v2 'dream system' DIY and diary

[GMax]

I stopped by today because i it has been cooler outside and i i wanted to change around some of the equipment and experiment for a new method of cooling..first i unplugged my AC because it hasnt been running that often anyways so it makes my humidity climb.. so i turned on the dehuey and move it from inside the tent to the area outside the tent and set it to 50%... i have been running just one chiller for the last month (with AC) so i turned on the other one so i am now running two chillers through the radiators.. so hopefully this will cool the air in the room and then air exchanges will bring in dehumidified air into the room.... i am also hoping that this will be enough to get me through winter with both rooms on as well at least through winter but that might be wishful thinking...


there wasnt anything to do with the plants i have gotten in a groove for now until the new room is turned on..the transplanting i did couple days ago finally gave me a full flowering room again... until i harvest that crop of Bubble.. here are some shots as promised...these are all sour bubble at different stages of flowering...


the one in the middle and right are the clones from plants in stretch..they look like they have nice buds just not that much stretch and a lot of one blade main leaves and such.. the one on the right is back to normal and probably my best harvest atm


here another shot of the stretch clones..



here some other batches...


one on left is on day 7


and here the five-plant crop of bubble that has been flowering forever i can remember what day it is on but it is close to 65 or so



i have to take it down in a few days because real soon i am gonna need that system to fill with new plants

that is about it.. I reset all my thermometers and i am gonna check back in a couple days and check highs/lows and make adjustments if necessary probably bout time i bought a controller too.. then i have all my work to do this weekend.. i took a peep at my moms and they look like they will be ready for a big batch of clones by the weekend so i also have to do some finishing touches on my new veg systems.. would of done it today but i need some things from the hydro store..

alright thanks everybody

 

[GMax]

another trip to the grow...

I am on my way...



there are only 46 clones total and i need 48 but i will have 15 spare that i am gonna use to fill in the blanks... so this right here is the first batch of my new system

I want to spend the rest of this talking about beneficial bacteria...

I have been using beneficials with every crop for a few years now but i always kept it kinda secret because of everything i have heard it seems almost pointless in my setup... for example, *sm90 kills beneficials*, *beneficials dont work with chemical nutes* etc..

I promised when the time came that i would do a side by side just to see the effects of sm90 and beneficials.. but i am no longer going to do that... I am PRO bacteria...and i am bout to show you enough now to prove why ..here it goes...



I HAVENT CLEANED THIS SYSTEM IN 4 YEARS!!

never ran bleach through it for even an hour, never rinsed off the filter to the pump, never even so much as wiped it down with a paper towel... always dumped out old nutes and refilled with new nutes.. i have wiped top of lid though

back when i first started using the systems i remember having problems with unhealthy roots and i was using hygrozyme to combat it and not liking the results ( the roots were decent in veg the problems would start a couple weeks into flower) so i did some research and seemed like sm90 was my solution..from what i learned later, hygrozyme is a good product but it doesnt work well on roots in tight spaces like my system)

So i go to the store to pick up sm90 and i am talking to the guy telling him my problems and he also recommends using beneficials ( i had already done some research on that as well and seemed like not a good idea for already stated reasons) but i was still kind of a newb and i thought he was trying to sell me snake oil so i tell him no and tell him why and he just gives it to me for free to try

so i figured what the hell and i take it home and try it and monitored it closely... my root problems went away but the problem was that i was using beneficials and sm90 for the first time at the same time so i couldnt really tell which to attribute it to .. i started doing more research on beneficials and found that when you run bleach through you kill all the established bacteria ( at the time i was bleaching the container between each run.. i was only on like run 4)

so i decided i would not bleach it, monitor it closely, and watch when the roots started to degrade in quality or problems would arise and then i would adjust my schedule (ex: if probs happened every 4 crops, i would bleach every 3rd and so on)....

