1st Grow - Ebb-N-Grow : Afghan Kush, White Widow, Bag Seed!

[StinkFinger]

Plants are looking amazing bud. The stretching should slow down the next 7-10 days. Keep up the nice work.

Thanks McB! Hope we're on "cruise" for a short bit. Looking for more action over your way during my "lull".

SF

 

[FryingPanFlyer]

I appreciate the history as presented in these mini-series more and more as I get older. It just has an incredible impact to know (and feel) what the soldiers endured during WWII. I'm glad that HBO is presenting these and look forward to another "incredible" period piece.

SF

Wow, thanks for the post. I almost forgot, but then I clicked here and realized! Just in time, they are still playing the credits.

 

[StinkFinger]

Looking good However, I might have noticed a little urine deficiency, LOL.

How is the dry cure doing from the first run?

NEF

LOL NEF. Actually had a guy on one of the threads today claim he could grow with urine, with neuts added of course. I was tempted to call him on it and prove it out.

Dry cure is probably done as far as I can tell. It's been two weeks, I've been burping in the jars a couple of times a day. I believe I'm at the point where I can "burp" them once a week for the next couple of weeks, and then I can either vacuum seal some up, or keep them in the jars, closed up in dry/dark location. The smoke it most excellent, but honestly I've only been sampling the curing bud with the vaporizer. Between me and you, I've just been trying to time it out so I'd have some of the 1st grow to last until this grow is complete.

Anyway, I'm rambling so I'll close here, ;-)

Thanks NEF! Gonna be an exciting week for you with the flowering starting!

SF

 

[StinkFinger]

Your girls are looking very sexy there SF. I just have a question about your Co2 setup. Is your regulator hooked up to a timer or do you have to manual turn it on and off? If it is on a timer could you explain how you have it set up and possible take a picture of it, and what size tank do you have? Great journal and keep up the good work, and thanks for the help.

Hey Kief Man.

Welcome to "my" little corner. It's the bad one, ;-) Glad you stopped by and be happy to answer any questions. I just recently answered your exact question in a recent thread, I hope you don't mind me pointing you to it?

Want to learn how co2

If I didn't hit on something, or you have follow up, feel free to post here, or on that thread, I'll answer you for sure.

Hope you pull up a "seat", we'll be here for a bit.

Thanks KM!
SF

 

[Kief Man]

Thanks for the quick response and posting the link. I just bookmarked it for future reference. Just one more question, how big is your tank and how often do you have to fill it during the veg and bloom cycle? Thanks again for the help.

 

[StinkFinger]

Thanks for the quick response and posting the link. I just bookmarked it for future reference. Just one more question, how big is your tank and how often do you have to fill it during the veg and bloom cycle? Thanks again for the help.

KM.

Absolutely! Just sitting here watching earlier Tivo crap.

Well here's the "deal". I believe these are 20-25# tanks. A national company Praxair delivers them. My sales guy wasn't the clearest to understand. I'm renting two tanks because I wasn't sure if I'm going to upgrade to a generator, and I didn't know how I would sell the used tanks.

As to refilling. The first tank I blew through in 7 days, BUT I was set on a 24/0 light schedule, so the CO2 was cycling also 24/0. Now that I've switched over to flower it only cycling 12 hours and the tank has been running a little over two weeks. If it goes a month, then I'd be fairly happy.

I wish CO2 was more of an exact, like telling you what PH or PPM to use, but it has a bunch of variables that make that kind of recommendation difficult. How many plants, what size grow room, temp of room, etc., etc.

As I mentioned, I just tried to keep it within my level of comfort and let the CAP computer do all the work. And it works really well!

Anytime man!
SF

 

[StinkFinger]

Update 03/15/2010

Sometimes there's no turning back. I'm not ready, but today seeds 4&5 cracked on the paper towel. These are the LowRyder strain that I'm going to throw into my EcoGrower (would this classify as Deep Water Culture?) and they'll live in the closet where I did the first grow.

