My first go @ indoor - what I'm using & battle w/ pH!

[Sgt.Stedenko]

I'm gonna add the use of distilled water may cause pH swings.
Distilled and RO water have no dissolved solids, no alkalinity and no buffering ability.
Alkalinity is a solutions ability to buffer changes to pH. Low alkalinity means a small amount of pH up/ PH down will cause major pH change. High alkalinity means it takes a lot more pH up/down to cause the same pH change.
Adding nutes will usually cause the pH to drop, but in a well buffered solution, this change will be minimal. Adding the same amount of nutes to a poorly buffered solution will cause the pH to drop like a rock.
Try adding some tap water to your distilled to raise the alkalinity and buffering capacity of your res.
Cheers

 

[Eatatjoes]

I doubt liquid karma is dropping PH a full point unless you dump a gallon in per res. I would think you would have a problem with the PH rising from the o2 in aero. However, to help solve this caper, do without LK for a week and see if the problem persists. 800+ ppm of PBP is like 14-1500 as a meter only reads the dissolved mineral solids. bring down to 600ppm and PH at orangy yellow. even gold should do you fine. its definitely not calmag.

My concern about the LK is that it would promote bacterial and fungal blooms which would cause the ph to fluctuate due to the excrement produced from them. Those blooms could also plug up emitters and in higher temps you'll get the bad bacteria/fungi taking over, I just think the LK should be cut out until the system is dialed in with the base nutes so the op doesn't have to guess where the next problem is coming from. Just like you said.

If it were me I'd do a sterile res with base nutes and a little silica, calmag if needed until I got the system dialed then try adding extras. When I ran hydro in my greenhouse I tried putting organics in the res, I got root rot like crazy so I started adding bleach and my plants loved me for it. I had plants in non-chilled DWC through temps of 110+ and all they did was thrive.
The seedlings look great so far, you might have the magic touch.

 

[jm420]

I cant believe you hav'nt cooked them running 900+ppm's on seedlings .good for you

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

Thanks for all your guys' responses!!

Thanks for all your guys' responses!!

Just remember what assuming does...

Make an ass out of you and me? I'd rather just make some beautiful, stinky, potent buds

I'm gonna add the use of distilled water may cause pH swings.
Distilled and RO water have no dissolved solids, no alkalinity and no buffering ability.
Alkalinity is a solutions ability to buffer changes to pH. Low alkalinity means a small amount of pH up/ PH down will cause major pH change. High alkalinity means it takes a lot more pH up/down to cause the same pH change.
Adding nutes will usually cause the pH to drop, but in a well buffered solution, this change will be minimal. Adding the same amount of nutes to a poorly buffered solution will cause the pH to drop like a rock.
Try adding some tap water to your distilled to raise the alkalinity and buffering capacity of your res.
Cheers

Great - thanks for the info - that makes sense about how the tap water would be "hardier" than the distilled water - took some years, but now I agree with my old man, that water out the tap tastes better than bottled water cause often all the "taste" is taken out by filtering it! lol...

I cant believe you hav'nt cooked them running 900+ppm's on seedlings .good for you

Thanks, the "guide" I was going off of said to put the rapid rooter in the system, and once the tap root shows through, to carefully break the medium up and fix the seedling in the neoprene collar and put it back in the system - at this point it said to: "...start your nutrients at 1,500 ppm."

& the veg formula (to use until two weeks into flowering):
250 mL Pure Blend Pro Grow
250 mL Cal-Mag Plus
175 mL Liquid Karma
mix all with a gal. of water, then add to reservoir until the ppm reached 1,500.

Then the same thing for flowering except add:
175 mL Sweet (also Botanicare), and this time add the mixture until the ppm reaches about 1,700.

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

I'm going to run some errands, when I get back in a few hours I'm going to:

Check the reservoir stats, make sure everything is where I expect it to be...about 925 ppm & about 6 for pH.

Mix up another little batch of the PBPG, CM+, LK - and give it to them, then that should bring the ppm to about 1,200 - then at that point let it run for a few more days and then just start over with a "clean" reservoir - doing things similiarly!

