UC Round 1

[noWon]

Seems you used too much nutrients, looking at the leaves, but 0,9 mS/cm is not too much, seems strange you burnt them with such low EC value.
What EC you used before moving all clones in the UC?

Where do you take water from? Do you let sit for some hours?
Sometimes chlorine in tap water can be an issue, growing hydro...

About pH I usually let it around 5.5
Variation of 0.5 per day are ok.
However plants can adapt to a little different pH as the roots can modify (with a limit) pH around the roots releasing ions.

IMHO, try to keep stable a value and see if your plants grow happy, if yes, you know that one is optimal pH for your crop, in your growroom, with your stuff etc...

noreason, I kinda think so too, I was shooting for an EC of .6 but ended up with .9 The clones had an EC of .7 so I am kinda stumped on why these gals were getting burnt.
I use R/O water so I dont think that was an issue, and I agree a pH value of 5.5 to 6.5 should have been fine. But like you said these gals may just prefer a lower pH.

Im very interested in this as well.

How much did that system cost?

Is it one big one with one control rez? Or do you have multiple?

Is it versatile to ware it can be plumbed to fit any space?

From the pics it seems 24 sites
With 8 lights.

Is this correct?

What wattage are your lights?

Thank you. Sorry for all the questions. Just want the low down.


T~P

Hey there Twisted pleasur, I dropped a pretty penny on this system, about 3500 us. I did compare the cost to build it myself but I wasnt gonna save that much plus a ton of my labor unless I decided to go with sterilite containers which I didnt want to do as I have had those burst on me before. I do have one control unit, and plan to split this sytem up later. Also you can easily buy another control unit from Current Culture.
I have a 32 site system with 8 1000w lamps currently dimmed to 60%.
Finally, I do believe the system is very versatile if your handy as I modified where my control unit is located by purchasing some 3" pvc and fittings and just changed how I wanted it. You could have it go around corners or what ever you wanted, just have to run the pvc. Hope that helps and no problem with the questions.

Sorry. PS = Photosynthesis

You have way too much on your plate to have such burning issues. 6.1-6.2 pH should not cause leaf burn

Several threads here on using Hydroponic-Research VEG+BLOOM- It is awesome, a COMPLETE single mix DRY formula

Thanks for clearing that up for me PetFlora, I am with you on the pH and shouldnt have the issues Im having. Things are looking a lot better now and the new growth is looking promising.
I will have to look into the Hydroponic-Research veg and bloom. Right now I have a ton of nutes I need to use up before I get any more but thanks for that info.

How did you prep those grow stones? I've heard you are supposed to soak them for 24 hours in pH'd water. Been thinking about trying those out, but the whole soaking thing sucks. I like the size of the stones, and it seems like there would be less residue from them (compared to the hydroton).

Eshred, the brochure I got on the growstones said you needed to soak them prior to use but the package they came in said to just rinse them. So I took the easy way out and just rinsed them. I really like the size compared to hydroton and they dont fall thru the net pots like some of the smaller hydroton does and clog my pumps. And yeah you dont get that residue either.

i did not soak mine. it just says to rinse them well. mine have only been in their new system for 2 nights now but they look happy and healthy, besides the ones i burnt the shit out of with neem oil lol

I am with you Desert Hydro, I really didnt think they needed to be presoaked and the package did say just to rinse them well. I really like them over the hydroton.

Now for everyone interested on how things are going, I couldnt be happier. New growth is a beautiful lime green and the burning seems to not be an issue any longer.

Here is a pic of the smallest gal in the system. Looks much better from the other day.

An overall pic which you can see some of them are really starting to take off.

And a pic of the new growth.

I must say I am really loving the system now and I have not have to do any labor compared to growing in coco which takes up a lot of my time. This thing basically takes care of its self.
I still need to get the cages installed but havent the time. The playoffs are this weekend so I will plan on next week.

pH is still at 5.6, water temps at 66f and an EC of .8 now so the gals are eating.

I guess thats it for now.

Have a happy and safe weekend,

noWon

 

[trixP]

Good stuff,great info in this thread btw.

 

[PetFlora]

MMJ has a great ability to recover

One of the many reasons for using hydro, is to quickly resolve pH, &/or over nute issues - or eliminate unstable nutes that cause pH issues, which can lead to root rot, which often leads to diseased plants.

I have ~ 4 liters of DM GOLD ONE left, which I now use to fertilize my outdoor plants and grass.

Anyway, plants are looking like they are out of IC (Intensive Care), and well on the road to recovery.

 

[noWon]

Good stuff,great info in this thread btw.

trixP, glad you are finding this info useful. We can all learn together. If there is anything you would like to know feel free to ask and I'll answer the best I can.

