Aloha from Hawaii al you DGC! I’ve got a question regarding silica. I’ve been using a product called silicium. Mono-silicic acid. I heard about it on the podcast And have been really interested ever since. Since using silicium I’ve noticed thicker leaves and noticeable resistance to the dreaded powdery mildew, in fact zero since I started using it. Since I grow outdoors in Hawaii this is huge! Silica rocks. I have been having a hard time finding a place buy it online, but I found a product called Alchemist stout MSA. This stuff claims to contain 1.25 percent monosilicic acid. At around $25 a quart it’s quite a bit cheaper. My question is if anyone has used this product and if so, is it comparable to any of the other expensive products like silicium? The MSDS sheet I found online shows 1.25 percent monosilicic acid content listed. The low price point makes me wonder how good this product is? What do you guys think?
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Monosilicic acid is also known as orthosilicic acid. Silica, in plant available form is orthosilicic acid. Some products have silica attached to other minerals like potassium. Silica has many forms or chemical compounds, so you’ll see many different names like silicon dioxide (SiO2), mono/ortho-silicic acid (H4SiO4), potassium silicate (K2SiO3), etc. Once added to water, the silica wants to be in a stable and in a soluble form. This is why you add silica products to low ppm water. It’s very reactive and you need to give the chemistry time to do it’s thing. The end result is silicic acid and possibly potassium if that form is used. If you want to read more about each element cannabis uses and why you can read that here. https://www.dudegrows.com/mystros-guide-to-cannabis-nutrition/
Thanks for the info brotha!
Looks to be not as potent but way cheaper. Also owned by Hawthorne Group 👎. Seems like more nutrient manufacturers are getting in the mono/ortho-silicic acid game and the price will reduce.
Thank for the look and comment…..yup I’m sticking with the silicium.
I use Silicium at 0.5 ml/gallon, Stout shows 5 ml/gallon so it may not be as good of a buy as it seems.
Good eye, I thought something didn’t seem right about the price! I didn’t notice there wasn’t a decimal point! I’ll stick with the silicium, now to find someone who will ship it to Hawaii for a decent price 😂
Yes, it needs heavily dosed. I’m not sure if you need to use Stout a lot. I mix a 50gal so use it till its gone (a few reservoir fill-ups) then use it maybe a couple of months later when the plants are larger. About 60 bucks a grow.
One of these days I’ll use Power Si 250 ml just because I saw Greengenes use it. I’m lazy so I just do what he does.
Except for his two successive mid grow teardowns, I hope.
Hello, I want to know where to order Silicium? I’m almost out of Armor Si which is potassium silicate, lower plant availability, made by the devil uhhhh I mean GH. I’ve tried to find Silicium since I heard about it on the DGC show. I must be in google Bermuda Triangle because I’m unable to locate Silicium. Thanks in advance for your help.
I honestly can’t find it online either except for this link: https://cultivatecolorado.com/collections/phive-8/products/6-cs-silicium-1000ml-silicate-product
With that said, PowerSi is a comparable product as is the Sunleaves brand of Silica.
I have been having a hard time finding it as well….this is where I got it this time. https://www.horticulturesource.com/fresh/?s=Silicium&post_type=product&dgwt_wcas=1
I can’t tell you how the strength compares to the products mentioned (I’m terrible with math, lol) but I’ve been using Agsil16 from BuildASoil for a couple years now and I’ve had great luck with it. It’s Potassium Silicate, as jmystro mentioned but it’s in a water soluble form and 1 small package lasts me for a long time – it’s a way better value than any of the bottles I’ve tried. Here’s a link: https://buildasoil.com/products/agsil16h-potassium-silicate?variant=562916325