"Mini PPK Grow" - Jacks 15-12-26 - Coco/Perlite

I am making this edit

because using the term PPM to describe concentration is a scientifically accurate way to discuss concentration in a way that is replicable by the reader without any questions being asked. ",
so long as the conversion factor is ALSO known, i will endeavor to always say what scale.

I think in .5 scale. I talk in ,5 scale. I will still try to add that every time i type "PPM" on the keyboard

but for when i don't

IN THIS THREAD. ANY TIME I TALK ABOUT A PPM AND DONT LIST THE CONVERSTION FACTOR, INSTED OF TRYING TO TEACH ME SOMETHING PLEASE ASSUME I MEANT TO ADD .5 SCALE.

Its me. I know using EC is an unambiguous way to discuss concentration. Telling me again inst going to fix it because i think in PPM when i work, so I write in PPM when i write

give up now. later on you will see the holes I cut in my PPK reservoirs using an exacto knife

they aren't round. the oval isn't really oval. they vary in size from bucket to bucket . Its INTENTIONAL




started some seeds at the beginning of august and now have 5 Mount Cook, 2 NL X BB and 1 Bubble Gum transplanted from solo cups into 1.5 L tupperware containers. from there they will go into 12L Mini PPKs running coco/perlite 50-50

My last trip to the USA i brought back the things I cant get in my country (a years supply of Jacks 15-12-26, Calcinit, 4 more platinum 100w LED lights, assorted odds and ends ) and have been lucky to find (locally)imported chinese pond pumps and the rest that i need to build the PPK sites.

Last grow, in one tent I ran 1000w (actually draw) of Mars and Mars II LED lights (4 300w Mars, 1 900w Mars II) and the results amazed me. TIGHT buds, LOTS of trichomes.

so for this grow I am adding 4 Platinum p100s,another 400w (actual) to the Amare 350w UVB that i have in the other tent now. 750w actual draw.

I am going with 12L plastic trash cans , with 1.5" tailpieces, sitting on 5 gallon buckets (the reservoirs) with lids. each site has its own res, there is no main res. i figure 5 gallon res should be good for at least ten days, then I will mix new if i have to. Using a 5 gallon res means i can get 5 in a 1 meter square tent... 3 of the plants i started were feminized, the other 5 are regular.... I am hoping for 6 females. but 5 will do. should would three, my hempies averaged almost 3 ounces per 12L last time, I hope I get 25% more (average 4 zips per bucket) with PPKs, but could get 5 or 6 oz. per mini PPK easily i think, provided i don't screw up

And with jacks, i haven't been screwing up. shit just works. no need to add calcium or magnesium when using coco - PH stable- complete..... no need for other additives unless i want to try some

Since i am not using a large main res, i won't save money on nutrients (over hand watering) but growth should be phenomenal ... coco perlite PPKs are often fed as often as every 90 minutes. This keeps the root zone very well oxygenated, and since there really is very little evaporation and the coco isn't drying out the salts won't build up in the coco

i earned the following reading several other PPK grows.... and decided i have to try it

PPks are a recirculating system. the medium container has a tube 1.5" in diameter coming out of the bottom of the bucket with a screen on the end. its filled with medium. this tailpiece extends into a reservoir under it and provides three functions
1. its the drain for the medium container
2. it can wick moisture into the medium container in the even of a pump or timer failure
3. it allows the perched water table to be UNDER the bottom of the medium container, which means the rest of the medium (n the container) properly drains and the roots can use ALL the medium in the container, not just the medium above the perched water table.

no need for air pumps - feeding every 90 minutes adequately oxygenates the mix, no need for chillers, this isn't DWC. its really just top feed recirculating coco/perlite.

next grow i will run each PPK "satellite" from a main res.

so, i have the plants. I have installed a frame with pond liner to form a retention pond under each tent - in case of a big leak, to protect my rented apartment floor and the apartment below me

and as a test i have fitted tailpieces to a few of the medium containers. I used a soldering pencil and melted a big hole and jammed the tailpiece through it, and it holds well without any other retainers.
I am using these tailpieces

Peerless Kitchen Drain Tailpiece Pipe PRL083 1-1/2" OD x 6" Garbage Disposer NEW

The pumps all arrived, and a test showed they have the capacity to give a fast flood feed in about 15 seconds.

and the other odds and ends (plumbing fittings, etc) are arriving from our Ebay equivalent MercadoLibre.

