[datal4b]

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..

[FakeSunGrower]

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.

[datal4b]

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

[FakeSunGrower]

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

[datal4b]

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

[datal4b]

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?

[Desert Hydro]

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.

[FakeSunGrower]

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.

[DunHav`nFun]

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..........

[datal4b]

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.