Preparing Your Own Hydroponic Nutrients : A Complete Guide for Beginners

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Chances are that if you are into hydroponic gardening and you live in Europe or in the US you have been buying your nutrient solutions from one of the many hydroponic nutrient sellers available locally. Generally people do not prepare their own nutrients because they consider this task “terribly difficult” and they prefer to keep buying previously made formulations so that they don’t have to deal with the technical problem of making their own fertilizers. What most people don’t realize is that the profit margin of hydroponic nutrient producing companies is HUGE. You would be surprised to know that each one of those concentrated nutrient gallons you buy costs only a few dollars to make (sometimes even only pennies) and you are probably paying a few times what the whole fertilizer is worth.

Obviously if you are going to be growing plants for a long time or if you simply want to grow a large garden the buying of this commercial nutrient solutions is not an option and starting to make your own formulations – adjusted to your own needs – becomes the main priority. On today’s article I will be speaking to you about how to prepare your OWN solutions using my nutrient solution calculator, carefully explaining to you what you need, where to buy it and what you should expect. I will guide you through making your own first A+B solution by YOURSELF getting all the chemicals and utensils you need easily and economically.

So what do you need to make your own nutrients ? The list below shows you the things you will need to start making your own A+B solutions. You will notice that you will need two scales since we are going to have to weight two “nutrient sets” with different precision, micro nutrients (which are used only in small amounts, need to be weight more precisely) and macro nutrients (which are used in larger amounts and therefore need scales with larger capacity).

Note, the links below are amazon affiliate links. This means you help out this blog by buying through these links at no extra cost to you.

  • Scale that can weight down to 0.01 g at a +/- 0.01g precision (something like this is perfect) with a max weight >100g.
  • Two Empty one gallon containers with caps
  • Plastic Spoon
  • Plastic small container (to weight salts)
  • A source of RO or distilled water (your tap water will NOT work)
  • Download my hydroponic nutrient calculator here.

Now these are the chemicals you will need (an online purchase link is included for each one) :

  • Calcium Nitrate (here)
  • Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate (here)
  • Potassium Nitrate (here)
  • Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate (here)
  • Mono potassium phosphate (also known as Potassium Monobasic phosphate) (here)
  • Manganese EDTA (here)
  • Zinc Sulfate Monohydrate (here)
  • Sodium Molybdate (dihydrate) (here)
  • Boric Acid (here)
  • Iron EDTA (here)

These chemicals can be bought in a variety of places but there is a link next to each one showing you a link where you can actually make the purchase. Often it is also possible to get these chemicals on ebay. The purity may not be as guaranteed as when purchased from a regular supplier but it is good enough for practical purposes in hydroponics.

Of course you may see right now that the initial investment might be significant (from 100 to even more than 500 USD depending on whether you buy 50lb or 1lb quantities of macro nutrients) however after this purchase you will be able to produce more than one hundred gallons of concentrated A+B solutions which would cost you more than 10 times the price you will be paying if you bought them commercially. After doing the math you will see that this is a GREAT way to save money and produce your own solutions ! Hey you could even start selling to the neighbors !

After you buy the chemicals, open my hydroponic calculator and select the “Hoagland Solution”. Then click the “Concentrated A+B Solutions” radio button and make sure you select the “Input Desired Concentrations” option. Set the amount of stock solution volume to 1 and the radio button to “Gallons”. Then click the “Substance Selection” button and make sure you add all the substances that are from the above list into the “Substances Used for Calculations” list. Now click the “Carry Out Calculations”. Your screen should look like the picture shown below .

This is how the calculator should look after you click the “Carry out Calculation” button. Note the selections that are active.

Now that you have calculated the weights needed you should go to the “calculation results” tab where you will be able to find the weights of the different nutrients you need to prepare the solution in the amount you specified. The results of the calculation to prepare 1 gallon of A and 1 gallon of B stock solutions are shown below.

Amounts of salts to be weighted to prepare 1 gallon of A and 1 gallon of B solution.

You should now follow these steps to prepare the solution:

  • Mark one gallon container with an A and the other with a B. One gallon will contain all the A salts, the other all the B salts.
  • Fill each one gallon container with half a gallon of RO or distilled water
  • Weight one salt on the plastic container you set apart for measuring. Make sure you always DOUBLE check the weights and the appropriate A or B gallon container you need to add the salt to.
  • After you measure the salt transfer it to either the A or B gallon container (depending on which one it should go into). Use a little bit of water (RO or distilled) to transfer any remains that cannot be easily added and dry the container you are using to weight before measuring the next salt.
  • Shake the container where you added the salt and make sure it is fully dissolved before measuring and adding the next one.
  • Do the same as above for all the salts
  • After you are done adding the salts add half a gallon of water (again RO or distilled) to each container
  • Then seal the containers and shake them vigorously
  • You have just prepared your first batch of self-made nutrient solution !

The above formulation is a general multi-purpose blend – a Hoagland solution – that should allow you to grow a large variety of plants. You simply need to add 10mL of A and 10mL of B for each final LITER of nutrient solution. You should use your pH meter and EC meter to adjust these values as you do with your regular commercial nutrients.

It is very important now to keep your solid chemicals stored in air-tight container in a dark and cool place. Some chemicals like calcium nitrate will absorb moisture and become useless if you leave them in contact with air for prolonged periods of time!

Of course, once you are more comfortable with preparing your own nutrients you can research the available literature for some custom formulations available to grow each one of your plants under its favorite nutrient levels. I hope this tutorial has allowed you to reach a new level in your hydroponic gardening experience, hopefully accompanied by a drastic reduction in your soil-less gardening costs !

Make sure you also checkout this youtube video for a similar tutorial using a premade chelated micronutrient mix.

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114 Comments

  • Ramesh
    July 7, 2010 @ 6:58 am

    Hi Daniel,

    Your recent articles with so many examples is really helping in understanding about nutrients and also to make your own nutrients which will help in experimenting. Good effort and really appreciate your contribution.

    0.1 precise weigh scale link is taking to 0.01 weigh scale. Please correct it.

    –Raurs

  • Daniel
    July 7, 2010 @ 10:08 am

    Hi Raurs,

    Thank you very much for your comment :o) I am glad my tutorials are helping you understand how to prepare your own nutrients and how to experiment with the calculator.

    I hope you continue to enjoy the tutorials and my website. Thanks again for your comment !

    Best regards,

    Daniel

    PS : I have just fixed the link :o) thank you for pointing that out.

