KCMP Fall 2015 Grow! - All LED - Coco/Perlite - Ebb & Flow

[KCMP]

Hello 420magazine Forums!

I am about to start my 3rd grow cycle and although clones (or seeds) have yet to be procured I am past the initial setup phase and thought it was time to start a thread.

Last round I was very successful using Coco and wanted to go that route again. I did however have a salt build up issue late in flower that negatively affected my harvest that I wanted to address. The salt problem was (in my opinion) caused by lack of proper drainage and inefficient drip rings. I looked into alternatives and was almost sold on hydro rings, but recently I have been drawn to ebb and flow systems so I decided to give it a try.

This grow will take place in a 60x60x80 Apollo grow tent with a 3x3 Botanicare flood tray suspended at 24" on a rather sketchy PVC frame I threw together. I have placed a 24 gallon reservoir below the table with a 500gph pump to facilitate flooding the table. The water will then flow back through the same valve, and an overflow mechanism is included as well. I will be running 4 plants (strains undetermined) in 3 gallon smartpots. Please weigh in if you feel I should use the 5 gal pots again. Honestly I think I should be able to grow the same size plant in a smaller container using this system. Substrate is a 70/30 Coco /Perlite mix with 3/4" of clay pebbles on either end. I will be top feeding for the first few weeks of veg until a proper root system is established.
About 1 week into veg I plan on adding a 48x60” scrog net roughly 12” above the medium in order to create an even canopy for flowering. It will also allow me to maximize the use of the growing space. My goal (aiming high) is to produce 1lb of dry flower with this setup.

Info
Strains: Not yet determined
Current Stage: Veg: Have not started
Grow Medium: 70/30 Coco Pearlite mix with ¾” clay pebbles on either end.
Grow Area: Indoor Tent – Apollo 60x60x80
Grow Container: 3 gallon Smart Pots x4
Lighting: Apollo Horticulture GL100 300w LED x3 (total of 900w) (I may be purchasing a Mars 700 for 1600w of pure purple photon power!)
Ventilation: Passive Intake - 460CFM out – Both with carbon filters (lots of dog hair in my house)
Room Temp: Not yet tested. (grow location has moved, ventilation and cooling should be easier)
Humidity: Ambient 15% (It is dry in CO. Have not added the humidifier yet)
Medium PH PH: 6.0
Watering Schedule: As needed.
Fert Schedule: Constant Hydro. (may go 50/50 during early veg hand watering)
Ferts used: Advanced Nutrients PH Perfect COCO + AN addatives + Cal Mag
Pests: None! It’s Coco!

This is a 100% legal Colorado grow!

A few teaser shots. More to come.

 

[KCMP]

re: KCMP Fall 2015 Grow! - All LED - Coco/Perlite - Ebb & Flow

Time for an update.

The PVC frame was an absolute piece of garbage so I went ahead and built a new one out of 2x4. I also upgraded to a 50g resivour which provides me with more than enough overhead for a full flood.

Clones were procured yesterday. Here are the current strains for this grow.

Blue God - Indica - God Bud X Blueberry
Amnesia Haze - Sativa
Grape Stomper X OG Kush - Hybrid
Deadhead X Sourband - Hybrid

Went ahead and placed them directly into the #3 smartpots for veg and flower. I do not really see any beneficial reason for translpanting multiple times when growing with fabric pots. Based on my experience it should only take about two weeks for the rootball to fill out. I will be top feeding the plants for the next few days in order to assure that they recieve the proper nutrients.

Decided to go with the 3 part AN line for this round. It is much cheaper than the sensi formula and the guys at the hydro shop said they had equal results with both lines. Have yet to work out a proper feeding schedule. I plan on keeping a close watch on the clones and seeing what they need over the next week.

Their first feeding last night was 1/3 strength AN Grow and Micro supplimented with Cal Mag and Voodoo Juice.

Will get some shots up later this evening.

 

[KCMP]

re: KCMP Fall 2015 Grow! - All LED - Coco/Perlite - Ebb & Flow

Photos!

 

[KCMP]

A few glory shots from my last grow. Hoping the bud porn will draw some followers.