I waited and waited and that day never came..my plants always explode as soon as they hit that container and always are ready to transplant with pearly white roots... i dont use any type of organic nutes in my container so maybe i could be getting away with the same thing without beneficials but i find that unlikely.. i use in this order.. micro,bloom,clone solution,silica, sm90, beneficials.. i add a 1/4 scoop of plant succes with every veg nute change and also with first nutes of flower .. and i also never encounter the mysterious slime that everyone seemed to have problems with

with my cloners i dont use bacteria and i will see problems if i let it go as with any aero cloner..some cloning solutions have problems quicker than others.. and i am starting to wonder if i should use bacteria in it as well.. with my flowering coolers.. i alwasy scrub it down between each crop and i add more bacteria with each tranplant.. but sometimes i run bleach sometimes i dont.. and i never seem to notice a difference between bleached vs unbleached.. i havent ran bleach through them in a couple months...as of today i am no longer going to bleach the coolers unless otherwise stated and see what happens

these are just my findings.. some may want to call bullshit but i swear its true.. i swear i am not lazy either i just not gonna fix what not broken lol

any thoughts or opinions ???

 

[farmhouse cat]

So what are you saying exactly? You use beneficials and sm-90 and your roots stay pearly white with no problems? even through flower?

 

[b00m]

Kicking arse bruz

 

[GMax]

So what are you saying exactly? You use beneficials and sm-90 and your roots stay pearly white with no problems? even through flower?

yes my roots stay healthy even through flower with sm90 and beneficials.. sometimes they can turn beige after i stop using sm90(flush) but that is usually only in the hot months...i have been thinking of using sm90 through flush...

but what i was trying to stress is the fact that i use the bacteria with every rez change in the veg container and have never had to do any type of disinfection to it in 4+ years and have never had root rot or anything of the sort.. you can look at all the pics of my roots ( 2 on this page) and see how healthy the roots are coming out of this container^^

you have the seperate containers to veg in right ? what is your maintenence on them ? how long they usually veg for? how do you change the rez? do you run bleach between runs?? did you get the slime?

with mine, each crop only gets one batch of nutes, so i dont have to do a change while there plants in it...the plants veg for 6-7 days then are transplanted to flower..i turn the valve to drain old nutes.. i lift the pump out and make new nutes right in container.. i put the pump back in and the lid back on and i tranpsplant from cloner to veg and i NEVER bleach between runs

after each crop i throw all the lids and cups in the washer with bleach and then i reuse them no problem

Kicking arse bruz

 

[farmhouse cat]

Are you running GH? And what benes do you use? My veg roots never get root rot either, but i do always bleach and clean between runs. This is my first run using GH and sm-90 and i had a few plants get root rot in flower and die. (Veg, they were fine with sm-90) but in flower a few did get some slime and im trying to pinpoint the cause.

Never ever got root rot before using botanicare and great white. so i may go back to that if i cant find the cause. I run a chiller and my water temps never go above 70deg. It kinda threw me for a loop, i figured GH with sm-90 and a chiller was gonna be full proof.

 

[GMax]

Are you running GH? And what benes do you use? My veg roots never get root rot either, but i do always bleach and clean between runs. This is my first run using GH and sm-90 and i had a few plants get root rot in flower and die. (Veg, they were fine with sm-90) but in flower a few did get some slime and im trying to pinpoint the cause.

Never ever got root rot before using botanicare and great white. so i may go back to that if i cant find the cause. I run a chiller and my water temps never go above 70deg. It kinda threw me for a loop, i figured GH with sm-90 and a chiller was gonna be full proof.

I am using Plant Success beneficials.. it is the only one i have ever tried so it all i can speak for.. great white and others probably do the same thing... I do use GH nutes micro/bloom and also Botanicare cal mag and Drip Clean.. these are all the products i use and the order i would mix them

botanicare cal mag
GH micro
GH bloom
Silica blast
koolbloom powder
roots excelurator
sm90
drip clean
Plant success beneficials

never any slime, root rot, or issues.. i dont use the beneficials throughout flower i use them with every rez change in veg and when transplanted to flower the first nutes have beneficials also so i am adding more bacteria with every new crop

you said you never had issues with botanicare nutes and great white but i think that is mostly due to the beneficials over the nutes because there really isnt anything more bullet proof than GH... start using great white with you GH line and you probably have no more problems either

again MY THEORY IS: beneficials do a better job keeping pathogens at bay than sterilization/bleaching/etc. if you use beneficials there is no need for sterilization a healthy colonization of bacteria will keep your system 'sterile'

my veg system hasnt been sterilized in 4+ years and still running smooth no issues .. i have lost track of when the last time i ran bleach through my coolers but they are all AT LEAST 3+ crops in a row without being bleached and still no rot, slime, or issues

 

[GMax]

finally harvested the five plant crop last night under the green light...

