bobblepods v2.0. bobbleracks revamped.

[bobblehead]

Thanks ssg. I checked on my aerocloner this morning and some of the cuts already have bumps! I'm so happy it's heat and not black magic cause the federal government already owns my soul... With nothing to sell to the devil I was in a tough spot.

 

[wisco61]

my old apartment never got below 80 now that I've slept on this idea... In the middle of winter, I had the kitchen window wide open 24/7 to let cold air in... In my grows before that, I didn't have good ventilation, and temps were high there as well...

So, that being said... I think you guys have got me headed in the right direction. All this cause of temperature... It just didn't make any sense that I had never needed heat mats before.

I'm in the same boat, I learned how to grow in a second story apartment closet with shitty heating and cooling. Having a large cool basement is a plus in so many ways, but I too had some cloning issues at first with the lowered temps. I just do one flat at a time so a heating mat is working out for me, but with your larger amounts using the heat from the lights is a good idea for you.

 

[~Shhh~]

Was going interject with the root zone temps (RZT) but seems you guys have picked up on it... clones IME will root about 50% quicker (7- 10 days) if the RZT is a consistent 75 - 80F. Any lower than 70F and they will take up to 20 days!

How are you getting on with the aero/dwc cloner?

edit>

Do you guys have those jumbo heated propagators over there bro? Like this:

They're like 4' x 2' and come with heat mat and thermostat... You can fit a shit load of cuttings in there 2 of those should fill your pods. 1 of those holds about 500 smallest size rockwool cubes, not sure how big those trays you have are though.

 

[DHF]

Yeah Bro.......Very lil lumens required fer root buildin on cuts , but the high heat and humidity is the most important factor on what I used forever...and for the record .....

I just got lucky in Hell on the elevated humidity levels yr round that made my bitches explode from the first krusty bucket run I ever set up.......so....

I know not about RAISIN RH , only what I hadta do to drop it as much as possible in late flower to prevent certain crop failure from gray mold/budrot cuz I`ve seen what high humidity and lack of air flow can reduce a crop to as in mulch....

You`re gettin there Bro....Proud of yas....Gettin back toward the farm in a few weeks fer Turkey Day so we`ll be talkin....

Peace....Freds........

 

[wisco61]

I've been thinking about your water cooling system for next summer and have a couple questions. You said you buy the radiators off Ebay, are these just car radiators? Do you just look for something cheap like a Honda Civic radiator or are there specific ones that are better?

Also, what size pump are you using to move the chilled water through the radiator and does that pump run all the time or does it kick on when the fans do?

Thanks.

 

[bobblehead]

Was going interject with the root zone temps (RZT) but seems you guys have picked up on it... clones IME will root about 50% quicker (7- 10 days) if the RZT is a consistent 75 - 80F. Any lower than 70F and they will take up to 20 days!

How are you getting on with the aero/dwc cloner?

edit>

Do you guys have those jumbo heated propagators over there bro? Like this:

They're like 4' x 2' and come with heat mat and thermostat... You can fit a shit load of cuttings in there 2 of those should fill your pods. 1 of those holds about 500 smallest size rockwool cubes, not sure how big those trays you have are though.

I've never seen a giant propagator like that, but it's pretty cool looking... I can get anything, it's what I do... but domes are pretty economical and humidity isn't a problem for me. Just heat.

The aero-cloner is doing great! I already have root bumps on some of the larger-stemmed cuts. I just added H2O2 back today to make sure that they don't get killed off by any bacteria...

I've been thinking about your water cooling system for next summer and have a couple questions. You said you buy the radiators off Ebay, are these just car radiators? Do you just look for something cheap like a Honda Civic radiator or are there specific ones that are better?

Also, what size pump are you using to move the chilled water through the radiator and does that pump run all the time or does it kick on when the fans do?

Thanks.

I just explained this to another member... and I wish I had saved all the info... lol

You get what you pay for ime... If you want a cheap used car radiator, you're gonna get old coolant, dirt, and bugs with it... I get my radiators from freeheat4u on ebay... I suppose I need to get a discount now for plugging them... lol
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OUTDOOR-WOO...214?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23157b6ee6

$130 shipped.

