Lifesaver NFT stlye

[King]

Hello everyone. This is my first run in this system and my first run of Lifesaver, so we shall see how things go.

Feeding-Pure Blend, Pure Blend Pro, Earth Nectar, Earth Ambrosia, Cal-Mag, & Maxicrop seaweed.

Water is RO'd than fed to the reservoir on a float valve.

I'm only using 30 of the 36 sites. I know even though I haven't used this system, the roots would be growing down the drain ends, so I didn't put one by the drains. Maybe I'll experiment next run, and see if a plant could go through harvest by the drain. I guess roots could run down the main drain tube.

It's a 40" x 40" overall area. Plant every 8". One 600 Hortilux.

3 different mothers.


http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_veg_week_1a-med.JPG

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_veg_week_1b-med.JPG

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_veg_week_1c-med.JPG

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_veg_week_1d-med.JPG

[Harry Gypsna]

Thats a nice looking set up there m8, is it a commercial unit, or have u built it urself?

[King]

Harry Gypsna- thank you kindly sir

It's a manufactured system from AmericanAgritech. It is the Jetfilm. They aren't making these systems with these exact trays anymore though. Problem with the supplier from what I understand. What I really like about these trays in particular is the 55mm speed pots. A starter plug is all the grow media I'll be using.

There really isn't much to it. This could be built by anyone for pretty cheap I would imagine ($100-200 I would guess). I can post some detailed pics if anyone is interested.

[Guest]

Alright another NFT'er. Damn right them roots are gonna go down the pipe and run into your resevoir. I had root system go about three feet long and bathing in the resevoir. In a system like that you'll need to watch for the roots blocking the drain. Are you using some spreader mat in the channels?

Are you using all those nutes at once or do you have seperate resevoirs for each strain? Since your using Organics be sure to put a few airstones or a powerhead in the resevoir to keep the sediment from settling to the bottom.

Nice clean set up by the way. I'll be keeping track of this thread. Good Luck.

Blatant

[King]

Hello Blatant,

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the info. Keep that advice coming, it is appreciated.

I was thinking about trying Rootmat for a spreader, but didn't. I only have Lifesaver in the NFT to keep it simple nute wise. My other flavors are in soil so I can adjust nutes some.

I have a powerhead in the reservior, but when I use it, it makes the temps alittle to high. Airpump would work well though. I'm thinking about an aquarium chiller after this harvest. I also think temps will go down, once the reservoir and trays are shaded by the leaves.

Lovin NFT so far. They're really starting to grow fast.

[King]

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_1_5a-med.JPG

The HPS came through on the leaves. The leaves are green as can be.

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_1_5b-med.JPG

I was able to pull this slow one out. The rest already have too much of a root mass.

[Guest]

Yah your gonna love the growth rates on the NFT. I myself don't use a spreader mat since I use PVC pipes. It has just enough room in the channels for the root system and a flow of water. You may want to use one in your system so that the roots dont back up the flow. There is'nt as much space in your channels plus it will help the roots get an even flow over the root zone. Just a thought but if aint broke don't fix it right. Keep the nutes in check and this thing runs itself. Sweeeet!

Blatant

[Guest]

oh i love nft its so easy to manage ,im just starting again in nft using gh 3 part for the first time any suggestions or ideas are most welcome :D this is the root growth i got , first pic is the day i put in nft ,,second pic is 1 week later http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/914nft_-med.JPG speed of growth is good
http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/914nft32-med.JPG
i love nft:D :wave:

[Guest]

When you say 40" x 40" is taht pump, res, and all?

Just curious because I have a 48"x48 space but I could satellite mont a res.

Tex

[King]

Hi Tex- actually the growing area is 40" x 40". The trays total a 48" x 48" with the reservoir sticking out another 8-9 inches. I'll get better measurements when I get home this evening. I'm not sure if the supply and drainage pipes on the two ends extend past the 48". They may very well do that.

One end has fittings for an extension too, that may make it alittle bigger. I'm hoping to add another 6 trays after this harvest. We shall see.

