Cheapest Hydroponic Nutrient! Concentrations and PH. Complete Guide To, with Hoocho.

The cheapest hydroponic nutrient available in Australia.
Hoocho brings us a guide to nutrient concentrations, PH levels and we take a look at the cheapest hydroponics nutrient option available.
As well as a quick update on the progress of the NFT system.
Hoochos explores the worlds of Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Permaculture, Homesteading, Fermentation, Technology Vanlife and DIY Builds to look at the world through a larger lens that can incorporate the best of everything into a rich and rewarding lifestyle.
Through self sufficiency we can reduce consumption and increase our hyperlocal household production.
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A way to support the channel and get some cool stuff too.
There are two stores because dependant on where you live in the world one will be cheaper than the other (shipping) and it gives a range of design flexibility.
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Happy Hydroponicing!

[@Arx9845]

Someone stop me!! Hoocho is causing me to binge his videos. Be warned....It's all so terrific.

[@jk73able]

Thanks for a great video. I really appreciate the Australian relevance of this information. Great tip about being able to get Bunnings to special order in the bulk bag of nutrients.

[@belleomalley1022]

So relieved I found your channel!! Accessible Aussie relevant!! Go get em!!

[@HogdaddyGlenn]

So glad I subscribed, your knowledge has helped me a lot Hoocho. God bless you and keep up the great videos!

[@kaboomsihal1164]

One thing that I rarely see mentioned in these videos that is SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW when it comes to pH is the fact that PH CHANGES WITH TEMPERATURE PEOPLE! I've seen that mistake happen so so many times, that people don't understand why their pH shot up or down randomly. My mate that is because you took it outside and it's fucking hot outside so the temperature went up and the pH went down. That's how that works. That's chemistry for you. When you read that the normal pH of pure water is 7.0 then that is at 25 degrees celcius. At 10 degrees it's 7.27. At 40 degrees it's 6.77. Temperature changes pH.

[@Imcomingout888]

What I was looking for 😀 Cheers!

[@alpaca6766]

Another great informative video. I got the 10kg Manutec a couple of months ago from your recommendation on an earlier video. It seems to work well. Today I finished making the seedling propagator like yours and planted seedlings in it. On my nft I have cut short lengths of the same size pipe and cut a section out so it clips over the pipe and covers unused holes. They can be slid sideways or pulled of for new plants.

[@spirit210364]

My local hydro/nursery centre make their own nutrient for grow and bloom, $35 for 5L, awesome stuff! Love your work Hoocho, learning so much before my sister buys her plot of land and I get sent to the farm and put to work

[@ymjdea]

CF/EC Truncheon Meter YM-2005A - YM Instrument Co,.Ltd.

[@ernestlageman1553]

Wauw thuis plants are doing so well👍🏻Thanks for your video

[@joshsymes7635]

Another option I discovered was the mphgardeners use of masterblend + calcium nitrate + epsom salt. Couldn't find that in Australia so I substituted with Peters Profesional Combisol and have found results to be pretty good.

[@sanjaysrivastava1100]

Good job great show !!👍

[@claudiolenz6178]

Thank you for your great content. I would advise you to use a pH test kit, something like "GHE pH test kit" much more releyable than a cheap pH pen. It is cheap and you do not need to calibrate anything.

[@raydentelevision170]

Great job!

[@wesfrench1638]

Very helpful, cheers 👍

[@samali1824]

Great Hoocho.

[@michellecolledge2355]

This is great news. I bought the dry nutrients from Bunnings but I almost paid the higher price for liquid thinking it was better because it was more expensive.

[@Jonno2020]

Good video with general info. the NPK's of the nutrients and when to use them at stages would be useful .

[@hewjater916]

Nice work. The guys at hydro shops reckon I can't do mixed crops. But you've got fruiting, flowering plants running off same resivoir. Excited!!

[@Hoocho]

Chris Woodley I won’t say it’s ideal, but it can be done. Try and hit an EC that will please your leafy greens and your heavy fruiters. (IE right in the middle of the two)

[@hewjater916]

@@Hoocho I'll do greens for now and introduce beans and work my way into cucumbers and tomatoes. You reckon there's a limit on plants per rail? I've built a zig zag vertical looking thing on a stand..