  • N
    July 12, 2010 @ 6:26 pm

    Hey Daniel,
    I was wondering if U could add some more salts to the program. Here is a great site to help (http://www.hydro-gardens.com/fertcomp.htm).
    I was hoping you could add some of these if not all-
    Calcium Chloride
    Mono-Potassium Phosphate
    Potassium Chloride
    Di-Ammonium Phosphate
    Potassium Hydroxide
    Also by using these (chalets)
    Calcium Chelate
    Copper Chelate
    Iron Chelate
    Manganese Chelate
    Zinc Chelate
    wouldn't these change the possibility of precipitation?

    • sciresearcher
      February 13, 2016 @ 5:01 pm

      Stay away from Potassium Hydroxide for plants or it could be used in the lowest concentration possible.

      This Hydroxide is used to saponify oils or fats to make shampoos or soaps, respectively.

    • December 16, 2017 @ 6:10 pm

      In particular, I want to add Nickel, Vanadium, and a few other trace micronutrients. I see in the literature for example that barley yields are substantially boosted with 1.0uM nickel, but that serious toxicity issues arise at 100uM. The calculation isn’t hard of course, and the ionic partner of the nickel salt won’t contribute anything, but it would be nice to add new requirements.\

      I also want to include substantial silicon in my nutrient, but I cannot do that for concentrated solutions. I am guessing this is a solubility issue. But it doesn’t really matter in terms of the amount that’s added, I want to add it and having to do so by adding it directly shouldn’t remove my ability to use concentrated solutions for the rest of the nutrients.

      So I am guessing that I would like silica treated differently.

      Having said all that you have done a marvelous job creating this program. I might be interested in some point helping convert it to a more maintainable language like C++ (pascal is not used much at all in industry and there are a ton more C++ programmers out there). Anyway, please email me at reusser.ed@gmail.com and we can start the conversation.

  • Daniel
    July 12, 2010 @ 6:42 pm

    Hello N,

    Thank you for your comment :o) I will be adding more salts to the program before version 1.0 comes out however you should take into account that Mono Potassium Phosphate and Di-Ammonium Phosphate are already in the calculator (they are also called monobasic potassium phosphate and dibasic ammonium phosphate) make sure you check the formula in the future so that you know if a chemical is already added with a different name.

    Regarding the chelates, you have to be more specific as each MANY chelates are possible. For example iron EDTA (an iron chelate) is already added but other such as EDHA, DPTA, etc are also possible. Once you specify the EXACT chelates you would want me to add I will be glad to help :o) However I will be adding all the EDTA chelates of the metals you mentioned in the future version.

    Regarding the possibility of precipitation, it depends on what you want to keep from precipitating. Also remember that chelating nutrients that are widely used like calcium can have very detrimental effects.

    The chlorides and potassium hydroxide are already on my list as well as nitric and phosphoric acid.

    I hope you are enjoying the calculator :o) Thank you very much again for your comment,

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

  • Jiniffer Sen
    July 19, 2010 @ 12:24 pm

    Hydroponics

    Nice post……such an useful information regarding hydroponics……Gud job dude!!!!!!!!!

  • Joe
    July 20, 2010 @ 2:21 pm

    My Antivirus will not allow your calculator to run, flagges it as suspiscious ativity and removes it….Ideas jdkcubed@gmail.com

  • Daniel
    July 24, 2010 @ 6:56 pm

    Hello Joe,

    Some anti virus software may flag the program as suspicious because it downloads a text file with the latest version to compare it with its internal data and check if there are any new updates. However the program is totally harmless so you can tell your anti virus software to ignore it to avoid any such problems. Thank you very much for your interest :o)

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

  • Christian
    July 25, 2010 @ 4:39 am

    what do the "Purity %" field means? I'm using EDDHA Iron Chelate, its 6.0%
    How would I use this with the calculator? (I assume to choose Iron EDTA and double ther results, since EDTA is 12%, or double the potency) ?

    also, I'm getting a bit of a discrepancy with your calculator, here is my data:
    N (no3) = 217
    P = 60
    K = 180

    nutrient salts used:
    Potassium Nitrate
    Potassium monobasic Phosphate
    Calcium Nitrate

    your calculation results show
    Weights Of salts to Dissolve Directly
    KH2PO4 = 99.57g
    KNO3 = 102.31 g
    CA(NO3)2 = 572.19
    this gives a ratio of 1-1.02-5.74 of fertilizers used, respectively

    however, my hand calculation yields results
    of ratio 1-1.18-4.56
    using standard
    Potassium Nitrate 13-0-44
    Monopotassium Phosphate 0-52-34
    Calcium Nitrate 15.5-0-0

    so there seems to be some variation of the results, any reason why? I am willing to answer more questions if needed. btw, I am using
    http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/articles/profiles.htm
    profile for my ppm conversions. thx~

  • Daniel
    July 25, 2010 @ 11:38 am

    Hello Christian,

    Thank you very much for your comment :o) Purity is related to the actual content of the pure salt within the solid you are using. Generally commercial salts will contain some material which is not the intended product and such difference should be taken into account to achieve maximum accuracy.

    In your case you should NOT use iron EDTA but you should add a custom salt with the adequate iron percentage of the iron EDDHA chelate. This is done using the buttons to the right of the salt list.

    Regarding the calculations the results shown by the calculator are correct. The ratio you are aiming for with 217 N, 60 P and 180 K would translate to an NPK of 1-0.63-0.92 since K is expressed as K2O and P as P2O5 in a traditional NPK representation.

    I think that you are a little bit confused regarding how nutrient concentrations are calculated and how you need to calculate nutrient percentages. However I can assure you that the results given by the calculator are correct and that the ppm values you input are achieved when the mass of salts specified is dissolved in the amount of volume you have input.

    Also bear in mind that calcium nitrate tetrahydrate has an N percentage of 11.9% and NOT 15.5%, this higher N percentage is attributed to what is commonly referred to as greenhouse grade calcium nitrate which is NOT calcium nitrate but a calcium nitrate/ammonium double salt. A salt with this composition is available as "Yara calcium nitrate" within the list.

    Thank you very much for your interest :o)

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

  • Christian
    July 26, 2010 @ 11:37 pm

    Hi Daniel. Good calculator. I took some time to double check my knowledge, and yes I was confused about calculations and some misconceptions. Thanks for your time on making this blog and responding to my questions. A quick question if I may ask?

    You mentioned Calcium Nitrate tetrahydrate as being 11.9-0-0, but wikipedia shows it (i tried to research lol) 12.8-0-0

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_nitrate

    Formulations lacking ammonia are also known: Ca(NO3)2.4H2O (12.8-0-0 + 18.3%Ca).
    This would give a 12.8%, is this a type or something different that is at play here with the 11.9 figure?

    thx!

  • Daniel
    July 26, 2010 @ 11:47 pm

    Hello Christian,

    Thank you for your comment :o) I am glad that you have checked your knowledge and that you now agree with the calculator.