[Guest]

Thanks for the info King

Everything I do I have to be able to shoehorn into one of two 48"x48"x9' spaces. I think I could put the reservior in the other room and plumb it to the trays,

I have thinking about NFT for awhile but I have space constraints

Thanks again

Yo B, do you see any problem with a remote mount res?

Tex

[Guest]

The only problem I see is the roots clogging up the return pipe back to the resevoir. A spreader mat will keep the roots from going straight down into the resevoir. If your return pipe is about twice as big as the inlet that should leave enough room for the roots and the return flow. This is probably the only problem for all NFT "Channel" systems.

If you use an NFT like the one I think Hazy is using you wont have a that problem. (Correct me if I'm wrong Hazy.) He is using a very simple system. Its basically a Tub/Resevoir with a slanted lid where you place your Rockwool/Net Cups and water Cascades from one side to the other. Simple yet Effective!

Blatant

[King]

Tex, it is 50.5" front to back, it is 50.5" without the reservoir side to side, 56" with the reservoir. I think I'll be sticking with NFT. Man this growth rate is incredible and it's easy. Not too shabby for 5 days.

I didn't know if these front three were gonna make it. They got some rot from being cramped in my humidity dome. They're starting to pull around.

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_1_75a-med.jpg

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_1_75b-med.jpg

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_1_75c-med.jpg


Nice root growth you got there hazy.

Thanks for the advice Blatant. I'll definitely go with a spreader next time. The roots are already about 10" long. My return pipe is pretty large, but I'll still go with a spreader.

[wickyd]

I'm with you friendlyfriend, Im quite intrigued by this.

[Crazy Composer]

Looking good.

[King]

Hi friendlyfriend, wickyd, Hooked-On-Grown, & Crazy Composer. Hope you're all doin well. I'm impressed so far. I've never had growth this fast. They went from clones in starter plugs with a few roots coming out, to 9 days later this

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2a-med.jpg

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2b-med.jpg

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2c-med.jpg

I'm gonna find my timer tomorrow. It's around here somewhere. Flowering shall begin. I sure wish I had some good pollen.........wouldn't mind tryin my hand at makin a few beans just for fun.

[Okie grown]

Looks like you could put the light closer tho.I like that nft system!

[wickyd]

I'll stick to my closet, I wish I had the space to pull any kind of organic hydro system, but, it all works out!


Your plants look quite lovely and quite magnanimous as well!

ripped,
wickyd

[Guest]

Go King!

That's lookin great and the vigor, man I love hydro.

You better get to flowerin cuz those are going to go nuts. I would be tempted to top them once before I flowered them but that's just me.

Good Growin

Tex

[King]

Update after a week of flowering. There still on veg nutes at the moment. They'll switch to a grow/bloom in the few days. It kind of looks like a poorly done SCROG. I didn't top them. Mother #2 seems to be a self topper though and a vigorous one at that. She's in the middle two trays.

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2_Flower ingA-thumb.JPG (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2_Flower ingA.JPG)http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2_Flower ingB-thumb.JPG (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2_Flower ingB.JPG)http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2_Flower ingC-thumb.JPG (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2_Flower ingC.JPG)http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2_Flower ingD-thumb.JPG (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394NFT_Lifesaver_week_2_Flower ingD.JPG)

[wickyd]

oh man, thats lookin ferkin awesome bro! do you have everything setup automatically? Must be nice just to walk in and know your plants were taken care of while you're gone.

I want room =Þ

Looks amazing man
wickyd

[King]

Thanks alot wickyd. It's my 7'x10' of heaven. It is kind of automated. I've got a float valve on the reservoir so I never have to add water, just adjust ph and PPM. Greenair makes a ph controller that I've been dreaming about lately. They even have a PPM controller too. Maybe the harvest after this one, I might pick the PH controller up. That would be sweet never having to worry about the PH level. I want to add CO2, a few more trays, and another light after this harvest. We'll see how it all plays out though.

