v2 'dream system' DIY and diary

[GMax]

Looks great GMAX! I was reading and you mentioned 3-5 second on feed times? Are you using a high pressure pump and misters? But, i think i saw the ez clone sprayers?

Also, you are using roots excelerator and sm-90 together? I would be interested in your results as i have heard that the sm-90 kills the beneficial bacteria. So i havent used them together. Maybe i heard wrong.

na i am using a EcoElite 1500 pump... she is pretty powerful so i will probably use a speed controller with her.. i am not going for anything high pressure or TAG this is just a basic low pressure aero system.. i am using the red misters and i am only going to have my pump turned up high enough to where every row is misting well without being too high and blowing the misters out of the holes... so i can have the results of aero and be away for long periods of time

my recirculating aero systems run for 30 sec ON and 6 min OFF... i see u were running 45 sec every 7 min ...are u still doing that ?? and your system recirculates right ?? have u noticed a difference compared to 1min/5min

since this system is drain to waste i am not trying to spray too much unneccessary water.. maybe a second or two longer than it takes to saturate the inside.. it gonna take some testing but that the dialing in part and thats the fun part

this is my first time using root excelurator... only because it is recommended from reliable sources... I use the sm90 to keep things in the cloner clean and healthy and i used it when i clone with Clonex... i prob still use Clonex during veg and early flower

i have heard that sm90 only kills bad bacteria but idk.... is there beneficials already in roots excelurator ???

i will report back the results either way

thanks

 

[farmhouse cat]

DHF cleared that up, and i just added it to my cloner. Thanks again fred!

Ive tried many different on/off times and to be quite honest, the results are always the same. So whatever works.

Also... i was wondering how your netpots are gonna stay put?

 

[GMax]

You read right FHC.....but......

I got gifted a cylinder of H&G`s Root Excellurator and mixed 1 ml per gal with my weak nute juice along with my SM-90 and Silicablast in my pre-washed and pre- charged coco in clear solo cups......and.....

No bullshit....I had established taproots and laterals waaay more developed than I`d ever had in a 7 day period from cuttin and rootin.....except for Chem D...but that`s another thread....so....

That continued till I ran outta the shit right before havin ta shut down......that said....

Run it FHC....guaranteed....the mix works with no contraindications from SM-90 inhibiting being mixed with beneficials , and have been documented at the other sites I visit.........

Shit`s expensive but worth every penny , and lasts forever at 1 ml per gal......and.....

I`ve said it in many threads for the last several yrs that nothin`s new under the sun and NPK is NPK with most all bullshit additives are sales hype and disguised as another form of the basic 3 elements essential to growin dope..... but.....

H&G`s "Dripclean and Roots Excellurator" are the ONLY 2 products I`ve EVER seen in well over 20 yrs of croppin and readin the message boards that actually helps the grower/caregiver in commercial settings.......now....

GMax.... Raise them CFL`s up above the cuts in the cloner unless yas need em that close for elevated temps.....as a rule....

Low light needed fer rootin cuts , but 80% RH and 80 degree ambient temps will accelerate the process , so do whatever`s necessary for your own environment....

Respect....and Holler if I can help Bro.....

Peace....Freds...........

yeah i use drip clean in all my systems and it amazing too

the cuts pictured in the green container already have roots they are just small and it may look weird but they are probably a good 6-8" above them... farther than i usually keep them ... i dont ever use any lights above my cloners they usually just go in a corner and catch leftover lumens from the room

thanks for looking out

DHF cleared that up, and i just added it to my cloner. Thanks again fred!

Ive tried many different on/off times and to be quite honest, the results are always the same. So whatever works.

Also... i was wondering how your netpots are gonna stay put?

there is a section of the netpot u remove... when i go there again i will take a pic.. that should of been included in the DIY damn..thanks

if anyone else has questions that the tutorial didnt explain or pics u want to see dont be shy.. i am about to build another in the next couple weeks so now the time..

 

[farmhouse cat]

Im not sure if you understood what i meant? I was referring to how the net pots stay in the vertical tubes without falling out and or pushing out from the foliage and branching.

