CaptainKirk
Member
bump
My First DWC
- Thread starter CaptainKirk
- Start date
A uS of 2784 = an mS (or EC) of 2.8. MUCH too high! At this stage 0.8 is closer to what you want (400-614 ppm depending on which bullshit conversion is used)
pH needs to be below 6. No one reading provides all nutes. The closest we have to a magic # for hydro is 5.7-5.8 I keep mine between 5.5 and 6.0.
GH Flora Gro (the green bottle) is useless and will only suck your wallet dry while making it impossible to hit proper nute formulas. Lose it. Gro is the "0" in Lucas' 0-5-10 or 0-8-16
Plants both drink and eat no matter which way numbers move. EC up, pH down=Too rich (drinking water faster than nutes) EC down, pH up=Too lean (drinking nutes faster than water.) I'd avoid letting numbers flatline (aka dialed in) Lack of EC movement means lack of pH movement and again, no one # provides all nutes. Let the garden make a slow swing.
pH needs to be below 6. No one reading provides all nutes. The closest we have to a magic # for hydro is 5.7-5.8 I keep mine between 5.5 and 6.0.
GH Flora Gro (the green bottle) is useless and will only suck your wallet dry while making it impossible to hit proper nute formulas. Lose it. Gro is the "0" in Lucas' 0-5-10 or 0-8-16
Plants both drink and eat no matter which way numbers move. EC up, pH down=Too rich (drinking water faster than nutes) EC down, pH up=Too lean (drinking nutes faster than water.) I'd avoid letting numbers flatline (aka dialed in) Lack of EC movement means lack of pH movement and again, no one # provides all nutes. Let the garden make a slow swing.
CaptainKirk
Member
Hi Freezer - I hear ya - this is my first grow, so I'm still working on it - not perfect yet. I know my values are a little "all over the place." One thing I'm trying to figure out is that when I first drop in small clones, the water level is very high. As the roots shoot down, the water level can drop, which I know concentrates the nutes. I guess when the level drops like that, I actually have to remove even more solution from the tubs and replace it with straight RO water, to get back to the level I want to maintain. I think my Mar. 11 data looks much better, and I'm trying to let the pH swing between 5.4 - 5.5 and 6.0-6.2.
On Lucas - yeah - I'm already on that bandwagon. It's coming full time next season - I'm just too cheap to throw anything away!
On Lucas - yeah - I'm already on that bandwagon. It's coming full time next season - I'm just too cheap to throw anything away!
CaptainKirk
Member
Mar. 14
Mar. 14
Last night I did a complete tub solution changeout and cleanup. Pulled them all out, emptied them, gave 'em a quick wipe down and rinse with straight water, and refilled with the first week of the Lucas Profile - 9 ml/gal of GH Bloom (0-5-4). In a week, I'll add the Koolbloom component. This resulted in initial measurements of Start pH = 4.8 End = 4.8, uS = 625, PPM = 310, as read with my Hanna Combo Meter, which I also calibrated last night. Since I have no pH up, I'm just gonna have to let the ph swing up naturally over the next few days.
My hydro shop was actually out of Koolbloom, so the fellow recommended Botanicare Hydroplex, which has a 0.5-4-10 nutrient ratio. I Plan to use this in the same amount (7 ml/gal) as Koolbloom, which is 0-10-10. After my mistake starting the first two tubs at the full GH profile for veg growth, I want to try to avoid overfeeding.
The plants look great, though as you can see, the Mystery Indica is about 3 weeks older than the AO, due to my difficulties with sprouting clones. The AOs are all about 12-14 inches tall, while the indica is about 2 ft., so next time I expect to get a much better managed grow together - I've learned a lot.
