Prototype model of Grow Op

[kingape]

Hey Bro.......Site`s been down for 3 days .....at least for me it was , and I`ve got no clue bout these new waysby any and all means......I think you sent me a pm , but I`m fairly sure you gotta have 50 posts before that can happen , but......maybe it`s different with this new upgrade......dunno.......now.....Lungrooms ?......

I`m not really sure where to find info on em , maybe the thread "Ventilation 101" but again.....not sure........It`s old head knowledge gained loooooong ago from Heath Robinson .....well as far as my experience goes that`s where it came from , but most all folks have been taught and made to believe there`s only 1 wayta grow dope.....and that`s in a sealed room with CO2 supplements......and yeah.....

If you seal a room there`s ABSOLUTELY no wayta grow dope WITHOUT CO2 cuz plants eat CO2 and shit oxygen , and we eat oxygen and shit CO2 , thus how our existence is allowed on this lil `ol 3rd rock from the sun......but......with a lung room , air exchange twice per minute supplies all the CO2 a pot plant needs to grow and thrive with all other aspects of environment along with optimum watts per sq ft and the proper feed regimen taken care of.....and.....

I`ve got old head friends that run lung rooms AND supplement with CO2 pumped into the grow areas and sucked back out so on and so forth , but for me it`s a waste but some folks swear by their use of the shit so far be it from me to argue with their dialed results......as stated before.....there`s many waysta skin a mule KG.......

Lungrooms haveta be equal to the sq ftg of the grow area so no stale air gets pumped in , and in deep summer because I grew in basement foundation homes was really the only time I utilized A/C to bring ambient temps down.....My rooms were dialed and stayed in the low to mid 80`s 24/7/365 regardless of what most pot snobs will tell you in that anything over low to mid 70`s kills terpenes , smell and taste , but I assure you that all my exhaust/scrubber combos worked overtime coverin up and neutralizin the gas from my clone only Chem D bitches.....anyways.....Holler if I can help.......and btw.....

What happened to the damn smilies.....lol.....where`s my damn Ying/yang symbol......

Take care and.....

Peace.....DHF......

Yes!

The site has been down and I did send you a PM.

I don't know if there's a rule for the 50 posts thing either because it has let me send the PM.

Exhausting the co2 out seems like a waste and am not likely to go down that option.

Is there any benefit to running a lung room vs having the ac in your flower room?


I doubt the ppm will be 750 in the areas that I live and another pro of having a sealed room would be that I can completely eliminate the odour

 

[DunHav`nFun]

Let me clarify a couple things Bro......IF you employed CO2 supplements utilizing a lungroom setup , it would be sucked RIGHT back in the grow area as fast as it was introduced and then exchanged through the room air so the plants would be able to absorb and metabolize it all the lights on session as it was being sucked out through said scrubber/exhaust combo over and over again......and.....

As far as smell goes , I had a larger scrubber combo on the floor inside the lungrooms to make sure IF any stank air got out of my flip rooms it would be insured to take care of any residual , but it was set on timers so they didn`t run 24/7 for no apparent reason....plus.....

My old head bros that DO use CO2 supplements with lungrooms only use the tanks or burners sporadically throughout the lights on session along with CO2 monitors inside the grow areas so as to not exceed 900 ppms since THAT `s all a C3 or C4 plant ( depending on which day the potsnobs determine what pot plants are classified under ) can metabolize without shittin out the excess through transpiration during lights out.....also......

If you choose to stick with sealed and CO2 supplements , please don`t fall under the spell that 1500 ppms will be the holy grail to optimum production cuz what the plants don`t use during lights on , they shit out the excess during lights off guaranteed , and all it takes is a room CO2 monitor as well as temp/hygrometer to SHOW how high humidity AND CO2 levels rise during lights out once stretch ceases and full swellage begins where the plants nutrient consumption doubles and sometimes even triples with lower RH during lights on......and lastly.....