[@Hoocho]

Chris Woodley the limit is your imagination. And roots. But mostly imagination.

[@eddieandjulieklysz458]

That's great Thank you.

[@Not_So_Weird_in_Austin]

I add a chlorine filter to the mix as I use municipal water which has chlorine. An alternative is to let your water sit for a day before adding nutrients.

[@jeanlaikan8400]

I am glad you have a variety of plants on the same system. Most of the time I see a mono_crop system, eg. lettuce. My question is whether it is possible to have 2 crops with different nutrient requirements on the same system like leafy greens and fruit bearing vegetables. Thanks

[@drzoidberg2011]

Thanks mate. Nice setup. Just a couple questions, can you use regular liquid fertilizer in that system? Where did you get that hydrogen peroxide? I just put in a bit of seasol and powerfeed I had in the shed just that regular stuff from Bunnings.

[@mikebarrett8681]

Good beer that mate! Drinking it now. 🤣

[@terraint3697]

I use fermented food waste and urine. The only thing I buy and add in is Epsom Salt. Super super cheap fertilizer for me. I normally use distilled white vinegar for acid and baking soda for alkali.

[@elbarako1370]

Thanks for this! Question... How often do you adjust your nutrients?

[@Worldslayer85]

how do you find the taste of your vegetables? do you notice any difference compared to soil grown?

[@EdenHalfonB]

Hi thanks for the video! What are the blue surfaces you use there?

[@enragedwookie7863]

Peehaych 😂 you and migro kill me with that $hit lol

[@rosertaylor6139]

As of 17/5/21 the Manutec 10kg bag is $99.29 but the 1 litre bottles of Manutec liquid have been $13.98 since at least April 2021, not $35.

[@robertguay3773]

Use PH strips a 10 year supply is $5 and the PH digital meters you need to calibrate all the time and still can not depend on it. I go to the Pot grow store and buy 200 meters of PH strips for $5 and its easy to use.

[@g1pzs194]

Hi love your vids, can you tell me what strength hydroponic solution is used for raising seeds.🤔

[@Hoocho]

This video explains kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5W1goyVpdaSZ8k

[@reviewstrials6785]

Which order do you add to the current rez? Npk & salt 1st? Then Cal Nit? (Masterblend)

[@komanilungu5615]

Hi. Does nutrient solution come ready to use/dilute in water?

[@markbaker1827]

Hoocho, Love your channel!! Question… Have you ever had to wrestle with getting rid of pythium or root rot in your system? I figure you must have at some point. I’ve tried everything from low dilution of bleach, pool shock, H2O2, etc and nothing seems to work and now I’m getting it very consistently and my res water is at 66 degrees F so heat should not be the issue. Any ideas?

[@spirit210364]

Look into Hydroguard mate

[@alepulen]

What would happen if I add more water when the solution concentrates plus a bucket of new solution? Changing the whole reservoir seems a wastage to me.

[@phoebslee]

In regards to Manutec nutrients, is that suitable for Kratky? I was on their website reading instructions and seems like the water will have to be changed weekly. I'm a newbie and still learning. Thank you for making this video btw, great info :)

[@Hoocho]

It will work fine for kratky.

[@fshah48]

Can I use NFT under gravity? What is the minimum flow rate required in the channel for greens in liters per hour?

[@margaretperkins-te3jy]

Hi Hoocho love your videos, in this video, you had Calcium in a bottle and I was wondering how to use that with the other products and at what ratio please

[@cheynespc]

Oi bro do a montage of all ya intros .. the best part I lol every video

[@savot42]

Hi Hoocho. Great videos, keep it up mate! With the hydrogen peroxide, is that something you always add to the solution or do you only add it when you have algae problems? I always seem to get algae in my res after 2 weeks, so I was thinking of adding this to prevent it. Also, disappointed to see you're an extract brewer, I thought for sure you'd do all grain!

[@Hoocho]

james nugent haven’t really got the time tbh. Depends on how big the res is. I only use it in my smaller systems. The best way to stop algae is to make sure no light gets in. So I’d advise making sure no light is in the system before adding H2O2 into a large system.

