Greenie's Aero Bubblegum First Grow 2011

[Mr. Krip]

Thanks Mr. K. I'm following the Flora nute bottles... for the recipe for seedlings... Should I bump these up after I clean out the reservoir? I need to "flush" the plants with plain water too right? Thanks so much for taking a ride with me, I appreciate the help!

You only need to do a flush if there's problems related to lockout. I'd recommend flushing also for pre-harvest, if you radically change their nutes, or if they've been in the same media for a LONG time and you want to clean out the build-up of salts.

FYI...that's my LONG way of saying, "no, you don't need to flush now."

I'd wait until they get their 3rd new set of leaves (not counting the cotyledons) before you bump their nutes.

 

[Greenie]

OK. I just do NOT like the smell of the water. Is it normal to be a little rank? seemed like that from the start, but I have a very sensitive nose. I should take a whiff of the nutes, see if it's that or not. It also seemed a lil slimy, but was told that's a normal thing, as long as no funky shit going on ... in the city... oh wait, that's a song... again,

Edit: So I took a whiff at the nutes, they aren't the most pleasant... but not sure it's what I smell in the reservoir. Must be from just sittin in there a week huh?

 

[Magic beans]

Yea the nute water will slime up the place a bit. And some nutes have a nasty smell, but i wouldnt think that it should be too nasty. Just wait til, your flowering, you wont smell it but idk if any water borne pathogens give off a smell. Something to look into, though.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Organic nutes tend to smell real rank. The synthetic nutes usually aren't too bad. How big is your res? I change mine weekly, but it's a smaller res. On a larger res, you can go longer without a change. I wouldn't hesitate to clean & change the nutes, I just don't believe you need to do a flush.

 

[Greenie]

37 gallon. Not organic nutes. Thanks for the info, always appreciated.

 

[Mr. Krip]

37 gallon. Not organic nutes. Thanks for the info, always appreciated.

No problem! With a 37 gallon res, as long as you're not running real high temps, you can probably go at least two, maybe even three weeks between res changes. Check with SteveHman and ask him how big his res is and how often he changes. I think he's right around 40 gallons, too. My res's are 5 gallons each, with only two gallons of nutes!

 

[Greenie]

It's a steady 78 usually, and tonight got up to 81 ( I was in there heating up the place apparently. I will stalk SteveHman... And ask him a few

 

[SteveHman]

It's a steady 78 usually, and tonight got up to 81 ( I was in there heating up the place apparently. I will stalk SteveHman... And ask him a few

No stalking required. Mr K sent me over to check this out. I would change 50% of your res every 2 weeks. That is what I do and it works fine. My nutes don't have a slimy build up or a rank smell. I think either one is an indicator that there are things that may need to be addressed.

When you say temps are 78, is that the air temp or the res temp? You want your res to be around 65. The warmer the res, the better chance of growing algae and other nasties. My first purchase after the lights was a res-chiller, best purchase ever.

Are you using any beneficial bacteria/fungi in the system? How about any type of "zyme" to keep things clean?

My nutes smell pretty clean when I first mix them (when you mix your nutes, put that smell into your memory banks), after two weeks, there is very little difference in odor, but it always smell close to the same "profile" as fresh mixed nutes. The 2 times I've had a distinct difference in odor, it was caused by an algae growth. A little H2O2 and then a res change and everything was back in order and back to the every two-week res change rotation.

Also, are you topping your res off as they drink? If not and the PPMs are going up, they are drinking more than feeding and the nutes may smell stronger due to a higher concentration level. I have a constant top-off so my res levels stay the same, I can also gauge how much the plants are feeding that way. I add nutes periodically to keep my PPMs in the target range for the stage they're in.

I don't do a complete res drain-and-clean until after the chop. Then a quick bleach flush, fresh water flush and then fresh nutes and clones. The system isn't "down" for more than 2 days, and in the future will be down for less than 1/2 day between bloom cycles.

Do you have a picture or sketch of the whole system? It will help me get a better idea of the setup and where you can improve your design and eliminate potential pitfalls.

 

[Greenie]

We are headed to store in a bit. I do not know the temp of the water. the hydro store is still not in stock with one (water therm) Bastards
I am changing / cleaning everything, to make sure the funky goes away. The smell is not normal. I have a great sense of smell, soooo, with that said... Also, the res was full of particles (sandy like stuff) from the hydroton. I rinsed the shit out of that stuff, yet, seems like it wasn't quite good enough. So, in order to spare my pump, I felt cleaning was in order.

I will look for the water chiller too. That should have its own thermometer right?

Yes, I do top off the res. And no, I was not adding nutes. My mistake right? noted.

I also have NO zyme. Something to look for at HD? or hydro store then right?

How are you measuring PPM ? with a meter? sorry if that is a dumb question

thanks for the info, much appreciated!!

 

[SteveHman]

We are headed to store in a bit. I do not know the temp of the water. the hydro store is still not in stock with one (water therm) Bastards
I am changing / cleaning everything, to make sure the funky goes away. The smell is not normal. I have a great sense of smell, soooo, with that said... Also, the res was full of particles (sandy like stuff) from the hydroton. I rinsed the shit out of that stuff, yet, seems like it wasn't quite good enough. So, in order to spare my pump, I felt cleaning was in order.

I will look for the water chiller too. That should have its own thermometer right?

Yes, I do top off the res. And no, I was not adding nutes. My mistake right? noted.

I also have NO zyme. Something to look for at HD? or hydro store then right?

How are you measuring PPM ? with a meter? sorry if that is a dumb question

thanks for the info, much appreciated!!

