I seen a good idea for a chiller on TruckU on Speed channel. Actually it was to keep beer cold that is coming out of a keg. It may require you to get a small water pump to flow the water through the lines. They took a good length of tubing and stuck it in a cooler filled with ice. The length of tubing was so long that the beer(water)had time to be chilled b4 being pumped out. So your options would be too keep filling a cooler with ice periodically every day or so, or get a small used mini fridge for cheap. On the other hand with ice it may make your rez temps too cold so maybe have the long length of tubing running out of the rez and into a bucket or something to get them back to room temp. Just throwing some ieas out...
yeah achill.. this is my first grow period. so many curve balls man!!! im seriously thinking about doing soil next. i havent decided yet. if this works out, which im sure it's not! im doing the newb way, the way i should have done to begin with. being an over achiever sucks!!!lol
I've had some experience with cooling saltwater reef tanks... About the cheapest solution (no pun intended) I can think of is something called an ice probe. They'll generally cool 30 gallons down from ambient temperature by about 5 degrees. Don't know how big your reservoir is, but I'd expect much more cooling if it is only a few gallons. You can buy these at marinedepot.com or a local fish store that carries reef fish. The product by itself runs 24/7, but you can buy an optional controller that will add thermostatic control. Don't give up, you have a really nice setup going!
lloks good so far, know ph was a problem, going to keep this thread in mind. with the hydro, make sure you arent having water problems, slight blockage. also make sure lights are right distance, if roots appear healthy then its lights/furts. also, make sure plants have plenty of fresh air, even not in flowering, plants need solid airflow, you should also check humidty, possibly too much. - pz sm0ak.
I had given up but im re-motivated!!! i corrected the ph as good as i could using an aquarium kit. i ordered this hanna meter to cover all my bases. im about to go online and order some real ph buffers and solutions so that i dont have to rely on this fish crap! the roots have cleared up a bit and there's signs of new health looking root growth. i dont exactly know what the ph is because the card that came with the kit only goes from 6.0 to 7.something. the colors on the card are hard differentiate at times but you gotta make do. its probably not ideal but it has kept them alive so far. i hope they can hold out for another week or so. I was thinking of doing soil after this but screw it, i just bought the continuous meter and if it doesnt work out this time im going to fuck this hydro thing up the ass on the next go around!! Also, im using a DWC system so im not too sure what the ideal ph is. im going to look it up but if anyone has a clue let me know. I also got my inline fan and filter in, i think im about done with all the supplies i need except the ph stuff now. im feeling optimistic, i trimmed the dry and dead leaves and the plants look strong for the most part. hopefully it works out and if not the next one will go smoothly for i have learned so freakin much in the short adventures i have had so far!! i thought that the root browned on me because of high ph levels and that might have had something to do with it but i now know the real reason after much reading. i thought that the roots would like warmth like roots in soil and i had heard from videos to keep seedling and cutting's roots warm so that they thrive but its the total opposite with the DWC system. the warm water causes furiam(something like that) which is the early stages of root rot. when i changed the res water i used luke warm water thinking it would help them and then since it's such a big res (5g) it took a while for it to cool back down under the light. it's cool now and the new roots are looking better. i'll get new pics up soon i just dont have time right now. take care and thanks for the advice guys. this should be a lesson to all the newbs like me that are thinking of taking on hydro. DONT START untill you have everything, please dont be inpatient like i was, it's stupid!
Im surprised @ how good they have recovered from the ph and lack of nutrient ordeal. Im still looking into and learning my choice of growth medium, this DWC stuff has turned out to be more difficult than expected. Mr. Rumpleforeskin makes it look so easy!! lol. The ph and ppm is so different from regular hydro and im learning it more and more with every week. As soon as i get this meter in i will be on top of things though. I have to manually check the ph with an aquarium kit because the ppm swings every day. I've read that it's the air stones that cause it but what do i know? I really wish i knew how to, i don't know, advertise my post a little more. I love the input that i get from the knowledgeable green thumbs out their. But for those who contribute, thanks a lot! and Achill, i haven't quit yet so lets see what happens! Anyway, here are some pics of the progress and on the recovery. Theirs been a super boost in growth since i introduced the Foxfarm nutes. I have my HPS but i just haven't had time to put it up, the same with the fan and filter. I think im going to make it a point for the weekend. Take care guys, peace!!! I got a little nute burn right now but thats cause i don't have my PPM checker in yet. My nute chart says that it's around 1120 PPM with its solution but i'm sure i need a lot less with DWC. Thats why i haven't feed them this week like i'm supposed to. Im going to wait a few more days and then i'm only going to add about 60% of the suggested amount. Do you think it's a good idea.
AWESOME!!! glad you saved em man! I was a bit worried and thought they were done seein the roots but well done sir. Here's to a mellow rest of your grow, and females!! are you still waiting on your hps to arrive?
