Trying to pay my mortgage

[Speed of green]

First time poster here, Pretty excited to kick this grow off.
I recently read a few grow journals and decided to do a medium sized hempy 2L SOG this time around. As far as hydro goes this is my first experience, I am hoping the learning curve with this medium will be somewhat forgiving!

My Equipment

2- 4x8 trays
4- blockbuster8 hps 600w
1- 96 site turbo klone
4ft 8 tube t5
400- 2L Bottles
Blue planet nutrients Grow micro bloom

My room setup so far

I started to get some upper leaves drooping, i think it may be a ph issue, i water/feed at 5.8, however my runoff is 7.4ish not quite sure what is making the ph go up. my mix is 75perlite 25 vermiculite.

I feed every three days, and i feel like i may be overwatering them a touch, could that be the reason for the drooping/yellowing lower leaves?

My water from the tap is 950ppm, so i am buying distilled water at the moment until the R/O gets here.

Any guidance or input is welcome, i have a lot to learn. thanks

 

[Speed of green]

 

[mack 10]

Where did you find 400, two liter bottles?

 

[Speed of green]

Where did you find 400, two liter bottles?

There is a wholesale bottle supply store near my house, i paid 39 cents each for them. They are an opaque white HDPE plastic.

 

[HarvestMoon303]

None of the photos are visible.

 

[Speed of green]

Are they working now?

 

[HarvestMoon303]

Are they working now?

Yes.

 

[unregistered190]

Cool...........gonna be popping in from time to time. Good luck with the grow

 

[JointOperation]

better hope those plastics don't offgass.. iuno I tried using some cheap things as pots.. ended up with 44 plant 400w sog down the drain do to offgassing.

 

[Speed of green]

better hope those plastics don't offgass.. iuno I tried using some cheap things as pots.. ended up with 44 plant 400w sog down the drain do to offgassing.

Thanks for the info, i was totally unaware... Hopefully i don't have the same issue,i dug this info up from a recycling center. I think i'm in the clear, I guess ill find out either way.



Number 2 Plastics
HDPE (high density polyethylene)
Found in: Milk jugs, juice bottles; bleach, detergent and household cleaner bottles; shampoo bottles; some trash and shopping bags; motor oil bottles; butter and yogurt tubs; cereal box liners
Recycling: Yes, you can recycle Number 2 Plastics!
Recycled into: Laundry detergent bottles, oil bottles, pens, recycling containers, floor tile, drainage pipe, lumber, benches, doghouses, picnic tables, fencing
HDPE is a versatile plastic with many uses, especially for packaging. It poses no risk of leaching harmful chemicals and is readily recyclable into many goods.

 

[Speed of green]

Sooo here is a little update... Pictures all facing the right way this time

I figured out my yellowing/droop issue was due to my ph meter being calibrated incorrectly, and maybe a touch of overwatering. After letting them dry out for three days, i fed with 3/4 strength base nutrients and cal/mag supplement pd'd to 5.8.

Literally the next day everything was looking perky with no more droop and the yellowing on the lower leaves started to subside. :dance013

After this small victory i was feeling ambitious, so i decided to get out the brand new 96 site turbo cloner. Having never used an aero cloner i had been researching what worked best, and how to ward off slime, root rot, and high temperatures. After sifting through the information i decided to go with:

2ml of each blue planet base nutrients.
6ml per gallon of home made Clear Rez.
8 gallons distilled water (fills 96 site)
cloner runs 24/7 water temps holding at 77.5f ph5.6

I plan to add more Clear Rez at the 72 hour mark. If anyone has another suggestion i'm all ears. I was debating on changing the water completely... idk.

I have three new mothers about a month into veg, hopefully in another month they will be able to provide the amount of clones i am going to be needing. Anywhoo, i decided it would be the oldest mother who got the axe, she has little left to give. :tree Do you guys think i should keep her or finish her off?