With sealed rooms and CO2 supplements during late bloomage , there`s often NEVER enough airflow with higher RH levels to prevent any type of molds , midews , or fungus , and THAT`s why people cringe with higher humidity levels toward end of cycle.....me ?.....

I never worried due to air exchange twice per minute , and that`s straight from personal experience with 70% RH minimum start to finish over 20+ yrs of hard croppin with 10`s of 1000`s of plants before retirement.....anyways......Holler if I can help.....Just checked my crab traps and used the cast net to score some bait for my new fishin drone to drop out over the fish.....pretty cool lil toy.....so.....

Take care , good luck , and.......

Peace.....DHF........

 

[kingape]

Let me clarify a couple things Bro......IF you employed CO2 supplements utilizing a lungroom setup , it would be sucked RIGHT back in the grow area as fast as it was introduced and then exchanged through the room air so the plants would be able to absorb and metabolize it all the lights on session as it was being sucked out through said scrubber/exhaust combo over and over again......and.....

As far as smell goes , I had a larger scrubber combo on the floor inside the lungrooms to make sure IF any stank air got out of my flip rooms it would be insured to take care of any residual , but it was set on timers so they didn`t run 24/7 for no apparent reason....plus.....

My old head bros that DO use CO2 supplements with lungrooms only use the tanks or burners sporadically throughout the lights on session along with CO2 monitors inside the grow areas so as to not exceed 900 ppms since THAT `s all a C3 or C4 plant ( depending on which day the potsnobs determine what pot plants are classified under ) can metabolize without shittin out the excess through transpiration during lights out.....also......

If you choose to stick with sealed and CO2 supplements , please don`t fall under the spell that 1500 ppms will be the holy grail to optimum production cuz what the plants don`t use during lights on , they shit out the excess during lights off guaranteed , and all it takes is a room CO2 monitor as well as temp/hygrometer to SHOW how high humidity AND CO2 levels rise during lights out once stretch ceases and full swellage begins where the plants nutrient consumption doubles and sometimes even triples with lower RH during lights on......and lastly.....

With sealed rooms and CO2 supplements during late bloomage , there`s often NEVER enough airflow with higher RH levels to prevent any type of molds , midews , or fungus , and THAT`s why people cringe with higher humidity levels toward end of cycle.....me ?.....

I never worried due to air exchange twice per minute , and that`s straight from personal experience with 70% RH minimum start to finish over 20+ yrs of hard croppin with 10`s of 1000`s of plants before retirement.....anyways......Holler if I can help.....Just checked my crab traps and used the cast net to score some bait for my new fishin drone to drop out over the fish.....pretty cool lil toy.....so.....

Take care , good luck , and.......

Peace.....DHF........

Having a lung room and CO2 that exhausts would mean I would require more Co2 tanks over a sealed room.

> I had a larger scrubber combo on the floor inside the lungrooms to make sure IF any stank air got out of my flip rooms it would be insured to take care of any residual

Is your lung room before the flower rooms or after??


I will anyway be running the CO2 with a timer and a co2 probe so it hits 900ppm max.

I am leaning towards running a hybrid sealed room ie a room that is sealed but I can exhaust if need be.

If I exhaust the room every 3 hours, I will need my AC to work overtime again to cool down the room.

I am thinking I will exhaust it completely after the lights go out and then every 3 hours after.

Running AC's continously is the best option but I am watching my electric consumption as I am in a state where it is not legal yet.

 

[DunHav`nFun]

An old trick of the trade that commercial Cali growers used back in the day , hell it may still be used dunno , is / was that once stretch was completely over and the plants began to drink a lot more and transpire a lot more during lights out , was to use active intake and exhaust like I ran with lung rooms.....but.....

With sealed rooms they would only use the exhaust and intake fans during lights out to prevent the spikes in RH and CO2 till end of cycle , and then sealed back up during lights on......and .....that`s how they went about trying to prevent molds , mildews , and such.....

