Bentley's DIY Aeroponic HPA, Northern Lights Auto, Grow Journal Jan 2021

[Jon]

When you burn propane, the by-product is H2O and CO2. This is just an outdoor camping tankless water heater where I run the water in a circuit. It is activated by an inexpensive CO2 controller and fires off for about 3 minutes every 30 minutes to keep my 10' x 10' lung room @ 1200ppm (only when the light is on).

I see. So the water stays in the tank and gets heated and the CO2 shoots out into the tent. And that one tank allows you to maintain 1200 ppm? Why is it only when the light is on? (oh, duh, no point to run CO2 in the dark, right?). Wow. I'm jealous, lol. I don't think my two CO2 Exhale bags are getting my tent to 1200. Lmao. So what do you find the biggest benefit of the CO2? Better growth in veg? Bigger and better buds? Did it make a difference when you first installed it within a day?

 

[lvumlow]

I see. So the water stays in the tank and gets heated and the CO2 shoots out into the tent. And that one tank allows you to maintain 1200 ppm? Why is it only when the light is on? (oh, duh, no point to run CO2 in the dark, right?). Wow. I'm jealous, lol. I don't think my two CO2 Exhale bags are getting my tent to 1200. Lmao. So what do you find the biggest benefit of the CO2? Better growth in veg? Bigger and better buds? Did it make a difference when you first installed it within a day?

I have written about this multiple times but my personal experience with CO2 bags was terrible.

My best advice for anyone is to FIRST, get a data logger with a CO2 sensor. Once you have that you can see your real levels and how the vary through the day. Then you can experiment with all sorts of solutions and more importantly you can validate your results. I have tried chemical and biological solutions and they all suck and waste your money and/or stink up your room.

To be effective, you basically have two options; CO2 bottle or a propane solution. There are pros and cons for each so everyone needs to pick a solution that fits their specific conditions. I have very specific reasons why I went the way I did.

As for results, you tell me?

 

[Jon]

I have written about this multiple times but my personal experience with CO2 bags was terrible.

My best advice for anyone is to FIRST, get a data logger with a CO2 sensor. Once you have that you can see your real levels and how the vary through the day. Then you can experiment with all sorts of solutions and more importantly you can validate your results. I have tried chemical and biological solutions and they all suck and waste your money and/or stink up your room.

To be effective, you basically have two options; CO2 bottle or a propane solution. There are pros and cons for each so everyone needs to pick a solution that fits their specific conditions. I have very specific reasons why I went the way I did.

As for results, you tell me?

Thanks! Appreciate the insight. Yes, your plants are gorgeous. Just wondering to what extent you credit the CO2 for that?

 

[lvumlow]

As for results, you tell me?

Lol, I feel funny replying to myself but I probably should emphasize that I don't mean that statement in a bad way. This is my first indoor run so I have no idea what she should look like? I have been trying to keep an eye on some of the other Northern Lights journals but nothing looks remotely like my plant so not sure what the bar is to measure this one?

 

[lvumlow]

Thanks! Appreciate the insight. Yes, your plants are gorgeous. Just wondering to what extent you credit the CO2 for that?

I seriously have no idea. I have only one plant, it's quite remarkable really. I germinated only one seed thinking it would be dead during the trial run but she made it all the way...

 

[Jon]

I seriously have no idea. I have only one plant, it's quite remarkable really. I germinated only one seed thinking it would be dead during the trial run but she made it all the way...

Yep it's truly insane that it's one plant. I get it. You don't have any comparison points to indoor non-CO2 vs. indoor with-CO2.

 

[lvumlow]

We just closed out week 11 of flower and the trichomes are just about perfect for what we want (going for the sleepy weed). We have a nice balance of milky/amber. We are just finishing off the last of my reservoir today and will make the chop.

Here is how she ended the run...

I wonder if anyone has tried using the Higrade THC testing kit? I clipped a lower bud a couple of weeks ago and gave it a run. If you are not familiar with it, it uses a magnifying lens and software algorithym to analyze the structure of your dried bud. I have read some reports that it's accuracy is pretty close? Anyone have experience with it?

Below are my results for northern lights: THC - 22% and bud quality - 5 star, high grade...

I will post up after a couple weeks with the dry weight total, anyone want to guess?

 

[Jon]

We just closed out week 11 of flower and the trichomes are just about perfect for what we want (going for the sleepy weed). We have a nice balance of milky/amber. We are just finishing off the last of my reservoir today and will make the chop.

Here is how she ended the run...