I am still building the controller panels - since i am running 5 sites per tent, there are 5 pumps, and 5 cables to the 5 pumps, hooked to 5 cheap (chinese, 10 dollar cycle timers. decided to put all that in one panel per tent. these cycle timers are great once you figure out the chinese instructions and wiring diagrams. on and off times are both settable in seconds, minutes or hours. The pump on time is measured in seconds. off time in minutes

using one of these controllers per mini PPK
AC220V Programmable Time Delay Relay DH48S-S With Socket Base
Not available in argentina so I brought a few extra, though I have never seen one of these fail.

and one of these pumps

Bomba Sumergible Rs-932 820 L/h 1.6m - Envíos A Todo El Pais - $ 325,00
(thats 325 argentina pesos. 15 pesos to the US dollar, about 100% more than they would cost in USA, but still only 22 bucks each, and replacements are available here in Argentina)

i will post some pictures as i go along, because right now there isn't anything to see

I still have a couple weeks before the plants will need transplanting again, so plenty of time. Hand watering for now, happy that I after switching to PPKs, I won't be watering a dozen Hempy buckets by hand carrying them to the kitchen EVER AGAIN

now that's how one is supposed to start a thread.. now i'll read it..

three weeks old, more or less, all photos. I have grown for a number of years, and this time i changed how i am doing seedlings

i used t he paper towel method... in plastic solo cups. not big ones... not tiny. As soon as i say there were getting established, i started increasing the nutrient strength 50 PPM a day, and i started drowning them with base nutes WAY before i would have even thought possible before.

It was an interesting change, i proved something that i had read on an other board. with coco-perlite, if you think you have overwatered, water again. This oxygenates the root zone. I had a very young plant looking unhappy, as though it was over-watered . In the past i would have waited until the coco dried out more (this also will oxygenate the root zone). This time I doused it again. It perked right up.

the problem with letting the coco dry is that the plant stops growing while its unhappy and it is stressed because the root zone is poorly oxygenated (until the coco dries out some). Hitting it again fixed the problem almost immediately, the plant wasn't stressed for as long, and its growth kept up with the other plants (that had never appeared to be over watered)

these were transplanted at about two weeks of age into tupperware containers (1.5 liter) , then that (mostly see though) container is nested into another, that has been taped to prevent the roots from getting light. To check root development I just slide the inner one (with coco and plant) out of the outer, and the roots are visible thru the plastice sides. Both containers have a number of holes in the bottom for drainage.... medium is Cocotek Coco (compressed block) and moderately chunky perlite - 50-50 pre or less

these are:

5 Kiwi - Mount Cook - regular - i hope three females. even 1 would be nice

2 World Of Seeds - Northern Lights x Big Bud Feminized

1 TH Seeds - Bubblegum Femananized

so if i get one or two female Mount Cook plants, at least one tent will be full with 4 or 5 plants in flower. Additional female mount cooks, will go in the second tent. Here, its not much of a problem not having a tent full to capacity since electricity is still very inexpensive here. I hope to average 4 ounces per PPK, though certainly a lot more is possible. My first try with PPKs, so i am keeping my expectations realistic ...

this grow is intentionally smallish, i am managing each mini-ppK separately, there is no shared reservoir to make management less troublesome. Next grow, If i decide to, I can convert to having a central reservoir for each tent. For now, each mini PPK will have its own private reservoir under the plant . topping off and reservoir changes all done on a "per PPK" basis. I hope to get ten days between full res changes. It could be longer, i don't know.

I may NOT convert to central reservoirs, doing so makes it harder to run a perpetual grow. If i obtain more feminized seeds, i might go perpetual with mini-ppks. Using mini-ppks means each plant could have a different blend of nutrients depending on stage of growth, or depending on the requirements of each strain.

Next grow, to convert from Mini PPKs to a "normal" PPK system all i would have to do is
1 remove the individual pumps from each 5 gallon site reservoir,
2. add drain lines to each 5 gallon reservoir and connect to main reservoir
3. add a larger pump to the main reservoir and plumb the feed lines and control valves.
4. add the top off reservoir and connect to float valve in the main res.

i wrote this three days ago

I am pumped today!!!

did my first test of my Mini PPK....the mini PPK pumps put out a liter of water in 5 seconds, so they are neither too powerful nor are they not powerful enough.

this nice thing about PPKs is that the idea is different than most hydro systems. The reason the reservoirs don't need to be oxygenated is that it isn't the feed mix that provides the oxygen, its the style of feeding. . The medium container fills rapidly and then the pump cuts off, the fluid in the media drains out the 1.5 " tailpiece (and it does so REALLY fast) , the tailpiece is 6" long and has a screen over the end and extents into the 5 gallon reservoir below the pot. The 5 gallon bucket reservoirs will be filled to within three inches of the top.

