Newby homemade aero 6 spt 400 watt hps

[Mist]

You will definitely need something more than a fan cooling that bulb. My 400w MH is super aircooled and still I can only keep it 2" from the canopy.

2" from the canopy?
First of all, why do you need it so close? And secondly, do you just have one little plant under it? Because at 2" from the plant all you are getting is a foot print the size of you hood. 12" would be a better distance with a 400 watt.

zmanforever,

Yes, you should run your aero unit 24/7. Otherwise the roots will dry out while the plants are small. When they get huge root balls in that tub you will probably end up just putting in a couple airstones and turning it into a Deep Water Culture system because the roots will engulf the sprayers and make them ineffective.

 

[Capn]

Good to hear about the feminised seeds!!

Veg cycle can be anywhere from 24-18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness. Flower cycle has to have atleast 12 hours of darkness. So obviously it gets 12 hours of light.

What I meant is veg them for 2-3 weeks and then switch into flower. But i may have spoke to soon. They may get bigger, faster than that.

How big is your rubbermaid? looks like 10-15 gallons to me, which isn't a whole lot for 6 plants that'll be less than 5 inches away from each other. So to counter act that, it would be better to flower earlier than later to prevent them outgrowing the tub and making res top-offs to requent, and ppm/ph fluctuations less rapid. All of which are better for the health of the plant.

I'd call this a Sea-of-Green attempt. 2-3 tops per plant, and I'd also top them as soon as they get some side branching.

Like mist said, its gona turn DWC pretty quick. I'd suggest having airstone in and ready to go.

 

[sito007]

good luck with your system cant waite to see the plants grow

 

[zmanforever]

Well once again many thanks for the rapid responses!

Capn the rubbermaid is 15 gallons. So I am going to do what you said after 2 weeks I am going to put these ladies into the flowering stage depending on how they look.

Another question to pick you green thumbs: As far as the flowering stage goes is that 5-6 weeks long normally?

I know it should all depend on how they look.

UPDATE: We now have 5 fems. germinate! Just 1 pesky Super Lemon Haze to remain. Running pump 24/7. HPS set to 18/6 cycle on timer.

Will do on the air stones just wondering where I could find such a thing. Maybe aquarium stores?

 

[Mist]

With both your strains you will be looking at 9-10 weeks for flowering. As for airstones, you can pick them up at any petsmart or even at Walmart. Get the 4" ones though. They stay on the bottom better and put off more bubbles. A good dual outlet aquarium air pump should do you fine for your setup.

 

[Capn]

Flowering depends on the plant really. No time set in stone. I advise you to get a radio shack 60-100X microscope to use as a means to check trichome maturity as that is the best indicator of ripeness.

As far as the airstones, I like to not even bother with actual stones and do just straight 1/4 black tubing with v-shaped cuts in it. I put 1/8th inch v slits to prevent clogging and allow pretty decent air bubbles.

I glue suction cups made for aquarium air tubing to the bottom of the tub and use those to hold my 1/4 inch tubing down.

Heres a diagram.

 

[zmanforever]

Once again I am in love with all the help, please keep it up.

UPDATE: First 2 petals visible pics tomorrow!

With both your strains you will be looking at 9-10 weeks for flowering. As for airstones, you can pick them up at any petsmart or even at Walmart. Get the 4" ones though. They stay on the bottom better and put off more bubbles. A good dual outlet aquarium air pump should do you fine for your setup.

Mist thank you! I will be going to Walmart tomorrow or Saturday to buy the airstones.
I actually went with 3 strains got 1 free with order. I have 2 Super Lemon Haze, 2 Kings Kush, and 2 King Kong.
What is the dual outlet aquarium air pump for? I have a air pump and it is feeding the 6 spots generously.

Flowering depends on the plant really. No time set in stone. I advise you to get a radio shack 60-100X microscope to use as a means to check trichome maturity as that is the best indicator of ripeness.

As far as the airstones, I like to not even bother with actual stones and do just straight 1/4 black tubing with v-shaped cuts in it. I put 1/8th inch v slits to prevent clogging and allow pretty decent air bubbles.

I glue suction cups made for aquarium air tubing to the bottom of the tub and use those to hold my 1/4 inch tubing down.

Capn thanks again. Will do something on being able to see the trichomes, I believe after reading through the forum white and amber means good time to cut down.
The tubing with the V shaped holes sound great, but I don't believe I can go with that. The reason is it will make to much sound. My current set up makes very little noise.

More updates soon, stay tuned help much appreciated trust me!

 

[Capn]

I think its gona make noise reguardless but you do what you gotta.

 

[zmanforever]

Well here is the update I promised!

We have all 6 out of 6 germination's complete and check out how we are doing into only day 4.


Super Lemon Haze




King's Kush




King's Kush




So far weird thing is only the one's on the right show significant growth.



The one's on the left are slowly creeping up.

 

[zmanforever]

UPDATE

UPDATE

Update Time!!!

I am very happy with the current status of this project, because so far they seem to be responding to the RO water well. Nothing but pearl white roots and many many roots!
Only into 18 days for 4/6 plants. 5 days for the other 2.




