1st Grow: Indoor Tent, 250W MH/HPS, DWC Hydro, 2'x2' ScrOG

[Caddie]

Usul, man I felt like crying for a while when I finally caught up on your journal. Man I sure hope this grow works for you. You've put in so much effort.

I sat down with a beer and a cigarette and did my best Sherlock Holmes thinking. I was thinking about your intake air and then I saw Ultra's comment about the same thing. I had another smoke and thought some more....

Then I remembered a report I read somewhere about some new houses being built with Chinese drywall that that was causing mold in new houses. Heck, it might have been a tv news show here in Denver.

Anyway, I really started to think about it. "Hmmm..." I thought, "Usul has been fastidious about everything he/she has done. There is only one last thing... the air."

It's all I can think of. I'm no hydroponic guy, don't understand it, and won't try to learn it for now.

I think your decision to take air from the outside is your last chance and I really, really, hope it works. I think you took the last option available, but it sure makes sense to me.

Don't quit! There are a lot of people that are learning boatloads of information from this journal.

I'm not a God fearing guy, but I pray you don't have some type of Chinese/drywall mold devil growing at your house.

Keep going!

 

[ultrasonic]

i'm not a god fearing guy, but i pray you don't have some type of chinese/drywall mold devil growing at your house.

 

[usul]

Funny! Yea, I heard about the chinese drywall thing but I don't think that's the problem - my dog and I have been happy and healthy here for nearly three years and none of my neighbors have any complaints (all homes here were built at the same time by the same builder). And there's no drywall in the crawlspace.

Sorry to say I just checked the res this morning and it's clouding up again. Pulled out the temperature sensor and it had a blob of goo clinging to it. The blob was kinda bubbly from all the H2O2 but there it was nonetheless. I was planning to drop the H2O2 application to 2.5ml/gal this morning but when I saw the goo I kept it at 5ml/gal. Hygrozyme arrives tomorrow so I'm planning to do a res change later today, clean everything up, run the airstones through the dishwasher to sterilize them then add the Hygrozyme when it arrives. I realize it would be best to start the new res fresh with Hygrozyme but if this setup is going to work, I need a solution that is somewhat forgiving and doesn't require absolute perfection at all times, so this will be a good real-life test.

I will, of course, let you all know how it works out...

 

[Stealthy1]

Man if it gets too much worse I would think about transplanting them into dirt so you dont lose them plants.
Then try again later with the hydro or perhaps maybe a different type of hydro maybe some thing with a remote rez or possible a drain to waste set up if you got somewhere to drain it to... if not maybe you could put a big waste rez in the crawl space and drain to that using a drip.... might be little more pricey with nutes but no worries about slime monsters and air pumps and stones.
Funny its not even my setup and Im angry at the slime monsters... DAMN YOU SLIME!

 

[usul]

Hey, thanks Stealthy - I've gotten past being upset and am just laughing at it all now. I changed the res again - which I could do blindfolded at this point - and omitted the H2O2 this time. It wasn't doing any good and the plants really need a break - they don't seem to want to put roots in to the water so it looks like the net cups are growing short dense beards - gotta get a shot of that before this is all over. One plant even has a root that went in to the water then curled and started growing straight back up - haha!

Quick aside to all you airstone users: resist the temptation to use heat of any kind to sterilize airstones. I was under the impression they were made from some kind of ceramic so I tried immersing them in boiling water. Bad idea. Turns out they're made of plastic. Had I left them in there for any length of time they'd have melted and come apart. I got 'em out in time so all they did was make my kitchen smell like melting plastic. Glad I didn't put 'em in the dishwasher! Sheesh.

Despite it all, the plants are still looking good. Here they are at 19 days old:

Foliar and root growth remains strong. Pebbles pulled out to an early lead but couldn't handle the stress. Wilma appears to be the strongest plant and Betty is catching up fast.

Anyway, despite my best efforts there's very little hope this hydro setup is going to work. I'm going to hang on a little longer so I can try the Hygrozyme and let you all know if it makes any difference, but I've already started stocking up on supplies for a soil grow. Assuming the Hygrozyme is ineffective, which is what I expect, I will attempt a transplant to soil. That said, miracles have been known to happen and it aint over till the fat lady sings so hang in there for the big finish - there are sure to be a few more interesting posts to come.

 

[BAMarijuana]

I would use Bleach this time.

also what type nutes ( brand ) and are you making this gel Some nutes will gel if mix with the wrong thing first.. ie mix boost then grow or bloom, cause if ya do grow or bloom then boost it gels the water....

its not something like that is it.

then I m not sure how ballzzy you want to be LOL but you can scrap some of that crap out the tank and take it to the Health Dept. and tell them its growing in your pond. Ask them if they are smart enough to know what that is.......

Since We cant ID the cause first ID the problem first and once you know the name of what that is the cure will be known.

thats my issue with this is I cant find a gel causeing bactiria.