[Guest]

very interested in the outcome of this, this nft looks hot :biggrin:

good job king :cool:

[ezozo]

Hi King
look good :canabis:

Is this you first hydro grow ?
I am growing in soil like to know why you choose NFT ?

thanks
zozo

[King]

Hi hellinski & ezozo, thank you both very much.

ezozo,

I am a hydro virgin. I've got some Blue Rhino & Bluemoonrocks in soil right next to the NFT. :)

It was really a treat coming upon this system. I had been doing my homework on others grows and considering what would work best for a hydro system. I had the American Agritech 2003 catalog and knew I was gonna be getting one of their systems, as it would certainly pay for itself it's first yield. I decided upon NFT based on recommendations of its ease, and growth rate. Coming from small dirt farming in the past, this almost seems like cheating. hehe Anyways come to find out a week later, my brother had just bought & had received this system because he wanted to use it. With a little persuasion, he went on to other systems and I bought this unused for a very fair price. Now I know why my bro likes hydro systems so much. And here I am today.

You thinking about making the switch ezozo?

[Guest]

Do it Ezozo. Hydro is the future! You don't wanna be outdated do you? Looking good King. Damn things do it all for you dont they?

Blatant

[BushyOldGrower]

I just did a post in the Seedsdirect forum about my Pollen. Want lsd #1 pollen?

King, your set up looks so tight man. :canabis: Excellent results so far man. BOG :)

[Jah]

I built a system like this and had unbelievable growth for a day at a time then they would rot , I just could not keep the temps down . But nothing has compared to the phenominal growth potential I saw.

[King]

Start of week 4, I'm happy so far.

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_beginning_of_ week_4a-thumb.JPG (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_beginning_of_ week_4a.JPG)http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_beginning_of_ week_4b-thumb.JPG (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_beginning_of_ week_4b.JPG)http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_beginning_of_ week_4c-thumb.JPG (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_beginning_of_ week_4c.JPG)http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_beginning_of_ week_4d-thumb.JPG (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_beginning_of_ week_4d.JPG)

[The Hashasin]

Wow,
Brilliant Journal man, your an inspiration to all us Soiless growers. Them LS are lookimng super cool and very damn vigerous. I have a few LS next grow 1st time. BEan was donated from a good friend In USA "Canna" I smoked this shit for months in the Dam and it was one of my fave weed. Good luck and sticking to your thread like super glue... :canabis:

[¤~sN~¤]

nice garden king! I have a lil NFT on the go myself.... looks like you've got a couple of runts in there like me :D

gotta love NFT though mate so simple.... watch those res temps and your good to go.

Anyway looks like your on your way to a sweet haul :yes:

peace

sN~

[King]

Hi The Hashasin and ¤~sN~¤. Thank you both.

Update - Day 28:

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day28a-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day28a.jpg)ht tp://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day28b-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day28b.jpg)ht tp://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day28c-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day28c.jpg)

They're on full PBP bloom now. Running around 1300ppm at the present. I'm gonna stay PBP bloom for a week or so, than go to PBPbloom/PBPcoco, finishing on PBP coco. Pure Blend bloom added the whole way from this point forward until flush. Maxicrop seaweed, Cal-Mag, Pyrosol, Rare Earth, and Earth Nectar & Ambrosia as additives. PH 5.2-5.4

[ezozo]

wii haaaa look good
nice carpet you have there ;)

peace
zozo

[wickyd]

and I thought I did a pretty good job on my canopy! good job king

wickyd

[Harry Gypsna]

Nice going dude, major slap on the back is due, the ganja gods are smilin on ur house for real. Incidentally, im plannin on buying an E and F tray set up, can any1 recommend a reoputable firm which will ship it to the uk, or even a uk co. thank you, and once again, well done with that canopy, shit, it aint even a canopy, , just a solid wall o buds, nice 1 m8

[pistillwhipped]

Wow....I'm certainly impressed...wish Oregons med laws were based on weight of bud exclusively, instead of number of plants...I bet your yeild per sq foot is huge!

[King]

Hi again ezozo & wickyd. Hello and welcome Harry Gypsna & 123P. And thank you all. The canopy is lookin pretty good. :canabis: I've had to take alot of fan leaves off and the battle still continues. I get more hesitant to remove them at this point because they're starting to get frosty. My humidity is pretty high during the nights. My room is still a work in progress and there isn't any ventilation during the darkness at the moment. I gotta get that taken care of soon. The buds are starting to get some size to them, and I don't want any rot.