    Regarding calcium nitrate tetrahydrate,

    The molar mass is 236.15 g/mol. Since each mole of the tetrahydrate contains 2 moles of nitrogen then the percentage of nitrogen is (2*14/236.15)*100 which is 11.9% so the value in wikipedia is wrong. The percentage of calcium is (40/236.15)*100 which is 17%, not 18.3.

    I advice you always do these simple calculations yourself since wikipedia is wrong a good percentage of the time due to the fact that more often than not no one takes the time to check the accuracy of these contributions. I have just made the correction in the wikipedia page so that no more people face this error.

    Thank you very much again for your comment :o)

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

    • January 15, 2018 @ 10:44 pm

      Hi Daniel, I’ve been doing some studying on diy nutrients for a little while, and I keep getting different math equations from different areas, depending on what articles I seem to be reading. My question to you is what amounts of dry salts would you use for a liter sized bottle of concentrated 0-1-3 big bud for example

  • Christian
    July 27, 2010 @ 1:57 am

    OK, great program, I have already recommended to several people on another website to use, seems to be the simplest one available and very easy.

    Another question/comment. I was trying to match you Iron EDTA salt, using a custom field. I found that if I created a new salt, with Fe content as 1.3, it would match up almost exactly with the built in Iron EDTA. However, I have read that Iron EDTA is 13% purity of Iron, so the value should be 13?

    So, possibly the current Iron EDTA field built in has a decimal point discrepancy, giving a 1.3% purity instead of 13% ?

    Just checking, keep up the good work on the calculator, really useful app !

    -Christian

  • Daniel
    July 27, 2010 @ 1:43 pm

    Hello Christian,

    Thank you very much again for your comment and recommendation :o).

    Regarding your FeEDTA question, I have just checked and adding a custom 13% Fe salt gives almost the same results as the included FeEDTA. What happens is that you may not be taking into account the fact that the results displayed for the built in FeEDTA are for the preparation of a 1L, 1:10 concentrated solution as detailed on the label above the box. Therefore you should NOT dissolve it directly but prepare the 1L concentrated Fe solution and use 100mL per batch. However when you add a custom Fe salt you get the value to add directly and NOT to prepare a concentrated solution.

    Please read the examples and instructions on how to prepare solutions using the "dissolve directly" option, please remember that for this procedure a concentrated micro nutrient (1:100) and a concentrated Fe solution (1:10) MUST be prepared and NO direct additions for these salts must happen. Please pay close attention to the labels above the boxes where the values are displayed.

    In summary there is NO decimal point discrepancy and the included FeEDTA gives accurate results. If you want to add all salts directly instead of preparing concentrated Fe and micro nutrient solutions you need to have a reservoir volume of more than 4 cubic meters.

    I hope this answers your question :o) Thanks again for your interest and comments,

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

  • Christian
    July 30, 2010 @ 12:55 am

    Hi again Daniel. I have been using your program for several days now, and I think I am getting the hang of it. Its fairly simple and easy to use.

    1 question though, if I wanted to keep a dry/powder nutrient, could I simply mix the powdered components together in the appropriate ratios and amounts as given by the calculator, or would this cause a problem to mix the dry noots together? thx!

  • Daniel
    July 30, 2010 @ 1:27 am

    Hi Christian,

    Thanks a lot for your comment :o) I am glad that after some practice you find the program easier to use ! I hope that other people you have shared this link with are also finding it useful.

    Regarding the storage of dry nutrients I would have to say that as long as you store the nutrients in airtight containers you should be okay but you should make sure they are well mixed every time before you weight them for use. If the containers where you store them are not airtight they will absorb a lot of water and become a useless paste.

    However don't worry if they become red or if some light brown granules start to form after storage. The salts will react with time when mixed together to form other salts such as dark transition metal phosphates, red iron nitrate hydrates, etc. However they will dissolve and they will work just as well with the initial ratios you prepared.

    Nonetheless if you can it would be best to prepare concentrated A and B solutions instead of dry nutrient mixes for longer term storage.

    I hope this helps ! Thanks again for your comment :o)

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

  • N
    July 30, 2010 @ 4:20 pm

    Hey D,
    Was just looking at Cropking & Hydrogardens and I can't find Magnesium Nitrate. Do u know of any place I can find it.
    Thanks
    N

  • Daniel
    July 30, 2010 @ 4:33 pm

    Hello N,

    Thank you for your comment :o) Magnesium nitrate is indeed very hard to find and often quite expensive. I think that you will need to look into providers such as Spectrum Chemicals to get it. I hope you are enjoying the calculator !

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

  • Christian
    July 31, 2010 @ 8:55 pm

    Hi again Daniel

    Your blog has sparked many questions! I have a few questions about a statement above

    "If the containers where you store them are not airtight they will absorb a lot of water and become a useless paste."

    I had some calcium nitrate that was not stored completely secure or air tight. When I opened the package, I noticed at the top of the container, the granules and "fused" to create rather large chunks of calcium nitrate. I assume the calcium nitrate at the top of the container absorbed some water from the atmosphere air. So how exactly does this change the Calcium Nitrate? I assume is has absorbed a lot of water, does this change the chemical structure of it, or does it still dissolve in a water solution the same?

    Next, regarding the idea of mixing all the nutrients together and they will form a paste from the water absorbed from the air, does this paste change the chemical formula (ie: interactions of the salts mixed) or does it simply add a bunch of water weight making it impossible to weigh/measure? Just curious how exactly the paste will be useless, if dissolved in water will it be different, or will it simply be impossible to measure doses since the weight is distorted with so much water intake?

    thanks! Really great info Daniel here, I am excited to get rolling here with nutrients!

    -Christian

  • Daniel
    July 31, 2010 @ 10:04 pm

    Hello Christian,

    Thanks a lot for your comment and interest :o) I will now answer your questions :

    1. Calcium nitrate absorbs a lot of water if left in contact with the atmosphere something which may at first lead to caking (which is what you experienced).The problem is that the amount of water absorbed is not known and therefore you can never know how much calcium nitrate you are adding.

    2. In the case of premixed nutrients things become a little worse, it is not only the loss in accuracy due to the absorption of water but the fact that the water allows some reactions to take place, mainly the reactions of calcium, phosphate and sulfate ions, precipitating calcium sulfate and possibly some phosphates. So not only would you not be able to accurately add your nutrients (since they have absorbed a lot of unknown water weight (they can absorb as much as 0.5-5x the salts' weight depending on the conditions)) but their actual solubility properties will be affected and possibly a lot of precipitate will remain after addition.

    The problem is that some of the salts that are formed are very stable and their dissolution is kinetically very unfavorable (which means that they will in the end dissolve but it may take them days/months to get there). In the end, if you cannot store the premixed nutrients in absolutely air-tight containers this is not something you should be doing. It would be better if you just weight the salts for your reservoir when you do each preparation.