 

[BAMarijuana]

those rock wool cubes should also be ONE- HYDROTON BALL deep about a half inch

so you cant see the cube..... Really so the light cant see the cube and the cube cant see the light. Alge will grow on them if not... it never has hurt my grows but, i started burring them.

some one mentioned the caps that go on these net pots. you can cut those out of plastic to and set them on the pots. block out the light there....

although I am sure you are aware buy now that light is not the issue here.

 

[usul]

I would use Bleach this time.

also what type nutes ( brand ) and are you making this gel Some nutes will gel if mix with the wrong thing first.. ie mix boost then grow or bloom, cause if ya do grow or bloom then boost it gels the water....

its not something like that is it.

then I m not sure how ballzzy you want to be LOL but you can scrap some of that crap out the tank and take it to the Health Dept. and tell them its growing in your pond. Ask them if they are smart enough to know what that is.......

Since We cant ID the cause first ID the problem first and once you know the name of what that is the cure will be known.

thats my issue with this is I cant find a gel causeing bactiria.

Good questions! I didn't know mixing nutes in the wrong order could have such a dramatic effect, but I don't think it's the problem. I'm using General Hydroponics nutes on the Lucas Formula - just the Micro and Bloom. Micro goes in the water first, gets a good mixing, then the Bloom - as recommended by the manufacturer.

I had been putting covers over the rockwool/hydroton but pull it off for taking photos - pics come out better that way. Algae on rockwool might have been a problem earlier on but now that the roots are so dense they block water from getting at the rockwool and it has dried out. Good point though - if I transplant to soil I'll make sure the rockwool is completely buried.

And, ya know, if I was totally invested in hydroponics I would indeed have the bacterial blobs analyzed, but that's more than I'm willing to do. And bleach would certainly kill everything, but I can't bleach the plants. I need a solution that protects against the slime while the plants are growing. I know Dutch Master Zone doesn't work and H2O2 doesn't work. We'll find out soon if Hygrozyme helps.

Just checked on the girls and they are SO HAPPY to be getting a break from the H2O2. I can say for sure that twice-daily doses in the 5ml/gal range slows plant growth.

 

[usul]

Hygrozyme has arrived and is in the res. I added a high-end dose of 10ml/gal. The stuff is a semi-opaque liquid, light brown in color. It smells organic and juicy with a hint of something potent. Kind of a cross between unfiltered apple juice and cough syrup. The nutrient solution was clear and pH stable with no sign of the slime monster when Hygrozyme was added. Plants are still looking very happy.

This should be interesting...

 

[ultrasonic]

Hygrozyme has arrived and is in the res. I added a high-end dose of 10ml/gal. The stuff is a semi-opaque liquid, light brown in color. It smells organic and juicy with a hint of something potent. Kind of a cross between unfiltered apple juice and cough syrup. The nutrient solution was clear and pH stable with no sign of the slime monster when Hygrozyme was added. Plants are still looking very happy.

This should be interesting...

I'm loading up the bowl and praying to the bud gods as we speak

now I want apple juice....

 

[BAMarijuana]

fingers crossed with you....

Yea the bleach thing works great for the buckets and gear.
The way I do it, like if something gets funky, or whatever.

First I have a stand by bucket.. ( just like the one I grow in )
I take all the net pots out and rinse the roots off, gently , tepid water. If any slimy roots are present I remove them, and any residual slim. ( don't worry, they will be fine)
After they are clean, I place them in the new fresh bucket.

Refill the bucket and set up the air and your back in the race.

most of the time they will perk right up and look happy.

When I first started hydroponics I used tachnaflora and mixed some grow and then put in bloom and it clumped up realy bad like a gel. I thought dam that can't be good. then I read what I was doing LOL and it say's that will happen if you mix the wrong one first.

it is like that with alot of things you can pour a gallon of something in to another and its fine, mixed the other way just two drops and boom!... I can't remember exactally what that was. Science Class years ago....

 

[ultrasonic]

it is like that with alot of things you can pour a gallon of something in to another and its fine, mixed the other way just two drops and boom!... I can't remember exactally what that was. Science Class years ago....

You're probably thinking about diluting acids with water. you need to add the acid to the water because the process of diluting an acid generates potentially large amounts of heat. 2 drops of water in acid could make it explode.

sorry, stoned, just wanted to post that

 

[usul]

The End

Well folks, I was holding out a slim chance of hope that the Hygrozyme would help, but no such luck. After just two days the water in the res had gone opaque, smelled to high heaven and the slime was building up again. I've given it all I've got and more than I should have. Have you ever had a bad relationship you thought you should work on but in hind sight realized you should have split at the first sign of trouble? Well, that's how I'm feeling right now.

As far as using bleach and a back-up bucket and all that, yes, I could give that a try, but I bleached everything - really hard - before this second try. Started new seeds, bought new airstones, the works. It is just not meant to be... It's time to cut my losses and move on.

So... here are the plants at 21 days old, still looking very happy, and now in their new home: lovely, wonderful, loamy soil

As soon as I opened the bag of soil I realized I'd made the right choice. My previous home had a good sized garden and I loved working out there. I had a small orchard, vegetable garden, cut flower garden, ornamentals up the kazoo - there wasn't a thing I couldn't grow. I have now realized how much I like dirt.