All the clones are doing well. Looks like they have started to root into the new medium as the new growth is finally starting to go after 5 days.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Front row.

 

[KCMP]

Well it has been about a week so time for another update.

All of the plants are doing very well and the ebb and flo system seems to be a hit so far. I am currently changing the reservoir on weekly basis and ended up switching from the AN Sensi Coco to their regular 3 part line. My local hydro shop advised me that the coco specific nutrients would only cost more money and not improve results. So far they are right!

The coco seems to be an excellent medium for this system as it retains moisture incredibly well and wicks the nutrient solution to the surface in a few minutes. My table currently floods for 7 minutes to 1/3 pot height and then drains over another 15.

I had some minor nutrient burn the first day or so after switching to the flood system (I hand watered for the first 7 days) but the plants seem to have no problem with the current concentration now that they are larger. My PPM and PH meters both broke today so I am not sure of the current PH or PPM of the reservoir. AN PH perfect tends to work rather well so I was not nervous giving them a feeding before I can get new meters to check.

Here is a shot of the ladies Week 2 of veg.

All of the plants have been topped / FIM'd / and supercropped as needed in order to keep them short and bushy. The scrog net will be installed in the next few days and I wil begin filling it out. At the current growth rate I plan on veging for another 2 weeks before flipping to 12/12.

I also wanted to throw it out there that (in my opinion) Voodoo Juice is an absolutely amazing product. It has been 12 days since the clones were transplanted and I already have a few beautiful white roots starting to burst through the smartpots. If they continue to push through I may fill the rest of the flood table with hydroton in order to allow them to branch out even more.

This week's nutrient solution is listed below.

1/2 dose - AN Micro
1/2 dose - AN Grow
1/4 dose - AN Bloom
Full dose - CaliMagic
1/2 dose - Hygrozyme (we will see if the snake oil works)

I have ran out of Voodoo Juice so I did not add that to this week's reservoir. I may pick some up as I like to use it during the entire veg cycle.

At this point I am almost certain I will be adding a 600w HPS or an additional LED panel for flowering.


Open to any and all suggestions! Happy Growing!

 

[KCMP]

Front row.

Thanks Dusty! Glad to have you along for the ride. Feel free to chime in with any advice. I still feel like a beginer and this is certainly a new system for me.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Looking great bro.

 

[KCMP]

About to remove some lower branches before installing the scrog net. Anyone in the Denver area looking for some new genetics?

Deadhead x Sourband
Amnesia Haze
Blue God Bud
Grape Stomper x OG Kush

Also noticed I already have a 4inch root grown through one of the smart pots. Would adding a layer of hydroton directly into the flood table allow them to keep growing? Or should I just let them die off? One has been out for a few days and is continuing to grow with no ill effects.

 

[KCMP]

Thought I would toss up some photos of some homemade hash using trim from my last grow. This particular run was a combo of Candy Kush and Golden Goat.

mmmmmmmmmm delicious budder.......

I had tried making ISO hash before but I was never a fan of the aroma, color, or how harsh it always smoked. Ended up with about 8 grams of Hash from 800g of frozen trim. Not bad for my first BHO run. These were ran in a 100g tube and then heat purged for a few hours. Based on how it smokes I am almost positive I was able to purge all of the butane. Way better than some of the hash they sell at dispensaries around here.

I think its time for a -----> HASH

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Kool on the hash brother. I hate when I can taste anything other than the resin. I dry sift mine for that reason yummmy.
I wouldn't add any hydroton to the flood table just let em die off and grow new.
Happy daze brother.

 

[ColoradoGriz]

Subbed!

I'm mostly eyes on this one, new territory

I have the same tent and I am curious, for your personal growing tastes, are you happy with a 3x3 or do you wish for a different size? I ask because I plan on buying a flood table. I'm debating a square table in the center or running 1x4's down the sides so I can work from the middle. My fat ass wouldn't be able to work around a square table haha

 

[Nicholas Flamel]

Hey KC good luck with EbbnFlo. I like the setep. Easy to use and fast growth. There are soo many different ways to grow and all have pros and cons. Its always good to set high goals for yourself. Subbed

 

[KCMP]

Subbed!