Mar. 14
Last night I did a complete tub solution changeout and cleanup. Pulled them all out, emptied them, gave 'em a quick wipe down and rinse with straight water, and refilled with the first week of the Lucas Profile - 9 ml/gal of GH Bloom (0-5-4). In a week, I'll add the Koolbloom component. This resulted in initial measurements of Start pH = 4.8 End = 4.8, uS = 625, PPM = 310, as read with my Hanna Combo Meter, which I also calibrated last night. Since I have no pH up, I'm just gonna have to let the ph swing up naturally over the next few days.
My hydro shop was actually out of Koolbloom, so the fellow recommended Botanicare Hydroplex, which has a 0.5-4-10 nutrient ratio. I Plan to use this in the same amount (7 ml/gal) as Koolbloom, which is 0-10-10. After my mistake starting the first two tubs at the full GH profile for veg growth, I want to try to avoid overfeeding.
The plants look great, though as you can see, the Mystery Indica is about 3 weeks older than the AO, due to my difficulties with sprouting clones. The AOs are all about 12-14 inches tall, while the indica is about 2 ft., so next time I expect to get a much better managed grow together - I've learned a lot.
bbing
Active member
Sounding pretty solid there weedbrother.
For the next level of challenge im sending you these
you dont start putting some pic up i really will be sending those
BTW FreezerBoy is solid; he's saying what you need to hear. You'll have a lock on her real soon (the AO that is).
It is worth the wait.
BTW, BTW,
I almost have 2 runs in since you been in the tubs!
showing off my new baby (and whoring your thread hehehe):
For the next level of challenge im sending you these
you dont start putting some pic up i really will be sending those
BTW FreezerBoy is solid; he's saying what you need to hear. You'll have a lock on her real soon (the AO that is).
It is worth the wait.
BTW, BTW,
I almost have 2 runs in since you been in the tubs!
showing off my new baby (and whoring your thread hehehe):
CaptainKirk
Member
OK, here's the deal. As much as I'm going to be villified for this, I've decided to just go back to the regular GH recommendations, since I already have the GH Gro. As of last night, the tubs had 9 ml/gal of GH Bloom only. I found this was oh-so-very-wrong, so I've added the following:
5 ml/gal GH Gro (the recommended is 10)
10 ml/gal GH Micro
1 ml/gal GH Bloom (this makes a total of 10 ml/gal
15 ml/tub of Botanicare Hydroplex (yes - that's per tub)
When finished this yielded the following:
pH = 4.7 (yes - I know it's too low)
uS = 1750
ppm = 868
Hey Brother Bing - click on the pictures to get the full size. Shoot - the last ones I put up are only a week old! (Your Alzheimer's is kicking in again, ain't it?) More pics coming this week Bro. You got two runs in already? You must have something new going on - you got a perpetual going now? That pic is the most purple purple I've seen - what is it? Can't wait to have a catch up again.
5 ml/gal GH Gro (the recommended is 10)
10 ml/gal GH Micro
1 ml/gal GH Bloom (this makes a total of 10 ml/gal
15 ml/tub of Botanicare Hydroplex (yes - that's per tub)
When finished this yielded the following:
pH = 4.7 (yes - I know it's too low)
uS = 1750
ppm = 868
Hey Brother Bing - click on the pictures to get the full size. Shoot - the last ones I put up are only a week old! (Your Alzheimer's is kicking in again, ain't it?) More pics coming this week Bro. You got two runs in already? You must have something new going on - you got a perpetual going now? That pic is the most purple purple I've seen - what is it? Can't wait to have a catch up again.
, 
, and then 
Equilibrium
Member
Nice setup, I like it.
Your plants look good! Nice roots...
Good luck for the future!
Your plants look good! Nice roots...
Good luck for the future!
CaptainKirk
Member
Mar. 15 Pics
Mar. 15 Pics
No signs of flower yet, but the odor is clearly rising.
Tub 1 - Mystery Indica
Tub 2 - Mystery Indica left, AO right. AO is really getting squeezed out.
Tub 3 - AO - Had to clip some shoots from Tub 1 to make room
Tub 4 - AO
Mystery Indica Top Shoots
Mar. 15 Pics
No signs of flower yet, but the odor is clearly rising.