I'm damn good at planting bare root plants in soil, but moving these plants from hydro to soil was not at all to my liking. The roots are looking funky (they got a lot of trimming) and felt like hydro root, not dirt roots. So I'm giving these girls a 50/50 chance of survival. I've got a fairly hot soil mix going so they're getting no nutes and just a minimum dose of Hygrozyme. If they do okay I'll transplant to large pots in 7 to 10 days. If not, I'll start over with new seeds (I've got plenty).

Gotta say, the switch to soil is a huge relief - it feels right. When I open the tent I smell plants and dirt and I Love it. And I like the learning process. Five years ago I quit my day job to follow my dream of becoming a full-time artist. It took two years to figure it out but now I'm making a great living doing what I love. I've been learning to grow for only six weeks now and that's just a blink. I'll figure this out in no time.

And with that, I'll bring this journal to a close. Moderators, please feel free to move this to the Completed Journals area. I absolutely love our 420 Magazine community so you can count on seeing me around. And once I get the soil thing figured out I'll start a new journal to document my progress - either with these plants or some new ones.

Peace and Love fellow growers

 

[BassBong]

As soon as I opened the bag of soil I realized I'd made the right choice. My previous home had a good sized garden and I loved working out there. I had a small orchard, vegetable garden, cut flower garden, ornamentals up the kazoo - there wasn't a thing I couldn't grow. I have now realized how much I like dirt.

I felt the same way and have added african violets and other ornamental around the house. I like playing in dirt. Good luck and I will keep my eyes open for you.

 

[mary_juana420]

Re: The End

So... here are the plants at 21 days old, still looking very happy, and now in their new home: lovely, wonderful, loamy soil

And with that, I'll bring this journal to a close.
Moderators, please feel free to move this to the Completed Journals area.
I absolutely love our 420 Magazine community so you can count on seeing me around.
And once I get the soil thing figured out I'll start a new journal to document my progress - either with these plants or some new ones.

Peace and Love fellow growers

Asul,
Man you should just keep this journal going with those soil ladies !
Just change the name !

There was too much valuable info about getting rid of problems in hydro to just stop !
I'm sure if you did a soil you would have a lot of helpful info for that !

If nothing else I'll have someone doing something very similar to me at the same time !

Are you still gonna SCROG if it pans out ?

Here's to you changing your mind about the End of the Journal !
MJ420

 

[BAMarijuana]

sorry to see you have so much trouble with the Hydro, but its not for everyone. I fought it for years, because well really "it is impossible to grow in water" (the air in the water is what makes it work).

Maybe if you keep your DWC bucket around, we could get you to make it a spary system or drip feed

at any rate We do not smoke anything below that certin line anyway so "Grow in whatever you can grow in. Just Grow!"

Hit me up if there is anything I can help with.... I be watching.

Oh they look great still! thats what matters...

 

[mary_juana420]

Usul,

Have you ever considered that the Co-Op Grocery where you get the water, as we discussed, could have been where all of the contaminant was coming from ?

I don't remember if you ever ruled that out .

MJ420

 

[usul]

..."Grow in whatever you can grow in. Just Grow!"

Hit me up if there is anything I can help with.... I be watching.

Oh they look great still! thats what matters...

Thanks man! I've thought about it a bit and have decided to start a new journal - time for a new chapter. I'll make sure to put a link here and links in my signature so both journals will be easy to find.

Have you ever considered that the Co-Op Grocery where you get the water, as we discussed, could have been where all of the contaminant was coming from ?

MJ420

I'm virtually certain water was not the issue. I tried three different sources: tap water, distilled in gallon jugs, and from the machine at the store. Same results each time. And of all the water I'm sure the store's (the last one I used) was safest. It's UV serilized and ozone injected as it's dispensed - I can sure smell the ozone and assume the UV filter was doing its job.

Plants have been in dirt over 24 hours now and have never looked better!

 

[ultrasonic]

Thanks man! I've thought about it a bit and have decided to start a new journal - time for a new chapter. I'll make sure to put a link here and links in my signature so both journals will be easy to find.



I'm virtually certain water was not the issue. I tried three different sources: tap water, distilled in gallon jugs, and from the machine at the store. Same results each time. And of all the water I'm sure the store's (the last one I used) was safest. It's UV serilized and ozone injected as it's dispensed - I can sure smell the ozone and assume the UV filter was doing its job.

Plants have been in dirt over 24 hours now and have never looked better!

Well my friend at the very least you're off to a start. Too bad the hydro didn't work out for you Wish we could have figured out the problem together.

Soil will work out great for you i'm sure- just make sure they don't get too wet, and they have good drainage. Those girls will survive the transplant no problem, I think. Can't wait for more updates, and i'll be providing some of my own later today.

Peace!

 

[usul]

Hi folks,

Just wanted to let you know I've started a new journal for the soil grow. You can find a link to it: here and also in my signature.

Thanks for hanging in there with me during my adventured with hydroponics. I hope you'l get a chance to stop by the new journal and see how things are going in the dirt.