Reason being, mine are at an angle and sometimes still find ways to dislodge when the branching above starts to take shape. I usually just push them back down or use some tape.
But with a vertical tube it seems like it could be a problem, not to mention water running out.

I just realized that maybe you are using an elbow in the holes like your previous build?

 

[b00m]

Tagged up for this mad hydro vertical grow

 

[GMax]

Im not sure if you understood what i meant? I was referring to how the net pots stay in the vertical tubes without falling out and or pushing out from the foliage and branching.

Reason being, mine are at an angle and sometimes still find ways to dislodge when the branching above starts to take shape. I usually just push them back down or use some tape.
But with a vertical tube it seems like it could be a problem, not to mention water running out.

I just realized that maybe you are using an elbow in the holes like your previous build?

nah fuck the wye peices they were something like 6 bucks a peice and i would of need 80 of them ... i got what you meant the first time... i can try to explain ...

if you are looking down at a netcup you remove about 3/4"section of the main ring around the top ( the part with the lip) ...when you go to put the netcup in the hole you pinch the ring so the circle becomes like a oval once you put it in the hole you unpinch it and the lip part catches on the inside of the PVC...real clean and pro looking... then the neoprene fills in any gaps... i will probably secure it with tape as well.. i will be building a screen so they wont fall out due to weight also..i will still take a pic next time

Tagged up for this mad hydro vertical grow

thanks bro i will try to put on a good show

 

[farmhouse cat]

nah fuck the wye peices they were something like 6 bucks a peice and i would of need 80 of them ... i got what you meant the first time... i can try to explain ...

if you are looking down at a netcup you remove about 3/4"section of the main ring around the top ( the part with the lip) ...when you go to put the netcup in the hole you pinch the ring so the circle becomes like a oval once you put it in the hole you unpinch it and the lip part catches on the inside of the PVC...real clean and pro looking... then the neoprene fills in any gaps... i will probably secure it with tape as well.. i will be building a screen so they wont fall out due to weight also..i will still take a pic next time




thanks bro i will try to put on a good show

I see, but i really think your gonna need to do something more to hold the girls in place and keep the water from running out. Maybe some kind of rubber gasket, especially with water (low pressure at that) running down inside the pipes and into the netpots and neoprene. Water finds its way out everywhere. trust me. Mine is at an angle and with only one sprayer per bucket water still finds a way to leak out.

Just trying to help out from my vert aero experiences..

 

[b00m]

GMax you always put on a great show mate
Watching and taking notes along the way, cause one day I will give hydro a go

 

[GMax]

I see, but i really think your gonna need to do something more to hold the girls in place and keep the water from running out. Maybe some kind of rubber gasket, especially with water (low pressure at that) running down inside the pipes and into the netpots and neoprene. Water finds its way out everywhere. trust me. Mine is at an angle and with only one sprayer per bucket water still finds a way to leak out.

Just trying to help out from my vert aero experiences..

i hope you are not right.. i will find a way to seal it no matter what though.. and it still probably be cheaper and more practical than wyes


where does yours leak from ?? If it is leaking around the netcup what you can do is take what is leftover from a neoprene sheet after you remove the pucks ( swiss cheese sheet) and cut out the little rings and feed your netcup through it before you put it in the system.. like little cheap diy gaskets

also what is that u are u using in place of the neoprene???
thanks bro

GMax you always put on a great show mate
Watching and taking notes along the way, cause one day I will give hydro a go

wow thanks man

I will try to teach more than what not to do lol jk

hydro is not that hard once you understand it....

any questions just ask I will help

 

[farmhouse cat]

Thats a great idea, i will give it a try.

I always spend a couple hours in the room with the system running before i put the plants in checking leaks and dong fixes. Most of the time its the position of the sprayer inside spraying right at the inside edge, causing leaks.

I also found a cheap gasket fix, You take 1/4 inch black plastic tubing and cut it long enough to wrap around the hole. Then you take a razor blade and cut it lengthwise so it can spread open. Then you wrap it around the hole and it seals like a gasket. some never leak again , others just still leak, and need to be dealt with. Sometimes it just takes some tweaking with the spray tube or closing the ball valve a tad to lower the spray power etc.

