New 8KW stealth Coco chip grow!

[Lazyman]

I was going to quiz you about the CalMag but you answered my question here: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=129773
(you don't need it with your unfiltered well water).

I do have another question. What height are your overflow tubes? In other words, how high are you flooding the Smart Pots?

TIA

Hey Nippirt, I've got the overflow tubes about as high as I can get em, so I get about a 6" flood or so in the 7" deep trays. Since I'm only holding up the trays by the edges (set insides the frame) the center sags a bit when full, so that's where I put the thirstier plants. Stuff on the edges gets less water, but since this isn't ideal (small plants should go in the center, AND need less water) I may chop my table legs shorter and add some boards to perch the trays on top of my tables. Can't imagine having to do that with 4X8's! Very glad I went with 4X4's, much easier to handle.

 

[Securityfirst]

Are you pulling 1.5 per light with Co2? How does the regulator work? Just plug into the sentinel?

 

[Lazyman]

Yeah back when I was running 3K watts on my Ebb &Grow, I got about 1.5 per light. The Co2 solenoid/valve should plug into something sophisticated, like a fuzzy logic controller or other sensor. SHould only run during lights on, in flowering room, etc. You CAN make em run off a timer, less accurate but much cheaper. Greentrees hydro has a calculator for how often/long to run a co2 valve like that, I use 3-4 cf/h for my calculations as that is a common adjustment on a regulator. Oh here's a link: http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/co2_calculator.asp

 

[Securityfirst]

Thanks dude. That link also has the Sentinel controller handbook. Very handy!

 

[bbing]

Yeah back when I was running 3K watts on my Ebb &Grow, I got about 1.5 per light. The Co2 solenoid/valve should plug into something sophisticated, like a fuzzy logic controller or other sensor. SHould only run during lights on, in flowering room, etc. You CAN make em run off a timer, less accurate but much cheaper. Greentrees hydro has a calculator for how often/long to run a co2 valve like that, I use 3-4 cf/h for my calculations as that is a common adjustment on a regulator. Oh here's a link: http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/co2_calculator.asp

Nice show btw,
I know of some controllers that activate by temperature (ambient). Never understood how this "regulates" the CO2. I know for planted aquaria we use Ph as the reg input. Or old-schoolie w/ bubble counters. Im thinking O2 sensor would be the easiest way to...

I think I can build this with my Lego Mindstorms Brick....BRB

 

[Lazyman]

Nice show btw,
I know of some controllers that activate by temperature (ambient). Never understood how this "regulates" the CO2. I know for planted aquaria we use Ph as the reg input. Or old-schoolie w/ bubble counters. Im thinking O2 sensor would be the easiest way to...

I think I can build this with my Lego Mindstorms Brick....BRB

Nah, not by temp, although some units do have a high-temp CO2 shutdown to keep em from frying a crop.

Regulators simple meter out the CO2 at a precise pressure and dispense CO2 in an even manner. By regulating the amount dispersed per hour, you can fill a given volume with an additional 1200 ppm (300 being nominal in the atmosphere.)

Most of todays better sensors use infrared beams to measure the CO2 in the room and add accordingly, modulating a 120v output leg to turn on regulators or generators. Fuzzy logic models learn how your room fills and depletes co2, and do a better job of adding it more so there's less overshoot (and waste of tanked co2 or propane.) I have a CAP AIR4 with a CO2 on and off circuit, energized only when the exhaust fans are off and the room is lit, so the fuzzy will go inline between the air4 and the HydroGen water valve.

 

[Securityfirst]

Hey what do you think of the $1200 handy trimmer or handytrimmer.com?

Perfect for the lazyman?

Seems to me like it would depend on who you get rid of your extra meds to and how they like it trimmed. Lot of money for it too.

 

[Securityfirst]

Or actually $499 at www.discountgrowshop.com

 

[Lazyman]

Hey all, sorry I haven't been updating this thread much, just been (sorta) patiently waiting for things to ripen. Today is 65 days, I've got trichomes turning cloudy and amber all over the place, so the chop should come in the next 3-7 days for most of it. I usually let my CD go 73 but the Ice is almost ready.

Ohh the Ice is nice., haven't dried and smoked any yet, but just from the way it grows it's my new favorite! It grows itself into lollipops naturally, no pruning needed even. I have a couple tables full of mostly Ice that I could trim myself in an hour!



Then there's some Jack Herer, turning purple, small buds on this one but it's oh so frosty and purple!

Some Mandala #1


And a handful of SAGE & Sours:


Picked up ten more Jock Horrors last night, and am getting my next round of Trainwreck and Purple AK clones tmw. Got my additional smartpots and coco bales ordered to pick up today, oh boy!

Oh yeah, I went through the room and cleaned and tidied last night, mom is coming over soon!