I wonder if anyone has tried using the Higrade THC testing kit? I clipped a lower bud a couple of weeks ago and gave it a run. If you are not familiar with it, it uses a magnifying lens and software algorithym to analyze the structure of your dried bud. I have read some reports that it's accuracy is pretty close? Anyone have experience with it?

Below are my results for northern lights: THC - 22% and bud quality - 5 star, high grade...

I will post up after a couple weeks with the dry weight total, anyone want to guess?

I wanna guess. I'm gonna say 1.8 pounds dried and trimmed. Which would be amazing from a 3 x 3. Can't wait to see. Also can't wait for you to drop off an ounce. Lmao. Now, onto this tester. I've looked at many. I really wanna test my bud just as you have here. 22% is nothing to sneeze at. What THC levels did you expect or did the breeder say the seed had potential to create? Are you willing to discuss what this tester cost? Ease of use? How long between when you put in the sample and you get the results? Is it worth the money to know the THC level? (would be to me)

 

[lvumlow]

That seems like a lot... most documentation shows indoor yield potential in up to 550g/m² and THC levels between 17-23%.

I am not sure how good the algorithm is but the test is performed by using the camera on your smart phone and software to determine quality and potency. You don't have to send anything in to a lab. I have read a few posts that have claimed they sent a sample into the lab and this solution is accurate to +/- 3%.

I just tried it for fun but they have other benefits like growing help, etc...

Here is a video that shows the process. Results can be controversial but I just look at it as a reference, not a lab test. It would be interesting to confirm for myself and I may?

Higrade scope - quality & potency analysis

 

[Jon]

That seems like a lot... most documentation shows indoor yield potential in up to 550g/m² and THC levels between 17-23%.

I am not sure how good the algorithm is but the test is performed by using the camera on your smart phone and software to determine quality and potency. You don't have to send anything in to a lab. I have read a few posts that have claimed they sent a sample into the lab and this solution is accurate to +/- 3%.

I just tried it for fun but they have other benefits like growing help, etc...

Here is a video that shows soon be of the process.

Higrade scope - quality & potency analysis

Lol. I'm erring on the high side for you. I hope you harvest 3 pounds! Ah, one can dream. Just looking at it it seems like at least a pound and a half to me. Regardless, it's going to keep your jars full for quite a while.

Well, you're right on with the THC levels then. A meter/sq. is about the size of your tent, yes? Isn't it a 3 x 3? That would put you at 550 grams or so. Isn't a pound 454 grams? So a pound and a half, in my humble opinion, is not out of the question at all. It's gonna come down to your density.

Thanks for the link. So far I haven't been able to justify the expense to myself, but that may change if I ever get my stimulus money.

 

[lvumlow]

We will see, I can't wait to start my second grow. We have some Candy Jack's on order so that will be next. I wish I had a second grow light to do some controlled testing but this have been so much fun already I am glad I took on the project. I am looking forward to testing a new root chamber along with a couple of proprietary tweaks for Rev. 2.0.

I have my current system automated to the point that all I have to do is check the basics and mix nutrients so I am hoping the next grow will allow me more time to focus on improving efficiencies where I can. The goal will be to match the performance of this run with a polar opposite strain.

I will post up the dry weight on a couple weeks...

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[Jon]

We will see, I can't wait to start my second grow. We have some Candy Jack's on order so that will be next. I wish I had a second grow light to do some controlled testing but this have been so much fun already I am glad I took on the project. I am looking forward to testing a new root chamber along with a couple of proprietary tweaks for Rev. 2.0.

I have my current system automated to the point that all I have to do is check the basics and mix nutrients so I am hoping the next grow will allow me more time to focus on improving efficiencies where I can. The goal will be to match the performance of this run with a polar opposite strain.

I will post up the dry weight on a couple weeks...

Thanks for everyone's input!

If you are willing to post some pics of your harvest and curing techniques that would be great. I got taught an amazing curing technique by a 40 year grower that worked so incredibly well my first grow I'll never do it another way. Probably a common technique to experienced growers but to me it was complete magic. It's helpful for us newbies to see how people do all the aspects of their grow, including harvest and any curing idea that is better than just dry, trim and jar. My method destroys dry, trim and jar.

Can't wait to see your yield! Also psyched to see a closeup finished bud picture! I love bud porn!!!

 

[lvumlow]

Come in man! You can't tease us with this great technique without sharing?

Share the love...

 

[Jon]

Come in man! You can't tease us with this great technique without sharing? Do tell...

Lol. I thought I did in the post. I meant to, sorry. I'm stoned.