I use 500gph pumps, cause I ordered a bunch. Each radiator gets it's own. The radiator fan runs 24/7, as does the pump... the temperature is controlled by a heater and a chiller. So far I'm still using the chiller, but come winter, if I don't have both rooms running, I'll need the heater... but that won't happen.

In the summer, I'm gonna disconnect the chiller and run the water straight from the tap through the radiators and down the drain... Cause it's not worth the extra electricity to chill the water after heating it. No need for temperature controls, cause when it's 90F+ outside and 80%RH, you can't get it cold enough burning 1800w and running a 200pt dehuey.. I'll be pumping it out of the ground at my place up north. People can say what they want, I'm not depleting any water tables... There's a friggin lake in front of the house.

 

[wisco61]

In the summer, I'm gonna disconnect the chiller and run the water straight from the tap through the radiators and down the drain... Cause it's not worth the extra electricity to chill the water after heating it. No need for temperature controls, cause when it's 90F+ outside and 80%RH, you can't get it cold enough burning 1800w and running a 200pt dehuey.. I'll be pumping it out of the ground at my place up north. People can say what they want, I'm not depleting any water tables... There's a friggin lake in front of the house.

Cool, thanks for the info. Ya, I think people worried about the water table don't realize the amount of lakes we have around these parts. Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, and both WI and MI have more lakes than that. Plus, we have the Great Lakes which have just a little bit of water in them.

The only thing that will threaten our water table is shipping water out west. Now out there they are fucked, but that is what you get for building in a desert.

 

[megayields]

Does running R/o water effect anything when using a radiator...I would suspect no? I an close to getting a r/o system plumbed in.

 

[wisco61]

I was reading some about it and most said you want to use RO or distilled water to prevent buildup in the pipes.

 

[bobblehead]

Does running R/o water effect anything when using a radiator...I would suspect no? I an close to getting a r/o system plumbed in.

I was reading some about it and most said you want to use RO or distilled water to prevent buildup in the pipes.

lmao... you guys are funny.

To be perfectly honest with you it would be a waist of RO water. If you're worried about build-up in the radiator b/c you have ultra hard water... dilute it down... or run some cal/lime/rust remover... but RO is going to pull copper out of the pipes and into the water. I wouldn't use that water for anything else.

 

[Arminius]

USD Clones

USD Clones

Hey Bobble,
Seems like you have the clones under control, but to echo above, warmer root temps for cuttings are the key. I put an aquarium heater in my cloner, set at 75 degrees, and have roots in 5-10 days tops. Here are the USD cuttings that I put in last Thursday, with no rooting hormone, and scissor cuts...
Next time I will use rooting hormone, I promise Mega...

 

[bobblehead]

Hey Bobble,
Seems like you have the clones under control, but to echo above, warmer root temps for cuttings are the key. I put an aquarium heater in my cloner, set at 75 degrees, and have roots in 5-10 days tops. Here are the USD cuttings that I put in last Thursday, with no rooting hormone, and scissor cuts...
Next time I will use rooting hormone, I promise Mega...

wouldn't the hormone just get washed off? I mean I quit using it... and all of the sudden my clones are taking... lol

 

[Arminius]

wouldn't the hormone just get washed off? I mean I quit using it... and all of the sudden my clones are taking... lol

Yeah, I totally spaced out the fact that rooting hormone isn't needed... I was thinking of a cloning solution rather then hormone. I know you can make your own from base nutes, I just have to figure out the ratios. For now I have been using a weak veg solution and superthrive resulting in 4-500 ppm, and it works.

 

[megayields]

lmao... you guys are funny.

To be perfectly honest with you it would be a waist of RO water. If you're worried about build-up in the radiator b/c you have ultra hard water... dilute it down... or run some cal/lime/rust remover... but RO is going to pull copper out of the pipes and into the water. I wouldn't use that water for anything else.

I think you misunderstood my question.....I am talking about using a brand me radiator like the one you use for cooling, I simply wantd to know if their are any "known" issues running a R/O system with a NEW radiator like you use......I should have been more specific in my question! Good job on figuring out the cloning issue, just do whatever works for you why mess with success?

