What's new
  • Please note members who been with us for more than 10 years have been upgraded to "Veteran" status and will receive exclusive benefits. If you wish to find out more about this or support IcMag and get same benefits, check this thread here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

CHEAPER ENZYMES

smoke1sun

What Goes Around Comes Around. But Am I Comming Or
Veteran
I stopped using enzymes because they were too spendy. Sounds like this will solve that problem .Ok for plants and fish and a company rep gave a hydroponic dose ,I can live with the 1 % preservative .I was always so skimpy with Hygrozyme and Sensizyme because of the cost .A bottle of Pond and Fountain Protector will make using enzymes affordable

I remember it was 20 ml per gallon Sensizyme ,1000 ml per liter
1000ml bottle /20 ml per gallon =50 gallons . That is 20$ a week for me making it the most expensive part of my grow

Pond cleaner is 30 ml per 100 gallons ,1000ml/30ml=33.3 -100gallon batches(3300 gallons) making it 66 times cheaper

Old Man or anyone who uses this ,does it affect ph? Can you mix a 100 gallon res and leave it for a week?I have been dropping things from use if they affect ph buffering.Makes it a pita when you run DTW and you have to daily adjust ph .Basicly the entire AN line


didnt see 16 oz size so 66 times is too much but still

Bozo somewhere in an earlier post, dongle posted that they should be used once mixed, its somewhere in here. Peace
 

Bozo

Active member
I understand that once mixxed with water is loses suspension and shelf life is greatly reduced .My question was is it ph stable once mixxed .Can I mix it into 100gallons of water and walk away for a week with no ph flux?That is a complicated question many variables for the different stuff we all use .To those who are asking has anyone tried it I belive Old Man stated he has been using it for almost a year.

I am courious .Are sterile enzymes better for what we want or enzymes with living bacteria ?
 

magiccannabus

Next Stop: Outer Space!
Veteran
Ironic that I would find this thread and then the very next day stumble across this in my mother's gardening supplies. I got a little in a baggie to go home with. The brand is "Pond Zyme" by a company called "Pond Care". I will try it first on one of my worse plants.
 
cool guys-i agree that enzymes aimed at ganja horticulturalists are expensive-especially if you're growing commercial style-but has anyone actually tried any of these pond cleaner type alternatives yet?
look foward to seeing some results

eddieS

I have, for about a year now.

The only good results that are to be expected are the absence of root rot, the quick decomposition of dead roots in recycled media, a few hundred bucks saved per year by not buying watered-down, overpriced enzymes from the hydro store.
 

EddieShoestring

Florist
Veteran
Bozo, OldM&TW-ok thanks for putting me straight on that-i'd read the thread but was probably too stonned to take it in.

Bozo-i think that the main advantage in having a sterile solution (ie hygrozyme) is that it extends the shelf life of the product. Cannazyme can go off especially if opened then left in a warm place (ie next to a growroom).

i'm going to pick up a bottle of this stuff today and start experimenting with a dripper
cool guys

eddieS
 

Bozo

Active member
Very good point Eddie about stuff thats alive dying quickly once opened .The alive part probably would affect ph more just what I dont want .I think that settles the alive part if I want alive I can add hydrogard .I am going to hand water 1 plant @ first .Keeping the root zone happy is our(my) main goal here ,happy roots = happy buds eh?
Thanks Old Man great thread great find.I really like yer other thread about finding the secret ingredients in all these additives we use,but I am not smart enough to contribute anything there either , I tasted powdered big bud once by accident it is kinda sweet does that count ?
 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
Enzyme

Enzyme

OldMan&theWeed

I've been trying to follow this thread and for the most part I understand enough to be confused. Not by the science, per se, but by how to use the products not marketed towards the indoor garden industry.

I use EM-1 to inoculate organic rice hulls to both activate the microbes in the organic soil mix I make up along with applying ACT (aerated compost teas) as well as using the inoculated rice hulls to compost via the bokashi method. So I'm not completely in the woods on some of the topics here.

So if I go to a pond supply store, which brand should I be looking for and what would be the mixing ratio?

I do re-cycle my potting soil with amendments like glacial rock dust, earthworm castings, seed meals, etc. I'm interested in trying these enzyme products to compare with the EM-1 processes.

Thanks again for a great discussion.

CC
 
OldMan&theWeed

I've been trying to follow this thread and for the most part I understand enough to be confused. Not by the science, per se, but by how to use the products not marketed towards the indoor garden industry.

I use EM-1 to inoculate organic rice hulls to both activate the microbes in the organic soil mix I make up along with applying ACT (aerated compost teas) as well as using the inoculated rice hulls to compost via the bokashi method. So I'm not completely in the woods on some of the topics here.

So if I go to a pond supply store, which brand should I be looking for and what would be the mixing ratio?

I do re-cycle my potting soil with amendments like glacial rock dust, earthworm castings, seed meals, etc. I'm interested in trying these enzyme products to compare with the EM-1 processes.

Thanks again for a great discussion.

CC

My VERY limited knowledge is restricted to coco only. Maybe someone else here could answer your questions about soil.

As far as particular brands of pond enzymes, I only have experience with one, Pond Saver, but I believe them to all be virtually identical except that some contain live bacteria AND enzymes, while others are sterile and only contain enzymes. There are also obvious differences in strengths which become apparent when you read the dosing instructions of the various products.
 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
Then there’s Mother Nature's Pond Clarifier natural, barley-based enzyme
OldMan&theWeed

It's interesting that you mentioned barley. Barley seeds (unpolished) are sprouted by bakers and then allowed to dry before being roasted and then ground into a flour and then added to wheat flour. The enzymes in the barley are enhanced in this process and these enzymes feed the yeast spores (commercial or wild yeast cultures) which are, of course, plants.

