Vertical first attempt

[Aerohead]

Hey Unthing, thanks! I can't wait for the flip either!!

man with those bushes if you could give them a cpl 1k, shit you're be sitting pretty after the harvyyy heehehe

cheers

Yes, this has been going through my mind, stacked 1k's with those bushes flat against the walls. Wow that little room would be insane!!

I would need to upgrade electrical, get 2 1k lights, and a bigger vent fan and the budget is blown out. I will just have to see how 1k works this time around. If I like the results, It will be a 2k run next time mono cropped with the best pick from this run.

 

[redspaghetti]

how about 2x 600 for flower like you wanted ,,,,, stacked em up and go !

cheers,

 

[Aerohead]

I might be able to come up with another 600w by flower time, 2 X 600 wouldn't let me down. The least I will be running is 400w + 600w stacked.

 

[Aerohead]

I took some time and trimmed off the back sides, it was hard to do. Anyone else feel guilty cutting pencil thick stalks that bleed hydro?
Looks like I am going to have to trim a little more, trying to figure out which branches I can train into the light and which ones have to go.

I am also burning both lights from now on.

 

[StealthDragon]

looking great man. Damn, seeing your updates makes me want to quit being lazy and throw my room together..I got a few parts so far at least...like a light/pump controller and stuff. I need to figure what fittings and stuff to use for the buckets..I'm super paranoid about leaks. What are the white fittings you're using to plumb the buckets together?...home depot stuff?

I'm still kinda undecided on if I want to be able to raise the light and work on the inside..Do you work strictly on the outside now that the other bulb is fired up? how is that working out?...do you think it would be worth my time to make the lights move out of the way so I can tend to the plants from the inside and outside? I think I can rig the light (s) up with a manual track and slide the light out through a gap in the canopy when necessary...I'm gonna do either 1k or 2k stacked, so there should be a decent diameter to work in a figure.

Sorry for all the questions but you're doing almost exactly what I plan on setting up.

edit: saw you mentioned you got the fittings at the hydro store.

 

[mrktwiz]

Aero;

Everything looks so good! Great job and thanks for the positive comments in my thread.

Grow on Brother!

 

[Aerohead]

Hey StealthDragon, stop being lazy and get that room together!!...LOL J/K Seems like no matter what new room you set up, you always wish you did it 3 months sooner for some reason.

Pump controller? sounds like you are going RDWC? If you are, the tiny 1/2" fittings I use won't work for you anyway. Speaking of fittings, I wouldn't buy the ones I am using again for round buckets, they take a 1 1/4 hole and that's pushing it for a round bucket, you really have to crank them down and smash the O- rings to get them to seal. I doubt you will find what you need at the hardware store, probably going to have to go to the hydro shop if you are ok with that.

As far as raising the lights, I would take the extra time to do this. It was easy for my setup, just added an extra heavy duty hook on the ceiling and I hang it out of the way from the cord. I can barely fit in my room, when I tip toe through the buckets and hoses, I feel like the mission impossible movie dancing over the lasers...lol


One thing I did that helps, make sure there is nothing going through the net pot lids like air lines. This way I just remove the plant and throw it in a dry bucket so I can prune, work, or clean in a much larger space.

Mrkwiz, thanks for the good vibes!!

 

[StealthDragon]

Hey thanks for the info bro. I've actually been doing some work in there tonite..building shelves, and doing electrics and stuff. The light controller I got has the recycle stuff built in for pumps and stuff...I was planning on increasing the water flow a little more than yours and wanted to cycle the pump so it doesn't raise temps....I really like how you have yours setup with the controller "bucket" pumping to the middle container and flowing back...instead of flowing into each bucket individually..(right?)..seems kinda like a hybrid dwc/rdwc. I plan on running a mono crop and if the "middle" bucket outgrows the others then I'll make the changes to be more rdwc.

I'll look through my hydro catalogs for the right fittings and pick all that stuff up next time I'm there. Good point about leaving the lids free to be removed..that's something I wouldn't have even thought to do...

I read earlier that you put the return line holes as close to the bottom as you could get, I'm assuming this is because of your low water flow and you want the bottoms well circulated? I was thinking if I have a little higher water flow I can get away with putting those holes a little higher...I think that the fittings might seal better a few inches up from the curve of the bottom of the bucket....I really don't know much at all about rdwc...just the basics of how it works, but I don't really know the specifics of stuff like that. Any insight you have is appreciated, and sorry I don't mean to clutter up your thread with all my ramblings..I'll get a vert thread up here as soon as I figure out exxactally how I'm setting up the water flow and all that.

Thanks again for all the info man...your pc/aero thread is one the main reasons I came to ICmag.(check it out if ya haven't seen it folks!) It was a huge inspiration and really opened my eyes to what a bit of engineering and alot of hard work can do. It's a pleasure being able to converse with you here.




edit: oh and I'm diggin the new avatar btw.

 

[Aerohead]

I really like how you have yours setup with the controller "bucket" pumping to the middle container and flowing back...instead of flowing into each bucket individually..(right?)..seems kinda like a hybrid dwc/rdwc.

