The pumps are all linked to my timer so they only kick on and off according to what I set the feed times to be on. But no, no pumps are left on causing low water levels. I'm thinking blockage in my lines cause when I leave a 500gph pump plugged in to the good year hose from within my control reservoir I do not see any more water flowing into those buckets. No water agitation, nothing.
-
ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
Something wicked this way comes
- Thread starter delta9nxs
- Start date
The pumps are all linked to my timer so they only kick on and off according to what I set the feed times to be on. But no, no pumps are left on causing low water levels. I'm thinking blockage in my lines cause when I leave a 500gph pump plugged in to the good year hose from within my control reservoir I do not see any more water flowing into those buckets. No water agitation, nothing.
Speed of green
Active member
maybe try to blow the line out with compressed air?
i took notes this time so i can at least tell you what you are looking at.
the first four are chernobyl at about 6 wks. unbelievable trich coverage!
5. gmanwho's star99. this is the keeper. gets huge, yields 18% wax. fast trouble free plant. over 4lbs bone dry extractable every time.
6. lodi dodi at 38 days
7. gg #12 at 38 days
8. lemon og 44 days
9. orange skunk 65 days
10. full boat og 9 days.
first time growing gg #12, lemon og, orange skunk, and full boat og. you can see i missed the flip window on the orange skunk.
the first four are chernobyl at about 6 wks. unbelievable trich coverage!
5. gmanwho's star99. this is the keeper. gets huge, yields 18% wax. fast trouble free plant. over 4lbs bone dry extractable every time.
6. lodi dodi at 38 days
7. gg #12 at 38 days
8. lemon og 44 days
9. orange skunk 65 days
10. full boat og 9 days.
first time growing gg #12, lemon og, orange skunk, and full boat og. you can see i missed the flip window on the orange skunk.
Attachments
1. gg #4 pheno #1 21 days
2. elmers glue 36 days
3. clementine 44 days
4. cherry bomb #2 36 days
5. alien rift 29 days
6. apple kush 57 days
7. grapefruit 36 days
8. cherry bomb #1 21 days
9. strawberry fields 21 days.
first time growing this particular gg #4 pheno. funny how i've grown 5-6 different cuts from different sources and none of them are alike! it would be nice to get a real one.
also, first time growing the elmer's glue, clementine, alien rift, and the strawberry fields so i don't know what to expect of them.
everything must yield at least 15% wax to qualify.
2. elmers glue 36 days
3. clementine 44 days
4. cherry bomb #2 36 days
5. alien rift 29 days
6. apple kush 57 days
7. grapefruit 36 days
8. cherry bomb #1 21 days
9. strawberry fields 21 days.
first time growing this particular gg #4 pheno. funny how i've grown 5-6 different cuts from different sources and none of them are alike! it would be nice to get a real one.
also, first time growing the elmer's glue, clementine, alien rift, and the strawberry fields so i don't know what to expect of them.
everything must yield at least 15% wax to qualify.
Attachments
Patmando22
Member
Killn it bro nice pictures
Snook
Still Learning
Sapaventa just had a good tip over in the 'Tips' thread... wet up the felt part of the heating pad, turn it on and hang it in the room = humidity. maybe do a dress rehearsal first outside your environment making sure youre not going to fry yourself first. even hanging one end in a bucket of water. Water will wick up the fuzzy part..
hey, after making sure you don't have blockage you may just be pumping more water than the hose can pass almost passively using gravity only as the driving force.
how many plants are on one supply line? how much solution are you pumping each time.
if the water level in the plant side of the system is at the right level just before the next pulse you are ok no matter what the level is in the pump container as long as there is enough volume to insure the pump doesn't run dry.
we are running 5 secs every 30 minutes in veg and the plants are loving it.
running 20 seconds every 2 hrs in flower around the clock.
i'm experimenting right now with volume, timing, and porosity again to try to fine tune it a little.
keep us updated on timing. im having issues dialing mine in. im getting drooping leaves from what looks like over watering
TY again.I feed for 30 sec/ 90 min and it seems dry but I am getting a little yellowing from the bottom up. Always from the third week in flower and on slowly yellowing more. I have 4" air gap.
I might change it down to 20 sec/90 min. Whatcha think? Would that change that 3rd week flower issue?
I might change it down to 20 sec/90 min. Whatcha think? Would that change that 3rd week flower issue?
Attachments
redneckhippie
Member
Thanks so much for all your contributions. Concerning the watering frequency, can you elaborate on the reasoning for the veg and flower timings? And in general, what is the difference in running say 15 seconds every 1 hour, vs 30 seconds every 2 hours - that is, delivering the same amount of water per day at different intervals?
whats your feed level? other than the yellowing they look happy as hell. the tops are praying to the lights and look good. maybe theyre just slightly hungry. or it could also be that your growth is so dense the lowers arent getting enough light and yellowing out.
i dont see any droopy leaves like mine. ive got a combo of overwater/overfed. fun stuff lol
Gotta clear out those sucker shoots as she grows or it just gets harder and harder I reckon. I often have yellowing if I let it get to that stage, then clear out the inners over a couple days and it comes right again
I agree looks hungry, remove some growth and she won't need as much food...
