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

[420ish]

i do realize that i will probably find that my dinky 4 .5 gallon mini-ppk reservoirs will prove to be a hassle to maintain once the plants start big time eating

but for now, all is good and very stable. plants are eating more, i see tell from the meter readings.


what i love about this system is how little work i have to do to add a central reservoir. when i do so i will move the 4 mini ppm pumps into the main res. As mini-PPKs, they are already on their own individual cycle timers and pumps which means i can just plumb the drain lines, and toss those pumps into a central res and be able control each plants feed schedule and duration independently just as i am doing with the mini-PPKs i am using now

what a great world it is\


but the acronym PPK?


it should really be

ATFRHCTLTPARNCAINIP

automated top feed recirculating hydroponic cultivator that lowers the PWT and requires no chillers and is nearly idiot proof

speaking as a lifelong stoner, idiot proof is number one, and nearly idiot proof would be.... second best

if you do go to a central res,you can leave your individual pumps where they are.i am running 4 plants tied to a central res with an individual pump in the bottom of each plant with the feed line coming straight up.since they are all connected ,when the level drops your central res will refill.i am on my first crop with the pumps set like this.when i ran the bigger pumps with a manifold for the feed lines it makes for a much messier grow room.i also had a few of the cycle timers die out.i think it as from the higher power draw.4 158 gph pond pumps draw very little power to fry the timer contacts.
everything looks great!

 

[Ravenboy]

if you do go to a central res,you can leave your individual pumps where they are.i am running 4 plants tied to a central res with an individual pump in the bottom of each plant with the feed line coming straight up.since they are all connected ,when the level drops your central res will refill.i am on my first crop with the pumps set like this.when i ran the bigger pumps with a manifold for the feed lines it makes for a much messier grow room.i also had a few of the cycle timers die out.i think it as from the higher power draw.4 158 gph pond pumps draw very little power to fry the timer contacts.
everything looks great!

thats what i plan to do as well.... I will use my aquarium pumps. mine are 900 liters an hour and draw next to nothing - and each has its own cycle timer. i like that - i can control flood duration individually per plant

also, less lines running around, less mess, as you say, and perhaps also less chance for a leak.

however, i might not run a central res. it depends on how hard the management of these separate reservoirs proves to be

so far, what i notice about the switch from hempies is that I have little to do but watch the PH and PPM - haven't tweaked it though. still good 5 days in, but the plants are small and aren't eating much
'

 

[Ravenboy]

today, they look great. all perky at lights on

on 2 plants I've been running 2.25 liters every 90 minutes - for two days, and the plants are growing very fast.

but they don't look like they are growing faster than the 2 getting 1.5 liters

and the two getting 1.5 don't look like they are growing faster than the one 1 getting 1 liter.

the front two had been getting 2.25 liters every 90 minutes - no sign of under-oxygenation
( or what some people call over-watering), they are larger than the two in the back, but they went into the PPKS earlier.

but other PPK growers have been telling me i might regret giving so much volume of feed at this stage, so after trying it at high volume
to see what would happen (in two days nothing happened) i am going to dial it down

and this is used coco, like coffee grounds, and i fear that with high volume floods, it will migrate down and clog the perlite in the tailpiece . so today i cut it back all 4 plants to 1 liter - i want to see how they look after 4 or 5 days at that flood volume

 

[Ravenboy]

FINALLY got the upgrades for the other tent..... in case of a leak i build a retaining pond from 1x6's and a pond liner, tent goes inside -

and i am replacing the exhaust fan with a quieter fan.... then i can start building more PPKs and get those other 4 plants going.

the 5 channel DIY cycle timer is already done for this tent, so there isn't much to do- i already emptied it, removed the benches, old fan, cleaned the floor.

but first need to go to our Home Depot equivalent (EASY) and get some 1x6" for the pond frame ... maybe i will be able to transplant into another PPK tomorrow!


I did a drainage check on the 4 in PPKs.... they are all draining well - meaning so far (at least) coco hasn't plugged the tailpiece. this means that 2.25 liters as a flood didn't float the coco/perlite. in my testing, floating the coco perlite always caused an immediate clog. the perlite under the screen will lift up as the load from the coco above is floated, and water from the floating coco goes under it and the suction of the tailpiece immediately draws in enough water that the suspended coco quickly clogs the 1.5" opening of the tailpiece.

next grow i will use larger tailpieces..... for coco/perlite 1.5" i think is asking for eventual trouble.