The strains are all Greenhouse Seed's:

Super Lemon Haze (Lemon Skunk x Super Silver Haze): Bottom Right & Left - 18 days
Middle Left - 5 days

King's Kush (Og Kush x Grapefruit): Top Right & Left - 18 days
Middle Right - 6 days

2 have some yellowing, but they are going back to lush green =)

Super Lemon Haze - 18 days



Super Lemon Haze - 5 days




Kings Kush - 18 days



Kings Kush - 6 days


Now once I am in the third week I will introduce:



On the information given please leave me posts that can help me out. All information is much appreciated!

 

[jm420]

18 days and no nutes?

 

[jm420]

search lucas formula for the flora series ratio asap

 

[zmanforever]

Thanks for telling me about the Lucas formula for the Flora nutes!

I was able to find these 2 threads

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=105738&highlight=lucas+formula+flora+series+ratio

I will be going with FloraNova Bloom only ditching the FloraNova Grow.

"Now, the floranova bloom is basically the Lucas Formula in one bottle. 5 ML/gallon is equivalent to the 0-5-10 and 8ml/gal is equal to the 0-8-16.
Don't forget the 5ml per gal of floralicious bloom, thats if you want frosty flavor. That is the other part of the Lucas ratio using floranova.
0-5-10 - For Vegetative cycle (18/6)
0-8-16 - For Flowering cycle (12/12) "

AND

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=116680&highlight=lucas+formula+flora+series+ratio

"The super super simple res maintenance method is to do a changout when you reach a 100% add-back.

To explain this we'll take a 10 gallon res as an example.

During Bloom:
First you mix your res.
10 Gallons of RO water.

If you're using General Hydroponics Flora 3-part you will add
80ml of Micro and mix it well.
160ml of Bloom and mix it well.

If you're using General Hydroponics FloraNova 1 part series you will add
80ml of Bloom.

Once you have your res filled, mark the solution level on the side of your tank somehow. Add pH up until you hit about 5.8. Keep track of how much you added.

Put in your plants and run it.

Every day, add RO water into the res until it comes back to that line. (This is called Topping Off)

Keep track of how much RO water you're adding back and when you've added back 10 gallons, dump the res and mix a new batch.

That's how simple the Lucas formula is."


The Lucas Formula with FloraNova Bloom it is!

I know 18 days and no nutes may seem bad, but I heard waiting 2-3 weeks before introducing nutes is a good factor in early development?

 

[zmanforever]

UPDATE

UPDATE

UPDATE!




FloraNova Bloom Lucas Formula is working great. Next update coming soon.

 

[Capn]

Looking great!

 

[zmanforever]

Looking great!

Thanks Capn.

UPDATE!




FloraNova Bloom Lucas Formula is working great. Next update coming soon.

Some questions on what to do near harvest time:

Anyone know if and when trimming is necessary? Read on this forum 2-3 weeks before chopping trim big fan leaves for a little bigger nugs?
Also planning on flushing with water for 1 week. What is the best length for flushing nutrients from plants?
Any help would be great very new to this!
Everything is from fem seeds.

 

[one Q]

just give them some time. they look good too! another week or so then take some clones, flip 12s, sex and harvest! Good luck.

 

[!!!]

Looking good. I have the same ballast; It gets VERY hot. I burned my finger trying to pick it up once .. like 15 mins after it was off.

Any chance we can get details on the working of that setup? Is the pump running 24/7? Is the spray hitting the bottom of the net pots? Is the rockwool always soaked? What type of misters did you use?

 

[Mist]

just give them some time. they look good too! another week or so then take some clones, flip 12s, sex and harvest! Good luck.

A "week or so"? Those plants need several weeks easy before they have anything on them even close to big enought to be used as a clone.

Zmanforever,
Just be patient and let them grow out of the seedling stage, which they look to still be in. Once they get going in vegg at a decent rate it will be better.

 

[zmanforever]

Looking good. I have the same ballast; It gets VERY hot. I burned my finger trying to pick it up once .. like 15 mins after it was off.

Any chance we can get details on the working of that setup? Is the pump running 24/7? Is the spray hitting the bottom of the net pots? Is the rockwool always soaked? What type of misters did you use?

The setup is:
1.) 400 watt HPS HTG Supply bulb and ballast.
2.) Rubbermaid with 6 netpots with hydroton and rockwool.
3.) 3 sprinkler/mist sprayer's connected to a water pump with a large and small particle filter running 24/7 the spray is hitting all angles of the netpots, rockwool stays moist. Company not known fabricated from multiple sources. RO water and Floranova Bloom working great!
4.) Bionaire oscillating air purifier with 2 HEPA filters and 2 activated carbon filters.

A "week or so"? Those plants need several weeks easy before they have anything on them even close to big enough to be used as a clone.

Zmanforever,
Just be patient and let them grow out of the seedling stage, which they look to still be in. Once they get going in vegg at a decent rate it will be better.

Hey Mist I think I might have a problem.
I vegged them for 3 weeks. They are in the flowering stage since 11/11/2009 running 12 hours light. They are not stunted in growth, because everyday they are getting taller and I see a lot of new leaf growth.

I am planning on hopefully harvesting around 63-70 days later.
Shouldn't be a problem right?


UPDATE

They are doing well.