[@savot42]

@@Hoocho Fair enough! I use the fresh wort kits when I'm feeling lazy. My res is only 50L so might start adding some H2O2 in.

[@assog5737]

I agree with Jim John in regards to Hydrogaurd. Instead of hydrogen peroxide. What Jim John and this guy in the video don't explain is. There are 2 ways to run a aero and or a hydro system. They are called Live and Sterile. The sterile method is what the guy in this video is running. By using hydrogen peroxide. The problem with this is, the hydrogen peroxide kills everything in your reservoir and root zone. And actually your roots and yield will suffer to about 30 to 40 percent. Also if you don't know what you are doing you will kill everything. Most the time when someone is using hydrogen peroxide, they already have a mold and or mildew problem. And to me if you already have that problem, it's time to pull everything and clean everything and start over. Also I can pretty much guess why he is having a mold and mildew problem. When growing this way it is very important to keep your reservoir and nute solution at 70 to 75 degrees. Any higher you will get mold and mildew. Now the other method, called the live method. Is what Jim John is talking about. With using Hydrogaurd. About 40 years ago when I first started growing with LPA ( low pressure aeroponics) that's what I was using Hydrogaurd. What this product does is add 1 live beneficial fungi to your reservoir that will kill most mold and mildew. After 2 years of using Hydrogaurd, with NO problems. I found a better product. That I have been using ever since. This product contains 21 live beneficial fungi and bacteria. Which in turn aids in root growth and nutrient up take. Which means bigger yields. Let alone killing all bad fungi and bacteria. As you can see there is no comparison. The benefits of running a Live reservoir totally out do running a sterile reservoir. Running a sterile reservoir, you are limiting yourself. Only to get sub par yields. If your lucky. Besides keeping your reservoir temps in check. It is very important to change your nutes and CLEAN your reservoir at least every 2 weeks. The guy in this video is running a sterile reservoir. Because he has to. Due to the fact that his grow chambers and reservoir is in direct sunlight. Those little grow chambers are probably getting up to 100 degrees. Which In turn is a breeding ground for mold and mildew. A green house would most likely solve this problem. Anyway I thought I would add my 2 cents. And try and explain somethings for you all. Good luck everyone.

[@Bjarr888]

What was the name of the 2nd product?

[@timpage5021]

How can I reduce or treat my water in my res when my city water has too much calcium and causes a film on top of the water ? I’m using strait ph water as my res in blumat system but my res still has precipitates at bottom and film on top. I’m using a filter but still has way too much bicarbonate ..

[@giarcrednep]

Fantastic Video Hoocho! I will definitely be investing in a 10kg bag next time I buy nutes. I take it that's what you regularly use in your system?

[@Hoocho]

BLA yeah it’s the only thing I use. Just follow the manufacturers guidelines for using. At first I was trying to achieve a specific EC. But I realised if I follow the instructions on the pack I achieved the best results. (Duh, I know.)

[@giarcrednep]

@@Hoocho Thanks heaps mate!

[@pinksalt1057]

@@giarcrednep If I'm doing hydroponic vegetables is there a smaller bottle or something I can get from Bunnings?

[@pinksalt1057]

For use without a pump

[@neekr3052]

great video thank you. I've been watching a bunch of people talk about masterblend but they are all US based and I realised you can't really get it here. I was wondering how much calcium nitrate do you use with the hydroponic nutrient?

[@neekr3052]

oh and is Epsom salt needed?

[@Philmoon69]

Hmmn How are you growing lettuce and capsicum in the same nutrient solution ? Lettuce like 0.8 to 1.2 and capsicum likes 1.8 to 2.2 . Did this work out later down the track or did one of the plants suffer?