Lungrooms are always before the grow areas in that the lungroom is where PERFECT environment is made before pumping it into the grow areas.....then it`s exhausted out and re-mixed with same environment as it`s pumped back in.....anyways.....hope that clears up some things and helps you on your way.....Take care , good luck , and.....

Peace.....DHF.......

 

[kingape]

An old trick of the trade that commercial Cali growers used back in the day , hell it may still be used dunno , is / was that once stretch was completely over and the plants began to drink a lot more and transpire a lot more during lights out , was to use active intake and exhaust like I ran with lung rooms.....but.....

With sealed rooms they would only use the exhaust and intake fans during lights out to prevent the spikes in RH and CO2 till end of cycle , and then sealed back up during lights on......and .....that`s how they went about trying to prevent molds , mildews , and such.....

Lungrooms are always before the grow areas in that the lungroom is where PERFECT environment is made before pumping it into the grow areas.....then it`s exhausted out and re-mixed with same environment as it`s pumped back in.....anyways.....hope that clears up some things and helps you on your way.....Take care , good luck , and.....

Peace.....DHF.......

Ohh!

That makes sense, I thought the series was Lung room > Flower > Outside.

What was your watering setup like?

Did you automate your nutrient mixing?

 

[DunHav`nFun]

Never used dosers or mixin equipment Bro......I had 325 gal pest control tanks that had powerheads attached to keep shit stirred up and oxygenated so nutrient solutions wouldn`t precipitate and fall outta suspension......I was strictly DTW and all excess juice went to a "sump rez" I would haul off weekly and use around my farm on ornamentals ans veggie garden during the summer.....Never was much on just wastin shit down the drain.......

I had 4 plants on 4 walls on 4 levels for a total of 64 plants with 3-600 eye horti`s stacked in 6 x 6 grow areas x 2 at each location turnin on and off every 12 hrs so as not to show meter spikes in my illegal state where the power company was hip to.....Never ran over 750 ppm`s and mostly 600 till late bloomage and that included extra Cal / Mag that the Chem D plants demanded in coco.....anyways.....Holler if I can help....Been rainin all night and day here , the bulldawg wants out and I ain`t goin for it.....

Take care , good luck , and.....

Peace.....DHF........

 

[kingape]

Never used dosers or mixin equipment Bro......I had 325 gal pest control tanks that had powerheads attached to keep shit stirred up and oxygenated so nutrient solutions wouldn`t precipitate and fall outta suspension......I was strictly DTW and all excess juice went to a "sump rez" I would haul off weekly and use around my farm on ornamentals ans veggie garden during the summer.....Never was much on just wastin shit down the drain.......

I had 4 plants on 4 walls on 4 levels for a total of 64 plants with 3-600 eye horti`s stacked in 6 x 6 grow areas x 2 at each location turnin on and off every 12 hrs so as not to show meter spikes in my illegal state where the power company was hip to.....Never ran over 750 ppm`s and mostly 600 till late bloomage and that included extra Cal / Mag that the Chem D plants demanded in coco.....anyways.....Holler if I can help....Been rainin all night and day here , the bulldawg wants out and I ain`t goin for it.....

Take care , good luck , and.....

Peace.....DHF........

Great luck finding a chem d that you like working with!

Are there are any seed breeders whose chem d you would recommend?

What was your yield in terms of gpw?

 

[DunHav`nFun]

I only grew 1.5 oz plants + / - maybe a lil over bro , but there were 64 of em......98 0z. per room + / - consistently at all 4 locations and 8 flip rooms turnin over 1 room every 35 days on 70 dsay cycles of clone only Chem D so I could handle the trim bein a 1 man army runnin all aspects of everything by myself.....gpw`s ?..... never really played into that game due to so many variables involved , but 98 oz + /- outta 1800 watts runnin 50 watts per sq ft was my program on rotations.....

Took a while to spread all rooms out as far as planting and replanting after each harvey , but again .....it afforded me the time to do everything myself perpetually.......

