1200W- The Underground Jungle - Hydro

Discussion in 'Hydroponic Grow Journals' started by rain dancer, Feb 5, 2014.

  1. Thats what mine was kinda like, but i didnt let chlorine bubble out so it was a bit higher. Had to use ph down to bring both buckets to 6.2, where i left them, since i had added quite a bit of ph down. I used lemon juice once since i have a nice lemon tree outside but it didnt lower as long as ph down did for some odd reason.

    I dont have any ph up as of yet. Havent needed it at all.

    I still want to do a ten or so gallon res and connect my buckets so i feed them the same. I think it wouldmake my grow better and easier to control than trying to manipulate two buckets.

    Roots are sticking out the bottom. Not yet wrapped up though so lifting them up 5 or so inches to the top of the bucket when i add hydroton will leave lots of room for roots.

      
    I was a bit concerned with the distance you keep your plants from the light so i went and did some research and found an old thread on another forum that was the reason i bought the lights I bought. Heres the link:https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=51325

    The first three pages are just utterly amazing imho.
    I think 30 inches is just ridiculously far away, but thats my personal opinion and im not trying to push anyone outta my thread over a disagreement on the right way, as everyones way is different.
    I will take pics in a couple hours after i add the new hydroton balls. Theyll be here soon. Im going to rinse them thoroughly.

    I phed them last night. They were 6.7 ish. Ive got close to 3 gal in my 5 gal bucket. Ppm is 1k but thats including ppm of 160 tap water. So theyre closer to 840 nutes.

    I used a wet rag to wipe down the leaves. There was a lot of salt buildup from the splash. Im really looking forward to filling those net pots all the way. I was thinking about going bigger on my res, with some of those blue rubbermade containers. Two or three should be sufficient.

    Still havent put up my mylar, though i plant to soon. Its just so thin and see through id like to build a moveable wall first as my fan on low rips it right off the wall, tearing it from the tacks.

    Also my pics will be like before. On an ipad you cant use the forum feature. I know it slows peoples ability to browse down and for that i apologize. Someday when one of my computers is replaced ill take pics and do it better.

    Im going to add some pics in a minute of pertinent info i found. Should be beneficial to others later.
     
  2. that icmag thread, great read, poke!
     
  3. #43 rain dancer, Feb 12, 2014
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2014
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    Lsting Plants (How I do it)
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    ^Great info ive been collecting!
     
  4. Quick tip: keep your nute solution stable and ph will follow suit. If your levels are fluctuating, your res likely needs to be diluted
     
  5. #46 rain dancer, Feb 12, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2014
    Thanks for the advice!

    :D

    Jus waitin on that hydroballs delivery now. Going to soak and clean them best i can over a few hours so i can mix that stuff in and take some pics.

    Quick noob question:

    Every week when i clean my res out, am I supposed to toss the water/nutes and then add them back to where theyre supposed to be? Cuz thats what ive been thinkin and was wondering how guys with 50 gallon resz dump 50 gals out atta time.

    I read theyre supposed to be dumped/cleaned weekly and that it benefits the roots to get an "air bath." am i misunderstanding something here?

    Also, i have a buncha timers layin around. You think it would be beneficial to have my drip system on for 15 mins and off for 45? I already have airstones in the res and in addition, a drip system as well.

    My water temps are 71-72ish. I believe thisis because light is currently leaking into the res due to not having enough hydroballs. I believe adding enough hydroballs to lock out light and "seal" the res as well as putting the drip system on a timer might benefit the nutes and help lower/maintain my temps.

    Also, my buckets sit on a cold basement floor. With my lights off my basement stays at 50 degrees. With lights on its never over 78. When i add another light to be at 1200w, im going to need to figure out my air temp probs. But thats later down the road.
     
  6. Res change is only necessary, imo, at the time you switch to flower. If there is an issue then by all means, but comlpetely dumping and changing ever 7-10 days is just a waste. It only takes a few minutes to calculate how much they've eaten, and how much it will take to keep ph and ppm balanced when topping off.
     
  7. #48 rain dancer, Feb 13, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2014
    That seriously helps me out a lot. I was like damn, what a waste of nutes.....

    Okay so my hydroballs showed up. Problem is, another 5 lbs wasnt enough. So i jus ordered another bag. Ive already got 5lbs each in each 10 inch bucket.

    As i was removing the plants from the hydroballs (lifting them up towards the top) a lot of the little roots ripped off. Stressed me out bad....sigh

    I ended up dumping all the hydroton shit, cleaning all the stones and removing all the little roots i could see using a sifter screen. I also wiped my leaves down as they appear to be COVERED IN SALT!!!!! Literally covered both sides from all the splashing of the drip line. Sux so bad. All the leaves that are covered look nute burned, are turning crispy, and dying......

