What order should I mix Cronk Nutrients in?Updated a day ago

Silica first. Monkey Juice last. Everything else in between.

That's the short answer. The full answer depends on which Cronk line you're running, so here are the three canonical mixing orders plus the reasons each step matters.

The two rules that apply to every Cronk line

No matter which line you're running, these two rules don't change:

1. Armadillo Armour always goes first, directly into plain water, before anything else. Stir 30 seconds and wait 5 minutes before adding the next ingredient. This rule applies even when you're on RO water, because silica needs to disperse in plain water before it meets mineral salts (more on the chemistry below).
2. Monkey Juice always goes last, after you've adjusted pH. The acids used to adjust pH will kill the beneficial bacteria on contact, so adding Monkey Juice any earlier defeats the whole point of the product.

Everything between those two steps changes based on the line you're using.

Classic 3-Part mixing order (Micro, Grow, Bloom)

1. Armadillo Armour — plain water, stir 30 seconds, wait 5 minutes.
2. CalMag — stir 30 seconds, wait 2 minutes. Especially important on RO water, coco, or under LEDs.
3. Micro — always before Grow and Bloom. Micro contains calcium, and calcium needs to dissolve cleanly before phosphorus shows up or you'll get calcium-phosphate precipitate.
4. Grow — stir 30 seconds.
5. Bloom — stir 30 seconds. Your Grow-to-Bloom ratio shifts with growth stage (more Grow in veg, more Bloom in flower).
6. Bud Booster (flower stage only) — stir 30 seconds.
7. Sticky Bandit — stir 30 seconds.
8. Adjust pH to the target range for your grow medium (see pH section below).
9. Monkey Juice — last, after pH adjustment. Don't add it any earlier.

Bonnie and Clyde (Autoflower line) mixing order

Same structure as Classic, but Bonnie and Clyde are stage-specific. Bonnie is your veg nutrient. Clyde is your flower nutrient. You switch from one to the other when the plant transitions, around week 4 to 5 for most autoflowers. They're never used in the same feeding.

1. Armadillo Armour — plain water, stir 30 seconds, wait 5 minutes.
2. CalMag — stir 30 seconds, wait 2 minutes.
3. Bonnie (during veg) OR Clyde (during flower). Pick one. Never both.
4. Bud Booster (flower stage only, use with Clyde) — stir 30 seconds.
5. Sticky Bandit — stir 30 seconds.
6. Adjust pH to the target range for your grow medium.
7. Monkey Juice — last, after pH.

PuurOrganics mixing order

PuurOrganics is a 5-part organic base system. Only three Cronk additives are compatible with it: Armadillo Armour, Sticky Bandit, and Monkey Juice. Do NOT add Bud Booster or regular CalMag to a PuurOrganics feed — those are synthetic and aren't designed for an organic system. Use PuurCalMag for your calcium and magnesium, and boost PK through PuurPhos and PuurK directly.

1. Armadillo Armour — plain water, stir 30 seconds, wait 5 minutes.
2. PuurNitro — stir 30 seconds.
3. PuurPhos — stir 30 seconds.
4. PuurK — stir 30 seconds.
5. PuurCalMag — stir 30 seconds. (Skip this step if you're on RO water and use the special case procedure below instead.)
6. PuurBalance — stir 30 seconds.
7. Sticky Bandit (if using, flower stage) — stir 30 seconds.
8. Adjust pH if you need to. If you're running PuurOrganics in a living soil setup, we generally recommend not pH-ing the feed water at all — let the soil biology handle it.
9. Monkey Juice — last.

PuurOrganics + RO water: special pre-mix procedure

If you're running PuurOrganics on RO water, PuurCalMag needs to be pre-mixed in a separate cup before it goes into the main reservoir. The reason: in mineral-free water, concentrated calcium dumped straight in can precipitate when it hits the phosphorus in PuurPhos.

