Diary PCBuds mini-grow

[PCBuds]

Another Mazda? It's better looking than the first one. It has skirts to hide the rusty sills

Yeah, I live in the Great North Eastern salt belt of North America.
Lol

You can see the amps real, from it's 25A fuse, and output claims half of it's consumption. I bet it's class A/B so pretty sweet. Yamaha have a slightly muted sound that never grates, somewhat like Arcam electronics and Morel/Dynaudio speakers. Quite a few hifi names were there early on, but pulled out as the market got busy. Leaving us with some stuff that didn't even work in many cases. SPLX for example.

200amps. That aught to do it

I remember a friend that had a Sony head unit with 300 Watts printed on it.

I said no way. 300 Watts would melt your dash panel.

The specs started listing power as instantaneous peak power with over 20% THD.

Another guy had 6X9'S just sitting on his area behind his back seats.
No box. Just the speakers sitting there.

Another guy was showing me his home stereo that was "Top Of The Line !!"

It was so good, that he only needed one speaker.

He didn't know what stereo even meant.

I said "that's like saying your shoes are so good that you only need one shoe !!"

He did finally buy a second speaker.

Looking at your feed, it's calcium is reasonably high. The same as the N at 5%. The Mg is unusually high when put beside that 5% though. It's 3.5% Mg. Putting calcium just 50% ahead. This is the kind of ratio I have found myself happy with. While nearly everything has at least 100% more calcium than magnesium, which I find inadequate. The soil plants got Mg right away and are asking for more, and I don't think it's 5 days yet. I see you use calmag but think you may of used an image that didn't load on my poor connection(I have to reconnect before I can post this reply). I guess like most, it's about 4% cal and 1.5% mag. So your calcium ends up as strong as the K. Which seems like a win with coco, who's own K looks like being a problem when I look around. It's all a bit sketchy though, as GH give a guaranteed analysis. It says so on their site and the bottles. They claim it says guaranteed minimum though. They see no problem with putting in 10% N and listing it as 4%. A conversation I couldn't believe they had with me. One that makes any calculation based on their numbers a pointless exercise

I got that picture from the internet.

The guy at the grow shop only had a huge jug of it, so he put it in that bottle for me.

Its got iron in it as well, that's why its brown.
And it says 4-0-0 so it's kinda high in N but maybe not, if it is actually 4? Unlike the Calimagic.

 

[f-e]

Think the Mazda is a local car? 20 years is quite an expectation. Is it normal to buy new cars then instantly have them treated. Oil Rig paint perhaps.
Officially our cars average 14yo. Because we are a bit skint. They used to be lasting us 12 years. New cars are getting better though, so we should keep them a bit longer. One of mine has it's 40th birthday in sight. When the gov stops checking them every year. So it will be fit to drive again. I think that's how it works?

300w as you short the speaker wires, watching the smoke escape the box.

If we master global air scrubbers for emissions, does that mean we get all our smoke back?

Many 6x9's don't know the first thing about bass. I used to drive a hatch, with a shelf on strings, you know the things. Like the Rabbit. So glued a shallow box under my shelf, directly to it. Only about 70mm deep for the magnets. 12mm MDF with internal ribs for stiffness. Shelf is tougher than expected. It didn't sag, or I did something I forget. I managed to hang the 400rms amp below it. Making it a bit of kit that could be lifted out. Shelf/box/amp/6x9s with power and rca's just plugs. The sub was the same. 600rms amp on the back, and power on plugs. I'm getting there...
Sometimes I left the sub out, and would take a while to miss it. A pair of speakers measuring 6x9 in a proper box will shake your house. In a car, it was acceptable bass, until you actually went to 'pump up the volume' (credit to Mars). Only then, did you miss the physical motion of a horsepower finding the cars resonant points. It was like having your head strapped to a washing machine. You just succumb to the fact you can't see, and say a dentist Arrrrrrgh to see what your chest cavity actually sounds like. Can you really burp at 50Hz? This are important questions.

4-0-0 is a fair clue. Presuming it's made with calcium nitrate, that's about 5% Ca like your feed.

"I use 1/2 tsp of Maxibloom, 1/2 tsp of Potassium Silicate solution, and 1/2 tsp of CalMag into 2 liters of tap water"

So that's a bit like 1tsp of the maxibloom recipe. By mixing 0.5tps maxi and calmag you have 1tsp maxi still, but with half the P and K. The potassium silicate then adds some K. So the net result is halving the P and adjusting the K.

What is it.. 5-15-14 so 15x0.44= 6.6% actual P, is 1ml in 1L is 66ppm and you are putting 1.25ml in. So just over 80ppm still. That's probably not bad. It lurks a bit in coco. The feeds specifically for coco use less their the soil counterparts. 30% in the couple I recall. The 50% might be why I was look at P earlier. It's not just P's quantity either, or course. It's got to stay in proportion with other components. With P low, Mg seems less available. That I don't see.

