v2 'dream system' DIY and diary

[bobblehead]

Just my $0.02... Don't give your plants any of that regular juice, I don't care how dilute. I wouldn't add back anything other than GH bloom at this point. Nitrogen will just prolong finishing times...

I also agree that a straight flush produces superior results to dwindling... But if you dwindle down soon enough you end up with a hard flush anyway... It's all about timing I suppose, for which method to use. If the EC stays low and there isn't an accumulation of nutes in the medium, then yes dwindling is all you need... Gmax your plants are on the brink of starvation... They're gonna yellow out so fast. You don't have any medium with a high CEC to be concerned with holding on to nutes.

Anyway... Idk where I'm headed with this post... Cause you've got this handled.

 

[GMax]

Bobble.. its like you guys are fucking with me lol... couple pages back my plants were on the verge of overfertilization..and I gave it more nutes..and now a few days after that I am on the brink of starvation

all joking aside, I have decided that I am not gonna do anything with the WW..this was my first run of a new test system that ended up working better than expected... I have learned a lot along the way, especially with nutrients, since I have been able to monitor more closely and have easy access to....

the WW is about a week from harvest and it just at a point where I just bring it home as is and take it as a learning experience... like you said it is all about timing, so in future WW runs with SB I will work in a 3rd bloom booster rez change, the last one at half strength of the first two.. then I will have it timed out better so the plants aren't starved come harvest..

the plants have already been in the flushing stage for two days.. so I just don't wanna give it more nutes and bring it out of flush, just to try to dwindle it back down in less than a week.. the plants are yellowing fast, but it is just plain water w/o any added flushing agent or anything like that... so the plants are flushing at a steady rate, so I guess aggressive wasn't the right word for me to use...

at the rate they are going they might be pretty pale come harvest..but I would guess they still have a little bit of color left.. if not, fuck it, I have never had a crop that was really well flushed...so maybe it best to try it so I can have a better opinion on it....either way its runs under my belt and learning experience

after harvest, I can run the numbers and see where I need to make improvement and so on

I snapped a couple of pics...I did a final defoliation the other night.. I took off a lot of leaves, more than the other two defoliations, but I still feel like they could take more... obviously I took all the largest ones... and anything with a long stem. but I like to leave the ones that are close to the buds, even if they have a short stem...the way I have always seen it, is if the stem of the leaf is fairly short and has crystals on it, it should stay, unless they are blocking other buds.. should I be taking those as well??

take a look at the pics and let me get your opinions



and some more buds...







and I also got the second WW built.. as I said, these plants are not in great shape.. I had to do some extreme topping to a lot of the tallest ones and they are hungry from sitting in veg too long without a rez change...but it should be another good test of the WW...lets see what the WW can do with these..still have to wrap it with reflectix



now that the WW room is all finished, tomorrow I get caught up on clones and the veg and other flower room

thanks everybody

 

[GMax]

well I took a giant batch of clones today, 70 total..got me all caught up for the 3rd round of the WW and have the extras to fill a system in my old room ...this new water filter is gonna change everything..usually the only thing I ever have to pH is my cloning solution, and it usually need a couple drops..but it needed closer to a TBS now to bring it down to about 6.0

I kinda forgot about the new filter, so when I made nutes for he second WW I didn't pH it, like I usually do.. so I decided to take a reading from the WW nutes and it was about 6.5.. still in acceptable range, but I like it to be around 6.0, which it usually always was with RO..i am gonna add a TBS at a time to graudually bring it down to around 6.0..and then I will start having to watch my pH again....

looks like a pen is definitely in the future.. I am running out of dropper solution.. one of my problems with the pens are they don't take accurate readings of plain water (no ec)...does the bluelab have any problems with that ??

 

[MrAwder]

I've been wondering the same thing about the BlueLab. I usually measure after mixing and adjust from there... but I have a much smaller res to adjust and have been mixing these nutes for a while so generally get pretty close just by following various recipes I have written down.

