I haven't been on GC in 3-4 years after some nasty characters made me lose interest. Hope they all got the Obama Care help they needed My first ever indoor grow was 2 twin tub F & D with a bilge pump attached to a 10g jug rez It was amazing, but my then wife refused to replensih the 2-3g per day the 2 monsters were consuming while I was on the road a week at a time We divorced after only 13 months. She took all the furniture. I rented that room out Did not get back into hydro until about 4 years ago with a drip system that clogged all the time. Most likely due to not using hydro nutes I then tried fogging which damn near killed my already on shaky ground plant I quickly shifted to High Pressure Aero (what was I thinking?) but harvested ~ 1.5oz dry Actually in winter hpa worked quite well, but 8 months out of the year the humidity is a huge issue, turning the root chamber into a sauna I then started a DIY top feeding with micro mist heads. Alas, too much of each spray did not make it into the net pots, but I still managed a decent yield. Fast Forward 2 years: Iast year I bought Hydro Halo drip rings. Nutes were pumped via 160 gph pump into 2 @ 4 liter Air Pots filled with lava rock. This worked pretty well. Subsequent grows the LR was replaced with polished ornamental stone (Dollar Store) which is Da Bomb- cheap, no residue, and easy to clean and reuse. The last 2 plants dominated my 2 x 4 grow area- one more than the other. Prepping for my next grows I bought 2 tents (3 x 3 & 4 x 4). The plan is one big pheno plant per tent. The 4 X 4 tent will have a BML SPYDR 600, which I had an excellent first harvest with. The 3 x 3 will have a Solar Spec panel, yet to be determined I needed a different feeding system, but plan to feed from the same rez off the same timer One thing I have learned is- hyro plants don't need big pots, and the only time a large F & D tray is needed is when growing 4-6 large plants. What to do? A DIY Mini-Me F & D Since i already own the HH rings and several gph pumps there was no reason to spend ~$60 for a bilge type pump that serves to both pump to the tray, and return water/nutes to rez. If you're starting fresh a bilge pump further simplifies the set up. No need for HH rings I tested it with a Med-Man Blueberry Cheesecake that I had harvested and put outside to die. After a week of heavy rains it was barely holding on so I decided to use it as my Guinea Pig to test the new system. First pic is from Aug 9th. The last 2 pics (root and plant) taken today Tray is ~ $4 ~ 4g storage tote Bulkhead from marine supply ~ $4 Due to fast draining media, I flood/top feed for 36 seconds every hour!
My typical seed popping technique is to simply drop them in water and put the jar in a dark cabinet for 24-48 hours. Usually after 48 hours most are cracked and have 1/4"+ (~6mm) taps Not so this time; only 2 did, but most cracked However, after 2 days there was no tap growth. I tossed more seeds into a second jar; after 48 hours same issue The seeds were harvested in early July from this plant that I am revegging Nothing to lose, I put them into starter cubes then in my south facing window 24 hours later the 2 are > 1" but the rest are questionable Late yesterday afternoon, I decided to put them in my starter tent under 2 white ufos (3500/5000) This morning, 5 more have broken through- yeah I am hoping for 2 Big Mex (BM) phenos which yielded 222 dry gms under my first grow using the S600, but was compromised, sharing the 2 x 4 space with the Blueberry Cheesecake (BBCC) that I am revegging. My heavy smokers love the knock-out effects from the Big Mex pheno. I can barely handle the Blueberry Cheesecake. I plan to take a couple clones from her and finish the mother in my small tent Be interesting to see how well BM does in its' own 3x 3 & 4 x 4 tent. One under the S600, the other under a yet to be determined Solar Spec.
We're off and running I moved seedlings from plastic egg crate into net pots filled with polished rock If need be I can use a meat baster to wet from the top until rot find the bubbles I lowered the amount of water so they don't get overly saturated at this stage Currently under 2 ufos (3500/5000) Might have Solar Specs by end of next week I also took 3 clones from the BBCC mother. Found a use for my 1 liter APs, turned upside down they make great clone holders cut the clone stems long enough to clear the top of the AP plus long enough to be slightly submerged insert the clone stems into the upside down AP as it has a grid like bottom. Covered with a 4 liter plastic jug (cut bottom off). Fits great over the AP. Day 2 and zero wilt Pics tomorrow
Both tents are up. The 50 x 50 x 78 is huge. I will subdivide it until I get a SS 1000 to fill it with light Seedlings are doing well- more than I need, but that lets me pick the best Clones look fine, too FYI: SS guide is the McCree Spectral Graph
I've been thinking about the pumps I have. It occurred to me they should be fine as a 2 way. Once the pump is off the nutes should drain back into the rez from the supply tubing = a true F & D I found nothing in the pamphlet they come with, so I tried it this morning. YEP Anybody know whether this might hurt the pump?