-SinSe

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

Probly wana get some good sterilizer too man, when its gettin hot out like now. Dm Zone or Hydro-Fungicide from groovyhydro.com , I like the hydrofungicide better since it kills slime too. But Zone is kool too, expecially if you UV-RO the water first. Bennies sukk in aero they clog the shit outta everything. Good luck!

Do you mean sterilizer - something I would add to the reservoir and as a result kill or whip out the bacteria I do not want? I'm thinking the roots will be the best indicator if there is any kind of nastyness growing or creeping...right?

Nice setup Sinse! I tried and failed miserably at aeroponics myself a few years ago, but mine was a MacGyver'd DIY using Rubbermaid totes -- not a slick PVC unit. I will follow this for sure.

My 2nd one (that I'm using now), I bought off eBay for $30 or something. It's a Hanna and it's accurate to two decimal places, whereas my first Milwaukee was only good for one. I've almost dropped it in the water quite a few times though.

Also get the #4 and #7 calibration solution and you'll be good to go. It's usually cheap, even at the hydro store.

Thanks buddy! Yeah, prior to this I've just done outdoor, fairly simple, yet successful grows - I found this set-up in a magazine along with some directions on feeding them as well - which I've followed about 75% of and kind of used my own schedule...

The Oakster ecotestr I think it is, I could grab for about $65 I think, and it sounds similiar to the #1 tester you described - have been told it would survive a drop or two (or three) into the reservoir - but also mentioned that the replacement piece would be about $50! Anyway, for now I think I may just stick to the drops, they really are simple, quick and sometimes simple is better. So, I can put off buying a meter for a bit longer! oh, if I didn't get the Ecotestr - the Hanna model you mentioned is the next one in line (@ the shop), and that one is about $50 i think...not waterproof but, .00 accuracy and said to work really well!

-SinSe

 

[stonedar]

www.eseasongear.com
when time comes to buy a meter this company is pretty competitive price-wise and have a good selection, also they have an e-bay store

I like Hanna Combo HI 98129 or the HI 98127 for just pH
nothing wrong with using drops, they just work fine

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

April 29th, 2011

April 29th, 2011

04/29/2011 - Last night was the first time I had turned the lights off completely since I added the first T5. I had them off from about midnight to midday today - about 6 hours longer than I had intended - lazyness is a thorn.

I don't plan on turning them off, if I do it would be for 4 or 6 hours during the "deep" part of the night... I did read somewhere that during the "dark" period the plant moves around certain hormones? maybe, generally that some stuff happens during the night, which makes sense. Although, those that I followed early on basically just went with 24/0, then 12/12 - which is what I will be sticking with 98% of the time...

I did add a little bit more of the Botanicare -

50 mL Pure Blend Pro Grow
25 mL Cal-Mag Plus
25 mL Liquid Karma,

in about a liter of filtered water -

I check the ppm. before (883 ppm.) and after (1120 ppm.), and it is pretty much where I wanted it - a bit shy on the ppm, however I'm also not in the recommended 15 gallons in my reservoir, I'm only at about 11-12 gal., and from what I gather, I will be much better off a little light on the nutes as to being heavy!

pH was in line both before and after @ 6.0 - or darn close.

What do you guys think about my previous post about the nutes being at 1,500 ppm. during the veg and thru the first two weeks of flowering. Then swapping the PBPG for the PBPB (pro bloom i think?) and adding the Sweet to the nutes and having them at 1,700 ppm. - I was looking okay at 850/900 ppm., I decided to feed them a little bit more b/c of those numbers and the fact that I want them to go FASTER : so now I'm at 1,120ish.

All of the plants look very healthy - all have their 2nd set of leaves defined and growing, just starting to work on forming the 3rd set of true leaves! Roots looking good. There are only 5 Space Jills, the 6th spot was filled with a seed I got in a bag of Lemon from one of the local shops - this plant is in the larger half, however the fingers on the leaves are much more slender and longer (thinner), I'm not positive if the strain was Lemon Haze, or Lemon *something else*, Haze I always associated with Sativa, so that would explain why - can't wait to see if it stays noticably different. Looking forward to topping or bending her more if that's the case!