 

[GMax]

I've been wondering the same thing about the BlueLab. I usually measure after mixing and adjust from there... but I have a much smaller res to adjust and have been mixing these nutes for a while so generally get pretty close just by following various recipes I have written down.

yeah I have been mixing mine for a while when I was using RO..but this new water is way different and I am just starting with it

I always kept a dropper for checking my water and my cloning solution because it never gave me accurate readings of those..and to double check the pen sometimes for correctness...anything with nutes never needed ph'd

after mixing my cloning solution the ph was about 8..and it took 15ml DOWN to bring 10gal to roughly 6.0

my 50gal rez was about 6.5 and it took 20ml to bring it to 6.0

I have had a quart for the longest time, looks like I am gonna have to start buying big bottle of ph down

my only worry now is... I am assuming that my plants are still drinking a lot or maybe slowed a little.. my main rez is always full and so is the WW rez, so I have no way of roughly tracking how much water it drinks anymore..but if it is still replacing the reservoir at a substantial rate , and the ph of the new plain water is between 7-8..then it will be hard to keep the ph correct and stable during flushing times

I have never really heard a definitive answer on this: does the ph matter during flush...? as long as it not crazy out of range like 11 or something ??

if it becomes an issue, then I will definitely start dwindling to help keep things stable, because nutes seem to be a good buffer

ps. my dumbass didn't even check the ph of the flushing WW before I left

 

[Mister_D]

Gmax - Couple things, first we're not fucking with you . Aero is the fastest fast hydro system known to man. Remember you are using water as a media, so there is no buffer (unlike a coco or soil grow for instance). Take their food away, and it’s gone (no media to hold reserve nutes). This allows you to approach the flush from two different angles. A. Feed full strength up until 2-5 days before harvest, then switch over to straight water for the last few days. Because you have no media to hold nutrients the plants will yellow in a matter of days, as you've noticed . B. The other option, freds and bobble mentioned. Dwindling ppms achieves the same effect once dilution times are dialed for strain and res size. As for controlling ph of your tap water, simply adjust down to 5.5 and allow it to drift up to 6.0-6.3 before readjusting back down. I’d recommend you consider switching to sulfuric acid. It’s much cheaper and more concentrated than the hydro store stuff. Food grade phosphoric acid is another good option (same as hydro store ph down, just much more concentrated). Both of these acids are concentrated, and will burn your skin. Use extreme caution when handling them. I recommend diluting them down closer to hydro store strength for daily use.

 

[GMax]

Gmax - Couple things, first we're not fucking with you . Aero is the fastest fast hydro system known to man. Remember you are using water as a media, so there is no buffer (unlike a coco or soil grow for instance). Take their food away, and it’s gone (no media to hold reserve nutes). This allows you to approach the flush from two different angles. A. Feed full strength up until 2-5 days before harvest, then switch over to straight water for the last few days. Because you have no media to hold nutrients the plants will yellow in a matter of days, as you've noticed . B. The other option, freds and bobble mentioned. Dwindling ppms achieves the same effect once dilution times are dialed for strain and res size. As for controlling ph of your tap water, simply adjust down to 5.5 and allow it to drift up to 6.0-6.3 before readjusting back down. I’d recommend you consider switching to sulfuric acid. It’s much cheaper and more concentrated than the hydro store stuff. Food grade phosphoric acid is another good option (same as hydro store ph down, just much more concentrated). Both of these acids are concentrated, and will burn your skin. Use extreme caution when handling them. I recommend diluting them down closer to hydro store strength for daily use.

its all good D

the yellowing of the plants seemed to be very rapid at first... then I did the final defoliation and removed most of the yellowing foliage... now the yellowing has seemed to have slowed...the are due to be harvested on the 9th and at this point I am starting to believe that they will still have some color come that time

I need to scavenge the extra float that is in the old WW rez and to do that, I am gonna need to drain the water from it... so I may just drain the whole thing and fill it up with plain water and ph adjust it like you said...

where do you get those other ph downs.. I have never had to use much ph products so I don't know...

 

[Mister_D]

where do you get those other ph downs.. I have never had to use much ph products so I don't know...

Just google either of them for online suppliers. Sulfuric acid is sold as battery acid (~36%), and more concentrated (98%) versions can be had from chemical supply companies. No special permit or paper work required. Food grade phosphoric acid is sold for making bio diesel and various food prep applications. I bought a 4.25 gal jug of 98% sulfuric acid for ~100 bucks shipped. Enough to last me a good 5 years running 25+ lights.

 

[GMax]

Just google either of them for online suppliers. Sulfuric acid is sold as battery acid (~36%), and more concentrated (98%) versions can be had from chemical supply companies. No special permit or paper work required. Food grade phosphoric acid is sold for making bio diesel and various food prep applications. I bought a 4.25 gal jug of 98% sulfuric acid for ~100 bucks shipped. Enough to last me a good 5 years running 25+ lights.

damn..i don't even have 4.25g bottle of nutes lol....good looking out bro

 

[DHF]

Only bought 6 gal jugs of GH 3 part for as long as I grew cuz it was cheap as I could buy liquid pre-mixed nutes........and....

