Dyna-Gro vs General Hydroponics (Dumpster Grow)

homebrewer said:

This isn’t literally a GH/DynaGro face off, but it is a test to see if a complete nutrient line from DynaGro can compete with the results I get from my GH products. I’ll be using three DynaGro products; their Bloom formula (3-12-6), Mag-pro (2-15-4) and Pro-Tekt (0-0-3) and using them in the ratios suggested in their feeding schedule. Currently I use 7 different products from GH when my plants are in flower and I really like the idea of simplifying the whole process. While those seven GH products perform extremely well and are reasonably priced ($70/grow), DynaGro would be half the price and half the bottles. I’ll be drawing a lot of comparisons between GH and DynaGro throughout this grow in regards to pH stability, salt build up, plant performance, plant health, etc.

I’ll be growing a strain that is legendary back in Ohio called Dumpster (for more info on Dumpster: http://en.seedfinder.eu/strain-info/Dumpster/Clone_Only_Strains/) which I’ve grown dozens of times with my GH line. I have lots of photos and detailed notes from previous grows, these will be the basis for a lot of my comparisons.

My setup is a DIY Ebb & Flow system with 6 inch rockwool cubes and a 600 watt HPS hortilux. I flood twice per day for 15 minutes. These plants were topped in veg and get supercropped until week 3 in flower. Let the contest begin!

***These plants were vegged with GH veg nutes.

EDIT: I should add that this experiment is for the blooming phase only and the six ladies below are going into their 1st full day of flower today. It's a 60 day strain.

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i saw that it said 60 day strain.. is this an autofloweing plant?

electropyro said:

i saw that it said 60 day strain.. is this an autofloweing plant?

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60 day flowering period.

Today is day 7 of 60 and things look just fine. This strain tends to stretch a little in flower so I’ve been doing my best to supercrop for an even canopy. After only seven days, I can’t make a lot of comparisons between the two nutes lines based on plant health and structure. However, I did notice two things so far about Dyna-Gro that I really like. First, the nutes are basically colorless and odorless and when added to the reservoir, the water remains crystal-clear. There is something very sterile and clean that I like about that. My GH reservoirs in the past tend to be a little messy and almost beat red in color. In their defense, I use a few organic products of theirs and that’s just the nature of the beast.

The second thing I noticed with Dyna-Gro is their excellent pH stability. After mixing my nutes 7 days ago, the pH of the res naturally came to a 5.6. I prefer 5.8 but I figured I’d see where the pH goes after a day or two. The following day it was 5.8 and it stayed at 5.8 five out of seven days with zero adjustments. I never adjusted the pH of the Dyna-Gro res, whereas with GH, I’d usually adjust at least 3 days out of the week.

Dyna-Gro Reservior pH throughout the past week
Monday - 5.6 (after mixing all the nutes together in the res)
Tuesday - 5.8
Wednesday - 5.7
Thursday - 5.8
Friday - 5.8
Saturday – 5.8
Sunday – 5.8

General Hydroponics pH throughout the past week
Monday - 5.8 (after mixing all the nutes together in the res)
Tuesday - 6.5 (adjusted to 5.8 )
Wednesday - 6.3 (adjusted to 5.8 )
Thursday – 6.1 (adjusted to 5.8 )
Friday - 5.8
Saturday – 5.8
Sunday – 5.8

The nutrient ratios according to the Dyna-Gro feeding schedule change a little in the upcoming weeks so we’ll see if the the pH stability remains perfect at the other ratios.

That’s really all I’ve got for now, here are the ladies:







Next update in a week.

Man about time somebody put dyna grow to the test your my hero man

I recently got to enjoy some Dumpster (Ohio guy here) and it was an excellent smoke. I can't wait to see how this turns out. Those are some sexy plants.

Your ladies look great Homebrewer.

I like the detailed notes your providing. Keep it up.

homebrewer said:

60 day flowering period.

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Thanks for clarifying it for me.. i was a bit confused.. thanks for the update too i notice the same thing about my nutes when using dyna-gro.. i dont have to stabilize my ph or anything... +rep

They are looking good!

I've been growing in flood and drain with the Dynagro line for quite a while now. My results are so satisfying I wouldn't be interested in any further supplements or other nutrient lines; I've saved a buttload of money.