-SinSe

 

[w2008]

My concern about the LK is that it would promote bacterial and fungal blooms which would cause the ph to fluctuate due to the excrement produced from them. Those blooms could also plug up emitters and in higher temps you'll get the bad bacteria/fungi taking over, I just think the LK should be cut out until the system is dialed in with the base nutes so the op doesn't have to guess where the next problem is coming from. Just like you said.

If it were me I'd do a sterile res with base nutes and a little silica, calmag if needed until I got the system dialed then try adding extras. When I ran hydro in my greenhouse I tried putting organics in the res, I got root rot like crazy so I started adding bleach and my plants loved me for it. I had plants in non-chilled DWC through temps of 110+ and all they did was thrive.
The seedlings look great so far, you might have the magic touch.

Hi there, did the bleach fix your root rot? how much did you use in your res? and how often please? i have signs of root rot in my dwc, thanks oz

 

[Eatatjoes]

There are a few ways to add it, I've just added a few ml to my res every few days. 10 drops per gallon daily is also good, it will kill the rot and any bacteria and fungi in the res. Then the plant has to recover and grow new roots once the rot is in check.

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

Root Rot & Bleach

Root Rot & Bleach

Hi there, did the bleach fix your root rot? how much did you use in your res? and how often please? i have signs of root rot in my dwc, thanks oz

There are a few ways to add it, I've just added a few ml to my res every few days. 10 drops per gallon daily is also good, it will kill the rot and any bacteria and fungi in the res. Then the plant has to recover and grow new roots once the rot is in check.

Great info! Thanks for sharing. That is not very much bleach at all, so I'm very happy you noted that (& asked w2008).

How does one notice the root rot? Right now my roots are a bright solid white - all except for one whose main root is a little darker the bottem couple inches - very well may be b/c one that one seedling I didn't get all of the Rapid Rooter plug off and there was a little bit of "sediment" on the tap root, so maybe the color washed down?

The plants seem to be doing fairly well! Nice solid color, I have left the light on since the other night when it was off for 12 hours, they're working on their 3rd set of true leaves, still very small and boring. The first couple leaves are really growing now - had a little bit of droopage on one leaf on two of them, they seem to have bounced back now. I did have a humidifier running fairly close last night, maybe it didn't like that. One of the plants had a microscopic little yellowish dot on it, probably from the massive amount of Botanicare Ive added to the reservoir.

That's the update. I am looking forward to adding some new pics for ya'll, I'm going to do us all a favor and wait a couple more days - when there will be a little more to look at. Hopefully this will pick up when I am able to finish my grow room - for those who have been following, it is in it's temporary state (T5s), and by now should have already been complete, but life would be boring w/o any set backs!


04/30/2011 - checked the pH; pH = 6.0 (approx)


05/01/2011 - afternoon
checked the pH again; pH = 6.0 (approx)

-SinSe

 

[snoopytime]

Do you mean sterilizer - something I would add to the reservoir and as a result kill or whip out the bacteria I do not want? I'm thinking the roots will be the best indicator if there is any kind of nastyness growing or creeping...right?


Hi Yes there Sensi Farmer, something to kill everything in the solution (except of course) the roots\plants. Bleach works, but it disolves\disspates fast and it is slightly gnar on all living tissue, so ODing the plants can happen if your not good at measuring.

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

Update! The grow chamber is coming together!

Update! The grow chamber is coming together!

Hi everybody,

Finally was able to put my set-up together!

Very exciting, set my tent up (Grow Lab Horticulture - Grow Lab 80L, 2'7" x 4'11" x 6'7"), moved Stinkbud Jr. system into the new laboratory, added 1.5 gal of "clean" water (36ppm.) to reservoir. I did not check the ppm or pH in the last couple days, since nothing should have changed. Will check those shortly or in the AM.