So it's really easy and what it does is basically SUPER jump start your curing process. I won't be able to elocute on the science involved in this, but I assure you it works super well. Yes, it was my first grow but I've been around growers for three decades and have seen and smoked the result of dry, trim, jar a million times. This is like ultra-steroids to jump start the curing. It's a bit more involved and takes patience, but....here's exactly what I do:

1. Harvest the plant. Cut each branch individually at as close to the base as you can. Hang them to dry wherever and however you dry just like that - every individual branch hangs by itself. (There's the pain in the ass part right there) Do not sacrifice any flarf at this point - leave it on the stems and dry with the rest. In terms of how much leaf I trim off, I take off any fan leaves that have no sugar and put them one place, and any fan leaves with crystals in a cardboard box to dry. Also into that cardboard box I trim the small leaves around all the buds leaving about half an inch of leaf around all the buds. Maybe 3/4 of an inch. Dry your buds like you normally do until they are exactly the dryness that you would normally accept as the time to final trim them and jar them up.

2. Now, instead of final trimming and jarring them up, you take all the stems/buds down and you place the entire grow, stems, leaf, and buds, just as they are when they are hanging, into a large rectangular heavy plastic crate. You can see the one I use under my table in the beginning of my journal. It's gigantic. Held my 10 1/2 ounce first grow yield with plenty of room to spare. Not sure if you'd need a second one for a large harvest, I hope I do. Anyway, you simply stack the stems/buds into that crate the long way. (If you have to cut one down at the stem for it to fit you obviously do that) Fill that crate up til it's a couple inches from the top of the container without pressing the whole batch down. Lay the stems/buds in GENTLY when you do this so you maintain your trichomes as much as possible. Put the lid on the container. Put the container in a dark place that's cool as you would a jar. I personally dried, and did this part of the cure, inside my tent with the AC running and fans so the tent temperature was about 65 degrees and the humidity stayed super low.

3. Now, for FIVE DAYS AT LEAST, (I did it for five days on my first grow as recommended to me) you burp that large container exactly as you would burp a jar. Only in this case you are going to check and burp more frequently. Take the lid off and leave it off for ten minutes or so, and do that as often as you need to - maybe check it three or four times a day at this point. The time they spend in this first large container is critical to check oftenish, as there will be more moisture at this stage than the next step. You check the buds every time you burp to make sure they aren't exuding extra moisture you left in there during the drying. If you feel a bud is "wettish" or not as dry as it was when you put it in the container, simply leave the container open for a couple hours. Just as you would leave the top off a mason jar if the buds weren't quite dry to your liking. On my first grow, for the first couple days, I put a small fan above the container and when I checked, a few times in the beginning, I let the fan blow directly onto the pile of buds in the container for maybe an hour before sealing them back up. Basically you monitor them exactly as you would a jar.

4. Next step is to remove the grow from the large plastic container. Now you're going to transfer the entire grow, again, just as it is without trimming anything off, into food grade five gallon buckets with burpable screw tops. You get them at Home Depot for like seven bucks apiece. Anywhere like that sells them. They obviously will be too long for a five gallon bucket so all you do is cut the branches in half between buds, or thirds, or whatever it takes to be able to lay them in the five gallon bucket the same way you did when you laid them in the large container. I placed them in the buckets thinking about a clock, and had the buds/stems rotated with each layer. Fill the container to within a couple inches of the top. My first grow the 10 1/2 ounce yield fit into two of these five gallon buckets. I expect to be buying several more with 14 plants this time. Anyway, then FOR FIVE MORE DAYS AT LEAST, do the EXACT same thing that you did in step 3 - burp those five gallon buckets as often as you would a jar. Now you should be able to check them maybe only twice a day and you shouldn't have any more drying issues. And by now you should be noticing that the smell of your weed has SIGNIFICANTLY improved. Like, more than you would have thought possible.

5. At the end of those five days, NOW YOU CAN FINAL TRIM AND JAR YOUR BUDS. Smoke some. I promise you it's gonna smoke and taste and smell like it's been curing for six weeks. There is something about leaving all the stems and a good bit of leaf on them for those ten days that makes them cure like crazy. And I suspect there's something to doing the "progressively smaller" container kind of thing as they get tighter together in the fives versus the large container. So you just jar up your buds at this point as you normally would and continue to cure in a jar as you normally would.

That's it. In as much detail as I can relate. It works. Like crazy.

 

[lvumlow]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. Do you do the 48hrs of darkness or harvest in the morning thing?