Tub 1 - Mystery Indica
Tub 2 - Mystery Indica left, AO right. AO is really getting squeezed out.
Tub 3 - AO - Had to clip some shoots from Tub 1 to make room
Tub 4 - AO
Mystery Indica Top Shoots
Only if you're overfeeding. If you underfeed, lower water levels result in lower readings. Water levels and nute levels are different things, they move at different speeds and often in different directions.
CaptainKirk
Member
Mar. 19
Mar. 19
Quick Update:
After my tub cleanout and re-fill, I had nute PPMs in about the 800 PPM range in all tubs. I'm sure this was too lean, especially in the mature sativa tubs, because they started to yellow on top.
I added some Lucas ratio nutes to each tub (10ml Micro/20ml Bloom per tub, and this put the PPMs right on 1000 PPM. Since then the tops have started to green back in 
, but the mature mystery sativas are about 3 feet tall now, and have a pretty big root ball (extremely healthy looking - no sign of algea), and are drinking like fish - gallon per day easy. A friend shared his tub topoff routine with me, so I feel better about contolling the nute profile now. 
One minor problem is that when I mix nutes and RO water, the pH drops down to the 5.0 - 5.3 range - I know this is way low so I may throw in a few cups of tap water tonight if the pH isn't moving back into the acceptable range.
I'll try to post pics next weekend, but so far things are well. No major signs of flower yet, but the odor is clearly rising - glad I plumbed in a carbon filter off the fan exhaust on the back of the cab!
Jim
Mar. 19
Quick Update:
After my tub cleanout and re-fill, I had nute PPMs in about the 800 PPM range in all tubs. I'm sure this was too lean, especially in the mature sativa tubs, because they started to yellow on top.
I added some Lucas ratio nutes to each tub (10ml Micro/20ml Bloom per tub, and this put the PPMs right on 1000 PPM. Since then the tops have started to green back in , but the mature mystery sativas are about 3 feet tall now, and have a pretty big root ball (extremely healthy looking - no sign of algea), and are drinking like fish - gallon per day easy. A friend shared his tub topoff routine with me, so I feel better about contolling the nute profile now. One minor problem is that when I mix nutes and RO water, the pH drops down to the 5.0 - 5.3 range - I know this is way low so I may throw in a few cups of tap water tonight if the pH isn't moving back into the acceptable range.
I'll try to post pics next weekend, but so far things are well. No major signs of flower yet, but the odor is clearly rising - glad I plumbed in a carbon filter off the fan exhaust on the back of the cab!Jim
CaptainKirk
Member
Week 1 Update
Week 1 Update
Hi All!
Well, with a lot of help and advice, things are going well. I think I'm finally getting the handle on nute solution maintenance, and the plants are healthy. The Mature Mystery Indica (from here on out referred to as MMI) has started to show the first signs of flower, but the AO is not showing anything yet. As you can see, the MMI is twice the size of the AO, and I have to file this under "Don't let this happen to you!" The MMI is so big that it is squeezing out the AO next to it, and it's now within about 14" of the light - I hate to say it, but by the time this is done, they're gonna fry. I know my next grow will be better managed, now that I think I can produce clones regularly, and establish the whole run at the same time.
I've transitioned to Lucas Formula, and all tubs are hovering around the following: pH is finally rising from 5.3-5.4 back into the 5.8 range. uS = about 2000, and PPM = about 950-1000. The tops of the MMI were yellowing some after my recent tub cleanout and solution restart - they were probably used to the extremely high nute levels that I had started in Tubs 1 & 2. When I first re-started, Tubs 1 & 2 PPMs were about 800-850, and for mature plants of this size, I think this was clearly too low, so right now I'm trying to target 1000 PPM as an ideal level, and may slowly try to raise this to about 1100 PPM over the next week or two. I'm also still trying to get a routine down where I can get some good pics, so forgive the overwashed yellow from the light.
