Hydroponic Research and Bloom
Hydroponic Research makes powder bases. Bloom makes liquid additives. Their base stays exactly where it is, and here’s what goes into the tank alongside it.
Last checked 5 November 2026 · Public information only
This Fit Report is a summary of publicly available information about Hydroponic Research and its products, taken from their own website, labels and published material as of 5 November 2026. We’ve linked each source so you can check it yourself. Rates are as printed on each company’s own pages; we don’t show prices. It isn’t affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by Hydroponic Research, and product names belong to their owners. Products, rates and claims change, so please confirm current details with the manufacturer before making any decision. Spotted something out of date? Email nathan@bloomyellowbottles.com and we’ll correct it.
Powder base underneath, liquids on top.
Hydroponic Research’s range is powder base feed (VEG+BLOOM, DOS and VBX), one bloom additive called SHINE, and pH Up and pH Down. Bloom has no dry products and no single-part base, so nothing here lines up head to head. Bloom’s weekly liquids go into the same reservoir over the powder.
- Stays as is: VEG+BLOOM, DOS, VBX, BASIK and PHLO.
- Both have one: a flowering add-on. SHINE runs flower weeks 3–7; Phat and Ooze sit in those weeks too.
- Not on their list: kelp, tuna, humic, sea minerals, silica, stage additives and foliar sprays.
Hydroponic Research and Bloom in short
VEG+BLOOM, DOS, VBX, BASIK and PHLO.
SHINE sits in the same flower weeks as Phat and Ooze; Ca and Mg are already in their bases.
Seaweed, Seafuel, Humate, Sea Minerals, Silica, the stage additives, Roots, SWTNR and foliars.
Their line, Bloom’s fit at a glance
Matched on job, not NPK. Hydroponic Research prints powder rates in grams per gallon and points to its calculators; Bloom prints ml per litre on a weekly feed chart. Tap a tag to filter.
Keep it. Bloom’s additives are liquid and go in after the base.
Both are two-part bases, but DOS is a powder stock made up for injectors. If it’s running in your room, it stays.
A base with extras built in. Bloom’s weekly additives sit over it.
Bloom doesn’t make pH adjusters, so these stay.
All three sit in mid to late flower. SHINE’s page doesn’t list an analysis, so plan the stack and watch runoff.
Their bases already carry Ca and Mg. Cal-Mag is an extra if your water or runoff calls for it (our read).
Southern bull kelp, and a tuna and kelp tonic, through the cycle.
10% humic acid, plus trace minerals from sea water.
Potassium silicate, veg through early flower. Goes in before the powder.
One for mid veg, one for the flip, one for the last two weeks.
Amino acids, B vitamins and fulvic for roots; carbohydrates and potassium from veg week 2.
Foliar sprays for veg and the flip, outside the reservoir.
Put it side by side
Where both ranges have a product for the same job, the fair answer is a test in your own room. Here’s what to watch and how to keep it fair.
Keeping it fair
- Same plants. Clones off the same mother, same cultivar, same age.
- Same room. Same light, climate, media, pot size and watering.
- Same base. Keep the base feed and EC the same on both sides.
- One change. Change only the product being tested, and write down what you see each week.
Where each bottle sits in the cycle
Hydroponic Research’s timing in grey, Bloom’s in yellow, across shared stages of the grow.
| Stage | Root | Veg | Flip | 3–4 | 5+ | Last 2 | Flush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydroponic Research, per their pages | |||||||
| VEG+BLOOM (one-part base) | |||||||
| DOS Part A and B | |||||||
| VBX | |||||||
| SHINE (flower weeks 3–7) | |||||||
| BASIK and PHLO (pH, as needed) | |||||||
| Bloom, per Bloom’s weekly feed charts | |||||||
| Roots | |||||||
| Pre | |||||||
| Ultra | |||||||
| Phat (weeks 3 and 4) | |||||||
| Ooze (wk 5 to flush) | |||||||
| Final (with Ooze) | |||||||
| Seafuel | |||||||
| Seaweed · Humate · Sea Minerals | |||||||
| SWTNR | |||||||
| Cal-Mag | |||||||
| Groigen (foliar, as needed) | |||||||
| Florigen (foliar, as needed) | |||||||
| PK (as needed) | |||||||
| Silica | |||||||
Their science page says VEG+BLOOM is meant to be the only base for the plant’s whole life. SHINE’s page says flower weeks 3–7. VBX’s calculator has veg and flower cycles. DOS pages don’t give stages, so it’s pale (our read), and pH products are drawn as needed. Bloom’s bars follow its weekly feed charts; pale Bloom bars are as-needed bottles.
Why each one fits
What the Bloom product does, the research behind that kind of input, and where it sits in a program that already runs.
Kelp and tuna over a powder base
What it does. Seaweed is southern bull kelp; Seafuel is tuna and kelp. Both run at 1 ml/L weekly: Seaweed from seedling through the flush, Seafuel from clone through late flower.
Reviews of seaweed extracts report effects on growth and stress tolerance across many crops. Work on protein hydrolysates, which fish inputs belong to, is newer and links them to nutrient uptake. None of it tests these bottles or cannabis.
Ali et al. (2021), Plants (review) · Malécange et al. (2023), Int J Mol Sci (review)
How it stacks. Dissolve the powder first, then add the liquids. Hydroponic Research’s FAQ says to ease VEG+BLOOM strength when additives carry NPK, so check EC after the full mix.
