What up Everyone? Im New to this site, and new to posting my journals, and techniques online. (Security Risk). With that said, this is my Homemade Hydroponic Paradise. Please Post Comments, Suggestions, or Your Own Grow Journals. Would Love The Info!!!
First a little about my growroom. I built the walls and floor with 2x4 (Studs), Particle Board (Floor), and Black Plastic stapled up to create a 6.5x6.5 room with about 7 ft of Height (About 5 feet of growspace, between the lights and pots). A separate 2x6.5 area in the back of the room for all my "Non-grow" equipment (Ballast, Pumps, Wiring, Power Strips, and anything else I might need it for). The whole room was made as lightproof and air proof as possible, duct taped all seams and staples. I painted the inside of the growroom white (Base Coat), and covered the walls and parts of the floor in Mylar Material for optimum light effiency. -Lighting- 400 Watt Switchable Ballast (MH-Veg, HPS-Flower) General reflective hood Heavy Duty (2000 Watt Resistant) Timer. (Overkill I know, but who knows I might upgrade wattage someday) -System- 3 Gal Buckets (9) Lids (cut holes to fit my net pots). Outside painted black and top of lid white. 4 Dual Output Air Pumps, 1 Single Output Pump and "stealth" black air tubing. (Each Bucket gets own Air Valve). -Medium- 4'' Net Pots Ready-Gro Organic Plugs http://www.hydroponicdirect.com/OrderPage.asp?PN=LMI90-IH1.5CS Lava Rock to Stabalize -Environment- Co2 Boost http://www.co2boost.com 2 Circulating Fans Dehumidifier (Basement gets up to 90% Humidity without it. Got It Down to a consistant 40-45%) -Nutrients- Tarantula (Excellent Sh*t, in my opinnion of course) Pirahanna for root mass All H2O is Bottled Distilled Water Well That's my grow room in a nut shell! Please Give Me Some Feed Back. -Questions- Should I invest in a Air Exhaust/Mover? Dayton? Should I invest in submergable water Pumps to pump solution directly to root zone, along with my current set up? Happy Hydroponics ALL!!!!
Just Transplanted 9 germinated seeds from wet paper towel domain to their current residence in my "Paradise" My Growroom has stayed in the 68-78 degree temp range, along with 40-45% Humidity Level. Will Have Pics Posted Soon!!!
Sounds like a nice set up you got. I don't think 400w is enough light for 9 plants though, atleast through flower, to veg you should be fine. I was recommended to use benefitial bacteria, but I don't know, for the both of them, is it worth the 100 bucks?
Don't know about the beneficials, still have to test the results. Sick of trusting the label. How about you try it in one bucket and not in another and help show the board the difference? Good luck LavanderHydro! What are you growing? Soma's Lavender I hope???
I use the Pirahana Beneficial fungi and bacteria, it really works well in conjunction with the tarantula. The nice part about it is, you dont have to use as much of it as the reg nutes, so it lasts longer. Its Lavander for sure. "The Purps" is the strain, its a hybrid 80% indica. Im gonna build a smaller room next to my current room for some mother plants, and use my bigger room to flower, and hopefully get either a digital 600 watt, or 1000 watt lighting system. I will update as much as possible. Keep the ideas and comments coming....
"The Purps" is not Soma Lavender... We'll see if it turns purple I guess. Half the purple named strains don't turn purple... This is Soma#10 Lavender
I have always used "The Purps", I use it b/c its mostly indica (wider leaves, smaller in stature) I love the way it grows and tastes. My first grow was in my old house in a bedroom closet (not the best grow site, but i made it work) Only had 3 plants and used 2 10 gallon rubbermaid bins for my res. The buds turned purple and was B.E.A.utiful. Extremely potent. Some of the best smoke i've had, and tasted amazing (sweet and tropical) The above is my 2nd grow and the 1st time i've ever really built a growroom. (Pretty damn good for a beginner in my opinnion) So judging by my first grow, I think they'll be "Lavander" or "Purple". But thanks for the insight, I really appreciate it, and hopefully I prove you wrong. He He.
One thing i forgot to mention in my last post to Mr. GoodStuff. The leaves had a purplish hue, but did not turn completely purple, and the buds didnt really turn purple until the last 1 or 2 weeks of flowering. My buds were really fluffy and non-compact. Hopefully since i have a better grow environment, im hoping this time around it will be different. Any suggestions or info on why my buds were so fluffy and how to make them compact would be very helpful...
Your buds needed more light. You can grow 20 plants under a 400W lamp but the buds will be small and puffy. I would stick to 4 plants under a 400W lamp. You will get more bud from 4 plants then you would get from 9. Weird huh? I am not a big fan of CO2Boost. It is a gimmick that makes little CO2 for a lot of money. A 20 pound tank of pure CO2 cost $12 to fill every 60 days, CO2boost cost $100 every 60 days. The PPM rating they give is in a closed fish tank. What I'm mad about most is that I did not think of it first! I normally don't criticize other peoples purchase that I don't care for, but I have to say something before you give them douche-bags any more of your cash. Set up good ventilation and you will not need that crap. Sorry. Think about getting a cooltube if possible. They are worth it big time. If you can't keep your plants within the distance on the chart below due to lamp heat, then invest in a cooled hood or look forward to small fluffy buds. Remember, all your plants have to be within this range. Peace, R.
Rumple You Are The Man! Thank you so much for your advice on the CO2 Boost, Couldve wasted $125. And I'm going to invest in a higher watt lighting system before i flower, cuz i know 400 is insufficient. But the chart was also really helpful, and thank you for your feedback. I'll keep updating as the grow progresses, so check back and keep those comments coming!!!!
Here's some photos of my grow room and setup. Sorry about the quality, had to take pics with my iPhone.
Sorry, I've been outta town on business, so i haven't had a chance to personally check my plants. Just got back an hour ago, and my beauties are in deep slumber. he he. But I will check tomorrow and hopefully have some new updated pics. Thanks... Lavander Dro
Here is some updates for all your smot pokers out there. I categorized my growroom by Letter and Number depending on the location, so that i could individualize and record data on each plant. (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3) (thats a 3x3 set up, 9 plants for all you geniuses out there) Ha Ha. Unfortunatly Plant C2 bowed out early and decided it just wasnt meant for her to grow, after growing to be about 3 in' tall, she fell over and the root was exposed while i was away, so she was given a proper burial in the trash today. Owell, just another casualty. As for my others, they are all doing quite well. All have at least 4 leaf sets, and a couple are starting to show signs of future leaf growth. 5 of my remaining 8 plants have roots that have made their way to the water. YAY! All plants seem to be healthy. Plant C1 is probably the biggest of my plants, however is showing a bit of a yellowish color where new leaves are growing. I tried looking up the problem online, but came up with nothing. If anyone could help me out, that'd be awesome. Also, i decided i HAVE to invest in the TDS meter, so that i can effectively control nutrient levels. Well Thats all for now.
400 watts isn't enough light for 9 buckets. Also next time try plantng 3 or more seeds per bucket. That way when you start flowering and you have to sacrifice your males, you don't lose you set-up in the bucket. Some people start out with 5 seedlings per bucket and reduce the number down to just the strongest plants.