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peter_novak46

Nutrient solution in EU ?

last year

Hi all! I would Like start hydroponics AS my new Hobby but it seems bei a Lot Tricky in EU for a newbie. In EU ist not allowed Any Nitrate and im already few months looking for Any Not expendive solution. I ve got npk with Ratio 15:15:15, Epson Salt but i cant find Any water soluble solution for Ca+. Eggshels in winewinegar=Impossible im Not a Millionaire 🤣. Any advice pleased ?

Comments (10)

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Hello Peter,

    " Any advice please ? "

    Move ??

    Calcium chloride is a water-soluble form of Calcium. Calcium chloride is used to melt ice from the front steps of houses, as well as on roads to melt ice there. You might find it in a hardware store packaged for use in melting ice on your front steps.

    " In EU is not allowed Any Nitrate "

    Ammonium nitrate is an excellent fertilizer, and it is also an excellent explosive, alone or mixed with organic material. That explosive thing is probably the reason behind any EU regulations on Nitrates. I am sure Europe has commercial hydroponic operations and possibly clubs of recreational hydroponic growers. There are commercial vendors of hydroponic nutrients and equipment here in the States, and most likely also in your European location. Calcium nitrate is very soluble in water and it can be useful in hydroponics. Do some Internet searching.

    ZM

    Peter Novak thanked zen_man
  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Calcium nitrate is not alowed, and all alternatives what i found as citraye,sulphate,phosfate or carbonate arent water soluble. By chloride i wasnt sure if its safe for food production. Anyway maybe some tip how to mix it ? Npk 15:15:15; epsom salt, calcium chloride, kalium phosphate

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Hi Peter,

    Calcium chloride has been used as an herbicide by some railroads, so I would hesitate to consider its use as a plant nutrient.

    Calcium nitrate would be safe when prediluted in water, so a product consisting of an aqueous solution of Calcium nitrate should be legal. Is nitric acid illegal for you? And who enforces those "EU laws" ?? You should not have to suffer from extreme stupidity in so-called "EU laws". Your urine contains some nitrates, so technically it is apparently illegal to pee in the EU ??

    Maybe there is a commercially available prediluted complete formula plant nutrient product in your locale. There is such a product here in the States. It contains some interesting trace elements as well. Plants actually need an interesting variety of things.

    ZM

  • last year

    Ofcourse complete predilutated formulas are legal and available as well probleme is mount everest price depends on popularity. In EU hydroponic isnt so wide known developed and popular as in USA or australia or UK. I inspired me from USA youtube growers and already bought some ingredientd. Then i found big problem caused due difference in laws and market between USA and EU. I m trying find solution. Main problem is water soluble food safe source of Ca+. And it cannot be nitrate.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Hello again, Peter,

    "Main problem is water soluble food safe source of Ca+. And it cannot be nitrate."

    My guess is that local hydroponics people could give you a good answer to your problem.

    Calcium bicarbonate is listed as water-soluble. However, I have never seen any Calcium bicarbonate, so I can't confirm that. And I rather doubt that it is something that hydroponics people use. It might be fine by itself, but in combination with other ingredients, it might behave badly.

    Some other soluble Calcium compounds are Calcium gluconate, Calcium lactate, Calcium citrate, and Calcium hydroxide. Those are used as nutrient supplements for animals and not plants, and I also doubt that they would be happy solutions to your hydroponics application. A solution of Calcium nitrate in water should be non-explosive and legal and my guess is something like that is what your local hydroponics people use. But you need to find a way to communicate with them. Apparently, none of them read this online discussion. I think that the solution to your problem is a "solution" of Calcium nitrate.

    ZM

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Hydroponic producers may incorporate a calcium-nitrate-based fertilizer to provide both calcium and nitrogen to their crop. Calcium chloride at 1 pound per 100 gallons can also be applied as a foliar spray to help deliver calcium to leaves when transpiration is low. maybe it wasnt so bad idea with that calcium chloride.when comes on calcium citrate, its only sparingly water soluble

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Hi Peter,

    " maybe it wasnt so bad idea with that calcium chloride.when comes on calcium citrate, its only sparingly water soluble "

    I guess I don't understand what you said there. I think it is a safe guess that English is not your first language, and I am not criticizing because I am not the least bit multi-lingual.

    It may be that you are saying you can supply enough Calcium to your plants by using "legal" Calcium chloride. I am not recommending that you use Calcium citrate, although "only sparingly water soluble" might be a desirable safety factor since Calcium chloride can easily be strong enough to be harmful or fatal to plants. Citrate might be harmful, although Oranges and other citrus fruits seem to contain Citric acid safely. But as you have said, dilute Calcium chloride can supply Calcium to plants effectively. I use Calcium nitrate because I can.

    I think it is questionable for Europe to outlaw all nitrates when Ammonium nitrate is the only one that has caused a problem. But that is in the realm of politics, which we should not discuss here.

    ZM

  • last year

    For EU hydroponics on a budget:

    1. Dilute your 15:15:15 NPK fertilizer.
    2. Use Epsom salt for magnesium.
    3. Try gypsum for calcium.
    4. Manage pH with a testing kit and adjusters.
    5. Research DIY nutrient solutions.
    6. Visit local hydroponic stores for advice and compliant solutions.
  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Hi, thx for response. About gypsum i read a lot already and probleme is gypsum is very bad water soluble. But i checked that again and i found one video which i didnt seen before. Some chemie experienced guy has explained true about gypsum in hydroponic. And yes u can use gypsum u just cant use it in traditional way. U cant make concentrated presolution cause its soluble only 2,5 g/liter so it means 250g/100liters what gives you about 582 ppm of calcium and we need about 150 ppm. That you can achieved with cca 70 grams of gypsum but you have to dilute that straight in 100liters reservoir as last step. And than adjust ph and ec.

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