Nothern Lights Producer

[MegaChron]

I fixed that problem with rockwool using H2O2 10% with a presure sprayer. You hit the rockwool hard with the presure of the spayers from really close, and you can see the H2O2 make bubbles and clean your rockwool!

I was worried when that happened to me, and it only took me 5 minutes to fix it!

Hey when you did this did you just use the H2O2 on its own or mix 10% H2O2 to 90% of water? I'm assuming you mixed it with water but I want to be sure.

I still have yet to hit up the hydro store to pick up a new bottle of hydrozyme or whatever so I'll probably do your suggestion tomorrow to hold me off until I can make it out there.

 

[MegaChron]

Root Rot and ph stability

Root Rot and ph stability

Time for another update...

So today I opened up both my producer boxes...I noticed the one that I trimmed roots off of last week was doing much better this week and new sprouting roots aren't affected with root rot meaning the h202 was doing its job of keeping things level until I was able to get my hands on something to rid of it completely.

That one plant that was tiny and dying last couple weeks is now thriving! It looks awesome, I'm happy I didn't end up chucking it...I saw one tiny root sticking out the bottom of the rockwool so I left it and over the course of this past week it just got stronger and stronger. Other than the root rot (which is making my fan leaves curl) everything about these plants is pure golden! I'm sticking to my schedule of continuing as if the plants are on hold of week 3 of my feeding chart until the root rot is completely gone though...this will probably take a couple of weeks.

So what am i using to get rid of it....I've replaced the h2o2 today with something called Bio-gold which is like that hydrozyme / aqua-guard or whatever...but apparently much better. I say apparently cause I've never used this product so I'll let oyu know how it goes.

I've taken some photos of the browning roots I cut off today as well as the plants for your update

ENJOY!

 

[MegaChron]

Plant photos update

Plant photos update

Here are some more photos of the plants that I took today...

You can see in the wide shot of the group of plants that they are curled a little bit...it's cause the root rot was getting to them this week. I clipped the roots of that box this week so it should do much better next week.

I'm really surprised at how fast the new roots are growing out.

I'll post another update later in the week!

 

[MegaChron]

Update continued...

Update continued...

K so this week was the first week that I implemented the micro-bacterial stuff to rid of my root rot. Seems like it's working, although it's only been the first week so I need to wait a couple more. However, I have noticed that the roots that have grown out recently out of the rotted plants are pure white again...I was chopping the roots every few days before I got the micro organisms and now I have yet to clip them...for two reasons...1 to show you guys what the rotted roots look like (it's not so bad) and 2 to see if the roots would get worse or better without me clipping.

I'll probably clip the browning roots at the end of the week when I swap the reservoirs.

One major issue I'm having at the moment is overheating in the room and in the boxes...my AC can't keep up with the amount of heat that the producers lights are producing...specifically the MH blubs. I may offset my producers so they aren't on at the same time for at least 6 hours of the day...in the mean time I purchased some blackout curtains to keep out the daylight/morning sun which tends to cause the room to overheat, but that's just a solution and part time fix for only those morning hours. I still need to find a way to cool the box and reservoir without having to add any extra ducting out of the room. I got a few ideas and I was going to get a water chiller but it doesn't seem practical for my set up. I may get a second air pump to add more oxygen to the water reservoir which will hopefully cool it down slightly and also keep pathogens from growing...right now my plants go from a stage of looking wilted and curled down to propped up and perky! not sure if its the heat or the root rot that is causing this or both!...or maybe the fact that I've clipped roots...only time will tell.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to cool without adding another AC unit, adding a chiller or adding ice to my tub on a daily basis let me know...I could use all the advice possible on this issue. I'm hoping that those curtains help with keeping the cool air in as well. The windows are large so I'm assuming some of the cold air must be passing through them as well.

I've had to crack two windows in the room to stabilize the room temperature for now. Right now both producers are in Veg mode, but that will change in a couple weeks when one will be set to flower and the other to veg and thats how they will remain (always vegging in one and flowering in the other). That should reduce the heat a little bit as the flowering lights give off slightly less heat, but it's still going to be an issue if I don't act on the heat problem.

Anyways, here are some photos of the plants from both boxes...My plan is to wait for them to cure of root rot, then I'm going to finish off my final two weeks of veg stage (as mentioned before I've paused my progress of scheduling the nutes and have been giving only the 3rd week nutes until the plants look clear then will continue the schedule. Once I hit week 4 with no rot I will be clipping my clones off the veg plants...I'll let them grow tal for one more week then I'll move to flower.