... the 1.5 inch tailpiece drains the bucket so fast that there is 100% gas replacement, the fluid pouring thru the tailpiece sucks air from the top of the medium completely thru the medium

with coco/perlite, a mini PPK should be fed every 1.5 to 2 hours.... thats a COMPLETE gas replacement many times a day. roots like lots of oxygen , and plants really respond to having a healthy and well developed root system.

its not like the systems that i have used in the past. there is no need to chill the reservoir to keep O2 levels as high as possible.

the next post, i will post picts of this "testbed" mini-PPK. no plants in it yet, though they will be big enough in a week to put into the PPKs. SO now, I am just making sure everything works, nothing leaks, timing the flood, etc

the plants are in 1.5 liter DTW ... they are about a month old, and have been topped, and i am going to do a little LST to provide more colas, but i hope not to do extreme LST as i have done in the past. i am trying to cut down the work, and i think these mini PPKs are the way to get there. I get an average of 3 oz per small hemp bucket plant, if i can get that average higher with PPKs , with less labor i will have achieved most of my goals

but one of the goals is to never run out of weed. so i would hope i can get from 6 mini PPKS, the same yield i got from ten hempies. to do that i have to average 5 zips per plant.... maybe not on the first grow but i have more than half a kilo remaining from my last grow, and i am the only one who smokes it (pretty much) so i have time to learn this PPK stuff.

and wrote this one today













the two mini-PPKs are getting 1.5 liters of Jack's 15-12-26 at 600 PPM (.5 scale) every 90 minutes. I have leica rock to help limit the fruit flies, and to spread the flow of the drip rings. The pumps deliver 1.5 liters through those drip rings in ten seconds, The idea being the fast delivery helps oxygenate the root zone, as that slug of water moves down to the drain (the white tailpiece in the photos) it will pull fresh air in behind it, providing 100% gas exchange 18 times a day.

1.5 liters of feed in that 10 liters of coco saturates it COMPLETELY but not so much that the coco and perlite start floating.

the tailpiece is 100% chunky perlite, and there is about 3/4 in of perlite in the bottom of the bucket - not a reservoir, it drains much faster than the coco/perlite does thru the same drain. this thin layer of perlite is covered with screen, to help keep the perlite under it from getting clogged by migrating coco., then above that screen is coco/chunky perlite 50-50

So the bucket fills to 100 percent saturation in ten seconds, and is pretty much drained in about 5 minutes

As is to be expected, there is absolutely no sign of overwatering - overwatering is really "under oxygenating" and this setup gets PLENTY of fresh Oxygen. There is no need whatever to let it dry out between feedings. This is full on active hydro, and so far I love what i am seeing...

the one i transplanted planted first just two days ago has grown about an inch, and it has received 27 liters of water in the first two days. that just about 5 gallons a day..... in about 2.5 gallons of coco/perlite

when i said 600 PPM, its really 550 PPM (.5 scale) thats just for the jacks.. total mix on that ppm started at 950

after three days, the first ppm PH dropped from 5.8 to 5.5, PPMs increased by 50

checked the res, it needed about a liter, added a liter of 7.4 PM, 170 PPM tap water... and now its 5.8 and it dropped 50 PPM

back to where i started.

looking good. liking this

and wow the plants are really liking it.... they responded within hours.... and took off growing.

sorry..... i keep forgetting i have a .667 meter.... in the future i'll convert everything to .5 scale. i had been inconsistent on that in earlier posts.

my mix is 550 PPM jacks, 170 PPM tap water. sulfuric acid for PH down. a light does of agsil

total was 712 PPM on a .5 scale. after three days the res went up 37 PPM, PH down to 5.5


next res change will be 600 PPM jacks

Snook said:

now that's how one is supposed to start a thread.. now i'll read it..

Click to expand...

gee thanks snook!

you guys have been SO helpful!!!!!!!!!

a wealth of knowledge here on this form. Highly technical, many times, that suits me

i had been hanging out on another forum, but i am learning that this forum suits me better

70 dollar 5 channel cycle timer. i tend not to buy very much from grow stores and websites unless i am forced.

this is just the control panel.... next post i will show it and the outlet panel mounted on the outside of the tent

all very nice! thank you for trying this! you are well organized and have skills so this should all work out fine! best of luck!

delta9nxs said:

all very nice! thank you for trying this! you are well organized and have skills so this should all work out fine! best of luck!

Click to expand...

i could never have done this without your help, and the help of other PPK growers on this forum!


i've been growing a while. since i was 18. in 1969. And I'm a DIY-er, as was always required before all the expensive goodies started showing up.

was a dirt guy for a long time when i had houses.

so Now i am in a rented apartment in Buenos Aires -

did hempies for a while most recently, using jacks, but didn't have a way to protect the floors and the apartment below me, so to feed i was carrying to the kitchen sink. that sucked. Even without the hand carrying to the kitchen, hand watering is just a bummer for me.

