DannyMothers' 1000W Aeroponics VSCROG - 1st Grow

[DannyMothers]

Hi everyone. First post, first grow. I look forward to your input. From what I've gathered this is probably a bit of an experimental grow, as it's a bit difficult to find solid information on aeroponic/fogponic setups. But alas, I'm gonna give it my best shot!

This is a fogponics setup using the M001 Fogger from Mainland Mart.

I'll be using Advanced Nutrients to start, following the modified Lucas formula for AN.

After some tweaking I've gotten the air temp of the cabinet down to 83* with a radiant temperature down to 90*.

The roots are floating around 76* with a feeding schedule of 15 on 30 off in order to give the roots some time to purge toxins between feedings.

Currently the lights are 18/6, with a 1000w Hortilux MH, with a 1000w HPS for flowering.

The plants will be between 15-22" from the lights at all times, which I've read is in the optimal range for MH and HPS.

This is a little drawing I made explaining how the planter itself works:

My cabinet as of two days ago; I need to take an updated photo:

Here's the taproot from the left plant the morning after I put them in the planter:

Here's the right plant's progress as of day 3:

More later! Always looking for input, suggestions, advice, comments, etc.

 

[Mark Green]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

WOW, now thats nifty! I shall pull up my chair, I have to see the turn out.

 

[DannyMothers]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

Some other tidbits;

This is currently with bagseed just to test the system and make sure I've got everything lined up pretty well and that it's gonna fly. I'll buy something with a bit more pedigree in the future.

Right now I'm just going with two plants to test the idea by keeping the number of variables down. Adding up to 6 additional plants shouldn't present much problem if you have the space and a larger fogger/reservoir.

I can tell you already that I have a better design for the planter. The 'better' design was actually my original design. The current version is my attempt to simplify the idea by having the large PVC's plopped right into the bottom of the reservoir, which required me to go through the lid. Mind you, you need a good seal on all holes in the lid in order to make the pressure needed to push your nutrient fog up to the plants. Cutting the lid to precisely line up with the pipes so that you can still get a seal is a huge pain, and at this point I'm confident you're better off piping the condensed nutrients over to the reservoir. I'll update with a plan for that version later on. Right now I just don't want to rebuild it considering how much work I've already done on this; I just wanna see something grow. The lid is only an inconvenience when I need to change nutrients. I'll probably switch to the other plan within a few weeks.

Also, I think the condenser coil is a very solid idea. However, as I've executed it, it's less than ideal and not fully taken advantage of. First, the tube is too narrow of a diameter, which is causing backpressure in the root chamber, slowing the fog's progression. I'm sure this isn't helping my nutrient distribution. I believe a 3/8" tube would be better. Also I'd prefer a coil rather than a straight tube. I tried to coil the 1/4" but as I'd expected, it was far to quick to kink. If possible, I'd like fans on the coils to get them chilly, creating more condensation and saving more nutrients and water. Something like this: 3/8 OD 10' Copper Coil to 4-1/4" - Moonshine Still | eBay

 

[Twelve12]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

Looks great subbed for more.

 

[DannyMothers]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

Quick mockup of the other version. It would allow the grow chambers to stay more separated from the nutrient reservoir. I think this next version will be cheaper, easier to set up and easier to maintain. I'm probably gonna switch to this very soon, actually. Maybe next weekend.

 

[DannyMothers]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

Here's a quick shot I took of the cabinet, since I'll be setting up the new planter today when I do my nute change:

Here's the right plant @ 1wk (some of the nutrients appear to have crystallized on the plant):

Here's the left plant @ 1wk:

 

[pilot90]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

danny, ive seen alot of set-ups but yours has to be one of the coolest. I love it and cant wait to see it in action... have to give you reps+++

 

[DannyMothers]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

Thanks! I'm certainly proud. I hope all goes well.

I set up the new planter tonight. The process took much longer than expected and the downtime starved the babies pretty bad. I got everything wrapped up, which involved several serious leaks... got the plants back in ASAP and all seemed to be looking up. They perked up immediately with the new, denser nute regimen and refresh.

About an hour with the plants back in, at about a [5], I went to check their progress and realized I'd made the hole in the lid too large, which was causing a lot of vapor loss into the cabinet (when I opened the door, a big cloud of vapor would come out.) So I went to tighten up the hole and accidentally snapped the elastic tie that holds the saran wrap down, which decapitated the right-hand plant; the larger one. I'm pretty confident it's irrecoverable. The roots are still in place, but essentially at what would be ground level, the stem is snapped. Oh well, 50/50 chance it was a male and we're only losing a week for it. Any plant at all is a success right now, all things considered.

I started some new seeds for germination immediately after the accident. While I wait for them, I've stuck the stem back in right next to the roots and replaced the right-hand plant. Maybe it'll magically re-assemble before a new seed germinates.

I'll have some photos up tomorrow of the new system, once the remaining leaks are patched.

 

[Mark Green]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

Bummer about the broken one, but here is wishing for the best and maybe It will recover.