Always looking for comments and suggestions so please feel free to comment...good or bad, I'd like to hear all of your opinions and concerns and suggestions.

 

[MegaChron]

Update...

Update...

I took a few new photos today of both boxes...as mentioned before I'm just holding them off for now until the root rot is completely gone then I got one more week of veg. followed by heading right into flower and making my new set of clones.

O also have 3 spare plants that will turn into moms...(essentially two boxes with 18 slots each - but each only has 11 in it) 18 will transfer to one producer which will then be set to flower and my other producer will just veg and hold my moms and clones from that point on....or at least that is the plan.

 

[MegaChron]

More Photos from Today

More Photos from Today

I just took a few more photos today so I'm just posting them to keep you all in the loop with the progress.

Everything is essentially the same as far as my cycle plan is concerned and I'm just eliminating the root rot and finding new ways to reduce the heat in the room and boxes which I will be working on this weekend.

One thing I notice is my plants wilt a lot but then perk up nice and beauty...I posted a photo of an example here can anyone let me know what that may be from? the root rot? the heat? other?

Most of the plants are doing it but it doesn't seem to be killing them or making them worse...they end up perking up quite nicely soon after wilting as you can see in the other photos.

 

[iboga]

the best thing you can do is get a water chiller if you want to grow in summer otherwise be ready for your plants just to be droppy 1 day and there is no come back then.

 

[MegaChron]

Heat Issues

Heat Issues

the best thing you can do is get a water chiller if you want to grow in summer otherwise be ready for your plants just to be droppy 1 day and there is no come back then.

Yeah a chiller is what I was originally thinking but I'm holding off on it as I'm just going to bring in a second AC unit...also I'm pretty sure its the summer heat that's contributing to the heat issue as well and I'll only have that problem for a couple months of the year so I don't want to invest in something I may not end up using. Although a chiller is on the wishlist it's not my priority, but down the road I could for sure use one.

I'll be bringing in a more powerful and new AC unit to see if it can keep the room cool...I may end up using both if need be...although I would like to avoid that.

I also have a max fan and filter that isn't hooked up yet either so I'm sure once I add that it will help eliminate some of the warmer air. I'll be making these adjustments this weekend so I'll keep you all posted on progress.

I did mess up the other day when I changed the reservoir I forgot to plug in the pump that feeds the rockwool...so they haven't had anything for 2 days....I just did a quick override of the irrigation system and got some water into the rockwool. A few of them were much more curled over...I'm hoping that the added blackout curtains I added and open windows will assist for the next few days. Cooler temperatures coming up in the next few days will also help me out. Once I get this heat issue under control it will be smooth sailing.

Not too far from clipping clones and going to flower either!
Too bad I have the slight set backs but I don't plan on having that happen again.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[MegaChron]

Oh I forgot to also mention...Since my plants have been stuck on week 3 of veg cycle for the past couple weeks I decided to reduce the amount of light my MH bulbs give off...so I brought them down to 50% and the room and boxes started to cool instantly...not sure if that'll be too low but it doesn't matter if it stunts their growth since they will be on week 3 of veg cycle for another couple weeks and will still have a 4th week on top of that.

I'm going to check on them tomorrow and if the lack of light from the MH is causing issues I'll increase to 75% until I sort things out.

 

[Elmer Bud]

G`day Mega Chron

Your temps in the room can hit 28 C and still grow good plants .
But your water needs to stay around 20 C or you will be forever chasing preventions . A larger rez could help in that the returning water is meeting a larger body of cooler water .

I haven`t done it but I have been told put bottles of frozen water in the rez in summer .

Thanks for sharin

EB .

 

[MegaChron]

Heat & rot concern / update

Heat & rot concern / update

G`day Mega Chron

Your temps in the room can hit 28 C and still grow good plants .
But your water needs to stay around 20 C or you will be forever chasing preventions . A larger rez could help in that the returning water is meeting a larger body of cooler water .

I haven`t done it but I have been told put bottles of frozen water in the rez in summer .

Thanks for sharin

EB .

Hey Elmer,

Yeah I tried that but the bottles of ice were melting way too fast for me to even keep up with and I feel I should find a solution that is more permanent than constant daily attention. Right now my res temps hit about 25 degrees or slighly higher at times (this is with the MH bulbs dimmed down to 50% eventually I'll have to raise them back to 100% and the res temp would increase. I wonder if I just increase another 4 litres or a gallon of extra water to my current reservoir and up my nutrient solutions accordingly if that will help keep it lower in temp as well?... But my tub is set for 34 litres according the the bc northern lights manual and such so I'm not sure if I should mess with that too much.