    Heres a pic. Plant on the right lost the most roots and is the most salt covered.

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    Will take better pics when I know whats going on. Had a stressful day. Took hours to get that clay dust off the hydroballs. Im also watching my 4 kids (2 being 9 months old) and jugglin all this bs.

    Also, my 10 inch pots ripped so i repaired them using two things and took pics.

    I used aluminum screen and also hemp wick/rope. Today when i was cleaning the pots the rope was gettin slimy (bees wax probly) which means i needa get aome cannazyme to help eat up the nasties. Also, around the drain plug it was slimy like algae. I was like fuck, this sux.

    Roots were beautiful though.

    Added some vitamin b1 and ph down. Will post ph soon after i let the system settle.
     
  8. Ph is 5.8 on left plant - water temp is 70

    Ph is 6.0 on right plant, water temp 72.5 dunno why its so high on that one.
     
  9. #50 rain dancer, Feb 14, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2014
    Lookin a little better today. Ph is leveling now.

    [​IMG].

    Question, is it true that to lower the ppm or dilute the nutrients, one must add more water to the res?

    Reason i ask is that my res "line" on the overfill/run off line shows that the plants have drank an inch to an inch and a half down from that line. The ppm is like 1100ish and all Ive added is ph down here and there to lower it.
     
  10. jeez poke! 1100??? bring it down to about 3-400 then your plants would perk up. I was looking at those pix thinking man, that's a lot of salt buildup how does that happen. you should be adding very minimal nutrients at this stage for those little girls. put them on straight water for about 12 hours, then replace water and add nutrients to about 350. that's why your plants are dying they're burning up!
     
  11. Dude its at 160 before i add nutes. Added nutes according to lucas formula and theyre went up to 960. 800 nutes + 160 water.

    Added ph down and theyre 1100. Only way to keep them at 350 ppm is to not add any nutes at all.

    Adding ph down alone brings them up to 350 ppm easily.

    My res is low on water because the plants are drinkin it like crazy. Which is why I asked when and how to add water. What does it do to ppm to add more water? Seems to me that plants drinking water and not eating enough nutes = salt buildup and high ppm, since as you decrease water you increase buildup of other things...

    The plants are burning up because there is literally salt all over the leaves from the splash. I wipe them down but two hours later theyre covered again. They are literally soaked 24/7 with salty drip water. There is no way to remedy this without more hydroton which ill get today.

    How do i follow the lucas formula correctly if its burning my plants up? Also, my plants are extremely perky compared to the day before. The only leaves dying are the ones with salt on them.

    Sorry for my ramble i woke up like 3 mins ago, not even fully awake yet.
     
  12. #53 TheAnswer121, Feb 14, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 14, 2014
    Should be at 1.25- 2.5 ml per gallon of each nute imo. At 1.25 ml, this will be around 150 ppm. Add that to your 160 tap and it'll be around 400 or so. Give it a shot. If that's still no good, might need to invest in an ro setup or buy some water
     
  13. Im thinkin about pouring half my res out of each plant and refilling with plain water to dilute the problem.

    I just realized i posted 2 days ago about my ppm being 960 and nobody said a thing. I thought they were ok.

    Tryin to figure this shit out. Woke up throwin up today, hopefully its a good day.
     
  14. #55 rain dancer, Feb 14, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2014
    Im using dry nutes.

    :-/

    Gh maxibloom.
    I added 7 grams per gallon x5 gallons(2.5 per res). Then added another gallon of 160 ppm water to dilute nutes a bit.
     
  15. oic. Never used them but id say however much ur using, use 1/4 the amount if possble
     
  16. Ok thank you

    Heres the formula:
    http://lucasformula.com/
     
  17. I gave it a shot last year, but I use gh bottled nutes, so it's a lot easier to be spot on with measurements. Its only $30 the 3pack, I believe. Gonna step it up soon to Fox Farm's 3part line ($45.99) soon, but I still have plenty GH left
     
  18. I have fox farms 3 part currently but was told it sucks not to use it all that shit.

    Plus theyre ten year old nutes.

    Which is the very reason i bought these other nutes.

    My last grow died from bugs. Im hundreds of dollars into these two grows now.... :(

    And ive budgeted every way possible, even getting free shipping by doin trial of amazon prime...
     
  19. #60 TheAnswer121, Feb 14, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 14, 2014
    Damn bro. Sorry to hear that. Gotta find the underlying issue. Most likely the water. If you gott go get jugs of water, do it, it'll be worth it as opposed to wasting more time and getting more and more frustrated.


    I probably wouldn't use those old nutes either, but brand wise ff is perfectly fine from what I heard. Yoda uses it;)
    Give them a Thorough shake and see if there is chunks floating around. If not, it may be worth a shot.
     

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