Seedlings/clones tent I changed nutes (still ~ 250) and cleaned up the algae I replaced the large cylinder air stones with new flat disks to cover more surface area with bubbles While I was there, I saw larger volume net pots, which could replace the need for 4 liter AP to stabilize, but will require a lot more stones Roots already exiting the fastest plant to show a tap root Late to the game, in the 1" net pot, dangling above the nutes has a nice tap Reveg is taking off again. Needed higher ppms Conversion to an actual F & D works great It is now a super simple DIY system Magnets now affect nutes in and out
It's a new day. It's a new dawn, and I'm feelin good According to USPS 2 Solar Spec panels will be delivered today I took a pic of the seedlings and clones which have been doing well under the 2 white ufos I was gifted last November. Together they are probably 100w One of the SS panels is 150w. It will go into the seedling/clone tent. Depending on how much light it has I may disconnect the 2 ufos The other panel is a SS260 which I will use over one of the seedlings once it is big enough to go into the 3 x 3 tent I will probably keep the BBCC Reveg under the S600 for now. She is much fuller than when I first harvested her. Reveg seems to have agreed with her But once I need the tents for new plants I will move the reveg to the small tent under the 150 + 2 BML flowering bars
You can count on USPS to get it wrong. On the 15th USPS track said delivery on 9/17- didn't happen 10am this morning USPS Track updated to say delivery tomorrow They came today! Here are a couple pics of the Amare Technologies Solar Spec 150 It comes nicely packed with power cord, hanging hooks AND adjustable hangers- nice touch However the piggyback cord was missing. Yes, I only got one panel but how will shipping know? Well packed with cut foam for safe shipping I put the SS 150 in place of the 3500K ufo (Edit: Just realized I have a SS 100, not the 150) Interesting that the pics show more red than I see with both switches on Will put up the SS 260 later- no immediate need
BBCC is now showing pistils Moved her to the larger tent Unpacked the SS 260 from laptop computer type packing Note all the goodies Hung the SS 260 and took pics. This one is chrome, which is no longer available due to inconsitent plating Alas, the power cord is right angle and directly over the 2 light buttons Hopefully, this minor issue can be corrected in production Again, the light does not look this red to my eyes The SS 260 is much brghter than the SPYDR 600
Looking good! http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1316222-4x4-led-wild-thai-seed-second-grow.html#entry20304616
UPDATE SS 100 This little rascal is intense. Yesterday, I lowered the plants again. Now ~ 18" below the light Clones are looking good- all tops look perky, one has 2 roots coming out Seems like a great clone light, too S600 I increased ppm from ~ 550 > 650 and will bump to ~ 800 today I have slowly reduced o/o now at 12/12 Stretching like crazy now, so I incorporated the Cube Working in a 50 x 50 tent sure makes life easier
Reveg update BML SPYDR 600 this plant (BBCC) was half the size of the bigger plant (Big Mex) that I harvested 2+ months ago (first time using the S600) Due to the size of the larger plant blocking some of the light (and being > 1ft taller) this one did not get as many umoles to the canopy, and so did not reach her full pheno potential As you can see, she is loaded with branches and bud sites now Bumped nutes from ~ 650> ~ 850 2 days ago Buds are setting up nicely SS 100 I hooked up the SS 100 on the afternoon of 9/18 6th day update PPMs have been ~ 200 throughout I had to raise the light on the 19th as lower leafs were yellowing due to intensity At that time I had 3 clones, none of which had roots after ~ 2 weeks under the 2 ufos I am lovin this little Engine That Could Can't wait to get one the seedlings under the SS 260. Based on how they look now, how much longer before I can safely transition?
Plants are doing great under the SS 100 May well be sufficient to go from it directly to the 260, making for an awesome tag team (perpetual) set up The young plants will be ready to move under the big tents by Wednesday, or thereabout While I would like to move the reveg under the anticipated arrival of 2 x 150s, to the 2 x 4 (thus freeing up the tent with the SPYDR 600), that tent lacks height- only 5ft tall BE AWARE that F & D requires the tray drain to be higher than the rez when full in order to drain back fully, and the rez needs to be deep enough to not go dry throughout the feed cycle I would need to raise the 2 x 4 up 2 feet which would require ~ 2 stacked concrete blocks per corner. Doable, but, I may just order a taller 2 x 4 tent Pics tomorrow
While there's no denying the reveg under the Spydr600 is doing great, you can see how much she is stretching I am still working out lowering the flood tray to gain some needed head room, but may just need to snap a few branches, which is what I had to do on the previous run
I will not be updating this thread as I am now focusing on the Amare Tech panels in my other thread Hope to see you there. Link in my signature
SJ, apparentlly you did not read my post, but shit happens BBCC reveg is going bonkers now, budding like a mofo, so... I may keep it going Fresh nutes at 1000ppm Zero tip burn I may bump to 1200 for ~ 5 days
