Drip hydro nutrient vs Athena vs Jack

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
Even jacks regular part A is too non uniform like that, to mix small quantities anyway, IMO. It was made for mixing stock solutions on a way bigger scale than most hobby growers would. Commercial farmers likely crack open whole bags at a time, and use up large portions of it if not dump the whole thing in.. Like it was intended to be.

When your pulling out a little scoop that's only a few grams or more at a time, there is no way your getting the proper ratios, as you can literally see there is more of one component than the others. Just like pouring a few M&M candies out the bag, you only get a few of the same color sometimes.. however if you dump the half the bag or more in your hand and you would expect to get all the colors. lol I dunno....

When you mix up a stock batch it's way closer to being uniformly balanced overall, simply for the fact your mixing in way bigger scoops, which are sure to be blended up with the proper ratios, and not missing or in excess of some of the elements. Not to mention, its so much easier to use that way, without mixing and dealing with it dry each time. I just measure by EC and add it up for each part as I go when mixing up a res, until I'm confident enough I know the exact volume of the liquid needed each time coming from that particular batch. Then treat it like any other liquid 2 part bottled nutes, adding so many mils at a time from each bottle. Double checking once in awhile. I've heard its ok to mix the mag sulfate right in with part A in the same super concentrated stock solution, but haven't tried that yet. Even easier!

I'm still waiting for someone to comment on the new non N formula before I pick up a bag. I already know Jacks is probably perfect now with that option. Despite the excess nitrogen in the regular part A, I'm still happy with the outcome, but the plants sometimes exhibit some minor flaws due to it, depending on the setup\medium.. I bet with the zero N it will be perfect dialed in grows every time, with more flexibility like the other 3 part solutions give.. Its good enough now ( especially DWC, with hardly any salt buildup) I'm reluctant to even change anything..
 
Exactly. I find it easier to mess with dry ferts but I know I'll have better uniformity if I mix batches. I just hate measuring liquids. Guess it's time to invest in a 4 channel dosing pump. I hope someone tries out the bloom formula. If not I'm just a few months out from trying it myself
 

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
Some small amount of precipitation is inevitable when mixing it in dry. Even whipping it up at high RPMs with a mixing attachment on a drill for 5-10 minutes, the little chunks in part A take awhile to fully dissolve. Definitely not in 15 minutes. Hot water to start with kinda helps, but I'm not gonna mix up warm water everytime. I try to crunch them up into the bottom as they swirl towards the center (when mixing dry each time), because I know when I add calnit those little flakes are gonna react in some way, even if diluted. Mixing in a separate container avoids that too I suppose.

Not to worry with stock solutions though, because they been sitting around for a day, if not months later when using, already all pre dissolved. You never have fallout or any kind of reaction of the parts like when mixing it dry. Any chunks that never seem to dissolve sink to the bottom in the bottle of stock, so its no big deal, because your pouring from the top anyway. Maybe I'm just OCD, but that's the way I see it..

Yeah a dosing setup would be awesome!
 

Under the Radar

Well-Known Member
I mixed up 2 one gallon of jugs of stock with the A and B separate. Worked great for a short time then the A developed mold on the surface after a month of so. I’m not sure how folks mix up stocks and keep them from molding long term.

I’m back to mixing 20 G reservoirs from the powder. Works well and nets good results. I also add Mr Humic, grow genius and hydroguard or similar microbe.
 
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Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
I have a 3 year old bag of mb it did become a solid but it breaks in your hand its not that hard.i usually just hit it with a spoon breaks easy...
I've left my dry fert bags open over night before on accidental occasions. I always seal them back up right away, but have forgotten them a few times lol.
For long enough to start clumping the topmost layer a little bit, whether it was part A or the calnit from Jack's..

I just aim my dehumidifier outlet fan right into the top of the bag, and let it run on continuous mode for awhile to dry it back out. The clumps break up way easier, like it never happened. I try to make a habit of always blowing dry air in when I open and close the bags\containers any time. I suppose desiccant packs could work too, but not as fast.

Its always pretty humid around here, so I could see the whole bags turning into to bricks in no time without a good seal.. yikes!
 

Gno702

Active Member
I mix my jacks up by EC, after making into one gallon super concentrated stock solutions. I don't weigh it at all anymore, or mess with the powders but once a year maybe, being a hobby grower.

It's super easy to mix that way for me. After you get an idea of the ratios you need, you know exactly how much volume of each stock part to add, and is just as easy ass using any other bottle of nutes IMO.
Can you guide me in making stock solution to feed mils per gal to chive the right ratio
Any info would greatly be appreciated
 

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
Can you guide me in making stock solution to feed mils per gal to chive the right ratio
Any info would greatly be appreciated
Hey sorry I forgot to reply back. What nutes are you using?

With jacks you can go even higher, but I guess I would just recommend sticking to a 100:1 concentrate solution, to make the math easier. Pretty sure thats what the direction call for anyway. Basically, just add 100x the part to a gallon than you normally would. So instead of just putting the 3.79 grams of part A into a gallon, you would add 379 grams to the gallon instead. You can even add the epsoms salts along with part A in the same jug (I prefer to keep separate), so you would put in around 99 grams of the epsoms salt along with if you want. For part B in the other jug, you would be adding 252 grams to the gallon of water instead of 2.52.


From there, if my stoner math is correct.. there are about 3785 mls in a gallon, so if you divide back by 100, you get roughly 38 ml. So, 38 ml would be about the amount from each of the 2 jugs you would add back for each gallon in your res, if going full strength anyway. Say you want 75%, you just add 75% of the 38ml instead.
 

kratosxxl

Well-Known Member
For those who's interested masterblend came up with new part a of 0-20-42 that uses half of what it was before
 

Under the Radar

Well-Known Member
Just a heads up stock mixes can grow mold on the top of the liquid. Someone mentioned using a food preservative to keep it from getting infected if you keep it around for awhile.

I’ve had a batch mold before. I never revisited the stock thing because of the mold.
 

kratosxxl

Well-Known Member
Just a heads up stock mixes can grow mold on the top of the liquid. Someone mentioned using a food preservative to keep it from getting infected if you keep it around for awhile.

I’ve had a batch mold before. I never revisited the stock thing because of the mold.
Happened to me to that's why im making feed water on the day i feed , its annoying but safer
 
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