He said 2ml/L which is a fair bump. 100ppm Ca right there. Plus the feed, which is as concentrated. With 5ml of 5% in 2L, you have about 125ppm Ca+your tap. My tap has over 250, so can make a real difference to the figures we think we are mixing.

As N is also about 5% in each, that's 125N/80P/?K/125Ca+Tap/70-75Mg+Tap.
That looks quite reasonable. I have run similar numbers recently. Didn't work for me, which is useful for me to know. I had to run about half that with half your light. An interesting ratio.

 

[PCBuds]

Think the Mazda is a local car? 20 years is quite an expectation.

Yes, it was a local car.
I bought it in 2009. I do all my own work on it and take really good care of it, but there's not much you can do with structural rust that makes good money sense.

Is it normal to buy new cars then instantly have them treated.

I would, but I've never been able to afford a new car.
My car was pretty damn rusty when I bought it, but had it treated every year since I've had it.

300w as you short the speaker wires, watching the smoke escape the box.

If we master global air scrubbers for emissions, does that mean we get all our smoke back?

Yes.
We all get a box full of carbon that we bury in our backyard. Lol

Many 6x9's don't know the first thing about bass.

I had a 6X9 running and just resting in a box to demonstrate to friends.
I would lift the speaker out of the box and they could hear the bass disappear.

It helps when everyone can actually hear the difference.

Can you really burp at 50Hz? This are important questions.

I have to sit up perfectly straight to burp or I'll lose some lunch.
My 50Hz burp would be technicolor. Lol

That looks quite reasonable. I have run similar numbers recently. Didn't work for me, which is useful for me to know. I had to run about half that with half your light. An interesting ratio.

I don't really look at the numbers and ratios too much.

I sort of just aim for being somewhere between nute burn and deficiency.
I don't look for an individual deficiency.

I remember trying to follow these directions.

​


I didn't really know how to make sense of that ?
When I've got a seedling, I water less than once a week. When it's full grown I water every day.

I had a plant looking pale and finally went to the website and found the feeding chart and realized that I was giving my plant half the nutes that she required.

But I was still confused, because my SIP container is something of a cross between a drain to waste and a recirculating method, so I just settled for something in between.

I kinda have a reservoir, but it's not circulating, and I kinda have a drain to waste method, but I don't drain it or waste it and I bottom feed.

So, I guess that I could end up salt buildup?


So, my question is,.. how do I recognize salt buildup?

Should I fill the reservoir with RO water to help dissolve the salts at the end of a grow?
How important is that?

The problem for me is that if I flush the SIP container after the plant is cut, or after the stalk is removed, the coco is really sloppy and takes forever to dry out.

 

[f-e]

In a recirc, you usually have quite a volume of water. Something that won't change much, day to day. So the EC is quite steady. Plus, we tend to keep adjusting it.
With drip, the aim is often to use all the water in 24 hours. This can leave the food portion of our feed sat in the container, while the water has been used. To some degree, this is normal. We make everything available, and they take what they want and leave the rest(hopefully). This gives an EC rise.
If ec1 was our limit, where they were poisoned, you could run recirc at about 0.8 without fear of reaching 1.0 But with drip you have to run lower as the climb over 24 hours will be greater.
That's not the full picture. Also we have the time our feed will be in use. A tank full might have to last 3 times longer than a daily watering can. So, in 3 days, they say to give half as much, 3 times. That's actually more.
GH have some charts that go further. Where they consider how often you will run the drip system. From large pots every few days, to small pots getting greater than 4 per day. The spread gives a similar halving of the concentration.
Me... tiny pots. That is why I used your ratio's but then used half as much. I'm feeding twice a day and have no choice.

Salt accumulation is best measured at the run-off or in the bottom of the sip bucket. I'm not entirely sure what's in a sip, but it seems right. It looks like they are forced to eat everything given to them, so monitoring the little res would be important. Like a little pat on your back for getting it right. Or, a little cautionary note.

 

[PCBuds]

Salt accumulation is best measured at the run-off or in the bottom of the sip bucket.

OK.
I will take a reading with my cheap ass PPM meter.

It's not very accurate but I should be able to compare the numbers of my nute solution to that of my reservoir as a ratio.

I'll wait until the reservoir is almost empty to take a sample.



It's not that bad, because I read 0 PPM for distilled water, 5 for my RO water and 120 for my tap water, which seems about right.

It's the big numbers that become inaccurate.

 

[PCBuds]

 

[PCBuds]

I found a picture of my 85' Mazda 626 when it was up for sale.

It sat on my dad's front lawn for a month before it sold for $425.

Someone stole the sunroof rain defector while it was sitting there.

That deflector was cool !!

I could drive in the rain with my sunroof open.

 

[PCBuds]

So my numbers look pretty good.
I siphoned off some water from my reservoir into the small jar and got a reading of 941 PPM.

The new nute solution was reading 953, so it's a bit lower in the reservoir.

Then I gave her another 2 liters to fill it up.

