Cyco Nutrients - Platinum Series - Uptake - Humic Acid Additive for Better Nutrient Absorption
Best for: growers who want their existing feed to work harder rather than adding a whole new set of nutrients.
Our thoughts
Uptake isn't a feed in itself, it's a helper that makes the nutrients you're already giving your plants more available to them. Humic acid has decades of use behind it in both hydroponics and traditional soil growing, so this isn't a new-age gimmick, it's a well-understood mechanism applied through Cyco's Platinum Series line.
Uptake is built around humic acid, a natural substance derived from decomposed organic matter that's a genuine source of nutrients for plants and a key component of healthy, fertile soil. It's a common ingredient in soil amendments and fertilisers generally, valued for improving soil structure and boosting the effectiveness of whatever else you're feeding.
The key mechanism is cation exchange capacity: humic acid increases a growing medium's cation exchange capacity, which allows roots to absorb more of the nutrients present in the solution around them. In practical terms, that means the same feed goes further, supporting faster, more efficient growth without needing to increase your overall nutrient strength.
How it compares
Humic acid additives are a well-established category with a few widely recognised names.
- General Hydroponics Diamond Nectar is probably the best-known humic/fulvic acid additive and a common direct comparison for Uptake.
- Botanicare Liquid Karma is another long-running humic-acid-based additive aimed at the same uptake-boosting role.
- BioBizz's organic range includes similar soil-conditioning additives, though built more around a fully organic input philosophy.
Products in this category are all chasing the same outcome, better nutrient efficiency, so the differences tend to be in concentration and which base nutrient line they're designed to pair with.
Usage guidance
Add it alongside your regular feed rather than using it as a standalone product.
When to use it
Uptake can be used throughout the grow cycle, from vegetative through to flower, as a consistent addition to your feed.
Dosing
Follow the dose rate on the bottle or Cyco's Platinum Series feed chart, mixing it into your nutrient solution at each feed.
Soil growers
It's particularly useful in soil, where improving cation exchange capacity has a direct effect on how much of your fertiliser the plant can actually access.
Technical specifications
- Active ingredient: Humic acid
- Brand: Cyco Platinum Series
- Function: Increases cation exchange capacity, improves nutrient uptake efficiency
- Growth stage: Suitable throughout vegetative and flowering
- Format: Liquid concentrate
- Suitable systems: Hydroponic, coco and soil setups
- Pack sizes: Available in multiple bottle sizes
Who this is for
- Growers who want to get more out of their existing base feed without upping the dose
- Soil growers looking to improve how efficiently fertiliser gets absorbed
- Anyone running a full Cyco Platinum Series programme who wants the uptake piece covered
Our take
Uptake is a behind-the-scenes additive rather than a headline product, but the mechanism is genuine and well documented in growing generally, not just in hydroponics. It's a sensible, low-cost way to make sure your main feed isn't going to waste.
Does exactly what it should, day in, day out. At a price that makes sense for what it does.
