Just FYI, I wouldn't put too much stock in that manicbotanix stuff.
The guy that runs that site goes by the name Grant Low, or Grant Mahy (depending on mood) and used to work in some kind of ancillary capacity for
Advanced Nutrients. I don't want to go airing a lot of his dirty laundry, though he's already done that himself if you know where to look - I'm just not going to do it myself. The short, nice version is that he has a trouble past, things that were not in the least bit his fault, that caused his life to basically melt down many years ago when he was working with AN. By his own admission he put a lot of blame onto other people and was quite paranoid about a lot of stuff.
A buddy of mine who also used to work for AN and was there at the same time said that Grant kinda went postal when AN tried to help him through his problems and the whole thing just went pear-shaped. Not his fault, not theirs either, just one of those things. After that he basically reenacted Moby Dick with AN cast as the white whale for several years before finally coming to terms with what was really driving him and focusing his efforts there. If you check, he hasn't been active on that website or anything else related to hydroponics in over a year - because he's putting his life back on track and attacking the people actually responsible for harming him.
Anyway, it's not really my story to tell so I won't go into anymore detail than that. The point is that his website is a formulated revenge tactic based upon much earlier pain in his life and misdirected at
Advanced Nutrients. Whether or not AN deserves your hate is up to you to decide, but the stuff posted on his website is at most half-truths cooked up in a dark part of his life. His whole life story, autobiography-style, is out there in blog form if you want to know everything.