Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W LED

Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

Setting Sun said:
Thanks for explaining. Those are nice features.

I'm glad I asked before telling you that I could not see any significant advantage to that system over separate buckets.

If you add a pump, however, I think you're about a gnat's ass away from an ebb & flow system ;).
Click to expand...

Well I am starting to see some flaws with my setup. I noticed today that there was a significant difference in PH between the res (6.2) and plant (7.2) buckets. I have also noticed a difference in PPM (res-1300 and plant-625). I think that unless I am adding a good quantity of water the circulation between the buckets is poor. I think if I was to do it again, I would use 3/4" tubes instead of 1/2". I need to figure out a way to circulate the water between buckets. Any one have any suggestions?

For right now i am using a 1 gallon jug filled with water and placing and removing it from the res bucket. This is causing the buckets to circulate water. I need to do this about 6 times to equalize PPM and PH. This is not a good long term solution as I should be doing this a couple of times a day.
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

trichtone said:
The peeps at my local hydro store gave me a gallon of their compost tea. They said that they have had good success using it as a foliar spray. Wondering if any of you have tried using a foliar spray before? If you have, how young were the plants when you applied it. :smokin:
Click to expand...

My hydro store gives it away as well, not tried it as foliar spray. I thought it was supposed to help the micro-zoo in your soil. It takes a while to actually take effect. The bacteria need time to cultivate. I'll be curious to see if you like the results of spraying it.

Also, as SS pointed out - you're real close to an ebb and flow system. The water actually equalizes amongst the buckets because of gravity (not air pressure). But there are gasses that are expelled amongst the roots. When the water goes in and out it pushes those gasses out and sucks oxygen in for the roots. At least that's what the E&G manual says.

:nicethread::peace::rollit:
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

trichtone said:
Well I am starting to see some flaws with my setup. I noticed today that there was a significant difference in PH between the res (6.2) and plant (7.2) buckets. I have also noticed a difference in PPM (res-1300 and plant-625). I think that unless I am adding a good quantity of water the circulation between the buckets is poor. I think if I was to do it again, I would use 3/4" tubes instead of 1/2". I need to figure out a way to circulate the water between buckets. Any one have any suggestions?

For right now i am using a 1 gallon jug filled with water and placing and removing it from the res bucket. This is causing the buckets to circulate water. I need to do this about 6 times to equalize PPM and PH. This is not a good long term solution as I should be doing this a couple of times a day.
Click to expand...

Really nice setup you have Trichtone. You could run drip lines to all your buckets and then pump from your central res into the drip lines. It's a good idea to keep things circulating - more DO to the roots. Alternatively you could go ebb and flow as someone already suggested, or you could pump the solution through the lines like an undercurrent system.

One thing that concerns me about the design of this system is that you run the risk of mineral interactions and hitting the plants with toxic levels by mixing into a system while it is circulating. Nutrients and other amendments need to be mixed up properly before being introduced to the plants. Employing ebb and flow in your system is one way to resolve this.
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

Papa Green said:
My hydro store gives it away as well, not tried it as foliar spray. I thought it was supposed to help the micro-zoo in your soil. It takes a while to actually take effect. The bacteria need time to cultivate. I'll be curious to see if you like the results of spraying it.

Also, as SS pointed out - you're real close to an ebb and flow system. The water actually equalizes amongst the buckets because of gravity (not air pressure). But there are gasses that are expelled amongst the roots. When the water goes in and out it pushes those gasses out and sucks oxygen in for the roots. At least that's what the E&G manual says.

:nicethread::peace::rollit:
Click to expand...

Thanks Papa Green! You and SS have me thinking about how I could implement a modified ebb and flow. My system holds a total of 17 gals of water. I would have to get at least a 20 gal reservoir. The nice thing is my setup will allow for me to pump between the DWC setup and the 20 gal reservoir. The problem is that I am not sure how to make it stealthy as I won't be able to fit the 20 gal reservoir into the cab.

I saw Slimm's suggestion of adding a pump to do top feeding (ie pull water from the res and drip to the plants). This would certainly circulate the water. I probably will try this method first. I may still incorporate the 20 gal res to do premixing of nutes after i flush the system. :grinjoint:
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

slimm said:
Really nice setup you have Trichtone. You could run drip lines to all your buckets and then pump from your central res into the drip lines. It's a good idea to keep things circulating - more DO to the roots. Alternatively you could go ebb and flow as someone already suggested, or you could pump the solution through the lines like an undercurrent system.