I thought I'd also throw in my carbon filter solution - so far, when the door is closed, I can't smell a thing - the negative pressure in the cab is moving almost everyting through the filter. I'm actually kinda proud (if you look closely) of the small plywood blocks I cut with U-shaped notches, to keep the filter elevated from the back of the cab, which ensures that the full flow capability of the filter is not restricted by having the filter lay against the back of the cab. A couple of j-hooks, some big zip ties, some duct tape, and you're there!
The Whole Enchilada:
MMI Flowers:
AO Tub 3:
AO Tub 4:
Carbon Filter Solution:
Week 1 Update
Hi All!
Well, with a lot of help and advice, things are going well. I think I'm finally getting the handle on nute solution maintenance, and the plants are healthy. The Mature Mystery Indica (from here on out referred to as MMI) has started to show the first signs of flower, but the AO is not showing anything yet. As you can see, the MMI is twice the size of the AO, and I have to file this under "Don't let this happen to you!" The MMI is so big that it is squeezing out the AO next to it, and it's now within about 14" of the light - I hate to say it, but by the time this is done, they're gonna fry.
I know my next grow will be better managed, now that I think I can produce clones regularly, and establish the whole run at the same time.I've transitioned to Lucas Formula, and all tubs are hovering around the following: pH is finally rising from 5.3-5.4 back into the 5.8 range. uS = about 2000, and PPM = about 950-1000. The tops of the MMI were yellowing some after my recent tub cleanout and solution restart - they were probably used to the extremely high nute levels that I had started in Tubs 1 & 2. When I first re-started, Tubs 1 & 2 PPMs were about 800-850, and for mature plants of this size, I think this was clearly too low, so right now I'm trying to target 1000 PPM as an ideal level, and may slowly try to raise this to about 1100 PPM over the next week or two. I'm also still trying to get a routine down where I can get some good pics, so forgive the overwashed yellow from the light.
I thought I'd also throw in my carbon filter solution - so far, when the door is closed, I can't smell a thing - the negative pressure in the cab is moving almost everyting through the filter. I'm actually kinda proud (if you look closely) of the small plywood blocks I cut with U-shaped notches, to keep the filter elevated from the back of the cab, which ensures that the full flow capability of the filter is not restricted by having the filter lay against the back of the cab. A couple of j-hooks, some big zip ties, some duct tape, and you're there!
The Whole Enchilada:
MMI Flowers:
AO Tub 3:
AO Tub 4:
Carbon Filter Solution:
CaptainKirk
Member
I'm blowing thru it - from the light, to the fan, to the filter.
CaptainKirk
Member
March 29 - Week 2
March 29 - Week 2
Good news and bad as usual:
The Good:
(1) Last night I pulled the front tubs out of the cab so that I could get to the back tubs. Thes plants have never been trimmed, so I removed a lot of lover branches and leaves from the lowest third only. They are too big to hold up their own weight - only the cab walls are keeping them upright!
(2) The MMI is well on it's way in flower - a literal SOG in there with many buds near the lights. The AO has also finally started to show signs of flower, which may have been delayed by the extra distance from the light, as compared to the MMI.
(3) The MMI is so big (now stretched to within a few inches of the light), that I've resorted to some creative LST - I bent a few of the biggest branches down and twist tied the branches together to keep them down.
The Bad:
It had been a couple of days since I checked the tubs, and the MMI drank the hell out of the tubs - when I popped one open there was only about two inches of solution left in the tub. This concentrated the nutes into the 1800 PPM range, although pH was good in all tubs. refilled with RO water and adjusted nute levels back into the 1100 PPM range. All this however was too late to prevent some nute burn - not horrible bad but a few bud tips got fried - I'll be more attentive.
