UC Round 1

[noWon]

Round 1 with Under Current

I finally decided to take the dive and picked up an Under Current system. I am sure I could have built this thing myself but after adding up all the components, shipping plus labor I decided to let someone else do the work for a change as I am not getting any younger LOL

Well after getting the system I was truly excited to get started. I must say this thing was a pure pain in the rear to put together. Even with dish soap and warm water the uniseals just did not want the pvc to slip in. After a while I found it easier just to turn the buckets on their side and slip the pvc in that way. Still took two full days to setup and some soar arms and a bruised chest from reching in the buckets to force the pvc pipes thru.

Once the system was setup, I was totally excited and prayed I did not have any leaks or cracks from forcing the pvc pipes in. Fortunately I did not but I did have some leaks from the epicenter which was easily resolved by tightening the loose screw on the drain valve. Other than that I am totally happy with the system.

I am not sure what to expect and I hope I am up to the challenge of what this system has to offer. I hope some more experienced users might be able to give me some pointers along the way.

I sarted off using Cultered Solutions nutrients and cal/mag,
EC - .9
water temp - 66f
pH - 6.1
My EC should be more at .6, I guess I miss calculated the volume of the system. Live and learn.

I loaded the system up with clones but had some concerns on the water level on the system as my floor has a slope so one end is lower than the other. Hopefully its not an issue. Anyhoo, here is what the system looked like after adding the clones

Today is now a week later and things are going well but I do have concerns on some lower leaves as they are clawing upwards. I am not sure if it was caused from the transition to the system or possibly my nutes are too hot. I will keep my eye on it for now. Here is what things look like today

If anyone has any pointers, tips etc. it would be much appreciated.

PEACE

noWon

 

[LEDNewbie]

Looking great! Is this your first try at Hydro? Been looking at the UC systems for a while now. Maybe one day I'll jump in and give hydro a shot

Looking forward to see how you make out.

 

[overbudjet]

In UC your Ph should drift between 5.2\5.3 to 6.0

 

[overbudjet]

You may also insulate bucket and pipe way easyer to keep water temp down always a good thing in UC ,in my own DIY UC i use water fall effect instead of air pump.

 

[Desert Hydro]

very nice setup. looks like you did your homework. is this your first time using grow stones? im trying them out for the first time right now. hopefully i like them

 

[noWon]

Looking great! Is this your first try at Hydro? Been looking at the UC systems for a while now. Maybe one day I'll jump in and give hydro a shot

Looking forward to see how you make out.

Thanks, I have run hydro before with rockwool but never RDWC. I currently grow in coco coir and wanted to try something new.

In UC your Ph should drift between 5.2\5.3 to 6.0

Thanks for that tip, I have adjusted my pH to 5.5 today.

You may also insulate bucket and pipe way easyer to keep water temp down always a good thing in UC ,in my own DIY UC i use water fall effect instead of air pump.

Right now I am struggling to keep the room temps at 68f but that will be a good idea come summer time. Thanks again for that tip as well.

very nice setup. looks like you did your homework. is this your first time using grow stones? im trying them out for the first time right now. hopefully i like them

Thanks, yeah I have been reading up on things but it is always easier said than done. I figure it will take some time to get things dialed in. The grow stones are great. I prefer them over the hydroton because of the size. They dont fall thru the net pots and clog my pumps.

Well looking at the plants today, new growth looks kinda strange to me. Not what I am use to. I will have to get some pics as it is to hard to explain. I may have also overdone or did not add enough cal/mag. Not really sure at this point. I think I am gonna let things ride for a few days before I do anything besides setting the pH to 5.5 and let these gals settle in a bit. Dont wanna do to many things at once so I know what helps and what doesnt.

Does anyone have any idea how long I should veg for? I think it may take 3 or 4 weeks. I think I am going to need some sort of support for them as well.

Anyhow, I wanna all for your input and interest. If you have anymore ideas, thoughts or suggestions they will be much appreciated.

noWon

 

[overbudjet]

Vegging 3 to 4 week in UC will give you huge girls be sure to have enouft headroom.

 

[noreason]

Nice room noWon

How many lamps are you using? How many W?
The UC system is a 24 pots?

With proper lighting, seeing your space I would not veg for more than 7/10 days from now.
A lot depends on the strain stretch btw...

You should only wait till you see plants growing very fast. When you notice a massive growth you know they're ready to flip at 12\12.

Wait to see flowers in your room...maybe a day I'll give UC a try

Best luck

 

[Teresa]

Nicely done

 

[trixP]

Nice op man,got this bookmarked.

Teresa,are you actualy a ladie ?

 

[rock solid]

joining the show my friend very clean setup and the best of luck to you

 

[Teresa]

Teresa,are you actualy a ladie ?

Indeed

 

[PetFlora]

Possible cause of canoeing (some is great), especially when the leafs are reaching towards the light= near max PS going on? ....

Not familiar with EC, I use PPMs. Does 0.9 = 900, 450 ppms ... ?

