JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed Capn Style - 600 Watt HID

[Coffeeholic]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Wow, Boozer

She is beautiful for sure!

Congrats on your great start

A pure joy to follow!

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Wow, Boozer

She is beautiful for sure!

Congrats on your great start

A pure joy to follow!

Thanks Coffee! Its been a joy to grow! I will be setting up my 2nd room next weekend so when I take clones and put this one into flower, I can veg my clones in there.

I will have another picture update coming either later today or tomorrow. Gotta transplant her again...into the 3 gallon pot. Just took a look at the roots this morning and she's about ready.

-JBooze

 

[LadyGreenthum]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Looking really nice and bushy!

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Looking really nice and bushy!

Thanks LadyGreenthum!

And for everyone, here is my Day 42 Update!

All is well! Transplanted up a pot size to the 3 gallon. I have my 5.8 gal superoots pot on order...damn those things are pricey for what they are! Here is a picture of the roots, taken 3 days ago. They were circling nicely but I wanted to give them a couple more days. Transplant was done last night:

I've taken down the side lighting that I had up as she was getting a bit too big for them...couldn't really adjust them easily enough and I will be needing them in the other room next week anyways. I now have the light set to the full 600 watts. Here are some plant pics:

My 6"x16" filter came this week and I strung it up yesterday. Don't quite need it yet, but I'd like to play it safe:

Tea is currently brewing for the weekly Monday feeding and I have some parts coming on Tuesday to set up the recirculating top feed. Everything is going as planned! As far as a schedule is concerned, another 2 weeks will put me at 56 days; exactly 8 weeks. I plan on measuring the plant at that time and if she needs longer to get up to the size I want (roughly 36" diameter), then I'll give it another week before switching to flower. Haven't topped the plant since this past Tuesday (Day 37), she is starting to gain some height which is nice. Going to give her another few days to see if I need to top again. I figure I will have to build/setup the screening sometime soon, maybe next weekend. I think I will be setting up the dedicated veg room next weekend too. Possibly taking clones then as well.

That's it for now folks! Enjoy!
-JBooze

 

[TheCapn]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Thanks LadyGreenthum!

And for everyone, here is my Day 42 Update!

All is well! Transplanted up a pot size to the 3 gallon. I have my 5.8 gal superoots pot on order...damn those things are pricey for what they are! Here is a picture of the roots, taken 3 days ago. They were circling nicely but I wanted to give them a couple more days. Transplant was done last night:

-JBooze

Wow! amazing! You should post that on my "tea recipe" blog post! Awesome!

 

[shanker65]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Sounds like your super busy and dealing with it well Boozer! Your roots and plant are lookin sweet!!!!

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Thanks guys! Yes, this has certainly kept me busy! As my orders come in and things get setup, I'll be good to go for awhile...looking forward to that.

Capn, will do! Ill post a pic in your blog tonight.

-JBooze

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Day 46:

Quick midweek update. I cut a few lower branches off yesterday...took the ones that seemed would never reach the trellis once I put it up. Was about 3 or 4 total along with a few fan leaves. Left a few others that I will be using for clones this coming weekend. I also topped the 2 tallest branches. I believe this will be it for any topping unless I absolutely need to once in flower. I am on schedule to switch to 12/12 next Sunday (Oct 12th), which is 10 days from now. Should be a sufficient amount of time for the plant to heal after the topping and taking of clones this weekend.

Here are a couple pics...looking fat as ever...

I will have a big update this Sunday I think. I will be covering:

• Recirculating top feed setup
• Cutting/Planting of Clones
• Setup of dedicated veg room

Thanks!
JBooze

 

[Coffeeholic]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Looking really good

 

[TheCapn]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Looking great, boozer. When you do your next update, we would like to see a wide angle shot of your room, light and so fourth. Can't wait to see.

Since you're getting ready for flower, have you checked your room for light leaks?

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Looking really good

Hey Coffee, thanks man! And btw, if I don't start the day with a couple good cups of coffee...I'm one pissed off guy! Especially this time of year where I live...nothing like a few cups to get ya going on a grey, brisk, New England morning!

Looking great, boozer. When you do your next update, we would like to see a wide angle shot of your room, light and so fourth. Can't wait to see.

Sure thing Cap. I should have the veg room all set to go by the end of this weekend. A good shot of the whole setup would be sweet.

Since you're getting ready for flower, have you checked your room for light leaks?

Yes, I have checked for light leaks. Part of my 12/12 to-do list in fact! I have a few small light leaks. They haven't been an issue that I have had to deal with yet because of my 18/6 schedule: Lights on at 6am (dark outside), Lights off at midnight (dark outside). I've yet to decide on my 12/12 schedule, but any way I do it, I will have to get the rooms sealed up well.

I had been using some black duct tape to seal the leaks, but I had to put on a few layers for it to work. Sealing these light leaks is one of the things I will definitely be doing this weekend.

Do you have any suggestions on what to use? A couple rolls of black duct tape will cost me $10-$14 or so...but I have been trying to think of something better (and in that price range or so). Like I mentioned, the tape works okay with 2-3 layers, but I'm betting that eventually it will want to start peeling off.