Nothing is clean yet, and the coco pots haven't arrived, so I might have to improvise with hydroton and STG starter cubes, I'll just skip the coco pots which usually sit in the net pot.

I'm also getting a tad "concerned" about the growth going on with the ebb-n-grow, I took a look this morning and the WW has grown at least an 1.5" overnight, as it was just about touching the light today. If you remember I switched over to the MH light for a week to control some of the stretch, and I'm switching back to HPS tomorrow night. McBudz said the stretching should end in about 7-10 days. I can get the light probably another 8" higher, but that will be about the limit.

The bud sites are really starting to fill out. Can we attribute this to the added CO2? Only 17 days of flowering and I'm much more impressed how these look vs. my 1st bag seed grow.

Fingers crossed I can get those LowRyders going in time.

Have a great day.
SF

 

[DroJo]

Told ya they were gonna explode I think it could be attributed partially to the CO2 and also due to the fact that you have a good clean set up, and seem to be dialing in the nute regiment(props to PV and MB). Im tuned it

 

[FryingPanFlyer]

KM.

Absolutely! Just sitting here watching earlier Tivo crap.

Well here's the "deal". I believe these are 20-25# tanks. A national company Praxair delivers them. My sales guy wasn't the clearest to understand. I'm renting two tanks because I wasn't sure if I'm going to upgrade to a generator, and I didn't know how I would sell the used tanks.

As to refilling. The first tank I blew through in 7 days, BUT I was set on a 24/0 light schedule, so the CO2 was cycling also 24/0. Now that I've switched over to flower it only cycling 12 hours and the tank has been running a little over two weeks. If it goes a month, then I'd be fairly happy.

I wish CO2 was more of an exact, like telling you what PH or PPM to use, but it has a bunch of variables that make that kind of recommendation difficult. How many plants, what size grow room, temp of room, etc., etc.

As I mentioned, I just tried to keep it within my level of comfort and let the CAP computer do all the work. And it works really well!

Anytime man!
SF

Hey SF, I've been doing some reading about co2 lately and the number you want to hit is around 1300, to 1500 ppm. This of course is determined by the size of your grow area. Hydrofarm has a co2 calculator on their site to use for calculating the requirements.

There may be more to it than I know of, but that may be a good place for someone to start.

I'm getting ready to add a diy co2 generator to my grow spaces. I don't have the cash for the pro model like you, hopefully soon, those tanks, regulator and solenoid are the way to go!

 

[noreastfog]

Hey Stink, With your room set-up, is your room closed or sealed or do you vent to the out side and have make-up air? I'm curious because our rooms are a similar size and I'm interested to know you control the environment, Temps, Humidity, co2 etc.

My room is in my basement and I vent into my basement and have a passive vent back into the room. So far I haven't had to heat or cool. The only thing is I'm not sure how effective my co2 is. I don't have a meter

I'm guessing that in the summer I will have to vent to the outdoors.

BTW your girls are looking great

 

[StinkFinger]

As to refilling. The first tank I blew through in 7 days, BUT I was set on a 24/0 light schedule, so the CO2 was cycling also 24/0. Now that I've switched over to flower it only cycling 12 hours and the tank has been running a little over two weeks. If it goes a month, then I'd be fairly happy.

Murphy's Law. Tank 2 just ran out today! Two weeks. BS. I'm definitely disappointed! At this rate, a grow could take 9-12 tanks! PitViper mentioned this when I told him I decided to go the tank route. I'm going to finish this grow out with the tanks, and then I'll switch to a propane generator from CAP when I move to the other room.

SF

 

[StinkFinger]

Told ya they were gonna explode I think it could be attributed partially to the CO2 and also due to the fact that you have a good clean set up, and seem to be dialing in the nute regiment(props to PV and MB). Im tuned it

Thanks Dro! Couldn't have really pulled it off thus far without those two, and everyone's support and suggestions!

What a country! (passes )

I feel like I should be posting pics all the time for you guys to see the development, but I'll try and keep to the 1 week update so we can all see the (dramatic) progress.