I had been watching your threads, and when you said coco/perlite is a good blend for PPKs thats when i realized my hempy/jacks experience would make a transition easy. I was already 'flood feeding' because i knew it would oxygenate better. So i knew how coco perlite floated - but that stops pretty much once there are enough roots.

i have to say the missing picts on some threads was a problem, but then i finally understood (the part i didn't get for a wile is the top off reservoir... the float in a box to control rate of flow into the main res.

cant get those floats here in argentina.... and mailing things here is just a drag... i should have thought ahead when i was in USA last time... maybe a horse supply place here would have something, but those floats are usually designed to operate with 40 pounds of water pressure.

so far looking good. the plants are still small, i fear these small reservoirs are going to be a hassle one they are larger

its amazing how well its working so far... the growth rates take off within a day of being transplanted...

and i always grow from seed, so I like the faster growth in veg. I'll be LST-ing, and i am interested to see what this switch to PPK does to yields. My plants were not large in hempies, yet getting an average of 3oz per plant was pretty straightforward... pot size hasn't changed, i sure hope i see 4 per plant once its dialed in. Later grows i expect will have even better results

again thanks - this is an amazing way to grow. Besides the theory of it, and the growth rate and ease, I am much happier fiddling with meters, than i am hand watering.

this is the controller and outlet panel hanging on the side of the tent, on the outside. each timers outlet has an on off switch

total DIY. has 5 separate cycle 5 timers - 10 U$D each on eBay.

one of these for each tent

"pumped" you say! yes, sir, I'll agree... pumped.


you just typed, in one day, not to mention the all pics taken, more that I do ina week! That's not criticism RB, its awe. maybe you use voice recognition??
not to mention everything looks great and sounds solidly set up.

that last photo was taken at a crazy handle, the wood 'L' on which everything is mounted has a counterweight, or it would fall forward and off the tent, the counterweight is a piece of 1x4 that extends across the tent, the exhaust fan sits on top of that. Putting it on TOP of the tent frees room inside, in the top of the tent so i can get the lights as high as possible.

i am expecting LARGE plants this grow (due to the switch to PPK).... my last few grows i didn't want the plants too big since i was hand carrying the to the kitchen to feed.

that's a lot of work with hempies..... they like to be fed at least once a day

Snook said:

"pumped" you say! yes, sir, I'll agree... pumped.


you just typed, in one day, not to mention the all pics taken, more that I do ina week! That's not criticism RB, its awe. maybe you use voice recognition??
not to mention everything looks great and sounds solidly set up.

Click to expand...

most of the burst of posts came from a thread on another forum where NOBODY is doing PPK that i can find. better to get more active here, i've gotten more help on this forum in the last month than I've gotten EVER on the other forum.

ALL kinds of weird stuff over there, growers trying new stuff, but basically re-inventing the wheel (in some threads) when it came to learning to grow in coco/perlite.

And arguments over whether coco/perlite with hydro nutes is hydro, or something else (guy told me its soilless, so how could it be hydro. soilless is yet something else. not hydro, and not soil

then i copied and pasted a text book description of hydro (summary: all nutes from the water, not the medium), and said in hydro when you DO have a medium, its ALWAYS soil-less, if had has soil in the medium , the soil has nutrients, so its not hydro.

wow did he flame me. threatened to report my post to the moderator for dispensing inaccurate info, and get me banned.

Offering advice in some of those forums WAS NOT APPRECIATED if it conflicted with the notions of the creator.

so basically i am not hanging there any more. I need actual functioning human brains around me.

so i truly hope this thread, my first one on this forum, doesn't have any sh*t storms - i remember overgrow.com...... been there done that two times now.

i feel cozy and welcome here.

Ravenboy said:

gee thanks snook!

you guys have been SO helpful!!!!!!!!!

a wealth of knowledge here on this form. Highly technical, many times, that suits me

i had been hanging out on another forum, but i am learning that this forum suits me better

Click to expand...

It will get harder and harder to go back to those other sites, RB, even to visit. GL.


EDIT: 3 more posts and you can receive PMs!! GO,GO,GO

4 days running on the first PPK i built out..... still looking perfect.

i have to admit, this would have to be harder if it wasn't that jacks is SO PH stable.

plants are really taking off. and i am hardly working, just watching the timers fire, if i am home, making sure no leaks, and monitoring PH and PPM, and making sure there nothing happening that i did not anticipate.

I am waiting on 4 more 5 gallon buckets for reservoirs. i didn't order all 8, the security guard would wonder what i am doing with all the buckets. have to be discrete - and the plants to go in these PPKs need a few more roots first, i like the coco to hold together



when asked about anything that comes here, i say i got a good deal, so i am offering for sale online ..... (everything that comes in the front door with me is in boxes, except the 5 gallon buckets )