Humic acid and trace minerals
What it does. Humate is 10% humic acid at 2.5 ml/L weekly, seedling through flush. Sea Minerals is trace minerals from sea water at 0.13 ml/L weekly, veg to bloom.
A major review links humic substances to changes in root structure and function tied to nutrient uptake, including more lateral roots. It doesn’t test either company’s products.
How it stacks. Small liquid doses on top of the base. The powder already carries the micros, so Sea Minerals adds to it rather than standing in for any of it (our read).
Silica, added first
What it does. Silica is potassium silicate, labelled 0-0-4, at 0.33 ml/L weekly from veg through early flower, tapering in late bloom. It goes into the water first.
How it stacks. Silica first, then the powder base, then the other liquids. Their FAQ gives VEG+BLOOM a working pH of 5.6–6.5, so recheck pH once everything is in (our read).
One bottle per stage
What it does. Pre in mid veg (weeks 2–3), Ultra at the flip (flower weeks 1–2), Final for the last two weeks including the flush, alongside Ooze. 1 ml/L each, weekly. These are timing tools, so there’s no study cited for them here.
How it stacks. VEG+BLOOM keeps one base the whole way through. The stage bottles change by week on top of that, without touching the base recipe (our read).
Where the programs complement each other
Their powder, Bloom’s liquids on top
No seaweed, fish, humic, sea-mineral or silica input on their list. Seaweed, Seafuel, Humate, Sea Minerals and Silica go in at 0.13–2.5 ml/L weekly over VEG+BLOOM, DOS or VBX.
One base all the way, stage bottles by week
VEG+BLOOM keeps the base simple. Pre, Ultra and Final add a stage-by-stage layer over it at 1 ml/L weekly, with Roots and SWTNR alongside.
SHINE and Phat or Ooze in the same weeks
SHINE runs flower weeks 3–7; Phat runs weeks 3 and 4 and Ooze from week 5. A grower could plan them together, or test them side by side (our read).
Already covered
- Base feed. VEG+BLOOM, DOS or VBX, matched to water quality and media.
- Bloom stage. SHINE in flower weeks 3–7.
- pH. BASIK pH Up+ and PHLO pH Down+.
- Tools. Usage, VBX and DOS calculators, feed charts and grow guides.
Stays exactly as is
- VEG+BLOOM, DOS or VBX. Bloom’s additives go in around the base.
- BASIK and PHLO. Bloom doesn’t make pH adjusters.
- SHINE. If it’s working in your room, keep it, or test it next to Phat or Ooze.
- Their calculators. Work out the base there, then add Bloom per litre.
Background, science and sources
Who Hydroponic Research are
Hydroponic Research makes powder plant nutrients in San Diego, California. Its timeline starts in 2009 with VEG+BLOOM, and the homepage says “Great flower comes from powder.” The pages we read don’t name an owner or parent company.
The range is VEG+BLOOM one-part powder (RO/Soft, Tap/Hard and Dirty, matched to water quality and media), DOS two-part stock concentrate for injectors, VBX and VBX Clean, the SHINE bloom additive, and BASIK pH Up+ and PHLO pH Down+. They sell direct through their online shop and through stores on their locator, with calculators, feed charts and a rewards program.
Sources: Home · Story · Science · Store locator
What each company brings
Hydroponic Research: Powder bases matched to water quality and media, a two-part stock concentrate for injectors, a flowering additive, pH adjusters, and calculators and feed charts to set the base.
Bloom: one additive for each stage of the crop, seaweed, humic and sea mineral inputs, foliar sprays, and weekly feed charts for soil, coco and hydro. Rates and timing are on every product page.
Cropping Solutions, the other brand under Agricultural Organics, isn’t part of this report.
Dose basis: how each side counts
Hydroponic Research’s powders are dosed by weight. SHINE’s page prints 1–2 grams per gallon, about 0.26–0.53 g per litre. VEG+BLOOM, DOS and VBX rates come from their calculators rather than the product pages. DOS stock is mixed at 1 lb of powder to 1 gallon of water.
Bloom prints ml per litre on a weekly feed chart. Grams of powder and millilitres of liquid aren’t the same measure, so bottle volume next to powder weight isn’t a like-for-like dose.
Mix calculator
Rates as printed on each company’s page (1 US gallon is 3.785 L). Bloom’s rates are per litre of nutrient solution, dosed weekly per its feed charts. Pick a product and your tank size.
Potassium in the plantWell supported
Hasanuzzaman and colleagues (2018) review potassium’s roles in plants: enzyme activation, carbohydrate metabolism, stomatal control and photosynthesis, plus tolerance to salinity, drought and heat.
Why it matters here: DOS Part B is 0-3-10, and Bloom’s SWTNR and Silica both carry potassium, so potassium is shared ground. The review is general plant science and doesn’t compare products.
Sources, all viewed 5 November 2026
Hydroponic Research: Home · Story · Science · Shop · Feed charts · FAQ and downloads · VEG+BLOOM · DOS · VBX · VBX Clean · BASIK · PHLO · SHINE · VBX calculator · DOS brochure (PDF) · VEG+BLOOM RO/Soft SDS (PDF)
Bloom: Roots · Pre · Ultra · Phat · Ooze · Final · Seafuel · Seaweed · SWTNR · Humate · Cal-Mag · Groigen · Florigen · Sea Minerals · PK · Euro · Grow · Flower · Silica · OrganiShield
Last checked 5 November 2026. Public information only. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by Hydroponic Research; product names belong to their owners. Please confirm current details with the manufacturer. Corrections: nathan@bloomyellowbottles.com. All Fit Reports