Third time's the charm - femmed white widow in hydro

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Sorry. I just had to do that. Even if it was one of the absolute worst movies I've ever seen. I was sooo disappointed that JarJar didn't die like the rumors said he would lol.

I took four cuttings off the big plant this morning and stuck them in the cloner. Hopefully at least one of them will take this time. I'd really like to preserve that big plant's genetics.

Also, under the category of "I should have known", I discovered that the return tube coming from my cooler has turned a shocking shade of green. I should have thought about the fact that it was clear and would encourage algae growth. The lights were going out in about 10 min so I didn't do anything about it this morning, but tonight I'll wrap the thing with some electrician's tape.

Anyone know if the algae will cause a problem when it dies?

[Mr.GoodStuff]

Did the cloner have a recommended water temp to use or a water temp that was dangerous? I'm kinda wondering if over 75 is safe or not- because with mediums you use a heat mat but with this it's way different.

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Originally Posted by Mr.GoodStuff

Did the cloner have a recommended water temp to use or a water temp that was dangerous? I'm kinda wondering if over 75 is safe or not- because with mediums you use a heat mat but with this it's way different.

No. The directions it came with were really basic. Pretty much "fill it with water and turn it on" lol.

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Ok...I googled this and found some information (on this forum actually lol). Water in an aero-cloner should be kept between 76-80, absolutely no more than 83. Which means I may have just killed 4 clones lol. The water I threw in the cloner had been outside last night and was pretty chilly. Oh well, if they survive, I'll move the cloner up on top of the little fridge to keep them warm.

[Mr.GoodStuff]

Thanks man, I was wondering about that. Lower temps wouldn't kill it I don't think- just discourage rooting. It's those high temps that kill them from what I saw- my water temp was over 80 and plants were dying left and right.

Except of course for Miss Blue, who managed to thrive in conditions that killed so many other plants. LOL

What a world, huh?

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Not much to report on the main grow, but thought I'd add a note on the clones' progress.

I was a little worried about the water temps yesterday since the water was pretty cold still when I started the system up. Fortunately no harm was done. Now I'm used to the fact that clones usually wilt during the first 12-24 hours after you cut them, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that three of the four clones took to their new environment without missing a beat. No wilting at all. This is even more impressive when you consider that the cloner doesn't have a humidity dome. I'd considered trying to rig something up, but I guess I'm glad I didn't.

The fourth clone - the one at 9 o'clock in my earlier pic - was a different story, entirely. When I checked on them yesterday after work I thought it was died. It wasn't just wilted, it was completely flat. I almost pulled it, but then figured, what the hell, and left it until this morning. Glad I did, too. It's made quite a bit of a recovery. It's not quite at 100%, but it looks like it'll pull through.

Now my only question is, what am I going to do if all four of them root. I don't need 4 more plants lol.

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Damn these two girls are stinky. And my makeshift odor control isn't working. I'm not sure why, thought. I came home from work yesterday and the whole place smelled faintly of plant. Fortunately I beat the roommate home by a couple of hours so when *she* got home, the place smelled like Febreeze harvest spice candles .

I turned the ozone generator back on, but that only partially solves the problem. It's supposed to have a mode that generates ozone 24/7, but apparently that mode is broken. So it's only working in intermittent mode - 20 min on, 40 min off. Which means that for 40 minutes each hour, the raw plant smell (minus what little bit the carbon is removing) is being piped straight into the room.

I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy a real carbon scrubber? Or maybe someone else has a better idea? Not sure what to do here.

Otherwise, the plants are still growing like mad. After all the problems I had with this grow and my last grow, it almost seems strange to see so many leaves with zero nute damage lol. Both of them are showing preflowers finally. It should be another week or so before we start seeing real buds. I can't wait.

And the clones are still nice and perky - no humidity dome required lol. I'm looking forward to getting one of them rooted and planted.

[SmknVTEC]

Hey buddy I use ozone as well. My one little emitter kills smell in about 800 square feet of my house I would guesstimate. It has two modes as well that are much more frequent than yours and it kills the smell pretty good. When there are lots of stinky plants however some smell still occurs. If the scrubber does not work for you consider adding another generator http://www.blueairproducts.com/index.html

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Cool. Thanks for the info.

Mine works great, when it's on. And it worked great when there was no actual ventilation in the closet during my last grow. But since I have to vent into another room now that I have the HPS in there, whenever the generator isn't actively running, you can smell the plants.

I'm thinking that the problem with my ghetto scrubber is that it's lacking in surface area. I might try to change some stuff around and see if that helps.

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Honestly, there's not much to report for once. The growth rate continues to astonish, and has been blessedly trouble free. The only problem is, if the 12/12 induced growth spurt doesn't stop soon, they're going to run out of room. I'm seriously thinking about topping the big plant again.

Ambient temps are staying between 68 and 75.
Reservoir temps are staying between 65 and 72.
pH - 5.7 and stable
TDS - 1050 ppm @ 0.5

I broke down and bought a commercial carbon scrubber. My makeshift one just wasn't doing the job. It was a tad pricey - $90, but I figured it would be cheaper than a lawyer if the smell gave me away .

Pics -

#1 - the new carbon scrubber

#2 & #3 - the "jungle" as of this morning. Just look at all that healthy vegetation

#4 & #5 - my two blueberry x haze mothers - Yes, one of them got a bit nute burned lol.

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This is a pic from Day 46 of my last grow. The difference in plant size is incredible. Isn't it amazing what proper nutes, temps, and lighting will do for a plant?

[Mr.GoodStuff]

Ya man, you are definitely getting the hang of things!!! Looks really healthy and strong! Very impressive.

Is that carbon scrubber on the intake or the exhaust? I'm looking for something that I can use on the exhaust, have you seen anything?

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Originally Posted by Mr.GoodStuff

Is that carbon scrubber on the intake or the exhaust? I'm looking for something that I can use on the exhaust, have you seen anything?

It's on the exhaust fan. The air is going into the scrubber, through the fan, and then out the door (well out the wall, anyway). It's designed directly to attach to a 4" duct flange.

[Mr.GoodStuff]

What I was trying to ask is if it had the air sucking through it or blowing out of it? (you answered my question anyways though) I need something that you can blow air through instead of sucking air through it.

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I believe it will work on either end of the line, *but* it does have to be on an end. It can't be used in-line, unfortunately, if that's what you're trying to do.