Even with these fixes i still manage to get some leaks here and there, especially as the plants get bigger. Some runs ive been lucky with no leaks and others lots of drips. But ya cant have the sweet without the sour..ehh.

Good luck, love your ingenuity and can't wait to see it filled!

 

[bobblehead]

SM-90 doesn't discriminate between aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.... It kills them both by encapsulating them and suffocating/starving them. I just posted in my thread about how I'm thinking about cutting out the SM-90 while using beneficial microbes... What's the point of adding them if they can't get to the roots cause the roots are covered in SM-90... On top of the bacteria/fungi that die from the SM-90. Things to ponder... I only got a C in Microbiology... but I tried really hard for that C.

 

[GMax]

Thats a great idea, i will give it a try.

I always spend a couple hours in the room with the system running before i put the plants in checking leaks and dong fixes. Most of the time its the position of the sprayer inside spraying right at the inside edge, causing leaks.

I also found a cheap gasket fix, You take 1/4 inch black plastic tubing and cut it long enough to wrap around the hole. Then you take a razor blade and cut it lengthwise so it can spread open. Then you wrap it around the hole and it seals like a gasket. some never leak again , others just still leak, and need to be dealt with. Sometimes it just takes some tweaking with the spray tube or closing the ball valve a tad to lower the spray power etc.

Even with these fixes i still manage to get some leaks here and there, especially as the plants get bigger. Some runs ive been lucky with no leaks and others lots of drips. But ya cant have the sweet without the sour..ehh.

Good luck, love your ingenuity and can't wait to see it filled!

thats is a super sweet idea... if need be i will probably do that.. i got the system almost ready to go i should test it out within the week ( w/o plants) then i will have a good idea what i am dealing with

thanks again

SM-90 doesn't discriminate between aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.... It kills them both by encapsulating them and suffocating/starving them. I just posted in my thread about how I'm thinking about cutting out the SM-90 while using beneficial microbes... What's the point of adding them if they can't get to the roots cause the roots are covered in SM-90... On top of the bacteria/fungi that die from the SM-90. Things to ponder... I only got a C in Microbiology... but I tried really hard for that C.

damn sorry to hear about your difficulties.. i use the exact same nutes as you and i never have any clogging of the misters.. i even have a little bit of Plant Success myco that i got a free sample of that i add to my veg nute mix and i still dont get clogs.. i use this in conjucion with sm90 but from what you are saying it might be for nothing but my roots seem to look way healthier with it..

i might have to do veg in 2 containers so maybe i will do a side by side

there is an inline filter that i got a few years back for like 15 bucks from my hydro store.. it had a super fine screen.. the connections are 3/4" threaded though.. i see you are using 1/2 inch

the slime is mystery though.. are you adding beneficials to the soil or to the nutes ??

also you said that you are using a brass valve for your heat exchangers now.. is that working better?? which valve did you use ??? and what u just hook it to your water supply and then plug it into your controller or wire to a thermostat ??


i was thinking about getting this for my co2 generator and i am wondering if i could use it for my heat exchangers too

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-HydroGE...649?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43aacd8d79

 

[DHF]

SM-90 doesn't discriminate between aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.... It kills them both by encapsulating them and suffocating/starving them. I just posted in my thread about how I'm thinking about cutting out the SM-90 while using beneficial microbes... What's the point of adding them if they can't get to the roots cause the roots are covered in SM-90... On top of the bacteria/fungi that die from the SM-90. Things to ponder... I only got a C in Microbiology... but I tried really hard for that C.

SM-90 Never affected the Roots Excellurator in my setups Bobbles......ever.....but....

I understand what you`re talkin bout usin it with all those microbial rootzone critter annihalation thingies though.....and yes....

Things to ponder in each individual`s situation and environment....

Peace...DHF.........

 

[GMax]

SM-90 Never affected the Roots Excellurator in my setups Bobbles......ever.....but....

I understand what you`re talkin bout usin it with all those microbial rootzone critter annihalation thingies though.....and yes....

Things to ponder in each individual`s situation and environment....