Hydro can be an extremely efficient feeding method.

In your current stage I would be ~ 250-300 ppm BUT I low pressure spray from the top

 

[noWon]

Vegging 3 to 4 week in UC will give you huge girls be sure to have enouft headroom.

Thanks for that info overbudget, I think I have enough headroom at 9ft as she is Indica dominant.

Nice room noWon

How many lamps are you using? How many W?
The UC system is a 24 pots?

With proper lighting, seeing your space I would not veg for more than 7/10 days from now.
A lot depends on the strain stretch btw...

You should only wait till you see plants growing very fast. When you notice a massive growth you know they're ready to flip at 12\12.

Wait to see flowers in your room...maybe a day I'll give UC a try

Best luck

Thanks noreason, I have got 8K over a 32 site system. I plan to switch to a 16 and another 16 on a flip flop but we'll see how it goes. I just may take your advice and switch to flower in another 7/10 days but their growth rate will be the determing factor. I may just have live and learn too LOL

Nicely done

Teresa, Thank you so much. It is nice to have you.

Nice op man,got this bookmarked.

Teresa,are you actualy a ladie ?

Thanks trixP, Nice to have you join the show

joining the show my friend very clean setup and the best of luck to you

rock solid, nice to have a you buddy and thank you much.

Possible cause of canoeing (some is great), especially when the leafs are reaching towards the light= near max PS going on? ....

Not familiar with EC, I use PPMs. Does 0.9 = 900, 450 ppms ... ?

Hydro can be an extremely efficient feeding method.

In your current stage I would be ~ 250-300 ppm BUT I low pressure spray from the top

HiYa PetFlora, not sure what PS is as I am terrible with the acronyms. The EC converts to 450 ppm's which next go round I will only go with 2mL/g. I used 4mL a gallon and that was way too much I think. I should have also went with 1mL/g with the cal-mag but this is a total learning experience right now for me.

Would like to thank everyone for stopping by and providing your thoughts, ideas and comments. It is deeply appreciated!

As it has been a few days since my last post, things are looking on the up and up. It was very difficult to sit back and let things ride but I think overbudget's advice on the pH made all the difference as that is the only thing I changed was lowering pH to 5.5 which slowly crept up to 5.8 today. New gowth is showing that beautiful lime green we are all after.

I have also looked at some nutrient uptake vs pH charts and I am kinda confused at what I found. One chart says optimal pH is 5.1 and other chart is 5.8. Since things are going better at this point I am gonna try and keep things at 5.5 to 5.8 as those are the numbers that look like did the thing to make things better.

Overall this is what things are looking like today

Here is a pic of the new growth

A pic of the worst looking and smallest gal in the system but new growth is looking promising.

Also a special thanks to the guys over at Current Culture to get these tomato cages to me in a hurry.

I should have them install in the next few days but not sure if I can fit it in my schedule so it may have to wait till the weekend.

Finally, I think my whole problem was the high pH of 6.1 which inhibited the intake of calcium. I came to this conclusion from the spots on the leaves and the nutrient uptake charts. Thanks again overbudget for that bit of knowledge.

Everyone take care and will have an update on things in another few days

noWon

 

[noreason]

Seems you used too much nutrients, looking at the leaves, but 0,9 mS/cm is not too much, seems strange you burnt them with such low EC value.
What EC you used before moving all clones in the UC?

Where do you take water from? Do you let sit for some hours?
Sometimes chlorine in tap water can be an issue, growing hydro...

About pH I usually let it around 5.5
Variation of 0.5 per day are ok.
However plants can adapt to a little different pH as the roots can modify (with a limit) pH around the roots releasing ions.

IMHO, try to keep stable a value and see if your plants grow happy, if yes, you know that one is optimal pH for your crop, in your growroom, with your stuff etc...

 

[Twisted pleasur]

Im very interested in this as well.

How much did that system cost?

Is it one big one with one control rez? Or do you have multiple?

Is it versatile to ware it can be plumbed to fit any space?

From the pics it seems 24 sites
With 8 lights.

Is this correct?

What wattage are your lights?

Thank you. Sorry for all the questions. Just want the low down.


T~P

 

[PetFlora]

Sorry. PS = Photosynthesis

You have way too much on your plate to have such burning issues. 6.1-6.2 pH should not cause leaf burn

Several threads here on using Hydroponic-Research VEG+BLOOM- It is awesome, a COMPLETE single mix DRY formula

 

[EShred]

I run my pH 6.0-6.2 in veg, and try to ride at 5.8 in bloom. Shit rages. I'm in a UC as well.

 

[EShred]

How did you prep those grow stones? I've heard you are supposed to soak them for 24 hours in pH'd water. Been thinking about trying those out, but the whole soaking thing sucks. I like the size of the stones, and it seems like there would be less residue from them (compared to the hydroton).

 

[Desert Hydro]

i did not soak mine. it just says to rinse them well. mine have only been in their new system for 2 nights now but they look happy and healthy, besides the ones i burnt the shit out of with neem oil lol