Day 35

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_35a-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_35a.jpg)h ttp://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_35b-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_35b.jpg)h ttp://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_35c-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_35c.jpg)h ttp://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_35d-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_35d.jpg)

[¤~sN~¤]

Looking good in there king, the beginnings of some sweeet cola's :yes: have you pulled any fan leafs before? I ask cause my afghani's are bushy as feck and a good trim would'nt see them wrong unless it effects yield.

grow on bro!

[King]

Thanks ¤~sN~¤
I've taken fans off before. I'm alittle more hesitant to do this in soil than hydro. I know there is good stuff stored in the leaves. If my plants go deficient, I'll change the reservoir and the nute strength. Problem solved. In soil it just takes so long for a problem to show, the plants may need all the good stuff that are stored in the leaves while recovering and having the problem corrected. That's my take.

Though I'm sure there is the completely other side, that would say I'm nuts for removing any fan leaves.

I get alot better airflow through my canopy without them. They'd just be laying on the bud right next to them.

[LoveRulz]

Hi King,

I'm watching your progress with great interest, because your setup looks a lot like what I'm planning on putting together soon - even the same NFT system from AA.

Right now I'm growing up a BogBubble clone mother in DWC. I have a homemade 4x4 NFT table that these clones will go into under 600W HPS, hopefully in 4-6 wks (pic below). If all goes well with that grow (and if the wife's not too paranoid), I will get a second 4x4 table, probably the same model you're using, and have both tables running 12/12, harvesting one every month.

One question for you: how high do you have to put your reflector over the canopy to cover a 4x4 area well? I'm curious because the ceiling in my grow room is 6'2"... I'm hoping that's enough to get good coverage <fingers crossed>.

Peace!

P.S. Yes, I'm a newbie here, and this is my first post!!! :D
I Hope this isn't considered a hijacking :frown:

http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/3430DSC02404a.jpg

[Green Lantern]

thats lookin awsome king!

[HOT CARGO]

hell yeah

killer grow King wow

peace

[King]

Hi LoveRulz! Sweet, another NFT'er. And welcome to ICMAG. I don't consider it hijacking. My favorite description is by ¤~sN~¤. I think he called it "No Freaking Trouble". :) It's the truth.

My light is 16" above my canopy. You'll be alright, my ceiling is 7ft. Switch to flowering fast, maybe 6-7 days of veg is all that is needed, you may certainly go longer though. I wish I would have switched sooner. Two side by side systems would be so cool. I wish I could fit that. Would make it alot easier to grow indica and sativa. I want to run both in mine eventually, still gotta figure out how I'm gonna flush the indicas though. Maybe I'll just stick with soil for sativas.

One thing I might suggest is a light mover, so you don't get a big hotspot like I have going. :)

Keep us posted when you get that baby running. Your system looks sweet for a homemade NFT! Good work.

And thanks to Green Lantern and HOT CARGO. I'm honored to have you both stop by.

[King]

Day 50

Had some burn.

Plant 1 took it the worst. She's the weakest in terms of yielding.
Plant 2 is looking really good yieldwise. It kind of topped itself with the lower side branches, growing at the same level as the top. Pretty frosty.
Plant 3 looks like a good yielder also. Doesn't top itself, but a better grower than #1 by far. Not too frosty though either.

All smell like lemon Mr Clean. The nug I took off and quickdryed has a fruity taste to it.


http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_50a-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_50a.jpg)h ttp://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_50b-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/394Lifesaver_NFT_Day_50b.jpg)

[King]

Lifesaver is some fire! For real. I like it. Great potency and great taste. It's very fruity sweet. I'll get final pics up here soon. They went 66 days. I'll have a final weight as soon as I finish trimming the girls up.

[Xtrakritical]

wow Really nice job with them and the scrog!

Man I gotta try a scrog asap...

Enjoy King!
well done...

*edit*
Did I say Scrog? Damn Thats A SOG!!! Son of a ..... :chin:

Looks like NFT is the way to go!!!

2 Thumbs up bro!

[BigToke]

King – that is an amazing grow you got going on there, and looks like your enjoy a bountiful harvest. Good job.

[sonoma]

Nice work farmer! I'm joining all of you NFT advocates. I start building next weekend...Can't wait....