 

[GMax]

i am still waiting on my crop to dry but i was scheduled to transplant a crop to flower today so i haad to make another stop to the grow...just in time to my veg plants were almost touching the cfls.. no burned leaves though..

another crop gone through.. looking lusher than i seen in a while..



also here is my new sb seedling praying for a girl



..need to put a cover on the hydroton to keep algae from forming..you can see it is beginning to..also my big batch of clones starting to show first signs of life

my flowering room was doing good..no deaths to report or anything like that.. i was there during lights on and checked my temps which were fine (73) but my humidity was at 65% and sometime within the last 24 hrs it had been at 75%...so i moved my dehumidifier back into the tent and have it set for 60% i am shooting for it to stay at 60% constantly day and night (plants are at different stages so that is the happy medium for everybody) i may dial it down to 55% if i can get it under control..

I believe the dehuey is a only a 35pt but it runs alot and sometimes seems to barely keep up... coming up real soon where i am gonna be running both flowering rooms..which i am new to running flip flop rooms. i am trying to have the least headache and least amount of electricty used but also be able to be in control of my enviroment...summer was a real bitch this year and that was when i had one room that had all night to cool down with no added heat from another room

my plan now is to have the 12k Ac cooling the area around the tents.. each tent to have its own 35 pt dehuey (or one super dehuey to dehemidify the area around tent+ intake/exhaust)) and each tent to have it own 875cfm exhaust/6in passive intake.and also the recirculating rez that is connected to one/two 1/4hp chillers that runs to each tent's radiator... i can tune it up or down with that equipment and see how that goes.. in the winter time i can duct ac heat to the rest of the house and keep it warm...but come summer i may be needing a bit of an upgrade..

also i havent got around to it yet but i am bout to start using my water cooled co2 generator DTW

thats it for now..stay tuned

 

[GMax]

been out of trees for few days and down to bubble hash so i went to pick up my harvest today... 5 plants=144.2g but longer flowering time here few pics of the crop and final product before jarring..








i need to invest in better camera for closeups

i have to build the new veg systems this weekend as my big batch of clones bout ready and a few rezs to change in the flowering room and i be trying to take some clones if my moms ready..so i have a little busy weekend ahead...

 

[high life 45]

Lookin good bro! Keep it up. I'm rockin trees but when I see your system I get inspired to be creative.

 

[GMax]

Lookin good bro! Keep it up. I'm rockin trees but when I see your system I get inspired to be creative.

shiiiiit everytime i see a tree grow i kinda miss growing monster plants..i miss those donkey dick buds but i stay happy with jars full of small/medium ones..thanks bro

trying to make it to grow today...stay tuned for update

 

[GMax]

didnt make it yesterday but i spent most of the day today driving around gathering supplies and building my new dual veg system..it consists of two containers like this



each has a 396 pump, each has its own airstone, and 23 misters per container

only one has a float valve ( i am now the proud owner of 15 float valves lol worth every penny).the containers are connected with 3/4" tubing and attached to the main veg drain line with a shutoff for easy draining

once i had that all built i transplanted my new clones over...this is my official first crop of new system..day 1 veg






here is a shot of my new Sb seed ..it still kinda early but i am pretty sure it is a female..from my experience with Sour Bubble they tend to take forever to sex in veg..the SB females i have had always put out pistilate but no hairs so you can never confirm it 100%..this plant is showing the same characterisitics soooo...



...looking pretty nice for only being under that little light..probably gonna update to 2 lights soon


and here my best attempt at a whole room veg shot..




all my work today was done it the veg room.. i called it quits for today but i plan on stopping right back tomorrow because i have to..

change all the rez in flower (8 days since last change)
take more clones for my next cooler crop
change the rez to the mother

plus a i wanna rig my humidifier to stay constantly topped off and a few other various things ( defoliation, screen training,etc).. i also need to clean and organize some and i got 5 bags of trash built up so i need to go on a trash run..startin to think out loud

i did check on the flowering room to make sure everything was ok and it was and my thermometers read that my day and night temps were 72-73F and 56-58%..perfect!!

i plan on giving my big batch of clones a 9-10 day veg and then transplanting them over to the new system..got to get everything in order in my new flowering room...then i wait a week after transplant to take another big batch of clones for the other new system yet to be built (i am gonna stagger my big crops 25 days apart)..so construction on system number two begin soon

thats it for now..

