IC's Grower Consumer Reports

[smurfin'herb]

This is a thread for the growers, by the growers. This is where the products that we use/have available to grow with get the reputation they deserve. Basically, If you absolutley love a product, give it a good rep, and if you agree with someone, be sure to quote the post u agree with so theres no confusion. Same deal if you hate a product! Be sure to briefly explain why you feel the way you do about the product. You can also throw out a heads up, or a specific piece of info about a product that could prove handy in having prior knowledge before purchase. Be sure to type the all the info for the product possible to avoid confusion, because some products can be VERY VERY similar, and there may be only a small difference that sets them apart. Hopefully this thread will help people from making the wrong decisions at the hydro store or on the internet when purchasing supplies. Cut back on the headaches a lil, ya know! Please try to list the products in bold

Ill go first obviously.....

Rubbermaid stock tanks..http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N

If you are going to use rubbermaid stock tanks for reservoir, make sure to seal the entire bulkhead drain part with epoxy or silicon. Why? cuz water leaks thru the threaded fitting AND through the plastic ring that seals the part where the fitting screws in. I learned this the hard way. I still give it a good rating thos cuz even with the mod work, its still cheaper than buying a pre fab rez.

Active Air wall mount osc. fans

Do not buy Active Air osc. wall mount fans. They sqeak and whine and are very annoying, i have 2 and they both do the same thing. I also own an air king osc. wall mount, and it works great!!

Merlin Garden Pro..http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=G

The garden hose attachment to the merlin garden pro r/o machine is made of cheap plastic (unlike hydro-logic stealth), and it has already stripped and leaks after 2 times of taking it on and off of the sink. The unit is also spitting out 150 ppm.

Merlin Garden Pro electronic shutoff kit..http://images.google.com/imgres?img...kit&hl=en&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=G

F.Y.I., If you are planning on buying the electric shut off kit, it it designed to only fit on resrvoirs with a hard lid! Ok... I use stock tanks and i cut the tops off of 50 blue gal drums also, which have no lids, so i always use lids made from poly. Wish i knew that info before hand. But i will keep yall upadated bout this merlin stuff, but for right now, ive spent 750 bucks and im not happy! I am also working on a design on how to mount the shut off kit on the side of the rez instead of on top, so i will let ya know bout that too.

Well lets see where this goes... anyone....?

 

[Haps]

Do not buy Brinks brand digital timers - the batteries to not hold the program you set through a power outage, or even a momentary fluxuation, that you would not even notice.

Do not use aquarium power heads in reses under twenty gallons, unless you need to add heat.
H

 

[smurfin'herb]

Update on the merlin. I talked to someone, and they told me to check the o rings on the r/o membranes and make sure they werent cracked, and they werent. Then told me to run the machine for 15 min and then check ppm. Went down maybe 10-15ppm. I am still toying with it.
Keep in mind if you are in the market for a merlin, that an electronic shutoff kit for it is 150, and if u need the booster pump its another 350, and if ur really anal, the flush kit is 60 bucks i think. On top of the 600 cost for the merlin!

 

[one Q]

HidHut ballast, middle of its second year. No problems

HTG 400w ballast 2 months in on 16/8 hums like a beaoch. Any advice?

filters-now.com very fast shipping. 3/4" carbon padding for small scrubbers. Works great. It's a big ass sheet so you can make multiple "refills" off the one sheet.
http://www.filters-now.com/products/ffm.html#skipmenu

Rootech clone gel prety good

 

[smurfin'herb]

All sunleaves pumps are poorly designed. The suction cup feet always strip away from the pump when you try to lift it out of the rez. The filter thingy always pops off too!

 

[Phillthy]

not to bust balls but this thread could get really big, really fast and really confusing. How about making it it's own section then having... lighting, hydro, soil, timers, etc... as subsections so we wouldn't have to weed through 400 posts to find a recommendation on a good hood or ballast. Just a thought but I do like this kinda thread!

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I run 6 of the rubbermaids and never had an issue with leaking. I use teflon tape on all the threaded fittings. Once the female fitting cracked along the threads and I had to get a new fitting. I removed the plug and inserted a barbed fitting so I can link 2 reses together

 

[smurfin'herb]

not to bust balls but this thread could get really big, really fast and really confusing. How about making it it's own section then having... lighting, hydro, soil, timers, etc... as subsections so we wouldn't have to weed through 400 posts to find a recommendation on a good hood or ballast. Just a thought but I do like this kinda thread!

Really, ya think? Do i even posess the power to make this thread its own section? I wouldnt even know where to start. Help is appreciated.


Yamaha, lucky u! I noticed most of the leakage through the factory bulkhead threaded piece, even after i wrapped it in plumbers tape. Then i used some resin (lol) and sealed that part up. Then i noticed leakage thru the actual bulkhead frame. (Its the housing part of the bulkhead where the threaded piece screws into). I had this problem with 2 of these, and have read somewhere else that this was a problem for some other people also. But after trail and error, some simple silicon and caulk gun with fix this 100%.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

How did you tighten it? Its hard to tighten those fittings. I used a gripper I have. Its has a plastic handle and a thick rubber band that you wrap around the fitting and turn. Kind of like what they use to remove oil filters on cars or remove lids off jars in the kitchen.


Even if you have to use a 5$ tube of caulk, they are still worth the money. Whats a 100 gallon res from the hydro store cost?

 

[medicine farmer]

just to give my input....elicent inline fans are badass, they are whisper quiet, pull a ton of air, and require no upkeep or maintainance

 

[FreezerBoy]

I have to strongly disagree with the "whisper quiet" comment. I have one of the quietest Elicents available and, quadruple silenced it can be heard across the street at my neighbors door. As long as you can seal the room and lock people out, they can be tamed but, anyone in the room will know it's running and ask why.