Peace.....DHF......

 

[kingape]

Damn!

That is quite the hustle for a one man army!

Is the trimming with SOG easier?

Also any recommendations for chem d seeds?

 

[DunHav`nFun]

Trimmin got a LOT easier for me when I learned a leaf strippin technique from a self-proclaimed guru many yrs ago that caused me to fuck up my plants and take 2 more weeks of flower time to yield what I`d always done in 10 instead of twelve......but....... it taught me a hard lesson and let me self-learn why the technique worked on his bitches but not mine......turns out......

Defoliation as most call it these days is STRICTLY strain related , and that`s why his more indica dominant plants responded accordingly when he stripped his @ day 21 and then again @ day 45 the last time before chop , compared to when I stripped my Chem D plants at 3 weeks it stunted the FUCK out of em and it took 2 SOLID weeks of recovery time before they got back on track and finished properly........that said......

After scratchin my head and ass about why it worked for him and not me , I finally realized after dawg-cussin and exposin his bullshit all knowin conceited sorry ass , that it HAD to be the difference in STRETCH mode in that it`s scientifically proven that stretch is 40% of the flower cycle , so when his plants responded well @ 21 days without stuntin and havin to recover before swellage took over , it was because.....

His inbred indica strain was a lil over a 7 week finisher and that cut his STRETCH mode down to right @ 21 days , and being that Chem D was more of a "hybrid" Indica/sativa mix that took a SOLID 10 weeks to finish , and that meant that my stretch wouldn`t be over until at least 28 days ......so......

I tried it again on 1 room the next round after figuring out what caused my shit to fail , and after my plants completely stopped stretchin and started to swell and drink accordingly , I stripped off EVERY fanleaf that was attached to a stem / limb but not comin out of flower clusters , crossed my fingers and prayed ....a lot....and.....

When they finished at the normal 10 weeks without any problem , I also realized what that dumbass had preached was that the plants didn`t need the extra foliage for photosynthesis AND it also helped with the fade and true senescence of ridding the plants of excess nitrogen that`s inherently stored in the excess fans on the plant that so many gtowers these days try to make happen by the so-called "flush process" that starves their plants of nutrients when they need em the most durin late bloomage , but that`s another story for another day ....and....

The moral to this story is .....trimmin was all but unneeded once I started strippin all the unnecessary foliage off my plants just ONCE right after end of stretch that helped my old ass TREMENDOUSLY bein that all trim was done by me and me alone , plus the fact that I spread my perpetual rotations out to where I only had to chop and re-plant 1 room every 35 days.....and.....

The other thing was what I was taught long ago about NOT flushin and starvin my plants toward end of cycle , but rather dwindling down ppm`s where they still fed but weren`t starved and stressed before chop.....and lastly....

Seeds ?......If you want the best expression of Chem D , I`m fairly sure that Topdawg Seeds are pretty much the clan and group wherre the first expression /strain came from , and 1 other I`m POSITIVE you need to employ is "Tony Green`s" GG4 RIL /Recombinant Inbred Line........

He gifted me some a while back and they`re next on my list when my current headies run finishes , and..... I can`t wait to go pheno huntin with those bitches......and for the record......My setup really wasn`t a SOG setup per se , but rather a hybrid Heath Robinson showed me how to put to use.....with more than dialed results too I might add.....aight......Nuff preachin outta me this day.....Wake and bake`s over and breakfast `s callin.....

Take care , good luck and.....

Peace.....DHF.....

 

[kingape]

Trimmin got a LOT easier for me when I learned a leaf strippin technique from a self-proclaimed guru many yrs ago that caused me to fuck up my plants and take 2 more weeks of flower time to yield what I`d always done in 10 instead of twelve......but....... it taught me a hard lesson and let me self-learn why the technique worked on his bitches but not mine......turns out......