HB, you are right about the pH stability. Dynagro is rock solid and it's very clean. I don't run it higher than 1250ppm during bloom; you don't really need more than that. When I change my res after two weeks at that concentration I find a fine, white sediment on the bottom of the res, the tray, the outsides of my pots, and presumably my hydroton as well. I'd like to know what that precipitate is. My res is 25 gallons. Have you had this experience too?

shnkrmn said:

I've been growing in flood and drain with the Dynagro line for quite a while now. My results are so satisfying I wouldn't be interested in any further supplements or other nutrient lines; I've saved a buttload of money.

HB, you are right about the pH stability. Dynagro is rock solid and it's very clean. I don't run it higher than 1250ppm during bloom; you don't really need more than that. When I change my res after two weeks at that concentration I find a fine, white sediment on the bottom of the res, the tray, the outsides of my pots, and presumably my hydroton as well. I'd like to know what that precipitate is. My res is 25 gallons. Have you had this experience too?

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What is your feeding schedule like? My first res change will be tonight and my res is still crystal clear. As far as sediment goes, I was told by a very knowledgeable gentleman from Dyna-Gro to mix Pro-tekt into the res first, then add the other 2 products in whatever order I'd like. I guess nutrients will bond and precipitate out of solution if pro-tekt isn't added first. Maybe that is what you're seeing?

shnkrmn said:

HB, you are right about the pH stability. Dynagro is rock solid and it's very clean. I don't run it higher than 1250ppm during bloom; you don't really need more than that. When I change my res after two weeks at that concentration I find a fine, white sediment on the bottom of the res, the tray, the outsides of my pots, and presumably my hydroton as well. I'd like to know what that precipitate is. My res is 25 gallons. Have you had this experience too?

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Hey shnkrmn do you use tap water, also do see any of the sediment on the sides of your res near the top? Like after a few days, when it may need topping off? Just asking because it sounds like hardwater build-up.

Looking good HB, keep up the good work. I dig the ph stability you're seeing and really like the fact the nutes are clear. Don't know why GH likes to color some of their stuff, it might not be harmful, but I doubt it's helpful.

I use (sort of) the Dynagro feeding schedule for nonrecirculating systems. http://www.dyna-gro.com/Website pdf Files/DG Hydroponic Feeding Schedule.pdf

This is for recirculating systems:

Recirculating

GRO BLM TEK MAG KLN
Week 1 7.5ml 0ml. 2.5ml 0ml 5ml (650ppm)
Week 2 10ml 0ml 2.5ml 0ml 5ml (830ppm)
Week 3 12.5ml 0ml 5ml 0ml 0ml (1000ppm)
Week 4 15ml 0ml 5ml 0ml 0ml (1180ppm)
FLOWER
Week 1 0ml 12.5ml 5ml 2.5ml 0ml (1170ppm)
Week 2 0ml 12.5ml 5ml 2.5ml 0ml(1170ppm)
Week 3 0ml 15ml 5ml 5ml 0ml(1500ppm)
Week 4 0ml 15ml 5ml 5ml 0ml (1500ppm)
Week 5 0ml 15ml 5ml 5ml 0ml(1500ppm)
Week 6 0ml 15ml 5ml 5ml 0ml (1500ppm)
Week 7 0ml 12.5ml 5ml 5ml 0ml(1310ppm)
Week8 FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH

Personally, I would be wary of going up to 1500 ppm, not all strains might like that. . . .

I use RO water, so it's not hard water scale. I have a feeling I only get that buildup at the highest concentration solution. At any rate, I'm not that concerned since my plants are not affected. A little mineral sludge is better than some of the things I've gotten in my tank from other preparations. Another outside possibility is it could be precip caused by the 4ml of bleach I add to my res every 4 days. My solution is always as clear when I throw it out as when I make it . . . . .

That's almost the exact schedule I'm using except the feeding schedule I have doesn't take MagPro over 2.5mls which leaves the ppm around 1400? I don't really know, I don't have a TDS meter. Thanks for posting that, could be a reference point to tweak if I feel that one of my strains could handle more food. In the meantime, I'll stick with the schedule I have as the plants seem to be handling it just fine.

shnkrmn said:

I use (sort of) the Dynagro feeding schedule for nonrecirculating systems. http://www.dyna-gro.com/Website pdf Files/DG Hydroponic Feeding Schedule.pdf

This is for recirculating systems:

Recirculating

GRO BLM TEK MAG KLN
Week 1 7.5ml 0ml. 2.5ml 0ml 5ml (650ppm)
Week 2 10ml 0ml 2.5ml 0ml 5ml (830ppm)
Week 3 12.5ml 0ml 5ml 0ml 0ml (1000ppm)
Week 4 15ml 0ml 5ml 0ml 0ml (1180ppm)
FLOWER
Week 1 0ml 12.5ml 5ml 2.5ml 0ml (1170ppm)
Week 2 0ml 12.5ml 5ml 2.5ml 0ml(1170ppm)
Week 3 0ml 15ml 5ml 5ml 0ml(1500ppm)
Week 4 0ml 15ml 5ml 5ml 0ml (1500ppm)
Week 5 0ml 15ml 5ml 5ml 0ml(1500ppm)
Week 6 0ml 15ml 5ml 5ml 0ml (1500ppm)
Week 7 0ml 12.5ml 5ml 5ml 0ml(1310ppm)
Week8 FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH

Personally, I would be wary of going up to 1500 ppm, not all strains might like that. . . .

I use RO water, so it's not hard water scale. I have a feeling I only get that buildup at the highest concentration solution. At any rate, I'm not that concerned since my plants are not affected. A little mineral sludge is better than some of the things I've gotten in my tank from other preparations. Another outside possibility is it could be precip caused by the 4ml of bleach I add to my res every 4 days. My solution is always as clear when I throw it out as when I make it . . . . .

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Love it.. been looking for this feeding schedule.. +rep thanks .

Always interested in a little science experiment. Subbed.

It’s day 14 of 60 and the ladies still look very nice. Last week’s reservoir change was a breeze compared to what I’ve been used to. The water when draining was as clean and clear as the day I filled it up and the pH stability is making these nutes a ‘set it and forget it’ growing experience. Except I guess I haven’t even had to ‘set it’. The pH naturally falls into my preferred range.

From a plant heath perspective, the only difference at the moment is that the DynaGro (DG) girls are starting to go a little nitrogen deficient as seen by the lighter green leaves at the bottom of the plants. If this was a 3 part system, I'd just increase the micro or grow part which would be the easy fix. Today is a res change and the DG feeding schedule calls for an increase in the food so well see if that takes care of the lighter leaves at the bottom. As you can see, the first pic below is some AK47 (grown with GH) at the same age as the dumpster and other than the differences in their growth structure and the even color top-to-bottom; all plants in both trays appear to be doing great.

Dyna-Gro Reservior pH throughout the past week

Monday - 5.7 (after mixing all the nutes together in the res)
Tuesday - 5.8
Wednesday - 5.8
Thursday - 5.8
Friday – 5.8
Saturday – 5.8
Sunday – 5.8

As with the GH reservoir, I top off with about 1 gallon of tap water per day. I’m also not posting the GH daily pH because after working with it for a few years now, the previous pH schedule from GH is typically how they’ve always performed.

Here are the AK47 ladies being grown with GH:





Here are the Dumpster ladies being grown with Dyna-Gro:



Dumpster canopy:



Next update in a week.

It's the Protekt that's keeping the pH so stable. Since I added that to the mix I've had the most stable pH ever. I just set up a res 5 days ago and set it at 6.1, 470 ppm and that's where it's at 4 days later. The water level has dropped but the ppm and pH has remained the same. Great stuff. My little guys are loving it.

dude i really cant tell the difference lol (im a noob).the ak47 looks dope as hell. how many grows do you run at once? the reflector on top of the AK looks scrawny as hell compared to the one on top of the dumpster.are they both 600's? why dont u have reflective material on the AK? sorry for all the questions. I'm in love with your setup.i show my girlfreind all your updates cuz i want to copy your setup for my next house.you've given me alot of inspiration and motivation. i wanna be just like you when i grow up

how many grows do you run at once? A few
the reflector on top of the AK looks scrawny as hell compared to the one on top of the dumpster.are they both 600's? Yes, both 600's and while the hydrofarm hood has better light distribution, the 'scrawny hood' also performs VERY well. It's a 9 year old hood/balast and I've been thinking about replacing the hood but this one works great. I'm in no hurry.
why dont u have reflective material on the AK? I do, the plants are just taller than the mylar. I recently moved some things around and used to have 9 dirt plants in that spot which were lower to the ground. If I get around to it, I'll put some mylar up there but I think I'm out right now.

Nice and subbed. I know you started this in flower, but would you consider using the 9-3-6 Foliage Pro by dyna-gro? They have a 7-9-5 grow nute also, but I like the N level in the Foliage Pro.