Is silicic acid worth it?

TerrapinBlazin

TerrapinBlazin

Well-Known Member
I’ve been using pro-tekt at 3ml per gallon for a long time now, but I’ve recently been reading about silicic acid formulas like mills vitalize and power Si. They’re absurdly expensive.

The skeptic in me says it’s all hype and I’m not going to see a difference switching from potassium silicate to silicic acid. However there’s also an adventurous part of me that thinks it might be worth a shot. I’ve read a lot of reports that silicic acid helps with stacking and node spacing during flowering. What’s the consensus? Is it all hype or does it make a difference?
 
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Northwood

Well-Known Member
TerrapinBlazin said:
I’ve been using pro-tekt at 3ml per gallon for a long time now, but I’ve recently been reading about silicic acid formulas like mills vitalize and power Si. They’re absurdly expensive.

The skeptic in me says it’s all hype and I’m not going to see a difference switching from potassium silicate to silicic acid. However there’s also an adventurous part of me that thinks it might be worth a shot. I’ve read a lot of reports that silicic acid helps with stacking and node spacing during flowering. What’s the consensus? Is it all hype or does it make a difference?
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Potassium silicate adds silicic acid anyway, as well as a bonus of soluble potassium. It can create havoc on your pH though, but if you have that under control and need the K then I'd just continue with what you have.
 
TerrapinBlazin

TerrapinBlazin

Well-Known Member
Yeah I use pro-tekt as pH up. Right now I’m running soil and feeding with tiger bloom, which drastically lowers the pH, and using the pro-tekt to bring it back up to between 6.0-6.5. 8ml tiger bloom and 3ml pro-tekt to a gallon of water is super simple.

I’m mostly interested in the silicic acid because I’m going to start some coco runs with floraflex, and I’ve seen a lot of conflicting accounts of whether it makes a difference or whether it’s all hype. Some people say it really helps with node spacing and stacking on colas. Of course I’m always intrigued by products that make those claims but the intrigue is moderated with a healthy dose of skepticism. I’m convinced it won’t make any difference in my soil grows but I’m still on the fence about trying it with coco.
 
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Northwood

Well-Known Member
TerrapinBlazin said:
I’m mostly interested in the silicic acid
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So you're looking for silicic acid without added potassium because you have enough already? You could try the calcium version instead I guess. Keep in mind that potassium silicate does not add a lot of potassium to your soil, same with calcium or sodium in those other versions. These other metal elements are held in ionic bonds to the silicate chains, with the anion part being the SiO4 and the cation the metal part. In solution once you adjust the pH these weak ionic bonds are broken and both elements are freely available to your plants in soluble form, or the metal part gets stuck to a cation exchange site or something.

I don't think there's a big difference in where the silicic acid comes from, or what company makes it provided the concentration is the same. Your plants don't need a lot of it, and likely will not benefit more with increasing concentration beyond what it can utilize. The science if full of articles showing the benefits of potassium/calcium/sodium silicate in agriculture/horticulture, not so much for specific brands ;)

I've seen no science yet showing that silicic acid affects node spacing in plants, but I could be wrong. I'm not completely up-to-date on the science. Have you seen this "hype" in any articles in peer reviewed scientific journals? If so, would you mind posting a link or DOI? I may be old, but I'm still a dog that can learn new tricks ;) Just tell me it will increase node spacing in those crazy fat indicas I have going! lol
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
at this point, I'm not even convinced of the benefits of potassium silicate anymore beyond the additional potassium. Stem strength seems more strain specific than related to my silica use. I "think" it might help prevent PM, but I use other preventives too and haven't had the issue in years now. I'd say, it's a huge NO on silicic acid, it simply costs too much. If I'm going to spend a ridiculous amount on something, I'd buy Regalia because at least the benefits are noticeable (again, in my experience.)
 