[@jimjohn9368]

Great info and I appreciate those of you sharing your knowledge. Just my two cents and suggestion, but from my understanding, hydrogen peroxide precipitates(may not be the correct word) from solution within 24 hrs, so it ends up being pretty costly to help prevent pythium and the likes of other root rots. I've run DWC for years and use a product from Botanicare called Hydrogaurd. It's a beneficial bacillus that, not 100% sure how, keeps bad bacteria, fungi, algae, ect out and the roots clean. All I know is it works lol. I've had reservoir temps in the high 70's before and have never had root rot since using the product. Runs around $35 a Liter and expires 6 months after opening, but a liter goes a long way at 2ml/gal recommended dosage. Especially when you only need to at it during regular resevoir changes. Try that product if you ever find your H2O2 costs get out of hand. Thanks again for all you do and hope that helps! Stay golden, my friend!

[@robertguay3773]

Use chlorine dioxide its used to treat water and is amazing stuff. use 1/10 of what it says on the bottle to start. it is so mild that they use it in Very rich cities to treat the water. its tabs or 2 bottles you need to mix and you can treat 1000L for pennies

[@timothyblazer1749]

Have you ever considered burying the reservoir to keep it temperature stable? Great info!!

[@sidecardude]

I insulate mine......, or use a cooler......

[@timothyblazer1749]

@@sidecardude Sure...that can work, however the earth will give it a constant temperature buffer, in both directions. It would not be subject to long term temperature swings in either direction.

[@dalemedard6331]

can all fertilizers (npk) be used for hydroponics

[@lekkerdaisical2877]

Hi. Great video. If my EC/ppm is around 1.4 is that too low.

[@Hoocho]

Lekkerdaisical depends what you’re growing. For leafy greens that’s a good ec

[@sidecardude]

I would recommend 2 of those ph meters, i check them against each other and also re-calibrate once a month, same thing with the ec meters, buy 2 at a time........

[@davidwarren2331]

And buy the 3 drops in a bottle for PH readings.

[@929cosmodude]

Two questions, have you tried vinegar as a ph down? $1.20, at woolies and have you tried homebrand lager?

[@Hoocho]

Ashley Petersen I rarely use ph stabilisers any more to be honest. And I haven’t tried homebrand lager purely because I’m an ale guy.

[@929cosmodude]

@@Hoocho yeh I don't mind and ale, but have been doing the home brand lager with 1 kg brown sugar and 50g of dry hopped cascade, turns out good for the price, I measured the pH of the rain water in Townsville and it is around 8.5 -9 which is very similar to the pH of the tap water here, makes me wonder why I lower it 🤔

[@ianwilliams7740]

Whats the easiest way of getting hold of that bulk bag of nutrients from manutec ??

[@michaelm7550]

Hi Mate, thanks for the tips, I'm off to Bunnings...... also, where did you source your seedling propogators? TIA

[@Hoocho]

Michael M Bunnings as well, just the cheap Saxon ones

[@michaelm7550]

@@Hoocho Thank you for being so quick. I;m currently acquiring two systems, Aquaponics and NFT Hydro setups..... woohoo

[@kenangus4405]

@@michaelm7550 +Hoocho. Went into Bunnings down here in Victoria, but they advised me that Manutec no longer do the 10kg bags, only the 600g ones. Any other suggestions for bulk nutrients?

[@bleeheart1]

Hi thank for the information, could please give me the Manutec Hydroponic nutrient distributor name

[@denisdb725]

An idea for nutrient. Is it possible to do a video to make nutrients with nothing butt raw material? If possible like this so the results can be mixed later to go for the best NPK values?

[@michellecolledge2355]

I bought 3% hydrogen peroxide at Priceline but it's a small bottle. Where did you get the 1L bottle?

[@firebrew3150]

2021 and the Manutec nutrients are $160 if you can find it.

[@ibrahimhaqqani3998]

What is that blue sponge you're using as medium?

[@flowerchild777]

He has a video on that. I forget the title. Something about an alternative to rockwool? 😧 Something like that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXLFqaGNnruHfpo You can see it there

[@rosertaylor6139]

The Manutec 1 litre N P K content of each bottle is very low.

