1200W 12 Bucket Sealed Room Medical Grow with AC and CO2

[Guest]

Welcome and good tidings. Thanks all for coming. Pull up a seat and sit back.

This is my first run using this particular system. It should be ***Buckets of Fun***! I can't wait until harvest.

The main system consists of twelve 5 gallon black buckets with netpot lids.

I’m doing an experiment with tweaking the size of the netpot lids. As you can see in the picture, I am currently running half of these buckets with 10” net pots, and the other half with 8” netpots. I’m curious to see the difference between the two sizes in terms of root development, yield, and other factors. Any of you guys have any input on this using a similar system?

It is a top-fed drip system that drains into a reservoir, which is a 20 Gallon Rubbermaid Brute trash can. I don’t use fancy drippers and whatnot, I just have the ½” line that goes to a shutoff valve that sits in the netpot. I adjust the valves so that they are almost closed, but let some spray through when the pump is on.

There is a GH dual diaphragm air pump connected to a nice size flexible airstone that sits in the bottom bucket.

I put clones in this system that are a bit too small. IMHO, I should have vegged them out for a few weeks first under a smaller lamp in a different room for energy and space efficiency, but I had to get them out of the veg/clone area, as I am making some changes to that room right now. I am running them 18/6 for now. I'll probably flower at 15" to 18" depending on how things go...

Lights are 2 x 600W MH run off Lumatek ballasts (240V) running in a 60” cool tube.

The room is a sealed, air conditioned room with a Green Air CO-2 generator mounted at the far end of the room. I haven’t turned the CO2 generator on yet, but I’m guessing all I will have to do is leave the pilot light burning once it gets going, and it should provide plenty for mah babbies, since the room is pretty well sealed.

There is also a carbon filter on the floor next to the reservoir that recirculates the air within the room to control odor and provide some nice clean air for mah babbbies.

Strain is Masterkush. I've also got some OG and Pre-98 Bubba I'm going to try out on subsequent runs!

Since the buckets are elevated to facilitate draining, I’ve only got about 4 feet until I hit the ceiling. I’m hoping to keep everything short by giving the plants a decent amount of light. They seem to be liking it pretty good so far.

Initially, I removed the reflector from the cool tube with the intention of putting the lights IN BETWEEN the plants so there is light coming from both above and below once the babies get big enough. However, I got some bleaching (plants too small), and opted to put the reflector back on (no pics of that yet, but I'll get them up later).

There’s also a veg/clone room which I will detail in later posts.

I’m just trying to keep this one as simple as possible. No funny stuff… Yah HEAR?

Any questions/comments, please feel free to chime in…

DrBucket

 

[Bigtimer7]

Nice room, looks really clean cant wait to see if the size of the net pots has anything to do with yeild and size of roots.

 

[Guest]

Nutrients

Nutrients

I forgot to add that I'm using Canna nutes.

I actually use Canna Substra even though I'm recirculating. I just have to watch pH more than the people that use Aqua.

After a few more grows When I run out of my huge supply of Substra, I'll switch to Aqua... I LOVE CANNA NUTES, THEY ARE THE BEST!

Right now, I only have Rhizotonic (10-15 mL per gallon) and also a good amount (over 20-25 mL per gallon, which is way too much) of Hydroguard running in the system to protect against root problems.

I don't usually change my reservoir out unless it starts getting funky, just add back RO water (with a tiny bit of tap water for calcium) and whatever nutrients I need. The AC helps big time, since it keeps the water at a constant 68-69 degrees.

Right now it's around 200 ppm or so, gonna start adding nutrients very slowly.

The pics in the post above are from a few days ago. The babies have gotten bigger since... I'll post recent pictures soon.

 

[Guest]

Veg after 10 days!

Veg after 10 days!

Whatever the **** is in Rhizotonic and Hydroguard, it's good shit... these babies look healthy. Don't think i'm gonna change out this res for a WHILE! The cool water temps (67-68 F) definitely help..................

Hardly added actual ferts so far... Just a few mls of Canna Substra A + B (we're talking less than 10 mL so far for the entire res...!)

This particular Masterkush is a strain that doesn't like the ferts too high, so I'm doing it real light for her....

Here they are at 10 days in... Gonna flower em sooner than you think... time flies when you're using buckets!

AND PLEASE, VOTE RON PAUL 2008. IT'S FOR YOUR OWN ****ING GOOD.

 

[WyattHerbShiva]

beautyful setup, mister!

gonna watch this

cheers.
wyatt.

 

[Guest]

Roots

Roots

And yes, that plant you see above is the same one you saw in the first post... Just about a week or so older... So these buckets show fast growth once the roots set... The roots are starting to drop out of the bottom of the net pots...

Once they drop and hit the bottom they just explode like a rocket.

By the end of flower, these roots will fill the entire bucket......................

Thanks Rhizotonic!

 

[Guest]

Anybody out there know... Why are my stems purple...? I always seem to get purple stems no matter what the original clone looks like... The bud ends up great, tho... But it bugs me that I can't get my stems to be all nice and green like many of you out there!

I can take any green stemmed clone you give me, and by the time I grow it for a week or two, it will have a purple stem... Is this some kind of lockout i'm not recognizing?

 

[blackone]

I also get purple stems in my flower room. The intake air is quite cold at my place - is that also the case in your situation? Since you're getting good results I'm almost certain that it can't be a P deficiency.

 

[Guest]

Cold room=purple stems?

Cold room=purple stems?

Hi blackone,

Yeah, that room is pretty cold, under 75F at all times... More like 70-73 F usually, and that drops about 5-10 degrees during the lights off period...

