H/A's Coco DIY Ebb and Flow

[HashAssassin]

Greetings. I've been thinking about growing again after taking a couple years off since having to pay for meds is not an option after being out of work for 9 months. Rummaged through the garage and found enough parts and pieces to do a DIY Ebb and Flow with a DIY 400W Halide and 400W HPS in DIY 2 lamp wing reflector. Most was left over from previous grows so I just cleaned up all the old equipment then filled in the gaps.

Week 1

Built a frame for a Double tub Ebb and Flow using scrap wood in about an hour. Setup the tubs and got the plumbing done. I couldn't find my old pump so I bought a new 396 GPH pump and a new reservoir.
A friend let me borrow a 4x4 tent to put it all in so now I was ready to go..sort of. I filled the tubs with 6" pots filled with Coco and rinsed lava rock. Filled to res with plain water to test the plumbing and leach the coco for a second time. Set the timer and left it alone for a few days while anxiously awaiting the arrivals of some clones. I felt like a proud papa to be just finishing a nursery a week before the due date.



-Insert pic when I find the cable-

 

[HashAssassin]

Week 2

Clones arrived. 4- MK Ultra, 3- Afgooey, and 3- Thunderfuck. All clones need some TLC as they are suffering from both cal and nitrogen deficiency. All are freshly rooted clones taken from plants recently put into flower with the exception of 2 of the MK's which are about 18" tall.

Transplanted all the clones from soil to the coco pots and mixed up some nutes. I'm using Botanicare Pro Grow system because it's easy, organic, and works well with the coco.

After a couple of days I started seeing some new growth so I started LST'ng one of the big MK's and chopped the other in half for some clones. Five clones in the bubble cloner but no place to put them so they will stay on the floor of the tent for now. Looks like I need a veg room....

(Insert pic)

Went to HD and picked up a 3' 2 lamp T5 and some 1" pipe and fittings to make a tent frame for an old shelf system I already own.

4- 5' pieces
4- 2" pieces
2- 11" pieces
2- 32" pieces
4- "T's"
4- 90's

For the 3' T5 I cannibalized and old T12 shop light for the reflector and cord. Wired it up and hung it after putting all the pipe together. I then wrapped the frame in Panda Film. Now my clones have their own little happy place away from the HID's.

(Insert pic)

 

[HashAssassin]

Found the camera cable but not the pics of the garden before the plants. Here's what I have so far...

Overview of Flowering room

Right Side - MK's in the back and 3 TF's up front

Left Side - MK's in the back and 3 Afgooey's up front

MK Clones in Veg Hut...Panda Film under them is temporary

 

[bud brother]

H/A looking like your off to a good start can't go wrong with this set up.BC

 

[HashAssassin]

Thanks BC. I've been thinking about going back to aeroponic since that is where I've had my best results especially when doing a perpetual grow. I will use this to veg and flower this crop but the will go in an aeroponic unit. Now I just have to figure out the best cycle based on available space, lighting, projected yields, and (of course) legal limits.

3 strains and a 30 plant limit (med patient and designated provider)
4x4 footprint with a 600W HPS for flower
2x3 footprint with either 3' T5 or 400W MH for veg
2x3 footprint with 2' T5 for clone

This is what I'm thinking so far...

2 - 6 plant site aero units in the flowering room
1 - 12 plant unit in veg
1- cloning unit with 6 clones taken from veg unit prior to rotation

4 week rotation of 6 plants - estimated yield of 9 - 12 oz a harvest

What do think?

 

[bud brother]

Thanks BC. I've been thinking about going back to aeroponic since that is where I've had my best results especially when doing a perpetual grow. I will use this to veg and flower this crop but the will go in an aeroponic unit. Now I just have to figure out the best cycle based on available space, lighting, projected yields, and (of course) legal limits.

3 strains and a 30 plant limit (med patient and designated provider)
4x4 footprint with a 600W HPS for flower
2x3 footprint with either 3' T5 or 400W MH for veg
2x3 footprint with 2' T5 for clone

This is what I'm thinking so far...

2 - 6 plant site aero units in the flowering room
1 - 12 plant unit in veg
1- cloning unit with 6 clones taken from veg unit prior to rotation

4 week rotation of 6 plants - estimated yield of 9 - 12 oz a harvest

What do think?

Sounds like a great plan .I really like growing in the coco still learning all the curves.But the plants love the stuff .BC

 

[HashAssassin]

Week 3

Brrrrr...It's cold. Snow is falling steadily and heat is definitely not an issue in this garden.

