Sobergrower
Active member
Tailpieces are 3 in thick wall so probably about 2 3/4” id
Depth of planter is 4 1/2”
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Sobergrower Grows Again - Gorilla Glue Seed - PPK - Mars Hydro
- Thread starter Sobergrower
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Depth of planter is 4 1/2”
Sobergrower
Active member
Tailpieces are 3 in thick wall so probably about 2 3/4” id
Depth of planter is 4 1/2
the tailpiece diameter is a little large for 3 gals and the reason is that it will move a lot of water upward via capillary rise.
typically i use a 2" for a 3.5 bucket but there is a correction that you can make without re-building.
just drop the water level in the reservoir tubs (10 gal) until you get a 5" air gap. so that's 5" from the surface of the water to the bottom of the grow container. you should be able to do this with the float valve.
turface uncut has a capillary rise potential of about 7-8" so with a 5" air gap you will still have a minimum of 2" of wet media in the bottom of the container.
it will be wet at all times but still well drained because in the ppk you will have drained the perched water table and the space will have good air-filled porosity.
the only other thing i can think of right now is that the halos should be larger in diameter. same number of the same size holes just a longer piece of tubing so that the halo ring is positioned about 2/3 the way out from the plant towards the rim of the container.
this makes the solution travel more laterally before it reaches the drain and reduces the chance of stem rot.
and because of the drain size start the pulse feed timing at 15 sec every 2 hours for effect. let's see how they look in a couple of days of this treatment.
you are not really using the top feed for mass plant water.
the tailpiece drain/feed sub-irrigation makes nutrients and water plant available 24/7.
the timed top feed corrects the nutrient balance and ph in the upper part of the medium.
and exchanges gases.
the idea is to keep continuous movement going on at all times in the root zone. slo-mo-hydro
well, it's past my bed time. later on
typically i use a 2" for a 3.5 bucket but there is a correction that you can make without re-building.
just drop the water level in the reservoir tubs (10 gal) until you get a 5" air gap. so that's 5" from the surface of the water to the bottom of the grow container. you should be able to do this with the float valve.
turface uncut has a capillary rise potential of about 7-8" so with a 5" air gap you will still have a minimum of 2" of wet media in the bottom of the container.
it will be wet at all times but still well drained because in the ppk you will have drained the perched water table and the space will have good air-filled porosity.
the only other thing i can think of right now is that the halos should be larger in diameter. same number of the same size holes just a longer piece of tubing so that the halo ring is positioned about 2/3 the way out from the plant towards the rim of the container.
this makes the solution travel more laterally before it reaches the drain and reduces the chance of stem rot.
and because of the drain size start the pulse feed timing at 15 sec every 2 hours for effect. let's see how they look in a couple of days of this treatment.
you are not really using the top feed for mass plant water.
the tailpiece drain/feed sub-irrigation makes nutrients and water plant available 24/7.
the timed top feed corrects the nutrient balance and ph in the upper part of the medium.
and exchanges gases.
the idea is to keep continuous movement going on at all times in the root zone. slo-mo-hydro
well, it's past my bed time. later on
Sobergrower
Active member
Thank you @delta9nxs for all of the input today and taking time to help a fellow grower! I appreciate all of the help!
I have adjusted the air gap to 5”.
Timer is set for 15 seconds every 2 hours
And a remade the halo rings to fit the containers better.
Regards……SG
I have adjusted the air gap to 5”.
Timer is set for 15 seconds every 2 hours
And a remade the halo rings to fit the containers better.
Regards……SG
Sobergrower
Active member
Thought I would post a quick update. The minor tweaks seem to be steering the plants in the right direction. They are pushing out their fourth set of leaves and raised to the lights.
you want a light dry crust but it should be wet just below the surface even at the outer edges of the pot.
bump the feed strength up to the full 3-2-1 now or next time you refill. this should come out to around 950-1000 ppm.
put the light down on them now too.
bump the feed strength up to the full 3-2-1 now or next time you refill. this should come out to around 950-1000 ppm.
put the light down on them now too.