So that may be in fact what is causing my stems to purple, eh?

My clone mother/clone room I got some purpling on the mothers, but nothing like my flower room, in which all the stems are showing purple... so it may be the temps..

What are you temps like, under 75? Are you seeing the same kind of purple that you see on my stems in the pictures?

DrBucket

 

[blackone]

To be honest I don't have a thermometer in there yet;p But it's pretty cool because I ventilate out the chimney and because of that the cold air is drawn in from the outside to the room in my basement where my grow is. I also think that my nighttime temps are pretty low.
In my mother/clone box I don't get the purple stems but the temps there are higher and more constant since they're in another room and on 20 hours of light. As soon as the clones go in the flower room they start getting those purple colors - just like yours. I've thought about just venting to the room but I don't have a carbon filter.
Anyway this is a luxury problem - most growers are fighting high temps. I'm a little worried about mold though at night time - gotta think about a solution when my plants start budding in a couple of weeks.

 

[WyattHerbShiva]

afaik purple stems can be a N deficiency..., nothing bad... but maybe u could
add a lil more.... back in the day a friend with a big hydro/ Co2 grow had this on NL clones and the next time i looked at them they were completely green.

He said it was N. That´s all i know secondhand.

cheers, Wyatt.

 

[Guest]

Reservoir

Reservoir

Here's a pic of the res, in case you were wondering:

There's a 4 foot flexible airstone in the bottom of the reservoir powered by a GH Dual Diaphragm Air Pump. That pump filter bag is actually being used to hold a mosquito dunk (BT) which is beneficial bacteria that helps prevent fungus gnats larvae and other nasty no-nos that I don't want in my hen house!

There's also a recirculating water pump that moves water from the bottom of the reservoir to the top.

The pH and TDS electrodes are hung in the solution continuously (I have a Hanna Gro-Check pH/TDS/temperature continuous read metering system).

I usually have the lid CLOSED to prevent algae buildup.

 

[gdawg]

tight setup bro! really like the rez.

 

[GrassArt]

Great set up man, really like how everything is so clean and organized!

I really do agree, Canna nutrients are amazing, I use em, but soil for me .

Good luck

GrassArt

 

[Guest]

Momma Masterkush

Momma Masterkush

Here's the Masterkush mother that the plants in my system came from:

I just transplanted her from a 5 gallon bucket to a 1 gallon square pot (yes, you are reading that right, from a 5 gallon to a 1 gallon), so her leaves are drooping a bit. I added some Rhizotonic/Superthrive/Hydroguard solution to the soil and let it run off a bit, so I think she's going to adjust to her new home!

I had to take off some of her upper branches a few weeks ago to make her easier to manage in my new (almost finished) clone/clone mother room. I had put her too quickly into the 5 gallon, and the 5 gallon bucket was just getting unwieldy, so I decided to take her down a notch or two. She's about half the size that she used to be (she used to be 3+ feet tall!).... She'll be okay, and much easier to manage... Just has to be adjusted into her new home!

Here's the approximate mix I use for my mothers:

60% to 70% Fox Farm Ocean Forest (FFOF)
20 to 30% Coco Coir
10% to 20% Perlite

These are approximate amounts, I've been told a 70/20/10 is ideal, but I adjust by how I feel about the mix (I use my hands).

I feed them usually with a mixture Rhizotonic, Hydroguard, and Pure Plend Pro.

I find that the coco coir adds a spongy texture to the soil that the roots just really seem to like, and the perlite, well, that's for its air/water retention capabilities and to prevent the compaction that is always a problem with FFOF.

Any questions, please ask.................................................

DrBucket

 

[NZjay]

Nice room! Good luck

 

[ixnay007]

Wow, quite the trunk on that mom, she's definitely a healthy plant!

 

[WyattHerbShiva]

´...after seeing the roots dangle from your pot,
i had to run into the growstore and bought some Rizotonic rigft away!

Cheers, Wyatt.

 

[Guest]

Progress ...

Progress ...

The plants have been growing...

I also started the CO2. Pilot light on the burner only--that's all I need in this system! A propane tank will probably last me a few months with this sealed room:

Questions for you guys:

1. Ever tried Supernova or Dark Energy? I'm thinking about using them both on this grow, though in dilute concentrations, even compared to what the label recommends.

2. Bushmaster and gravity... Any experiences? What are your dosing recommendations. Since I only have 12 plants, I am trying to maximize my yield as a medical patient................... I'm going to use them before I started flowering. I've been told a 1-2-3 schedule works well for bushmaster. What this is means is this--1 ml/gal on day 1, 2 ml/gal on day 2, 3 ml/gal on day 3, and then flush the res and change to flower nutrients and change the light schedule to 12/12... Ever used these or heard of them? Please let me know your experiences!



DrBucket

 

[WyattHerbShiva]

2. Bushmaster and gravity... Any experiences? What are your dosing recommendations. Since I only have 12 plants, I am trying to maximize my yield as a medical patient.......[/QUOTE]

dunno if i missed it before...

so ur a med MJ patient/licensed and that limits you
to "X" plants and you invest everything to get the
highest amount of medicine-bud out of it?

(... i don´t know if anyone here remember the
"maxcropping" thread on OG of a canadian,
who flowered 2 manatuskathunder**** clones
in gigantic DWC buckets and got like
800g from 1000w per plant.)

...stil impressed,
but now even more interested.

If the situation in my country would ever get to
a 3-5 plant tolerance - i´d be happy to make
600w growspaces for each of the plants.

( though organic-soil would be my choice
of nurturing weapon)

blah.
Wyatt.