    I hope this answers your questions :o)

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

  • Christian
    July 31, 2010 @ 10:51 pm

    wow! the master speaks!

    amazing as always Daniel

  • TJ
    August 3, 2010 @ 12:43 pm

    Hi Daniel,

    Is it possible to use nitric acid in place of NO3?

    Thanks,
    T.J.

  • Daniel
    August 3, 2010 @ 12:53 pm

    Hello T.J,

    Thank you for your comment :o) However I don't seem to understand your question. Nitric acid has HNO3 as its formula, when you add this to your hydroponic solution it reacts with water and dissociates into H3O+ and NO3- ions (nitrate ions), so if you add nitric acid you are adding nitrate. If you wanted to add all the nitrate in your hydroponics system as nitric acid you would then need to neutralize it with a basic source such as potassium hydroxide (KOH) which in the end is equivalent to adding a regular nitrate (like potassium nitrate) to your reservoir from the beginning. I hope this solves your doubts,

    Best Regards,

    Daniel

  • ROC
    September 24, 2010 @ 10:24 am

    I’m trying to create a formulation that has a much lower N content while having a higher Ca content… seems to me that I can’t achieve this using the “greenhouse grade” / yara (15.5% N) calcium nitrate, and I should be looking for calcium nitrate tetrahydrate which has a lower N:Ca ratio that I’m looking for?

    The profile that I’m trying to target is something in the N 50-75 P 75-100 K 100-125 Ca 100-150 Mg 50-75 range.

    How do the commercial fertilizer manufacturers, such as Botanicare with Cal-Mag+ and Technaflora with MagiCal make their Ca/Mg product with a low N formulation?

    In searching for a source of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate (if that’s indeed what I need, I’m still unsure if this will do it), I’m seeing various purity grades with a significant difference in price between each grade. For instance, a “purified” grade from Colonial Scientific:

    https://www.colonialscientific.com/OScatalog/index.php?products_id=127511&osCsid=b98877a57aa8b306e85e8c1abbb8b64b

    as opposed to crystal, Reagent/ACS grade that’s a bit more expensive:

    https://www.colonialscientific.com/OScatalog/index.php?products_id=127507&osCsid=b98877a57aa8b306e85e8c1abbb8b64b

    to biotech grade:

    https://www.colonialscientific.com/OScatalog/index.php?products_id=127388&osCsid=b98877a57aa8b306e85e8c1abbb8b64b

    I didn’t find the assay % rating on the “purified” grade, but curious what the difference is and if it’s a good choice.

    Thanks much for your contributions.

    • admin
      September 24, 2010 @ 11:09 am

      Hello ROC,

      Thank you very much for your comment :o) I don’t think that just changing to calcium nitrate tetrahydrate will do the trick for you since in this case the N to Ca ratio of the salt is just 1 to 1.4 so you can only achieve 50:70 N:Ca with this fertilizer. The only way in which such a high Ca to N ratio seems achievable is through the use of several forms of soluble calcium to supply the required Ca level. You can prepare concentrated solutions with calcium monobasic phosphate provided that you lower the pH of the concentrated solution to low enough levels (2-3), you can also provide additional calcium to the final reservoir in the form of calcium sulfate (which allows to provide up to 200-300 ppm of Ca before precipitating) or increase the concentration in your concentrated solutions using Calcium Chloride (the chloride addition can be ignored provided that the final concentration of Cl is below 100 ppm). As you see there are several ways to achieve high Ca to N ratios but changing your nitrate is definitely not the solution.

      Regarding the purity grades, in hydroponic solutions anything above 98% can be considered acceptable since higher purity grades are unnecessarily pure and expensive. I would only consider using higher purity grades when doing scientific deficiency or very precise nutritional studies where the exclusion of impurities is of vital importance. I hope this answers your questions :o) Thank you very much again for your comment,

      Best Regards,

      Daniel

  • balkan canher
    January 13, 2011 @ 3:05 pm

    its an awesome tool. I applaud you for coming forth with this tool to remedy a much needed pain in the ass.

  • Mick
    February 19, 2011 @ 3:08 pm

    Hi Daniel, I Have purchased a Premixed Micronutrient in compounded fine granule form and the Iron, Mn, Zinc and Copper are all chelated with EDTA and Boron and Molybdenum are just water soluble types, if i add what is recommended on the packet to a Part B 100 concentrated solution which contains Potassium Nitrate, MKP and Magnesium Sulphate it goes
    cloudy and precipitates out so i tried adding it to Part A which is Calcium Nitrate and Potassium Nitrate and it seems to
    work ok with no noticeable precipitation after a couple of days, the premixed Micronutrient states on the packet that it is stable from PH 3-9. Am i doing the right thing and would there be any detrimental effect on any of the Micronutes
    especially the Boron and Molybdenum.
    Thanks Mick.

    • admin
      February 19, 2011 @ 5:35 pm

      Hi Mick,

      Thank you for your comment :o) That’s OK, the B solution probably goes cloudy because the pH is too high – this makes phosphates precipitate – but you could certainly get it to become clear by adding nitric acid to lower the pH (although this might not be the best idea as you’re using EDTA complexes), however since your metals are chelated with EDTA you can add them to your A solution as well (which is what you have done) without the need of additional acids. What you have done is just fine, nothing bad will happen to any of your nutrients. Thanks again for commenting,

      Best Regards,

      Daniel

  • Mick
    April 13, 2011 @ 1:33 pm

    Hi Daniel, I am going to try coco peat as my growing medium, is there a need to modify the nutrient formulas because I have read about the potassium content in coco peat plus it may need more calcium and magnesium to get a balanced formula. Thanks Mick.

  • Azhar
    July 11, 2011 @ 12:41 pm

    Please could you let me know the possibility of the following reaction:

    Can ammonium phosphate reacts with calcium sulfate to form calcium phosphate in certain pH conditions and is incompatible.
    thanks

  • Bill
    March 25, 2012 @ 1:48 pm

    Hi Daniel,

    Your articles with so many examples is really helping in understanding about nutrients and also to make your own nutrients which will help in experimenting. Good effort and really appreciate your contribution. I have a question. Can I use
    Iron (II) Sulfate Heptahydrate instead of Chelated Iron. The reason is I could find Chelated Iron here in Hong Kong.

