My first aero-hydro grow!

ItsGrowTime · Nov 23, 2006

So I decided I couldnt ignore the growth rates, yield potential and the challenge of an aero grow. After I saw TBug's big aero thread I fell in love and like they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so thanks TBug.

I recently moved into my new place and when I saw the "storage room" the first thing that popped into my head was "GROW ROOM POTENTIAL" so that is exactly what it has become. It's not 100% sealed from the outside so I had to get creative. I havent attempted any growing in quite some time so this was started 100% from scratch. There are some "ghetto" elements (why buy new stuff when you can use things you already have) but I like that. The strains I just plugged in tonite are NL#5xBigBud (6 plants), Cali Orange (3 plants), and a single B-52. All Nirvana seeds. Im using FNB/FLB/LK under a 400W MH and will switch to HPS at flowering.

Heres some pics:
Seedlings installed

Running test plants

Overview of system

I will update this thread as things progress! Im excited!

*(NOTE: For people reading this thread, my gallery pics have gotten screwed up so if a pic in this thread doesnt match the description, my apologies!)*

Don Logan · Nov 23, 2006

Looks really cool man! I love to make over an odd room into a grow room too. Those sound like some nice strains. Happy growing! :lurk:

Guest · Nov 23, 2006

very clean looking setup

ItsGrowTime · Nov 24, 2006

Thanks for the kind words!
Today, after hanging the mylar, Im seeing my first issue. Temps are creeping up higher than Im comfy with. Im seeing around 85degrees lights on at the top of the posts and it just seems too high. The ambient temp is mid 70s. Due to the nature of my setup fan placement is very important so Im tweaking it to blow colder floor air up over the plants. Its just taking a lot of tweaking.....
I was hoping I could get away without ducting and such but I may have to start looking into it soon.

EDIT: some repositioning of the fans as well as opening one of the light vents has brought the temp way down in only a few minutes. I put one small fan under the system against the wall, right next to the heater and the other small fan blowing over the plants. Did the trick for now.

ItsGrowTime · Nov 27, 2006

11-27-06 update

I went away for a few days and came back to these:

Looking pretty good and those NLxBB are just big ass plants that are outgrowing the other two strains by mile. One of the Cali Oranges (closest in the pic) is still struggling and Im debating popping another seed to replace it with. Its been weak since day 1 and hasnt improved much. Another few days to see if it takes off I think.

YAY FOR ROOT PORN! You can see the water flying out of the hole.

This is one of the nicest NLxBB plants. Its only been in the aero for 4 days!

When I checked the res this morning somehow my pH had dipped all the way down to 5.1 from a 5.65 reading last nite. Ppms went up a tad to 143. Im keeping them on a very light feeding schedule so I can get the hang of the system. Anyway, this plant is showing the effects of that pH drop overnight.
The left leaf looks pretty ugly but hopefully will bounce back quickly.

So far Im very impressed with the growth rate!
EDIT: I also saw that the res temp is creeping up slowly as well to mid 70s. Any suggestions on cooling it down? I cant see buying a full on chiller for such a small grow and res (10gal). Any other ways to cool it down?

Taliz · Nov 27, 2006

Great setup..... Wish I had the room..

ItsGrowTime · Nov 27, 2006

Thanks Taliz! It really doesnt take up that much space. The entire grow area is 5x4.
Anybody have any suggestions on keeping res temps down? They are creeping into the mid 70s during the day. I cant see getting a chiller since its only a 10gal res and the pump and airstones, etc take up a lot of the space already.

EDIT: I came across this post on cooling res temps and its perfect since I have close access to colder air for the dual airpump. Ill keep monitoring it to see how it works.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=606337&postcount=9

Japanfreakier · Nov 28, 2006

To cool the rez just point a small aquaruim fan into it. I use these on my smaller gardens and they can drop the temp at least 5 degress. If they don't work you can forget about ice packs and all that shit and go with a chiller, it will pay for itself in the first crop if the temps are high.

Japanfreakier · Nov 28, 2006

I read that guys thread. Bad idea. AC units harvest a lot of mold and have to be cleaned once in a while to get it off. Buy bringing the air directly into the rez from the unit you would be putting your rez at risk.

ItsGrowTime · Nov 28, 2006

Actually its not coming from an AC but rather from the natural cold air outside. In the end, the air pump is still pumping room air into the res so I dont see what the difference is. Either way, its not from an AC but rather the same principle just using outside cold air, that just happens to be very accessible because of how my room is setup.

100outof100 · Nov 28, 2006

Great Job Growtime :joint:

I really like the room and the great recycling of light

Mylar

The plants are looking healthy and strong

Better luck with that that little runt. I only have one suggestion, and it is about your inline water tube. I noticed that your MAIN water intake pipe is CLEAR

I would reccommend either replacing it with black tubing, or painting over it.
The clear tubing results in high bacteria build up because of the light leaks to your water, since this is such a larger tube it shows alot of your water flow.