[@akisoin]

Hi, I am curious to know if you have a solution for raw salts. I have access to these raw salts, but I am not too sure about the ratio in which to formulate them. Ca (NO3) 2: Calcium Nitrate MgSO4 * 7H2O: Magnesium Sulfate KNO3: Potassium Nitrate KH2PO4: Monopotassium Phosphate K2SO4: Sulfate of Potash 7% Fe Chelated Trace Elements

[@atomizer2665]

To approximate the manutec nutrient use Calcium Nitrate: 0.84g/L, KNO3: 0.468g/L. MKP: 0.145g/L, Magnesium sulphate: 0.426g/L, Trace element mix @ 0.058g/L . Note this is based on the Fe in the trace mix. 1000L of solution would be around AUS $5.42 (excl the micro`s apart from Fe)

[@TheGamefreakr]

@@atomizer2665 I wonder if us I Europe could do that as cheap - haven't been able to find a manutec distributor here

[@atomizer2665]

@@TheGamefreakr I`m in the UK and have always formulated my nutrients from scratch. The only time i bought a commercial nutrient (11-12 years ago) was to do a side by side comparing a store bought bottled nute to the home brew formulation with same elemental content. The 2x 1L bottles cost me £11 at the time and the homebrew version (2 x 1L) was 50p. Other than that there was no difference in terms of how they performed. The manutec route will save you money but it doesnt offer the same flexibility as making nutes from individual chemicals. It all depends on what you want to achieve :)

[@ibrahimhaqqani3998]

Can u pls tell us how far the roots to the nutrient as it flows. Is there a danger that the root system would be drowned in the nutrient solution? How can we prevent this drowning? Is that function of your blue plugs?

[@wanesweb]

You need to watch a few more of his videos he covers that quite intensely go to the channel and start going through the videos they don't drown they're sharing air and water because the water level in the pipe is very low

[@wanesweb]

You need to watch a few more of his videos he covers that quite intensely go to the channel and start going through the videos they don't drown they're sharing air and water because the water level in the pipe is very low

[@mikec3820]

hey hoocho what would be a USA equal to these nutes? wonder if they would work for my canna--- or bonsai i meant yeah my "bonsai" lol

[@Hoocho]

You’re probably better off with at specific bonsai nutrient my friend.

[@NforNelly]

What is the brand of your PH meter I want to buy the same one as yours.

[@megaflux7144]

i dont think it has a brand per se, they are all knockoffs. pretty easy to just find a yellow one on amazon or ebay.

[@hersheyboi18]

How about using 14-14-14 fertilizer will it work?

[@Hoocho]

Hehersonne Reyes N-P-K is a pretty outdated system and doesn’t take into account important macro and micro nutrients like calcium, magnesium and also doesn’t take into account trace elements

[@hersheyboi18]

Hoocho hi soil 14-14-14 fertilizer which 100%water soluble, combined with Epsom salt and calcium nitrate? Will it work?

[@innocentbystander2673]

There was a bit of confusion at the special orders desk today at Bunnings. I asked for 10kg of Calcium Nitrate and 10kg of Nutrient. This apparently comes in a total 10kg bag with 6kg of nutrient and 4kg of calcium nitrate from Manutec which was about $95. Is that right?

[@Hoocho]

Yeah, it’s a 10kg complete nutrient. Split in two bags within the bag.

[@innocentbystander2673]

Ok, i've got the right thing. Thanks :)

[@sappir26]

Are they organic?

[@dimitrismoures]

just a tip for you ph pen calibration. Rather that wasting ph test strips dip your pen into demineralized water. Ph should read 7 that means neutral

[@wanesweb]

I have to question that di water or demineralized water should read zero on a TDS scale and very very acidic I could be wrong I can't imagine I am reverse osmosis water which is pretty close to Di has a pH of 58 to 59 so how could I get a neutral reading on di water am I missing something

[@dimitrismoures]

@@wanesweb the ph scale goes from 1 to 14. 7 is neutral under 7 acidic over alkaline. Filter water even with reverse osmosis like "Puratap" still has minerals in it that make the water raise or lower the ph.

[@wanesweb]

Sorry Demetrius I still don't see what I'm missing reverse osmosis water has a pH of 5.8 to 5.9 there is very very little mineral left and the d I will take it all out so it's got to be more acidic than reverse osmosis so there's no way di water could be neutral unless I'm missing something but what you told me does not answer the question or does not give the solution

[@dimitrismoures]

@@wanesweb have a look at this link www.mrwatergeek.com/demineralised-water/ its a random article about demineralized water i found after i Google it for you. It is basic high school chemistry that for some reason I still remember:-)

[@dragonshoarddesign3094]

where did you get the fermentation barrel?

