Best Nutrients for DWC – Top 10 Performers For Hydroponic System
Nutrients are quite essential for hydroponically grown plants, more than soil-based plants, as they grow solely by absorbing the oxygenated nutrient solution. They require different kinds of micro and macronutrients to function effectively and to make their structure rigid.
For deep water culture hydroponic system, you will need to find the right kind of nutrients to feed your plants. There might be a lot of nutrients for DWC in the market, but you don’t get enough information regarding what they are best for.
In this article, I have noted down about the best nutrients for DWC with details so that it becomes easy for you to choose the right one for your plants.
Our Guide to Choosing the Best Best Nutrients for DWC
| Models | NPK Ratio | Growth Cycle Stage | Dimensions (inches) | pH buffering | Components |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Hydroponics Flora Grow Trio | 5-0-1 2-1-6 0-5-4 | Seed/Cloning Vegging Flowering | 8 x 4 x 8 | pH balanced | 3 individual |
| Growth Science Nutrients | 0-4-4.5 | Vegging Flowering | 6 x 6 x 11.8 | Not Listed | Not Listed |
| General Organics Go Box | Not Listed | Organic | 9.00 x 5.75 x 7.00 | pH balanced | Not Listed |
| UC Roots Fertilizer | 0-4.5-4.8 | Full Cycle | 5.2 x 2.5 x 7 | pH balanced | 1 Quart |
| Advanced Nutrients Bloom | 4-0-0 1-1-6 1-3-4 | Seed/Cloning Vegging Flowering | 9.7 x 9.3 x 6.4 | pH balanced | 3 individual |
| General Hydroponics HGC718045 | Not Listed | Organic | 6.00 x 6.00 x 12.00 | Not Listed | One-part formula |
| SLF-100 746186 Garden Product | Not Listed | Full Cycle | 3.2 x 3.2 x 8.9 | pH balanced | Not Listed |
| FloraBloom – 3 a jaba | 0-5-4 | Vegging Flowering | 12.80 x 6.00 x 7.00 | pH balanced | Not Listed |
| Botanicare CNS17GQT Fertilizer | 1-1-5 | Full Cycle | 5.2 x 2.4 x 7.4 | Not Listed | 3 formula |
| AeroGarden Liquid Nutrients | 4-3-6 | Flowering | 5 x 2 x 7.5 | pH buffering | One-part formula |
Top 10 Best Nutrients for DWC Reviews
When finding the best nutrients for growing in deep water culture, a lot of options can make you overwhelmed. The following reviews will help you to shorten your list and pick the suitable nutrients pack.
1. General Hydroponics Flora Grow | Best For Growth And Bloom Cycles
General hydroponics (link to amazon) flora series can be the best investment for your deep water culture system. It is pretty easy to use, and it comes with complete nutrients for the plants to satisfy their nutrition needs.
The primary nutrients are for strong and healthy roots and secondary and micro-nutrients are for boosting the growth of the plants in later stages. It is highly recommended for the beginners, who are planning to grow plants hydroponically.
You can adjust the mixture according to your plant’s growth and needs. Make sure to follow the instructions specified regarding the amount of the nutrients to be added in the water for better results.
This GH flora series will enhance the essential oils, nutrition, flavor, and aroma of the hydroponic plants. The liquid nutrition feature highly purified concentrations so they get dissolved in the water easily.
It is pH balanced, so you don’t have to worry about pH increase or decrease. This nutrition solution comes with superior formulation and reliability, which makes it ideal for the healthy growth of DWC plants.
.Top Features:
- The original building block system for plants.
- Features all primary, secondary, and micro-nutrients essential for boosting growth in all stages.
- It produces a huge yield of crops with better quality.
- Increases the nutrition, aroma, and flavor of the plants.
- pH balanced; Features maximum solubility.
2. Growth Science Nutrients
For the maximum growth of the plant, I rely on the Growth science nutrients (link to amazon)- Rock-solid that comes with scientifically proven elements. It contains plant-based proprietary ingredients to boost the terpene profiles and oil production.
This powerful and highly-concentrated nutrient comes at an affordable price. It is mainly used from the transition stage of the plant to boost the flower formation and to maximize the production.
You don’t have to use separate fertilizers for your plants when you have this all-in-one nutrient solution. The mixing instructions are specified at the back of the nutrient cover that will help you in feeding the plants with the right amount of nutrient strength.
It is designed to be a nutrient regimen that features everything, which is required to increase in the production of high-quality final products. The nutrient is simple to use, so if you are a beginner, then you can try it for your DWC.
Rock-solid is the perfect bloom booster that will satisfy the needs of your hydroponic and also soil-based plants.
