PhotoTron Grow with Ebb N Flow

[Ms.Fox]

They look so happy! See how the leaves look like they are reaching up? That is a wonderful sign!

 

[Munki]

They look so happy! See how the leaves look like they are reaching up? That is a wonderful sign!

Glad that is a good sign. I often push them down so they don't touch the light. The plant's vascular pressure is very good. Within one minute of trimming a leaf, it will totally wilt. I guess that is why the leafs often droop when underwatered; the leaves cannot be supported with the lowering vascular pressures in the plant. Anyways, I'm glad to know that you see good things here Ms.Fox. Nice, even green leaves with practically no leaf burning except for when I first transplanted the clones.

 

[buzzboy]

Don't worry man, we're watching. My first grow was in a 'tron many years ago. I am a true believer in their pinching and pruning methodology. Your plants are beautiful.

 

[fuuji0019]

I dunno what to say, looking so green and healthy - as you said you took the photos just before lights off and they're still perky!

Looks like you've got the prunning right, dont go over-board though.
Got a great setup!

 

[TorturedSoul]

Day 22. Just switched the lights from 24/0 to 18/6 per pyraponic's instruction for phototron. I will put in pics as notable, visible changes occur. Doesn't seem there is too much interest in this thread thus far. Guess I'm getting lost in the many journals on this site.

The other thing that's hard to realize is that 95% percent of the people that read these threads can't post because they haven't registered. Of the 5% that view, only some actually post; usually when they have something specific to weigh in on.

If I posted once a day in every thread that I READ, I'd have about 10,000 posts by now. I'd also have lost my job, my house, and my woman because of all the extra time I would have spent (I type reasonably fast but still, it adds up and occasionally I take the time to put a little extra thought into a post) doing so.

Some of us were hitting the internet back when those newfangled 300-baud modems we had cost several hundred dollars and we had to use them to dial into our local college's mainframe to "surf the (then nonexistent) web" so to speak, and one part of the etiquette was that 100 people didn't post "me too" messages, even if it was just to say "good job."

Now of course access is cheaper, speeds are faster, and storage is larger. But still, old habits and all that.

Rest assured that people - even members lol - are reading your thread.

And I bet that if you started leaving floaters in the punchbowl you'd have several people immediately post that you were doing something wrong.

But your grow seems to be coming along.

Got a little less that 4 hours until the first dark period completes. I didn't poke my head into the tent too much before but its harder not to when I can't for some reason.

Guess nobody has told you that it's not a big deal to interrupt the dark period during the vegetative stage. Well, not for purposes of this discussion anyway lol. Just don't get into the habit of it and then carry the behavior into the flowering stage where such actions WILL cause you grief.

My system is an ebb and flow setup, so I just flood the bucket inside the phototron for 15 minutes, every 6 hours. The rest of the time, the roots are exposed to the air in the Hydroton media. I've even added a air pump and stone to the reservoir and run it for 30 minutes just before the nutrient pump kicks in so the nutrient fluid is oxygenated as well.

+REPs for customizing that thing.

The guy I bought the 'tron from said he had some good success with it if he followed the instructions exactly. That includes buying the moss from Pyraponic Industries. It has been reported that other bulk sphagnum moss is often treated with chemicals that will interfere with growth.

While it's true about using chemically-impregnated moss, it's also true that PI makes a substantial amount of their income through media/etc. sales. So of course they're going to state that that is the best media to use. It's not like they are giving the stuff away for free and saying it's best.