    Many thanks and best regards,

    Bill Lo from Hong Kong

    • admin
      March 30, 2012 @ 7:25 pm

      depends on the formulation, you need to be careful because unchelated iron easily precipitates when pH fluctuates

  • Sebastian pugliese
    August 24, 2012 @ 3:17 pm

    Hola Daniel, como estas, primero una consulta sos el mismo Daniel Fernandes de aca:
    http://todohidroponico.com/ ?
    La consulta es la siguiente probe tu soft y es una maravilla yo estoy comenzado con la hidroponia y la solucion que uso consta solo de 3 elementos
    Nitrato de Calcio, (NO3)2Ca 118 g
    Sulfato de Magnesio, SO4Mg 48 g
    Fosfato Monopotásico, PO4H2K 29 g
    Y segun me han explicado que los demas elementos (micronutrientes) se encuentran ya de en esta compisicion necesitaria saber si es verdad ya que estoy teniendo muchos problemas y lo que me dicen que es por el agua no la solucion nutritiva.
    Desde ya muchas gracias
    Saludos
    Sebastian

    • admin
      August 25, 2012 @ 2:45 pm

      Hola Sebastián,

      Los demás nutrientes no se encuentran en esta composición (te faltan Cu, Fe, Mo, Zn, B y Mn). Necesitas una solución nutritiva completa, esto NO te lo ofrece la que estás utilizando y esto pueder ser la causa de tus problemas.

      Daniel

  • arevalo zabaleta
    May 1, 2013 @ 1:40 pm

    desde venezuela
    hola demasiado buena esta pagina
    tienes ALGUN COMENTYARIO EN REFERENCIA A LA FORMULA
    PARA HIDROPONIA RECOMENDADA POR LA FAO (ONU)
    para las zonas tropicales
    de antemano gracias por todas tus informaciones
    arevalo

  • Satish Sidana
    July 23, 2013 @ 12:47 pm

    Would like to work to start small Hydroponic farm on experimental basis.

  • DuykRuyk
    July 29, 2013 @ 6:25 pm

    Would this be considered organic hydroponics? I know that these chemicals are not the same kind of “chemicals” used in modern day farming like pesticides and herbicides, but are there trace amounts of other things that may be bad for health? Basically, are these pure enough nutrients?

  • August 7, 2013 @ 4:06 pm

    Hi Daniel,

    Great article and calc program. I can’t imagine how much money you’ve saved people.

    I was wondering what your thoughts were in regard to adding an organic acid (humic/fulvic)to a DIY nutrient mix. A lot of retail nutrient products have them listed as ingredients. Could adding a humic in boost nutrient availability and/or uptake?

  • houdinihar
    August 9, 2013 @ 3:03 pm

    Hello and thanks for this interesting program.
    I am finding that after I have done one calculation of any type based on something I load from the database you have collected, and then I load another data sheet I almost always get an error msg. For instance, I went to the Main page and loaded the Chili (maximumyield)- did the calcs, and looked at the results page. Then I went back to the Main page and tried to run the Lettuce2 (Howard Resh) and immediately got error msgs. #1 “There must be at least ONE substance containing each element for which a nonzero concentration is desired.” #2. “No substance is providing N (NH4)+” If I shut down the program, I am able to go back and reload any one datasheet and start successfully. I haven’t tried to manipulate the program values whatsoever. Any suggestions? TY

  • Roland Walker
    August 13, 2013 @ 2:43 pm

    Some really good info in this article, thanks for spending the time putting it together Hydrobuddy. For any readers in the UK though I’d suggest getting your chemicals from a supplier like http://www.reagent.co.uk as not many people know you can order things such as boric acid online without being an actual company. Cheers

  • Anastasia
    August 21, 2013 @ 7:48 pm

    I downloaded the 1.5 version of the program. I looked at the generic grow and generic bloom formulas. They seem to have Phosphoric Acid (30%) as an ingredient. Do you have a source for this? Thanks!

  • VEERAMANI.V
    August 22, 2013 @ 4:52 am

    Hi,
    Everyone, I want to cultivate Hydroponics plant. Where i have to get nutrient medium.please help me anyone.
    (9965721463)

  • Pupilla Charites
    August 25, 2013 @ 9:09 am

    Hi Daniel, I just came across your chemically oriented hydro site while doing a search and hope you can take a moment to help me. I am trying to find out how the sacks of commercial powder hydroponic mixes that some of us use are mixed into their powder form before hopefully sealing inside a sack. Are the chemical powders simply mixed or as it looks, are they slurried/brought into concentrated solution and then dried? I ask this because I wonder about using a very small amount in case the mixing is incomplete. It looks to me like only one identifiable product with a blue-green tinge. Maybe that includes a colorant besides copper sulfate, etc., but the point is it looks uniform as if it has been mixed in solution and dried … the best possible mixing. Do you know if this is the case with some of the popular brands or what the art is in the mixing of these for marketing? If I use just one gram which is a statistically small amount of particles, will I get the right blend of the overall bag every time?

    Thanks!

    • admin
      August 25, 2013 @ 7:42 pm

      Hi Pupilla,

      Mixing is never done by dissolving and drying (too expensive), mixing is usually done by ball-milling the powder until it is homogeneous. This gives extremely good mixing (you can practically guarantee homogeneous composition). I hope this helps,

      Best Regards,

      Daniel

  • Kris
    September 8, 2013 @ 5:47 pm

    Hey Daniel,

    Just downloaded the program. I couldn’t find where the general_beginner.txt Its not in the folder that was downloaded. Can you give me a link where I can download it? Thanks!

  • Kris
    September 9, 2013 @ 5:10 am

    Hey Daniel,

    About the general_beginner.txt file. I think I found it, when I clicked the link it didn’t download it just opens up another tab with numbers.
    The problem I have now is I can’t find the file where you see the “welcome, desired formulation, nutrient salts used…etc” If you could help me out it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

  • Tom
    October 5, 2013 @ 1:54 pm

    Hi. I’m french and i glad your create this tutorial and this programme because there is not so much information about diy hydroponic fertilizer in french. However it seems difficult and expensive to buy chemicals. If you own some, is it possible to sell a pack of chemical in small amount quantity and reasonnable proportion (i guess i will need more Potassium Nitrate than Zinc Sulfate ? Is the number of h20 molecule contained in each chemical important ? I hope my english isn’t to bad. I wish you well

  • Chris
    October 10, 2013 @ 10:46 pm

    Hi Dan,

    I discovered your program yesterday and have been reading everything on your website. I am interested in learning as much as I can and would definitely be willing to pay for support.

    Let me know if this is an option!

  • Vinix
    October 18, 2013 @ 12:29 pm

    Hi, Thank you for the good information. Am intrestead in hydroponic fodder. What is the formular and which are the chemical salts i should use? Should i use a general multi-purpose blend? How can i get easily those chemical salts here in kenya? If possible you can responed through my email. Thank you.

  • Toby Hazlett
    November 14, 2013 @ 10:52 am

    I love what you are doing here mate! I will be trying to put together a good all round veggie / tomatoe solution with what you have put forward here as i am tired of paying a small fortune on canna and other overpriced nutrient solutions for my backyard hydroponics setups. I will no doubt let you know how i go and if i have any questions is it cool for me to post them here? Thankyou very much from Australia! Toby

  • December 1, 2013 @ 6:34 am

    Great site! I’ve learned a ton very quickly. Thank you!