Peace...DHF.........

now i am confused a little.. whats the concern over sm90 with roots excelurator because bobbles talking bout sm90 vs beneficials

does the RA have beneficials already in it is that what i am missing ?? or is there a misunderstanding

 

[DHF]

Roots Excellurator`s "supposed ta be" made from beneficial bacteria best I know Gmax , and thus why it`s been said time and time again that SM-90 will kill it and make it useless......but....

Couldn`t tell it in my setups when I got hold of it....Roots were bustin left and right with taproots hittin the bottoms of the clear solo cups and spinnin as well as bustin out through the holes drilled in the bottoms for drainage.....

Lateral feeder roots were coverin the sides of the cups and allowing me to choose the "picks of the litter" waaaay faster and get em under the t-5`s for pre-veg...anyways....

Hope that clears it up.....Freds........

 

[GMax]

Roots Excellurator`s "supposed ta be" made from beneficial bacteria best I know Gmax , and thus why it`s been said time and time again that SM-90 will kill it and make it useless......but....

Couldn`t tell it in my setups when I got hold of it....Roots were bustin left and right with taproots hittin the bottoms of the clear solo cups and spinnin as well as bustin out through the holes drilled in the bottoms for drainage.....

Lateral feeder roots were coverin the sides of the cups and allowing me to choose the "picks of the litter" waaaay faster and get em under the t-5`s for pre-veg...anyways....

Hope that clears it up.....Freds........

yep that cleared it up..i always just add the sm90 to the cloner and pretty much everthing else out of habit.. i didnt know the effects it would have with the RA... i guess it will be interesting to see how my clones turn out..and i will go w/o sm90 next time

thanks

 

[bobblehead]

SM-90 is a surfactant, which means that it coats everything it touches. A film develops around the roots protecting them from bugs, eggs are coated and they can't hatch, bugs coated and they can't breath, etc... The tubing is coated with SM-90. I apply my microbes by hand, so I can do the same with the additives, minus the SM-90. It has to be one or the other imo, and I'm confident the microbes are going to be of more benefit. If what you're doing works, cool... But the science behind it says sm-90 kills the beneficials you're adding. A water pump is also supposed to kill some of your beneficials.

 

[GMax]

SM-90 is a surfactant, which means that it coats everything it touches. A film develops around the roots protecting them from bugs, eggs are coated and they can't hatch, bugs coated and they can't breath, etc... The tubing is coated with SM-90. I apply my microbes by hand, so I can do the same with the additives, minus the SM-90. It has to be one or the other imo, and I'm confident the microbes are going to be of more benefit. If what you're doing works, cool... But the science behind it says sm-90 kills the beneficials you're adding. A water pump is also supposed to kill some of your beneficials.

well that is probably a good choice i have heard that microbes are amazing in soil... for my situation i am gonna choose sm90 over the microbes as i am almost out of my sample anyway

good info thanks

what about the heat exchanger water valve question though

 

[bobblehead]

I'm running my water to waste with the heat exchanger. I have cold well water and it's my only cooling source. The lung room doesn't go above 85F, and the air being pumped into the rooms is at most 75F. I have the solenoid plugged into a cooling controller so that when the lung room hits 80F, the water is turned on to cool things down. It works great. I'm also going to use them for my DTW setups with an elevated reservoir. Here is the exact same solenoid for less than $33.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-4-Brass-E...504?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f11e51540

 

[GMax]

I'm running my water to waste with the heat exchanger. I have cold well water and it's my only cooling source. The lung room doesn't go above 85F, and the air being pumped into the rooms is at most 75F. I have the solenoid plugged into a cooling controller so that when the lung room hits 80F, the water is turned on to cool things down. It works great. I'm also going to use them for my DTW setups with an elevated reservoir. Here is the exact same solenoid for less than $33.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-4-Brass-E...504?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f11e51540

good loking out on the link..

now i have a few more questions..

are you still daisy chaining your heat exchangers??? mine are.. the water enters through the radiator that has lights on during the day(room #1) first before going through the radiator that has lights on at night(room #2) and then back to the rez..

it seems like if i wanted to have seperate control( prob just a simple Dial-a-Temp) for each room i would have to run seperate tubing and have a valve for each radiator ??

is that how you doin it

thanks again