[MisterBlah]

This analysis is here to show you the costs of buying Cultured Solutions vs using the dry constituents. That is, you will personally be making the UC Roots mixture, Veg A/B, etc.

To see the dry blends for all of Cultured Solutions, please visit my blog that has it all listed: https://www.open-salt.com/fertilizer-...rrent-culture/

The spreadsheet attached represents a 100 gallon recirculating deep water culture system. This information can be extrapolated to smaller AND larger systems. So, if your's isn't the same size, just do some math. I made it based off 100 gallon systems for a reason.

The top section has all the cost information.
Cultured solutions costs are based on buying their largest 275 gallon tanks. I know you guys don't buy that much, but I think you'll be surprised by what you'd save even if you do that. Regardless, if you're buying 1 gallon or 5 gallons, you'd just be saving a lot more.
The costs of the DIY dry mix, that is, the raw fertilizers you use to recreate the Cultured Solutions products are based on costs I've found from local fertilizer shops and I also include the costs of the containers and labor in mixing. There's no sense in telling yourself that you work for free.
Section 2 has the usage requirements.
Section 3 has the Cultured Solutions costs.
Section 4 has the DIY dry mix costs.
Section 5 has a direct week to week comparison of costs.
Section 6 is the NPV and year over year cash flows. The cash flow numbers represent 4x of everything. Based on a setup that has 3x the flowering lights as veg lights, so 4 total hydroponic systems, each one is 100 gallons.

For those that do not want to open the PDF, here's the highlights:
For the full 13 week growth period that CC's nutrient calculator shows, the cost of nutrients for a 100 gallon RDWC setup will be $164.17 if you buy from Cultured Solutions, and that's a minimum. It depends on you buying 275 gallons of nutrients from Current Culture. I know that won't be the case for you guys, as you'll be buying 1 gal, 2.5 gal, or 5 gal containers.

If you mix your own, it will be $41.47. It can be a lot cheaper than $41.47 as well, as that depends on your cost of the dry blend. It won't likely be more than that. It will cheaper if you reuse containers, if you get 50lb bags from a local fertilizer company, etc.

I've included a $200 price tag on the scales you will need to make this all happen as well. Two scales. You'll need one scale that can read 600-1000g to 0.1g precision and another that can read 20-100g and 0.001g precision.

I'm working on other companies blends as we speak. So, look for those in the future.

[BobbyIronsights]

Open Salt is AWESOME!!! thank you so much for the heads up.

[djslife]

This is killer! Thanks for posting, Blah.

-djslife

[MisterBlah]

Glad you guys like it. I'll be working on some of the other major brand's feeding schedules here soon and doing the exact same thing.

[Lemon King]

We're do you purchase the mix it yourself ingredients the blog link has expired

[Absolem]

Originally Posted by Lemon King

We're do you purchase the mix it yourself ingredients the blog link has expired

This place has everything you need.

https://customhydronutrients.com/

[PetFlora]

Thanks for this, but I think small growers, like myself, might prefer the much smaller packets of RAW, though I have yet to try them

[Lemon King]

I'm not sure the brand raw is exactly the same thing.....im not sure there as raw as they make out