TerrapinBlazin

TerrapinBlazin

Well-Known Member
Northwood said:
So you're looking for silicic acid without added potassium because you have enough already? You could try the calcium version instead I guess. Keep in mind that potassium silicate does not add a lot of potassium to your soil, same with calcium or sodium in those other versions. These other metal elements are held in ionic bonds to the silicate chains, with the anion part being the SiO4 and the cation the metal part. In solution once you adjust the pH these weak ionic bonds are broken and both elements are freely available to your plants in soluble form, or the metal part gets stuck to a cation exchange site or something.

I don't think there's a big difference in where the silicic acid comes from, or what company makes it provided the concentration is the same. Your plants don't need a lot of it, and likely will not benefit more with increasing concentration beyond what it can utilize. The science if full of articles showing the benefits of potassium/calcium/sodium silicate in agriculture/horticulture, not so much for specific brands ;)

I've seen no science yet showing that silicic acid affects node spacing in plants, but I could be wrong. I'm not completely up-to-date on the science. Have you seen this "hype" in any articles in peer reviewed scientific journals? If so, would you mind posting a link or DOI? I may be old, but I'm still a dog that can learn new tricks ;) Just tell me it will increase node spacing in those crazy fat indicas I have going! lol
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Nah nothing like that. Just hype on forums and IG. If there was a scientific article on it and anything other than anecdotal reports I would have already bought it.
 
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Northwood

Well-Known Member
TerrapinBlazin said:
Nah nothing like that. Just hype on forums and IG. If there was a scientific article on it and anything other than anecdotal reports I would have already bought it.
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Well everyone is trying to make a buck from legal weed, even if it means selling snake oil to little consumers. It's really the low hanging fruit of course. The real money can be made in selling useful services and products to consumers, not magic or spiritual potions.
 
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Northwood

Well-Known Member
Rurumo said:
at this point, I'm not even convinced of the benefits of potassium silicate anymore beyond the additional potassium. Stem strength seems more strain specific than related to my silica use. I "think" it might help prevent PM, but I use other preventives too and haven't had the issue in years now. I'd say, it's a huge NO on silicic acid, it simply costs too much. If I'm going to spend a ridiculous amount on something, I'd buy Regalia because at least the benefits are noticeable (again, in my experience.)
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Alternatively if one is into organics, they could gather a big bag full of wild horsetails and add them to their worm bins. Then add that to your grow. Or heck, you could even use those horsetails as a topdress under your mulch. They're like 10% bio-silicate. That should do you. :P
 
TerrapinBlazin

TerrapinBlazin

Well-Known Member
Northwood said:
Alternatively if one is into organics, they could gather a big bag full of wild horsetails and add them to their worm bins. Then add that to your grow. Or heck, you could even use those horsetails as a topdress under your mulch. They're like 10% bio-silicate. That should do you. :P
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Horsetails grow all over the place in my area. I knew they were really high in silicon but I didn’t know there was a way to utilize it.
 
Snowback

Snowback

Well-Known Member
TerrapinBlazin said:
I’ve been using pro-tekt at 3ml per gallon for a long time now, but I’ve recently been reading about silicic acid formulas like mills vitalize and power Si. They’re absurdly expensive.

The skeptic in me says it’s all hype and I’m not going to see a difference switching from potassium silicate to silicic acid. However there’s also an adventurous part of me that thinks it might be worth a shot. I’ve read a lot of reports that silicic acid helps with stacking and node spacing during flowering. What’s the consensus? Is it all hype or does it make a difference?
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Hi Terrapin,
A friend of mine has been running a product that contains silicic acid. He swears by it and tells me that I MUST try it. Trying to learn more about it is what caused me to search this thread. He swears that I will see a difference within 1-2 waterings, through increased feeding and vigor compared to average. This friend is fairly trustworthy and generally resistant to hype so I plan to try some. The brand that he uses is called "Bio Nova Silution". I hope that I can give some feedback for you in a relatively short amount of time, if it's worth it.

I too have used Protekt as a PH up for quite some time. It will be interesting to see if silicic acid has a noticeable difference, as my friend claims.
 
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