 

[420NV]

OK, well I'm following your grow. I also have a phototron. Looks to be the same size as yours. 'Cept I've got the total set up and using it as it is intended to be used. Your grow is interesting to me.
I seemed to have planted some seeds around the same time as you started this grow?? June 7th.
I started my 16/8 light cycle last Friday. I have one WWM and one OB and they both have white hairs starting. I'm happy about that.
My last grow had 5 plants, 3 were male. =( That's why I decided to just do 1 each this time. If they grow well, I will just clone them.
I made the mistake of over pruning and pinching last grow. This grow, I'm barely cutting. I have big, beautiful leaves, some appear darker in colour and some a nice lighter green.
Just these two plants, a little over a month old have filled my chamber so bad I am struggling to tie them off so they don't get burned. (some leaves have to take one for the team)
Shouldn't be too much longer now!
Good luck! =)

 

[Munki]

Wow. Thanks for all the responses everyone. I was being whiny before and needed all of your encouragement. I agree that too many extraneous posts can clutter the good info though an occasional chime in is nice to see. I will take the "no news is good news" philosophy with respect to the replies.

The pinching and pruning guidelines are really an art form. Following them to the letter can result in too much removal as different strains show different leaf grow rates. I can attest that the leaf removal has slowed the vertical growth rates and the plants are bushing out more. So far and crossing fingers here but the plants' health are exceeding my expectations so far. It gets pretty warm in the tent so I thought I would have more heat issues than I've seen. My guess is that excessive heat will play a more negative role as the plants mature and progress in through the flowering period.

@Tortured: Hey, you have been here in the thread since the beginning and greatly appreciate your input. You sound like you have been around on this planet for a while as have I. I bought my first modem (300 BAUD) from a friend for 50 bucks for my Apple ][+ computer back in the mid eighties. The best you could get was the Hayes 2400 at $800. I could go on reminiscing but that would be off topic for this discussion though I would go on and on via PM.
With regards to the supplies PI sells, I totally agree that they are over priced and could be using scare tactics but in this area, those tactics work. Most people that will go to all the trouble of setting one of these up typically are new to this and wouldn't want their first grow to fail because they went cheap on the media. Maybe people who use Sphagnum Moss can test out what is easily available in garden centers for cultivation and report what worked and what doesn't. That would be a very good thread but most will not use this media so I doubt that question will ever be answered.

Oh yeah, thanks for the +rep man. Rep goes out to all you helpful supporters. I really can't say more except

@420NV: Hey, you got a journal of that grow going? I'd like to at least see some pics of your grow sometime so share 'em if you got 'em!

 

[420NV]

I don't have a journal. I have so much going on in my life right now, I couldn't commit to the posts required. lol
I'd love to post pics and show off how great the plants look, but I don't think that'll happen. =(

 

[Munki]

I don't have a journal. I have so much going on in my life right now, I couldn't commit to the posts required. lol
I'd love to post pics and show off how great the plants look, but I don't think that'll happen. =(

I hear ya on being busy. You can just take a couple of quick pics then upload to your account here. It is pretty easy and there are instructions on how to do so. TorturedSoul has a link in his sig. Click here to read it. (Hope that is OK to link to 420 magazine pages) Hope to see where you are at in your grow.

 

[420NV]

also, there are 2 of us in on this grow. I am more of the sharing type. i think posting pics on here is a little more of a hassle, then say, facebook (yes, I'm a junkie), but also, the other person in on this grow isn't much of a sharing type. expecially on the internet. lol trust factor i suppose, so like any other relationship, compromise. lol so no journal to make him happy. LOL
he's also not too sure that the hairs I'm seeing, are in fact hairs from a female plant. He thinks it's a bit too early to determine still.
We'll see!

 

[Munki]

also, there are 2 of us in on this grow. I am more of the sharing type. i think posting pics on here is a little more of a hassle, then say, facebook (yes, I'm a junkie), but also, the other person in on this grow isn't much of a sharing type. expecially on the internet. lol trust factor i suppose, so like any other relationship, compromise. lol so no journal to make him happy. LOL
he's also not too sure that the hairs I'm seeing, are in fact hairs from a female plant. He thinks it's a bit too early to determine still.
We'll see!

Hey, no problem. If you got a partner you can really trust, then all the better for you. If for whatever reason you need to be out of town for a while, there is someone there to tend it especially if it is a phototron with the Sphagnum Moss and don't have the auto-waterer.

