Hi guys, First grow journal here, with hopefully many to come. So I've finished converting my stand alone wardrobe into a grow box. Dimensions are somewhere around 1700Hx1100Wx550D Good size. Since this is my first hydro grow, I'm using some seeds from a friend before I use my schweet seeds. Black Dominia Auto Flower. Running 20L/5 Gal Buckets. Using the hydro shops own brand of nutes. Will add some others aswell. So I started germinating the seeds in paper towel on the 4th June. They were hatched last night. So this morning I soaked my rock wool in water PH'd to 5.8. Transplanted the seeds into rock wool and then into my hot house. Hot house is under my 400W HPS as high as it can go. Temps are at 25-26 degrees. Humidity in the wardrobe at 40-50%. Waiting for seedlings to poke out. We ride!
So its been a few days. Been boring shiz. Just waiting for seeds to rise out of the rockwool. One has successfully. Has 4 nice leaves. The other seemed to want to hold onto its helmet. Seeds got stuck on top of it. I have seen it on other peeps grows and they just leave them and they fall off. But since the seed hadnt come off it had actually caused one of the leaves to fall off. So i took some iniative and pulled it off. It now has one leaf. Guess see how it goes. Photos a few days ago will post more tonight.
Gave them their first taste of nutes today. The shit one has lost its other leaf. Hopefully nutes get it into gear. Otherwise ill germ another. Other one seems all good Photos
Sunday morning, lets do something. So the good seedling had about 5-7 roots coming out and is over an inch tall with 6 leaves. Time to move. Tap root nice and long. Didnt take photo... Other one is in the bin. Germing another now. So ph'd water to 5.8 n soaked the Hydrocorn. Filled my bubble bucket n counted the litres and marked 5L increments. Took 16L to water level. Measured out nutes. 40ml of each. Took ppm to 700. In aus so we go by ec x 700. So in US 500. Ph'd water to 5.8 Blah blah. Put the hydrocorn n rockwool in net pot. Hooked air stone n pump up. Done. Wait and watch. Photos
Day 3 18/6 Not much change in the plants. I noticed the top leave's tips are going a bit lighter than the rest. I suspect slight nute burn from going straight to half strength nutes. But it seems to be taking it well. No stress. Check in the PM last night. Ppm at 780 Ph at 6.1 Dropped ph back down to 5.8. AM check this morning. Ppm at 700~ Ph at 6.1 So in like...under 12 hours it went up again. I suspect i didnt wash the hyrrocorn quite enough. So this morn, took ph back to 5.6-7. Ill check where its at tonight. Photos will come tonight, although no change really. Maybe two leaves are slightly bigger. No roots showing out the bottom of net pot yet. But air stone is doing its job and bottom of net pot always has drops of water on it when i check. Water level has dropped slightly. Not enough to refill yet though. Smooth riding so far. ...famous last words. Peace!
Back with photos. So between my AM and PM check PH rose by .2 I adjusted to 5.6 this morning. 7AM I checked at 4:30ish PM and PH is 5.8. PPM hasnt moved from 700. I assume hydrocorn. Will wash it better for next bucket. Here are photos. You can see slight nute burn on tips. Not worried. Just thought id point it out. Oh n in US it would be 500 PPM. Maybe ill just use the US conversion so peeps dont think im dosin them hard with nutes from now on.
Plants are getting bigger. Leaves are getting wider and is start next set of leaves (third set). About 3 or 4 roots are coming out of the net pots. The ph rise has slowed down alot. Is rising at 0.1 per day. Ppm is staying the same. I assume they are feeding correctly. I will be doing a nute change one day early tomorrow. No harm. Bought some new nutes so want to see their effects as the leaves are a slightly lighter green around the tips than the centre. I already have food. So i got some additives. I already had Cyco Dr Repair. So i figured id stay with that brand. I bought Cyco B1 Boost and Zyme. Guy at hydro shop said if i run them through the whole grow will be ballin. Having a lil problem with temps at the moment. Its winter and it gets fkn cold. Not too bad though. Lowest my themo recorded has been 9.2 degrees. Which is cold but not much i can do without opening and coosing window and putting heater on during hours of the night. Simply not going to do that so ill just deal with it. Still waiting for 2nd seed to germ. Tap root was poking out about 1-2mm last night so in a few days she will be rocking it. Photos will come tonight. Peace out!
Just did first nute change. All good. 2nd seed had its tap root out so i soaked rock wool and put it all in the hot house again. Roots are getting long real quick. Grew at least 1cm overnight. Super excited to see how it takes the additives. Also recieved my clip on fan on wednesday so ill be installing the pole and getting it going so i can lower the light! Light is at full height at the moment so today will be able to find the right spot for the light. Peace!
Problem #1 Woke up to this shit. Looks like algea or something. Ph has spiked up from 5.8 to 6.5 overnight. Ppm rose from 500 to 600. Max temp has been 30 degrees or like 80F Going to flush. Cleab bucket with bleach solution and rinse a few times. Help would be much appreciated at this point.
Im also going to make up a sheet of panda film that covers the medium and the entire bucket to rule light out
It wasnt algea. It was like particles. Not sure. Maybe nute breakdown?? No idea. Bleached rinsed and new nutes. Will see what happens.
nutes would be my guess, i pour my nutes into a shot glass then use a syringe from there on, and it kinda looks the same?
Woke up this morning to it starting again. Longest root had a nice chunk of brown slime on the end. Picked it off. And the ring is beginning around the edges again. Spoke to the guy at the hydro shop and showed photos. He reckons algea. He is gonna get some peroxide stuff. Also said the water couls be getting too cold. My room temp isnt dropping below 9 degrees but he says my water would be colder. Buy a heater? This is a close up of all the sediment on the bottom of the bucket
Im pretty sure that residue is the nutes. But the tips of my roots are still getting a ball of slime on the tips. Its either brown or clear. Looks like snot on my roots. Its minor at this stage. Ill be buying h202 or something similar today. After work will drain the whole lot wrap my buckets with panda film. Bleach and rinse everything again. Use a very diluted solution of h202 and just keep everything as clean as i can. Plants are still boosting and a nice green
Alright. Quick update. Well as much as id like to say the gunk from nutes on my roots. It doesnt explain my ph spiking overnight. Its going from 5.7 to 6.4 within 12 hours. So i added some water cleaner from hydro shop. Some good bacteria. Plants still looking good. Just having to adjust ph twice a day... Roots are growing strong and feel like bean shoots. New leaves are coming through and look mint, like the rest of the plant. Photos. Last photo from a few days ago
Today i realised i had broken my ph meter yesterday... get a new one tomorrow. Photos. Getting noticably bigger each day now.