[pontiac]

Hi guys! Guess who's bizzack!

Long time no grow, lol. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself for those who don't know me... I'm pontiac; feels like I've been on this forum for as long as I can remember... Oh right, since the collapse of OverGrow. You may have seen my two previous grows (here and here), both of which were done in now defunct setups. You may have also seen my Link-o-Rama thread, which I maintain on a nearly daily basis.

I haven't grown anything in over a year now due to security reasons, but then the coast cleared up, and I was ready to go again... That's until I realized I dismantled and discarded my previous setups (again for security reasons)! So what did I do? Did I just give up my love for growing this divine; sacred plant? Fuck no! I built myself a leaner, meaner; stealthier machine (albeit less powerful).

This setup is a stealth 150w HPS micro cab with Ebb & Flow hydroponics and an integrated mother plant / clone compartment. The strain of choice is "World of Seeds" Mazar Kush Feminized. The cultivation method will be a 10 clone Sea of Green in a floor space of approx. 28" x 14", inside a foot print of 30" x 15".

Anyway, Let's get down to buisness. I'll begin by describing my setup, starting with the materials:

Chasis:
Staples Altra Oak Cabinet - $70
(66" H x 30" W x 15" D Exterior)
(61 1/2"H x 28 3/4"W x 14 1/2"D Interior)
Panda Film - $18
Custom Plywood - $15
Lock-Key Latch - $3

Ebb & Flow Hydroponics:
USplastic.com Fiberglass Tray - $40
Ebb & Flow Fitting Kit - $10
Assorted Growing Media - $25
Non-Toxic Silicone - $7
5 Gal Bucket (Reservoir) - $2
160 GPH Water Pump - $14
1/2" I.D. Tubing - $4
Mechanical Timer - $10

Lighting Main:
FloraLux 150w HPS - $100
Yo Yo Hanger Kit - $15
Digital Timer - $20

Lighting Mother:
3 16w Daylight 5500k CFLs - $10
Light Sockets - $5
Mechanical Timer - $10

Ventilation:
Generic 4" 170 CFM Inline Fan - $90
Solid State Fan Speed Controller - $10
4" Carbon Filter - $50
4" Reflector Flange - $10
4" Ducting - $10
4" 32 CFM PC Fan & AC Adapter - $12

Add $40 worth in miscellaneous expenses:

TOTAL ~ $600

Now that seems ALOT more expensive than my previous setups, but I decided to take a more aesthetically pleasing route, instead of a fiscally conservative one.

Sooo..... enough chit-chat. Lets see some pics!

Btw, I didn't add the cost of nutrients to my balance sheet because I had this set for a while now. Basically the exact same time-tested set I've been using for a few years now:

• Primary Nutrients:
  • General Hydroponics - MaxiGro
  • General Hydroponics - MaxiBloom
• Main Supplements:
  • General Hydroponics - Floralicious Grow
  • General Hydroponics - Floralicious Bloom
  • General Hydroponics - KoolBloom
  • General Hydroponics - Rare Earth
  • Botanicare - AquaShield (Replaces HydroGuard)
  • Botanicare - Clearex
• Buffers:
  • General Hydroponics - pH up
  • General Hydroponics - pH down
• Other Supplements: (Occasionally Used)
  • Maxicrop - Liquified Seaweed
  • Generic - Epsom Salts
  • Generic - Hydrogen Peroxide 3%
  • Milk of Magnesia (pH up Alternative)
  • Lemon Juice Concentrate (pH down Alternative)

Now you may be wondering why I went through the trouble of shoving an entire Ebb & Flow system in such a small cab. Well, I chose Ebb & Flow (the same reasons apply to its sister systems, Drip and NFT) for many reasons:

Firstly, I can control how much water my plants have access too. If ever I need to leave for a long period of time, I can simply reduce the frequency of the flood cycle. This way the solution in the reservoir can be "stretched out" for a much longer time frame than In DWC/SWC.

Secondly, I can arbitrarily choose the number of plants to grow with respect to the size of the tray. This as apposed to DWC/SWC, where my limits are much more restricted.

Thirdly, I can easily convert my Ebb & Flow system into a Drip or NFT when ever I want; it's as simple as connecting a drip manifold to the pump or shortening the drain fitting, respectively.

Lastly... It just looks friggin cool When one thinks of Ebb & Flow, he/she thinks about a large 4' x 4' table under 600w HPS lighting and a 50 Gallon reservoir. It's not something one would expect to find in a small 150w HPS cab with only a 5 gal res and a 30" x 15" foot print.

[pontiac]

-----------------------------------
Mazar Kush Round 1
-----------------------------------
DAY 01 (Transplant DAY 1/7)
≈ 70 DAYS REMAINING UNTIL HARVEST
Avg Height: 1.25", Photoperiod On/Off: 20hrs/4hrs,
Temp In/Out/Res: 86F/79F/71F, Humidity: 51%,
Ph: 5.49, TDS: 416ppm @ 0.5 conversion.
-----------------------------------

06/17/09

Alright! Here we go again!

After finally finishing my cab, I started off by first setting up my calendar. Basically the schedule is like this: 7 days transplant (20/4), 8 days veg (18/6), 56 days bloom (12/12); the harvest deadline should occur around August 26, 2009.

After marking the calendar, I filled the ebb and flow table with medium (basically pre-rinsed hydroton and 4" rockwool grow blocks) and adjusted the pH to 5.5 letting the system run for a few hours to stabilize the rockwool. Then I emptied out the reservoir, cleaned out the sediments and filled it with fresh new water. Finally, I added nutrients (MaxiGro & Floralicious Grow) to a concentration of ~420 ppm and adjusted the pH to ~5.5 again.

Now comes the part I've been waiting for: transferring in the clones. The plugs just slid in to the rockwool cubes, and that's that! Transfer complete. Dropping a little superthrive should make the transfer more painless, but I don't think they'll need it.

The clones look aren't looking that great right now, mainly because of their prolonged duration in the humidome (~4 weeks). I wanted all 10 of them to blast roots before moving them to the HPS; I didn't want an inconsistent sea of green. Basically the clones that rooted early suffered the most because of their thirst for nutrition. However I think they'll all be just fine... except for maybe 1.

Well that's all for tonight. See you next update!

[SirSmokalot]

the return of a legend... what up brother. hope to see ya round more

[one Q]

another high pitched booyaaaaa

[Maj.PotHead]

right on brotha glad to cya back in action

[pontiac]

Well I took down the under construction sign and updated my thread.

SirSmokealot, One Q; Maj. - Thank you so much for stopping by; I hope you stick around for the whole show. I'll be sure to check out what you guys are cooking up as well . Take it easy.

[FirstTimer76]

Truly a fan. TAGGED!!!!!!!!

[C3RTIFI3D]

Very nice setup Looking really good

[C3RTIFI3D]

Looks like there is somthing wrong with your clones :X

[pontiac]

FirstTimer- Thanks for tagging! Hope you enjoy the show. Looking good with your grow btw. :smile:

C3rtifi3d- Thanks for the compliment. The clones are fine; just a little stressed out from their time in humidome (really just an upside down dubbermaid). They should all recover now that they're in the Ebb & Flow.