Hydro - CFL - Morning Dew [Cind99xEndless Sky]

[T.N.T.]

Here's my Hydro closet. Starting with a 5-Gal DWC Bucket. Working with decent size space 3x2.5x6. Started to line the room with mylar, got the major parts covered though some places could still use some lining. The setup is using an Elite 799 5W air pump (cheap aqaurium) with 2ft of tubing just into the bucket where it feeds air to a 6" air stone.

I have this mister water bottle conveniently located right on the bucket.

I lined the dark green bucket with mylar to help prevent light from poss. getting into the bucket. The top of bucket's lid is white, do you think I could line the lid with mylar instead of having to paint it black? (got no paint here) Don't want any algae in my pot.

When I was away for the weekend i threw one HazexSkunk seed in a rockwhool cube sprayed it down well to make it moist, and put that in the hydroton. When I came back today the seed hadn't even sprouted. Maybe a dub? I just placed two rockwhool cubes in teh 6" net on either side, both with Morning Dew seeds. Would it be better to paper towel germ. the seeds and then throw the seedlings into the rockwhool? I hope this shit is speady... i germed seeds overnight with paper towel method, so hopefully these seeds will germ fine.

For lighting I have a 10 pack of 6500K 26W CFLs...to start I am using one hanging cfl above the seeds, and two cfls w/reflectors about 4.5ft high on a wodden clothing rack bar.

I will be using Advanced Nutrients Mother Earth Natural Super Grow (4.8-1.8-4.3) + Bloom (3-2.3-5) Tea. When do you think would be the best time to start adding these nutes to the 5 Gals of water?

And can someone recommend some good PPM/PH/TEMP/HUMIDITY meters maybe an all in one? Funds are limited right now but going to see what I can do as I need meters for the grow!

 

[T.N.T.]

And the bucket is dark green, is that as light proof as the black? Wasn't sure if it would be ok so thought mylar would be added protection, guess not. Will take that off. And fix the mylar wall padding which is not straight.

Going to re-do the current setup. Drain water, clean hydroton through a rinse, check the seeds in the rockwhool and either remove them and soak cube or soak cube with them there. Will put clean tap water back in...

I don't have a PH kit, tester, or meter yet so I have no idea on that... I'm not goign to have any money for a week or two... I just picked up a new dual air pump the Top Fin XP-60 so now I have 2 airstones on either side of the bucket. One in the middle on the wall and the longer clear tubing I have it go down to the bottom center of bucket. Not sure if it will make a difference.

I got 3 seeds germing PTMethod behind my xbox 360 which is keeping them warm. So regardless of the seeds in the 2 rockwhool cubes... i will hopefulyl see some white tails soon. I have 2 more rockwhool cubes with me right now that could be used. Can wetted' rockwhool cubes be dried and re-used? Curious. I have plent of good CFL lighting and will add some flurescents when the plant grows.

Once i get some more money I will be getting 2 more diy buckets for a total of 3 hydro buckets.

What you guys think, any other suggestions? What about initial airflow its in a closet that I usualy keep closed thats fine till later in the grow I would think.

 

[T.N.T.]

Here are pics from today with the new airpump installed

Now I have used duct tape to make the top light proof... ran out so couldn't do the whole bucket.

 

[T.N.T.]

high guys! bear with me new bong!

i have 2x morning dew and 2 other strains germing, legends ultimate indica for outside and ak47Xdoublesourdisel, and possibly hazeXskunk#1 but i cant remember which seeds are which SHOULD OF USED LABELS! Here they are.

 

[T.N.T.]

Here are some pics I just took.

I have 4 rockwhool in one bucket right now just to get them rooted... That's why they are not buried in hydroton they are just sitting on top of it all.. so once the 1-2 biggest sprouts are good ill plant them below and take 2-3 others and put them in soil based potting until i can afford my hydro gear or just guerrilla grow them outdoors. Its a large 5 Gallon bucket with 2 airstones running off a TopFin XP-60 dual outlet pump. With 2 airstones i figured this bucket could do a max of 2 plants in it, pushing it.

 

[T.N.T.]

Does this look like it will work? I took a rubberband and wraped it around twice to help squeeze them together so the top openings would be small. I will leave them tied together till they have all come above ground and the openings around the seedling are pushed smaller.

 

[T.N.T.]

current setup... how they looking! Have the biggest plant planted into the hydroton... others are waiting for their new home... I might have to do cheap man's soil soon... though i might be able to go to home depot and make another bucket are two.

I'm going to be getting 4 more buckets this week.
And going to be using the following nutes.

MOTHER EARTH SUPER TEA BLOOM
· Makes cleaner, sweeter flowers
· Boosts Harvest Size and Quality
· Nutritious kelp, earthworm castings, alfalfa extracts

MOTHER EARTH SUPER TEA GROW
· 100% Organic for Clean Taste and Aroma
· Odor-free and filtered for easy use
· Boost Harvest Yield

Other companies claim to understand that hydroponics plants benefit from all-organic fertilizers and additives, and it’s true - hydroponics crops will grow, taste and smell better if you use 100% organic products along with synthetic nutrients. But just because a product is 100% organic doesn’t guarantee that it’s good for your crops. Advanced Nutrients is one of the only companies that offers a 100% customer satisfaction and product performance guarantee for products like Mother Earth Organic Super Tea Grow, the world’s best all-organic grow formula. We’d be crazy to offer that kind of guarantee if our products were merely as good as those made by our competition.

One way you can tell our products are better is to notice that we designed our organic Mother Earth Tea in two formulations that reflect the obvious differences between the bloom and vegetative phases of plant growth.

