THConnoisseur's Perpetual Grow Tent

[THConnoisseur]

what up dudes? im back wit a whole new hydro set-up! its been up and running for the last few weeks and everything is going real good. this is the first perpetual garden ive ever had but i want to increase harvests per year and this is definitely the easiest way.

THE GROW:

2x4 Sun System grow tent
two 400watt HPS lamps (w/ 6" aircooled hoods)
two 2x2 flood trays
two 25gal reservoirs w/ airstones
Can33 carbon air filter
400cfm Hydrofarm exhuast fan
oscillating tower fan

THE NUTES/MEDIUM:

Aqua Flakes A & B
Bud XL
Shooting Powder
Drip Clean (yea i know, drip clean isnt a nute...)
4" rockwool cubes w/ hydroton in 8" mesh bottom pots

THE LADIES:

currently- left tray has 3 (or should i say 2 1/2) BLUE DREAM ladies that are 3 weeks into flowering. the right tray has 3 PURPLE KUSH ladies that just began flowering yesterday.

the whole point of this garden is to have two different strains growing simultaneously but with different harvest dates. i intend to have FOUR of each strain, blue dream and purple kush, in their own trays and will be harvesting one of the two strains every 4-5 weeks (instead of all 8 plants every 8-10 weeks, get it?). my goal will be 3-4oz per tray, per month. the benefit of this approach is that i can easily phase out one or both strains if i get tired of growing the same thing... which tends to happen after 2 or 3 harvests

i will keep this journal updated weekly so subscribe and check in often! peace!

 

[THConnoisseur]

I forgot to say that I have a whole other area for moms, clones, and vegging!! this tent is always on a 12/12 cycle for flowering while the vegging closet is 24/0. i veg new clones for 2-3 weeks before putting them into flowering which will allow my girls to be the right size before flowering to yield about 1oz each. later dudes!

 

[SanibelGreen]

Looks great man, what are the temps running in there?

SG

 

[ol hippy]

I forgot to say that I have a whole other area for moms, clones, and vegging!! this tent is always on a 12/12 cycle for flowering while the vegging closet is 24/0. i veg new clones for 2-3 weeks before putting them into flowering which will allow my girls to be the right size before flowering to yield about 1oz each. later dudes!

Very nice set up !! I've never tried flood tables , how would they compare to a reg bubble set up ? What special set up do you need for the resevoirs ? Thanks THConnoisseur !

 

[THConnoisseur]

Sanibel, my lights come on at 10pm and off at 10am (to ensure the coldest possible outside air temps) which keeps my temps 78-82 at the canopy this time of year. in the next few months when it gets hotter my highs might be 85-86 on a real warm night, but quick air exchange and the strong tower fan i have oscillating keeps the ladies happy. thanks dude!

ol hippy, i have never actually grown in a Deep Water Culture setup but i do know theyre pretty easy, luckily so is flood & drain! i change each res once a week and thats all i really have to do lol everything else is on timers... each res has an airstone to keep it mixed and oxygenated as well as a 250gph pump that fills the flood tray above it at various times during the light cycle. for well rooted clones i recommend 1 flood/light cycle the 1st week, 2 floods/light cycle 2nd and 3rd week, 3 floods/light cycle 4th, 5th, and 6th week, and 4 floods/light cycle 7th, 8th, 9th, etc. weeks. never flood when the light is off or right before it shuts off, and always space the flood cycles evenly. hope this helps!

 

[ol hippy]

So during a 12 hr light cycle you flood 3x per light cycle evenly spaced out over that time period? And what does a flood cycle consist of just pumping x amount of water to a point and than it just drains out ? Thanks this does sound interesting

 

[808sWAGG]

So after 3 weeks your saying you switch it to 12/12. Thats smart how you got it all planned out Really clean set-up bro keep it up and happy growing! Im in on this one!