 

[Lazyman]

Or actually $499 at www.discountgrowshop.com

Ooh cool, I want a Trimpro workstation since I dry on the stem. If I ever decide to start drying cut nugs I'll switch to a handytrimmer or the like, a buddy has one and loves it.

 

[Securityfirst]

Hey nice looking colas!

Oh and I found out that the only Water cooled Co2 generator they discontinued was the natural gas one, not the propane one

 

[Lazyman]

Thanks SecurityFirst! Yeah it'll be another 2 weeks before I grab one, can't wait to try it out and post a report. I am looking forward to the increased heat with the lights on, get their little metabolisms cranked up to 11.

Gonna start chopping tonight or tomorrow, the Ice looks about done...

 

[deltronZER0]

can't wait to see the haul
awesome growshow

 

[Lazyman]

can't wait to see the haul
awesome growshow

Thanks man! Much appreciated.

Yeah me either, but I'm not excited. Figuring maybe 5-6#, here is why and where I fucked up:

I didn't have enough girls to start with, so I grew everything I had, sickly, overgrown or wild phenos even. So, therefore I couldn't fill all the trays, as a result I only had 7 trays/lights on. 2 of those trays only had 5-6 plants in em too, and one tray was mostly runts, I woulda tossed half of those if I had spares. My fault!

I also didn't react very quickly to a fungus gnat infestation, now I get to pick cooked gnats off my buds, yummy! I consider it penance, lol

Hmm, what else did I do wrong. Oh, overwatered the coco at the beginning, stunting root growth in those critical early weeks. I can do better. Just a tip, 6 inch tall clones don't need a flood every 4-6 hours, or at least mine didn't. If I was doing salt nutes I woulda ran H202 in a heartbeat, may try going back to AN nutes and peroxide again.

I am also making 8" plastic covers for my 2 gallon smartpots for my next round, which I picked up yesterday, dude shorted me by a full dozen clones! He's fixing it, but still...

They are transplanted into new coco chips, and I am vegging them outside under shadecloth at the moment, been warm and sunny lately but they already look happy.

For giggles, I took the wife's Micracle Grow hose-end fertilizer/sprayer and dumped the ferts (yeah I saved em for her) and mixed up my own batch of Pura Vida Grow, 3D Cal mag and some Inoculaid, good stinky stuff! I tested the discharge at 6.3ph and 750 ppm, we'll see how they like that in another couple days. Makes it easy to water though. Here's a sneak peek!




Oh and I'm gonna try a couple of those boss coco cubes (the white bags at the front) very slick product. It is a 1, 1.5 or 3 gallon grow bag, with a coco coir peat brick, and a layer of coco hair at the bottom to prevent root rot. Unfold, add water and break it up, punch drain holes and boom, instant grow! I got 2 of the 6X6" ones, just under $3 each. Dunno how much the 1.5 is but they are not more economical than regular coco chips.

I get 8-9 2 gallon pots out if a standard 10# coco chip brick, for $12 each, so each 2 gallons costs me about $0.71 for the chips per bag, plus $3 each for the reusable Smartpots. Just bought a bunch more since my previous set is still in use.

Night all! Chop starting tomorrow, got amber trichs showing on most everything now...

 

[Lazyman]

Oh one more thing I screwed up on, being lazy I didn't do any pruning or anything on the last batch, so they kinda grew wild. This does help when you're re getting to know a strain for the first time though, I learned that some plants grow:

Single Colas :Ice (AMAZING) Satori, Mandala #1, God Bud, PK X SD
Bushy: SAGE & Sour, Jack Herer, Jock Horror
Stringy vines: Chem Dawg D, Blue Dream
Giant sativas: Myst of Destruction! I've got 2 of the 3 left, topped em at 3 feet tall because I wanted to keep em reasonably sized, but they still have at least a month-6 weeks to go (!)

 

[Greyskull]

looking good man
i like your style homie...

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

looking good man

 

[urbangorilla]

nice work buddy.
did u get better results off of the plant you vegged for longer?
i know of cats that will veg until they are about 18 inch tall b4 he flowers & he can flower 5oz a plant.

 

[Lazyman]

Hey thanks for stoppin in guys, I really appreciate the support!

Urbangorilla, funny you should ask. The Chem Dawg and Jack Herers were vegged two weeks, and some of them are 10" tall, others are three feet tall (!)

The Ice and Jock Horrors were vegged 1 week, but the Ice grew between 3 inches tall and 2 feet tall. Average maybe 18". These are by far my favorite plants and my favorite strain at the moment. I don't know weights yet as we're starting the cut today, should know soon but I don't think I can track how much each plant weighed, just too many to keep track. I'll do my best though, and will keep count of how many plants made up each varietal at least.

 

[urbangorilla]

try doing cheese mate, its lovely man & it gets good yields!
i wonder if some of these plants r getting more feed or light than the others if some have ended up 10" tall & some 3ft, was there a patern there or was it just random?