 

[GMax]

yesterday i finished up all the chores i had left....change all the rez in flower...changed my mothers..took 25 more clones...

temps in my flowering room are still good.. i am still using my AC(doesnt run that often) but since it is coming up on winter i unhooked the ducting that was blowing HOT from the window.. during the last week it would be kinda chilly in the upstairs part of the house.. the AC exhaust now blows into a sectioned off part of my basement that includes washer/dryer and my furnace..unfortunately the fan to my furnace doesnt have a summer switch because i have no central air ..so i had to turn my furnace on and set it to 60F...so the furnace comes on if the house drops below 60 and then the sectioned off part for the AC exhaust room gets hot and the furnace circulates that air throughout the house..keeping the upstairs part warm and toasty with minimal gas used....and if there is any gas used it is after lights out..at least until i have both rooms running...also only using the one chiller atm ..gotta fucking love winter time growing

i have been looking into setting up my watercooled co2 generator but really whats the point....



should i complain that my furnace puts off optimal co2 levels ???


here a couple shots of the flowering room..sorry for the hps glow


the one in the middle is my youngest on day 6






since i am all caught up i am about to take a few days off..the next thing i have to do is harvest a crop... then transplant a crop from veg to flower...then transplant from cloner to veg...thats pretty much all i ever do.. take clones, move them from one system to another system, change reserviors, harvest, scrub and repeat....


made sure everything was plugged in and my all my enviroments in check..so now i let my plants do their thing without me for few days no worries...

i have a peice for my RO filter that automatically shuts off waste water after your float valve reaches the top but it seems to be broken now.. so i shut off the water and have my 150g main rez full... i am gonna experiment and see how much water everything drinks over the next few days by seeing how much is left when i return

 

[farmhouse cat]

Lookin Sweet!!!!!

 

[Mister_D]

I see ya coming sleeper, and I like what I see

 

[Critter]

Very informative helpful thread Gmax... Thx for posting ur build etc. Wish i knew someone like you close for a grow bro. Keep it green and happy harvestin

 

[speedemon]

Nice DIY walk through and set up mate.

 

[bobblehead]

GMax is the man. He's got that clone factory hoonin...

 

[GMax]

update first then i will respond to comments...

back to the grow today for the first time since tues.. everything was doing good...

temps in my flower room have been in check but my humidity seems to stay 55-60 during lights on and creep up to 70 at night.. if this gets any worse i have to update dehuey...co2 levels were hovering around 1100 ppm which is still an awesome thing.. FREE CO2 !!

my chore list for today was..

harvest plants...



I know i bitched about how the clones from flowering plants^^ were all fucked up but yield-wise it may not be that bad... the just grew funky..the buds stacked on eachother in a way i have never had from SB before and chunky and dense... but still prob not the 5-6z i have come to expect...well see in bout 6 days

Next on the list is to clean old system....



this is all the after harvest trash i have after each harvest (5gal bucket^)... you can also see the healthiness of the roots..still kinda beige but i cut out sm90 during flush and that is when it loses its brightness...

scrub her out..fill back up with nutes and..and put more plants in..day 1




there are only 7 in there ..i had to take a little hit in this room clone wise to prepare the other room..but by the time stretch is over these little nothin ass plants will be a jungle...but this is what i have been preaching..ZERO TURNAROUND

and then i drain the water in my veg..fill back up with nutes and add my next batch of clones....day 1 veg



this should be my last batch of inconsistent clones..used to be a big yeild killer but since i started using the screens and training them they fill up no matter how inconsistent/how many clones are in there

technically i now have 4 days off from the grow (no work) but i am gonna be stopping in to get my new flowering room in order...clean it up..install my flip flop.. put up circulation fans, dehuey, etc.. need it to be ready in a week because these will be ready to go...




and then it on

thats it for now