 

[THConnoisseur]

ol hippy, the floods cycles i mentioned are ONLY for flowering starting from week 1. i veg in a completely separate area than the grow tent. i take clones and veg them for about 3 weeks in 24/0 light and then when i harvest one of the two trays in the tent, ill move 3-4 new ones into the tent and they'll begin their first week of flowering. both of the 400watts's are in a dual outlet timer, theyre on and off together, its almost like i have an 800watt hps lol. AND, a flood cycle = pump turning on for 15min (just using a standard timer) which will fill the table in minutes, then the water level reaches the overflow fitting and it levels out for about 10 minutes while the pump is still on, then when the pump shuts off all the water drains back into the res... all of this happens while im asleep LOL

808, like i said above, i veg in a completely separate area ( a spare closet) which allows me to get plants as big as i want before i transfer them to the 12/12 tent and they start flowering. for example, when the blue dreams (which takes 10weeks to flower) is 5 weeks into flowering (in the tent), im going to clone the blue dream mom which is in the veg area, let them root, and start vegging them in a 4" rw cubes in the same 24/0 veg area. 3 weeks later when the ladies in the tent finish, ill move the new ones into their place and they'll begin flowering. essentially i can harvest one of the two strains every 4-5 weeks. GOAL: a lot of SMALL harvests with BIG variety and NO DOWN TIME between crops. peace!

 

[ol hippy]

Whoe thats a cool setup !! I may have to look into doing something like this after I get a grow done , I like the idea of a perpetual grow !! Just need another tent and light !! Soon .... `Thanks for the mini lesson Answer !!

 

[Lemon Paradise]

very nice looking setup, I am in,, looks good

 

[808sWAGG]

GOTCHA! Sounds complicating only because you summed it up in 1 pharagraph hehe It's gonna be fun and i really like your set-up Happy growing bro!

 

[THConnoisseur]

thanks for all the support so far guys! ill have some pics up in a week when im back in town so stay tuned

 

[Lemon Paradise]

got the popcorn

will be waiting

 

[maccen]

Question, how do you keep your mother plant from vegging through the roof?

I need pruning tips.

 

[ol hippy]

Add a skylight !!

 

[THConnoisseur]

my veg closet is 2x4x8 (nearly the same dimensions as my tent) so i could let a mother get up to 6ft, but ill just start a "new mom" if things get too crowded in there by cloning it and keeping one of those clones in the veg room, within a month ill have a new mom... i usually keep the same moms for 6-8 months before im make new ones.

 

[LED-Freak]

Awesome man, I always love a good perpetual grow. I going to be switching over to flood tables soon once I get everything in line. I like the thought of not having to hand water every single plant every single day. Plus it cost less yearly because you dont have to buy coco periodically, hydroton is reusable.

You said you vegging for three weeks? How large are your plants at the point? I like to put my girls into flower when they reach about a solid foot tall, which usually takes about 2.5-3 weeks.

Anyway, nice setup Ill be sticking around and following your progress.

 

[THConnoisseur]

I like to put my girls into flower when they reach about a solid foot tall, which usually takes about 2.5-3 weeks.

you said it! thats exactly what i do too. the purple kush girls i started 10 days ago (in the pics) are 3wks vegged (once the cuttings formed roots) and the two "normal" ones were about 10 inches while the one "runt" was about 8 inches... peace!

 

[THConnoisseur]

UPDATE: blue dream (left) is 5wks into flowering and purple kush (right) is at 2wks. for some reason, AS ALWAYS, one plant decides to be a retard are not grow at all like the others. that purple kush runt on the right has shown almost no signs of stretching or bud production and its TWO WEEKS into flowering! WTF?? the 4 plants that are are growing well look great by my standards, ive never grown either of these strains before so as far as a trial run goes i couldnt be happier. also, i took 10 blue dream cuttings 2 days ago (i will only keep the best 4) so by the time they form roots and veg for 3wks, this blue dream in the tent will be harvested and the 4 new ladies (which will be about 12" tall by then) will be moved into the tent to begin flowering.

 

[Lemon Paradise]

looking good... always seems to be one in the bunch,, oh well,, the rest are very nice indeed good jab