1st Grow - Kovenant's story

[RamCTD1027]

Kovenant-

I dont have time to answer all your questions but here is some info on an AC box.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=57828&highlight=window+ac

There was a better thread on the advanced nutrients forum but i just noticed that the forum was shut down by the canadian govnt.

Anyway, i will try to answer some more of your questions later tonight when i have more time.

RamCTD

 

[kovenant]

MID TOWN --> okay. glad i understood about the pumps. will be doing that asap (draining the system, re-working it.)

AC wise... not going to go with the window unit then (at least not in the window.) will do one of two things... and that is create a box for it and run it install it in the room (as RamCTD suggested in the post just above this one) OR to get a portible room unit (like the models i linked on the prior page.)

does anyone have any good reviews or experience with portable units? if everyone has had problems with them, then i obvioulsy do not want to go that route. however - because my funds are tapped... i get both a dehumidifer and an AC in one, going with the portable. as long as it would last a year, i would be fine with that.

as for the small fan i was hoping to use for venting - i can email justin @ hidhut.com - where i linked that fan from. ive bought some of my gear from him and he's been a great help and resource. ill describe what i need to do and see what he says as well.

18 hr days... yes, the elusive dream of being able to reduce turn around. the thread here on IC is located here. but i also read other experienced and 'finished' projects that had good results. not to mention the two local growers. i will probably just hold off and do my 1st grow as standard as possible, but could really use the quick turn around on this first.

**Green Label** --> yes and no. i definately want to try a few of them on the next or 3rd grow. i also want to just see the different type phenos that i can get from a few of these powerhouse strains. if i come up with some really powerful moms & dads... then i will play with maybe crossing some (with eachother as well as with my trainwreck... really want to hybrid the TW with something) and see what comes of that offspring. will definately be growing some of each of these in the future though!

slips --> yup... i feel closer and closer, but each set back makes me sigh. lol. would be a lot more fun if i wasnt having the hardest time right now... the heat in the room after this transfer is killing me (at least its not killing them, yet) and i need to get some work done... but hard at the moment with my daughter here. yes - please let me know how that goes... i really want to vent my chiller asap before anything else as i feel it will drop my temps at least 5 degrees

RamCTD1027 --> thanks mate. ill be looking for your post. have a great day!

 

[kovenant]

also still pondering where i want my temps and relative humidity during veg & flower.

i still need to put some type of media/covering under the plants (over the hydroton.) should it be thicker than white plastic cut-outs... or is that plenty to help drop the direct heat on the hydroton/roots area?

i just spotted this at home depot too: 6 In. 250 CFM in-line

seems this could be used on its own for venting the water chiller and/or an AC unit. correct me if im wrong... at least would be better than the small computer type. i can deal with $35'ish and maybe get 2. airflow through all my lamps kinda sucks - this would be a great booster i think.

here are a couple pics of the burns im seeing. not sure whats causing it - i know its HOT in my room... 90-91 during half the light cycle. and my nute solution is @ 840ppm.

i have about 3 plants with 1 or 2 leaves each showing this type of burn. what causes this?

one or two locations also show this yellowing or inner-burn where the stem begins a leaf. same or different cause of this?

just a new shot of the girls in their dresses. 4:30am

 

[RamCTD1027]

Kovenant-

I could be WAY off here but the signs of a potassium (K) deficiency are yellow spots on leaves turn dark yellow, leaves die and drop off plants, and leaf edges burn. I dont know about your yellow spots turning dark yellow or whether or not the leaves are dropping off the plants but your leaf edges are definitely burning. I would definitely wait to see what other people have to say about this because this is a complete guess. I do know that high salinity locks up potassium.

Good Luck.

RamCTD

 

[kovenant]

RamCTD -> thnx for the quick response! ill keep in mind you're guessing, but your guesses are better than mine because i have no clue. funny thing is - besides the pictures i posted i have noticed some small yellow burn 'holes' or circles on a few leaves too. sounds like the 'yellow spots' you mentioned. dont have any leaves falling off... yet. but i did notice 1 or 2 small bottom-level leaves out of the whole crop that were very whitish-yellow this morning, looked like they would probably just drop.

if it is potasium deficiency... what do i do?

ive had the pH pretty stable between 5.5-5.9pH the entire grow. when i transplanted to the a week ago they received a new nute solution which about 1/3 compromised of Sensi Grow A & B - which should provide adequate potasium (right?) anything that would cause a nute lock from what ive mentioned during my grow - preventing the uptake of the nutes?

could it be too much potasium or that my ppms are too high? (i started at 300-400 in veg, a week later was at 500, a week later at 700-750, and then when i went to buckets went almost to 900... which has been sitting at 840 (i checked this morning at 4:30am too)

im also wondering if it isnt heat/humidity related (which is why im wanting feed back so bad on what the temps/humidity range should be with my setup/environment.) this last week my temps have been 84-92F and humidity 34-48% (before this last week they were 76-84F with 48-60% RH)

anyone else have feedback on these burns, what caused them, and how to fix them?

thnx!

