deviant

Hello all,

Recently I was asked to test the Advanced Nutrients range.I recieved their Sensi 2 part bloom nutes complete with Voodoo,Pirhana,Carboload,Humic acid,Big Bud,Overdrive and Final Phase.

It should be stated that I ran Canna nutes for the week of veg and also that I'm running Cannas range on some tables opposite for a direct visual comparison.All tables are NFT and the strain is Superskunk.

Okay then so intial thoughts...let's start with the bad stuff first;

Numero Uno... forget about running Grandma Enggys humic acid in a recirculating hydro system it's filthy,it'll clog your pumps in no time and make your res look horrid;similar to the problems you encounter with Nitrozyme but worse.Give it a BIG MISS,I ran it for the first week of 12/12 and then stopped.A soil or run to waste application would probably be fine though.

Second,the ph is an absolute arsehole.I'll mix up a batch,set the ph to 5.5,allow it to stand for 24hrs,recheck the ph(still 5.5)and then feed it to the plants.24hrs after it's been recirculating the ph has risen to 7-7.2.
Even now....when I set the ph to 5.0-5.2,it's still 6.5-6.8 the next day.The problem then is;it seems to stabilise around these values for a couple of days before beginning to drop.So if you drop the ph back into range after the first day,when it begins to fall at the end of the week it'll often fall too far.At present I'm still trying to make the ph work in a user friendly manner,but even if I do.....it's certainly not going to win any prizes for stability.

Thirdly,and this is a criticism of most nute manufacturers,their dilution rates are far too strong.I find myself struggling to control the Ec even when I'm running two thirds of their suggested additives.God knows what their 2+ program comes out at if you follow their instructions.....as i saw airedog comment you're better off mixing it to 150L than the recommended 100L,i.e two third strength.

Forthly,the Pirhana is also of limited use in a recirculating system,it's not soluable so it just drops out of solution.Moreover in a system like NFT there's no media to colonize so it's difficult to see how it could work.I know some people drop buckets of rockwool into their res and then pour the Pirhana over that,and although I see the logic of giving it a"habitat"in which to"grow"but surely for the trichodermia and mycorrhizal funghi to do their job effectively they need to be in direct contact with(or at least surrounding)the rhizosphere.Either way I'm not convinced of the products effectiveness in NFT I'd be more inclined to spend the money on their Sensizym instead.I'm waiting to hear if Pirhana gains it's OMRI certification in which case I'll begin tests with it in a biologically active/organic soil in which I'm far more optimistic of favourable results.

Ok so the positives,

Firstly,the voodoo appears to be good stuff(I'm running it in conjunction with carboload which just gives the microbes/enzymes something additional to feed on)the roots are nice and thick with big furry hairs.They absolutely sh!t on the neighbouring Canna root system(bearing in mind no root stim has been used on those tables)and also the voodoo should have been ran through the veg cycle,which it wasn't.So it would leave me to believe that if voodoo had of been added from the first day of 18/6 the roots would look very good.Intial results are certainly promising,but the jury is out until next time when I'll run it from the first day and without Pirhana.By the looks of this though I'd definitely give their Tarantuala product a whirl if it's liquid based.

Secondly;the plants are very compact.The node spacing is much closer than their Canna counterparts with very little stretch occuring during 12/12.I'd say their profile reminds me a little of the appearence of plants when PGRs have been used(plant growth regulators)but only the good aspects;i.e less time spent stretching,fast formation of buds and tight nodes.Fortunately they don't exhibit the subsequent drop in trich' production that products like Superbud caused.I'm unsure whether the internodal spacing is down to the humic acid that I used or if it's the humics that the beneficials secrete,or if it's the Big Bud.Either way they're definitely stockier than the plants on the canna tables.

Thirdly,the trich production looks to be up slightly on the advanced tables and the buds do look different(I'm not exactly sure in what way,more pistils perhaps)so maybe the Big Bud is doing the trick but it's really far too difficult to tell at this stage so I'll reserve judgement till they get weighed and smoked.I should state though that for the first week I ran B.B at half strength,second week it's in at two thirds and it may get full strength for the third week I run it(which'll be the forth week of 12/12).

I'll update this thread with my thoughts and comments as the grow progresses.
I'd appreciate it if any other A.N users chimed in with their thoughts both good and bad,so we can get a definite feel for the way their products behave and the results people can expect in different systems

All the best,
dev

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H20specialist

Thanks Dev.

I've been curious about Advanced products... They have quite the line-up...

Keep up posted bro.

far-mer-jon

Hey Dev , Do you use canna's pk 13/14 in week five of 12/12 ? FMJ

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Canadian_Toker

i used advanced nutrients clone it and it worked good for i would reccomend it for other users

Harv

I will be using the Sensi 2 part series in conjunction with the B-52. I am sure the vodoo is good but it just costs to darn much for me at the moment. I was useing that for my first couple weeks of my grow just now and I was very happy with it so far, but as I stated in my journal I have to close up shop for a couple days and since I have no safe spot to stash my babies I would rather cut down play it safe and start over in a few days. I will be tring to obtain a digital camera to help document how I am doing. Since I only got 5 White Russian beans and 5 Skywalkers left (my 2 of choice and what I was currently working with). I am going to put those a side intill I get this first hydro under my belt. So I will be going with my back ups - Sensi's Super Skunk, and Soma's Rock Bud. How appropriate to be useing Sensi Grow to grow Sensi seeds. So I will be posting my findings here shortly, and hopefuly have my new journal up and running in a few days. Good growing to you all!

