ATTENTION GH's "FloraShield" users.....

[yaarea41510]

I apologize..I know this is Hydro thread but curious...does this info. apply to soil as well? So if what you're saying is true, I guess I been cancelling my bacterial supplement all this time. I just recently started using h202 and adding it along with subculture at same feeding cylce. Sounds like a bad idea UNLESS not relevant to soil. But what if I change it up and use h202 and no subculture at one feeding...and at next feeding use subculture and not h202. Still gonna kill the bacteria in the soil huh?? holla back with info. whoever knows...much appreciated.....

p.s. I'm on this thread cuz thinkin bout switching to hydro soon..thanx

[latewood]

Oh, and they do tell whats in it now, and its nothing like peroxide. It uses "chitosan" which is a polysaccharide derivative that is made from chitin, or the protein that comprises crustacean shells and insect shells. It is bacteriostatic and as mentioned above it will kill of good and bad bacteria.

My opinion is that if you have needed florashield before, then you should just start each grow with an innoculation of beneficial bacteria, I use Botanicaire's Hydroguard, and you will likely get better protection from root rot and from buildup on your plastic parts.

For cleaning between runs, nothing beats bleach, plus it evaporates when you are through leaving no risidual chemicals except for a small amount of sodium chloride.

florakleen...blows bleach away as a cleanup solution..no comparison, No salt!

[inoxia sativa]

Is hydroguard basically the same stuff? and if so thank god this is a sticy last night i mixed a new rez and put both h2o2 and hydroguard probably not too good?
Any negatives besides cancelling, I mewan do I need to change my rez again or just remember next time??

[Aaron385]

inoxia- I think the knowm is on a.. sightseeing trip.. hehe.. but I think I can help! H2O2 is already gone out of the res.. florashield is there but it wont hurt anything other than microbes (i.e. dont add beneficial microbes cuz they will be dead ASAP). Nothin to worry about tho beyond that IMHO. Just next res change if you want to try the beneficial bacteria then dont use florashield. I use to use H2O2 a few hours before I added beneficial bacteria myself (now I O3 the water.. cuz ive got an O3 machine and the O3 is done and ready in 30min or less while h2o2 could be a bit longer).. I still use H2O2 to wipe out the res with a towel when I change out nutes.. just to get that fresh start feelin.

I decieded to do a little research of my own.. heres the letter i e-mailed to GH teck support ([email protected]) this morning.. will post a response as soon as i get one!

--
Hello, I am a very loyal GH customer. I was wondering if it is appropriate to use floralicious plus while using floralicious bloom? I understand I am not supposed to use floro plus while using florashield (correct?). Also curious on the effectiveness of this as I am also using diamond nectar. Would adding a round of your "Sub Culture" be good/bad/indifferent? I am basically following the GH recommended feeding schedule table exactly with the following exceptions:

I still use Cal Mag plus (added to my RO water which starts at 9ppm) and Protekt by dyna grow and a drop or two of superthrive. I also use hygrozyme instead of flora shield (because it doesn't kill beneficial bacteria and my res temps can get into the 80's). Do you see any conflicts? Is there a better solution than these other brand products?

Also, I was considering trying the "Growth Excel" by advanced nutrients as a follar feed along with my GH diamond nectar and CHI routine. Any comments on that idea would be appreciated. I am growing bell peppers in a hydrofarm bubbler setup and have more veggies sprouting as I write this. Is there anything else you could recommend? Is it true your company worked with NASA?

Thanks for all the help (in advance)!

--

I know there are some near rhetorical questions in there but Id like to hear it from the horses mouth (so to say) and for those of you who care.. I really am growing bell peppers! check out the indoor veggie section!

[Aaron385]

Ok PEEPs.. I have some REALLY good info!!

I just got off the phone with GH. Talked to a really intellegent dude! Here is the scoop:

Flora Plus is replacing (yes I said REPLACING) floralicious grow and bloom.. You are NOT supposed to use the two together! It is replacing the two because in the bigger less concentrated floralicious bloom and grow were having problems with the microbes coming to life in the bottles and causing them to burst under pressure.. the plus fomula contains more dormant microbes at a very high concentration which keeps them from going active in the bottle.. low res temps should be avoided unless using a mediumless environment or active root rot persists.. GH recommends not using any res cooler or florashield unless a root problem exists.. if you get a problem then use the florashild product (or H2O2).. clear up the problem.. then reintroduce the microbes in floraplus at the next res change.

Diamond Nectar is a fulvic acid treatment that is uneffected by the things I listed. It is not microbe based however so you CAN use it with H2O2 and the like. If you are an H2O2 user than DN is for you. By the way the feeding chart that shows the massive dose of florashield every week is basically directed at H2O2 users.. if you dont use H2O2 regularly then disreguard. They did say if you are NFT/mediumless it is important to use florashield and dont waste your time with beneficial microbes that live in the media since there is no media for them to live in!

GH supported the use of Hygrozyme 100%.

GH supported the use of Cal Mag plus (in R.O. Water) 100%

GH said Advanced Nutrients are mostly a good ad campaign that is far too "specific" and has them in deep shits right now.. the rep said specifically that GH works with universities and GOV agencies (yes including NASA.. I def asked!) and before a product is released in their line it must undergo extensive research and testing for at least a year at UC Davis.

One of the goals of the plus is to maintain pH better.. a fun fact I have never heard before is that when you have added a total of 20ml/gal of ph up or down you must change res water out or nutes will be locked out by the acid/alkaline catalists in the ph adjusters. They said the sub culture is really good at keeping ph steady and that it should be used with the routine I outlined... the more medium the better (like ebb and flow). They recommend "recharging" with fresh subculture every res change but say the microbes continue to live in the media even if you dont recharge so if you just use one pack use it in the beginning of the grow and as long as the grow medium remains moist the whole time the subculture will last the whole grow.

Dont be afraid to call the GH tech line.. the guy I talked to was awsome and it wasnt spoken but he def knew what I was asking about and provided direct answers. As always I am more than impressed by GH!!

When I asked about NASA (I grew up by space center houson so Im a nasa nut.. went there at least a dozen times as a kid) he mentioned the current project they are working on.. hydro systems in Antarctica (sp?) (the south pole).. for the scientists who live there for months at a time its hard to get food out.. so no veggies unless they grow um.. but how to grow veggies at 50deg below zero? GH has the answer.. he was really proud of that too.. man I love GH!

Anyone find my efforts helpful here? If you like my style check out my Catalitic heater for CO2 generation thread! IT WORKS!!

[u.g.u]

h202 stays active in the water for aprox. 24 hours depending on the level of bacteria in the water. h202 will also reverse the effect of hydroguard never use them together hydro guard is a from of bacteria itself wich makes it compatibale with organic or chemical nutes or benifical bacteria.

[Pepper]

GH said Advanced Nutrients are mostly a good ad campaign that is far too "specific" and has them in deep shits right now..

The University of Mississippi, the only official American facility growing, analysing and providing pot for the U.S. government, tested Advanced Nutrients. It produced buds that were 20 per cent larger in terms of biomass and THC levels that were three times higher than the norm.

[Aaron385]

with the 50 different products your supposed to mix every res change?

[pmorris]

good read

[latewood]

The University of Mississippi, the only official American facility growing, analysing and providing pot for the U.S. government, tested Advanced Nutrients. It produced buds that were 20 per cent larger in terms of biomass and THC levels that were three times higher than the norm.

Where is the article?

And that is true about advanced being in deep shit. they closed their forum and main site last year...due to the political climate of the time.