It should work just fine if you can find it. I've looked for it in the past and was referred to wholesale distributors that would not sell to the public.

You will probably need to add a small amount of calcium nitrate (very cheap) and during bloom, potassium phosphate (also very cheap). Calcium nitrate and potassium phosphate can be found at agricultural/golf course suppliers. You should be able to find a cheap fertilizer that would be suitable for hydro from a golf course supplier too. They might not always be labelled as "hydroponic formula". Just make sure you are getting a fertilizer that gets its N from nitrates, not ammonium or urea. I purchase a 10-20-30 fertilizer from a golf course supplier that is all nitrates for 20 - 25 dollars for a 25lb bag. You can add a commercial fertilizer that contains N from ammonium (like miracle gro) at 10% - 15% of your total fertilizer to help keep your PH in check.

If you put forth a little effort to find alternatives, hydro doesn't need to be unafordable.