Defoliation as most call it these days is STRICTLY strain related , and that`s why his more indica dominant plants responded accordingly when he stripped his @ day 21 and then again @ day 45 the last time before chop , compared to when I stripped my Chem D plants at 3 weeks it stunted the FUCK out of em and it took 2 SOLID weeks of recovery time before they got back on track and finished properly........that said......

After scratchin my head and ass about why it worked for him and not me , I finally realized after dawg-cussin and exposin his bullshit all knowin conceited sorry ass , that it HAD to be the difference in STRETCH mode in that it`s scientifically proven that stretch is 40% of the flower cycle , so when his plants responded well @ 21 days without stuntin and havin to recover before swellage took over , it was because.....

His inbred indica strain was a lil over a 7 week finisher and that cut his STRETCH mode down to right @ 21 days , and being that Chem D was more of a "hybrid" Indica/sativa mix that took a SOLID 10 weeks to finish , and that meant that my stretch wouldn`t be over until at least 28 days ......so......

I tried it again on 1 room the next round after figuring out what caused my shit to fail , and after my plants completely stopped stretchin and started to swell and drink accordingly , I stripped off EVERY fanleaf that was attached to a stem / limb but not comin out of flower clusters , crossed my fingers and prayed ....a lot....and.....

When they finished at the normal 10 weeks without any problem , I also realized what that dumbass had preached was that the plants didn`t need the extra foliage for photosynthesis AND it also helped with the fade and true senescence of ridding the plants of excess nitrogen that`s inherently stored in the excess fans on the plant that so many gtowers these days try to make happen by the so-called "flush process" that starves their plants of nutrients when they need em the most durin late bloomage , but that`s another story for another day ....and....

The moral to this story is .....trimmin was all but unneeded once I started strippin all the unnecessary foliage off my plants just ONCE right after end of stretch that helped my old ass TREMENDOUSLY bein that all trim was done by me and me alone , plus the fact that I spread my perpetual rotations out to where I only had to chop and re-plant 1 room every 35 days.....and.....

The other thing was what I was taught long ago about NOT flushin and starvin my plants toward end of cycle , but rather dwindling down ppm`s where they still fed but weren`t starved and stressed before chop.....and lastly....

Seeds ?......If you want the best expression of Chem D , I`m fairly sure that Topdawg Seeds are pretty much the clan and group wherre the first expression /strain came from , and 1 other I`m POSITIVE you need to employ is "Tony Green`s" GG4 RIL /Recombinant Inbred Line........

He gifted me some a while back and they`re next on my list when my current headies run finishes , and..... I can`t wait to go pheno huntin with those bitches......and for the record......My setup really wasn`t a SOG setup per se , but rather a hybrid Heath Robinson showed me how to put to use.....with more than dialed results too I might add.....aight......Nuff preachin outta me this day.....Wake and bake`s over and breakfast `s callin.....

Take care , good luck and.....

Peace.....DHF.....

Wow!

That's quite the learning!

I'm going to try the defoliate after stretch tech!

Have you tried this method attributed to Heath Robinson?

Recirculating Deep Water Culture, The Recirculating System – Best Seed Bank

Explore the innovative world of Recirculating Deep Water Culture. Discover Heath Robinson's groundbreaking recirculating system, enhancing plant growth and efficiency in hydroponics. Learn how to optimize oxygen and nutrient supply for robust plant development. Perfect for gardening enthusiasts...

bestseedbank.com

Its a DWC system


Any other nuggets of wisdom?

Thank you again! It's the incremental small things that lead up to the optimum grow cycle

 

[DunHav`nFun]

The first several yrs I grew indoors was with a recirculating SWC / shallow water culture setup called "Krusty buckets" and no.....I had my fill of high maintenance systems by the time my `ol bro Heath came to the online scene , and believe me that guy made every setup he ran look easy , but I assure you there`s a reason why they call RDWC "recirculating death without cause" cuz it kills more plants than it grows from what I`ve seen over the yrs believe me....... but.....