Yes, you could call my system rdwc because it is recirculating, but it's at such a slow rate it would agitate the purists..lol
maybe we should call it srdwc (slow recirculating deep water culture) Or ssuc (stupid slow under current)...It's also kinda like UC only in a sense that the water passes across the bottom of the buckets rather than just tapped into the sides and fed from the top.

I tried just using the 1/2" lines to balance the buckets but it failed, they all varied in PH day to day, the water was not exchanging.. I added a small fountain pump (8 watts) that moves the water volume about once an hour, but that is every hour 24/7... I also blast the system with a stupid amount of air and multiple diffusers. The water stays cool with no chiller..

So far I like the results, I found that covering the net pots loosely and keeping the bottoms submerged forces the hydroton to be damp all the way to the top of the pots. I have also noticed the roots between the water level and the top of the pots to be almost aeroponic. This is why I changed out the 6" pots for 10" , I want to try to get this type of root structure all through the hydroton. Lots of good hydro systems produce these roots, I am just trying to do it cheap and lazy style.

Here is a pic of what I am talking about, it's from when I move them to bigger pots:

 

[Aerohead]

I was thinking if I have a little higher water flow I can get away with putting those holes a little higher...I think that the fittings might seal better a few inches up from the curve of the bottom of the bucket

Hey StealthDragon, I forgot to mention:

I placed the fittings at the bottom to make rez changes more effective. I get much less leftover water in there this way. I think you should keep the fittings as low as possible because placing them low didn't make it harder to seal. This would only be true if you drilled the holes too low for the seal to grab... Tha radius of the buckets was more of a problem to seal than the slight taper from bottom to top....

 

[b00m]

Here you are bro setup is looking awesome and the plants are cranking along, got ya tagged for the rest of this cranking show mate

 

[Aerohead]

b00m, good to see you my friend!!

Yes, I'm back and life is good.

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

what with the new avatar? any special meaning?

 

[Aerohead]

I'm just a fan and I needed a new avatar since I am no longer sentenced to micro grows. Next grow is going to be 2kw Redspaghetti said so...

 

[b00m]

b00m, good to see you my friend!!

Yes, I'm back and life is good.

Awesome news mate stoked to hear it
Been cranking out any new tattoo machines bro?? You get to use that one you showed me ages ago?? My missus has me booked in soon for her to finish off my half leg piece she started a couple of years ago, been awhile since I felt the bite of the tattoo needle

 

[StealthDragon]

anything new bro?

 

[Aerohead]

Yes, what's new? fighting the Borg!!! LOL, The Bayer Advanced kicked the root aphids so well not a sign of them since. Then I noticed spotting on the leaves, sure enough The fuckin Borg....... So I check the Bayer Advanced bottle and spider mites are the only freekin bug not listed ofcourse.

Not to worry, Bayer also makes a product for the Borg, I just finished the second treatment and the ladies although a little stunted, came through it very well. I tell you, when this grow is over, if it makes it, I certainly deserve to kick back and smoke my spoils...

As much as things have sucked this round by getting infected clones, atleast I caught it early in veg and was able to deal with it properly. This also put me on my toes so I will watch them very closely in flower.. I also started a folier spray of SM-90 to avoid problems in flower, PM is likely next on the list for me the way my luck has been.

I have also trimmed some more and begun to LST branches into the light, I think it's going pretty well, I like this vert style alot and plan to stick with it and dial it in with what I learn from this round...

Here are a few pics of the trimming and progress during veg. The ladies are finally holding hands in the circle!!





And a shot of the trimming, LST via zip ties....

 

[whodare]

looks great man. should do real well with that.

 

[StealthDragon]

hot damn they're looking good. F those mites! I've been dealing with them too lately...I like to get real high and go searching for em like a giant ladybug...seek and destroy! I get a little satisfaction killing them individually while cussing them out

bought a few more supplies..having a hell of a time finding the right fittings...I'm real picky and decided I don't want to do push fittings, I'm trying to go with some kinda screw together stuff so I don't have to F with those push/barbed things. I don't trust em!

 

[High74]

DWC Best way to get yield imo

DWC Best way to get yield imo

Looks good, You should get about 2 grams a watt that way or more !

What I do is I use a five gallon bucket as my controller bucket and put all the buckets and the controller bucket on slabs of wood so there raised. And when its time to change the water all you have to do is take the wood from underneath the controller bucket and pump all that water in to a 55 gallon drum or to waste.
Gravity is key in these systems.
Also what I find if you use a 280 watt air pump for 12 buckets and 4' air stones hot glued to the bottom of every bucket you get big time results.

There are key factors a person needs to know before they run DWC. They need to be able to keep the grow room at 70f with all the lights running because the water temp for the buckets and controller bucket need to stay cold, I can not stress that enough.

After the water temp comes the air pumps and the air stones.
The air pumps and air stones are the key to a DWC system.
The better you're air pump and air stones the better results you're going to have.

The next key factor in DWC is when in VEG it is key to have roots showing in the net pots before you put them in the system.
I recommend ebb and flow the 6' or 10' net pots until they show roots at the bottom and then put them in the buckets with the air stones.

After that its smooth sailing, All you gotta do is top off the controller bucket.

Also another thing is with my controller bucket I can put it anywhere and that helps to keep the light away and the heat down.
I could talk about this for days, Ill be back to read up.
Keep up the great work. Nice to be here, Peace HK