oG critical ppK

hello

after researching the ppk for a few months i'm almost finished with my build. i hope to be planted in the next couple days.

i am going to do the vertical style lighting in an X pattern w/ 1 hortilux blue mh in the middle. i have never tried this method of lighting before, wish me luck. i'm utilizing the pump in the control rez w/ feed manifold and cereal box.
36k ac, co2, and dehum for gear.

really hoping to see something of substance come from this cycle. i've been on a bit of a losing streak lately with dwc & decided it was time to switch it up.



wondering if anyone could tell me if this is the right size perlite for the 50/50 washed but not screened mix? they have one larger size @ my hydro store but it seems ginormous, not sure what is better..





also, does anyone know how far the bottom of the tailpiece should be from the bottom of the bottom bucket? i understand the air gap theory just wondering how far the tailpiece should be submerged?

good day to all..

Hey bro , from my limited experience, the perlite size seems fine , I mean some of them look like 3/4 sized but they should do fine , mine were bout 1/2 inch and smaller and it worked great , also I remember reading on the older ppk threads that unless you are using the 1 1/2 x8 (factory cut sized ) pipe , you can keep the length cut to within 1 inch from the bottom , good luck bro , FSG.

thanks for that info. i just cut them to ~1.5" from the bottoms. hope it works out

It should be fine , what fertz are you going with ??

jacks, just planning to stick with the 1/.67 ratio for now

alright, got everything put together and planted the clones. mixed up the res @ 550ppm ~1/.70 ratio on the jacks & filled the system last night and let the medium wick overnight. it pH'd to 5.7 with no adjusters needed. the air gap is set at about 4.5" right now.





these clones got left in the aero cloner a little too long so they're starting to cannibalize but i threw some fresh healthy ones in just in case these don't take.







wondering what the watering schedule should be on small clones, i've read a quart/15min, quart/45min, 1.5gal/90mins. i think these are more for older plants. with my 950gph pump i can feed for 1 minute and 20 seconds before the system runs out of solution. i have not measured how much comes out in this time, wondering if i need this information yet?

looking good in there. im just setting up my 12 plant ppk as well. my first ppk was your same style. did 1k in the middle and 600s in the corners. pulled closed to 5.5 pounds. supercrop the fuck out of them. get them branchy as all hell and you will kill it. mine finished up touching the top of the tent and arm to arm width.

Let the clones get stablished before you start flooding , flood once a day that way the roots will spread out and you won't have any deficiencies for having the root zone too wet , good luck bro , FSG.

In the immortal words of Krusty the Klown that brought the 5 light 4 plant setup to weedsites everywhere waaaaaaay back in the day....

Veg till "tit`s high"/around 3' outta the bucket , then pull the trigger to fully encompass each 5 x 5 x 8 cubic ftg area where each plant gets blasted by 3 lights at all times during bloomage.....IOW....

Welcome bro.... but stop wasting electricity and next run slap them bitches up underneath T-5`s or 400 watt MH`s or somethin so they can grow up in a decent timeframe and THEN be exploited while they`re in stretch mode with the big lights.....and why ?......

Horizontal lights as close to the plants as possible without bleaching or scorching , stacks nodes and promotes lateral branching , and when introduced into the bloom room with bare bulbs , the plants immediately explode outward AND upward to fill up as much cu ftg as possible by end of stretch with the proper 50/50 hybrids like we ran back in the day....but....

Vegging with bare bulbs only stimulates sideward growth for the most part with all strains , plus the Indica dominant hybrids that are so popular these days , and once flipped they only continue outward with lil to no vertical stretch , and if that happens , then you might as well be running horizontal reflectors because the vertical stretch is eliminated with yields greatly affected from no plant matter from 5' to the ceilings.....Hell....

D9 himself started with bare bulbs , but is using DE horizontal fixtures as we speak and scrogging each plant underneath it`s own 1KW , and if I had ta guess it`s because he realized although bare bulbs do well with certain strains as I described , for the most part all hybrids are so Indica dominant these days , it`s a waste to utilize sideways light when there`s no plant material up there to benefit.....I could be wrong.....just usually not much.....lol.....and hey....

Not tryin ta tell ya what to do , but rather help ya not make mistakes we did back in the day....and ....there are folks that veg in the same room they flower in , but it wastes time and money IME when you could be using a separate smaller area to keep things perpetual with more crops per yr , but thats just me.....

I ran 4 plant 5 light rooms at multiple locations for a solid decade with a mex /skunk hybrid that hit 8' ceilings every run and pulled 10 lb rooms consistently , but it`s definitely strain related and perfect for the old 50/50 hybrids mostly dead and gone these days....regardless....

If there`s a setup that`ll make ya happy with all but no maintenance and 0 crop failure , it`s the PPK....and ....in a 10 x 10 room , all plants should be 30" out and away from each corner , and each hanging bulb should be 30 " away from the walls and each plant to have everything centered and equidistant in the room....so....

Feed those young'uns gently without overwatering till they grow some legs and.....hope they blast off accordingly.....and....

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

desert hydro, that is inspirational to hear for sure. the most i ever achieved was 6 zips from a plant my first ever grow in a bubble bucket, and never pulled it off again. stayed with dwc & rdwc systems for 5 years trying to master them & just couldn't seem to ever succeed. i certainly gave it my all in that regard, but in hindsight i think i wasted a lot of time & resources. anywho, im here now with the ppk crew and hoping for brighter days. how does one properly supercrop their plants for a ppk style grow? whenever i attempt this technique the place where i pinch seems to just brown & deteriorate and never forms that nice strong knuckle. i must be doing it wrong.

fsg thanks for that information. i didn't know what to set it at last night so i did 45 second feed every 3 hours. hopefully they are ok when i get home. i will make that adjustment.

dhf thank you for viewing my thread. the bulbs ive got are set for 400 strength right now, strangely 1k bulbs were cheaper than 400's & 600's so i just have them dialed down. i want this grow to be 100% optimal, its nothing for me to veg these plants horizontally if you think that's the best way to do it. what you've stated definitely makes sense. im kind of stuck with just 1 room to work with at this house unfortunately but yea veg room + flower room definitely optimal. 2 of the 4 clones are more indica dominated. if indica dominated plants aren't as desirable in this setup, i have 2 more of the more 50/50 blend pheno rooting right now. i want to make any adjustments possible that you think will help.

dhf ive always wanted to give these a try what do you think..?

Parabolics are fine after you`ve got em pre-vegged as long as you can control environment , and the best way that`s been found over the yrs to develop proper un-topped 50/50 plant structure is to take fully rooted cuts and put em directly under 8 bulb T-5`s as close as possible without bleaching or scorching.....then .....

When they need deeper light penetration , swap to the parabolics and trim out all the innards of the lateral limbs away from the main stems at least 8-12" away including sucker branches that branch off to the right and left on main laterals and steal energy away from producing end colas.....then....

Once they`re "tit`s high" , pull the trigger, flip to 12/12 , keep the bare bulbs to just above the top colas and keep em there till end of stretch and watch the plants explode upward and outward with the proper 50/50 phenos.....then.... keep the bottoms of the bare bulbs at the tops of the plants till end of stretch.....and then....

Once stretch is completely over with no more vertical or horizontal branching , drop the bare bulbs down to top of socket at top of plants and start removing the biggest fanleaves gradually until no more are forming , then you know there `s no excess of nitrogen left and plant senescence where the plant starts using it`s stored nutrients follows and end of cycle comes closer.....anyways.....

Holler if I can help and......

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

Dhf. I have read some of your educating posts and i see it still hard to give up all the fun. Awesome you are lending a helping hand.
I have an issue i am hoping i can get a hand with, since your bro dj seems to be done. i have set up his coco tree thread pretty well to a T.
Positive pressure cooling, although have a 4ton aswell. 18x11 #8 flip.
Full coco in 7gal with lava enough to be above the drainage. GH bloom 800ppm. New beans got 4 pheno of super lemonhaze X chernobyl, 18 in total with the stanpipe homedepot 4 line output feeders, autopilot,burner,
Everything and some, spareparts haha. One thing i may have fk'd up is gave them a shot of 9-3-6 dyna as i have downward clawing and slow growth. I am still feeding by hand couple times a day. Looks like nitrogen but the shot was 400ppm, i mean jeeze. Anyhow confusing language from the one pheno looking more indy. Trying to maintain the vpd but when i'm sweating them they curl more so right now i'm going back to cooler until i figure this out. since i have read you saying calmag in coco is just how it is even though should be ok at 5.3 going in but straight coco is my first time. At this moment i flushed the shit out if them about a week ago and kept watering as needed with r/o and not a flaw in color but clawing on the one pheno and slow with all of them, well they are dark so the flaw. My question is could the claw although nitrogen typical be a cal defficiency or possible P. I use to read you and the clown back in the day along with noone and always wanted to try the trees but was a 1gal table kind of guy because of my height but now i gotter all and trying little trees. Have run a couple already hand bombing 5gal hempy's but my end result was a bit black. Alot of nice size i turned into concentrate because. I had a co2 at night issue because of flip and salt build up i figure because of the wet/dry coco cut with perelite. The co2 thingy i have dealt with, with the 8" positive pressure autopilot awesome controller, highly recommended boyz. But with all the goodies i am suckin ass WTF! Lol appreciate your time bud if you got it. I can shoot ya pic if need be. I just started given the gh 800 5.3 and cooled down which drops it all of coarse, i got the foggers but they should be able to handle it now, which they have been not transpiring the way they should for 70 plus r/h. They are cool but filling up when it get's up there and start to close up. Wet legs and arms?? Obviously not an issue for you

Oldfashioned said:

Dhf. I have read some of your educating posts and i see it still hard to give up all the fun. Awesome you are lending a helping hand.
I have an issue i am hoping i can get a hand with, since your bro dj seems to be done. i have set up his coco tree thread pretty well to a T.
Positive pressure cooling, although have a 4ton aswell. 18x11 #8 flip.
Full coco in 7gal with lava enough to be above the drainage. GH bloom 800ppm. New beans got 4 pheno of super lemonhaze X chernobyl, 18 in total with the stanpipe homedepot 4 line output feeders, autopilot,burner,
Everything and some, spareparts haha. One thing i may have fk'd up is gave them a shot of 9-3-6 dyna as i have downward clawing and slow growth. I am still feeding by hand couple times a day. Looks like nitrogen but the shot was 400ppm, i mean jeeze. Anyhow confusing language from the one pheno looking more indy. Trying to maintain the vpd but when i'm sweating them they curl more so right now i'm going back to cooler until i figure this out. since i have read you saying calmag in coco is just how it is even though should be ok at 5.3 going in but straight coco is my first time. At this moment i flushed the shit out if them about a week ago and kept watering as needed with r/o and not a flaw in color but clawing on the one pheno and slow with all of them, well they are dark so the flaw. My question is could the claw although nitrogen typical be a cal defficiency or possible P. I use to read you and the clown back in the day along with noone and always wanted to try the trees but was a 1gal table kind of guy because of my height but now i gotter all and trying little trees. Have run a couple already hand bombing 5gal hempy's but my end result was a bit black. Alot of nice size i turned into concentrate because. I had a co2 at night issue because of flip and salt build up i figure because of the wet/dry coco cut with perelite. The co2 thingy i have dealt with, with the 8" positive pressure autopilot awesome controller, highly recommended boyz. But with all the goodies i am suckin ass WTF! Lol appreciate your time bud if you got it. I can shoot ya pic if need be. I just started given the gh 800 5.3 and cooled down which drops it all of coarse, i got the foggers but they should be able to handle it now, which they have been not transpiring the way they should for 70 plus r/h. They are cool but filling up when it get's up there and start to close up. Wet legs and arms?? Obviously not an issue for you

Click to expand...

Hey bro.....too many questions for this thread so start one and I`ll be glad to answer as best I can.....

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

yo dhF,


the detailed breakdown of info is much appreciated. you make it easy to digest Sir, thank you.

i got them vegging under t5 now for a few days.

they're not looking too happy w/ me, got anything to ease the pain..? the settings right now are a 1.5min feed once a day, air gap 4", temp 78f, rh 50%, t5's about 2' away. the feed dishes are heavy as hell, saturated. they don't seem overwatered though. i checked the pH and its 5.8

thinking its maybe from 1.1ec feed needs a bit of acclimation?

maybe you're seeing something im not.

good day to you

forgot pics

Yeah bro , you got some issues.....First off ....get the drip ring away from the mainstem and keep the juice away from it at all times to prevent fusarium/stem rot ....next....

Slow down the feed and let em grow some legs , and drop the lights down closer once they come back , but you`ve got magnesium lockout somehow or another from the interveinal chlorosis and new growth coming out yellow , so it may be due to overwatering or your base nute makeup....

All the PPK guys are using Jack`s hydro 5-12-26 plus Calcium Nitrate with no issues to speak of bro....anyways.....maybe someone else will chime in with some help I`m not seeing.....I ran a single bastardized PPK unit once with 50% chunky perlite and 50% Napa 8822 floor dry with GH nutes cuz it`s all I had access to.....and it worked well....but....

I ve grown a hydro plant or 2 in my day although I wish D9 was around since this is his shit and I`m so sure he could be of more help than me on feed sequences and nutrient ratios.....anyways...

Let em snap outta their funk and start building new foliage and laterals and they`ll get back on track....regardless....Good luck and.....

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

You should be watering every 90 min 24/7 around 1/2 gallon per pulse. You can't full flood the turface perlite combo or your perlite will float and any fines will sink and likely clog the tailpiece. I would pull plants out and remix media equally make sure tailpiece is free flowing. Mane sure their isn't a perlite sludge blockage. The reflectix mulch cover also helps a lot.

Your media is to dry and concentrating salts with your current feast famine watering technique. Your perlite is a little on the large side so with a 50/50 mix I would guess your afp is 40+% meaning it will need frequent feeding.

bloyd said:

You should be watering every 90 min 24/7 around 1/2 gallon per pulse. You can't full flood the turface perlite combo or your perlite will float and any fines will sink and likely clog the tailpiece. I would pull plants out and remix media equally make sure tailpiece is free flowing. Mane sure their isn't a perlite sludge blockage. The reflectix mulch cover also helps a lot.

Your media is to dry and concentrating salts with your current feast famine watering technique. Your perlite is a little on the large side so with a 50/50 mix I would guess your afp is 40+% meaning it will need frequent feeding.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the help.....gets me out of it if you say they`re too dry , but I thought it was a qt every 90 mins.....anyways....

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

yo guys,

pulled each feed pan and hand watered, drainage is good. i went ahead and just watered the whole pans to saturation. i have a feeling my mix has a lot of perlite, when i mixed it i did equal handfuls of perlite then turface and mixed. wondering if that was improper technique? i dug down into all the sites and it's distributed well. changed the schedule as recommended.

appreciate the info, hoping it corrects the issue