    I can’t figure out how to load the “general_beginner.txt” file into HydroBuddy v1.50. Was the “add external” button on the “Desired Formulation” tab dropped in v1.50?

    Thanks, Dave

    • admin
      December 7, 2013 @ 3:54 pm

      it was dropped from HB v1.0

  • John
    December 12, 2013 @ 7:05 am

    Is Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid ferric sodium salt the same as your iron EDTA? By the way, your knowledge is greatly appreciated!

  • chege
    January 8, 2014 @ 6:22 pm

    Thanks I have been greatly helped by your information, id like to know if there is any specific considerations as regards the climatic conditions in Africa, if there are any chemicals that are for an African environment, and a simpler fomular for people who are not familiar with the scientific terms.

  • David Thompson
    May 12, 2014 @ 8:31 pm

    Hi. Here in New Zealand I use we use Calcium Ammonium Nitrate {C.A.N}. Not sure of the exact chemical formula.Would you be able to put this in your database of ferts so I can use it in my mixes.
    Thankyou so much for your excellant work on the calculator

    • admin
      May 23, 2014 @ 8:59 pm

      Hi David,

      It’s already there, it’s called Yara Calcium nitrate,

      Daniel

      • rafa
        September 21, 2014 @ 12:42 pm

        Could you explain how to, in the new version of HB. Thanks.

  • francis
    June 10, 2014 @ 6:49 am

    thank you for the different ideas that you impart to us, as a junior high school student it helps me a lot on my science investigatory project…..can you give me some ideas about s.i.p regarding hydroponics?

  • francis
    June 10, 2014 @ 6:52 am

    what are the common chemicals to be used in making hydroponics?

  • Amit
    August 10, 2014 @ 5:15 am

    Hi, you are doing an awesome job here.
    I am starting to do hydroponics as it is very uncommon in our region and most people don’t know about this stuff.
    I really want to grow peppers, bottle/bitter gourds. cucumbers, tomatoes, …etc from this technique commercially.
    Generally we farmers don’t know which nutrients are required by which plants. We just use organic manures, NPK fertilizers and they do us everything. For hydroponics, we have to mix it ourselves.
    For example:- If “X” vegetable consumes more boron and magnesium then we need to put more of that salt in it, but how much I am not very clear.
    Will there be a problem if I prepare an all purpose type solution which has almost all elements in it? Will there be any problem if I overdose a particular mineral.
    As simple as that, I really don’t have the clue as to what and how much should I mix for a particular vegetable. Enlighten me please.

  • newbie
    September 9, 2014 @ 6:53 pm

    hello everyone
    i have been searching the whole internet about the following issue and did not find anything
    i would be glad if anyone can help me
    i got a fertilizer of npk 5-20-30
    and i would like to make a new fertilizer with npk 20-20-38
    what should be added and how much to make lets 1kg of the second fertilizer.

    thank you

  • John
    September 18, 2014 @ 6:10 am

    Hi

    I must be reading this wrongly. It seems to indicate (for example) that I should use 38KG of calcium nitrate in order to make 1L of A/B solution – which is obviously impossible, How should I be interpreting this? (CSV output is below)

    Values calculated for the preparation of 1 liters of A and 1 liters of B solution. Please use 3.333mL of A and B within every Liter of final solution

    A – Iron EDTA Fe(EDTA) 576.9 57.7
    A – Calcium Nitrate (Tetrahydrate) Ca(NO3)2.4H2O 38109 3810.9
    B – Magnesium Sulfate (Heptahydrate) MgSO4.7H2O 14604.6 1460.5
    A – Potassium Nitrate KNO3 22459.2 2245.9
    B – Manganese Sulfate (Monohydrate) MnSO4.H2O 46.2 4.6
    B – Boric Acid H3BO3 85.8 8.6
    B – Copper Sulfate (pentahydrate) CuSO4.5H2O 6 0.6
    B – Sodium Molybdate (Dihydrate) Na2MoO4.2H2O 10.8 1.1
    B – Zinc Sulfate (Dihydrate) ZnSO4.2H2O 9 0.9
    B – Phosphoric Acid (30%) H3PO4 18981.3 1898.1

    • admin
      September 22, 2014 @ 12:12 am

      Hi John,

      Thanks for writing. Hydrobuddy is provided as is (without support) if you wish to get an answer to your question please donate 25 USD using the paypal link on the program,

      Best Regards,

      Daniel

  • Sean
    October 26, 2014 @ 9:58 am

    Great info. Very intriguing. Could I possibly run your app and lower the amounts to account for the 170 ppms in my tap water? I have considerable amounts of iron and Manganese in my water and would love a solution like this that could potentially kill two birds with one stone as I don’t want to spend a lot of money dealing with my water or commercial nutrient solutions.

  • Abere Osebe
    November 20, 2014 @ 6:25 am

    This i quite inspiring. The works of technology in this planet is wonderful

  • a m
    December 26, 2014 @ 10:36 pm

    hey thanx for this great software though I would greatly appreciate if u can tell me what formula would be best for marijuana veging and flowering!

  • a m
    December 27, 2014 @ 12:12 am

    BTW Daniel, here’s a site I found with known proven NPK of 3 different sources ( http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/articles/profiles.htm ), hopefully u can tell me which one to use plus the amount of other ingredients necessary.
    thanx again

  • Andrew
    December 30, 2014 @ 3:02 pm

    Hi John

    Your website is very inspiring and informative. I may have missed this point in the text. What are your recommendations for ph and ppm meters? Could u please provide a suggestion with images if possible?
    Also, how often should I do these tests?

    Thanks

  • David
    January 16, 2015 @ 3:44 pm

    As a chemical engineer / hydroponic gardener I literally almost jumped out of my seat when I read this. Thank you so much for making this. Have you ever contemplated making concentrated hydroponic solutions from food waste? It wouldn’t be exact of course but I wonder if you considered it or have any information on the topic?

  • Emilio
    April 5, 2015 @ 10:12 am

    Hi John,
    i just wanted to thank you for sharing this great knowledge!
    You have a great passion in Chemistry!

    Cheers from Australia

    Emilio

  • Smea
    April 29, 2015 @ 7:52 am

    Greetings! Great website and info which I have yet to explore.

    1) I Downloaded the nute calculator but the nute formulation link is NG. Is it now combined within the nute calc?

    2) The ‘other’ brands up-sell several additives for their A/B lines. Is your formulation as complete or are the additives just BS?

    3) Is your formulation good for deep water culture systems?