 

[megayields]

Yeah, I totally spaced out the fact that rooting hormone isn't needed... I was thinking of a cloning solution rather then hormone. I know you can make your own from base nutes, I just have to figure out the ratios. For now I have been using a weak veg solution and superthrive resulting in 4-500 ppm, and it works.

Aye, this is exactly what we do, except we do add a VERY weak amount of rooting hormone solution, so far last to runs literally 100% success when gro- bro don't trip and drop a tray.

But we are not using aero-cloned just Rockwell cubes, no heat mat either, just put a dome on them, stick them in the veg tent...again 100% success!

 

[GMax]

I think you misunderstood my question.....I am talking about using a brand me radiator like the one you use for cooling, I simply wantd to know if their are any "known" issues running a R/O system with a NEW radiator like you use......I should have been more specific in my question! Good job on figuring out the cloning issue, just do whatever works for you why mess with success?

most RO systems have a 2:1 ratio of waste/RO. even the best RO systems have 1:1 which means for ever gallon of water you make you are wasting a gallon. so using RO to cool your radiators would require at least twice as much water as using tap. even if you have a well (i dont) it is still more waste than it worth in my opinion. i would do what bobble said if you are worried about buildup .save the RO for you plants. my .02

Bobble, congrats on the clones!! now with the radiator you say in the summer you disconnect the chiller and run straight from the tap and down the drain.
so in the winter you have a big rez and a chiller and you recirculate ??? i am guessing you use one of the many 55 gal drums you got ????

definately setting up a radiator cooled for my next grow, gonna try and overkill and buy a radiator that goes to a deisel semi or something lol

 

[megayields]

Ty.....Gmax.....

 

[bobblehead]

Ok dudes... work is getting done, progress is being made, and my anxiety is getting back under control! lol... Patience has been regained. Hopefully no more spastic outbursts.

Clones are rooting. The aerocloner actually works, I can't believe it.. lol... The perlite clones are right behind. I just might have to make a larger one, and keep doing half and half... cause as long as the aerocloner is working right, the results are FAST! Perlite for backup.

I put some plants in one of the pods expecting to veg them 2-3 days and flip... but they had an adverse reaction to a root drench... I've been paranoid about root aphids, so I dunked them in a solution of SM-90 and Imid... and all the fan leaves of the straw DD are curling up and dying. Everything is reacting poorly, but the Straw DD is reacting the worst. It's gonna be at least another week of vegging before they're recovered. I'm only burning 1200w in there until they're ready to flip.

Here's a shot of my USD mom. She's chugging along just fine for the most part. She's a beast, and is easily gonna fill up her fair share of the room.

Straw DD moms... and pruned up and stacked in bins.

As part of the ventilation system... I mounted 3 PC fans at mid-level in the room, on the side with the racks. The larger plants get a muffin fan. The PC fan push the air toward the lights, keeping the heat contained to the inside and up...

 

[bobblehead]

So lets go over my temperature controls, since they've been of interest lately...

This is the command center. The 25g tough tote is the reservoir for the cooling system. I've used 50g and it made no difference in temperature. The tote houses 3 500gph pumps, 1 to each radiator, and 1 to the chiller. Each has it's own plumbing, they're not daisy-chained.

The aqua logic dual stage controller. It keeps my temps within 1F of 70F.

Radiator in the pod w/ lights off

lights on... burning 1200W... add 600w and the temp rises 2-3F...

My 1/4hp aqua logic chiller... it's outside the lung room, sending the heat to the house.

The radiator fans are aftermarket race car parts... Supposedly they push 1550 cfm... lol... but it doesn't feel like and inline fan. If you look, they have a circle in the middle, so they're not pushing air at the lamps, but rather off to the sides... That cool air pushes the heat up to the ceiling, where it's picked up by the exhaust.


I'm waiting on my humidifiers... cause clearly it's too dry in there.

 

[bobblehead]

Next, lets get some automated water going in the racks... cause I don't like hand watering. First thing is to secure the tubes and get them all connected.

Drill a 1/8" hole or 2.. or 96...

insert 1/4" straight barb

attach basket stakes w/ tubing

There are shut-off valves at each end of each tube on each level. Look close, and I have openings on each end, one of the top, and one on the bottom. That's where the pumps attach.