Ps, i learned it is important to save everything before you post it so your computer doesn't freeze, and you get to type it again haha. (at least I'm learning)

 

[noyd666]

good luck mate, looking ok so far. got to be in it to win it.

 

[Tonygreen]

Why throw away a good mom! Shell be good as new in no time!

 

[Speed of green]

End of week one update.

I'll start with the bad news.... i am at a 55-60% success rate with the cloner, due to the clear/white slime. I have been adding chlorine daily and upping the dosage with no success, should i use a different product or change the water more frequently? every two days?

The next batch of clones i am thinking of adding Power Clone, or Clonex solution... Anyone have any suggestions?

On to the good news!

The moms are ready for another date with the fiskars.

The flower room has had explosive growth, they have stretched probably six or seven inches since flipping to 12-12.

I have been following the feeding chart on Blue planets website, for the first week of flower the ppm's have been at 1700+ with their recommended dosage. This seems really high so i have been diluting it slightly down to 1400ish for the last two feedings. There has been no nute burn though, all the leaf tips are green and everything looks really healthy. i think next week i will resume the regular feeding until i see the tips burn, then ill back it off..

This is how i feed...
start with R/O water that has been bubbling for days(0ppm).
add cal/mag to 150 ppm's
add grow,micro,bloom at recommended dosage
bubble for a half hour or so
check ppm's and adjust
bring ph up to 5.8
bubble for half an hour
check ph one final time
FEED

 

[FlowerFarmer]

I had my best luck with the aero cloners using absolutely nothing in the machine aside from water.

I would soak my clones in dip'n grow.. and load them into the machine. No more slime nor mushy stems after ditching all of the additives. Dip'n grow soak before going into the machine and plain water only within the unit itself.

Did better with larger woodier clones.
Summer months I put my pump on a TMP-Dne. It would turn off when the water got too warm.. stay off until the water dropped 5 degrees and then turned back on. I realize this was a risk that the water would stay too warm (keeping the pump off and killing the clones), but it worked well for me in the limited time I did it.

A timer might be a safer option to allow that water to cool back down. Adding nutes/etc to your clone machine is just providing a food source for bacteria to thrive. I believe it is unneeded until the clones form roots. Regardless try to get that water down to the lower 70s and I bet you'll have more success and less mush/slime.

Power clone is expensive shit, but I know several people who swear by it vs. liquid clonex.

 

[Speed of green]

I had my best luck with the aero cloners using absolutely nothing in the machine aside from water.

I would soak my clones in dip'n grow.. and load them into the machine. No more slime nor mushy stems after ditching all of the additives. Dip'n grow soak before going into the machine and plain water only within the unit itself.

Power clone is expensive shit

Thanks for the advice. by plain water did you mean r/o water or tap water? ppm?

I have put the cloner on a timer, 15 min on 15 min off... temps are constant at 73-74. still i have small amounts on the un-rooted cuttings..

yeah i agree the power clone price is ridiculous, my thinking was that if i can get roots fast enough, then this slime wouldn't have a chance to develop.

 

[furrywall11]

I've had best success with running pure crystal geyser bottled water in my cloner... nothing else... important that you start with healthy cuttings tho no defs

 

[HarvestMoon303]

I clone the heck out of my (good) plants, and I just use rapid rooters in a dome, hand watered with a little cloneX when I take the cut. I get fuzzy, healthy roots in about 6-8 days, and then just put the rapid rooters (peat) into either soil, coco, or hydroton, no problem.

 

[blastfrompast]

Do your laws change regarding the # of plants you are growing, or are you a med grower?

why SOG?, turnaround?

Just curious...

 

[Speed of green]

Do your laws change regarding the # of plants you are growing, or are you a med grower?

why SOG?, turnaround?

Just curious...

I am a med grower, also i liked the idea of having no veg time, straight from clone to flower. Also i don't know if my plant count is going to be as high as i originally calculated, they take up more space than expected...