Yes Thank You for the re post. I had saved it but should have given a better descriptor. When do I change my Nutes?? I been monitoring TDS and it is about 50% of my initial charge. I been adding straight RO water as make up. I am thinking of dumping once I get to 25 % of initial charge. Plants seem healthy but a little slow growing. Upgrading light has helped. Checked roots look healthy and the main tap is now in the buckets. Thinking I should bump up another 25% for next solution concentration.
I change the soup once a week. I check the tds after a soup swap and adjust and that is it till the next swap. That is bloom phase. In grow phase I add some drops of nitrogen fertilizer about mid week to keep the foggers fogging as they "boil off" the nitrogen and the plants use it up in grow phase very quickly. Straight R/O water is used in the reservoir tank.
OK. So you change out weekly regardless of TDS readings. My system holds about 18 gallons. I will try tweaking the Nitrogen next soup change.
When I first started with hydro, I was checking the tds constantly and stressing. Now, I know pretty well as to how much to add and like I said, I check it once after a swap and that's it. The nitrogen supplement I add is called FlorinGro. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Florin-Nitrogen-Fertilizer-17oz-500ml/dp/B001N4J6HK]Amazon.com: Florin - Gro Nitrogen Fertilizer 17oz 500ml: Kitchen & Dining[/ame] One drop per gallon after about 4 days (grow cycle).
Thank You for the link. Looks like I am in need of a soup swap. Plants had significant growth this week (no where near yours at this stage0. Still have to get my light height tuned. I did find out that regular glass can't stand the heat from a 400w metal halide bulb!!! My TDS has leveled off at around 450 hasn't dropped in two days. Took a peak at the roots all looks well. How many sets of leaves should I have before I start to Flower.
I use height more then the # of leaves. 12" to 18" or two weeks, whichever comes first. The reason for the range is I grow 6 plants, the smallest to get to min height is the trigger for bloom phase and it has to be at least 12" tall. Sometimes it all comes together in less then two weeks.
Nice pic. Had a minor set back. The glass I put in my light shattered and crushed a couple of my plants. Hopefully they will rebound. I was given this light and it had no lens. I debated if I should use regular glass but decided to try it. On another subject here is my schedule 15 minutes on every two hours. I have the air stone and drippers connected to one timer. Should I run the air stones constantly? I could move them to the light timer and run the same schedule as the lights. Secondly I peeked at the roots and some are hanging down in the soup. Yet my largest plant they are barely showing out of the bottom of the net pot. Seemed weird to me. My PPM is starting to level off at around 400. Plants seem bushier but know where near your grow.
I would like to see pics. For lighting I run 24/7 in grow, 12/12 in bloom. Yes, run the airstones 24/7. If you have roots in the soup, I would bump the TDS to 800+. At 6" to 8" high I would bump it to 1200+.
Here are pics of most of the crop at the end of week #10. Harvest is just a few days away. The branch in the middle pic is over 20" of bud(s). The top buds are swelling to the point they look like "popcorn".
Well, I believe I am in week six from seed. I just did a dump and increased the Nutes to 1200 TDS. I also made some mini bubble buckets. I have included pics. I also started to use a fan about hour a day. Now have the air stones running 24 / 7. Running drippers every 2 hours. Roots looked good. Plants seem a little stressed from the nute change.
Looks good! I would wrap your containers in something reflective and insulating to keep them from absorbing heat. Your 6 week of growth stuff looks like the size of my clones when I start a new grow.
Thanks! I can pick up a roll of metal foil tape. Will doing just the tops be sufficient for now. Once I finish the grow ( If I don't kill them in the process). I can paint them with "High Heat" Paint. They do look pretty sad for six weeks. I might have starved them. I went 2 weeks just adding RO water and monitoring my PH and TDS. Once TDS leveled off at around 400 and didn't change for a couple of days I decided to drain, and make up new soup. I can see why you have a 20 gal spare reservoir!! I just cranked it up to 1200. Their not dead today and have my bubbliers on 24 hours. My drippers are still running 15 minutes every 2 hours. Since this is my first attempt, how much longer should I go before I switch to 12 hour cycle? When I add water should I also add nutes to it to maintain my concentration. I have to run the 400 MH bulb for about 8 hours. The glass broke and I am still waiting for it to arrive. My temps go through the roof if I close up the tent with it on. SUGGESTIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED! r
I use some insulated duct wrap that is adhesive on one side and reflective on the other. Reflective tape will work on your lids. I would wait for the plants to be at least 12"-18" for the 12/12 cycle. I just add water to the soup to keep the level constant. I do add some nitrogen supplement 4 days into the new week (grow phase) as the plants and the foggers use it up. The 6 weeks comment was not meant as a swipe. Clones give me an almost 2 week edge over seeds. Maybe more because when I start a grow from clones, the roots are already in the soup.
No issue here!! I am very grateful for all of your help to this Noobie grower. Hopefully I can get my light issue straightened out and be ready to switch to bloom phase in a couple of weeks. Thank You, for the input on the insulated wrap! I also plan on swapping out the reservoir for something with a smaller footprint. I do have a couple of those 30 lb kitty litter buckets. They do stack pretty nicely but U.S. plastic has some great looking products.
HARVEST TIME! Here are pics of the best and the rest. Root pic is a 3" holder. After complete cleaning, new clones started. I will post yield after it dries and I trim. My guess is 8+oz.
Great Grow !!!! Awesome!! pictures. I also see how you used the insulated wrap on your totes. How many days was the length of grow? My plants are responding well to the new soup. Those roots are healthy looking. Found my PH needs to be dialed in. It keeps climbing daily. Excited to see your next grow. What strain are you using?
your roots seem a little brown idk if its cause you already cut the plant but dont you want bleach white roots?
Thanks for the compliments! Grow was 10 weeks and two days. Strain is WW (White Widow). I yanked out a few of the clones as I didn't like the looks of them, so down to 8. Roots are that color from the soup and is normal (for my grow(s)) Those aren't totes either. They are industrial quality TANKS.
ok cool i was just making sure cause if you pull yields like that with a little root rot then man your good