 

[420NV]

Oh ya, we've got the auto waterer, timer, and a 10 gallon resivoir. Real nice for when we go away. 5 days is the longest we've left it.

 

[Propa Gator]

Hi Munki, just now looked in on your happy little grow, and I'm happy I did. My first idea was kinda not so hot because I had an old bad attitude about da Tron. Here I see vertical light ebbing in a tent. What's not to like? I too have had to make accomodations with reality when making spendalot plans then actually doing something. You're going to harvest and smoke your own at the end of this grow, and it will be good. I want to see pics of them burly bitches humbling da Tron, make it 'tap out'.

PG

 

[Munki]

Here are a couple of shots from last night at Day 25. They grew about an inch in two days.

Let me read all your latest posts and I will answer them here in a sec.

 

[Munki]

@ 420NV: So it sounds like you got the total PI setup. I hope you can get a couple of close pics at the end, then upload them from a Starbucks or something if worried about security issues. We would love to see how it ends up working for you.

Hi Munki, just now looked in on your happy little grow, and I'm happy I did. My first idea was kinda not so hot because I had an old bad attitude about da Tron. Here I see vertical light ebbing in a tent. What's not to like? I too have had to make accomodations with reality when making spendalot plans then actually doing something. You're going to harvest and smoke your own at the end of this grow, and it will be good. I want to see pics of them burly bitches humbling da Tron, make it 'tap out'.

PG

Thanks PG. You put a big smile on my face when reading your post. I'm lovin' the support of all you 420 members. The phototron is in a Hydrohut Silver Edition 4x4 tent. It wasn't cheap, but I did get it at a good price. I won't be using a phototron forever. I plan to step up to an HID setup in the future so I bought it with that in mind once I had the funds.

I'm making a DIY carbon air scrubber that will attach to the 6 inch inline fan. I'll post some pics of it. Got a great price on the carbon; $1/pound.

 

[Munki]

What strain did you say it was?

I talked to my wife about this and she remembers that at least one plant was Sour Diesel. Upon reading the web, this "strain" name got stolen by another breeder a while back so there are at least two versions of it. One smells like a diesel spill and the other like grapefruit. So, I guess I'll be able to tell which version by the smell or by whether or not it gets darker bluish hues to the final bud. I welcome anyone to correct me on this though. For me, if it looks good, smells good, and smokes good, I'm all good with that.

 

[Retired One]

Actually sour diesel still has the diesel smell, just a pronounced sour citrus taste.

 

[CharlieMopps]

Nice tron grow. What height do you plan on flowering at?

 

[Munki]

Actually sour diesel still has the diesel smell, just a pronounced sour citrus taste.

OK, good to know. I'll see what I end up with but I can say that I already had to connect my DIY carbon scrubber last night. My wife could easily smell it ... that is until that scrubber got hooked up. Man, those things are awesome. It barely even restricts the air flow through my inline fan. I still get a lot of negative air pressure inside the tent. I'll get some pics of the new configuration up shortly.

 

[Munki]

Nice tron grow. What height do you plan on flowering at?

Well, since it is my first time, I was planning on following the manufacturer's instructions. I'll quote it. "Within 45 to 60 days from the time you planted your seedlings into the base of the phototron, your plants will grow to the top of the system using a 16 hours on/ 8 hours off photoperiod. Allow your plants to grow a couple of inches past the top of the side lamps, then cut the main stem (decapitating the plant) even with the top of the side lamps. You are removing the very top part of the plant and channeling all of the growth energy to the lateral shoots, allowing your plants to fill out."

After that, it appears that they want the cycle to go to 12/12 for 45 days throughout which you remove buds whose white hairs darken. That should occur at 7 to 10 days after they first appear. Then remove all buds 1/2 inch or larger at end of 45 day period.

Switch to 24/0 for 14 to 21 days and remove any remaining buds as they mature. Then, cycle back to the 12/12 and repeat.

This is pretty different to most other grow methods where the plants are cropped. In this system, the plant is more like a fruit tree.

Thanks for the post Charlie. +rep