Off to work, thanks for the help!
-JBooze

 

[TheCapn]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

>>>Do you have any suggestions on what to use? A couple rolls of black duct tape will cost me $10-$14 or so
-JBooze[/QUOTE]

The gorilla black tape only takes one layer. You can also use brown or black caulk to patch up tiny holes and cracks.

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

So.....I just had a big F-up. Was working on the top feed setup and I broke a branch! A big main branch... Here is a picture:

I used some string to tie it back up.

I'm really hoping that I don't have to remove it. I tied it up pretty well so the split is closed up. Will it repair itself?

Thoughts/Suggestions?

-JBooze

 

[go4snypr]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

it should mend it self. I had the same problems with a branch on one of mine, it hasn't died yet...

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

it should mend it self. I had the same problems with a branch on one of mine, it hasn't died yet...

Phew! That's a relief! Hopefully it'll be okay. I was going to take a couple clones today...but I think I'll wait a few days and allow the plant to focus on healing the split first. Not sure if that really matters or not, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[TheCapn]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Phew! That's a relief! Hopefully it'll be okay. I was going to take a couple clones today...but I think I'll wait a few days and allow the plant to focus on healing the split first. Not sure if that really matters or not, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Please post another pic of the break area in a couple weeks.

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Please post another pic of the break area in a couple weeks.

Will do. Just took a look at her this morning and the leaves aren't even wilted on the branch that broke. I think I'm safe to assume she will heal up just fine. I'm guessing I'll see a build up of growth around the break area...kind of like the pics I've seen of the high stress training.

One other question, roughly how long do you keep the plant in the 3 gal pot before moving to the superoots pot Capn? I know there is alot of variation to this of course but a rough time length would be good enough. I've had mine in for 7 days...problem is that my superoots pot isn't coming for another 4-5 days. It only took about 10 days going from my 1.5 gal to the 3 gal. With the broken branch, its going to be a bit tough to check the root structure to see if its ready for transplant.

Thanks,
JBooze

 

[JockBoozer]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Day 49 Update:

I had initially planned for a pretty extensive update today, but with the branch breaking (see a few posts above this one), and limited funds for the week, I had to scale back some of the planned projects I had for this weekend. Specifically, the dedicated veg room will remain a storage closet for one more week. Next weekend I will get this room set up. Also, the top feed drip setup is just about complete, I just need to get another mechanical timer and do a few more adjustments to the hosing so that water is evenly distributed throughout the pot.

First off, here are some pictures of the top feed. Despite cautions against using clear tubing, I ended up having to use it as it was the only stuff reasonably priced that I could find in my local hardware stores. I may be able to wrap it in black tape, or clean it once a week if necessary. I will eventually order some black tubing online and make a new one.

I forgot to get a picture of the drip ring itself, but it can be seen a bit in the last picture of this post. Pretty straight forward...1/2" tubing with a "T" connector. I used a 3/32" drill bit and drilled holes so water shoots laterally and straight down. Seems to work well, a few more adjustments and it will be great. Just need to buy another 15min on/off mechanical timer. Also, you can see the drain setup is just a hole drilled in the top tote that drains down to a funnel to the lower reservoir (pics below). It's not how I had initially planned it, but the tubing I have is so stiff that when I tried taking off the lid of the lower reservoir, it popped my barbed drain adapter out of the upper tote. I believe this setup will work just fine though.

I filled the reservoir with ~8 gallons of veg solution. Here is my meter pic with numbers for reference (my tap water PPM is about 220, putting this nutrient mix at 550PPM):

Next up...clones! After the branch breaking yesterday (again, see a few posts above this to see that info), I was going to wait to take clones. But I already had a bit of tea brewing that was ready to go so I went for it. I was able to get a couple without moving the plant around much. I followed TheCapn's cloning in rockwool guide...so I won't go into that much detail on the process. Here are a few pictures:

As you can see, I put a couple tote lids on top and around the clones to shield some of the light. I also misted pretty heavily inside the clear tote. RH stays around 80-85% when the tote is flipped over covering the clones.


And lastly, here are some more pictures of the room and plant:

That will be it for now! I will have a mid-week update on the status of the broken branch and the clones. I'm still planning on switching the light cycle to 12/12 next Sunday, so it will be an exciting and busy weekend!

Thanks folks,
JBooze

 

[CCOiler]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

JockBoozer, this is a great read, watching a new grower doing it just like The Capn has shown (blue printed) for us is awesome and you are a natural.

 

[TheCapn]

Re: JBoozer's 1st Grow - Nirvava AK48 - Top Feed "Capn" Style - 600watt HID

Will do. Just took a look at her this morning and the leaves aren't even wilted on the branch that broke. I think I'm safe to assume she will heal up just fine. I'm guessing I'll see a build up of growth around the break area...kind of like the pics I've seen of the high stress training.

One other question, roughly how long do you keep the plant in the 3 gal pot before moving to the superoots pot Capn? I know there is alot of variation to this of course but a rough time length would be good enough. I've had mine in for 7 days...problem is that my superoots pot isn't coming for another 4-5 days. It only took about 10 days going from my 1.5 gal to the 3 gal. With the broken branch, its going to be a bit tough to check the root structure to see if its ready for transplant.

Thanks,
JBooze

I try to wait until I put it into flower. You will be fine to wait.