I'm going to see what happens once I've installed my can fan max fan & filter as well as bringing in the new AC unit which I think will help the situation. I'm also going to readjust my set up so the boxes are against separate walls which will hopefully distribute that warm air more evenly. I also plan to add extended ducting to my producers intakes that will face in the direction of the AC pulling in as much of the cooler air as possible...I may also add ducting to my outtakes of my MH lights but I'd rather keep things simple.

Since I've recently clipped roots the plants are looking gloomy but they are going to bounce back once new roots show up...which I'll probably have to clip again at least once more....most of the roots growing out now are nice and white...there are the few that have brown sections but it looks mild and I don't notice as much rot as I do white fresh roots which is a good sign. Looks like the micro organisms are doing their part. I think I'm going to add some plantacillin this next time around to increase root growth as I don't want the plants to stress out...maybe some vit. B to be safe as well. Not sure if that'll have any negative side effects to the root rot though....do pathogens thrive off that stuff?

 

[teemu shalanie]

I have one of these units bought it in my rookie phase of growing, I didn't actually read thread just skimed , I had similar problems with a BCNL producer.
If u plan on running dwc in the producer U WILL NEED A CHILLER , I didn't have one ,got maaaaad root rot , Its just toooo damn hot , those boxes throw tooo much heat unless u have them in a huge shop or a cooled room , I rigged mine up for a nft , and Ive also just pulled the lid n ran coco in 2 gallons pots , prob my most successful runs , nice box for beginers , but for the extortionate price you could set up a whole grow room, good luck need any tips just ask had mine for 6 years almost....

TS

 

[MegaChron]

Quick Reply and update

Quick Reply and update

I have one of these units bought it in my rookie phase of growing, I didn't actually read thread just skimed , I had similar problems with a BCNL producer.
If u plan on running dwc in the producer U WILL NEED A CHILLER , I didn't have one ,got maaaaad root rot , Its just toooo damn hot , those boxes throw tooo much heat unless u have them in a huge shop or a cooled room , I rigged mine up for a nft , and Ive also just pulled the lid n ran coco in 2 gallons pots , prob my most successful runs , nice box for beginers , but for the extortionate price you could set up a whole grow room, good luck need any tips just ask had mine for 6 years almost....

TS

Hey TS - thanks for the heads up and comment...I really want to avoid a chiller so I'm going to adjust my set up this weekend, if it's not working out then I will probably look into chilling. I didn't know heat was going to be such an issue with this set up but all my venting isn't done/up yet so that's why I am holding off for now on the chiller.

However, there's some good news and bad news....good news is this bio-gold stuff is completely clearing out the root rot....all my roots are coming out white with small clusters and areas of browning, which I've been cutting away at...I think in a week or two there will be significant improvement on the rot issue especially if the heat factor cancels out.

Bad news is one of the pumps in my machine wasn't plugged in for 2 days so the plants didn't get fed for two days back to back...to make matters worse when I plugged it in it still was not working and I didn't notice for a couple more days later when a few of the plants started dying. I jiggled the pump and it wasn't pumping any water when I hit the pump over ride...like zero, not even making a noise....so I shook it a bit and bam ewater started pumping in...now I'm keeping my eye on the pump and checking it to make sure it works every day....4 plants were in death mode...two are almost completely bounced back and recovered, one is pretty much dead and the other could go either way.

I've added plantacillin to the mix as well for rapid root growth, nowe that my plants are becoming healthy and also because I'm chopping roots so often I need them to grow out and prep for week 4 of veg which is still on hold.

I'll post new photos in the next day or two...

I agree this set up is good for new and beginner growers, or if you just want everything to be stored and tucked away nicely without having to do any real set up or DIY etc... I mainly got it because overall it fit all my needs...I can't turn my rooms into a room grow, tents are not discreet enough so this was the ideal solution...however in the future I may try to build my own system like I've seen in many other threads. But the difference is exposure...this is enclosed, nice, clean and doesn't take up my entire basement. So it has its up's and downs for sure...the major downside being the heat.