P.S. Oh I forgot to mention, I know some one that was growing from the same batch of seeds and useing GH nuets. And you wanna talk about trich production being better with the sensi. At week 2-3 they had trichs on them no joke, and they smelled so strong. Never seen both of those happening so early in the grow, and my buddy with the GH neuts did not have that yet. So definitly looking forward to see how the AN works out for me through a whole grow.

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airedog

I've had good results with the basic 3 part AN nutes, adding B52, Carboload and Overdrive at the end. My last grow was White Widow and I used the full 2+ feeding program from AN using the 3 part nutes as the basis. Vegetative growth was explosive and root development was extremely good. During veg pH was not a problem, as Deviant has said, some of the powdered supplements will precipitate out. I had 2 plants develop some stem rot, lost 1 the other recovered.

During flower the remaining plants got so heavy after 2 weeks that they fell into the buckets, even though I had lined the holes with slit 1/4" tubing. This led to an infestation of fungus gnats, seemingly kept under control by the Sensizym, although the plant that was affected the worst eventually succumbed. During flower pH was an absolute *****, with wild fluctuations requiring massive amounts of pH down. There were also a lot of problems with murky, foamy nutrient solution for at least 72 hours after each res change, with a lot of precipitate. I feel that a lot of this is due to the Big Bud and powdered Carboload; the problem was reduced when I used the liquid Carboload.

In the last weeks the plants were badly stressed and I missed some hermie flowers. I eventually harvested about 5 days early when the plants seemed to be stressing and not recovering, even after pH adjusted water flushes. There were 4 colas that were over 14", and a lot of smaller bud, althought the harvest was lighter than my previous grows. Lower branches had seeds, although the large colas were unaffected. Everything including branches was coated with resin, and preliminary tests have been promising in that even the bud with seeds is potent and smokes nicely. Dry bud that has not been cured is not harsh and there is a nice citrusy aroma.

I noticed that throughout the grow, the plants did not like anything over 900 ppm. As Deviant has said the powdered supplements are problematic and like most manufacturers the mix is hot; Tarantula is also powder based and quite pricey $159 CDN for 1.5 kilos). I also noticed that while my TriMeter and Oakton pen calibrate identically with solutions at pH 4.0 and 7.0, that they have a roughly 0.5 discrepancy in the 5.3 - 6.5 range. If the TriMeter is off this would have accounted for some of my problems as it stays in my res to give me constant readings of pH and TDS.

I have only been growing for a year, this was my 3rd crop; so I am loathe to trash AN, the problems may have been due to my making a basic mistake or the meter anomaly. My next grow will use 2 identical bucket systems and I will go the 2+ in one and a reduced component AN formula in the other. Hopefully this will allow me to get a better idea as to the benefits of the full AN feeding schedule.

Airedog

arnold layne

hey dev-
i'm using the sensi grow and bloom, with big bud and carboload.
i don't have anything to compare to but my prev grow, and compared to that, the results are awesome.
i had some ph probs, but only during veg, and only for a couple of days. it was later determined that it was the result of a gremlin, and not the nutes. they have a cool website with good forums (thanx airedog!), pretty helpful.
veg growth is great, and flowering is awesome. my plants also fell into the res under the weight (hey airedog, don't ya just love that?), but with a little wire, all is well now. trich production has been good on some, less on others. all from same bagseed, but two diff phenos.
i would have to give advanced a thumbs up for sure.
peace-
arnold layne

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airedog

What kind of water are you using Arnold? HydroSan posted about RO water causing pH problems:

http://www.hempcultivation.com/420/s...6&page=2&pp=10

and I have read similar messages elsewhere, with CalMag or similar products mentioned to alleviate the problem. Another possible solution was to mix tap water and RO, when filling your res. I'm going to try that during my next grow, and see if the pH problem settles down.

For the murkiness/foam issues, if they persist, I'll try putting the powders in a nylon stocking and then in the res; if there are still problems, a switch to the liguid version of the supplements (when possible) will be tried. AN does seem to make a big difference and I want to give it a good try. I'm also going back to the 10" net pots that sit on top of the bucket .

Airedog

arnold layne

hey airedog-
the housing for my ro membrane cracked, so i'm now using a 2 stage filter. my water is 70ppm, ph of 6.3-5.
the guy at ags told me that a lot of folks who are using the powdered nutes and additives mix them with warm water first, then add to the res. he also said that the advanced people told him that the res is supposed to be a bit murky, and that the roots are supposed to get a bit brownish. he said that beneficial bacteria is supposed to grow in the res with the advanced stuff. my veg res is very clear, and my flower res' do get a bit, well, less than clear.
all i know is that my ph is pretty stable, between 5.8-6.1.
i'm really diggin' the results!
peace-
arnold layne

__________________
"Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't."

arnold gets dirty soma 10 x ak47 PAUSED
onward, through the fog (super cheap ultrasonic revisited) ABORTED
attack of the kushy sattelites ptII. the neglected strike backFINISHED
attack of the kushy sattelites FINISHED
super cheap ultrasonic aeroponic project FINISHED

freedom35

I'm running a side by side with 2 4x8's, AN 2+ in one and GH in other.
AN table is about to start week 5 shortly and results seem promising.
GH table is start of week 3 and results don't seem to be too far behind AN.
I agree with everything deviant says about product, ph is *****!!!! I get 2-3 days of reasonable levels then a spike that is hard to keep down until finally dropping off by end of week. I will also add the cost and the complexity of program as other cons.