I'm mostly eyes on this one, new territory

I have the same tent and I am curious, for your personal growing tastes, are you happy with a 3x3 or do you wish for a different size? I ask because I plan on buying a flood table. I'm debating a square table in the center or running 1x4's down the sides so I can work from the middle. My fat ass wouldn't be able to work around a square table haha

So far it has not been an issue. The current setup gives room to sneak around and access the plants from all sides but then again I am a very slim. I am hoping to extend the scrog net to the edges of the tent and leave a small walkway in front for access. Hoping to get that setup today!

 

[KCMP]

Thanks Dusty! I have considered dry sifting all my trim before running it next round. I have so much kief stashed away that at this point I feel like I have to try something new.

 

[KCMP]

Hey KC good luck with EbbnFlo. I like the setep. Easy to use and fast growth. There are soo many different ways to grow and all have pros and cons. Its always good to set high goals for yourself. Subbed

I certainly enjoy trying something new with each grow. Kinda slowly inching myself towards hydro. I think that this setup would be awesome for a sea of green type setup. You could probably keep them in large rockwool cubes their entire life.

So far the best part of using Coco in this setup is its moisture rentention. Even if I was out for a day or so and the pump failed the coco will remain moist and keep the ladies alive.

 

[KCMP]

Week Three Update

So it has officially been two weeks since the clones were purchased and translpanted. I spent most of the afternoon building and installing the scrog net to take this grow to the next level.

The net is 44" x 60" which still gives me access to the resivour from the front. The side panels allow enough access for me to continue to prune and maintain the plants without disturbing the net. Squares are roughly 2".

The current plan is to fill out the net as much as possible before switching the ladies over to flower. I went ahead and trimmed most of the lower growth before installing the scrog net so hopefully they will recover in a few days and start to fill out.

Anyone want to guess how long it will be before the flip? I am thinking another 2 weeks.

Open to any advice from fellow SCROG growers! Feel free to weigh in!

 

[KCMP]

Does anyone think it would be worth it to Top / FIM these plants again? Or should I just let them fill up the net as is? Currently each plant has around 5 tops with the exception of my rather slow growing Blue God.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Love the screen if you tip them again you might want to wait a lil longer to flower. I think they will still fill up if you dont two more weeks of veg and two to three of stech that shiuld fill it up nice.What ever you do it will be fun to watch.
happy daze my good sir.

 

[KCMP]

Okay everyone time for a mid week update.

Scrog training has started and the plants have begun to fill out the net rather quickly. My Blue God is lagging behind the other ladies, so hopefully she starts to speed up her growth in a few days.

So far I have had almost zero signs of any nutrient issues, however after working in the tent this afternoon it looks like I may have some nitrogen toxicity developing.

I have also noticed a small degree of algae (it may be bacteria) formation on the exterior of my smart pots. This has been ongoing since the res change last week which marked the addition of hygrozyme to the nutrient solution. So far the plants seem very happy so I am unsure if this is a beneficial or problematic organism I am dealing with. I will be changing out the resivour in a day and plan to thoroghly clean the system and flush using both H202 and Clearex.

Here are a few shots of the net with a few closeups on the plants.

Blue God

Deadhead x Sourband

Grape Stomper X OG

Happy Roots! (They do not seem angry about whatever micro-organisms have moved in)

Tent shot

I have also come to the conclusion that I need to add additional lighting to this grow in order to maximize yield. I am thinking of either purchasing an additional LED unit (I have a local deal on a Mars Hydro 960w for $250) or adding a 600 - 1000w HPS fixture.

HPS attracts me since I have only grown under LED fixtures and have yet to see an LED yeild that truly rivals a similar setup using HPS fixtures. I am a little worried about exhausing the additional heat generated, but think that 1000w of HPS and 900w of LED over a 4x5 space would pretty much assure that light is not my grow rooms weakest link.

Anyone have thoughts on which way I should go? LED or HPS? My current lofty goal is to yield a minimum of 1lb of dry bud from this round.