Sobergrower
Active member
Thought a quick update is in order. Plants are looking good. Still a little light in feed but the sub irrigation is climbing. I will be adding another nutrient increase tomorrow. Light are at 100% and about 12 inches above the tops. I see a slight curl in a few leaves and may pull the LED driver out of the tent to lower temps a couple degrees. I added another fan for air movement. And I had to increase the duration on the feed cycle to obtain the indicated desired dry on top but damp just below the surface.
Sobergrower
Active member
40 seconds on and staying at the 2 hours off.
plants look good. they don't look over or under-watered. in the ppk be aware of any yellowing from the bottom up.
this is a sign the feet are staying a little too wet. if you are delivering approx a quart in 15 seconds then you are delivering 2.66 quarts at 40 seconds. that sounds like a lot of water for a 3 gal container.
watch the plants for cues.
this is a sign the feet are staying a little too wet. if you are delivering approx a quart in 15 seconds then you are delivering 2.66 quarts at 40 seconds. that sounds like a lot of water for a 3 gal container.
watch the plants for cues.
Sobergrower
Active member
As always, your input is on point and appreciated. While I don’t see any yellowing, the lower leaves were a bit droopy this afternoon. I have adjusted the time back down to 20 seconds and will adjust from there. I may look for a ball valve so I can better equalize flow to both pots.
i've become a fan of one small pump per plant. we used eco 185 gph pump in the hemp flower facility i ran. we had 560 10 dollar pumps. we got them for 10 because we bought so many.
using multiple pumps on timers lets you deliver precise amounts with electronic control.
big al's pets online.
what kind of timer are you using? are you aware of the cheap nearpow brand timers on amazon. amazingly simple to program and quite reliable. cheap
using multiple pumps on timers lets you deliver precise amounts with electronic control.
big al's pets online.
what kind of timer are you using? are you aware of the cheap nearpow brand timers on amazon. amazingly simple to program and quite reliable. cheap
Sobergrower
Active member
Thought it was a good day to unbox the new @Mars Hydro Led FC-E4800! The tent is going to get an upgrade pretty soon and wanted to say thank you again for this opportunity to grow with this light!
The packaging got the puppers approval! Upon opening the box I unpacked all the bars, driver, and miscellaneous stuff and was done putting it together (some assembly required) in short order.
The packaging got the puppers approval! Upon opening the box I unpacked all the bars, driver, and miscellaneous stuff and was done putting it together (some assembly required) in short order.
Attachments
Sobergrower
Active member
D9,
That is not a bad idea either. I recall that this was your method in previous posts. I remember that you had a delivery tub next to the tub and planter. That was a clean setup.
I have several smaller pumps. there is actually a 185gph pump in the tub in the left which fires and mixes solution to the tub in the right. Both pumps are running of the same timer at this point. It is the nearpow type of timer that allows for 1 second intervals.
The plants got topped for the first time today. I cleaned them up differently. The one on the left I removed most of the lower leaves as well as the growth nodes. The one on the right I left the leaves and only removed the growth tips.
Sobergrower
Active member
She is my son’s dog, but grandpa (me) gets to spoil the shit out of her!! Have two other dogs as well. Nothing like having a house full of pets!
we have a schizoid cat now. she's a 2-year-old maine coon cat that runs around the house at top speed doing bank shots off the furniture. she hit a rather large office-type chair so hard she knocked it over. stalks and attacks my wife from ambush. always from behind but all soft paws and mock bites. pow, pow, pow, pow, pow and then a bite to the back of the leg.
she will wake us up if the food bowl is empty in the middle of the night so i always top it up before bed.
we have zero pests in the house. a fly has a couple of minutes at best. she's so fast she can leap into the air and knock them down. between two paws like you clap your hand.
she will wake us up if the food bowl is empty in the middle of the night so i always top it up before bed.
we have zero pests in the house. a fly has a couple of minutes at best. she's so fast she can leap into the air and knock them down. between two paws like you clap your hand.
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Your puppy looks cool 