What bothers me most is that when I contacted the bc northern lights reps. they made it sound like it wasn't a normal issue and that it must have been my personal set up or the way i have laid out and then they go on to tell me I should use extra ducting and venting...which they never mentioned I would need to do prior to purchase...they essentially say "you just plug it in and wait a week to refill and clean the tub etc..." But really you will still need to make adjustments to the room, bring in ac, worry about root rot, res. temperature, probably have to purchase a chiller etc...The other thing is that before I purchased the product the company reps were so quick to respond to any emails or questions I had. Once I purchased and started asking questions that seemed pretty relevant or I figured they would know the answer to such as the temperature and heat issue...it would take days sometimes for them to respond, other times I would have to leave multiple e-mails. and even when I got a response it wasn't the most helpful advice...they really made it look like my issue of heat was rare and that the machine was not an issue, but in the end it essentially producers too much heat to keep up with AC and res. temps increase which causes root rot which sets you back in time and $$$... So if anyone is looking to buy this product be warned that there is more to it than just plug and play although once you are set up it is quite sit back and relax you will have to make adjustments accordingly to keep the heat from becoming an issue with this product.

That being said, the design and function and such of this product is smart and well done so there are it's positives and negatives...if heat would get under control most of the negative aspects would be chopped off the list.

 

[MegaChron]

Hey All,

So just a quick update...with some added venting and some ideas I found off someone else who had the same problem I was able to come up with a viable solution to my heat problem and also reduce use of the ac...I'll be posting photos and explaining everything that I had to do in order to make it work in a separate post tonight once I take photos. Also, I'll give an update on the plants and root rot issues which should be coming to an end in the next couple weeks. I still need to install my can fan...I'll be attempting to do that tonight if I have time...Since the ac situation is resolved I don't need to worry so much about the max fan yet...but for sure within the next few days that'll be done.

Look for my post later tonight!

 

[Elmer Bud]

G`day MC

Give this a read .
It will explain the science behind your root problems . Like I said water at 20 deg C .
But it can also give some ideas to help support your ailing plants .

http://www.manicbotanix.com/hydroponic-grow-guide/root-disease-prevention-in-hydroponics.html

Thanks for sharin

EB .

 

[resinryder]

From what I understand of it, it's essentially impossible not to get root rot in a hydro system unless you are always using the hydrozyme or aquaguard or whatever.

This simply isn't true.
Been running hydro flood and drain tables for 14 years and have never had root rot and I don't and never have used the 2 products you've mentioned above or anything else for that matter.
Good luck with your grow and keep it simple.

 

[MegaChron]

This simply isn't true.
Been running hydro flood and drain tables for 14 years and have never had root rot and I don't and never have used the 2 products you've mentioned above or anything else for that matter.
Good luck with your grow and keep it simple.

What is your res. temp on avg? When I posted that my res temp wasn;t under control and I should have mentioned I meant that if your temps aren't in place then it's unavoidable and that is true. I apologize for the confusion though. I've been trying to simplify...I just rerouted the ac to a better set up which is totally working better. As mentioned previously all my venting isn't complete so once it's all done I'm hoping for ideal res. temp of 60-65 and a box temp of 70 - 75....right now with the ac mod I got it down to 70 at it's coolest (lights out) and 80 at its peak (lights on).

I didn't get a chance to do the ducting today so I'll post photos in the next couple days. I read in another thread about uv sterilizers...worth buying?

 

[MegaChron]

G`day MC

Give this a read .
It will explain the science behind your root problems . Like I said water at 20 deg C .
But it can also give some ideas to help support your ailing plants .

http://www.manicbotanix.com/hydroponic-grow-guide/root-disease-prevention-in-hydroponics.html

Thanks for sharin

EB .

Hey Elmer,

Thanks! yeah, i've been doing lots of reading and such on the process and problems and different solutions...I find everyone has a different method that worked for them. My main issue (and what caused the rot) is heat problems and bad venting/lack of venting. I'm halfway there as I re-routed the AC and now my res. temps dropped dramatically and my box temp no longer goes above 80...if you recall it was maxing at 95!

Now I have two more vents to cover and connect to the out take and that should completely drop it as well...bio-gold is ridding of the root rot, but I fear as long as my res. temp is high it won't be going anywhere.

Plants look healthy otherwise.

 

[mliokv48]

For price of these units should come with some Lep lighting.

 

[MegaChron]

lighting

lighting

For price of these units should come with some Lep lighting.

They come with CFL (inside the box) along with 2 t5 bars that sit on the tub (inside the box) then MH bulbs for veg. However I've noticed that the boxes can easily be converted in order to fit any form of lighting if I wanted to modify it etc.

These boxes do come with a hefty price tag...For me it made sense, I don't have a huge area space, I need to keep it clean and tucked away and it's all built into one so for me it worked well for my needs. They are for sure not for everyone and my overall rating of the product is a 3.5 - 4 out of 5.