Does anyone use silica?

[SallyO420]

I was on Reddit and it seems silica is very popular for hydroponics? I never heard of it before. Does anyone use it and what do you think?

[Ray]

The only commonly-grown plants that absolutely require silicon are grasses like rice.

In my experience, there is no benefit to using additives containing it, and one needs to be wary using them, as they are usually based upon potassium silicate, which can raise the pH of the potting medium, which most orchids dislike.