Silica Gel Packs? Any one use them?

[Imzzaudae]

I have great success with my indoor grows in a 50/50 Peat Moss and Vermiculite based medium.
Over the last year I have read quite a bit about the benefits of adding silica in many forms such as rice husk in living soil.
As far as I can determine there is no natural silica in this 50/50 Peat Moss and Vermiculite based medium.

My question is.
Are any of you using silica gel from these little packs as a silica supplement?
If so, how do you prepare the silica gel? Are the beads water soluble? I'd appreciate any information you can share.

 

[BearWater]

I quick searched the packets and they are “non-toxic” but some manufacturers coat their product with cobalt. I might just stick to the kind you can get off amazon or a grow store if at all possible. But if you need to use those packets maybe a rinse of some sort prior to using in soil or on plants.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

No. I haven't even thought of it. I use rice hulls.

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

Silica has to be broken down in order to be plant available, but there are a few water soluble products available through the grow shops, in the past I’ve used monosilicic acid it’s available in liquid form from a company called Alchemist, stout msa is the product name, I’m going to try a link to the product. It’s used in very small amounts I think it’s 5-10ml per gallon of water. There is a slight downside to using this product it takes time to set up in the dilution process and has to be used by itself. Otherwise it can fall out of solution or react with other additives. But if you want to increase your plants immune response and heat and drought resistance this product will work.

https://www.indoorsunhydro.com/product-detail/4196/10114/alchemist-stout-msa-gallon?srsltid=AfmBOopmQDwcNKH2ADWR6TviGVe6OaAv4FZSP0IpoNuVzcKb4N53dIP965Y

 

[Thatoneguyyouknow_]

silica gel is a desiccant, you do NOT want a desiccant in your soil mix. In the case of the desiccant magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, a single molecule of the substance can *permanently* bind to several water molecules, and the only way to remove this water from it is with heat, and im 99% sure that applies to all desiccants. It will uptake water in the medium, it is not water soluble itself, and it wont let the water go once full. It will prob become completely inert in the medium after that and do nothing but take up soil space.


All just educated guesses from some background in chemistry. Id have to do a little research to know for sure.


Fwiw you cn use some desiccants to quickly resolve excessive moisture/overwatering issues. Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate is great for this, and easily made at home with stuff you probably already have in your bathroom/kitchen. You def dont want it in your soil mix though even though the plans would definitely be able to uptake some of the magnesium and sulfur.

Most desiccants are also very alkaline/basic as well. And in most cases cannabis prefers an acid leaning PH. I could definitely see pockets of highly alkaline, non soluble material, being something a sativa dominant genotype not being too fond of hanging out in its container bound root system if there isn't some issue with the soil requiring you do something like that to treat a problem.

 

[Imzzaudae]

I understand that silica becomes water soluble when the solution PH is up around 8.5 - 9 then the solution PH can be brought back down around 6.5, the silica remains in solution and plant available. Just didn't know if it was feasible to do with these packets.

Thanks for any input guys. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.
Ron

 

[Thatoneguyyouknow_]

Silica gel packs are a form of silica dioxide turned into a xerogel/aerogel substance. This completely changes the chemical properties of the compound, *specifically in regards to water.*

I dont know the actual properties that change turning silica dioxide into a xerogel specifically, as its not a desiccant ive ever used personally for anything but keeping electronics from corroding galvanically.

Im pretty sure if you dropped silica gel granules into water they would probably disperse immediately, completely and totally dissolve, its highly hydroscopic. I may actually dig a packet out of one of the shoeboxes in the closet and see what it does, im curious now. That's what heptahydrate does, but it will also make the ph of a solution do all sorts of screwy stuff if you do that.

You also have no idea what the manufacturing process of that specific packet is, nor any other packets, and the substance itself probably exist in several quality tiers and levels of purity in the market, much like every other chemical compound or substance.

Doesn't mean answer is definitely a no, just a nice solid "probably do not attempt". With what i know of these chemical compounds and desiccants and how their markets work, it's definitely something i would recommend not throwing into your root zones lol. Idk the alkalinity of silica dioxide xerogel. But i know all the other desiccants ive work with are far more alkaline then the molecule they were made from.


Def not telling you it wont work, nor to not experiment, just giving the reasons i wouldn't be so inclined to attempt it myself. Silica, much like cal-mag, quickly became a way to extort money from a rapidly growing community in exchange for some of the most common and easy to source materials/substances on the entire planet. If you can find reliable safe sources on your own, definitely do that.

 

[Thatoneguyyouknow_]

I understand that silica becomes water soluble when the solution PH is up around 8.5 - 9 then the solution PH can be brought back down around 6.5, the silica remains in solution and plant available. Just didn't know if it was feasible to do with these packets.

Thanks for any input guys. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.
Ron

there are actually some types of cheap clear glass you can grind into glitter/dust, and do this with btw. (you can literally do that with 2 bricks lol). I believe it works with the glass that Jarritos brand sells the mexican pop in. Used to be able to with em at least. The impurities and bits of glass too large precipitate to the bottom and easily removed in that case. No clue with the silica gel stuff. Could be the best plant silica source ever, and i still dont trust the manufacturing processes around a compound like that when being used for something i plan to consume. Neither does the FDA (Not to lend any crdibility their way, just to make a point lol)

Tap water is already pretty saturated with plant uptake-able silica, calcium, and magnesium though. You only need to worry about silica, or cal mag, if you are using (sometimes) well, and always with RO, or distilled water (in the vast majority of cases. If in Flint or chicago.... good luck i guess) If using tap water for your nutrient solutions, and inside the USA at least, there are actually very few plants you will ever see a benefit using silica or cal-mag on either one, truth be told.

google be your ally there. sorry for double post, meant to mention it, and the edit button isnt working atm for me.

 

[Thatoneguyyouknow_]

Jeez, very sorry for triple post. But more relevant info geared towards harm reduction.

IF you decide to go about smashing cheap clear glass bottle into silica dust and dissolving them in water, break the bottle first, and remove and bits of glass with colored ink printed on them. It'll stain the solution water and its probably not something you want in your water. White inks on glass, silk screen style printing are most likely totally harmless to you and the plant both used in this manner

At any rate, messing with alkalinities or acidities either one, capable of dissolving silica dust, can be VERY irritating to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes, use caution or you'll end up having a pretty crappy afternoon. You can end up with some pretty caustic stuff doing this yourself with little experience. You will be using pretty strong bases and acids to do this if you want to end up with water you can still use afterward. This ain't no baking soda/vinegar trick. You may even end up signing your name to a registry at home depot to get the right stuff for the job, because it'll literally peel ancient paint of concrete like a putty knife peels wallpaper, and youll be using the same acids and bases used in the production of less then reputable substances in the amphetamine family.

Hell, you can dissolve just about any crystal in water and get it to regrow where and how you want, if you go about it correctly with the right equipment and chemicals. A good example of such happening slowly in nature are the formation of cave stalagtites and stalagmites. Can even dissolve/regrow some metals if you know your way around electrolysis

 

[Imzzaudae]

Thank you again guys.
Weather a viable silica amendment was possible from these packets has been a question I have been kicking around a while.
Think I will have to shelf the idea.
My plants seem to do all right without messing with this.
Thanks again for the great responses guys. I appreciate you taking the time to say hello
and offer advice on the matter.
Ron

 

[Imzzaudae]

No. I haven't even thought of it. I use rice hulls.

I did quite a bit of reading a while back about utilizing rice hulls for silica.
Thanks. I may just buy a bag and try them.