One thing that concerns me about the design of this system is that you run the risk of mineral interactions and hitting the plants with toxic levels by mixing into a system while it is circulating. Nutrients and other amendments need to be mixed up properly before being introduced to the plants. Employing ebb and flow in your system is one way to resolve this.
Click to expand...

Thanks Slimm. I think I am going to incorporate your suggestion of adding a pump and drip lines. The only additions I would make are:
  • Turn the pump off when I add the nutes to the res. I will wait for an hour or two to turn the pump back on to allow the nutes to stabilize in the res.
  • Have the drip lines go directly into the plant bucket water and not top feed through the net pot. I am afraid to top feed the plants with the strong res water. If i drip the res solution into the plant buckets it should diffuse slower.

When i am doing a flush of the system I think I will incorporate a modified ebb and flow. I will premix 17 gals of water with nutes in a 20 gal res and let is stabilize. I then can drain the system and add the back the premixed 17 gals of water. :rollit:
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

Sounds like you will be just fine. With the ideas you have and the help from this site, you should have GREAT results!:cheer:
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

trichtone said:
Thanks Slimm. I think I am going to incorporate your suggestion of adding a pump and drip lines. The only additions I would make are:
  • Turn the pump off when I add the nutes to the res. I will wait for an hour or two to turn the pump back on to allow the nutes to stabilize in the res.
  • Have the drip lines go directly into the plant bucket water and not top feed through the net pot. I am afraid to top feed the plants with the strong res water. If i drip the res solution into the plant buckets it should diffuse slower.

When i am doing a flush of the system I think I will incorporate a modified ebb and flow. I will premix 17 gals of water with nutes in a 20 gal res and let is stabilize. I then can drain the system and add the back the premixed 17 gals of water. :rollit:
Click to expand...

If you put your rez lower than your buckets then you would be able to drain the entire thing to modify your solution. You could bring in a low profile rez and set it on the garage floor in front of your cab when you want to make changes to the solution. Drain the system, make your nutrient changes then pump it back from the temporary rez to your system. Alternatively you could employ an add back strategy and cycle your solution faster so it mixes more quickly. I'm a passive hydro guy so these are all ideas I have not tried - just suggestions that may help.
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

Trichtone,
I have to complement you on your beautiful setup there!:bravo:
You really did a great job of planning, setting things up and learning your stuff before beginning your first grow. I jumped into mine half baked (hmm..I was probably fully baked but my grow room was half baked :) ) and my plants have suffered for my lack of preparation. They are doing much better with the help of the fine folks on this site.

Can't wait to see how things progress for you!
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

Day 6 Veg

Hi All...I forgot mention what nutes I am using:

GH Micro
GH Bloom
Silica Blast
Liquid Karma
Cal Mag
H2O2

It is Day 6 of veg. I think my circulation problems in the DWC have played a little havoc with the Ladies. My pH was too high and PPM too low in the plant buckets and just the opposite on the res. Here are some pics of the Ladies.

Purple Kush 1 - Both Purple Kush's are doing well. A little leaf droop on both.

PK-1-D6.jpg


XJ-13 1 - This one is the runt and it has tips curling. All of the ladies are doing it, but this one much more than the others. Any ideas as to the tips curling? Is this normal? (sorry for the pic quality - i will break out my better camera next time)

XJ-1-D6.jpg


I have added a submersible pump to my system that has balanced the pH and PPM. After about 8 hours the ladies have improved. The pics above were taking before the pump went in.
 
Re: Trichtones First Grow | XJ-13 and PK | 600W GLH LED

slimm said:
If you put your rez lower than your buckets then you would be able to drain the entire thing to modify your solution. You could bring in a low profile rez and set it on the garage floor in front of your cab when you want to make changes to the solution. Drain the system, make your nutrient changes then pump it back from the temporary rez to your system. Alternatively you could employ an add back strategy and cycle your solution faster so it mixes more quickly. I'm a passive hydro guy so these are all ideas I have not tried - just suggestions that may help.
Click to expand...

Thanks slimm! I am already looking for a 20 gallon res. Something that looks like it belongs in a garage!

I did modify my DWC setup. I added a submersible pump into the res bucket that pumps water to each plant bucket. The circular flow is working great. It takes about 10 mins to circulate the water so that pH and PPM are balanced between buckets. I like that it slowly balances the buckets. I already notice the ladies have perked up.

Picture of the submersible pump I added to the system. And yes I know what it looks like. lol, you all have dirty minds :grinjoint:

submerisable-pump.jpg


I connected 1/4 in tubing to the setup and ran a line to each plant bucket. I stuffed the tubing through the net pot and let the water from the res flow directly to the bucket and avoiding direct contact with the roots. You can see an example from my Day 6 Veg pics.
 

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