 

[PCBuds]

... I'm not entirely sure what's in a sip, but it seems right. It looks like they are forced to eat everything given to them, so monitoring the little res would be important. Like a little pat on your back for getting it right. Or, a little cautionary note.

My SIP container has clay pellets in the bottom third of the planter and a 50/50 mix of coco perlite on top.

I've got some netting between the layers so that the coco/perlite doesn't fall into the bottom and plug up the clay pellets.
The netting is loose weave so that roots can grow through it to get to the bottom.

... It looks like they are forced to eat everything given to them, so monitoring the little res would be important.

Yes, my plant eats and drinks everything that she gets, and I just checked my PPM and it seems good, unless the reservoir has its nutrient ratios way out of wack ?
But I would think that if it was, the plant would be showing it as nute burn or a deficiency ?

...Like a little pat on your back for getting it right. Or, a little cautionary note.

I think that I got it right, but I don't know if that was all just shit luck ?

Everything seems dialed in now, it's just a matter of seeing how big she gets.

She's 8 1/2 weeks old today, so she's got at least a week and a half to go.
I think I'm to take it as long as I can but my stash is running low so I might have to take a branch off early.

 

[PCBuds]

I took my plant out of the closet for some pictures...

 

[PCBuds]

 

[PCBuds]

... If ec1 was our limit, where they were poisoned, you could run recirc at about 0.8 without fear of reaching 1.0

I'm wondering what my ec is if I'm reading 950 ppm?

I Googled a conversion chart and found this.

I figure that I'm either ec 1.35, 1.5, or 1.9, unless their is a specific Chineseium scale ?

I checked my meters instructions, and it didn't say what scale it uses, only that it was calibrated at 642 ppm.

It was made for testing drinking water, and said anything over 500 ppm isn't good to drink.

 

[ReikoX]

I would venture to guess it's a 700 conversion, so yeah 1.35 is EC. Based on all those white pistils still looks like you have some time to keep bulking flowers.

 

[f-e]

EC and CF are the real deal. PPM isn't possible. They can't of found a 642ppm calibration solution. It's all just bad maths, trying to achieve the impossible task of talking PPM when everything they have is actually EC/CF. Their calibration solution was factory standard 1.0/10

IIRC the EC to PPM conversion factor of 640 works if the only salt present is table salt.

We just can't measure PPM by putting an electrical charge through our solutions. All we learn from it, is how Electrically Conductive (EC) our solution is. Expressed as a time constraint. Or, we can word it a little differently. Changing the initials and using round numbers instead of decimal placed ones. Hence EC 1.0 is CF 10. Personally I work in CF but talk EC online, as it's the more common measure in commercial hydroponics circles.

PPM just holds our heads under the water. However, what went in, came out. That was refreshing

 

[PCBuds]

I am using the recommended dose of the Maxibloom plus the CalMag, Potassium Silicate, and tap water (180 ppm), which would raise the EC, but today I made another batch of nute solution but added 1/4 tsp of KoolBloom.

Then, I measured it and got this...

What a piece of junk.
The solution was about 10°C cooler today than yesterday, but it's supposed to adjust for temperature.


I don't really care what my EC is, I just need to know how much nutrients to use.

I used the KoolBloom with the last plant and I've already got the stuff, so I'm going to use it.

Based on all those white pistils still looks like you have some time to keep bulking flowers.

Yeah, I only see a few orange pistils.
She could still fill in quite a bit ?

 

[PCBuds]

I don't really care what my EC is, I just need to know how much nutrients to use.

I changed my mind. lol


I bought one of these...

A proper Blue Labs one would be $500 with taxes and shipping.

 

[PCBuds]

I decided to only use the side lighting for the rest of the grow.

(well, not really, my power supply crapped out. lol)

 

[f-e]

HM are not bad. It's a brand that survives. You might call it ill names compared to the Bluelab, but it is what it is.
A quick wrist flick after use, then get the cap on it. Don't allow it to dry, or it will have it's own salts stuck to it to measure.

I'm not sure about side lighting only. I spent a week using just floor lighting (I was on holiday) and they didn't like it. The sun should be up not down. Sideways... I dunno.

 

[PCBuds]

HM are not bad. It's a brand that survives. You might call it ill names compared to the Bluelab, but it is what it is.
A quick wrist flick after use, then get the cap on it. Don't allow it to dry, or it will have it's own salts stuck to it to measure.

OK thanks.
That's good news.

It was the cheapest that I could find that measured EC.

5% of the people said it didn't work when they got it or failed within 4 months, but I think it's worth the gamble.
Is it best to rinse it in tap water or distilled?
I assume you don't want to use storage solution right? (that's pretty salty.)

 

[PCBuds]

I'm not sure about side lighting only. I spent a week using just floor lighting (I was on holiday) and they didn't like it. The sun should be up not down. Sideways... I dunno.

I've got another power supply I can use, but I thought that I might be able to fix it.

I took the cover off and found a blown fuse.

It was a 5 amp fuse and I didn't have the proper type, so I made a 5 amp fuse.

It's as good as new !!