He did push me into leavin Krusty buckets for his easy setup of ebb and flow buckets that`s the ONLY safe hydro system IME........and.....I ran those for several yrs with dialed success until an old head buddy of mine showed me his DTW coco setup growin 1 lb ` ers feedin once a day in 5 gal buckets , and I was intrigued....but not convinced due to the fact my hybrid ebb and flow buckets ran so well......so.....

I needed a way to grow my mom plants easier without sacrificin the speed of growth from the E and F buckets so I got some of the shit and tried it......and the plants grew just as fast if not faster than the E and F setup I was usin so I did away with my other mom buckets and set up the coco mom plants at my locations and never looked back.....and then....couple yrs went by and Heath started a setup he was toying with to grow plants 12/12 from seed and also use up his extra rooted cuts in stead of tossin em in the garbage , and once again I was intrigued but not convinced........then......

Once I saw all those lil plantlets he had on shelves on all 4 walls plus on different levels with 1-600 bare bulb hangin in the middle of a tiny lil walk in cooler type room , a lightbulb went off in my head , and that`s where the last setup I ever ran came from......DTW coco in #5 smartpots on 4 levels all around the room of angled shelves with 3-600`s stacked fed once a day till end of stretch and twice during lights on once full swellage began.....

Once the first room finished with 98 + ozs. , I shut down all 5 locations and did away with 1 house and rented it out to help pay bills round my farm........Then I converted all the other ebb and flow flip rooms into angled shelf setups and never looked back cuz they pulled more from 4 locations than the 5 had been dialed at with ebb and flow buckets.....now......as far as tidbits of wisdom ?.....

Stay the fuck away from DWC.....trust me , and if you go with a SOG system , start slow and get past the learnin curve before you go all in and bet the farm......that`s it for now , weather`s clearin up and dawg wants to go chase sandpipers on the beach......so.....

Holler if I can help bro.....

Peace....DHF.....

 

[exploziv]

At this point, with all the knowledge shared, DHF, you should make a thread of yours man! Take us through it bit by bit when you got the time. Seems like we all could learn something, and also you got a talent for sharing it in a nice way, so it helps!

 

[DunHav`nFun]

I did forget to say that my angled shelf setup also came from 1 of Heath`s designs , but his was a recirculating "gravity fed" system using hydroton in the containers .....and that`s where I adapted my hybrid setup to use DTW coco instead....so....all credit goes out to Heathie , but I did take his ideas and expound on em to fit my own needs ....and also....,

Thanks Explosiv , but I`ve never started a thread here since joining the first week this weedsite came online back in `04 cuz I don`t do pics due to the fact of where I live and where I grew in the Hell of the dirty ILLEGAL south...... but ......I`ve always gone outta my way to help folks and keep em from makin the hard mistakes myself and many others have made over the yrs and.....

Due to the fact I`ve never done the "show and tell" bit here or any of the several other small invite only sites I`m a member of is probably why my posts are so long and descriptive to make up for not showin pics to keep my paranoia in check......anyways.....

Thanks again and anytime I can help anyone from all those yrs of hands on personal experience I try , so....Take care and.....

Peace....DHF.......

 

[exploziv]

We like stories too, man. Especially when it's easy to see they come from experience. If you got the time, I think many people will thank you in the future for it. Basically share your info as you do, but keep the important things in one place.

 

[mojave green]

I use a flood and drain DWC for these.

 

[kingape]

The first several yrs I grew indoors was with a recirculating SWC / shallow water culture setup called "Krusty buckets" and no.....I had my fill of high maintenance systems by the time my `ol bro Heath came to the online scene , and believe me that guy made every setup he ran look easy , but I assure you there`s a reason why they call RDWC "recirculating death without cause" cuz it kills more plants than it grows from what I`ve seen over the yrs believe me....... but.....

