passive plant killer

[delta9nxs]

hi, exosteve! welcome!

that is not the ppk! i included it to show air root growth in a passive system. we had member Silversurfer trying it outdoors with cannabis but never heard from him about the results. i personally have never tried it. it is a fascinating concept based on the fact that most plants have two kinds of roots. water roots and air roots. the air type roots will not grow into the solution while the water type roots do. the secret is to either maintain a set solution level or to let it fall gradually, never bringing it back up as that will drown air roots.

i think the tricky part would be computing the amount of liquid the plant will use in it's lifetime. it all has to be there in the beginning.

to gain a faster understanding of the current ppk device read the links below where members Imaginary Friend and Zeke99 have provided indexes.

good luck! d9

 

[mcfly420]

hi, mcfly420! welcome! sorry you had to come into the thread in the middle of all this. this is not normally how it goes here.

i fill the cloner reservoirs to about half, you want the "air gap" in the bottom so that no standing water occurs in the cloner.​

they are three quart containers and i fill them half full of turface, about three pints.​

sorry about the delay, i didn't see your post until this morning.​

d9​

​

I've read most of your posts so far, skipping others and assuming you'll mention anything interesting. Found out a few days ago I might want to start seeds in worm castings instead but can't find 3oz cups yet. Only using ph drops and no EC meter, seems like it would be a better option for me and the wasted nute water won't cost as much.

​

I was worried that 475ml of turface(1,420ml in your cloners), and an 1/2" air gap wouldn't function properly with this plant. Also noticed the surface of the turface was usually wet in your cloners but then ~I thought~ you mention adding directly to the ppk res to avoid root zone fluxuations. I'm adding to the res and every few days pouring the entire res through the cup since I'm not sure which way is better.​

 

[delta9nxs]

hey, mcfly420! good morning!

those 3 oz cups are at wallys and all drug stores. they are sold to go into those dental hygiene dispensers. same aisle as the solo cups at wally's.

i've found jrpeterslab to be very discreet. plain boxes. the jack's and calcinit mixed as instructed produces 150-52-215, which at 600-750 ppm at the .5 conversion is good for cannabis at all stages of life.

i start clones and seedlings at 300 ppm on flora nova bloom in turface. when i get the first roots showing i step them up to 600 ppm with jack's in conjunction with a move to the big light.

i top water the containers after the seedlings start or the clones root. pouring through the medium.

just to make sure i understand, you are using solo type drink cups with a wick above a reservoir?

d9

 

[mcfly420]

it is a good morning. starting to grow again after a few years without any major problems
The first 5 were started in 9oz cups but I slid them into 16oz cups (with the bottom cutoff) to participate in the beer cup challenge.

Glad to hear they ship in plain boxes, I was expecting bags for some reason.

 

[zeke99]

Thanks for the info. on the new Hortilux bulbs.

I'll be getting a bunch of them soon...

My first PPKs will be ready to cut down on Thanksgiving.

This is not hyperbole - the PPK is a life changer.

 

[delta9nxs]

mcfly, you will really like the jack's. the magnesium is over 6%. you won't need cal-mag with it.

thanks for the photo. now i understand and it looks fine. are you going to flower in those too?

later

 

[MedScientist]

I dont remember where I saw these before, but in an attempt to simplify things for a new Patient learning to grow, I am testing this system for cloneing, and possibly short veg period. In my Opinion, they are the easiest and cheapest ppk cloners (once dialed in).

I just cut the 2L Bottle's top off and inserted it inside the Bottom, filled with Turface/Perlite (rinsed), inserted cutting.

Its been 4.5 days so far, shouldnt be long before I SEE the roots, if I have the media and res heights within adequate levels.

I did put hole in the res (Similar to a Hempy but higher) to be able to change out and/or test the Nute/Water in res. I have been testing once each night, then pouring it back in to help keep the media wetter.

delta9nxs - Are you still vegging with the modified light timing? What is your thoughts on it now?

 

[mcfly420]

I should be able to flower them in 16oz cups if those soil/coco growers can do it. I only need to take 2 clones off each female and then find the one that works for my pain. Might try growing them larger after that though.

So those seedlings in the cloner were simply top-fed w/ the same strength nutes, without any testing/dumping of the res?

and do you know of any differences between the 2 25lb calcium nitrates on the jacks site, besides $9.50? Would both types (granular and 'field' grade) ultimately work?
Thanks again

edit: since the cheaper one is under the specialty nutes, its probably solution grade too.

 

[zeke99]

Mcfly, you want the granular grade of calcium nitrate, which is also known as solution grade.

Solution Grade : Hydro Calcium Nitrate Solution Grade is a highly purified and uncoated granular fertiliser. It is fully water- soluble, dissolves rapidly without leaving any residues and is specially designed for use in fertigation and foliar application.

Field Grade: Hydro Calcium Nitrate Field Grade is a coated fertiliser specially designed for dry (broadcast) application and can be used alone as a starter or for top dressing. It has a newly developed biodegradable coating system, which keeps the product free-flowing and easy to handle during storage and spreading operations.

 

[jjfoo]

hi, jj! it really won't "prevent" theft but it does guarantee that you will be caught. the meters report to the meter reader's vehicle using rf transmission. they all have tamper report capability. if the meter is disconnected they get a report when they read it.

the meter can't determine if someone where to tap the lines before the meter

just saying... not recommending

 

[jjfoo]

disciple,

if a plant doesn't take up nutes at the same rate, how will a ppk prevent the nute solution from becoming imbalanced at a faster rate (smaller res, just what is in the buckets).