NAPA Auto Parts has sulphuric battery acid cheap as fuck , but as Dbro stated it needs immediate dilution for the growers useage and I`m sure he can provide the dilution factor........but......

Food grade phosphoric acid is online , I just always used the cheap shit cuz I`m a tight ass......anyways......

Gmax.....if yas gonna roll with tapwater getchas a ph and ppm meter.......aight ?........

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

 

[Mister_D]

damn..i don't even have 4.25g bottle of nutes lol....good looking out bro

Either can be purchased in smaller quantities (i.e quarts)

Only bought 6 gal jugs of GH 3 part for as long as I grew cuz it was cheap as I could buy liquid pre-mixed nutes........and....

NAPA Auto Parts has sulphuric battery acid cheap as fuck , but as Dbro stated it needs immediate dilution for the growers useage and I`m sure he can provide the dilution factor........but......

Food grade phosphoric acid is online , I just always used the cheap shit cuz I`m a tight ass......anyways......

Gmax.....if yas gonna roll with tapwater getchas a ph and ppm meter.......aight ?........

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

Actually I use mine at full strength. Mixing 100+ gal of nute at a time, it doesn't make sense to dilute it first. However these are very strong acids, so I don't publicly recommend people use them without diluting first. If I was going to dilute it, i'd start with ~ 1-2 cups of acid per gallon of RO water. I'm a cheapasss myself, but considering it only takes ~1/2 - 3/4 ml per gal. to adjust my hard ass water from 8+ down to ~5.8 PH. Works out to about a fifth the price of hydro store ph down.

 

[DHF]

I mixed the shit in my used 6 gal nute jugs 1 qt to the rest R/O for long time , and then with 1/2 tap 1/2 R/0 so it was inert enough ta not burn my ass if I got in a hurry and the shit sloshed.......

Anyways....Cheap as shit and worked like a charm and fuck the hydro whore stores cuz GH ph down is some weakass bullshit.......

Good luck Bro.....DHF...............

 

[GMax]

after couple days absence, it was time to make another visit...I am gonna be busy all weekend, so I had to get an early start

everything was doing ok...

my WW plants weren't really as yellow as I expected.. and I need to scavenge the old float valve from it.... so I drained the WW and gave it back plain H20.. I phd it down to about 5.5 in case it drifts... gonna let it hard flush, and then I harvest after the weekend...

here some pics









then I added the float to the new WW rez because it drank roughly 30 gals in last few days....also did a few rez changes in the old flower room..

I am gonna try to stop by again this weekend, but if not, I be back on Monday to harvest the WW

thank you everybody

 

[DHF]

Hopin fer good Harvey numbers GM.....but....always room fer improvement with the right strain/variety/hybrid in dialed environment with proper watts per sq ft......bet on it.....

You da man G Bro................

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

 

[GMax]

Hopin fer good Harvey numbers GM.....but....always room fer improvement with the right strain/variety/hybrid in dialed environment with proper watts per sq ft......bet on it.....

You da man G Bro................

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

thanks freds, I am hoping for good numbers too...

Sour Bubble is a low yielding strain, BOG himself will tell you that... but I think it has potential to do very well in vertical.. it is one of those strains that, when grown horizontally, put more energy than usual into lower down the branch buds (only grown a handful of strains, but have had 2 strains like this...SB and Nebula)...

back in the day I did a side by side of Nebula and Jock Horror horizontally (my old sig pic) and I was so upset by the Nebula's performance because the JH top buds were waaay bigger..talking 3-4x...but come harvest time the Nebula was just shy of the same amount because lower buds were denser and the bud was more dense overall...

SB is the same way... the buds wont get that big, but it has the potential for heavy harvest due to its impossible bud density (literally almost like rocks) and the increase in their lower branch potential, since they are more exposed in vert compared to horizontal....

also its extremely short flower time increases the potential of more harvest per year...I have already touched on this in Bobbles thread (post 1549) but I bring this chart back

Assuming that there is no down time.. You harvest your plants and fill back up same day

FLOWER TIME / YIELD / CROPSperYR / TOTAL

12 weeks ///// 6.92 lb ///// 4.33 /////30lbs

11 weeks ///// 6.35 lb ///// 4.72 /////30lbs

10 weeks ///// 5.77 lb ///// 5.2 ///// 30lbs

9 weeks ///// 5.19 lb ///// 5.77 /////30lbs

8 weeks ///// 4.61 lb ///// 6.5 ///// 30lbs

7 weeks ///// 4.04 lb ///// 7.42 ///// 30lbs

I have been running SB for two years now.. and I can with 90% confidence say that there is probably at least 1gpw there, which would give me right around 4lbs total....which I would be absolutely happy with...this WW is the first full crop I have ever grown remotely..and even though I haven't been here like I used to, it is the best crop I have ever grown..to be honest, I spend more time with my plants now that I don't live there...before I moved out, I only had the one room..but I was checking on it about once a week spending about 4hrs total including harvest ...I am building more confidence every day and soon I will be in the groove with my flipflops as well...