Top Features:
- Features concentrated liquid bloom booster formulation to maximize production.
- Scientifically proven elements included helping in the flowering phase.
- Increases the production of terpene profiles and oils.
- Simple to use; Contains everything to increase the yield of high-quality crops.
- Best for beginners and advanced gardeners.
3. General Organics Go Box | Best Organic Nutrients For Weed
By purchasing the General organics Go box (link to amazon) by General Hydroponics, you get a complete line of premium supplements and foods for the plants. The Go box comes with a 16 oz. BioThrive Grow and bloom fertilizers, and also contains 8oz. of every Go liquid supplement samples.
It is designed with combined time-tested ingredients of traditional agriculture with efficient and sustainable methods of modern cultivation. This little starter box can be regarded as the best nutrients for deep water culture.
The included BioThrive nutrient solution boosts the growth of the young plants and seeds and helps in the flowering stage by enhancing the aroma and essential oils. The cal-mag nutrition sample included can be used to strengthen the structure of the plant and to make them greener.
The Bio root booster makes the roots strong so that they can uptake the nutrients easily. Other nutrition included help in the healthy growth of the plants. Add the nutrients according to the instructions specified as some of the nutrients should be applied at a definite stage.
Top Features:
- Features a complete line of premium supplements for plants.
- Time-tested ingredients combined with sustainable methods for modern cultivation.
- Includes samples of every Go line supplements.
- It helps in boosting growth in the flowering stage.
- No assembly required.
4. FloraBloom by General Hydroponics
The FloraBloom (link to amazon) is a part of the FloraSeries that helps in stimulating fruit and flower development. It is used with the other nutrients FloraGro and FloraMicro, to fulfill the requirement of the plants in each growing phase.
This is the best hydroponic nutrients for vegetables should be added according to the instructions specified. FloraBloom contains no nitrogen, it provides primary and secondary nutrients like Potassium, Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Magnesium to the plants.
Feeding it to the plants will help in enhancing the rich fragrance of the plant. Plus, it also increases the essential oils and flavor of different fruits or flowers.
It is simple to use, works great on tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers, and comes in a great value. You can use this nutrient for your hydroponic plant to produce better buds and flowers.
Top Features:
- Stimulates fruits and flower development.
- Increases the aroma, essential oils and flavor.
- Ideal for a hydroponic system.
- It provides Potassium, Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Magnesium for reproductive growth.
- Simple to use for a large yield of crops.
5. UC Roots Fertilizer
If you’re looking for the best advanced nutrients for DWC, pick the Cultured Solutions UC (link to amazon) roots fertilizer. This nutrients mostly help to kill the harmful substances in the reservoir. This multi-purpose root zone optimizer helps in removing and descaling the harmful biofilms and pathogens.
The well-balanced nutrition solution helps in the healthy development of roots and is perfect for explosive root growth. It will remove any mineral deposits from the reservoir and makes it clean and free from germs.
The fertilizer helps in increasing the nutrient uptake by the roots and improves the oxygen-level in the reservoir. You can use it for cleaning between cycles or as a nutrient-leaching agent.
It is formulated for optimum performance in water cultures but is appropriate for use in all cultivation styles and methods including Rockwool, DTW, coconut coir and pith, and aeroponics.
The UC root fertilizer creates a suitable environment for the roots to grow and prevents them from rotting by decreasing the harmful microorganisms.
Top Features:
- Prevents mineral deposits and removes harmful biofilms from the reservoir.
- Multi-purpose root zone optimizer.
- Boosts a healthy and explosive growth of the roots.
- Suitable for all cultivation methods and styles.
- Can be used for cleaning or as a nutrient-leaching agent.
6. Advanced Nutrients Bloom, Micro & Grow | Best Fertilizer For Weed
The high-value nutrients packs (link to amazon) are the good nutrients for DWC as they are designed to provide the plants with an exact number of nutrient ratios as required by them. It comes with a 1-liter of each bloom, micro, and grow nutrients.
These precisely formulated nutrients come with full-spectrum of quality ingredients. When these pH perfect advanced nutrients are fed to the plants, they get benefited from an unmatched range of amino acids.
The powerful non-ironic surfactant and fulvic acid provide amazing results as they form a multi-stage delivery matrix that ensures the plants take in everything. Plus, the strong chelation makes sure that every nutrient is available to the roots of your plants.
The pH perfect technology of the nutrients helps in adjusting the pH so that the plants don’t suffer from deficiencies, moreover, you don’t have to use any harsh pH balancing chemicals.
These nutrients will boost your plants in every stage of growth. You need to read the instructions carefully before feeding these nutrients to your plants.
Top Features:
- Features a package of three essential nutrients micro, bloom and grow.