The T5s are put to the side for now; was able to set up/hang the 400w HID reflector, ballast, etc., so that is what is hanging in the tent. 400w MH. Anyway, enjoy the pics, I will let those do the rest of the talking!



Will have to figure something simple, yet more practical in terms of temp. control. For tonight the fan outside the door will have to suffice, but I know w/o proper ventilation I shouldn't run the tent closed...

-SinSe

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

About 2 weeks since germination!

About 2 weeks since germination!

these pics are from tonight, I'm not 100% on the timeline, however we will say that today is officially 2 weeks from germination, so I will stick to that as my calibration so to say...!



-SinSe

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

About 2 weeks since germination! (cont. 2/2)

About 2 weeks since germination! (cont. 2/2)

(didn't want to put too many pics in one post; prevent any complications, if any at all, anyway...)



Hope the pics are alright, some of the enlarged ones show decent amount of detail. All plantlets have created their 2nd set of true leaves (3-finger) which are grown out, have their 3rd set (5 fingers, it appears on most, if not all) just past beginning growth, and a few have the shoot coming up - working on the 4th set! Please feel free to comment, or if you have ANY questions on any of the equipment/set up or whatnot, leave a post! Thanx for checking out my thread!

-SinSe

 

[BudMasterzero]

Nice to see others using Pureblend pro line. Hey check your LK. I just found that the bottom of my last bottle used was like mud/jello.

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

Nice to see others using Pureblend pro line. Hey check your LK. I just found that the bottom of my last bottle used was like mud/jello.

Hey Bud Master! Yeah, the nutes I decided to go with were all based on what it said in the article that I took the design for the aero system from. Maybe a page back or so I wrote out what I was using and in what quantity.

All the nutes are Botanicare brand, and using the
Pure Blend Pro Grow now and will continue to through the first 2 weeks of 12/12, then I will substitute the Pro Grow for the Pure Blend Pro Bloom (i think that's what it is) & add some of the Sweet.

When I told a local I was using Botanicare, he actually gave me a couple small bottle of the Sweet, (perfect, saves me a little $$$ when the time comes), and also a couple small bottles of Hydroplex - "Bloom Maximizer for hydrogardens, coco, & soil" (0-10-6).

Basically have been running the T5 again, and using the mH when I am at home - to run the mH i need to prop the tent open and use a medium sized house fan I have to keep the temp in check - I have a little fan and some metal tubing set up blowing air into the bottom of the tent - however before I leave the mH on 100% and be able to close the tent - i need to do a little riggin' with respect to ventilation, otherwise it will be too hot and either mess up my plants and/or something worse!

I might do some pics later, havent decided yet - I'm finally at where I want to be though, the growth now is starting to pick up and we are forming the 5th set of true leaves, the 4th set of true leaves are small but starting to grow, the 3rd set are all 5-fingered and grown. There is some activity at the nodes as well, first few side branches are starting to shoot out.

The plan was to top them all at about the 5th node - how exciting - have never topped a plant before (space was never an issue before), looking forward to shaping these babies up


-SinSe

 

[highonmt]

sinse,

looks great for you first attempt at hydro, very clean looking setup and the plants look great. Nice work.
HM

 

[ranta]

nice setup , looks promising

 

[Sinse_Farmer]

About 3 weeks since germination!

About 3 weeks since germination!

these pics are from just about an hour ago or so, we are at about 3 weeks since germination, maybe a day shy or so, but pretty close!

have been having a few issues, heat/temp, leak at end of fence post, little shit - a little sad since up until a few days ago I would have said that my babies were textbook quality! Still not too shabby, I'm very please with some of the side shoot growth, leaf pattern is strong on half of them, 1,3,5,7 finger leaves. Starting to really get curious to what kind of female to male ratio we have. Once we get a little more spacing at the tops, going to top them all, just going to wait so that way I can use all the "tops" as clones to ensure I have some doubles incase we get a male or two...!



-SinSe