Ordering yeast and other products online

I don't have an exact recipe decided yet but have been searching various Cherry Melomel recipes for my first mead attempt (other than a mangled JOAM I have on the go - thats a different story ). In reading various posts and recipes I've seen most recipes and experts recommend staggering Fermaid-K and DAP at the lag phase, the 1/3 and 1/2 sugar breaks (I really like hightests honey spreadsheet as it breaks everything down nicely for SNA based on your ingredients, OG etc.). Now, my main problem is finding fermaid-k and go-ferm as they are not available at any LHBS, nor anywhere in Canada for that matter(unless someone can show me differently). However I do have Wyeast nutrient blend that I purchased for making beer previously and one of my LHBS has a generic yeast super food available. Would either of these make suitable substitutions for the Fermaid-K? If I do use one of the above mentioned products would it still be necessary to use DAP. I guess my main problem is the majority of the posts, info, write-ups, etc. for staggered nutrient additions seem to specifically use Fermaid-k and DAP exclusively and I'm worried about making a substitution and screwing something up. Finding the DAP isn't an issue as its readily available.

Now I have found many online shops in the states such as morewine.com which sell go-ferm and fermaid-k but for $10 in product I'm going to pay $30 in shipping. I'm wondering if one of the nutrients available to me would be suitable thus saving myself 3-4x the cost of the products? And if so, does anyone have any recommendations on how to stagger the nutrient/energizer when not using Fermaid-k?

Also, using go-ferm during yeast rehydration is often recommended but how necessary is it? If the info helps: once again I'm mostly limited to 1116 and 1118 as yeast types as I can't find anything else at any nearby LHBS.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I get this question often (for various reasons). The answer is a most likely a probable yes.

The big unknown is the composition of these "mystery" nutrient blends. Not knowing how much of what is provided (per tsp, gram, etc.) makes it impossible to tell how much of it should be used.

The next question is does it conatin urea. Many do as urea is much less costly than other components available to make the blend. The Urea FAQ will explain why I do not wish to use any urea-based compound in my beverages.

So, yes you can use it. But there will be no certainty that what you add will be sufficient, or too much... Sorry

Based on your urea FAQ, RedStar Superfood does not contain urea. More detail on the superfood available - my LHBS buys it in bulk and packages it in little pill bottles and slaps their own sticker on it. It may very well be red star brand. So if I can verify whether or not the Superfood available at my LHBS is Red Star brand, then it should be OK as in your SNA pdf you suggestes using Superfood or Fermaid-k.

Correct?

Yes, Superfood (by Red Star) is fine. I used to use it but no longer as it is more sensitive to moisture. Over time the unused portion will harden. Keeping it in an airtight container helps lengthen its storage life.

The only other thing is that Superfood adds ~21% less YAN (per unit weight) than does Fermaid-K. So, I would suggest you increase the SNA nutrient weights by 20% to account for that difference. Just the nutrient weights, not the DAP weights...

Also if your LHBS has Superfood, they should also be able to get Startup - the Red Star version of Go-Ferm.