Crysmatic said:

Hydro buddy is the name of the nutrient calculator designed by Daniel Fernandez. it's available here:
http://allhydroponics.blogspot.com/2010/06/first-free-hydroponic-nutrient.html
it works in windows and linux...just unzip and run!

if you have desired nutrient profiles, hydro buddy will tell you how to mix up your own nutes. it will not tell you if it's a good mix. my point is, you need a good mix to start off, and you need to use the calculator properly.

if you want to copy a specific commercial nutrient, download the nutrient profile calculator from
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/articles/profiles.htm
input NPK CalMag ratios, density, and application rate(s). it will give you ppm - which you then input into hydro buddy.

imho companies add dozens of different salts to confuse us, and make it difficult to make an exact copy. they also design several products to work together. you can make a complete 2 part formula with a handful of salts that works very well.

part A will have calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate, ammonium nitrate (if used) and iron DPTA.

part B will have magnesium sulphate, potassium phosphate, and the micro nutrients (suphates).

you can use chelated micros, however, crop king warned me against using EDTA, as it's toxic to plants.

hydro buddy seems to have tabs out of order, imo. definitely read his instructions, and using it is what taught me the best. note that hydro buddy uses salts available, but not exclusive to, crop king.


first, under 'nutrient salts used' click on 'potassium monobasic phosphate' and 'iron edta', and click off 'calcium monobasic phosphate' and 'iron sulphate'. the other default salts are fine. i've had errors when i start messing around with the other salts.

under 'desired formula' you have to set up your res volume, 'concentrated A and B (1:100)', 'calculate weights for specific stock solution volume' (and your preferences) and input your target ppm. click on 'calculate formula!'. if your target ppm are the same as the calculated ppm - which appears next to them under 'calculation result summary' and you get the message 'Calculation executed successfuly, no apparent errors found :o)' then you're done!

all the weights are on the 'calculation results' tab. a digital scale good to +/- 1g is good for macros, and +/- 0.1g for micros. of course use only deionised water. use it at 5 ml/L of A, and 5 ml/L of B.

note that when i add ammonium nitrate (or yara calcium nitrate), i play with the ammonium target ppm until the 'calculation result summary' gives my my desired ppm. e.g. i had to input 18 ppm for the calculator to show 30 ppm - 30 ppm is the real amount.

there are other capabilities, like tracking pH and EC in a recirculating system reservoir, and troubleshooting nutrient ratios. Daniel also plans to add more features. check for updates regularly!

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gswcalidos said:

Hello Crysmatic! Are you still around? I would love to have a chat about hydrobuddy. Been trying to figure out mixing my own fertilizer but my end results seem to be always off. If you are still around please let me know. Thanks

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