I thnk delta even said this is not a bad thing bevcaues the overall mass of nutes will be at the right ratio. I don't think this is ideal because nutes can percipitate at too much of a concentration, then not be available later.

have you measured any thing that would back your claims? How much will the nutes go out of wack and how fast? If I cared, I'd mix a ref batch of nutes, water in a ppk or recir with no runoff, then take a sample of the nutes or runoff after a period then get both analyized. Anything less than this is a guess.

Just saying there isn't one absolute best way to grow, it is relative to many things.

 

[delta9nxs]

hey, medscientist! the cloner looks like it should work fine, let us know how it does.

i'm still doing the 8-4-8-4 routine in veg and liking it. the plants were reaching 30-32" in four weeks on 20-4 lighting and they were doing the same on 8-4-8-4.

now they are achieving 34-36" in four weeks on 8-4-8-4 in conjunction with the heavier pulse so the lighting is more than adequate. by the end of stretch my plants are crowding me out again so i may have to go to 3 weeks in veg to control final size.

right now in flower the plants are growing into each other sideways so the only option is up. i'm thinking about double stacking lights in cooltubes to try to drive up yield without using up more non-existent floor space.

we are still tweaking. the tweaks are fewer and farther apart but still happening.

later

 

[delta9nxs]

mcfly, i don't quite understand your question about the cloner.

zeke has it right about the calcinit. solution grade. or sometimes called greenhouse grade. goes into solution fast and won't clog pressure nutrient injectors or drip emitters.

it's all the same, regardless of manufacturer. 15.5-0-0-19 with 15.5 being the nitrate and 19 the calcium. i use yara brand as it is available at a farm supply near me for $28 for 50 lbs. i bought that bag more than 2 years ago and still have at least 6 mos left.

 

[delta9nxs]

the meter can't determine if someone where to tap the lines before the meter

just saying... not recommending

of course, but tapping the lines these days before the meter is a fast way to get busted. the power company knows how much juice they are sending down the lines and they know how much they are getting paid for. so any discrepancies on a line feeding an area will be investigated. especially if it is large.

a few years ago they busted someone who was running 29 1k bulbs off a feeder line. they had done the tap at night with everything buried. very discreet but it was found by company investigators using some kind of sensing equipment and then turned over to the police.

stealing electricity is just asking for trouble.

 

[zeke99]

For the sake of clarity, although I think I already know the answer, Delta9, which .625 tire valve do you use?

There are two types, TR425 and TR415.

TR425 are 2" long and relatively skinny.
TR415 are 1 1/4" long and relatively fat.

Here is a photo from Slime - TR415 - 2nd row on the right and TR425 - first row on the left.

http://www.slime.com/shop/tubeless-tire-valves/


I bought the TR415s because there is an auto parts supply store that sells boxes of 50 online and in their stores for $11.00.

Installation requires different drill bits.

Delta9 uses the TR425s and a 7/16" bit.

For the TR415s, I tried to use a 7'16" bit, but it was too small. I ended up using a 5'8" auger bit. There is no leakage.

 

[delta9nxs]

the ones i have now say tr413 and are 1.25" long from the rim and are .625 or 5/8" in diameter. in a steel rim you have to have a .625" hole and the valve seats by pressure but in plastic a 7/16" hole is best. a 15/32" if you have one. the plastic and rubber expand and contract for a watertight fit. i paid 12 dollars for 50 at a goodyear store. i'm drilling them out with a 3/16" bit. you are just drilling out the valve seat so it should be easy to do with a fresh bit and a drop of vegetable oil.

 

[zeke99]

Ok Delta thanks for clarifying that.

here's another one for you.

I have three stations in the bloom room. One is only using a 400w HPS bulb, so I was thinking of building a separate pump bucket for it. As expected, the plants around the 400w are not using water at the same rate as the two x 600 and the 1k.

Can we connect two pump buckets to the system? Is it theoretically, infinitely expandable?

 

[delta9nxs]

Ok Delta thanks for clarifying that.

here's another one for you.

I have three stations in the bloom room. One is only using a 400w HPS bulb, so I was thinking of building a separate pump bucket for it. As expected, the plants around the 400w are not using water at the same rate as the two x 600 and the 1k.

Can we connect two pump buckets to the system? Is it theoretically, infinitely expandable?

hey! i don't see the purpose of it. are your pumps different sizes? i don't think any individual plants uptake needs to be segregated from the group for any reason.

if you do run two pumps in separate pump containers off the same control bucket you should stagger times in order to keep the control bucket near the same level as much as possible.

if i were to hook up a large room i would match pumps to groups of plants and introduce a new container type into the system. i think it should be called a slave container.

it would be built like a control bucket but no float valve. all plants in a group and that groups pump bucket would be hooked to it in our regular way.

there would be one master float container with a more industrial type float feeding all the slave buckets with perhaps 1/2" lines.

the advantage is that you can use smaller pumps matched to each plant groups needs. the alternative would be a much larger single pump that would require longer pulse line runs. to get equal delivery the lines need to be equal length.

tell me more about why you want to do this separate pump deal.

 

[delta9nxs]

any flip flop relay experts out there?

i have five ballast with 5 1k lights in cool tubes now. what i want to do is add five more lights in cool tubes stacked on the first 5 but i don't want to run them simultaneously.

so same 5 ballast and 10 lights. 5 lights running 6 hours and 5 lights running 6 hours.

each ballast already has a timer on it for a 12 hour photo period so i should need 5 relays and 5 more timers. i think.

but which relays and timers? later i intend to run four light sets 6 hours each from the same ballast

also i can't seem to find a connecting collar built for double stacking cooltubes.

later
d9

 

[disciple]