I kept running tests, and determined about 3 liters floats it - but its good to know that 2.25 actually worked in production for two days, so could not have been floating.

amazing how fast these are growing. my first active hydro..... i should have switched when i first read about PPKs, but back then I could not find threads with people using coco/perlite in a PPK, coco/perlite I have lots of.... ITs easy to bring a block of coco on an airplane (rarely see it here in argentina) , and turface - well i can get calcined clay litter litter but didn't feel like screening and washing it

but i should have just tried it anyway. I am SOLD on this

 

[Ravenboy]

its all good news - i figured out a way to arrange both 1 meter square tents so that i can use the side doors on both. They are in a small bedroom. I didn't think i could fit them in there and be able to use all 4 side doors. - they way I had tham before today was such that i could not use one side door on both tents.

thats ok for 12 liter hempy buckets. but to get to the rear PPKs, i need to be able to use both side doors

and more good news

the "first" ppk (running now 5 days) - the plant has grown so much that i was able to attach LST rigging to the two tops, and pull them down to be in line with the horizontal main stem. I bent all 8 plants over to horizontal right after topping, while still in the 1.5 liter pots. Thats one reason why I plant the top half of the 1.5 liter pots with the plant when i transplant into the PPKS.

Doing it this way means that when I transplant to a PPK, I don't have to "redo" the LST rigging that brought the main stem to horizontal while the plant was in the 1.5L pot

and now the tops of this first PPK plant are tied to the edge of the PPK pot. I will post pictures soon. I thought it would be a week before i would be thinking of starting more LST. estos PPKs qui crecen las plantas, en de manner muy rápida, por supuesto

hats off to PPK - cant believe the growth rate.

plants all looking great, all are dialed in at 1 liter every 90 minutes.

reservoirs all steady lately. PH had been dropping, PPMs slowly rising in all 4 PPKs until yesterday...

24 hours now and no movement. soon i expect to see PPMs dropping. PH rising.

PH is 6.1 in all 4 PPKs, and i am not touching it

I guess the plants are eating the same amount as is being left behind by evaporation

 

[Ravenboy]

finished rearranging the grow room

funny how when we really re-do something, its an iteration of an evolving design - it came out much better after tearing it down and starting over

i am really happy with re-doing the tents, the LED panels can be raised higher now because the exhaust inline fan is on TOP of the tent. and I got new carbon filters,long and narrow, maybe 7" diameter or so.

So only the new filter and a little ducting is above the lights, and its fastened just as high as i can get it. Very manageable for maximum LED panel height.

this time the tent ..... a really clean build.....

reservoirs are doing great, still stable. still at 1 liter every 90 minutes per PPK. growth rate is amazing

Finished second round LST on all of the plants, really opened them up....

right now I am running a custom 700w Mars II all 6500k, (actual draw around 400w), and 4 platinum P150s in veg mode (200w combined)
so 600w actual draw LED kicking ass in veg mode right now

its still winter here, no problem with heat.... This is the time of year i love to grow indoors in Buenos Aires
I can run crazy watts ... electricity is still not expensive here compared to USA... I just open the apartment windows when it gets too warm



tomorrow i can build the retaining pond around the second tent and start transplanting the other 4 plants into PPKs.

 

[McKush]

Hiya RB, added your thread to my ppk linkorama wall. good luck with everything

 

[Ravenboy]

Hiya RB, added your thread to my ppk linkorama wall. good luck with everything

Hey Thanks!


still going amazingly well. Hand watering was taking a too much time, even though i would only do ten hempies at a time

this is MUCH better, its less work, and they grow faster.... and I can go away for a day or two during a grow

I'm FREE

 

[Snook]

Hey Thanks!


still going amazingly well. Hand watering was taking a too much time, even though i would only do ten hempies at a time

this is MUCH better, its less work, and they grow faster.... and I can go away for a day or two during a grow

I'm FREE

I'm wishing you all the luck but yore not going to really free till the end of your next grow.. you are doing it a little different than traditional but this is how we progress.. and then, you'll only be 'somewhat' free..