Overall, I'm still happy with the results, but I recently saw a diary by OldSchoolFarmer who did a very successfull SCROG (if you get the chance, check him out - kudos OldSchool!) - his results were absolutely outstanding, so that may be the next construction project - SCROG screen. Amazing yield from even a single tubbler. Enjoy the pics.
The Whole Enchilada
Trimmed Bottom MMI
Trimmed Bottoms AO
MMI Flower
AO Flower
March 29 - Week 2
Good news and bad as usual:
The Good:
(1) Last night I pulled the front tubs out of the cab so that I could get to the back tubs. Thes plants have never been trimmed, so I removed a lot of lover branches and leaves from the lowest third only. They are too big to hold up their own weight - only the cab walls are keeping them upright!
(2) The MMI is well on it's way in flower - a literal SOG in there with many buds near the lights. The AO has also finally started to show signs of flower, which may have been delayed by the extra distance from the light, as compared to the MMI.
(3) The MMI is so big (now stretched to within a few inches of the light), that I've resorted to some creative LST - I bent a few of the biggest branches down and twist tied the branches together to keep them down.
The Bad:
It had been a couple of days since I checked the tubs, and the MMI drank the hell out of the tubs - when I popped one open there was only about two inches of solution left in the tub. This concentrated the nutes into the 1800 PPM range, although pH was good in all tubs. refilled with RO water and adjusted nute levels back into the 1100 PPM range. All this however was too late to prevent some nute burn - not horrible bad but a few bud tips got fried - I'll be more attentive.
Overall, I'm still happy with the results, but I recently saw a diary by OldSchoolFarmer who did a very successfull SCROG (if you get the chance, check him out - kudos OldSchool!) - his results were absolutely outstanding, so that may be the next construction project - SCROG screen. Amazing yield from even a single tubbler. Enjoy the pics.
The Whole Enchilada
Trimmed Bottom MMI
Trimmed Bottoms AO
MMI Flower
AO Flower
CaptainKirk
Member
April 4th - Week 3
April 4th - Week 3
Things are going well, and I'm as happy as can be expected, all things considered. Checked the cab tonight, and the girls are total alcoholics - they are drinking like fish. :friends: PPMs for all tubs after topoff are between 1050 and 1200, pH is between 5.7 and 5.9, with no pH adjustment needed. The buds are filling in, and the ones that were mildly nute burned are recovering nicely and the leaves are greening back in. 
The MMI is so big and wide that now the branches are getting heavy and starting to droop and cover the smaller AO, so I tried something new - ran some string around the two big ones in the back, and cinched it all together to hold up the branches - a lot more light is now getting to the AO, which is great because the AO is pretty far from the light, and the buds that are forming look kinda wispy and not too dense. I believe the AO will have to go longer following a chop of the MMI. Just a few pics to keep you going. I'm going to try to photograph the same bud over the next few weeks, just for comparison. I'm still struggling to get good pictures.
Couple of lessons learned:
(1) Four tubs set behind each other like this is too much - getting into the back of the cab to check nutes and add water is a royal pain. Next time it will be three tubs, with Scrog screens all side-by-side.
(2) Don't ever start a grow staggered like this - try to get it all going at the same time.
(3) One of the net pots is now so heavy that it keeps falling through the cover whenever I try to lift the cover - the rubbermaids can't take all the weight.
(4) I started using a submersible pump (from Lowe's) and a 5 gal. rolling bucket to perform top-offs - this is making life a lot easier.
(5) I had a moment of inspiration today while I was buying PVC parts for Scrog Screens - I could imagine that whenever I lift the covers to get into the rubbermaids, this would crush the plants against the scrog screen, so I thought that if I put in a tee, with a down-tube in the middle of a crossbar, pointed 45 degees down, whenever I lift the top, the screen would lift too! I decided to make three individual screens instead of one big one. I also bought threaded adapters so that I could disassemble the screens for storage. Enjoy.
The Whole Enchilada - The bigs ones are a bit more upright now.
MMI Bud: "Houston - We have crystals!"
