Hydrotops No More

Well just spoke to my grow shop today, this is a shop that has had a very close relationship with Hydrotops and has helped form some their products. They tell me that Hydrotops are going to close down shop, the chap is apparently just fed up with the whole business. The shop owner was upset by this as it is the main product he sells, I was upset by this as this is the main product I use.

Some things are produced by other obviously like the Grow, Bloom and Floral Boost, but I do not know of any other brand of Bactivator or Triple F, seems that some people on these boards are quite attached to these products, if you want to continue using Triple F you better get to your supplier quick before it all dries up, I could only get the 250ml one myself as the larger ones have already gone.

There is some hope though, Triple F is apparently going to be sold to another nutrient producer who is going to trial it and if it is good stuff, which I think it is, then they will rebrand and sell it. Not sure what the new brand will be but as soon as I find out I'll post it here if someone hasn't beaten me to it.

Looks like I'm gonna have to get use to the idea of hard water Canna nutes.

Thanks for that Freevibe....I heard on the grapevine about it from this post yesterday. I'll be flicking to General Hydro if I don't go organic I think. I wonder about making a separate Bactivator soup, & trying to keep it alive?

The FFF is something I have used for the last 2 crops. It has increased uptake, but IMO the BActivator is what I will miss. Its cheap for an innoculation system, and no-one elses is.. It also does what it says on the can. No bugs....

Well how about this stuff here...

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_006477.htm

Suppose to combat pathogens and insect infestations, used in a new product called Halo, available from Growell!

growell.co.uk/p/1696/HALO.html

If the chap has had enough, he's better off outa it IMO. I woulda thought a buyer or industry partner woulda taken up the reigns tho, even a manager would've been better than shutting up shop at a time when the industry is booming

I've found Canna Aqua to be very stable in HW (0.8EC) they don't make a HW specific nute for NFT, but standard Aqua has been the better choice over HT for me, the HW HT nutes left me with deficiency's and very unstable pH.

I am going to miss Bactivator, i'm not convinced Tripple F is worth missing yet

That 'Halo' product seems worth a try cheers for the heads up FreeVibe, I remember reading about harpin proteins a while back and thinking we'd have to wait years for off the shelf products

San

Here's another product I've dug up, Pirana Powder, sure some people have been talking about this stuff round here before, basically this seems to be as close to Bactivator that you'll come, not sure how far 500 grams of this stuff goes but it sounds like a lot.

growell.co.uk/index.php?p=0100

After my current grow finishes I'm gonna go Pirana Powder with Voodooo Juice as Growell suggest, though they seem to have the habit of cross promoting items just for the hell of it, seen two different PK boosters each saying they should be used with the other one!

The only thing that no one else seem to touch on is Plant Start from Hydrotops, a low NPK nute that contains micro nutrients, its good to work when you first feed clones and seedlings.

Hi Freevibe...Thanks for looking into these things.. The HydroToPs Plant start is easily copied. It's just a basic two part at 1/4 strength and has seaweed added for the micronutrients... I thought that tht was the one real rip off of their range, as the ml/L was silly. Formulex & Maxicrop drops will do a great job, or any similar blend of nutrient & seaweed..

I see General Hydro do an innoculation pack..has anyone used it?

Just an aside really... I tried the HydroTops flower spray years ago, & didn't rate it. Didn't have any inside info (not like here!!), and just used other Nutes (Canna, B'cuzz etc)...

I went with Bactivator when I saw it, as I had insect probs for a summer, & loved it. I thought, "Great, British company getting on & making something different, and its grreat stuff."

Every since that time, I have heard people slagging them off. People either loved them or hated them...like no other nutrient company. Why? dunno myself.. It would be good to have a Brit nutrient company doing good products without all the import duties & add ons we pay for..

If the guy is sick of the business, he should leave it, correct HydroSan, but why has there been such a serious slagging off of them from certain companies? (Growell for one.) Anyone getting the license for Bactivator is onto a winner, IMHO.....Sad to see the only Brit firm I know of really, in that market, disappearing...

For clone start, or veg 'plant' start I came across B'cuzz's "Hydro Booster" It looked so much like their root stimulator I bought the wrong bloody stuff

However, it is doing the biusness for the clones as they go into 3" cubes (presoaked with it) and as they hit the tray initially with the res dosed up. I've not tried it as a foliar, didn't need it. 30 clones rooted in 5 days, after 7 days they had root pom poms, so I can't knock it.

I'm not sure where I'm going for innoculants yet, still reading I'm replacing my systems (yeah those 7's) for Nutriculture trays next week, I just can't get enough flow through them,the drain is shyte. I'll pick up some BB's then

San

I thought I had hot stuff, thats impressive. What temps & light level do you use San?

I'm leaning towards GHE microbial packets...AN is just so fuggin spendy! The drain on those S7's....couldn't you just add more, or make it bigger? OK, I know you prefer the Nutriculture trays. The new ones do look a big improvement, & I have an eye on one myself.

OK lets not leave the impression B'cuzz hydro booster was responsible for roots in 5 days Nah, I use nutriculture aero cloners A misnomer by name, as once you have enough roots to require the sprays to be turned on, you should be transplanting anyway I hardly ever actualy use the aero spray in the cloner

rooting speed is probably due to the mother plant treatment, starved for about 3 weeks, the mums then get a decent dose of nutes 1 week prior to cuts being made, I alow the res (nutes) to run down during that week before making the cuts. This ensures a healthy supply of auxins right where I want them, in the growing tips I always take nodal cuts, cutting an inch below the second or third node down from the meristem, then trimming the end with a sharp sterile scalpel to 45 degrees right through the base node, carfully scraping off any leaf or preflowers (or those little wispy bits at the base of the node) and apply rooting gel (Nulife) wiping off the excess, before going into presoaked 1" cubes. I presoak with the Hydro boost, and bactivator, pH'd to 5.5 - 5.6. My rooting speed improved with my method, I soak the 1" cubes, give em a good shake, then leave them to drain for at leat 24hours, usually 3 days (instead of squeezing them) otherwise they stay far too wet when they're drying out, instead of turning on the aero sprays, I dip em individually - only about 1/8" deep - feeling their weight- it's the only way to ensure you don't over water em as they root at different rates (give or take a day) overwatering 1" cubes in an aero cloner won't kill em, but it does slow em down a hell of a lot, at least double the time

I don't usually get much top growth until they get transplanted, but since I used the hydro boost, I'm finding myself a few days in front I'm dropping root stim as a res addative, only the hormone gel on the cuts, & boost with the nutes from now on

Lighting in the clone zone, cannatronics 110w flouro array over each 20 plant aero cloner, temps hover around 70F, the room is heated during winter

I hear a certain nute supplier is trialing Tripple F, with a view to continuing the line should the trial prove succesful maybe it's not the end of it just yet

San