The girls are starting to unretard themselves so I changed out the res and it's contents.
14 gal Water
540 ml PGP Grow
126 ml CalMag
pH - 5.8

Here you can definitely see the line where the new growth begins and clone ends. These clones are way smaller then I normally would have started with.

I'm guessing I will have to veg for at least another 3 weeks prior to taking clones and flowering. Here are the two tall MK Ultra's.

Since these two are so tall and skinny they may get axed from the garden since I can't get the light close enough to the little ones. Actually I will probably just pull them from the tables and set them on the floor. That the bonus of using coco as your medium for hydro. You can still hand water!!

 

[bud brother]

Why dont you LST the MK and you'll be able to get light closer plus they will bush out better. BC

 

[HashAssassin]

Why dont you LST the MK and you'll be able to get light closer plus they will bush out better. BC

Already started to LST. Only problem is that they are like little trees already. Plants are over 12" high with at least 6" of bare stem at the bottom.:icon_roll

On another note the aero veg unit is complete with clones in place. 3 out of the six are rooted. It's so cold I might as well have put them in the fridge. Once the other 3 are rooted and all have roots sticking out of the cup I will turn it on and let the fun begin!

 

[PBRMJ]

HashAssassin your plants look nice and them 2 are trees. I think I might try hydro next grow it seems a lot of people have success snd very fast growing plants. I will definitely be watching this grow. I only can find 1 Hydro shop in Tri-Cities, but I'll keep looking.

 

[Dee House]

nice set up hash + rep

 

[HashAssassin]

HashAssassin your plants look nice and them 2 are trees. I think I might try hydro next grow it seems a lot of people have success snd very fast growing plants. I will definitely be watching this grow. I only can find 1 Hydro shop in Tri-Cities, but I'll keep looking.

Thanks. For hydro, the only items you really need from a grow shop are nutrients. Even those can be ordered online. I'm super cheap and mechanically inclined so I've built everything you see in this grow except for the tent which is borrowed. There's lots of DIY info on this site and others that will teach you how to build every thing you need for a kickin' grow room. You just have to look.

 

[HashAssassin]

Damn it's cold. -2C outside = 28F for those of you south of the border. Garden fluctuates between 47 and 61F even with a heater. It's a little warmer in the canopy but not much. Clones are taking forever to root and new growth in the tent is at a minimum even with the light only 12" from the top of the plants. We are supposed to warm up slightly by Friday but if not I'll need to get another heater. It's a good thing my garden is on a dedicated circuit!

Looks like I'll have to wait until at least 12/17 before starting flowering schedule.

 

[bud brother]

Damn it's cold. -2C outside = 28F for those of you south of the border. Garden fluctuates between 47 and 61F even with a heater. It's a little warmer in the canopy but not much. Clones are taking forever to root and new growth in the tent is at a minimum even with the light only 12" from the top of the plants. We are supposed to warm up slightly by Friday but if not I'll need to get another heater. It's a good thing my garden is on a dedicated circuit!

Looks like I'll have to wait until at least 12/17 before starting flowering schedule.

Cold here too snowing like crazy WTH in Nov. weather patterns are getting weirder all the time .You must be in the Pacific NW as well. BC

 

[SnowBender]

Nice! +reps
Whats the stuff in the tables around the pots? and whats its purpose?

 

[HashAssassin]

Nice! +reps
Whats the stuff in the tables around the pots? and whats its purpose?

Lava rock aka Scottish Hydroton. It's purpose? Inhibit algae growth and protect roots once they poke out of the pots. Since I use coco pot liners I will probably take it out and use it in place of the hydroton once I switch to aero.

On another note...warm front moving in and the snow is melting!!

 

[HashAssassin]

I was thinking about pulling the Afgooey and Thunderfuck out of the ebb and flow and placing them into an aero veg unit I made so I could start flowering the larger MK's. Started with the smallest TF and quickly realized it was a bad idea once I saw what an awesome root structure it had. I had to finish the move but the rest will stay and veg where they're at for a few more weeks. The only benefit to this stoner move is that I can compare the growth rates in the two systems.

 

[HashAssassin]

Week 4

LST'd the two tall MK Ultra's. I love how they're bushing up.

Once the canopies are even I can flip the switch!

 

[bud brother]

or is it the lights making em look limey? BC

 

[HashAssassin]

How dare you accuse my plants of being British!!! ..jk.. It's partially the lighting but mainly recovering from nute deficiencies. The two tall MK's were nitrogen starved and all were in need of some calcium and magnesium. All the old growth is spotted but the new growth looks good.