April 4th - Week 3
Things are going well, and I'm as happy as can be expected, all things considered.
Checked the cab tonight, and the girls are total alcoholics - they are drinking like fish. :friends: PPMs for all tubs after topoff are between 1050 and 1200, pH is between 5.7 and 5.9, with no pH adjustment needed. The buds are filling in, and the ones that were mildly nute burned are recovering nicely and the leaves are greening back in. The MMI is so big and wide that now the branches are getting heavy and starting to droop and cover the smaller AO, so I tried something new - ran some string around the two big ones in the back, and cinched it all together to hold up the branches - a lot more light is now getting to the AO, which is great because the AO is pretty far from the light, and the buds that are forming look kinda wispy and not too dense. I believe the AO will have to go longer following a chop of the MMI. Just a few pics to keep you going. I'm going to try to photograph the same bud over the next few weeks, just for comparison. I'm still struggling to get good pictures.
Couple of lessons learned:
(1) Four tubs set behind each other like this is too much - getting into the back of the cab to check nutes and add water is a royal pain. Next time it will be three tubs, with Scrog screens all side-by-side.
(2) Don't ever start a grow staggered like this - try to get it all going at the same time.
(3) One of the net pots is now so heavy that it keeps falling through the cover whenever I try to lift the cover - the rubbermaids can't take all the weight.
(4) I started using a submersible pump (from Lowe's) and a 5 gal. rolling bucket to perform top-offs - this is making life a lot easier.
(5) I had a moment of inspiration today while I was buying PVC parts for Scrog Screens - I could imagine that whenever I lift the covers to get into the rubbermaids, this would crush the plants against the scrog screen, so I thought that if I put in a tee, with a down-tube in the middle of a crossbar, pointed 45 degees down, whenever I lift the top, the screen would lift too! I decided to make three individual screens instead of one big one. I also bought threaded adapters so that I could disassemble the screens for storage.
Enjoy.The Whole Enchilada - The bigs ones are a bit more upright now.
MMI Bud: "Houston - We have crystals!"
oldschoolfarmer
Member
Hey Captain -
Nice grow you got goin here. Never grown AO, but am interested to see her.
As for your next setup, you might want to consider cutting access holes to the tubs in the front of your cab. I did it the last go round, it made topping off and taking readings a whole lot easier. It also allows you to place your submersible pump inside the tub to pump out the solution (aka when you need to flush
).
Good luck!
Nice grow you got goin here. Never grown AO, but am interested to see her.
As for your next setup, you might want to consider cutting access holes to the tubs in the front of your cab. I did it the last go round, it made topping off and taking readings a whole lot easier. It also allows you to place your submersible pump inside the tub to pump out the solution (aka when you need to flush
).Good luck!
CaptainKirk
Member
Hi OldSchool,
Thanks for stopping by. I hear you loud and clear on your suggestion for tub maintenance access holes - really appreciate it. As a matter of fact, I'm so inspired by your grow, I thought you might appreciate today's construction project - I just couldn't wait until Summer or Fall. The legs have threaded connectors for diassembly, and I went ahead and put in an angled tee for a downtube to raise the screen whenever I raise the tub lid. It's all disassembled and put away right now, as I'm limited to winter-time grows, but I'll be thinking of you next Fall. Kudos to you, sir!
Don't think of it as PVC - think of it as "art."
Thanks for stopping by. I hear you loud and clear on your suggestion for tub maintenance access holes - really appreciate it. As a matter of fact, I'm so inspired by your grow, I thought you might appreciate today's construction project - I just couldn't wait until Summer or Fall. The legs have threaded connectors for diassembly, and I went ahead and put in an angled tee for a downtube to raise the screen whenever I raise the tub lid. It's all disassembled and put away right now, as I'm limited to winter-time grows, but I'll be thinking of you next Fall. Kudos to you, sir!
Don't think of it as PVC - think of it as "art."