MMJ has a great ability to recover

One of the many reasons for using hydro, is to quickly resolve pH, &/or over nute issues - or eliminate unstable nutes that cause pH issues, which can lead to root rot, which often leads to diseased plants.

I have ~ 4 liters of DM GOLD ONE left, which I now use to fertilize my outdoor plants and grass.

Anyway, plants are looking like they are out of IC (Intensive Care), and well on the road to recovery.

Hey there PetFlora, I hear you. Things change real fast with hydro. Much different than growing with coco or soil. Growth is much faster too. I cant believe the size of some of the leaves and the stalks are so thick and stout. Wish I would have bought this system sooner. LOL

I finally had time to install the tomato cages. Wish they had a few more supports around the sides. I may just add some wire or something around them later to help support side branching. But overall I like them. Much better than anything I could put together.

The smallest gal is finally looking healthy and getting bigger each day.

And finally my pH has been rising approximately .5 each day. Was wondering at what value others start making adjustments and what value should I adjust it to. I was thinking on letting it ride to 6.4 and adjust down to 5.6. Any input is much appreciated.

Hope everyone enjoyed the playoffs this weekend. I cant believe how great all the games were. Looking forward to the games this weekend and hope they are just as good.

Take care

noWon

 

[overbudjet]

I.m.o.h. best ph for UC (continuous liquid feed) 5.2 drifting toward 6.0

 

[eyes]

drop it and let it drift.

 

[desertsquirrel]

Hey noWOn,

Sweet looking UC set up and grow! Gratz on all the hard work paying off.

The UC and CS nutes are amazing arnt they!!! It looks like your catching onto the fact that less is more with the CS nutrient line... It contains no dyes, preservatives or fillers found in most other lines (all of which read on an ec or ppm meter regardless of the fact that the plant cannot use them).

Therefore, as a guide, I use 1/3- 1/2 of what I would with the alternatives. And besides from less waste, your plants have a much easier time up taking both water and solution (now perfectly balanced for the UC). The plants below uptake as much as 3 gallons of solution per site per day.

These plants are 2.5 weeks in the UC and ec swings between .5-.9 (CS veg A&B) and UC roots only, pH swings between 5.3-6.4. Cages are 4 feet tall and 6 feet around for size.

 

[desertsquirrel]

I think .4-.5 ec would kill it in your set up/plant stage btw.

 

[panasonic]

Did he say shrubbery??

 

[noWon]

I.m.o.h. best ph for UC (continuous liquid feed) 5.2 drifting toward 6.0

Thanks overbudjet, I adjusted to 5.5 as I am kinda scared to go down to 5.2 I think I am going to have to invest in a doser cause I am starting to think the high concentration of pH down in my epicenter might be a problem so I need to adjust over time.

drop it and let it drift.

Thanks eyes, I am on it. Thanks for the tip

Hey noWOn,

Sweet looking UC set up and grow! Gratz on all the hard work paying off.

The UC and CS nutes are amazing arnt they!!! It looks like your catching onto the fact that less is more with the CS nutrient line... It contains no dyes, preservatives or fillers found in most other lines (all of which read on an ec or ppm meter regardless of the fact that the plant cannot use them).

Therefore, as a guide, I use 1/3- 1/2 of what I would with the alternatives. And besides from less waste, your plants have a much easier time up taking both water and solution (now perfectly balanced for the UC). The plants below uptake as much as 3 gallons of solution per site per day.

These plants are 2.5 weeks in the UC and ec swings between .5-.9 (CS veg A&B) and UC roots only, pH swings between 5.3-6.4. Cages are 4 feet tall and 6 feet around for size.

Damn desertsquirrel, you have got it going on! I love your setup. Thanks for the nice words about my setup but yours is very impressive I must say. I am loving the Cultured Solutions nutrients, very straight forward but I did add too much my first go round with it. In the future I am going to go with 2mL a gallon vs 4mL a gallon.
Your ladies are just beautiful. Did you use any cal/mag for them or just the CS a+b along with UC roots? I added cal/mag and maybe I didnt need to. Not really sure as the pamphlet said to add 1-3mL if using r/o water.
Anyhow, I am gonna have to find your grow and tag along. Thanks for the advice, it is much appreciated.

Now as far as the system things are going well. EC has dropped to .5 which is more of the range I want to be in. Growth is looking nice and healthy.
Day21 veg

A pic of the smalles gal which is looking much better than last week

A pic of the crazy explosive growth

I think it is time to start flowering as I am not sure how big these girls will get. I just need to chop some other ladies to keep my numbers in check.