When this roasted barley is added to flour commercially the package is marked 'Bromated' which is pretty common in grocery store flour products. Not so much with professional artisan flours where 'bromation' is added as described above.

I know from an old Enblish farming book from the turn of the 19th Century that some of barley's properties were known. This book talks about making roasted barley teas for reducing stress from heat in the summers by applying it as a spray.

Interesting connection.

CC
 

EddieShoestring

Florist
Veteran
OldMan&theWeed

It's interesting that you mentioned barley. Barley seeds (unpolished) are sprouted by bakers and then allowed to dry before being roasted and then ground into a flour and then added to wheat flour. The enzymes in the barley are enhanced in this process and these enzymes feed the yeast spores (commercial or wild yeast cultures) which are, of course, plants.

When this roasted barley is added to flour commercially the package is marked 'Bromated' which is pretty common in grocery store flour products. Not so much with professional artisan flours where 'bromation' is added as described above.

I know from an old Enblish farming book from the turn of the 19th Century that some of barley's properties were known. This book talks about making roasted barley teas for reducing stress from heat in the summers by applying it as a spray.

Interesting connection.

CC

that is interesting. I'm sure that Hygrozyme is based on Barley-from the smell-it's pretty unmistakable.
And the process that you mentioned (sprouting-drying and roasting Barley)-is that not malting? In the brewery the enzymes in the Barley malt break down starch into sugars and, i think, that the yeast feeds off of that rather than directly on the enzymes.

I was under the impression that the commercially available zymes were fermented in some way but could be wrong.
great stuff
eddieS
 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
that is interesting. I'm sure that Hygrozyme is based on Barley-from the smell-it's pretty unmistakable.
And the process that you mentioned (sprouting-drying and roasting Barley)-is that not malting? In the brewery the enzymes in the Barley malt break down starch into sugars and, i think, that the yeast feeds off of that rather than directly on the enzymes.

I was under the impression that the commercially available zymes were fermented in some way but could be wrong.
great stuff
eddieS
EddieShoestring

Yes it is the same as malting in the brewing environment and it's called that in bread baking as well. There's an interesting symbiotic relationship between bread bakers and brewers throughout history. Much of the actual science in creating these 2 very different products share many common ingredients and processes.

Growing 'wild yeast' (or what Americans mistakenly call 'sourdough') is a study in yeasts and growing lacto bacillus, i.e. the basis of wild yeast bread cultures.

The 'pond enzyme' product that I found at the local farm store is 'Microbe-Lift PL' which is their liquid product. They also have a dry product at their web site but it wasn't available at the store. If I could just figure out a mixing ratio I'd be ready to experiment.

I'm becoming more and more convinced that the EM-1 product is pretty much the same thing. If I can find a mixing ratio with the pond enzyme product I want to try and inoculate a 20 lb. batch of rice bran and see how it works in bokashi composting.

CC
 
D

dongle69

OMRI is a private organization which charges companies $$$ to be listed. The bigger you are the more money you pay.

They've got a good thing going for sure.

The organic certification process got its start when the Organic Foods Production Act became law in 1990.
The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) interprets this law and acts as the chief agency in charge of organic certification.
The NOP certifies other organic certification organizations of which there are some 45 in the United States.
Arguably the best-known organic certifying organization is the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) based in Eugene, Oregon.
 
D

dongle69

I ordered some of the Pond Protector because I couldn't find any locally.
I will be doing a test of some fresh cut root material in a mixture of the Pond Protector to see if breaks it down (and how long it takes).
 

smoke1sun

What Goes Around Comes Around. But Am I Comming Or
Veteran
Thank you dongle, ima go get the StressZyme from wal-mart, post up exactly how you do your test and ill do it the same, the person from the other site never got back to me about the pics.

You think i would wrong for posting someone elses pics of A article on how to test cannas enzymes?
 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
The organic certification process got its start when the Organic Foods Production Act became law in 1990.
The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) interprets this law and acts as the chief agency in charge of organic certification.

The NOP certifies other organic certification organizations of which there are some 45 in the United States.

Arguably the best-known organic certifying organization is the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) based in Eugene, Oregon.
Correct and nothing in my post argues with your post. OMRI is a private organization, i.e. they have NOTHING to do with any state or federal organic certification program.

I'm an organic farmer - not just a cannabis grower. I know the laws and who does what to whom and how the boar runs through the buckwheat.

OMRI is a joke - period. Ask any organic farmer - not a pot grower but a legitimate organic farmer and (s)he'll fill you in.

Cheers!

CC
 

smoke1sun

What Goes Around Comes Around. But Am I Comming Or
Veteran
Ok, so no stresszyme at my wal mart. Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Last edited:
D

dongle69

Correct and nothing in my post argues with your post. OMRI is a private organization, i.e. they have NOTHING to do with any state or federal organic certification program.

I'm an organic farmer - not just a cannabis grower. I know the laws and who does what to whom and how the boar runs through the buckwheat.

OMRI is a joke - period. Ask any organic farmer - not a pot grower but a legitimate organic farmer and (s)he'll fill you in.

Cheers!

CC

That was my point. OMRI is a joke.
The USDA oversees them.
Not so private as they want you to believe.
The federal organic certification program is the reason why OMRI exists in the first place.
 
Top