    4) Considering our local drought conditions, is there an economical system/method to reclaim the nutrient waste water to a level so it can be remixed as fresh nute? Something that could ‘de-chuck’ the stale water before pumping through a commercial/RO filter.

    5) Are you still providing paid support?

    Cheers, Smea

  • taipi
    May 6, 2015 @ 7:27 pm

    i am very much impressed with this blog. i will be experimenting on my farm.However somebody told me dipping a bag of 50kg quail manure in i gallon a 30 kg bag of wood ash can yield you a good nutrient solution to use with 1 cubic metres of water resevoir. they say quail manure has high content of ammonia which yields more N and P and some micro elemejts. while the wood ash gives more K plus any comment. please

  • Ivan
    August 9, 2015 @ 2:54 am

    Hello, is Zinc Sulfate Heptahydrate good enough since I can’t find the Dihydrate ?

    • Keesje
      August 2, 2020 @ 9:39 am

      I have the same problem.
      Did you find the answer?

  • Sunil
    September 4, 2015 @ 5:22 pm

    I am just started learning hydroponics ….
    Thanks for Amazing program.. i really admire you…

    I have a small doubt…
    in your substance list Sodium nitrate contains Iron… is it correct? please explain..

    • admin
      September 19, 2015 @ 1:38 pm

      Sodium nitrate does not contain iron, if it does in the program it’s probably a mistake. You can update the substance in your DB to fix this issue.

  • Murad
    October 18, 2015 @ 2:47 pm

    many thanks for your effort and kind support of the beginners in using hydroponic system.
    Recently I got responsibility on greenhouses with hydroponic system and perlite as growing medium to produce Tomato, Cucumber and Capsicum. The used fertilizers are Yara Products and the mixing rate are as follows:

    SS1:
    Water: 500 L
    Kristalon red 12-12-36 : 107 kg
    Magnesium Nitrate : 75 kg
    SS2:
    Water: 500 L
    Calcium Nitrate: 105 kg
    Iron Chealate: 1 kg
    Used EC 2.5 and 2.8
    Could you please advise whether this mixing rate correct, since I doubt about it.
    many thanks for your effort and kind support of the beginners in using hydroponic system.

  • Zubair
    January 20, 2016 @ 8:31 pm

    Hi daniel plz guide me im trying nitric acid alternative for potasium nitrate due to ban in pakistan so plz tell me m i right or wrong?

  • Adebobola Adegbuyi
    February 2, 2016 @ 4:27 pm

    Thanks, Daniel for this wonderful peace of information. God bless you real good. But, please, I leave in Nigeria, and it’s not easy to lay your hand on this chemicals.And if you do, the quality is not guaranteed. Please, how can you be of help.

  • Kshitij
    March 12, 2016 @ 3:50 am

    I have not downloadwd the calculator yet; but just going through the site. How can I get details about the salt to be used and its weight for cobalt. Also is it possible to DIY multi vitamin solution.

  • Arya
    July 6, 2016 @ 2:02 am

    yup…”beginner’s guide”

  • ricky stokes
    August 19, 2016 @ 11:44 pm

    how many litres of water should I use with 1kg flower feed? will distilled wprk ok?
    Also I got a magnesium nitrate that i cant find guide for its yarayliva yaramag I got 2.5kg of that. was thinking to use it with the flower feed in veg then reduce for flower amd use a pk 13/14 for boost.
    the flower feed is npk 6.12.32 +mg +te. I got some hydro plants i want to use it on but not sure how to mix.
    I got a 5litre distilled water and was going to throw 1 kg in then make up a my feed which are 25litre buckets. aim for 600 ppm and work from there but then i think maybe i should just make 1 litre up but tbh I need no fk ups.
    Please let me know what weight soluble to what litre of water. from there id like to be able to do like normal hydro feeds 1ml per litre clones 2ml veg 3ml full veg ect.
    Your guides have been helpful.
    ty

  • Devaraj
    September 6, 2016 @ 10:06 am

    Dear Daniel,
    I am using your system and its a great piece of work. Thanks a lot. I would like to understand do you have any option or guidance to build Grow, Micro & Bloom kind of mix from the result that shows in your result tab. Else, it is challenging to prepare different types of salts/solutions for life of plant.

  • Frank Z
    September 26, 2016 @ 6:08 am

    Hi,

    I would like to thank you for your contribution as well as suggest some changes to improve your website.

    Please add some pictures inline with your content to illustrate every step in your recipes as well as every supply you are recommending. This way your website will look more attractive, professional, and easier to understand.

    Greetings !

  • Mohammed amin
    October 1, 2016 @ 3:56 am

    Hi daniel. Thanks for the knowledgable article. I learned alot reading ur replys.
    I have a question concerning aquaponic or RAS(recirculating aquaculture system) water
    That have a more than 100% tomatoes required nitrate level. I take that water and isolated in a hydroponic setup . I want to add fertlizer to make it tomatoe plant good fertlizer
    My question how can i set the solution with out add nitrogen component my ec 1.5 and ph 7 nitrate 100 ppm. I have penalty of water as 10% of ras water weekly exchange.my i want add the p and k …fe
    Ca. Mg . Mn .S .
    I only find chemicals with nitrate.. What is my alternative.
    Thanks again for ur article and the innoviatve thoughts ur comment’s build my mind to.

  • Andy
    November 18, 2016 @ 8:55 pm

    Hi Daniel your tutorials will help a lot of hydroponics hobbyist where i am one of them, may God richly bless you always…

  • Oxyandy
    December 17, 2016 @ 6:12 am

    Hi there Daniel,
    I am from Melbourne Australia :)
    Thanks for your efforts..
    I have been reading lots of your site – inc all comments..
    Sourced all components..
    Tweaked “Substance Selection” to match my locally sourced nutes..
    Made first batch of food..
    I am using add “direct addition” to tank (200lt)
    PH was ideal without adjustment.. happy with that !
    Predicted EC was almost exact. but @ EC 1.2, well it’s a bit low..

    Wish list for ‘possible’ future version would be “Target EC”
    Anyhow.. So what I have done is increase “Target Conc. (ppm)” on main elements by 50% (not trace) and saved the tweaked formulation to DB in this case
    “Strawberry Fruiting (growing edge) 50%”
    HydroBuddy now tells me “Predicted EC Value” is now 1.9mS/cm better..
    Is this an acceptable calculator usage ?
    These plants have been accustom to an EC of 2.0 – 2.4

    • Oxyandy
      December 20, 2016 @ 7:40 am

      I just wanted to add increasing the EC to 1.9 as I mentioned above worked perfectly.. EC tested @2.0 but that was with the tank just below full, Daniel great work, I am only a home hobby gardener but I promise if I ever make a cent out of selling anything, a donation will come you way.. Enjoy your Xmas – Cheers

      • admin
        December 22, 2016 @ 5:23 pm

        Glad it worked well for you! Merry XMas to you too.