anyways, at this point I could be like, "4lbs isn't enough, I need to switch to a heavy yielding 9wk strain".....the problem is, if I do switch to that, it better be giving me more than 5.19 lbs to even be beating the SB in yields... and I don't see many grows like that

I am getting ahead of myself though, harvest still few days away...but one thing is for sure, this was a near perfect crop of SB...so after harvest, if I am not happy with the numbers, it will be time to start looking for something else

 

[redbudduckfoot]

so you are saying harvest is less than a week away? Damn. I have never really paid any attention to Sour Bubble grows, so I am gonna have to go check out some other SB grows on the site for a frame of reference. Yep, the results are in, it yields for shit!! Might even be worse than my OG S1 Clone.

Fingers crossed for 1GPW.

RBDF

 

[GMax]

so you are saying harvest is less than a week away? Damn. I have never really paid any attention to Sour Bubble grows, so I am gonna have to go check out some other SB grows on the site for a frame of reference. Yep, the results are in, it yields for shit!! Might even be worse than my OG S1 Clone.

Fingers crossed for 1GPW.

RBDF

harvest is here !! I usually let the SB go until day 50 and but I give the first run and extra 2 days...they are on day 50 now, so I can harvest anytime after today

fingers crossed for gpw as well....thanks rbdf

 

[Jbonez]

Gmax, I think youll be fine man, looks like the bigger leaves are being sacrificed first anyways, the buds will swell on my friend.. good luck on the numbers bro..

 

[DHF]

Bro........Yer crops per yr chart/example is what I`ve preached for yrs......but........

To say yas can take a plant from 7 to 12 weeks and it not affect quality/potency , I`m not sure of cuz I`ve never run pure indica dom hybrids that finish that soon......although ......

I did run pre-98 Bubba a few rotations and was so disappointed in the returns I shitcanned her ass , but I took her to 10 weeks cuz my Chem D`s were on 10 week rotations......and......

All golfball sized rock hard nugs but barely enough return to pay the bills , so she was gone.....and.......

I miss her badly.....but.......gotta pay the bills and gain proper return on investment when yas`re croppin , so the Diesel family 50/50 hybrids yield well and take care of the med end of things for the masses as well as the growers needs IME.......anyways.......

Hope SB Harvey`s double whatchas hope for Bro.........

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

 

[GMax]

Gmax, I think youll be fine man, looks like the bigger leaves are being sacrificed first anyways, the buds will swell on my friend.. good luck on the numbers bro..

thanks bro...I hope the couple day hard flush helps too

Bro........Yer crops per yr chart/example is what I`ve preached for yrs......but........

To say yas can take a plant from 7 to 12 weeks and it not affect quality/potency , I`m not sure of cuz I`ve never run pure indica dom hybrids that finish that soon......although ......

I did run pre-98 Bubba a few rotations and was so disappointed in the returns I shitcanned her ass , but I took her to 10 weeks cuz my Chem D`s were on 10 week rotations......and......

All golfball sized rock hard nugs but barely enough return to pay the bills , so she was gone.....and.......

I miss her badly.....but.......gotta pay the bills and gain proper return on investment when yas`re croppin , so the Diesel family 50/50 hybrids yield well and take care of the med end of things for the masses as well as the growers needs IME.......anyways.......

Hope SB Harvey`s double whatchas hope for Bro.........

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

I used to be a FIRM believer that anything that was worth a shit took 9+ weeks...but the Sour Bubble changed that....

I find it hard to believe that anyone who has smoked real deal SB, wouldn't put it in their top 5....and if you look through those countless "whats the 3 best weeds ever" threads...you will see SB pop up on there very frequently...around here, even the snobbiest snobs ask for SB by name

SB was the first weed in my life to make me tap out.. when I first started smoking it, 1 hit out of my bong was too much, and i am a heavy smoker.. and I have been smoking nothing but it for two years now and have barely gained a tolerance to it...

i would love to have variety and be like JBonez and have five or so different buds for throughout the day..

but i am monocropping and giving the people what they want...for some reason people prefer compressed brick dro, over freshly grown sativa doms.. like the density of the bud means its more potent... so the SB fits the bill...everybody loves the milf