Thanks everyone for helping out. Enjoy the weekend and be safe.

noWon

 

[Desert Hydro]

very nice progression you got there. im about 10 days into my ebb and grow flowering and its going great. love active hydro. its a lot different than coco or soil. we gotta stay on top of shit OR ELSE! lol

 

[noWon]

HiYa Desert Hydro I'm lovin the hydro over the coco. Things go real fast, the good and the bad, We gotta stay on top of our game LOL

Well I have a problem that I overlooked when setting up my room. Problem is I can not produce r/o water fast enough to fill up the system during the water change. So I had to use tap water to fill the system because I did not want the roots to dry out. I was not sure how long the girls could handle it before things went south. Any input about that is appreciated

What really sucks is my tap water is horrible and I am not sure how the girls are gonna handle it.

Another issue I overlooked is it took a hour and a half just to drain the system. Sure wish I relised all this before hand.

So to resolve my issues I am gonna get a big ass pump to drain the system faster. Hopefully I can get that time down to maybe 30 minutes.
To take care of my water issue, I think the best thing to do is get a 400 gallon storage tank vs buying a bigger r/o unit. But at this point I am going to ponder on it for a bit cause the other half wont let me spend any more $$$.

I have also decided to delay the flowering cycle for a week to see how the girls respond to the tap water. Oh by the way had an EC of .5 or 250 ppms. I added 1mL per gallon of the Current Culture A+B and 1mL per gallon of the UC Roots. I chose not to use any cal/mag due to my terrible water supply.

I will get some pics up soon.

PEACE

noWon

 

[DimeZ-718]

noWon how is everything going, did the girls respond well to the tap water? I'm sorry about the water change bro, once i was forced to use tap water and it slowed my growth a little bit.

 

[Desert Hydro]

250 lol.... mine is 600+ i CANT use tap water at all except if i wanna kill something off lol
just dilute your tap down to usable levels and then you wont need the cal mag anyways. i think you should be ok with 250 for a few days just dilute it some if possible

 

[PetFlora]

noWon couple solutions to increasing RO make up water

Amount of product water/hr depends on water rpessure

1. Add a booster pump + solenoid
2. Get a larger storage tank

 

[noWon]

Wazzup DimeZ-718 So far things are looking okay using tap water. I am not sure if growth has slowed due to the tap water or not as this is my first time using this system and nothing to compare to really.

HiYa Desert Hydro Damn your tap is that bad, is it safe to drink LOL. It seems the 250ppm's is going well without the addition of cal/mag. I did let the nute change go an extra few days though that put a damper on a few ladies. Hopefully they improve in a few days.

Good to see you PetFlora I think my best option is a 400 gal storage tank but if I can get away with using tap water without affecting my final product, I might as well save the money from replacing my filters.

Sorry I have not had time for any pics, it has been a really rough time around here cause I had to put my dog down. She meant the world to me and I have just been in a slump ever since. Good vibes and happy thoughts are much appreciated.

I will get some pics up in a day or two.

noWon

 

[PetFlora]

Hydroponic-Research VEG+BLOOM comes in a hard water formula, or you can get a reading from your water department and they will tailor it

 

[noWon]

HiYa PetFlora I took a look at their website and the nutes sound easy and simple. Problem is I have about 10 gal of nutes to go through before I buy more but eventually I will give em a try. Thanks buddy.

Well I have learned a few things about my system. One of them is I have too many sites too close together not allowing me to get in there and trim away extra foliage so next round I will do some modifications and remove a row to allow me to get in between and allow me to do maintenance.

The other thing I have learned is these ladies do not like more than 2mL/gal of nutes. This last water change I added 3mL/gal and I noticed growth was stunted. I thought it was time to add some extra nutes and work my way up each week but it doesnt appear they like it. The problem could also be from the tap water so next water change I'll step back down to 2mL/gal and see if there is an improvement which should determine if it is nutes or tap water issue.

I have aslo noticed some gals are doing better than others. I am wondering if some sites are getting better oxygenation than others. Wish I could get in there to check it out.

Here is a couple of pics and you can see how things are getting tight

Cant wait for round 2

Take care guys

noWon

 

[rock solid]

looks like you have got a grip on the setup now my friend

 

[noWon]

Hey rock solid thanks my friend. It has been a learning process but I hope to have things rockin next round.

Things appear to be going well using tap water. I have noticed a few spots on some of the leaves I believed were caused from not using any cal/mag but I am not 100% sure of that. Things are getting real crowded and I am a little disappointed I cant fit myself in there to clear out the under foliage. Next round I will remove a row of 8 sites and spread the remaining sites to allow me to get in there to do maintenance.

Day 14

Just lovin what I am seeing from the system. Cant wait to get things dialed in. I have been using 2mL/gal of nutes and added .5 mL/gal of bud booster today. I was scared to add the recommended dose cause these girls seem very sensitive. Time will tell.

PEACE

noWon