I use Silica. It's a wonderful additive that can make your grow much more successful but can also save your plants from death in many situations. It's not one of the 17 mandatory elements vital for a plants survival, but once you see it work, you'll want to keep using it. I love to grow big plants. Its fun and no one ever has a problem with a 20 oz plant. But Silica is a bit of a wet diaper sometimes.. There are very different opinions on how, why, and which brands or styles of Silica to use. I started with Armor Si a long time ago. I then moved on to
Botanicare's
Silica Blast both are Potassium based products and both suck. Apparently, the problem is the shape of the molecule. It's a chain-like structure and, depending on the brand, needs to be broken down a little further to be bioavailable to the plant. In soil these additives work a little better than hydro, since soil has the microbes to do the breaking down. But they need to be added as soon as the plant is established through flower... shut it down a couple weeks before harvest.
In soil I still use
Silica Blast on occasion. It's easy, cheap, and doesn't have the wild pH swings that occure with products like Armor Si. Armor Si will give a pH value of 11 after its mixed and definitely needs to be adjusted before giving it to your plant.
PH works on a logarithmic scale so every whole number is 10 times more acidic or basic than the last... 6.5 is 10 times more basic than 5.5, but 100 times more basic than 4.5. It sounds a little wierd, but thats how it works. A pH of 11 is 100000 times more basic than 6.
Most Silicas have pH issues. It's a problematic element for us pot farmers. Sorta like Calcium it doesn't get along with other elements. In hydro it needs to be added first and mixed thoroughly in pure water before adding other nutes. Some use Silica products to regulate pH. Not a good idea.. This is a problem because they are adding it to a res. full of other nutrients. Silica will bring other elements out of solution rendering them useless (in hydro). So you may be regulating your pH, or for a boost in Potassium, but your actually weakening your nutrient load. And the change in pH doesn't last as long as it could if using a buffering solution. Don't add Silica to nutrient water, just pure RO water or bottled.
Mono-Silicic Acid... MSA is a much more bioavailable additive than Pottasium Silicate. It's generally only used in hydro since It's too expensive for use in drain to waste applications. Silica is a immobile element in a plant. In hydro it always needs to be available to the plant for it to work. It will not move inside the plant like your NPK. But, MSA is a far superior product than those with Potassium. The molecule is a single structure. It files through the cell membranes of a root system unimpeded and goes to work immediately in the plant.
The first MSA product I used was Facilitor from
Aptus. It's a wonderful product, but stupid expensive. That first grow gave me my first 1 pound plant.
The second pic shows the harvest of the 2 plants that season. On the table was the pound plant. In the jars is the other which did a little over 10oz. This was quite a while ago, so I was all excited.
I just couldn't see paying so much for a tiny jar of one of the most prolific elements on the planet. I've seen it for sale in Canada for $1 per ml. Ridiculous.
So I moved on to
Power Si. It's about $50 per 250ml. Spendy? You bet, but far cheaper than Facilitor, and rumor has it they were both designed by the same guy.
Power Si got me through the August that I grew Wembley. I talked about it a bit in one of my little videos. It was 110F outside, and 102 inside my growroom. This was just 1 day, it was regularly over 90 that season. Here are 3 of the 4 plants that did 50oz that season. The 4th plant was in the closet (second/third pic it was in dirt)
Silica works really well at saving plants from hot/cold environments, humidity, or lack of humidity, over/under watering, helps protect against chewing insects and fungal pathogens like PM. It hardens cell walls, and is pivotal for growing large plants. It's also what makes up the body of trichomes, and makes for a much more robust circulatory system (both floem and xylem) so the shit is important to us. It actually does a lot more than the benefits I high lighted above. Look it up for the complete list, then go get some.
I have been having issues with
Power Si lately... for about a year and a half I guess. It isn't mixing completely in water, and sinking to the bottom of my res. pH usually goes the other way with MSA. It's usually around 2 once mixed in water. But this shit is not as stable as it once was and it gets worse with the age of an open bottle. It's too expensive for this, so I will be looking for a new product.
MSA Stout by Alchemist... I bought a bottle of this product to try. I have one last dose of
Power Si and I think that will be my last. So, MSA is only $50 a gallon. Granted, the dosage is much larger, but if it's stable, has a shelf life, and does what it should then I'm gonna use it.
Ok, so there's my speech on Silica. There's a ton more to it, and if you chose to use it read about it from reputable sources. Rumors and pseudo science abound. Knowledge is power do some reading. I can say that if you you are using MH/HPS or CMH lights and have temp issues Silica is a hell of a good thing. Steer clear of Rhino Skin, Armor Si, and other Potassium based products in hydro and use a mono-silicic acid if you can afford to... Im on the search for less expensive alternatives, but as I write this the only decent options are spendy. Cheers