 

[Ravenboy]

Ok, I had an epiphany

I read all the notes i had gathered while studying PPks and realized i had missed a point

And that is : don't add PH down to jacks - and us tap water and i would supposed that depends on tap water quality

I have good water, about 170 PPM sufficient calcium and magnesium that i don't have deficiencies in those when using Jacks

so last night, I did a test. I mixed up a batch of 600 PPM jacks, OH 6.4. two hours later still 6.4

made up a PPK without a plant, ran the timer to give 1.5 liters every 20 minutes.My coco perlite and the way i did the drains allows me to do this and it still won't float the coco/perlite - this is used coco/perlite, pretty fine grained, with chunky perlite.

i ran it this way over night and checked the PH this morning..... 5.8

so what the plants are running on for a week was PH'd before using - the PH was struggling around 5.4 for a while, now its about 5.6-5.7, all good

next time i change the res i certainly won't use any PH down, it if drops .6, i will be at 5.8 without doing anything...

liking this -

hopefully I will transplant the remaining 4 tonight.

continuing the LST on all 8 plants. The ones in PPKs are really covering the pot quickly. I like to flower when i have between 20 and 30 tops, and at about 1 foot above the pot edge. but maybe in PPKs tat will make it too crowded.... i have plenty set aside, i probably will flip with the plants a bit smaller than i did with hempies.

photos soon, i have been busy preparing the second tent for 4 more PPKs



.

 

[Ravenboy]

I'm wishing you all the luck but yore not going to really free till the end of your next grow.. you are doing it a little different than traditional but this is how we progress.. and then, you'll only be 'somewhat' free..:big grin:

compared to hand watering by carrying each plant to the kitchen so as not to damage a rented apartment floor, this IS freedom

i have ponds around the tents so now i am covered.

so i am free now, all i have done for a week with these plants is tweak the LST on them, monitor the reservoirs . hang more lights.

they seem to absolutely thrive on this flood feeding I am doing....

but for folks that have yet to build their first PPK, probably best to determine what kind of feeding the system you are building will allow, its probably its best to do what i did, test everything first - make sure you have the drainage to support it, try it out, make sure that coco/perlite doesn't float and drains FAST, and a relatively frequent flood (i am still doing a liter every 90 min, 7 second flood) should work without saturating the medium to the point that the roots start complaining.

pretty soon i am going back to 1.5L every 90, but not until the top of the pot is covered with tops formed by all the LST that i am doing. When i lighten up on the LST, they are getting more feed.

 

[Ravenboy]

Finished the other tent yesterday

Transplanted the remaining 4

I did it differently this time . I mixed up nutes and ran each PPK without plants for 12 hours to charge the coco and get it ready

.. The coco was dry and it used almost 1.5 gallons of fluid to get it wet

I ran it at a 1.5 liters every 20 min

After the PH stabilized, I changed to new nutes in each PPK and did the transplanting

I figure that getting the coco all soaked and precharged and THEN dumping the res and mixing new means the PPK reservoirs will stabilize more rapidly after the transplant

So transplants happened between 9 and 11 last night . Lights off at midnight and on at 6 his morning and all the transplants at as perky as they were in the smaller pots.... Zero shock I think . The roots on those plants were really nice .... Lots of water roots .... Not pot bound but the coco held together nicely when I remove the bottoms of the pots for the transplant

Picts soon I promise ... This weekend

Its going as well as I could have ever dreamed. I specially like how quickly the plants are adjusting to the LST... I spread hem out and of course they look a little splayed ... In a few hours you can't tell I did the LST, all the newly exposed tops are already filling in the new space ... Amazing

 

[Snook]

you sound like a kid ina candy store! Pumped
you almost make me want to switch to that cococ/PL mix...
remember, pics or it didn't happen!

 

[Ravenboy]

you sound like a kid ina candy store! Pumped
you almost make me want to switch to that cococ/PL mix...
remember, pics or it didn't happen!

Soon !! I have many but can't post until tonight

 

[Ravenboy]

Coco perlite

I am using stuff gets been through one and two grows ... To me it gets better after the first grow. After three it's pretty fine grained and I usually add some new

This batch has lots of roots from the last grow .... So did what I used previous grow ( hempies)

I like it, and jacks seems to like it fine
PPKs like it, the plants like it

And I have a lot of it here

 

[delta9nxs]

you may as well start now looking around for new hobby to fill all your free time. like needlepoint or miniature boat building in a bottle or something.

 

[Ravenboy]

September 5, 2016 - 6 days ago

 

[Ravenboy]

Sept 6 - 5 days ago - more LST on the PPK plants

 

[Ravenboy]

more from Sept 6 - 5 days ago - LST on PPKs

 

[Ravenboy]

September 8 - three days ago

You can hardly tell i did any LST two days ago, they plants rebounded very fast and are REALLY liking these PPKs