HydroTronix Indoor LED Soiless Autoflower Grow

[HydroTronix]

HydroTronix Indoor LED Soiless Autoflower Grow I
Germination began at 12:00est on 2/23/2020

Seed Strains:

• White Widow Max - Autoflower - Feminized
• AK-47 - Autoflower - Feminized

Environment:

• Topogrow 32"x32"x63" Tent
• Room Season fluctuation of 30-45% humidity and 60-70F
• 4" inline exhaust fan
• 4" Carbon Filter
• 5 Gallon Vivosun Fabric pots with trays
• 2 Small clip-on fans
• Timer Switches

Lighting:

• 1000w BestVA LED
• 18/6 Schedule

Medium:

• 70% Coco Coir
• 30% Perlite

Nutrients:

• General Hydroponics FloraGro
• General Hydroponics FloraBloom
• General Hydroponics FloraMicro
• Bontanicare CalMag Plus
• RO Water

Misc:

• General Hydroponics pH Control up/down
• Vivosun pH meter, TDS meter
• Hand Sprayers, water pumps
• Pipe Cleaners, Sticks and Misc Gardening gear

Goal: (2) Plants. One of each Strain. 3 Ounces total dry.

Preface:
While coming into this as a n00b I do bring some experiences over from one of my other hobbies: Reefkeeping. I've been heavy into growing corals under HPS/MH, T5 and now LED lighting for decades. I'm a DIY'r who has actually built several LED lighting systems and well as complete automation and monitoring systems for the saltwater hobby. I work with various zoo's, aquariums and retail shops to automate their aquatic life systems in my spare time. I'm excited to see that many of the same techniques and skills I've discovered in the coral reef keeping industry will carry over and help jump start my project here. I already had all of the hardware equipment needed for a complete hydroponic grow. I have tons of different lights, water pumps,heaters, chillers, lines, buckets, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, tds and ph monitors, par meters and even dosing pumps that could help automating a hydroponic system. As I've been researching, I've been building an idea in my head for a complete automated hydroponic system that I can run and monitor from my phone. By trade I'm a Software Engineer with more than 35 years experience. I've already developed a platform for dosing cal-mag, monitoring pH levels, adjusting fans/heat and cooling systems and controlling environmental switches.


I'm starting this off with a fairly inexpensive setup (It cost less than one trip to the dispensary) and I plan to upgrade it as I go. I chose the autoflower and this setup based on the desire to get self sufficient ASAP. I plan to move on to photoperiod and playing with different strains with later grows. Please feel free to make any suggestions as I go.

Thanks,
-тяσиIx

 

[HydroTronix]

February 23, 2020 Day 1

• 2 Feminized White Widow Max Autoflower seeds dropped into RO water.
• 2 Feminized AK-47 Autoflower seeds dropped into RO water

I put two of each seeds in. Later I'll have to choose which ladies to keep. I ultimately only want to grow out 1 of each.

 

[HydroTronix]

February 24, 2020 Day 2

• These lovely ladies are out of Springwater bathe after 19 hours, got wrapped in a luxurious wet towel and then into the sauna they go!

Notes: I'm actually keeping them inside of a dark cabinet. now that I've moved them from the glass and into the wet paper towel I've added a heat pad inside the cabinet (not touching directly) to increase the heat just a little. It's 70 in my house and about 75 inside the cabinet. I'm trying to trick these girls into thinking it's spring already. Not quite sure if they are fooled yet. Going from glass to towel I can't say I could tell if they were cracking just yet. They looked close to me.

 

[HydroTronix]

February 26, 2020 - Day 4

• 36 Hours in paper towel.
• The AK-47 seeds have 1/2" to 3/4" tail.
• One White Widow Max seed has a 4" tail.
• One White Widow Max seed has a 2" tail.
• Planted all 4 in 70/30 Coco Coir/Perlite.
• Dampened with 5.9 pH water.
• Placed under a CFL bulb with a seedling mat set to 78 degrees.

Notes: Wow. That White Widow Max seed grew through 4 layers of paper towel. I had to meticulously remove it as to not damage the taproot pulling it out.
I 'm having issues getting my temp in the tent where I want it. I added a second LED unit and running both the temp at the plant base level is 73 degrees. I think that's too low. I added a small heat/fan that you can set to run and shut off at 70,75,80 degrees. If I set that to 75 then the temp hovers around 79. I think that's where I want to be. The challenge is that the tent is in a room that is 60 degrees. The LED lights don't put off that much heat so I need a warming source. I'm thinking about adding just a straight heat bulb with a temp controller. I'm a little afraid of the heater fan. We'll see how that goes. Also I may have to consider going with a 24/0 instead of 18/6 with the light cycle.

 

[HydroTronix]

February 27, 2020 - Day 5

First head seen emerging from media.
Watered very lightly with 5.9 pH water.

Notes: That one WWM seed is just exploding! That girl is ready to get it on. I'm going to continue to grow under the CFL bulb for now. I'll let the tent settle for another day or so. So far all the pics were taken on my phone. I'm thinking about getting the DSLR out and trying some macro or even timelapse stuff soon.