The chiller will have a digital thermometer built-in, just set the target temp and it will display the current temp. Most will have a +or- 2 deg from the target, you can also adjust that in few as well. Do you research on equipment before going to the hydro store and ask for a price match, they all buy from the same handful of distributors and will still be making money by matching an online price (you can offer to pay what the shipping would cost you if they are hesitant). If they won't match then buy online. My local hydro store gives me the straight up price match on all of my purchases, and 20% off of everything else.

I use a Hannah digital meter that reads pH, PPM and EC. You should have a good/reliable way to read you pH and PPM. Those are the critical readings. If you have a funky smell, I am going to guess you have a pH issue as well (again, both times I had a smell and algae, the pH was rising quickly).

Zymes are good at keeping your res and root zone healthy and clean, although some are not compatible with beneficial micros, so make sure if you have bennies in there you pick the right one. I've heard a lot of people rave about DM's Zone to keep everything in check, although it will kill your bennies. I have used Hygrozyme on occasion, but not in my current grow. I'll add some if things start to look a little funky, but they are doing fine right now.

Adding nutes is important if you are doing partial res changes every 2 weeks. I will remove 10 gallons and then replace with 10 gallons of R/O water, then add the Base nutes for a 10 gal mix and will add about 50% mix for the ammendments. My opinion is that many of the amendments are still in the mix from the previous addition and the plants aren't going through them as quickly as the macros (of course that's just my opinion). I check my pH and PPMs an hour after adding fresh nutes and then make any adjustments at that point.

I have found that once my system is running the pH stays fairly constant, rarely do I have to make any pH adjustments. You will want a little fluctuation in the pH so that the nutes are available at their optimal ranges.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Steve, please clarify....are you topping of with nutes in-between your res changes, or just topping off with plain water?

 

[Greenie]

Ok, all changed, the smell is not like it was, wooohooooo! For now, I have to do a frozen bottle of water in my res. No more $. My local store would not match the price, of anything, so I told them I have to shop online They did not have a ppm that was to my liking, nor did they carry the "water cooler". For now, it's a frozen water bottle and aquarium thermometer. Hey, it's redneck, but it works!
Just an update, the roots on my little girles are "fish boning" like crazy!!! Awesome right? No photos today friends. My back hurts soooo bad, I can barely walk. Did too much, time to rest. My girlies also have their third sets of leaves, so freaking awesome!
Just a question... How long do most of you let the girlies grow FROM seed before you flower? Is it a height thing ? or a date thing? Do tell!!

 

[Mr. Krip]

Ok, all changed, the smell is not like it was, wooohooooo! For now, I have to do a frozen bottle of water in my res. No more $. My local store would not match the price, of anything, so I told them I have to shop online They did not have a ppm that was to my liking, nor did they carry the "water cooler". For now, it's a frozen water bottle and aquarium thermometer. Hey, it's redneck, but it works!
Just an update, the roots on my little girles are "fish boning" like crazy!!! Awesome right? No photos today friends. My back hurts soooo bad, I can barely walk. Did too much, time to rest. My girlies also have their third sets of leaves, so freaking awesome!
Just a question... How long do most of you let the girlies grow FROM seed before you flower? Is it a height thing ? or a date thing? Do tell!!

Greenie...neither height nor date...it's a size thing!

The longer you veg, the bigger the plant and the bigger the yield. But, expect the girls to at least double, if not triple, in size once you flip to 12/12.

Some go 12/12 straight from seed, and others will veg for months. 4-6 weeks of veg is about "average" for a fully mature plant.

 

[Greenie]

You boys and your size thing! Thanks for the info. Decisions, decisions!

 

[Magic beans]

Also, from seed you dont want to flower too early FROM SEED. Ive read in a couple different books to wait until pistils are showing or the branches nodes switch from opposite to alternating, whichever is first. I could not tell you from experience though. Just a heads up. They say the reason is there is a slight chance a seed will hermie.

 

[Mr. Krip]

Typically, 12/12 from seed is done for a SOG grow, and when done this way, will grow as a single cola. Basically, as soon as the seed sprouts, it thinks winter is coming, and goes into a "mad dash" to reach maturity ASAP so it can procreate before it dies.

I don't know about hermies, but I would still recommend vegging for at least a week, even for a SOG, since I believe with a stronger root structure to begin with, you end up with a stronger, healthier plant all around.

I was really just making a point that the length of vegging is entirely up to the grower, and there is no correct answer to "How long should I veg?"

 

[Greenie]

IMHO, SIZE does matter! LOL Yep, this girlie likes big, BIG is better! ha!
with that said, I plan on veggin for a bit. No hurry to flower, not even ready for that. Thanks again to all for the responses. I so appreciate it.

NOW, with an inline fan. Why do I see diagrams and set up photos with the fan BEFORE the lights, and AFTER? I was "told" to put the fan before the lights, to push fresh/cooler air THROUGH the light, never pull it..

What's the thoughts on this? thanks!

 

[SteveHman]

Steve, please clarify....are you topping of with nutes in-between your res changes, or just topping off with plain water?

I have a top-of res attached to my nute res via a float valve to keep the volume constant. I then check my PPM's every 2~3 days to see if they're in my target range (1000-~1100), if they fall below the target, I top up with just the 3-part nutes to bring it back in-line. I do it with the amount for a 2 gal mix. Then I do the 50% res change every 14 days.

 

[Greenie]

hey Steve, do you have a sketch/ photos of your inline fan set up?

 

[SteveHman]

I'll get some and post them later today or first thing in the morning. I usually don't even post on weekends, but I have to catch up on work and took a minute to look at 420. I'll get it to you though. My setup is pretty basic, carbon filter, fan, duct out the tent. I have LEDs so I don't have the heat issue as much as other lights.