- Precisely formulated nutrients that provide the plants with essential micro and macro-nutrients.
- The multi-stage delivery matrix ensures that the plants intake everything.
- Features pH perfect technology that adjusts the pH level.
- Best for boosting the vegetative and flowering stages.
7. General Hydroponics HGC718045 FloraGro Advanced Nutrient System
The amazing Floragro (link to amazon) advanced nutrients system helps in stimulating the foliar and structural growth of the plant. It features nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other micro minerals.
You can combine the FloraGro nutrient with FloraBloom and FloraMicro nutrients and feed the plants at every stage from seedling to flowering or fruiting stage, to help them in their growth. It is the best organic nutrients for DWC, which is quite ideal for hydroponic plants.
The nutrient will enhance the aroma, flavor, essential oils, and nutrition in the hydroponically cultivated plants. You get this powerful nutrient at an affordable price to produce high-quality crops.
Make sure to use it with clean water for the best results. Adjust the mixture and add them according to your plant’s nutrient requirements and growth stage.
This nutrient solution is highly soluble in water that makes it easy for each of the plant’s roots in the system to absorb it.
Top Features:
- Helps in boosting the structural and foliar growth of the plant.
- Features nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the ratio of 2-1-6.
- Can be combined with the FloraMicro and FloraBloom to create a tailor-made nutrient mix for plants.
- Easy to use and contains maximum solubility.
8. SLF-100 746186 Garden Product
With 18 years of proven success, the SLF-100 (link to amazon) comes with commercially-proven enzymatic formula. The fast-acting nutrient improves the plants in reaching new heights as they need.
This OMRI scheduled and 100% natural formula is exclusively designed to break out salts. You can use it as a cleanser for the hydroponic systems so that they can run smoothly without any toxic build-up.
It is compatible with all fertilizers, nutrients, and rooting compounds and is quite effective in all stages of the growing cycle. It has no added NPK or sugar and is pH neutral in concentrated form. SLF-100 is a great product for fixing root rots and for making the roots bright.
You can use this best nutrients dwc for beginners with enzymatic formula for your deep water culture to make the root system clean and free of any toxic substances.
Top Features:
- Commercially proven enzymatic formula with over 18 years of success.
- 100% organic and OMRI-listed formula.
- Can be used as a cleanser to keep the reservoir toxic-free.
- Compatible with all fertilizers, nutrients, and root compounds.
- Prevents root rot and makes them brighter; No NPK or sugar added.
9. Botanicare CNS17GQT Fertilizer
Get this Botanicare fertilizer (link to amazon) at an affordable rate to produce high-yields of crops. Its suspension technology makes it possible for all the micro and macro-nutrients to be contained in a single bottle.
The nutrient is highly soluble in water and provides the added benefit of becoming a high energy source for the plants. It combines high-levels of calcium with phosphates and sulfates to create a balanced food source for the plants.
The optimal ratios of phosphorus and nitrogen aids in increasing root development, decreases internode spacing, and make the branches and stalks stronger to support healthier and bigger plants.
This high-yielding fertilizer contains everything needed in the grow, bloom, and ripening stage of the plants. You won’t find any other packs that have rich amount of nutrients and are available at such a cheap rate.
It is one of the best organic nutrients for DWC system, as it works effectively in any grow-medium. Extremely concentrated and provides incredible results for hobbyists and commercial growers.
Top Features:
- Features all the 17 essential nutrients in a single bottle.
- Cost-effective for producing maximum-yield of crops.
- Includes 3 formulas for all the growing stages.
- Develops the root system and strengthen the branches and stalks for healthier plants.
- Highly soluble; Contains optimum levels of nitrogen and calcium.
10. AeroGarden Liquid Nutrients
Specially formulated as best flowering nutrients for DWC, this liquid nutrients (link to amazon) provide better growth and germination to the plants. You can use it for your outdoor trees and shrubs or for your indoor plants.
It can provide more than 100 feedings, which is quite a great value. For seed starting, vegetative growth, flowering, and fruiting, this one-part nutrient is perfect for all the stages.
The organic pH buffering system of the nutrient is great for all hydroponic systems and also provides incredible growth to the plants. You can add the nutrients with water for fast and consistent growth.
It dilutes in the water instantly and releases essential micro-nutrients for the plants to uptake. This amazing nutrient has a longer shelf-life, so you can use it for a long time for your DWC system.
Top Features:
- Patented and specially formulated for the growth of the plants.
- Suitable for both indoor and outdoor plants; Provides more than 100 feedings.
- One-part nutrient for seedlings, vegetative growth, and flowering.
- Features organic pH buffering system.
