My First Journal: First Time LED And 3rd Grow

[SmokeyB]

I am a new grower but I can tell you that I have tried multiple CO2 solutions and would advise you save your money on those CO2 bags (Exhale). I say this from practical experience, not opinion.

There are a lot of variables when talking about this topic so the best way to confirm is to do your own testing. I read tons of reviews (for many different solutions) that talked about how great they work; some with ppm values that seemed to validate their review so I bought in and gave them a try.

Like I said earlier, I tried mushroom bags, sugar/yeast buckets, folic acid/sodium bicarbonate buckets and I was very disappointed in every one.

I fell upon this thread randomly and did not read it from the beginning so forgive me if I missed something on earlier pages. Before you go after CO2, you should have all of your other parameters dialed in first and have a high light intensity light to utilize the enhancement.

Also, you need a decent quality CO2 meter so you can feel confident with the data. If you are there, I will share my experience with CO2.

I started with a large Exhale bag in my small 3x3 tent. I do circulate my air into a small 10x5 lung room which is reasonably sealed. My CO2 levels were awful (I gave it the benefit of the doubt because they do need time to fully activate so I stayed with it and continued to get terrible results. I added a second XL bag to see if maybe I had a bad bag but nope, barely moved the needle...

I tried most of the common DIY solutions and all of them are insufficient. My research suggests your two main (effective) options are 1) a CO2 bottle, regulator and controller or 2) a propane driven solution which are very effective but will induce heat and most growers are constantly battling temperatures so if you are like me (in a very small area where additional heat is a deal- breaker, this can require some special solutions).

I went down the rabbit hole trying to come up with an out-of- the-box solution and by the time I got everything working properly, I wished I had just went with option #1 above. I was trying to save money and live in a rural town where filling CO2 bottles is inconvenient so I was willing to try anything but by the time I was done getting everything to actually work effectively, I spent approximately the same and felt like I could have used all the time/ energy doing better things.

If you are going to enhance, do your research and make some calculations for the long term as it is easy to waste time, money, or get lost like I did. I didn't really have any guidance and wish I could have relied on the reviews you see on the internet; in my case they were wrong.

I wish you luck with your grow and will be watching...

Nice one bro first time using a co2 bag but it's only small a friend told me to get a little tank with reg but I was creating a veg tent that's had to go to the bin I'm getting a 80+80 tent now so going to be abit smaller bit I think I'm going to just run fresh air in and out tbh and might try get get co2 in flower tent cheers for your advice bro much appreciated I might msg you both help to measure co2 needed

 

[lvumlow]

There is no doubt that optimal CO2 can increase yield by a much as 40% so it is worth the investment just don't waste your time and money on the bags. As for the DIY solutions, the folic acid/sodium bicarbonate solution is to volatile for consistent levels. The sugar/yeast solution emits odors (fermentation process) and the levels are low so not well suited for a large area. Personally, I would wait on CO2 until you have everything else optimal and remember that you need high light intensity to be effective. If you enhance with the proper levels, it will enable you to run warmer temperatures so if you are struggling with higher temperatures this may be something to help your plant(s) tolerate the condition better.

 

[SmokeyB]

To be truthful I'm going to getting more lights in there so will move temps up so might not need heater in lights on with my next one it not something I'm going to be doing on my next one be a few more yet I get co2 in there propley a friend brought me them bags so I haven't used money on it as of yet just seeing if makes a difference or not

 

[lvumlow]

Get yourself a meter that can give you good readings, then you can experiment with all the various ways of enhancing CO2. I monitored mine with my Ubibot monitor (added the optional CO2 probe). With all the various DIY solutions, the best I ever got was in the high 600's (ppm) ...until I got a call from work while in the garden. The call took about an hour or so and once I was finished I was over a 1000ppms. I found it humorous that that after trying so many (cheap) solutions, the one that worked best was a long conversation from a 200lb gasbag (me), lol. If you want to do a cheap test, light a small Coleman propane heater (5000-10000btu) for a few minutes in your lung room and watch your CO2 numbers shoot up. My DIY solution runs for less than 3 minutes every 30 minutes so about 6 min./hour for my room. I actually used that in a pinch when my DIY solution had some engineering problems and it was down. Again, heat is the problem but it will show you have to really move the needed compared to the other things we talked about. This is what led me to try the camping water heater scheme; it was a hair-brained idea but funny enough it actually worked once i dealt with the logistics. I have seem some interesting articles with speculation about the total cost of CO2 (propane .vs bottle) and there are good arguments on both side. I guess it all comes down to how large of a space you are trying to fill and how much you recirculate the area. For me, it costs me about $60/month for propane to keep my room at 1500ppm. Maybe some other guys with CO2 bottles can post up the total costs but like I said before, if I was going to do it all over again I would go with the bottle just for ease. I am filling a 10x10 room for the cost i reference above.

Seriously, before you buy anything - be sure to have a good meter so you can determine what works and what doesn't work in your environment. I am a true believer that is helps although I am on my first indoor grow so I don't have any way to determine if it has helped me or not?

This is an affordable meter that will also serve as a controller when you are ready (it will work for either a propane or CO2 bottle solution in the future) so just another option for you. I use it and can confirm it has been pretty accurate (readings match my other CO2 monitor numbers - I try to always have two measurements to compare for all my parameters for a confirmation)

 

[twinsun]

I am a new grower but I can tell you that I have tried multiple CO2 solutions and would advise you save your money on those CO2 bags (Exhale). I say this from practical experience, not opinion.

There are a lot of variables when talking about this topic so the best way to confirm is to do your own testing. I read tons of reviews (for many different solutions) that talked about how great they work; some with ppm values that seemed to validate their review so I bought in and gave them a try.