The other companies don’t seem to understand that many plants have two completely different growing cycles and that plants need very different nutrients and ratios for each cycle.

Using a vegetative fertilizer during bloom phase means mutated and stunted floral growth. Using a formula during vegetative phase that is designed to produce big flowers and fruits means that the formula doesn’t have what vegetative plants need. There is no one-size-fits-all fertilizer. There’s a specific nutrient ratio and mix for vegetative growth and a different ratio and mix for bloom phase. Advanced Nutrients knows the difference between vegetative and bloom phase. That’s why Mother Earth Super Tea Grow has natural calcium, nitrogen and other vegetative-strengthening components.

Testing shows that Mother Earth Grow produces bushier, healthier, faster-growing plants that go on to produce larger harvests. That’s because Mother Earth Super Tea Grow is a rich alfalfa extract with dozens of organic substances like earthworm castings and kelp that provide complex vitamins, immune boosters and growth stimulators.

Our tea is odor-free, pre-brewed and filtered so it’s pure, concentrated and easy to use in any hydroponics system and root zone media, including aeroponics, rockwool, soil, and coco coir. Their products smell like fish, defecation and other rot.

Our tea can be used with a variety of other fertilizer products and it works with them to enhance the effects of every product you use. Growers tell us that crops fed Mother Earth Super Tea Grow produce vegetative plants that are totally set up to give massive, tastier harvests. This specialty product is all-natural but contains no live microbes so there’s no spoilage or odor.

You’ll find that Mother Earth Super Tea Grow outperforms every competitor’s organic booster, or your money back. We offer you a pure, unblended, professional guarantee that Advanced Nutrients organic products are the most natural, most economical and most powerful products available anywhere!

 

[pontiac]

Looking good buddy Good luck with your grow. A few comments/suggestions:

And the bucket is dark green, is that as light proof as the black

Yes that's just as good as black because even if light gets through the bucket, the light will be green and most algae can't absorb green light.

I don't have a PH kit, tester, or meter yet so I have no idea on that

You should most definitely get a pH tester of some kind. Not monitoring pH can lead to slow growth, plant sickness, or worse; especially in hydroponics. Lucky for you, the cheap test-strip or eye-drop testers are just as reliable (in some cases, more reliable) than pH meters.

Go to your local pet store, hardware store, or pharmacy and ask for a pH test kit (they have various uses like aquariums, swimming pools; even urine ); it usually cost just $5-$10 and lasts for 100s of tests (as mentioned, they come in strip or drop form; either is fine).

After you get the test kit, adjust the pH so that it lies between 5.0 and 6.0; optimally 5.5.

It doesn't look like you have access to hydroponic grade pH buffers yet so get some lemon juice for pH Down, and Original (unflavored) Milk of Magnesia (aka Magnesium Hydroxide; a common laxative from the pharmacy) for pH Up, both of which are under $3. In my experience lemon juice and MoM work just as well as hydroponic grade buffers, but like the latter, use cautiously.

Good luck.

 

[T.N.T.]

Thank you for that! Will definitely be taking this advice and getting a test kit soon

 

[T.N.T.]

UPDATE TIME!!!

So I went to home depot today and although they had nothing good for buckets I lucked out and got a $5 21 Gal Tote (tub) that is perfect... it was baby blue color. I got some nice black duct tape and electrical tape while I was there. I taped it down all black.. and the neat thing about this tub is under the grip on either side is 4 small holes with plastic insert covering them... perfect size for putting in the air tubes, no drilling neccessary!

So I still need
-Bigger pump and/or 1 set of tubing and another airstone... I could use the weak elite 5w pump to oxygenate the 5 gal bucket, and then use the dual outlet pump i have to have 2 feeds into the big tub... though im thinking i need more pump/air line action going on. More like 4 air tubes + air stones to the 21 gal tub... Thoughts? Will likely cut 6 holes in the lid to fit 3-5" pots or something... then I will only be growing 2-4 plants in it as I don't know if I will have enough light with just cfls to grow 7 plants in a 2x4x6 closet but who knows... I go back to the university August 25th ! I want to have most plants close to finished by then, so I don't have to drive home (2hr drive) every weekend. I also don't want to half-ass it... so I will probably invest in an HPS or flurescent set when I get some more $$$

-The two things I need most that are killing me right now ARE hydroton and the net pots. I will likely order off ebay as the closet hydro store is like 40mins away, but shit I don't want to wait for shipping.. so I might have to make the drive.

-still need to go to pet store and get PH Test kit. Is it bad its been like a week of growth for the plants and i haven't gotten one / checked yet?

-I should start germing some more seeds... I have 3 seedlings succesfully growing with no health issues as yet... the last gal didnt come up and there is some brown/yellow stuff near where the leaves are supposed to pop up thinking it may have got a disease or something... it got a decent white root halfway down the 2inch rockwhool. Although the new germ plants will be 1-2 weeks younger that shouldn't make a difference in the scheme of things, correct? As they will just have to start flowering earlier and prob. make less bud.

That's all I can think of right now. Here are the pics.

 

[T.N.T.]

Well the 2 seedlings i placed in a dirt pot are dying/dead... guess they don't like the soil or something in the soil killing the rockwhool/seedling

 

[T.N.T.]

So I bought a ph test kit today at petsmart for $4

Shit is off the charts 7.6+ ph it says the tap water im using is... i gotta get some ph down... will it be fine for a while? Is the ph tester possibly wrong? (its cheap) The plants roots are only like a half inch out of the rockwhool and in a large 6" netted pot with hydroton... do i only need to worry when the roots touch water? Or is the bubbling air/water below, and the mister with tap water i use to spray the top... slowly the growth too much = not good ?