I agree looks hungry, remove some growth and she won't need as much food...
in view of the recent posts here i think i need to go over a few things that may help with the watering issue.
the ppk is a tunable system. by tunable i mean you can adjust moisture content in the medium almost precisely by using 3 tools.
the duration/volume of each pulsed watering event.
the interval between events.
and, by using the float valve to control the level in the recirculating part, you may tune the "air gap".
there is no ideal setting that will work for everyone because of differences in choice of media, media composition, environmental factors, light, metabolic rate, and i'm sure there's more that i can't think of right now.
so, anything i say here is just a report of my personal settings or experiments.
you all have to start with a generalized guideline and then fine tune from there.
you folks that are experienceing yellowing from the bottom up need to first drop the water level under the plant. i suggest 1/2" at a time and wait a week for results.
every choice of media has a different moisture retention curve that is graded by gravity, drier at the top and wetter at the bottom. after each pulse the curve is more or less disrupted by the additional water from the top. but it will return to the same state rapidly, maybe within 15 minutes or so.
the starting and ending points, top and bottom, of this curve are determined by the air gap in the bottom container. adjusting this gap up or down moves the curve up and down.
the bottom of the curve is stable or static while the top is not. between pulses the bottom stays much wetter than the top because the perched water table sits on top of the water level in the bottom container.
most media with the right air filled porosity (30-40%) and water retention (minimum 6" capillary rise) for this device will have a perched water table of about 1.5-1.75".
this will sit on top of the water level in the bottom container created by the air gap. this is inside the tailpiece.
therefore the media just above this is supersaturated at all times.
so while the top of the medium will feel dry between pulses it's still very wet on the bottom.
if the perched water table is not moved far enough down into the tailpiece some of it will exist in the rootzone and can potentially drown roots.
the ppk is a tunable system. by tunable i mean you can adjust moisture content in the medium almost precisely by using 3 tools.
the duration/volume of each pulsed watering event.
the interval between events.
and, by using the float valve to control the level in the recirculating part, you may tune the "air gap".
there is no ideal setting that will work for everyone because of differences in choice of media, media composition, environmental factors, light, metabolic rate, and i'm sure there's more that i can't think of right now.
so, anything i say here is just a report of my personal settings or experiments.
you all have to start with a generalized guideline and then fine tune from there.
you folks that are experienceing yellowing from the bottom up need to first drop the water level under the plant. i suggest 1/2" at a time and wait a week for results.
every choice of media has a different moisture retention curve that is graded by gravity, drier at the top and wetter at the bottom. after each pulse the curve is more or less disrupted by the additional water from the top. but it will return to the same state rapidly, maybe within 15 minutes or so.
the starting and ending points, top and bottom, of this curve are determined by the air gap in the bottom container. adjusting this gap up or down moves the curve up and down.
the bottom of the curve is stable or static while the top is not. between pulses the bottom stays much wetter than the top because the perched water table sits on top of the water level in the bottom container.
most media with the right air filled porosity (30-40%) and water retention (minimum 6" capillary rise) for this device will have a perched water table of about 1.5-1.75".
this will sit on top of the water level in the bottom container created by the air gap. this is inside the tailpiece.
therefore the media just above this is supersaturated at all times.
so while the top of the medium will feel dry between pulses it's still very wet on the bottom.
if the perched water table is not moved far enough down into the tailpiece some of it will exist in the rootzone and can potentially drown roots.
(i posted the previous part to avoid it being dumped so here goes again.)
the pwt will exist at the same height regardless of container shape so as it is adjusted upward there will be a point where it will spread out rapidly and occupy the much wider (than the tailpiece) plant container and have a much greater volume. the greater the volume the more deleterious the effect.
at the very least it will slow plant metabolism and at the worst it will drown your plant.
as you lower it and move the pwt further down into the tailpiece it recedes from the plant container and moves entirely into the tailpiece, where it occupies much less volume. like water going down the drain in the tub. in your mind you can almost visually see it disappearing down the pipe.
except that here it all goes down to a point and then stops. so the 4" air gap suggestion is just a starting point. you probably will have to fine tune for your medium.
pulse duration and interval
research papers i have read suggest that frequent watering with low volume over a 24 hour period grows a better plant than if the same total volume were applied all at once in the same period. even with multiple feedings of less frequency but equal volume in the same 24 hr period.
we are experimenting in the veg room and are about to implement the same schedule in flower.
you only need enough volume from the top the keep the medium from drying down.
this encourages even root growth throughout the entire container and stops salts from accumulating.
salt accumulation and it's side effects is why you want to water 24/7.
i hope this is clear enough to help.
the pwt will exist at the same height regardless of container shape so as it is adjusted upward there will be a point where it will spread out rapidly and occupy the much wider (than the tailpiece) plant container and have a much greater volume. the greater the volume the more deleterious the effect.
at the very least it will slow plant metabolism and at the worst it will drown your plant.
as you lower it and move the pwt further down into the tailpiece it recedes from the plant container and moves entirely into the tailpiece, where it occupies much less volume. like water going down the drain in the tub. in your mind you can almost visually see it disappearing down the pipe.
except that here it all goes down to a point and then stops. so the 4" air gap suggestion is just a starting point. you probably will have to fine tune for your medium.
pulse duration and interval
research papers i have read suggest that frequent watering with low volume over a 24 hour period grows a better plant than if the same total volume were applied all at once in the same period. even with multiple feedings of less frequency but equal volume in the same 24 hr period.
we are experimenting in the veg room and are about to implement the same schedule in flower.
you only need enough volume from the top the keep the medium from drying down.
this encourages even root growth throughout the entire container and stops salts from accumulating.
salt accumulation and it's side effects is why you want to water 24/7.
i hope this is clear enough to help.
Delta I am curious if you are do any water changes or are still just emptying buckets when harvest. Flower and veg reservoir still tied together? Mine are separate and have started doing a water change every 30 days to bring it back in balance. I guess a water test would tell us more and maybe some time in the future I will do that. Any foliars? I had read something about increasing Ca during stretch and K during flower and was thinking of trying a foliar application.
Last edited:
