Monkey Juice Test Run (Pure Coco)

This is my first run with coco, and so far it has been a blast. I started this thred over at another forum, but thought I'd bring it over here to share. Here it is in its current form........


Well....It's been real hard to find any info on the web about this stuff, and the only stuff I read about it wasn't very good, so I thought I would give it a shot, and see if I can do it some justice. I still got some time before I get things started, but I wanted to share a little info of whats to come. Here is the complete lineup of what will be ran in my res, and also what I will be using to grow my medicinal crop in.

Monkey Juice Bloom A&B
Mother Earth Tea Bloom
G.E. Humic Acid
G.E. Fulvic Acid
B52
Barricade
Carbo Load
Sensizym
Hammerhead

For my medium, I will be using a very coarse coco made by sunleaves. The stuff has a starting ph of 5.9, and has about 600ppm's of tds. The stuff will be flushed, and then soaked with a light dose (250ppms) of the above fertilizers before planting. The strains will be Gumbolt, Trainwreck, Lavender, and Strawberry Cough as of right now. This might change tho once I get everything rolling. Containers will be 2 gallon squar pots, and there will be 15 in a 2x4 tray. Watering will be done with a recirculating drip setup, with a 18 gallon res for the nutes. They will get 5 - 3 min. waterings each 12hrs of light, and a res change every week. Hopefully the coco will not conflict with the tds in the res, and if so, some adjustments will have to be made in the watering schedule.

This is all kind of uncharted territory for me, as I have always been an organic soil grower (with little hydro experience), but I got a really good deal on the nutes, and the guy at my local shop wanted some input from growers about the monkey juice, so he gave me some to try out. If you guys see any holes in my gameplan, please feel free to drop in, and set me straight. I will still be running my soil garden along side, but I have been really wanting to do a hydro setup for some time now. So if things start to get ugly............ at least I can say I tried. Here are a few pics of the products.

I planned on using the Hammerhead in place of the Big Bud, and Overdrive. I noticed that its a replacement for Canna's P-K 13/14, so it seemed right to use it in a pure coco run. Here is a little experiment I did to see if the ppm's would add up like the calculater using the hammerhead in stead of the others. Its based off the Monkey Juice Bloom light feeding schedule. Week 4 maxes out at 1200 ppms, so I wanted to try and get close to that with the products that I have using the rates from the calc.

(all mixed at rates for 1 gallon of water)

Monkey Juice Bloom A&B - 690 ppm
Mother Earth Tea Bloom - 755
G.E. Humic Acid - 756
G.E. Fulvic Acid - 765
B52 - 935
Barricade - 965
Carbo Load - 965
Sensizym - 966
Hammerhead (@1ml/L) - 1080
Hammerhead (@2ml/L) - 1190

I might have to feed them more or less depending on how they're growing, but I will just use this as a base to start with. The numbers are right on the money tho, so hopefully things will move along smoothly. More to come soon....

Well, it took me a little more waiting then I wanted to, but I finally got my coco setup going. I am vegging them right now in 3.5 inch containers for 10 days, then they will be put in the above setup to flower in. So far so good, they look awsome, and are growing really fast. The roots are super white and fuzzy, and are growing out of control. I am treating these kind of like a hydro setup, and right now they get watered 6 times a day for 5 min. I started my ppm's at around 250, and have now stepped up to about 500. More pics to come as this starts movin along, and hopefully I can do the Monkey Juice some justice (since there is much to say on the net about it).

Here are a few pics of my veg setup that I constructed out of a oil drain pan bought at wallmart ($9.00), a 66gph submersable pump ($6.00), drip lines and stakes (15@ .75 cents), 1/2 inch rubber tube (leftovers). The whole setup cost around $20.00, and was very easy to construct. The oil drain pan holds 2 1/2 gallons of water, which is plenty for the little plants. I will post pics of the setup after I move them to the flowering chamber........

Update!!!

Update!!!

Got my table built, tray mounted, flushed my coco, hooked up my drippers and pump, and got all my girls transplanted last night. They are all lookin lovely. From rooted clone, these were only vegged for 9 days, and the growth is amazing. Some are close to 12 inches tall, from a 4 inch clone. Got my first weeks nutes mixed up, and the starting ppm's are at 775, and ph is at 5.8. Hopefully they will enjoy their new bloom food, and continue to perform like they have been so far. I left out the inoculants (Piranaha, Tarantula, and Voodoo Juice), as I didnt want to overpopulate my res, and have too much ph imbalances. Here are some pics of the new setup, along with some more roots from transplant.


I am gonna be watchin' my girls very closely for this one, and hopefully I will not run into too many problems. On with the pics

6 days into flowering, and I am blown away. The speed of growth on these girls is unreal to me. I'm thinkin it has alot to do with the airation of the medium, and the watering frequency. I just hope I have room for them under my lights. So far the res has been staying pretty consistant and the ph had drifted up slightly, but they will be getting a res change in a couple days and I think the coco does a better job handling the ph swings over clay or rockwool.

I also upgraded my drip setup for better coverage of the water. The surface of the coco seemed to be drying out way too fast, so I drilled little holes in some 1/4 drip line, and encircled it around each plant. That way the coco has more points for moisture, then just one small 1/8th inch drip line. It is working like a charm, and I also included a pic of the new drip setup. I still have a long way ahead, and hopefully they will keep their health so I can put on a good show for you guys. Thanks for stoppin in, and more to come soon.

Here's a few more pics, of the girls at week 1. Just changed the res today, and bumped up the ppm's to 950 to start out week 2. The ph is set at 5.8, and they are lookin very good. I would also like to note that I have yet to experience any problems with floaters in my res, as I have seen others report on. I am using everything on the 2+ (Monkey Juice) program minus the big bud, benificials (voodoo, piranah, and tarantula), and sensizym (for now, ran out.... ). Res was nice and clean when I emptied it other then a little bit of a slimy film which I cleaned out b4 refilling. But everything is moving along, and the girls seem to be loving their new setup.

yep def a tidy setup mo budz, cant wait to see it turn out mo budz

Hey Mo budz,

that's a wicked looking setup you have put together. really cool to see how the monkey juice does. the plants look very happy, they are showing that typical coco speed.

one thing you might want to consider, is keeping the res ph from raising too much. i would try and keep it from going above 6.1 just add a few drops of ph minus every few days.

great work, can't wait to see them in 6 weeks.

Mo Budz said:

I planned on using the Hammerhead in place of the Big Bud, and Overdrive. I noticed that its a replacement for Canna's P-K 13/14, so it seemed right to use it in a pure coco run. Here is a little experiment I did to see if the ppm's would add up like the calculater using the hammerhead in stead of the others. Its based off the Monkey Juice Bloom light feeding schedule. Week 4 maxes out at 1200 ppms, so I wanted to try and get close to that with the products that I have using the rates from the calc.

(all mixed at rates for 1 gallon of water)

Monkey Juice Bloom A&B - 690 ppm
Mother Earth Tea Bloom - 755
G.E. Humic Acid - 756
G.E. Fulvic Acid - 765
B52 - 935
Barricade - 965
Carbo Load - 965
Sensizym - 966
Hammerhead (@1ml/L) - 1080
Hammerhead (@2ml/L) - 1190

I might have to feed them more or less depending on how they're growing, but I will just use this as a base to start with. The numbers are right on the money tho, so hopefully things will move along smoothly. More to come soon....

Click to expand...

Very nice setup you got there, you are going to be happy with the nutes you have, i am using the same nutes minus the fulvic and humic, i use the LK instead and dont be afraid to be aggressive with the A+B monkey juice, i also add some cal mag plus every other watering, the hammerhead will sure beef up your buds and add lots of frost, below is my thread to a couple of grows using the same nutes as above. Also you should add voodoo juice very awesome stuff!!

Doublegum in coco with AN nutes

THSeeds Honeymoon in coco

Thanks guys for all the good vibes. These girls will be getting a nute change tonight, and I will be snapping some more pics of them at day 14 of flowering.

Slickster, I have these babies growin under a 1000w hortilux right now, and they are soakin it up to the fullest.

Thanks for the advise Gaiusmarius. I have been starting my ph at 5.8 with each res change, but it has been drifting up throughout the week. The highest it has been gettin up to b4 I added some ph down was 6.4, so hopefully thats not too high. That is one thing that I am trying to figure out is the ph drift because it does move up pretty quickly, but for the first few days after the res change it floats around 6.2. But at the rate they are growing, I can handle a little ph flux if it pays off in the end.

Mojo, thanks man for the info. I picked up a bottle of some sensi-cal, and used it at 1/2 strength at the end of week 1. Keepin that stuff around just in case any def's show up. I have also been thinkin about tryin out that Liquid Karma instead of the Humic and Fulvic. Have you noticed any real improvements with the stuff?

Thanks again guys, and I will have more to show by tomarrow.

"I drilled little holes in some 1/4 drip line, and encircled it around each plant. That way the coco has more points for moisture, then just one small 1/8th inch drip line. It is working like a charm"


As Borat would say... Nice!!!

I hope you don't get pissed and sue me when you see the same technique showing up in some of my pics soon???

2 weeks in..........

2 weeks in..........

Never man, thats what this site is for. I hope it works well for you, and if you need any pointers, I can snap some closer pics to show ya.

Here they are at day 14. I just changed the res, and remixed the nutes to 1000ppm's, and 5.7ph to start. My recirculating pump in my res took a shit on me, and was clogged full of tiny pieces of coco that slipped by into my res (was a cheap 66gph pump with no filter). My main pump has a filter bag on it, so there was no problems there, and I got a new pump in keepin the water movin. The ph in my res has been drifting upwards pretty fast, and it settles out around 6.2 to 6.4. I'm thinkin it's comin from the runnoff of the coco back into the res, but so far I havnt noticed any harm. They are jammin, and have already caught up to my soil plants next to them(which are 16 days older). I cant wait untill they start packin on some weight. Here are some pics of their growth in week 2.