[@russdy1982]

You can get them from home brew stores mate.

[@dragonshoarddesign3094]

@@russdy1982 I have been looking supply stores I have not been successful at finding what they have in the video. Just a bunch of buckets

[@russdy1982]

@@dragonshoarddesign3094 I have a couple of these exact barrels, there’s a few ‘home brew’ stores in Perth that stock them.

[@dragonshoarddesign3094]

@@russdy1982 i mead a US supplier

[@russdy1982]

@@dragonshoarddesign3094 mead… I see what you did there 😂 Well I’m sure they ship internationally if you run out of options. Good luck in your search.

[@timothyhutchins4668]

Hi there. Stuck in the house with kids so figured we’d experiment with some Kratky Hydro. I can buy that small box of dry nutrients down here in Vic and would like to try and grow some lettuce and coriander, etc. I’ll try adding some seedlings to some small 1 of 2L containers. Roughy how much of the dry nutrient would I need per litre of water? Would I need to add any Calcium Nitrate or Epson Salt? Does the amount of nutrient change for different veggies? Also, I have an undercover area here with laserlite roof, so almost like a hot house, what temps to tomatoes need for good growth? Gets cold outside here in Warrnambool, but remains warmer under the laserlite.

[@Hoocho]

The instructions should have the amounts in grams per x amount of water. Just scale those down to 1L

[@Hoocho]

The nutrients should have everything they need. Not sure about the tomato question.

[@timothyhutchins4668]

That’s great thanks for the response. I just see a lot of stuff on youtube where they add Calcium Nitrate and Epson Salts, mainly those using Masterblend in the USA. I will give it a go and see if we can not kill some lettuce. If that goes well we’ll do something a little more extreme!!

[@joel6221]

Any recommendations for US nutrients?

[@Hoocho]

I’ve heard masterblend is decent from some research

[@wanesweb]

Master blend is the most recommended in the US every hydroponics that I have seen is using Master blend

[@gooup]

@@Hoocho but it’s very expensive isn’t it?

[@wanesweb]

Hey brother I've not actually seen the build on your system yet are those 3-in pipes or 4-in pipes the real reason for my comment at this moment was about your grow bed a lot of these people that are doing the fish and they have a grow bed they put red wigglers in it it does baffle me how the red wigglers survive and all that water I've not seen any facts about it yet do you have red wigglers in your grow bed would that be a good idea or a bad idea.

[@Hoocho]

90 mm pipes, no worms

[@johnarmson9978]

try campbells diamond white its a lot cheaper 25kilo bags.

[@Hoocho]

What are they asking for a 25kg?

[@johnarmson9978]

@@Hoocho $75

[@johnarmson9978]

sorry got that wrong its $71 for 25kg and calcium nitrate 25kg is $30 so you are getting 50kg for about $100. mixing ratio is 1 gram of each to 1 litre water it might be cheaper where you live as i am quite remote. the other one that was recommended to me is diamond special T', i bought but haven't tried as yet that was $76.

[@Hoocho]

John Armson how many gram per litre do you mix the cal-nitro

[@johnarmson9978]

@@Hoocho 1 gram, really easy to remember 1 gram of each.

[@GMT439]

Cheap only matters for large grows and the vast majority of people do no do large grows.

[@vanilasoapsvanila5350]

Hai boss super my kerala india ok

[@nicholaiivan491]

Can you make your own nutrients?

[@DadGuy]

Too bad about those pumpkins! Watching these out of order :D

[@eblinkin]

You didn’t touch on the jar of calcium

[@theodoro89]

So buying in bulk will save you $17 per year. That's really insignificant.

[@sifo510]

What would happen if u mix a row egg with water and use it as a nutrition 💦 🥚 would that be enough 😅

[@Topsrite]

Good vid, just a bit too many ah’s and umm’s

[@ymjdea]