well on topic- i had a major lockout issue before and im blaming the silica.i use agsil and premix it so it needs about 5 ml per gal but i sprayed thay direct in the res. I got issues for a while and had to overveg to recover the plants. Now i saw on my pump it looks like gummy agsil on it. it mustve precipitated on hitting the res. What happened to the plants is they burnt and then went into reveg off the stress. Now they are way too big and way too many branches.
Seriously? Wow, that’s really disappointing. Here I was, about to order the supplies…
His sop might be correct, I don’t know…. But I do know that dudes a thief and should not be trusted
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Got it. Thanks for the heads up.
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You can do his SOP or Daniel Fernandez’ SOP. Just make sure you titrate very slowly to prevent precipitation.
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Thanks. Have you tried their SOP’s? I haven’t seen Daniel Fernandez’s yet. Will look for it.
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i just use agsil and premix it based on what the internet says. I have had issues with precipitation so maybe ill relearn.
Hey Everyone. This is Daniel Fernandez, the creator of HydroBuddy. I see you have discussed my method for making mono-silicic acid. It is worth mentioning that the method described in my post about the patent was indeed posted before I had attempted it (it was my best interpretation from the patent).
Attempting it experimentally revealed some ways to make the process more successful. As @Flowerman mentions in the thread, the prior dissolution of the Silicate in water greatly enhances the chances of success, as precipitation reactions happen rapidly when you start from the solid potassium silicate. This is why addition of the solid needs to be done very slowly for this to be successful, probably during longer than an hour.
However, I have worked on a much more straightforward method to prepare it, after reviewing the literature and testing several stabilizing agents experimentally. I have tested this method a couple of times now with great results. It is now posted on my blog, with pictures of my experimental result. It only needs three raw inputs and yields very stable solutions. I cannot post links (I guess because my account is new), so I will leave it to someone who can to share the link.
A key step of this process is to allow the formation of the sorbitol-silicic acid polyolate complex at high pH (>11) before the acidification step.
I look forward to your comments 
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Thanks for all you do Daniel.
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Thank you for the consult and all the valuable information you have shared, including Hydrobuddy. I use it on a weekly basis.
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You’re very welcome! I hope the formulations I made for you have been useful.
It also seems you have an outdated idea about my opinion on fulvic acids. You can read the blog post on the subject I wrote in early 2021 for a better idea of what my current view is (https://scienceinhydroponics.com/2021/04/the-value-of-fulvic-acid-in-hydroponics.html).
In short:
All in all, fulvic acids represent a relatively cheap addition to a hydroponic regime that has limited risk and a lot of potential upsides .
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You’re very perceptive. I’m surprised you remember that short portion of our conversation. The non-profit food bank garden employing under-served members of the community didn’t pan out, but cannabis consulting certainly did. Thank you for your reply.
EDIT: I really like the simplicity of your silica recipe. I almost forgot to change my Hydrobuddy P and K inputs.
Used at 8mL gal it should provide around 20ppm of Si As SiO2, 40 ppm of P and 10 ppm of K.
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I used your formulation and everything went smooth. I substituted phosphoric acid for sulfuric acid with no issues. 10g of technical grade 96% sulfuric yielded 1.6pH.
How important is the pH of the stored solution? Ideally for fertigation I would prefer to run the pH of the solution higher to avoid using a base later in the process. Everything was water clear before adding acid.
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Awesome Great to know it works with sulfuric acid. The pH of the concentrated solution needs to be kept below 2. If you increase the pH of the concentrated solution then the Si species are still likely to polymerize due to their high concentration. When diluted for use in hydroponic solutions they should be stable at the 10-50 ppm of Si as elemental Si generally used.
I will however measure the stability this coming month when I go to Bruce’s lab and confirm to you whether they actually are more bioavailable than when you just prepare a hydroponic solution using potassium silicate stocks.
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@Flowerman Thanks for the DIY advice on making this stabilized 4% orthosilicic acid.
Did you end up finishing up your SOP for 4 and 6% blends ?
I have tried my best to follow your guide and upon adding the silica it clouds up, forms crystals, and is not nice and clear like what you have achieved.
Can you expand upon you notes section, i dont understand most of t the notes. I used a magnetic stirrer to mix all ingredients. Why do you suggest the rinsing part using 5ml of water?
I dont have AgSil but i have Potassium Silicate powder and also a liquid version that contains a total Potassium (K) (as silicate) 15.3% and Silicon (Si) 17.3%.
First batch I dissolved the powder as per directed. It didnt fully dissolve and the batch went very cloudy when i added it (on a cold bath) and it went separated.
Second batch I used the liquid (only 10ml) as i didnt know what the equivalent would be to your 10g of AgSil16H. It also went cloudy and still has small crystals not dissolved.
Any recommendations ?
does anybody want unused silica dirt cheap? make an offer, i do not use this product and it was left by a former tenant.
No. No, I do not. Bulk Agsil16 has served me well for years, and even better now with Dr. Fernandez’ recipe.
Has anyone tried this silica recipe with nitric acid? At 68% solubility was there any fall out, even with a stabilizer?
EDIT: There probably wouldn’t be precipitation, even though silica and nitric acid are at solubility saturation.
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