THis is only MO but it would not be hard to fix

Look into it if your having any problems in that dept. :sasmokin:

Good luck

ItsGrowTime · Nov 28, 2006

Thanks 100!
The mylar seems a must and considering whats behind it is black plastic dropcloth (to separate the rest of the room from the grow area) it was mandatory. That black plastic surely was sucking up all the lovely MH light. I wish I could have hung it a bit better but since its basically suspended Im happy with the results.

Thats a good suggestion with the tube. I kinda figured since the water was moving so quickly it might not be an issue? Wouldnt hurt to wrap it with some black duct tape. Its 3/4" with 1/2" inside diameter vinyl on a 633gph Ecoplus pump. Thanks for your thoughts! Its the type of input Im hoping to get since this is my first attempt at anything hydro related. I also had a black towel covering the res but while it kept it dark inside I figured it was soaking up the light and warming my res so I put a white towel on instead. Less heat but more light. Ugh...compromises!

TBug · Nov 28, 2006

100outof100 said:
Great Job Growtime

I really like the room and the great recycling of light Mylar The plants are looking healthy and strong Better luck with that that little runt. I only have one suggestion, and it is about your inline water tube. I noticed that your MAIN water intake pipe is CLEAR I would reccommend either replacing it with black tubing, or painting over it.
The clear tubing results in high bacteria build up because of the light leaks to your water, since this is such a larger tube it shows alot of your water flow.

THis is only MO but it would not be hard to fix Look into it if your having any problems in that dept.

Good luck

High IGT! Very nice build...lol..good work bro! Im proud to have a prodigy..lol! Yes, tape up that tube with duct-tape. I did that to mine. I dont see any insulation board though, ...that is key! Also, start rotating frozen 2 liters every six hours. it takes 3 bottles and reqires dilegence in the six hour thing, but it WILL lower the rez!
Is the res external? i see the elbow in the drain, but whats that red below? As long as the res is exposed to light, it will raise the temp(as much as 10 F). Also, if ya can, mix them around. looks like they are strching for the light. Hope that helps! Peace and ill be lurking, TBug

ItsGrowTime · Nov 28, 2006

Thanks for taking a peek TBug. I def. value your input since I stole your design in the first place!

I will tape up the tube tomorrow. I will miss watching the pump kick on to feed my lovelies though

Ive been trying to figure out how to use styrofoam instead of the insulation boards but I guess it's all about the same in the end. The problem is that I don't have solid walls to brace anything against. This grow room is literally just a separated portion of a larger basement storage room with one wall at the back of the tubes...

See this crappy mspaint rendition:

No idea how to mount anything other than putting something in the middle of the tubes but that would block the fans. Its a challenging setup, for sure...
The outside air portion doesnt really affect the rest of the room though.

This pic should show how the res is set up a bit better:

Japanfreakier · Nov 28, 2006

Why have you designed the feed lines higher than they need to? Is there a purpose?

eclipz krunk · Nov 28, 2006

your seedlings are going to grow nicely just watch the ph :joint:

good luck with your grow.

ItsGrowTime · Nov 28, 2006

Japanfreakier said:
Why have you designed the feed lines higher than they need to? Is there a purpose?

You mean where the tube from the pump enters the system? Naaa, no purpose just wanted a foot of 1/2" PVC downward. Blame TBug lol.

ItsGrowTime · Nov 28, 2006

My babies are starting to show some yellowing in the leaves so its time to feed them! Im upping the ppm to 250 from 150 (as measured today). The res temp came down but not as much as Id like. Its still in the low 70s. Looks like its frozen soda bottle time.

One of the yellowing plants:
(yeah my camera sucks, sorry, its hard to tell)

The one with the bad leaf didnt really improve even after I fixed the pH issue. Just got a bit worse actually. Any thoughts on what it looks like?

So I have the pH in line at 5.7ish, the room temps in line (max of 82 but hangs around 80), res 72-74. Hopefully feeding a little more will help.

TBug · Nov 29, 2006

ItsGrowTime said:
You mean where the tube from the pump enters the system? Naaa, no purpose just wanted a foot of 1/2" PVC downward. Blame TBug lol.

High all! ...lol, there's actually is a purpose to mine thouh IGT never asked. I used it for weight or counter preasure to keep the feedtube from popping off the feed line elbows in the posts. See my 1 foot tubes are not glued in, when the pump is off I am able pop off the entire feed bar and remove a post for whatever reason. Seeing as though i have not had a need for that, i may just lower them and glue them in. They are a bitch to hurdle any time i must enter the closet..lol.
...and hey, "dont shoot me...Im only the piano player!" :pointlaug

Peace, TBug

TBug · Nov 29, 2006

High IGT! Hey you should be at least half strength by now. Give them some food they are ready(600ppm). 5.7 ph is decent but dont hold it there. let it drift up to 6.2, then bring it bact down. Do you have RO water? Peace, TBug

My first aero-hydro grow!

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Plz forget you know me...Sugaree

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