 

[MID TOWN]

Those little fans just don't cut it. you need to go with a vortex or some other type of can fan. youll only be wasting your money with stuf like that just to realise that it doesn't work. if you've got long ducting and you want to add a little boost to your vortex these can help a bit but other than that there bassicaly worthless.

not exactly sure what's goin on with your plants But I guarantee if you used a simple nute regimn like GH 3 part and hygrozime you'd be much better off. Anyways whatever you decide to do Post some pics and details in the infirmary forum, they'll help you out.

 

[dr.bonsai]

ya for sure im in it to watch your grow... anyways do you have interchangable sockets? your plants look good! keep up the grow!

 

[kovenant]

Mid Town -> alright bro. well, i am going to get at least 1 for a in-line booster. going to be doing alot today - got home @ 2am last night from dropping my daughter off, so now the real work can get started... getting the environment dialed in properly.

dr.bonsai -> thnx mate! im not sure what your asking about do you have interchangable sockets?

here are a couple updates of my ladies. going to post these pics in the infirmary too. the majority are healthy looking (a bit dry cause of the 40% humidity) but healthy none the less, except for maybe a yellow leaf or two - like this one:


you can see a burn around the rim of the leaves:


and then there are 2 that are pretty beat up, like this one:

 

[kovenant]

so today is the day.

i took back a bunch of misc stuff i didnt use or need and got some things i did:

AC = LG 10,000 BTU air conditioner

Dehumidifier = LG 45 pint Dehumidifier

so im building a box to vent/house my AC, water chiller, and dehumidifier. im building it with the AC on top and the two floor units sit under it. they will be divided by a piece of plywood that leaves an opening on each side of about 4-6"... i will be cutting a IN hole in the center which will have a plywood divider to the left of it - this will allow outside air into the box which will be pulled down around the center and right side of the AC unit -> directed downward around the water chiller and dehumidifier, and sucked up the left side of the box to an exit hole located on the top of the box. a 210 CFM can fan will be pulling air out (and keep it circulating in.)

i need to take a better look at the dehumidifer and see how i will be mounting it into the box... because obviously some of it has to stick out the front (im assuming the dehumidifier portion is only on the front of the unit and the other 3 sides should be located inside the box for venting and exhaust. (somewhat the same for the chiller... front sticking out - or at least, accessible controllers to adjust temps on the chiller.

i even thought about MOST of the dehumidifier and chiller units being <-outside-> the box with just the backs just venting in. but i think the other 3 sides would be sucking in air to ventilate the units and be sucking CO2 out of the room, once enabled. correct?

let me know if this sounds like a bad idea... ive thought about a couple different things, and i believe it will keep everything out of the way and well vented without having to cut more holes in my ceiling and using long duct work. looking forward to some quick replies from anyone reading - as i just drew the plans and will start work on it in the next couple hours.

cheers, and will have pics tonight (or tomorrow) when i complete. i am thinking of taking pics along the way as well, maybe i can post a DIY if it comes out working great. thnx!

 

[kovenant]

after pulling the dehumidifier out to inspect how best i would 'plug' it into the ventilation box... i think i will keep this unit outside of it, for a couple reasons.

the front pulls in air (to dehumidify the room) and exhausts out the rear. if i exhausted into (out of) the box... it would exhaust to outside and suck CO2 from the room.

furthermore, i have it plugged in and running now to inspect heat output. there is low heat exhausted back into the room (maybe half as hot as the chiller) and so i think with the chiller venting out and the AC unit installed.... the room will be cool and function fine with the dehumidifier sitting seperate in the room. besides - the unit is made to sit in the room and do its work, and done this way the air will be circulated back into the room (minus humidity) and work as it should, without draining CO2.

i believe im correct, please let me know if im wrong.

so the plan is to build a box for the AC unit on top, and the water chiller below. venting the entire rear and side vents from the chiller into the circulating vent box and leaving the front and tubes from the top exposed (outside) the box for functionality.

 

[plumpm0nkey]

show me your pics!