 

[Jon]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. Do you do the 48hrs of darkness or harvest in the morning thing?

Actually there are several things in that vein I'm considering and will ask on here at some point. I did none of these my first grow although I did harvest first thing in the morning after darkness and I did make sure the pots had pretty much dried all the way out. My understanding is that if you dry the pots out at the end before harvest the plant pumps terpenes as a self defense mechanism. Scientifically true? I don't know.

1. The 36 hours of darkness right before you flip them to 12/12. I've seen many people do this and it seems to kind of "jump start" the budding process. After the 36 hours of dark the plants think they better hurry up and flower so they really crank it out. My friend did it and opened his tent after 36 hours and found significantly going bud sites EVERYWHERE.

2. The "blue light" treatment for a couple days at the end of flower right before you harvest. Again, I see many do this and claim that it increases trichomes and terpenes.

3. The 48 (or 36) hours of darkness at the END of harvest as you mention. Many do this too.

I haven't been able to find any actual scientific data to back any of this up. You can find plenty of articles but I'm talking hard numerical data. May be out there but I haven't found it yet. So any of these things if I do them will be based most likely on feedback I get from very experienced growers on here. Just seems that all three of these are things that there's no consensus on. Some do them or one of them, some don't.

 

[lvumlow]

Quick update:

I left her in the dark for 48hrs before the chop and can validate that she did take in more nutrients than normal during that time so there might be something to that?

Anyway she is hanging to dry now so while waiting on that I decided to see if I could get the new radiator prepped for my CO2 generator.

If you have been following along with that, I found that the unit I bought has 1" inlet/outlets (copper, sweat connections) and finding some fittings to work with my lines was a little challenging. I use washing machine hoses so I was hoping to find a 1" sweat to 3/4 GHT adapter but no luck in my area. I tried to find the cleanest way to connect everything and ultimately found a 1" to 3/8" adapter (sweat) and picked up a couple 1/4" NPT to barbed nipple adapters. I tapped the 3/8 end (inside) of the 1" adapter to 1/4 NPT pipe thread so I could screw in the nipple. Since my nipple was brass and the 1" adapter was copper, I was able to sweat solder the nipple onto the adapter after screwing it in (I just left the nipple loose so the solder could flow through the threads). This seemed like it was a better solution than stacking a bunch of adapters and the final adapter looks like this.

Now, I plan to hang the radiator on a small chain so I can move it to another room if I don't want the heat in my lung room. I will admit though, in my situation I am growing in my basement and actually needed a heater an the old CPU radiators worked out pretty well so I will have to get this installed to get some idea if the exchange rate will be different now. This radiator does have more coils which are also larger in diameter so I am expecting more heat exchange but I will post up once I get everything by running with the new radiator.

The bottom line with this solution is that it costs about the same as buying a CO2 tank and regulator. It is just easier for me to get propane than CO2 and the temperature options have some benefits in certain situations.

I will post up more once I get everything installed...

 

[Jon]

Quick update:

I left her in the dark for 48hrs before the chop and can validate that she did take in more nutrients than normal during that time so there might be something to that?

Anyway she is hanging to dry now so while waiting on that I decided to see if I could get the new radiator prepped for my CO2 generator.

If you have been following along with that, I found that the unit I bought has 1" inlet/outlets (copper, sweat connections) and finding some fittings to work with my lines was a little challenging. I use washing machine hoses so I was hoping to find a 1" sweat to 3/4 GHT adapter but no luck in my area. I tried to find the cleanest way to connect everything and ultimately found a 1" to 3/8" adapter (sweat) and picked up a couple 1/4" NPT to barbed nipple adapters. I tapped the 3/8 end (inside) of the 1" adapter to 1/4 NPT pipe thread so I could screw in the nipple. Since my nipple was brass and the 1" adapter was copper, I was able to sweat solder the nipple onto the adapter after screwing it in (I just left the nipple loose so the solder could flow through the threads). This seemed like it was a better solution than stacking a bunch of adapters and the final adapter looks like this.

Now, I plan to hang the radiator on a small chain so I can move it to another room if I don't want the heat in my lung room. I will admit though, in my situation I am growing in my basement and actually needed a heater an the old CPU radiators worked out pretty well so I will have to get this installed to get some idea if the exchange rate will be different now. This radiator does have more coils which are also larger in diameter so I am expecting more heat exchange but I will post up once I get everything by running with the new radiator.

The bottom line with this solution is that it costs about the same as buying a CO2 tank and regulator. It is just easier for me to get propane than CO2 and the temperature options have some benefits in certain situations.