He did push me into leavin Krusty buckets for his easy setup of ebb and flow buckets that`s the ONLY safe hydro system IME........and.....I ran those for several yrs with dialed success until an old head buddy of mine showed me his DTW coco setup growin 1 lb ` ers feedin once a day in 5 gal buckets , and I was intrigued....but not convinced due to the fact my hybrid ebb and flow buckets ran so well......so.....

I needed a way to grow my mom plants easier without sacrificin the speed of growth from the E and F buckets so I got some of the shit and tried it......and the plants grew just as fast if not faster than the E and F setup I was usin so I did away with my other mom buckets and set up the coco mom plants at my locations and never looked back.....and then....couple yrs went by and Heath started a setup he was toying with to grow plants 12/12 from seed and also use up his extra rooted cuts in stead of tossin em in the garbage , and once again I was intrigued but not convinced........then......

Once I saw all those lil plantlets he had on shelves on all 4 walls plus on different levels with 1-600 bare bulb hangin in the middle of a tiny lil walk in cooler type room , a lightbulb went off in my head , and that`s where the last setup I ever ran came from......DTW coco in #5 smartpots on 4 levels all around the room of angled shelves with 3-600`s stacked fed once a day till end of stretch and twice during lights on once full swellage began.....

Once the first room finished with 98 + ozs. , I shut down all 5 locations and did away with 1 house and rented it out to help pay bills round my farm........Then I converted all the other ebb and flow flip rooms into angled shelf setups and never looked back cuz they pulled more from 4 locations than the 5 had been dialed at with ebb and flow buckets.....now......as far as tidbits of wisdom ?.....

Stay the fuck away from DWC.....trust me , and if you go with a SOG system , start slow and get past the learnin curve before you go all in and bet the farm......that`s it for now , weather`s clearin up and dawg wants to go chase sandpipers on the beach......so.....

Holler if I can help bro.....

Peace....DHF.....

RDWC feels like the forbidden goddess!

I am going to stick to top drain to waste!

 

[LJ farming]

If I may I would like to ask DHF as well as Kingape what type of pumps you are using. I am currently trying to get a new DTW coco room set up and so far I am failing miserably with my pump set up. I started with a 800 GPH typical hydro pump and it was a complete disaster. I then moved to a 2250 GPH sump pump and I am still having inconsistencies all over the place. My current room capacity is 3 4x8 trays and 1 4x4 tray I currently only have 3 1000w HPS lights set up and 2 680w leds. I have the HPS lights for the 3rd 4x8 tray and intend to move everything to LED after I get everything fairly dialed in. I am currently planning to run 8 plants per light but so far I have stunted 50+ clones and had to restart because of pump number 1 and now pump number 2 is giving me hell with inconsistent watering. I am currently running two 1/4 inch drip lines with no emitters into each 7 liter pot but the amount of water each pot is getting is all over the place. I really need to flip soon or I fear my plants could potentially get too big for my setup. But I truly think it will be a disaster if I flip before I get my watering inconsistencies figured out.
I can fill the pots with amazing roots when hand watering but as soon as I try to switch over to my automatic watering system everything falls apart. I’m currently also using Jain octo bubbler manifolds to feed the 1/4 tubing. Also what do you guys think about multiple feeds per day. This was my initial intention but I don’t believe either of you were or plan to do more than 2. Sorry to hijack your thread Kingape!

 

[DunHav`nFun]

Hey LJ.....not tryin to jack KG`s thread either but I do have extensive experience with top fed DTW.......The FIRST thing you have to accomplish is complete control of "flow" and "pressure"......meaning.....You`ve got to have EQUAL flow and pressure to each plantsite or you`ll drown the plants that get the most juice closest to the pump , and starve the ones that don`t receive enough at the furthest end.....and yeah.....

Multiple feeds per day is cool with smaller containers ONCE you know how long your pump needs to stay on to give just enough feed but again.....not too much....the way I learned was with a "loopfield manifold" that surrounds the tables in your particular situation so that when the pump kicks , the juice goes all the way around the table to "pressurize" the manifold and THEN each 1/4" driptube goin to each plantsite will deliver equal amounts of feed IF each piece of tubing is of equal length from the manifold to each plantsite.....that said.....

