Going to try growing some Sin City's Bluemintz and Purple Petrol. I've never grown these strains before. Here goes. I actually started these seeds on Jan 15 2024. I bagged the seeds as shown and soaked them overnight in 1% hydrogen peroxide. The next day I placed them in some aeroponic sponges and let the spray in 5mL/L clonex (total 8 L in a 5 gal pail). You can get the instructions to build a similar unit here. The Blumintz is the smaller plant (higher up) and the one with the fried leaves is Purple Petrol. I'm not sure why the leaves are fried, but I suspect the light was too bright, too fast. I've been stalling a bit on transplanting these since I wanted to finish up a new aero system. This is the aero system. It's hooked up to a modified e-cooler with a submersible pump inside. The solution gets sprayed at the white manifolds and returns to the cooler via 3/4" red hoses. I've used this system before, you can refer to a past journal for more details. I may write it up more formally later on. I plan to veg under 240W Kingbrite strips @ ~50% power (for now).
The next part was transplanting. Purple Petrol is lanky. Had way long roots, but I pruned them. This is BlueMintz before I pruned. This is Bluemintz after I pruned. I think doing this helps the lateral roots expand. I've flipped the plants into ~3" netting pots and stuffed them into the aero system. Note that I changed out the milk crates for some custom tables since they are a bit higher. I did this to give me more room for the drainage to clear to the reservoir. Currently, I am using 32L (~8 gal) of solution in the 55L tote, which is lower than the bottom of the containers (on the tables). ps: I used the rest of the clonex starter mix to try germing some lettuce; that's the pail in the center. Having a hard time with those!
...details... I've turned on the sprayers and they should run 24/7 until my new timer arrives. The e-cooler reservoir is set to 20°C (kicks on at 22°C). I am running three-part using 2mL Calnesium, 4.5 mL Grow, 3 mL Micro , 1.5 mL Bloom per 4L RO water. I'm also using Earth Alive Soil Activator for bennies (works well in solution). The ph is set to 5.6. The EC was ~1300 uS. A Lux meter was used to set the light to 25,000 at the canopy. I hope they take, fingers crossed...
Good eye I was tired during the writeup, having cleaned and built and all that jazz. I'm using Holland's Secret which is almost identical to GH Flora. It's what's readily available at the local garden supply.
Details on aero head design This is the older aero manifold. I decided to glue some parts up using PVC glue due to some infrequent leaking. If you decide to use glue, do not apply it where I circled. You need to be able to remove those pipes to slide through the lid. Doesn't matter if it leaks a little there (it won't). note the dimensions. If you have problems fitting after you glued the pieces, use a heat gun to near the T-intersection to make the plastic pliable. This is what it should look like when completed. Note the direction of the hookup (ie. see t-intersection). These are the measurements for the aero manifold head. The sprayers are spaced at 6", 8" and 10" down the pipe. A 1/2" adapter is used along with quickfit 1/2" connectors available online. Lastly, the details on setting the sprayers into the pipes can be found here. *EDIT: Do not install the sprayers with the flat parts running vertical as shown in the pictures. You want the flat tabs running horizontally so to spray the water up.
Thanks bro! My friend just visited me and wanted me to build him a system on the spot lol. I sold him my older cooler system, so he can work on flipping ice packs now.
Problems in the Oasis I went to check up on the plants fearing that I would discover a lake in the basement, but instead I found this: I lifted the net and saw that no water was getting to the plant. I decided to change the sprayers out and noticed that they were spraying the wrong way, so I twisted the sprayers 90° like this: You can see the flat part is horizontal. This makes a major difference; if the flat tabs are vertical, the water sprays on the sides of the pail :/ Live and learn As you can see, I fixed the problem. I hope that plant bounces back. I believe it will so I won't start over.
Hope your beloved Sincity plant can bounce back without issue. I remember 30 years ago when first heard about aeropinic it was like NASA space stuff! This diy setup is like a teenage dream come true!
I am new to this style of hydro so I was wondering if moving the inputs to the pail would make things easier. If they were entering into the pail/bucket from the top of the side- just below lid. This way, the manifold doesnt move when lid is removed during grow. Im not sure if thats ever necessary using this method though. Recon one could go up through bottom of pail as well. I'll sit down now.
Welcome @storz I've thought about restructuring this setup. I'm sure that placing the sprayers outside the main container would work, just use 1/4" line to each sprayer. I actually have a system in mind... but it's another project, and I know that the current system works, unless I mess things up (like I have). I have a booster pump and cool sprayers, I just haven't got around to building the new system yet. This one is basic, almost like the top drip hydro system, just provides more air (?) I've seen fantastic results using the current system.
My plants are not turning around. There is no new growth and the roots are turning brown. This is probably due to a combination of problems, including low temps in the tent, no water for the first 48 hours, a harsh pruning job. I feel a big part of the problem is waiting too long to transplant. I germed a couple more seeds (of the same plants) and will try again, but I'm going to make some changes. More on this tomorrow.
it is a subset and most technical form of hydroponics. I would like to try it someday. Right now, I cannot afford to have any possible water leaks inside my shared, carpeted, and heavily utilized closet. I dig Trojan's commitment and ad hoc engineering though.
ok. I did germ some new seeds, I think imma start positioning them in a way so that the root goes down; I laid them flat during germination and the taps were a bit cankered. As far as the other plants, they look horrible... BUT! I removed some of the top rocks and noticed that the roots are regenerating. I wonder if it all had to do with recently setting the timer (5 min on/off)? Maybe? idk. I shouldn't have started them so early. I'm going to leave these and see what happens. I did not add a heater, but I think I will hold off as it will just lower the humidity, something they don't need atm.