 

[kovenant]

10:40am. i reworked the ducting - now it pulls from outside, through the flower room, into the veg, and into the attic... air flow is much better.

i re-plumbed the water chiller. its using the 700 gph mag pump and circulating into and out of the controller.

when i flushed the system i ran pH'ed RO water for a couple of hours... then went into flower nutes. changed bulbs out to HPS and will go to 12/12 today after i get the AC boxed and wired.

i am not going to vent the chiller... i figure the AC will cool the room and the water chiller and dehumidifier will just vent/exhaust themselves in the room and not rob valuable CO2... which will be also going online today once im finished.

ill have pics at the end and get them up for the show!


my flower nute solution for approximately 50 gal RO water:

Connoisseur A = 48 tsp
Connoisseur B = 48 tsp
Barricade = 1 tsp (10 mL)
Piranha = 5 tsp
Folic Acid = 24 tsp
Multi-zyme = 2 fl oz

solution = 720ppm @ 5.6pH


i think im going to stop using Liquid Karma in my res solution... going to use it as a foliar spray (as it gives directions to use as such, as well.) water is cleaner and less nute build-up without it.

 

[kovenant]

alright. pictures as promised! sorry couldnt get them up last night - i had worked 14 hours on the room yesterday and had to get up early for work today. nearly got it finished... just need to seal up my windows, seal up lighting, make sure AC is sealed completely (still need to silicon the unit into box... but want to make sure humidity inside the box isnt going to be a problem.

this morning @ 4:30am - room temperature was 79F, relative humidity was 51%, and water temp was 70F. controller read 5.9pH @ 720ppm --> i used pH down to 5.6pH.

although i had switched to flower nutes and HPS flower bulbs - the ladies have not run a 12/12 cycle yet. this is due to begin this morning at 6am - 6pm lights out.


i didnt get alot of pics of the box while i was building it - but here are a few of the AC and setup.







my CAP air-3 and ppm-3 controller & monitor


Active Aqua 1/4 hp Water Chiller


my nutes (flower nutes):



and the girls... seeming to perk up a bit. i love seeing green bleed back into yellowed leaves. i think it probably was a potasium deficiency... and hopefully problem solved. i know 50% RH is much better for them than 35%.




cheers!

 

[plumpm0nkey]

WOW, you can tell you have dropped some coin into your setup. But you will make your money back pretty soon. So how fast does your meter spin now?

 

[kovenant]

haha. good question - i havent even looked yet. and kind of afraid to. after getting the windows sealed properly tonight i will begin using the CO2. even though i ended up dropping alot more cash than i originally intended to - im very stoked and excited to have the room the way it is. now... i can put my time and energy into the ladies instead of the environment.

hope with all the set backs, vegging in rockwool cube (small root developement), stress from burn, etc, that i still get a good return on these girls. i really need it to help pay for itself! lol.

okay ~ so i need a few questions answered. i switched to flower. and im wanting to know what temp & humidity i should try to keep my room at. with the AC installed, i have it dialed to 80F as i figure that is a good medium temp. the humidity has come back up to 45-51% (from 35%) so im feeling better about that... and i know as the buds start forming and growing that i will want to back it down. can you guys give me some figures?

thanks!

 

[Guest]

If you're going to be running CO2 injections I'd recommend to let temps hover around 82-85... I seem to get the best results at this temp when using CO2 and without the CO2 (late in flower I turn it off since it's not really used as much) I drop those temps down to 78-80.... ladies love it.

 

[kovenant]

Klutter -> thanks for the advice. i will up my temps into the low- to mid-80s when i get home today. good to hear about the later part of flower as well, 78-80F w/o CO2...

how about humidities?

 

[Guest]

Klutter -> thanks for the advice. i will up my temps into the low- to mid-80s when i get home today. good to hear about the later part of flower as well, 78-80F w/o CO2...

how about humidities?

Right on man....

As far as humidity, to be honest, I never even bother messing with it. My RH stays around 50-65 throughout and I'm not ready to put in a humidifier or dehumidifier in there to 'control' it. For me, it seems if I keep the heat in check the humidity will follow.

 

[kovenant]

hmm. i just bought the dehumidifier when i picked up the AC - wonder if i shouldnt return it. could be i need it closer to harvest... not sure. trainwreck doesnt have the really dense indica buds that seem to develop bud-rot easier, so i probably could get away without using it too.

i guess i could always pick one up again, if i did need to use one. i just assumed that going with the air conditioner i would need to use a dehumidifier.

do you run AC klutter?

 

[MID TOWN]

keep the dehumidifier!