 

[DannyMothers]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

Okay! Version 2 is up and running. It's much easier to deal with until you need to completely drain the nutrients (for example: to repair leaks.) Draining for nute refreshment isn't too difficult. It's so hard to find a container for a reservoir because most storage bins (Rubbermaid, etc) are not very good at making airtight seals. The best I found was actually from Ikea and I'd be happy to give the part # if anybody wants them. They have them in 5gal and 12gal, I believe. I should also note this: If you're in a hurry to patch a leak (because, oh, I don't know, your cannabis plants are dying,) the JB Weld "KwikPlastic" putty is an invaluable lifesaver. Here are some pics:

My reservoir and fogger. The airstone is at the bottom, just not visible beneath all that delicious fog:

This photo shows how the nutrient tube can be rotated up and out of the way of the reservoir lid:

Nutrient tube rotated down and in position to be connected to the reservoir:

I use a flexible rubber connector (from home depot) to connect the nutrient tube to the reservoir. I tried electrical tape on the first go but it leaks due to the air pressure in the tube. Once you loosen the clamps, it just slides up or down easily so the nutrient tube can be rotated up and out of the way:

Here's the whole cabinet as of today:

Left plant, 2.5wks:

The right plant was definitely destroyed in the accident. The new seeds have germinated and I've planted #3 as of about 20 minutes ago. Better luck this time!

 

[Mark Green]

Re: DannyMothers' 1000w Aeroponics VSCROG (1st Grow)

Cab look great man! Wish you luck with the new beans!

 

[NateRamrod]

Wow, that has to be the most futuristic looking set up I have ever seen! Subbed for sure.

One thing though, not sure if the light will work there unless you plan on growing pretty small plants. Seems like it will burn them when they get taller, and cause them to grow towards it because it is on one side of the plants.

Anyways, good luck on your first grow, and hope that fogponics works for you!

 

[DannyMothers]

Hey guys. Sorry, the journal has been slow because the grow has been slow!

I'm still trying to get everything dialed in, I think. The babies are having some challenges so I figured I'd drop by here and update you guys, with the hopes that maybe somebody can give me some guidance.

The feeding schedule has been plain water, PH of ~6 with the fog on for 15m and off for 15m.

This is plant 3 from earlier, at 19 days. From everything I've read, it seems to be a bit behind-schedule as far as overall growth. Additionally, it has this really painful-looking droop going on. The leaves are doing great as far as coloration, but the plants overall are not looking very pleased. The roots seem to be coming along well as far as I can tell.

Here's ol' plant 2 at 25 days. It's probably best to deduce the problem from plant 3 instead of 2, because a few days after killing plant 1, I tried to kill plant 2 by accidentally pinching off its only visible root. It spent a couple of weeks now at the early seedling stage, recovering. It only started showing new roots a week ago. The yellowed/dead tips on a couple leaves are from the period of time when the root got pinched, so those are old wounds and not relevant to the current problem. Plenty of learning mistakes. Anyway, it's making an attempt at recovery and holds a special place in my heart, so I'm holding onto it to see what comes of the situation. I'm really only showing it here to show that its leaves are behaving very similar to plant 3.

This droopy-leaf situation has been ongoing for several days now so this morning I looked into it and many people were suggesting the cause of several similar looking plants was overwatering, so I've reduced the feeding schedule to 15m per hour. Thoughts?

If I can't get this system rolling smoothly in the next week or so I'll probably switch to a DWC+Aero+Fog (Fogbox-style) setup.

 

[Mark Green]

My guess is over watering... The new times should hep.

 

[GodSpeed]

Woow this looks exciting subb'd.

Good luck

 

[NateRamrod]

Def looks like overwatering to me. The new time should greatly improve growth!

 

[DannyMothers]

Also, they were started on nutes last night. 1/2 strength; 3gallon res., 10ml AN Micro, 25ml AN Bloom. Left plant has perked up significantly in a day:

The #2 plant, not so much. Expecting results to start showing tomorrow on it.

 

[GodSpeed]

Hey buddy looks like there drowning, im a dit confused about how your system works but its like a dwc bucket with aero fogg?


First thing id check is res temps, to high and there is less dissolved oxygen doesn't matter how many air stones you have if your res temps are high your roots will still be starved and drown.

Second thing is if your roots are not in the res this more often then not happens as soon as your roots are established in the res she will perk up and grow like you have never seen anything grow before.

 

[DannyMothers]

Thanks everyone for your input! They've both perked up with the lower-frequency feedings. I believe they're both a little down today from yesterday, so I may reduce the frequency more if they aren't happy come tomorrow. I'll check out the other potential problems as well.

About half-way through the project, I abandoned the condenser tube idea. Though I still believe it's a good idea, the condenser coils are expensive and I don't think it's justifiable to go that route. Currently, I'm more interested in a recycling fog loop rather than pushing constant fresh air through and condensing the exhaust. I had been running with vinyl tubing over to my muffin fan on the reservoir, so that the fan would draw in the fog as it was expelled. But the fan was getting very caked-up with salts and jammed a couple times. It continued running after I cleaned it up a bit but I still wanted a better solution. So I decided to try to refine that idea a bit more. I dug around looking for waterproof blowers and found that the bilge blowers used on boats are highly water resistant. Being that they're used in bilges, I'd think they're corrosive and sediment resistant as well. A bit of PVC, one bilge blower and some brass fittings later... and we have this:

Seems to be working well so far! I think it'll operate a long time under these conditions with no fear of running the vapor right through it.

 

[DannyMothers]

Hey buddy looks like there drowning, im a dit confused about how your system works but its like a dwc bucket with aero fogg?


First thing id check is res temps, to high and there is less dissolved oxygen doesn't matter how many air stones you have if your res temps are high your roots will still be starved and drown.

Second thing is if your roots are not in the res this more often then not happens as soon as your roots are established in the res she will perk up and grow like you have never seen anything grow before.

Thanks for the ideas! It's similar to the dwc+fog, I suppose. Really though, the idea was to avoid any root contact with liquid nutrients whatsoever. The goal is to be feeding the plants by fog only.

I'm pretty sure the reservoir temperature shouldn't matter in this system since the oxygen absorption should be done directly through the roots through the air. Can anyone here verify that?