That said, I just picked up a pair of "Fiskars Micro-Tip Blades" pruning shears for $10. Just did a marathon 13 hour trim, I love them. Spring loaded to the open position saves at least 50% of the effort regular scissors use. More when the scissors get sticky. No blisters either.

Only cons are: The handles are a little small, The blade lock sometimes slips in operation preventing the shears from closing all the way.



Aw, crap. I thought thumbnails were back. I gotta figure this out. HAH! Got it!

 

[ahhhavalanche!]

S&P TD125 fan = loud

S&P TD125 fan = loud

i picked up an S&P TD125 fan (2 speeds 149 and 197 CFM) based on someones review that its so quiet you cant tell if its on or off... and it is really loud... just redesigned my set up and took off the air funnels on both sides and wrapped it in a box crammed full of sound proofing and it is still loud

 

[smurfin'herb]

Before this gets outta hand, can anyone offer any advice on how i can organize this thread into different sections using the main categories such as, good reviews, bad reviews? Then sub categories being like, fans and ducting, bulbs and reflectors, water related stuff, nutrients, and meters monitors and controllers (oh my!lol). just examples. I need some brainstorming real quick fellas, cuz this info will be very useful to ppl, but not if theres 400 pages of random product reviews. We need a system to keep this info organized!

On another note, is anyone ready to start a f'ing revolution against some of these nutrient manufacturers? How sick are u of buying some nutes and then when they get knocked over, the feed leaks out thru the cap. Ill be the first to say that ADVANCED NUTRIENTS is big fan of this technique! I swear that they engineer the threads on the caps to be "perfectly unperfect"! It feels like a good seal when u cap it, but lo and behold, shit still spills out!!! And im so sick of the freakin gimmicks, i wanna puke! Not just advanced nutriens, but the whole bunch!! Atami has some product called BLING for 200+ dollars per liter, and they say its "bling for your plants" and its "in its own category" AND..... um.......uh..... @ 200/liter the anime chick on the bottle will pop out and give you fellatio upon every use. And that would be the minimum requirement for me to buy that product! lol But seriously we need to organize this.. input, ideas, anything at all, thanks guys/gals!

 

[Phillthy]

Before this gets outta hand, can anyone offer any advice on how i can organize this thread into different sections using the main categories such as, good reviews, bad reviews? Then sub categories being like, fans and ducting, bulbs and reflectors, water related stuff, nutrients, and meters monitors and controllers (oh my!lol). just examples. I need some brainstorming real quick fellas, cuz this info will be very useful to ppl, but not if theres 400 pages of random product reviews. We need a system to keep this info organized!

On another note, is anyone ready to start a f'ing revolution against some of these nutrient manufacturers? How sick are u of buying some nutes and then when they get knocked over, the feed leaks out thru the cap. Ill be the first to say that ADVANCED NUTRIENTS is big fan of this technique! I swear that they engineer the threads on the caps to be "perfectly unperfect"! It feels like a good seal when u cap it, but lo and behold, shit still spills out!!! And im so sick of the freakin gimmicks, i wanna puke! Not just advanced nutriens, but the whole bunch!! Atami has some product called BLING for 200+ dollars per liter, and they say its "bling for your plants" and its "in its own category" AND..... um.......uh..... @ 200/liter the anime chick on the bottle will pop out and give you fellatio upon every use. And that would be the minimum requirement for me to buy that product! lol But seriously we need to organize this.. input, ideas, anything at all, thanks guys/gals!

PM an admin and ask them if they would be so kind a sto start a sub forum on "consumer reports" for ICMAG. They can create the forum and all the sub categories for the different pieces of equipment, nutes, soils, etc... I think this would be a real asset to the community as long as people don't jump in spamming and advertising their products/sites

Phillthy

 

[medicine farmer]

whats your ducting situation like? air turbulence is loud but can be eliminated, and the sound of the fans motor itself hasnt been too bad in my experience

 

[Gottagrow]

Fantech Fans These are very quiet and have lasted for more then 5 years.

Secret Jarden tents Those of us that use tents know these are the best. They might have some pin hole problems but I've had 3 great harvest using them (I have 3 tents 1 for flower, 1 for veg and one for clones and seeds)

Two liter plastic bottles Yes, this may seem strange but I needed to get my res temps down. I thought of a cheaper way then spending on a chiller. So I filled plastic bottles with just water and froze them. Since the frezzer isnt using extra power its cost effective. The temps now stay around 65-75 F using either 1 or 2 bottles.

 

[jocat]

i give the fiskers snippers a big A+, the spring action saves alot of hand fatigue, can get them at fabric stores, fred meyer if your in the northwest. thanks freezerboy, good call. jc

 

[PonicalChillin]

few of my opinions..

merlin garden pro RO machine - love mine, may not be as fast as it could be because my pressure sucks and I dont have the booster pump, but I get 40ppm or lower at 3/8" line flow.

max can fans - kick ass...super powerful - little noise..

but my newest - most favorite tool in the grow room. A spring loaded clip. I use it for a ton of things around the room.. great for holding a hose in a reservoir while it fills.

Worst product of the year award - the pH truncheon - stay far away from this thing. just a mess..

The PPM/EC truncheon from bluelab however is awesome. My oldschool truncheon is still acurate to this day after 5+ years - I've never cleaned it, and it never needs calibration.

 

[Shcrews]

VOTE HERE if you want a sub-forum just for product reviews etc..

thanks guys... hopefully they will make it soon, i think it wuld be very valuable.

 

[smurfin'herb]

I pm'ed dutchgrown, and she mentioned that they would look into it, but the only problem with this is that it could turn into spam city! I wonder how the real life consumer reports deals with this issue...? Anyone...?