I will post up more once I get everything installed...

Hey man, congrats on harvesting, and I have a bunch of questions for you if you don't mind? I'll just jump in, lol.

So regarding your 48 hours of darkness:
- did you notice any difference in the look or smell of your buds after the 48 hours?
- did you lower the temperature in the space for that 48 hours, or had you been trying for cooler nights in general beyond just the cooler that automatically happens when the lights turn off?
- how difficult was managing the anticipation for two whole days while you basically delay your harvest in the hopes of positive effects of something you cannot yet scientifically prove will even work for anything? (that's an LOL question just for fun)

And regarding your hanging to dry the plants:
- you do a ton of things right, it would likely have value to us (I know it would to me, lol) if you could please provide more detail about things like where you hang, what temperature in the dry space, is it dedicated, how do you move air in that space, do you hang the plant as a whole or did you break up the branches in some fashion, how much cover leaf did you remove, do you control the humidity for the dry and if so at what level...you know, that sort of stuff. If you have any pictures you could post on that it would be awesome.

And a couple more as long as I'm grilling you (LOL):
- do you have a curing plan and if so what is it?
- do you by chance have a before 48 hours of darkness/after 48 hours of darkness picture of your trichomes?
- did you bother with a wet yield weigh?
- how damn frosty were the leaves and stuff you took off and I assume saved for whatever you do with it? Got any pictures you could share of what she looked like at the point of harvest?

That's probably enough peppering for now. Please take it as a sign of respect. Thanks.

 

[lvumlow]

Hey man, congrats on harvesting, and I have a bunch of questions for you if you don't mind? I'll just jump in, lol.

So regarding your 48 hours of darkness:
- did you notice any difference in the look or smell of your buds after the 48 hours?
- did you lower the temperature in the space for that 48 hours, or had you been trying for cooler nights in general beyond just the cooler that automatically happens when the lights turn off?
- how difficult was managing the anticipation for two whole days while you basically delay your harvest in the hopes of positive effects of something you cannot yet scientifically prove will even work for anything? (that's an LOL question just for fun)

And regarding your hanging to dry the plants:
- you do a ton of things right, it would likely have value to us (I know it would to me, lol) if you could please provide more detail about things like where you hang, what temperature in the dry space, is it dedicated, how do you move air in that space, do you hang the plant as a whole or did you break up the branches in some fashion, how much cover leaf did you remove, do you control the humidity for the dry and if so at what level...you know, that sort of stuff. If you have any pictures you could post on that it would be awesome.

And a couple more as long as I'm grilling you (LOL):
- do you have a curing plan and if so what is it?
- do you by chance have a before 48 hours of darkness/after 48 hours of darkness picture of your trichomes?
- did you bother with a wet yield weigh?
- how damn frosty were the leaves and stuff you took off and I assume saved for whatever you do with it? Got any pictures you could share of what she looked like at the point of harvest?

That's probably enough peppering for now. Please take it as a sign of respect. Thanks.

I only noticed that she drank more than normal because I was not filling the reservoir any longer. I wish I took some pics but didn't think of it. I did not notice any real difference but I didn't look close either since I knew it was time to harvest. I tried to let the temp drop slowly but towards the end and with the lights out it dropped as low as 65. I have everything drying at 55% @ 65 deg. for the next 2 weeks. I broke the plant up into sections that would fit in the tent without being too crowded and the rest went into a drying rack in the room.

After 10-14 days, I plan to package everything up in some CVault containers with 58% Boveda packs for curing. I have some small humidity pucks that will be in each container so we will check them occasionally.

I didn't take any pics, sorry but here is everything hung up...

 

[Jon]

I only noticed that she drank more than normal because I was not filling the reservoir any longer. I wish I took some pics but didn't think of it. I did not notice any real difference but I didn't look close either since I knew it was time to harvest. I tried to let the temp drop slowly but towards the end and with the lights out it dropped do about 65. I have everything drying at 55% @ 68 deg. for the next 2 weeks. I broke the plant up into sections that would fit in the tent without being too crowded and the rest went into a drying rack in the room.

After 10-14 days, I plan to package everything up in some Cvault containers with 58% Boveda packs for curing. I have some small humidity pucks that will be in each container so we will check them occasionally.

I didn't take any pics, sorry but here is everything hung up...

My GOD. Nice haul. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for letting me pepper you with questions. Superior job, man, really. Congratulations. Will you post pics of the finished buds in a couple weeks or whenever?