1. Pre-mix the full dose of PuurCalMag in a separate cup with a small amount of water. Stir until fully dissolved. Set aside.
2. In the main reservoir, add Armadillo Armour first, wait 5 minutes.
3. Add PuurNitro, PuurPhos, PuurK one at a time, stirring between each.
4. Slowly drizzle the pre-mixed PuurCalMag into the reservoir while stirring continuously. Don't dump it in.
5. Add PuurBalance, stir.
6. Add Sticky Bandit if using, stir.
7. Adjust pH if needed.
8. Add Monkey Juice last.

pH targets by grow medium

Two things worth knowing:

• Coco is hard-capped at pH 6.5. Above that, coco locks out iron and phosphorus quickly. Soil buffers better and tolerates a wider range.
• Hydro benefits from pH drift across the range, not a pin at 5.8. Different nutrients absorb best at slightly different pH, so letting the reservoir drift from 5.8 to 6.0 to 6.2 and back gives every nutrient its uptake window.

Why the order matters (the science)

Why silica goes first, even on RO water

Cronk's Armadillo Armour is monosilicic acid (MSA). MSA polymerizes and becomes unavailable to plants when it hits concentrated mineral salt solutions. Adding it to plain water first, then giving it 5 minutes to disperse, keeps it in the form plants can actually use. This applies no matter what water you're on. The "CalMag first on RO water" rule you'll see in some other guides conflates "RO water needs CalMag" (true) with "add CalMag first" (false if you're also using silica).

Why Micro goes before Grow and Bloom

Micro contains 5% calcium. Bloom contains phosphorus. When calcium and phosphorus meet in concentrated form, they can form calcium-phosphate precipitate, which shows up as white cloudy residue that locks up nutrients and clogs drip lines. Adding Micro first, stirring thoroughly, and letting the calcium fully dissolve before phosphorus arrives prevents this.

Why Monkey Juice goes last, after pH

Monkey Juice is a live beneficial bacteria inoculant. The acids we use to adjust pH (pH down is usually phosphoric acid or citric acid) can kill the bacteria on contact. If you add Monkey Juice before pH adjustment, you're paying for dead biology. Always add Monkey Juice as the very last step, after the pH is already where you want it.

Why there's a wait time after silica

Monosilicic acid needs time to fully disperse through the water before mineral nutrients arrive. 5 minutes is the industry-standard wait time for MSA products. Less than 5 minutes and you risk partial polymerization. More than 10 minutes doesn't add any benefit.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add all my nutrients at the same time?

No. Each nutrient has to dissolve cleanly before the next one is added, or you'll get precipitation, lockout, or wasted product. The whole mixing sequence takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Rushing it is the most common reason feeds come out wrong.

What if I'm not using Armadillo Armour?

Skip step 1 and start with CalMag. Everything else stays the same.

What if I'm not using CalMag?

Skip CalMag and go directly from Armadillo Armour (with its 5-minute wait) to Micro (for Classic) or to your base nutrient (for Autoflower or PuurOrganics).

Can I mix Bonnie and Clyde together?

No. Bonnie is for the vegetative stage, Clyde is for flower. You switch from one to the other when your autoflower transitions, around week 4 to 5. They're never used in the same feeding.

Does Armadillo Armour change my pH?

No. Monosilicic acid is essentially pH-neutral in solution. Adding Armadillo Armour to your feed won't shift your pH meaningfully one way or the other, so you can add it first without worrying about compensating downstream.

How long can I store a mixed nutrient solution?

Up to 10 days in a cool, dark, sealed container, stirred before each use. If your mix includes Monkey Juice, use it the same day because the bacterial population shifts over time.

Why does coco get a hard pH cap at 6.5?

Coco has high cation exchange capacity. It competes with your plant for calcium and magnesium, and above pH 6.5 it starts locking out iron and phosphorus quickly. Soil buffers better and tolerates up to 7.0 without issues, but coco won't.

Do I pH my feed water for PuurOrganics?

If you're running PuurOrganics in a living soil setup, we recommend not pH-ing the feed water. The soil biology buffers much better than you can. If you're running PuurOrganics in a non-living setup, target pH 6.0 to 6.5.

Still stuck?

Email us at [email protected] with your setup (line, medium, water source) and we'll walk through your specific mixing order. We respond within 24 hours.