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Cyco Platinum Series Silica (250mL, 1, 5 or 20L)
Sale priceFrom $18.95
Regular price$21.95
Silica Supplements FAQ's
First, before anything else. Add silica to plain water, stir it through completely, then add base nutrients and other additives in their normal order. Silica reacts with concentrated calcium and phosphate if they meet undiluted, which shows up as a cloudy reservoir and solids settling on the bottom.
Traditional silica additives are strongly alkaline and will lift reservoir pH noticeably. Mix your full solution first, let it settle for a few minutes, then adjust pH down to your target. Adjusting before the silica goes in simply means doing the job twice. Mono-silicic acid products shift pH far less.
Traditional silica additives supply silicon in a form the plant must convert, so they're dosed by the millilitre per litre and raise pH. Mono-silicic acid products supply silicon already in the form roots absorb, so dose rates are much smaller and pH impact is lower. Both are stocked here; the mono-silicic acid options cost more per bottle but go further.
Yes, and many growers run both — just never mix the concentrates. Silica goes into the water first and gets stirred through, then cal-mag as a separate step. Combining them undiluted causes calcium to react and precipitate, which wastes both products and leaves residue in your reservoir and lines.
Most growers run silica through vegetative growth and the stretch into early flower, when the plant is building the structure that has to carry weight later, then taper it off in late flower. Starting it late gives the plant less time to incorporate silicon into tissue that's already formed.
Silicon isn't classified as an essential plant nutrient, so plants complete their life cycle without it. Growers add it because plants that take up silica build sturdier cell walls and thicker stems, which helps under strong light and heavy airflow. Treat it as a useful addition to a solid feed programme, not a substitute for one.