Mono is a relatively new product (at least in the US) and I don’t know much about it tbh. I only chimed in as I just recently found out about it and we were talking percentages. It is definitely the most concentrated mono that I have came across. After more research I’m becoming more reluctant to try it. Curious to see what others say as it becomes more available though.
2 Likes
yes this is about salt not silica, but may offer some insight anyway.
your not woke unless you ground your pots haha
1 Like
Osa28 gave the best results. It is/was extremely pricey. I went thru 2 bottles. Was a prize for plant of the month I won twice.
Armor si is what i use now. Cheap, seems to do the plants good. Every silica I’ve used raises ph.
7 Likes
Have you looked into agsil? It’s very cheap, and effective.
10 Likes
what concentration of potassium silicate are you all using? I always seem to lock out Ca with it, even at a conservative .25ml/gal(GH armorsi)
1 Like
3ml/g all thru veg, and until week 6 in flower. I chop at week 9.5. Ffof soil, dolomite lime added to soil, 1480ppm feed (feed, amendments/water, feed cycle). Water only last 2 weeks. 1200ppm co2
2 Likes
Giant horsetail is endemic to the PNW
8 Likes
And? I’m a little thrown off by this statement. Is there a way to turn this into silica or something? Lol
1 Like
35% silica according to google
4 Likes
That’s bad ass!
1 Like
In order for silica to be in solution, you’d need the ph to be quite high
3 Likes
I run Athena and their Balance (potassium silicate) acts as a pH up and the Power Si lowers pH. Power Si drops my pH like crazy in RO. I’m no longer mixing straight in the rez and only foliar feeding.
5 Likes
@FicklePickle interested in your insight here (as a fellow rdwc grower). We use AgSil. Interested if anyone has done tissue tests. As far as lockout, we calculate how much K needs to be reduced from our regular feed mix if we decide to bump it up. I haven’t been able to observe how quickly the plant eat sil, hoping to get some ICP data on it
5 Likes
From the small testing I have done. Silic acid seems to have a faster absorption rate than potassium silicate.
3 Likes
Potassium silicate has to convert to monosilicic acid to become bioavailable to the plant. Usually takes at least 2 weeks.
5 Likes
That explains alot. 
Thats exactly where I’m at in my test and just now noticed the potassium silicate kicking in6 weeks to see the over all comparisons
3 Likes
Since we are growing a plant with such a short life span we it needs readily available nutrients. This is why we use chealeated and water soluble minerals for quick absorption. It’s also why we use beneficial bacteria to help break down some of the minerals to usable nutrients. Mono silicic acid is able to be absorbed without the need to break down or convert it for the plant. This is the reason the dosages from these brands are so low. At the end of the day the concentration and the dosage rate are what matters to determine your cost per gallon.
16 Likes