As always! Thanks man.
SF

PS. When's your test?

 

[StinkFinger]

Hey SF, I've been doing some reading about co2 lately and the number you want to hit is around 1300, to 1500 ppm. This of course is determined by the size of your grow area. Hydrofarm has a co2 calculator on their site to use for calculating the requirements.

There may be more to it than I know of, but that may be a good place for someone to start.

I'm getting ready to add a diy co2 generator to my grow spaces. I don't have the cash for the pro model like you, hopefully soon, those tanks, regulator and solenoid are the way to go!

Hi FPF. I feel a little "spoiled", but I saved up the $$ for the CO2 gear. The CAP controller comes out of the box ready at 1500ppm, after you plug it in to the CAP timer, it takes about an hour to calibrate to the room, and then it activates the solenoid whenever the controller determines it's below the 1500 setting. You can adjust the setting from I believe 500-5000ppm. And I'm proud to say, "A monkey could operate this thing".

I'll be interested in seeing your DIY setup, I guess my real curiosity lies with how you'll be able to generate enough CO2 to be effective. As I mentioned, I've already blown through three 25lb tanks in 3 weeks. Granted our grow parameters are different, but if it can be done, I'm really excited to see it in operation! Side question, any way to monitor and see how much CO2 your generating in your grow area? You mentioned the "magic" number of 1500, and just curious how you'll verify this number?

Thanks FPF for the comment, it keeps me on my toes.

Hey Stink, With your room set-up, is your room closed or sealed or do you vent to the out side and have make-up air? I'm curious because our rooms are a similar size and I'm interested to know you control the environment, Temps, Humidity, co2 etc.

My room is in my basement and I vent into my basement and have a passive vent back into the room. So far I haven't had to heat or cool. The only thing is I'm not sure how effective my co2 is. I don't have a meter

I'm guessing that in the summer I will have to vent to the outdoors.

BTW your girls are looking great

NEF, you're always thinking just a little ahead of me, ;-)

I'm in a basement, inside a "smaller" closet that is within a larger bedroom. I think we mentioned our temps and RH are pretty close. To jump around here, I haven't thought much yet about summer. I'm hoping that some of the insulation in the basement walls will maintain a pretty close temp to what it's at now (65-68f). I know I'll run the central air, and I have vents in that room, I don't know if it will be enough yet. Like you, I haven't been through a summer grow. It might require some additional ventilation, but I have a bathroom next to the bedroom that I can probably vent to, if needed.

Currently I guess you would call the closet a "closed" system. I'm not venting outside of the closet. The only thing contained in the closet is a pedistal fan blowing air around. Temps and RH have been difficult for me to get just perfect quite yet. As I mentioned, RH changes when I change light bulbs (MH to HPS). I'm probably going to add a through the wall fan (400cfm) which I'll plug into the CAP controller which controls the CO2 and the fan, so the fan will only run when the controller kicks on, and it automatically shuts off the CO2 from running (to conserve CO2). I'll get some close up pictures to show more of the CO2 setup.

Obviously, I'll be hanging with you for awhile, to ride it out!

Thanks for noticing the plants, Wish it was "kosher" for us to trade finished medicine, ;-)

One Love, NEF.
SF

 

[NewGrower1]

I'm tuning in now! I was thinking about the co2 route in my setup.

 

[noreastfog]

Thanks SF, I kind of thought you were closed, er...had a closed system. Three tanks of co2 and your not done! Ouch, can you say generator time

I'm still on my first tank, 4+ weeks and the gauge shows plenty of pressure. But being an open / vented system, am I doing anything? The girls don't seem to be complaining!

If, when I create my larger space it will be closed and I will use a generator.

With central air I think you have summer beat.

Bring on the LowRyders

 

[plantpot4fun]

I've often wondered about a DIY c02 gen. I've never seen one up close, but aren't they just burners generating the gas as a byproduct of the propane being burnt? If so, u can by replacement burners for large gas grills frome home depot for 25$ , if that's all that's involved, you could put one together pretty cheap.