No, i got it in achill..., i just haven't had time to put it up. I'm about to get on it. I just need to mount the filter and fan so that the heat from the HPS doesn't get the res water warm. As for having fem's, the two smaller ones are feminized and the big one in the center is a Thai Haze. I'm guessing that's why it so much bigger. Must just be the strain but i am hoping its a fem though!!! If its not can a male be used for a high?? Like for cooking or something if the leaves had any crystals? It would be a shame to just get rid of it!! Theirs got to be some kind of purpose the dude can serve! laterz
Yeah you can use the male plant for cooking/hash (i save the leaves in a brown baggie until I've got all my post harvest trimmings together, then cook), you just dont wanna smoke it. Ive been there before, haha I remember my first go-round I ended up gravity bonging the leaves cause I was desperate and out of greens at the time. I got a little high, but good lord it was like trying to get high putting your mouth on a tailpipe. Just wont do anything.... If it does turn out to be male, youve gotta get it out of your house asap before it drops its pollen and seeds your future buds. I know of people who have had a dead male in a trash bag in one room away from the grow area, and the pollen got sucked up into the air vents and seeded their bud. how much longer till you go 12/12?
yeah, i've read enough to know that the male has to go as soon as you can make the sex distinguishable. to be honest im not even sure how old they are right now, i've been so busy that i forgot when i started. i guess im just waiting for them to get to a certain hight before i start flowering. what height? well, im not sure. I know they are going to frow during flowering also so i should start thinking about it. they grow alot during flowering huh? what do you thing achill??
they're gonna grow between double and triple their size when you flower. I think you've got enough room on your flowering side to let them go another 1 to 2.5 weeks max---you dont wanna run out of room especially with your hps blazing above them. Keep in mind also you'll need 8-14 inches clearance from your bulb to the tallest growth at most times. It gets a bit hot, if you can put the back of your hand at the tallest part and the light doesn't hurt/burn your hand your distance is fine. How tall is your res and plants all together?
what should be an ideal ppm in a DWC system during veg and during flowering??? I use foxfarm nutes in my res but im not sure what ppm level works with DWC. i got some great pics coming, i finally finished my growbox's electric system and installed the HPS and fan and filter. I just need the ducting to get in and im up and running. im not flowering yet so it all good. I think im going to have a prob with the height when i start flowering so if anyone has any info let me know. thanks!. keep in mind, i have to take the plant top off the res to clean it with every res change. i was thinking of a SCROG but then i couldn't remove it. any ideas would be great.
Looking Good so far; glad to see that nute burn cleared up. Nice cabinet too! One thing: The grow big your using from foxfarm isn't the hydropnic version. Your'e using a soil nutrient. The big bloom and tiger bloom can be used for both. Im not too sure of the effectivness in using the grow big you have there for hydroponic uptake but perhaps this is why you were getting a burn. As to your PM, I wanted to add one thing: Always remember, "LESS IS MORE". +Rep on the setup! EDIT: after reading through the thread from the begining, I can tell you what your problem was with the plants yellowing....Miracle Grow - Don't ever put that in your res again. But your're still using the Grow Big for soil...lol Notice the color of grow big for hydro is blue...yours is green
i wasn't aware that i was using the wrong grow big. when i bought the nutes from the store it said they were for hydro. i hate being a newb! lol. do you think if i use half the serving it would be straight? im gonna check it out @ the foxfarm website. thanks for the heads up.
http://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/hydrofeed.pdf There's the "HYDRO" Feeding schedule. If you just follow this to a "T" you will be fine. Hell, even if you missed a few feeding here and there you'd probably be better off. What with all the burn you've experienced. Yeah, the fact that your using the soil fert instead of the hydro fert is probably gonna screw up your PPM, may wanna get to the store and remedy that.
The chart for the foxfarm nutes im using say that the PPM and EC for the amount im using is 2.1-2.3 and 1470-1610 ppm. I was using an aquarium kit for my Ph readings so i couldn't tell what it was after 6.0. this morning i noticed that some of the leaves were really starting to burn fast. i used alot of ph down drops so im not sure if the ph was too low so i got scared and took some water out and put fresh 6.0ph water back in with no nutes. im not sure if it's nute burn or if the ph is too low. i have just recently started using a 150 watt HPS lamp and its about 7-9 inches above the plants. i have put my hand under the light as close to the plants as i can get it but it wasn't to warm and it didn't hurt. im not sure if its heat, or ppm or ph. i just got my hanna gro check in and i changed the res out again and the current readings are 5.9 ph - 1.52 ms/EC - 0.77 ppt/ 770 PPM. as you can see from the plants they aren't too big but they are about 8 weeks old. probably more cause i really couldn't remember when i started! Is the current reading ok? do i need to have more ppm/EC levels? im going to keep the ph between 5.4 and 5.9. Im using DWC and it is not recirculating, it's like a bubble bucket system. check out my pics and let me know what you think. i feel like they should have more nutes but im not sure. HELP!!!!!! i want to veg for another week and in about 10 days i want to start flowering. please, someone help me out. im need to know what is good for the rest of veg and then i need to know what i need to do for flowering. i will be humbly in your debt. peace! again, im using foxfarm's gorw big, tiger bloom, and big bloom. this isnt happening everywhere, only on two-three leaves. This is the Hanna grocheck meter i just got in. HOPEFULLY this will help me to stop the nute and ph probs i've been having.