Sterner's journal- 3x3 flood/drain 1000w perpetual. Buckle up kiddies.

Hello GC

I'm Sterner

This is my first try at growing anything. I did have one starter plant from bag seed to learn from but it was male, so it got chopped just after i started to flower it. I learned alot from it and was glad I did that before this. After that I ordered real fem'd seeds and started on this grow.

I cracked 5 beans, 3 survived. Barneys Farm Utopia haze, Cali Connection Seeds Buddha Tahoe OG (freebie) and Dinafem Seeds Cheese (freebie). I put them in dwc buckets and my original intention was to veg them for 3-4 weeks under cfl's then put them under a 600w hps. Well, life happened and i couldn't get a light for a while. They happily kept slowly growing in the tent. Now they are alittle out of control. I've taken 2 sets of cutting from them, around 8 a piece per round and they are bigger then ever. These plants are amazing.

When I could finally buy a light, I figured I would go big, so I decided to clone them and run a zero veg clone to flower Al B Fuct style grow. The first round of clones didn't go so well. Only 5 survived out of the bubble cloner. I switched it up for the second round of cuts and used rockwool, rooting powder and a heating mat. I got much better results. Only 3 didn't make it.

Last night was the 'first' night of 12/12. a few have been in the tray for a week or so to veg b/c the clones i cut were way to small. I'm flooding every 4 hours when lights are on, no flood when lights are off.

I'm making this thread in hopes for alittle guidance, help, mentors, comments, etc. I am pretty thick skinned and i know i'm still learning so feel free to help, comment, etc.

Breakdown of the gear.
1000w hps Hortilux lamp
Lumatek ballast
cool tube
10in vortex fan
10in Can carbon filter
Phresh Duct Silencer
3'x3' flood table
6"x6" square pots with hydroton
igloo cooler for a res (keeps the temps perfect!)
cheap but accurate ppm and ph meters. i'm upgrading these for the next go round to a Bluelab combo meter.

Nutes
Lucas formula for flower with Big Bud going to be added next res change and Heisenberg Tea.
I'll see how that goes. I've used the BC line so far on my mom's with good results and I also have the dyna-gro line to try if needed.

ready....GO!!

pics.

 

Thank you sir.

I know the filter and fan are overkill for the one tray but i will be adding a 2nd once I get everything dialed in.

 

Yup. 150qt Igloo cooler from wal-mart. 80 bucks

 

pic from last night

 

not really a chiller just a res and it being a cooler keeps the temps down nicely. Alot of guys running DWC are using coolers instead plain buckets to combat the heat. I know a bigger res would be ideal so i wouldn't have to add back so frequently but i have access to it all the time so i can add back as needed. I checked on it this morning and the temps were at 62 deg in the res.

I plan on changing out the soup every 2 weeks and it has a drain plug on the bottom with a regular hose connection on it. so i just hook up a hose to it and let it drain to my sump pump which pumps it to my drain. the remaining liquid in the bottom gets vacuumed up with my shop vac or just dumped out, then wiped down with some ISO and paper towels. I'll take pics for you tonight to show you what im talking about. i've changed it out once already and it was pretty easy.

it also has a little trap door in the lid, so i just popped that out and ran all the lines for the air pump, water pump and temp through there. it's perfect for this and i plan on getting another one for the 2nd table i plan on setting up.

link to cooler Igloo Quick and Cool 150-Quart Cooler - Walmart.com

 

there shouldn't be a mold issue. it's still open to the air and i will get cleaned every 2 weeks. i popped the trap door off, flipped the lid around and attached a simple shut off valve on the bottom. easy peasy

here's a pic i found when i was setting it up. didn't realize i had this and it should answer some questions.

 

Ph is up alittle and ppm's are lower. The girls are drinking!! Im seeing alittle yellowing. N deficiency? I'll grab pics and post asap

 

this is a crappy pic but you should be able to see the color difference. I'll sneak in when the light is off.

 

temp in the res last night after the light was on for 4 hrs.

I love coolers!

 

i tried h202 in all kinds of strength doses and it never seemed to fix the problem, just kept it at bay. the tea fixed the problem and seems to have a very positive effect on the roots so i will always use it. i'm brewing a fresh batch tonight. i say whatever works for you!

the yellowing has stopped. i didn't change anything, just fixed itself.

1 week old.

 

the tea is Heisenburg's. slightly modified. i add a pinch of great white as well. the roots love it, they grow like crazy and it keeps the res clean. love it! if you have never tried it, i would suggest it at least once. if it doesn't work for you, just go back to the h202. that will kill all the bene anyway.

my temps are around 78-81 with the light on and around 70 with the light off.

i'll be adding a 2nd tray once i get the first one perfect and i want to run one strain per tray.

i'm going to follow along on yours as well. curious to see about the nova line. i have no idea why they yellowed alittle. maybe the shock of the 1000w light? who knows, but seem all better now. they are growing like champs!

 

i had to take out my haze mom. it's ok i have more seeds if i want to run it again. it got over run by the cheese and kush in the tent. it was never a strong plant from the beginning anyway.