Lookin great Budz, if i were you i would stick to the humic and fulvic and try ad i lil 1/4 or 1/2 strength Liquid Karma, they removed all the Humics and Fulvics out and put in in the Pure Blend Pro which are 7 % humics. LK used to read 20 % humic acids , it now reads 0.01 humics, just thought id give ya a heads up on that.

Looks graet bro lookin forward to some buds!

peace

bonz

PS. Your plants are jammin right now , i woudnt switch from the acids to the LK, No, way Jose! If it aint broke dont fix it.






>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nam myoho renge kyo>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Awesome setup! I can't believe how smooth this show is running... it is like you really have done this before! Crazy!

yes indeed, looking real good MoBudz

as long as the ph stays below 6.5 you should be fine. maybe it's drifting up because of your tank mixing pump? i have known aerated tanks do the same thing, the phosphoric acid (ph minus) evaporates. maybe have it come on only a few minutes before watering time? just an idea, could be totally wrong. what's the return ph by the way?

Thanks bonzo for the advice, I will definentally stick with what I have been usin this time around.

Indica Sativa, tell me about it bro. This stuff has been amazing me. I have been growing organically in soil for years, and have learned to read my ladies pretty well. This is almost easier then my soil grows. Everything is much more precice as too what I'm feedin them, whereas the organics take more time to break down, and arnt quite as consistant. Dont get me wrong, I love my OG nugz, and will never give em up, but if the coco keeps growing like it is now, there will always be a spot in my garden for it.

Hey gaius, ya I have been having thoughts about that myself. I am running that mixer pump plus an airstone 24/7. I just put the mixing pump on a timer, and am gonna mess around with that to see if it helps my ph a little. My runnoff is almost identical to what goes in, but it slowly raises over the week. What I'm thinkin tho, is that starting down at 5.7, and letting it rais to 6.4 during the week will make more nutrients available to me at different ph ranges. Just a thought....Thanks again for the input, and believe me it is all much appreciated. Good growing.

Checking EC and PH in Coco

Checking EC and PH in Coco

MB - When are you checking the runoff? I read on one of Canna's information postings that it should be checked at the first runoff.

I don't know if you need it but this might help someone.......


Taken from Canna's "Everything you ever wanted to know about CANNA COCO COCO"

Canna measuring method...

The most reliable method for measuring the nutrient levels in COCO is using the
1: 1.5 extraction method. EC and pH of the root environment can be determined by using this method. The pH and
EC of the drain water generally deviates from the actual root situation, as COCO is able to retain and release
elements.
1) Take a sample of COCO from the slabs or pots (photo 1). This can be done with a soil core sampler or a trowel.
To get a representative sample the COCO must be collected from as many places as possible.
2) Collect the sample in a bowl and determine whether it contains the right amount of moisture. The COCO has
the right amount of moisture if moisture disappears between your fingers when you squeeze it (photo 2). Add
demineralised water if necessary and mix the COCO.
3) Take a 250 ml measuring jug and fill it with 150 ml of demineralised water. Add COCO to the 250 ml mark (photo
3). Fully mix and allow the slurry to settle for at least two hours.
4) Mix again and measure the pH
5) Then filter this material and measure the EC.
A 1:1.5 analysis can best be done after 3 to 4 weeks. The target values for EC are between 1.1 and 1.3, for the pH,
between 5.3 and 6.2.
Very high EC values increase the risk of burning symptoms. To limit the risk of burning symptoms, the COCO can be
rinsed with acidified water (pH 5.8: acidify with CANNA pH - growth).


I can post the whole thing if anyone wants it..

Cali-

Thanks for that info cali. Do you have a link to that? I did a test to the coco strait from the brick using that same method, but I was thinkin about tryin some from my containers to see where there at now. I pre-flushed my coco like crazy b4 I planted, and the water I used had a ph of aroun 6.6 (straight from the tap). Next time I flush, I think I will do a final soad of some water ph'd at around 5.7. Thanks again man.

No problem MB....I posted the info as a topic.. "Everything you ever wanted to know about CANNA COCO"

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=49771


It is a good read and is reliable info.

Cali-

3 weeks in and still growing....

3 weeks in and still growing....

Here are my babies at 21 days into flowering. They are starting to knot up a bit now, and I just added some hammerhead into the res for this next week. I have noticed a very slight ammount of tip burn, so I flushed my coco with 15 gallons of ph'd water, and then remixed my res to a tds of around 900 this time, and a ph of 5.5 (since my ph was climbing up a little high last week). The growth in this setup is more amazing then anything I have done before. Damn sativa dominent strains gonna hit my ceiling before there done..... . Hopefully their vertical growth is slowing, and their horizontal growth will start jammin....Got my guard pup in training too....