  • March 4, 2017 @ 4:53 pm

    Hi,
    I have just constructed an aeroponic system with a single reservoir and four growing chambers, 16 x 3″ netpots and 16 x 2″ net pots.
    From the beginning, approximately two months ago, I have been using the General Hydroponic three part nutrients. However, it is my intention, or desire, to grow a variety of plants, tomatoe, cucumber, French beans, peppers and green vegetable plants in various stages up to harvesting.
    I appreciate the general proposition is to use a constantly varying mixture of nutrients, dependant on the growing stage.
    However, I have recently read the following, please visit the page: http://www.astrogrow.com/Nutrient.htm and offer your opinion on the suggestion, which certainly appeals to me.
    Can you suggest a general purpose nutrient mix which , although would not produce to the ultimate standard, could still meet my needs?
    Thanks,
    Geoffrey

  • March 29, 2017 @ 9:45 am

    but can we grow this plant in pakistan i am still confused in my area temp in summer mostlyy 40 to 45 degree celcius how we manage this temp in mine area i hope you ans my question

    • January 6, 2018 @ 6:40 pm

      Yes, you can grow pretty much ANY plant in Pakistan as long as you supply it adequate water (if some plants would despite that be scorched by the sun, you can always put up some netting above them). This guide is for a hydroponic system though, not general fertilization (I’d recommend reading up on the topic of hydroponics first, even in Urdu if your English proficiency isn’t good enough or watch some Youtube videos about it in Urdu/Hindi).

  • […] the help of HydroBuddy and  This article I have calculated a feeding program for growing tomatoes and peppers in my […]

  • WIJERATNE SRILANKA
    February 17, 2018 @ 7:13 pm

    I read your article it is an valuable service to all farmers of the world.-wije

  • March 10, 2018 @ 2:13 am

    Hey. How can I download your nutrients calculator. What is A,B and C tanks are meant for and why is it so. And last how can I use your suggested chemical composition for various crops.
    I can follow you on?
    WhatsApp. Twitter. Fb. Etc

  • July 20, 2018 @ 8:04 pm

    Hello,
    I just tried the link to download your nutrient calculator within your instructions for mixing your own hydro nutrients for beginners. It takes me to a page that may, or may not, have the link to download it. But, I can’t tell for sure, because the page redirects almost immediately to a page that definitely doesn’t have it. Can you send me a good link for it? Thanks……Steve

  • March 16, 2019 @ 9:14 pm

    I am trying to control white fluffy mould in barley sprouting.
    I wondered about putting metabisulphide in the water tank for the irrigation fogging to control the mould, or would copper or some other soluble work better?

  • March 16, 2019 @ 9:21 pm

    I am trying to control white fluffy mould in barley sprouting.
    I wondered about putting metabisulphide in the water tank for the irrigation fogging to control the mould, or would copper or some other soluble work better?
    This is an overhead spraying system with the barley growing in plastic self draining trays.

  • October 16, 2019 @ 7:49 am

    Daniel,
    Thank you for all your work on HydroBuddy.
    I was considering using zinc EDTA, copper EDTA, and manganese EDTA and have 2 questions.
    * In your opinion, is there an advantage using these chelates?
    * What should the “Concentrated Type” be with these chemicals? (0, A, or B)
    Thank you so much.
    Joe

  • October 16, 2019 @ 7:52 am

    I am sorry. I did not put my name in the above comment.

  • February 15, 2020 @ 9:57 am

    Hello. I have been able to obtain these salts; potassium nitrate, magnesium sulphate, calcium sulphate, calcium monosulphate, ammonium sulphate and iron sulphate. I got the recipe from a site but some info were unavailable, and some were just confusing. Please i would love to get a mixing ratio (in grams if possible) for these salts, how to mix them (some are not fully soluble), and the quantity and type of water needed to dissolve the salts in. The final amount of dissolved solution to add to a gallon of water would also be appreciated. I am from nigeria and obtaining these chemicals is very difficult, otherwise i would have tried your exact recipe. Thanks

    • March 15, 2020 @ 11:11 am

      Hi, it is superb. I have few questions. When we refill the solution, should we change the concentration? How to find out the consumption of selective nutrients? Will there be composition change over a period of time due to consumption?

  • March 16, 2020 @ 12:21 am

    Is current version pre-loaded with target concentration ?

  • March 20, 2020 @ 11:47 am

    Hello can someone please comment on Zinc Sulfate Dihydrate vs Monohydrate. Mono is much easier to find. Can someone explain the difference in calculation if monohydrate is usable? Is it as simple as a factor of 2?

  • Raene
    September 12, 2020 @ 1:18 am

    Hi Daniel,

    What would you do to control the algae growth?

  • Mitesh
    February 23, 2021 @ 10:49 pm

    your download my hydroponic nutrient calculator link is not working.

    • admin
      February 24, 2021 @ 5:18 am

      It works properly for me. Please make sure you’re not using a download manager.

  • MD.Imdadul Haque
    August 31, 2021 @ 8:46 am

    Hi Daniel,
    Above nutrient solution recipe best for which plant growing in hydroponic ( Tomato, Capsicum or cucumber ) ? It is possible to use this recipe in coco coir based medium ? And how, please.
    I wish your good luck.
    Imdadul Haque.

    • admin
      August 31, 2021 @ 8:58 am

      Thanks for commenting! This is a generic recipe, it has been used to grow a wide variety of plants through time. About the media, you can use it in coco, provided you correctly pretreat the media, manage it to prevent salt accumulation and monitor the runoff EC/pH values. If you want additional help with this, I would be happy to do so through an hour of consulting time.

  • Steve Swats
    January 26, 2023 @ 2:52 am

    I am new to using HydroBuddy calculator. I am using version v1.100. I get an error message, Index out of range Cell [ Col = 0 Row = 4 ] , when I click on the Carry Out Calculation button. I followed the instructions to load the Hoagland solution, from the web site Science In Hydroponics. Results only show values for Nitrogen and Phosphorous.

    • admin
      January 26, 2023 @ 4:47 am

      You probably have not loaded the substances correctly. You need to load all substances required for the formulation using the “substances selection” menu, otherwise the calculation will not be done properly. If you think you have found a bug, please issue a bug report on Hydrobuddy’s github page, along with all the steps needed to reproduce the problem.

      Please also bear in mind that HydroBuddy is provided “as-is” without any support. If you would like my help in solving your problem please book an hour of consulting time.

  • Steve Swats
    January 26, 2023 @ 11:41 am

    Thank you for your reply. I deleted the app and reloaded it this morning. App is working as it should. I believe not all the files where extracted properly. Thank you for making this app. No need to reply. Steve Swats

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