Each setup requires a different size pump to deliver the feed fast enough to easily pressurize the manifold so THEN equal flow will be distributed to each plantsite easy peasy till the timer kicks off and then depending on what size containers used will determine the amount of feed sequences required to keep the coco "moist" but not WET with adequate runoff.....and.....

My setup / system was a vertical one where I had to determine "head pressure" for what size pump to utilize and for that I had to go with 5200 gph "pond pumps" with a "bypass " in each each rez so the excess would blow back down into the rez keepin shit stirred up and oxygenated but have enough "head pressure" to reach all the way up to 6' where my last levels were with 16 plants per level in #5 smartpots....I also had control valves on each level to make sure each container got the exact same amount of juice when the pumps kicked on , but that won`t pertain to your situation....now.....

There`s a thread here in the Hydro section I`m fairly sure if it`s still here by an old member called "Pico`s manifold thread" or somethin to that effect , but it shows pics with a straightforward tutorial on howta build one outta PVC , but they can be made from flextubing as wellwith barb connectors but the risk of leaks go up with unsealed connections......also.....You`re most likely drownin your plants with 2 feedtubes to 7 liter containers if I`m correct in stating the conversion is less than a 2 gal pot right ?.....but.....

With the smaller containers you would most definitely need to feed multiple times during the lights on sequence to make ABSOLUTELY sure you keep the medium from "drying out" between feeds , but the real trick is to determine how much and how long to feed for enough runoff to purge said containers each feed sequence but not so much as to just waste juice down the drain for no apparent reason.....and.....

If coco dries out , residual salt buildup occurs and ppms /EC soars and PH drops thus causin inevitable lockouts and imbalances from PH goin sideways.....and....if that happens you haveta flush with 1/2 strength nutrient solution till PH comes back to normal parameters in the 5.8-6.0 range.....also.....

I`ve seen big commercial setups with octabubblers run with dialed success but it was with well experienced growers with many runs under their belt , and before I forget ......There needs to be an inline filter incorporated in the manifold to keep shit from gettin clogged up , although 1/4" open end driptubing usually won`t fail without major salt buildup to clog said tubing , and that`s about it Bro.....btw....

Those octabubbler setups were indeed used on loopfield manifolds to insure equal flow and pressure to each riser / head that the feedtubes came out of , so you can use em if necessary but a simple manifold setup actually works better for the learnin curve to get movin in the right direction so.....

Go find Pico`s thread and learn how to build manifolds with inline filters in each , plus trial and error will be the only wayta size which pump you need depending on rez size and how far vertically the juice hasta rise before hittin the manifolds to pressurize em so equal flow can go to each plantsite.....anyways.....

Hope that helps and Holler if I can ever steer you in the right direction , so take care , good luck , and......

Peace.....DHF.....

 

[kingape]

If I may I would like to ask DHF as well as Kingape what type of pumps you are using. I am currently trying to get a new DTW coco room set up and so far I am failing miserably with my pump set up. I started with a 800 GPH typical hydro pump and it was a complete disaster. I then moved to a 2250 GPH sump pump and I am still having inconsistencies all over the place. My current room capacity is 3

Hey LJ!

If you want your drippers or watering to have even watering, you have to look for the words "pressure compensated" in the products that you buy!

The octabubbler says its pressure compensated, so I guess that is checked!

Another tip I learnt is to have the drips at equal lengths!

The pump sizing is fairly easy!
Just add up the flow rate of all your octabubblers and drippers if you have any!

I top feed 6 times a day, the first watering is bigger and happens 30 mins after the lights are on and the last one happens 2 hours before the lights are off.

Here's a link to the Pico thread https://www.icmag.com/threads/how-to-make-a-pvc-dripper-manifold.57799/