Like I said earlier, I tried mushroom bags, sugar/yeast buckets, folic acid/sodium bicarbonate buckets and I was very disappointed in every one.

I fell upon this thread randomly and did not read it from the beginning so forgive me if I missed something on earlier pages. Before you go after CO2, you should have all of your other parameters dialed in first and have a high light intensity light to utilize the enhancement.

Also, you need a decent quality CO2 meter so you can feel confident with the data. If you are there, I will share my experience with CO2.

I started with a large Exhale bag in my small 3x3 tent. I do circulate my air into a small 10x5 lung room which is reasonably sealed. My CO2 levels were awful (I gave it the benefit of the doubt because they do need time to fully activate so I stayed with it and continued to get terrible results. I added a second XL bag to see if maybe I had a bad bag but nope, barely moved the needle...

I tried most of the common DIY solutions and all of them are insufficient. My research suggests your two main (effective) options are 1) a CO2 bottle, regulator and controller or 2) a propane driven solution which are very effective but will induce heat and most growers are constantly battling temperatures so if you are like me (in a very small area where additional heat is a deal- breaker, this can require some special solutions).

I went down the rabbit hole trying to come up with an out-of- the-box solution and by the time I got everything working properly, I wished I had just went with option #1 above. I was trying to save money and live in a rural town where filling CO2 bottles is inconvenient so I was willing to try anything but by the time I was done getting everything to actually work effectively, I spent approximately the same and felt like I could have used all the time/ energy doing better things.

If you are going to enhance, do your research and make some calculations for the long term as it is easy to waste time, money, or get lost like I did. I didn't really have any guidance and wish I could have relied on the reviews you see on the internet; in my case they were wrong.

I wish you luck with your grow and will be watching...

i agree with you

i bought one c02 bag they say will make my plant better
.... well it has a psychological effect for sure on me ... after the co2 on the plant
mmmmmmm im not convinced

50 bucks , to make ma plant go better ... i bought it

but im not convince

 

[lvumlow]

I stacked two (one of them the XL) together in a small 3x3 tent and barely got 600ppm. They suck, and so does the Folic Acid/Sodium Bicarb and Sure/yeast buckets. I bet a small Bunsen burner would do a better job.

 

[twinsun]

alright then , i dump those bags

better go get some silica instead

 

[lvumlow]

I am a total newbie so take my advice with caution. This is my experience though and maybe some others will post up and confirm theirs?

 

[GoogleGenie]

I agree. If you’re going to run co2, just save the money you would have wasted on anything other than a proper co2 setup. However before you go jumping into it, I’d suggest waiting until you have your environment properly dialled in and you’ve done a few runs without - otherwise how will you know there is a difference? There are lots of considerations when running co2, and adjustments to your setup - for example, you will want your extractor fans off while you supplement with co2. Not massive changes, but considerations none the less.

Remember though that you don’t need to supplement with co2 to grow good plants and large yields - I never have. I’ve considered it, but the pros are yet to outweigh the cons for me in the small space I grow in. Good luck

 

[SmokeyB]

Yeah I will do Ive hit a problem one plant the leaves are dry and keep dropping off I'm going to use that to try make wedding cake moon rock cuz don't like nice to smoke really il get picture soon I've flushed it throu twice with water with 5l of water then back to nutes but worked on others but not 1 got 3 peyote cookies coming and 1 Mac one for my next journal

 

[SmokeyB]

Just a little update I'm now using flawless finish guna do 10 days min with it been reading takes longer to break down salts and stuff in soil so to use for extra week

 

[Bill284]

Just a little update I'm now using flawless finish guna do 10 days min with it been reading takes longer to break down salts and stuff in soil so to use for extra week

Looking good

 

[SmokeyB]

Does that look rite for week 7 just read someone else post they said they pistols still white aswell on week 7 would have fort all would be starting to change IL look at tricombes Friday se what there like

 

[Bill284]

Does that look rite for week 7 just read someone else post they said they pistols still white aswell on week 7 would have fort all would be starting to change IL look at tricombes Friday se what there like

Ive seen some strains throw white pistols right to the end just watch your trichomes.

 

[SmokeyB]

Ive seen some strains throw white pistols right to the end just watch your trichomes.

Yeah I'm going to watch them as of next week as be week 8 after Sunday just ones I've done before pistols were nearly all orange when they was ready

 

[Bill284]

Yeah I'm going to watch them as of next week as be week 8 after Sunday just ones I've done before pistols were nearly all orange when they was ready

It happens now and then, you in the home stretch.

 

[SmokeyB]

Just need abit of advise please I've never up potted a plant yet ino to start in plastic cup but what sizes would I need next as new seeds on way want to have everything ready I'm using 25l pots at the moment I only want to veg for 4 weeks 5 max then flower cheers in advance

 

[Bill284]

Just need abit of advise please I've never up potted a plant yet ino to start in plastic cup but what sizes would I need next as new seeds on way want to have everything ready I'm using 25l pots at the moment I only want to veg for 4 weeks 5 max then flower cheers in advance

If your asking what size to go to after solo cups,1 or 2 gallon pots. Something small enough to bind the roots so you can build a root ball. But big enough to hold enough nutrients for a day or 2.

 

[Ghostwriter31]

I've heard alot about that MC nutes I will try one day but after I get the basic of growing lol need more experience

I was about to say MC is so much easier to use than anything your using now . Measure and add to your water and that’s all

 

[VetSmoke85]

Looks like you've got a few weeks left to go mate. They'll do some fattening up. Are you 7 weeks from flip? How long is the advertised flower time?