Any insight on “TPS NUTRIENTS - BILLIONS”

Ezleaves said:

Has anybody used “TPS nutrients - billions of microbes for plants”?
Purchased this product yesterday, before using, my roots were slightly stained. 24 hours later, My roots were tangled, had slime, and my air stone is caked in the same slime, water was frothy. All in the matter of 24 hours. I’ve never done Hydro so this will be my first time using Bennie’s and I don’t know if this is a normal reaction. Before I toss out the rez and clean everything, decided to clean up the roots as much as I can. I am turning to this forum asking anybody that has insight on this matter.

water temp- 73f
Air temp- 76f

Click to expand...

Hollatchaboy said:

This right here...

Is a good enough reason not to use in hydro. Organic anything can be bad. Micro algae..... all detrimental.

Click to expand...

ProudHeretic said:

I am having the SAME issue and despite some of the comments on here I got it straight from the manufacturer that their product can be used in hydro. Glad to see it's not just me battling the slime generated by this product.

Here's the email exchange between myself and the company -

Me: "I am currently using Orca from Plant Revolution, but I just bought some Billions from you guys. Couple of questions.....can I use both at the same time? Since yours is a powder product, do I mix it in some water first and then pour into my reservoir? Thanks in advance."

Them: Should work great that way. Just add the TPS Billions to your water with the Orca and stir until dissolved.

TPS Team

TPS Nutrients, Inc.
Main | 206.347.8517
E | [email protected]
W | www.tpsnutrients.com

Click to expand...

ProudHeretic said:

My air stones this morning

Click to expand...

Ezleaves said:

Yours seems to be a clear which may just indicate an over abundance. I do not know either way because I failed the first run with this product and will not introduce it again regardless what the manufacturer and the dummy at the hydro store who pushed this crap on me says. Orca does its job just fine btw.

Click to expand...

Ezleaves said:

The issue I had was I accidentally introduced with a sterile Solution. I won’t even try it in Hydro again. I put it on the shelf. I might try it Outdoors this season so I don’t waste it though.

Click to expand...

ProudHeretic said:

I'm going to try what @tyler.durden suggested with the Southern AG and Ecofix.....will report how it goes

Click to expand...

tyler.durden said:

Honestly, you only need the Ecofix, it is all I use now. Southern AG was good, but Ecofix is the game changer. Let us know how it works for you, best of luck.

Click to expand...

tyler.durden said:

Honestly, you only need the Ecofix, it is all I use now. Southern AG was good, but Ecofix is the game changer. Let us know how it works for you, best of luck.

Click to expand...

ProudHeretic said:

Are you still using the Ecofix at 0.185ml/gal? Do you have any sterilization of your rez during your grows?

Click to expand...

tyler.durden said:

With a fresh 25 gallon rez, I use 10ml, then 5ml every 4 days until the next rez change. Not very precise, I know. No sterilization, the bacteria keeps everything clean and healthy. I wouldn't want to destroy the benificial bacterial ecosystem I worked so hard to establish

Click to expand...

tyler.durden said:

Your slime was likely caused by an over abundance of bacteria, it does not look like brown slime algae in your pics. These guys are right, you don't want to use sugars in hydro. I ran flood & drain sterile for over a decade, worked great. I bought a house in another state and the water just sucks - lots of pythium and chloramines. The chlormines are enough to kill my bennies, but not enough to kill the pythium. I tried ungodly amount of pool shock and bleach to no avail. So now a use API tap water conditioner to neutralize the chlorine and chloramides (and heavy metals as a bonus), then add my bennies. 5 ml of API Ecofix, which is a concentrated blend of beneficial bacteria, and 5 ml of Southern AG's Garden Friendly Fungicide to my 27 gallon rezes. Lots of good bacteria for hydro without the sugars. Any bennies will cause a biofilm (slime) if too much is used, but it is rarely disastrous. I only have to add the bennies every 5 days or so, and all these products are super cheap. I now have my root issues handled, and they look better than even running sterile. Best of luck.



View attachment 5370646

Click to expand...

ProudHeretic said:

Do you think I should use the Tap Water conditioner on my RO water or nah?

Click to expand...