- Longer shelf-life; Helps in fast and consistent growth.
Things Consider Before Buying the Best Nutrients for DWC
Specifying the DWC nutrients is quite tricky as many companies produce different types of nutrients for particular purposes. Beginners can go for general nutrients for hydroponics and experts can make their own nutrients. However, below are the vital factors to consider while buying the best DWC nutrients.
- Required Nutrients for Your Plants
Nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus are the obligatory nutrients for your DWC plants. Generally, most of the plants need these macro and micro-nutrients to grow ideally. But the ratio of the nutritional elements can be varied in a particular solution. It depends on the plants you cultivate in your hydroponics system. A good DWC nutrient guide can help you to know what plants need what type of nutrients to grow properly.
- The pH Level of the Nutrients
The pH level of nutrients is significant and you should consider it with importance. The incorrect pH level can be very harmful to some specific plants. In general, most plants require 5.5 to 7 – this required pH level can be changed slightly. The pH level less than 5.5 can increase the toxicity and above 7 can increase the acidity in the solution.
It is easy to increase the pH level of a lower solution but for a pH higher solution, you will need to use a pH down product. The pH amount can also be varied depending on the various stages of growth. The flowering plants need a lower pH level than vegetative plants.
You can get an electronic pH meter to check out the level of pH in DWC hydroponics system.
- Electrical Conductivity (EC)
The EC seems complicated at the first notice, but as a gardening enthusiast, you need to have an idea about the term. It is actually the ratio of the nutrients to the water amount in the DWC system. Electrical Conductivity (EC) should be between 0.8 to 3.
Generally, the standard value is selected between 1.5 to 2.5. The low EC can be increased quite easily, but the higher EC can cause nutrients burn. In this stage, plants may die or straight dry out because of the huge amount of fertilizer. Before choosing the nutrients for DWC, use an electronic EC meter to measure the exact ratio.
- The Oxygen Level
To ensure the proper growth of your DWC plants, fixing the right oxygen level is important. Without oxygenating, your indoor plants will not receive a sufficient amount of oxygen to flourish. Like the EC level as well as pH level, optimization of oxygen level should be taken gravely.
Using dissolved oxygen meters is a way to figure out the oxygen level but it can be a good option for experienced gardeners. Some other manual options are available that will not cost you anything. If the oxygen level is high or low, plants can’t absorb needed nutrients as well as minerals. Therefore, depending on the oxygen level, you should choose nutrients for DWC plants.
There are some other tips that you can follow:
- Depending on the growing stages such as the vegetative stage and flowering stage, you can choose the purpose-based nutrients.
- Liquid fertilizers allow your plants to absorb nutrients efficiently. These are also easy to apply in the DWC system. On the other hand, powdered fertilizers seem difficult to mix and use in the solution.
- Organic fertilizers are good for plants but they work slowly. Chemical fertilizers offer a better result in a faster period. However, organic fertilizers are eco-friendly too.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What do the numbers on the cover of the nutrients represent?
The number represents the ratio of N-P-K that is nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. They are macro-nutrients that are quite essential for the plants. If you see the number 2-1-6 on the cover, it means the fertilizer contains 2 percent of nitrogen, 1 percent of phosphorus, and 6 percent of potassium.
- What are the best forms of nutrients for DWC?
There are different forms of nutrients available in the market, but I recommend the liquid nutrients as they are highly soluble in water and instantly becomes available for the plants to absorb.
- What much of nutrients should I feed the plants?
The amount to be used depends on the type of plant you are growing, the growth stage of the plant, and also the pH level. Usually, every nutrient product comes with instructions and guidelines about the recommended nutrition strength that needs to be applied for the plants at a certain stage. You can feed your plants with nutrients by following the given feeding schedule at the back of each nutrient product.
- How often should I change the water solution in DWC?
The water solution should be changed out once in two or three weeks. If you have a small-sized DWC system, then you need to change it more often. Also, you can read our article about Details Guide on DWC.
- Are there particular types of nutrients for DWC grow?
The above-mentioned nutrients are some of the nutrients for DWC. They work great for producing a large-yield of crops and also boost the growth and development of the plants in all the cycles. You can choose one from them according to your plant’s needs and also your budget.
Conclusion
Nutrients become quite important for the plants to thrive, especially when you grow hydroponically. These micro and macro-nutrients promote the healthy growth of the plants. Purchasing the best nutrients for DWC and maintaining them properly are the essential factors for healthy plants.
The General hydroponics’ flora series is the perfect fertilizer that comes with a combo fertilizer set for all stages. Or, you can choose the affordable Botanicare Fertilizer that contains all the essential nutrients in one single bottle and is quite effective for all the growth stages.