 

[PitViper]

buy a real burner...f**ck tanks...been there and done that 25 years ago when I first dabbled
who wants to deal with baking soda? NOT ME.

 

[FryingPanFlyer]

buy a real burner...f**ck tanks...been there and done that 25 years ago when I first dabbled
who wants to deal with baking soda? NOT ME.

I've gotta agree, the yeast and sugar may be fine for a small closet, but if you're going to go big the generator seems to be the best way to go.

 

[FryingPanFlyer]

Hi FPF. I feel a little "spoiled", but I saved up the $$ for the CO2 gear. The CAP controller comes out of the box ready at 1500ppm, after you plug it in to the CAP timer, it takes about an hour to calibrate to the room, and then it activates the solenoid whenever the controller determines it's below the 1500 setting. You can adjust the setting from I believe 500-5000ppm. And I'm proud to say, "A monkey could operate this thing".

I'll be interested in seeing your DIY setup, I guess my real curiosity lies with how you'll be able to generate enough CO2 to be effective. As I mentioned, I've already blown through three 25lb tanks in 3 weeks. Granted our grow parameters are different, but if it can be done, I'm really excited to see it in operation! Side question, any way to monitor and see how much CO2 your generating in your grow area? You mentioned the "magic" number of 1500, and just curious how you'll verify this number?

Thanks FPF for the comment, it keeps me on my toes.

You know, I've been doing some research on co2 lately and I'm awful glad I ran into you to share in your experience. Seeing what you're going through and looking at costs it appears to me that if you're going to use co2 the only sensible thing is to buy the generator. Around here tanks cost $170 and the regulator/solenoid cost $150, so $320. Then you've got the cost of re-filling the bottles, $20 a pop. If you're going through a bottle a week, my last grow went 4 weeks veg, then 9 weeks flower, or 13 weeks. That would mean 13 bottles or $260. That means for the first grow you'll spend $580!

That looks like no brainer territory to me! Hell, I checked the link you gave for generators, the smaller one that will do a 15 x 15 area is $450 +/-. You'd save money on the first grow! Of course you need to determine the cost of supplying the gas, either tap into your home's natural gas or buy propane cylinders to run the unit. That's one cost I didn't add in, the cost of gas to run the generator, I'd need to determine their consumption to work out that cost.

Nah, the DIY is way too small for you, I'm doing it in my closets as an experiment, see what I can get out of it. But I'm setting up for something bigger and that's why the tank or generator, but as I've just discovered, the generator is way cheaper for even just the first grow!

You know though, that post by NEF where he says he's only used 1 tank in the first four weeks and still has some gas left, well, one of you is doing something wrong, or let's say "differently". Have you done any calcs as to what you should expect from your bottle? I have no clue as to how much gas is contained in one cylinder, that would depend not only on size, but the pressure of the contained gas. But there has to be a way to calc. how much gas a given grow room of a given size will require to maintain the golden 1500 ppm.

A little rambling there and a little free thinking, what do you think?

 

[StinkFinger]

You know though, that post by NEF where he says he's only used 1 tank in the first four weeks and still has some gas left, well, one of you is doing something wrong, or let's say "differently". Have you done any calcs as to what you should expect from your bottle? I have no clue as to how much gas is contained in one cylinder, that would depend not only on size, but the pressure of the contained gas. But there has to be a way to calc. how much gas a given grow room of a given size will require to maintain the golden 1500 ppm.

A little rambling there and a little free thinking, what do you think?

Hi FPF.

Yeah, I haven't gotten to NEF's post, but if I recall he mentioned that he's not using a CO2 monitor, which I'm pretty sure is the difference. I could set the timer for CO2 manually, and could probably get a much longer length on the tanks, but the PPM's wouldn't be high enough.

As for moving over to a generator, the CAP monitor device will work with the generator so no real $$ loss there. I'll have to go the propane route, just no real way to extend the gas line to the front of the house.

Thanks for the comparison/break-down of the costs involved. I'm sure many will find it helpful!

SF