Bubblegum Deep Water Culture LED/CFL Grow!

[dirwin85]

I am not expecting to spend much more than 20 on the whole thing, sounds like a great fix

 

[dirwin85]

This was the largest cooler i could find at good ol wally world it is 28 quarts or 7 gallons.

I am expecting it to be able to hold 5 gallons after i put the plants in and give room for the net pots and air, is this to small should i get a bigger one before i start cutting into this?

The girls are drinking a lot of water now so size of this is my only real concern

 

[dirwin85]

 

[dirwin85]

 

[MostlyCrazy]

Coming along nicely, I see!

 

[dirwin85]

I got the cooler built for around $50 total because i needed to get the bit to cut the 3.5" holes for the pots. I will see how my temps are tommarow

 

[dirwin85]

the cooler did wonders, when should i up my PPM's?

Air temp 77
Water Temp 63
PH 5.5
PPM 420
height 9"

 

[MostlyCrazy]

Whatever you do on the ppm, do it slowly so you can tell what the plants think. It takes about 3 days to tell after an increase in dosage. If they spot up and or the leaves get droopy or kind of dull looking you know you are at max and should back off from there. By back off I mean pull a gallon of nuted water and replace it with a gallon ph'd water only. Remember, too little is just too little but too much is a problem.

 

[dirwin85]

what should i be at or is this fine for veg? they dont look like they need anything to me

 

[MostlyCrazy]

Different strains require different levels and that's why it's good to know how to "read" the plant. My take is that unless otherwise indicated by the plant it's better to go with lower nutes than to overfeed. From the way it looks they don't need anything and that is why a bump of 100 or so ppm per change is the way to go.

If your at the 420 ppm (coincidence, I think not) range now, I wouldn't go more than 550 on the next res change. Then I'd let it at that range until the next res change. If the plant liked it, it will continue to grow well and if it doesn't the leaves will droop a little and you'll get rust colored spots on the leaves. If that happens (don't expect it to) then you go back to the previous weeks nute level.

I might also be a good idea to document the nute levels you are using in case you grow this strain again. I grew pretty much one strain for 6 grows because I knew the strain, it provided the buzz I wanted and growing it became sort of automatic. That is a good feeling to have while growing and you will get there in time. Stay patient.

 

[H6251686]

Yeay, there looking good dirwin85. I see you got your res cooled down now. Nice job. don't let it get below 60. It will stunt the growth. Oh your ppm MC is right, Bump it up, but do it slow. When I did my Bubblelious, I also had ICE in the same tub. I would burn the Ice when I raised my ppm but my Bubblelious would eat it like it was nothing.

Before I went to flowering, I believe I was at 800 ppm.

 

[MostlyCrazy]

800 in veg is kind of my top end also. I use the sensi A and B.

 

[dirwin85]

im going to swap out the water and aim for 5-700 range, better to under than over feed right MC?

i will edit with stats after i swap the water

air temp 75
water temp 62
PH 5.75
ppm 650

 

[Green007]

Everything looks good. Don't forget that nutes are taken up by the plants at different PH levels. PH 5.6 to start is good as long as it slowly climbs as the water and nutes are eaten allowing all the nutes to be absorbed.

 

[MostlyCrazy]

OK, now watch for the reaction. It will be + or - and then you adjust accordingly.

 

[dirwin85]

the PH moved up to 6.5 after setting now i am slowly adding PH down to drop it back to where i need it

 

[dirwin85]

in the last 6 hours they have already drank half an inch of water and the leaves look great, they must be liking it

 

[MostlyCrazy]

If they are really drinking then the PH will rise. Don't try to over control it. Let them eat everything on the banquest table.

 

[dirwin85]

How do i maintain nute levels when replacing the water they drank in a few days?

 

[MostlyCrazy]

You can do it one of two ways. You can add back just ph'd water and sort of feather the nute level down if you suspect your right on the edge or you can mix the add water at the same level that you originally used. The plants actually use different amounts of different kinds of nutes so that why once a week you reset with a res change.