Oatbakes' Aerogarden White Dwarf + Lowryder First Time Indoor Grow

[jandre2k3]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

Hmmm... we're back to the citrate... Lemons have been known to kill some cannabis plants, would you take the risk?

Acetate, or acetic acid is found in most vinegars.


It is best to get the actual pH buffers, as they tend to stabilize better, rather than just lower the pH of a solution. The goal here is to drop pH and try to keep it there with the buffers that are in the UP and DOWN solutions.

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

so guys is there a difference between a buffer and an upper/downer? i was a little tipsy last night but did manage to make a water change. in the 3 ltrs the aero holds, i used 6ml of my IONIC HYDRO BLOOM. btw, the roots were off-white - browning a little

all the thoughts are much appreciate. its 6am and im waiting patiently until my lighting schedule changes so i can have a look......

 

[jandre2k3]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

Browning a little...

If you have an empty milk jug reuse it and wash the hell out of it. Fill it with Tap Water, and leave it open (cap off) in the light for 24 hours. In this mix your nutes, and pH for 5.8 pH. Add 3 TBSP of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. Cap and shake the hell out of it.

Now grab the basin off the base of the Aerogarden and take it to the kitchen sink (You may need to clean well in there first, LOL!). Remove the top deck including the plants and let them sit somewhere in diminished light where it is (hopefully) below 70F, 21C. Dump the old water in the bottom down the toilet, it's tainted now. Wash the crap out of the bottom of the Aerogrow with mild soap and water, and a PLASTIC scrubber. If you have the green scrubbers, use a new one. Rinse well and set in drain tray.

Get the jug again, uncap it and place 2 DROPS of SuperThrive to the mix. Pour off some of that into a spray bottle. Use no more that 1L for this part:

Now go get your plants and upper deck assembly. Spray the hell out of the roots with your mix, so as to completely saturate them. Clean as much debris off the stand/pump assembly as you can. Clean off the emitters underneath the deck that supply the water to the pods. Run pipe cleaners wetted with your solution down each channel, scrub, and throw away. Use a fresh pipe cleaner for each channel. When you find what I'm looking for, you'll know it and report it. If you don't it's all for the better. Look at the back of the stand/pump assembly attached to the upper deck. There will be what looks like a loofah stuck in a slot in the back, bottom of the central stand. Pull that out, and look inside, there's your pump... Spray the hell out of it with your spray bottle and use a toothbrush you don't want anymore or that green scrubber pad to get into he cracks as well as possible. Rinse as well as you can with more of the spray.


Now... everything cleaned and sanitized, replace the deck on the basin and put it back on the stand. Pour the rest of the MILK JUG contents into the basin, up to the fill line (You should almost use all that is left in the jug).

Rinse the jug out with clean water from the tap, and refill it with water, and let it sit out (cap off) in the light... in three days dump the basin, and refill with the same solution as above using this water. Repeat every three days until the plant recovers.

Once the plant recovers, you can stop using the SuperThrive. In an AeroGrow, it is very hard to control temps, and they need to be below 69F, 20.5C in order to gain the best control of contamination and infection.

 

[GigaGrew]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

yes oatbakes, there is a difference between ph up/down and a buffer.

Ph adjuster moves the PH to then number you want, a buffer at that number makes it harder for the PH to move away from that number.

just think of it this way, a buffer in your rez is like a handbrake in your car...it can still be moved from the place you parked it, but its much harder to do so.


Im a fan of the idea of buffers, but its very hard to come up with a convincing argument when im only academic on the subject and Jandre is a serious pro.

 

[Closet Farmer]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

I would change the res solution asap with just straight ph'd water. It looks like you have a serious case of nute burn. The plants have enough nutes stored in them to feed themselves for a few weeks. I would run straight water until the plant starts looking better then I would add a very light mixture of nutes.

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

I would change the res solution asap with just straight ph'd water. It looks like you have a serious case of nute burn. The plants have enough nutes to feed themselves for a few weeks. I would run straight water until the plant starts looking better then I would add a very light mixture of nutes.

thanks nutefarmer. i will adjust my nutes later but i think your right farmer. i will clean the hell outa the tray and they shall have a cooler environment later on today when my leds arrive.

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

thanks jandre and gigabane for coming over and having a look, @ closetfarmer, he has got 2 plants in the same res and only 1 is showing this problem, could the one strain be holding the problem at bay and the other not coping so well, its beyond me and thats why i asked for some expert advice,

ive been thinking about hydro and aero grows, in my tropica fish tank i have these like white stones in the filter, i never knew what they was but they do the fishtank water good or so im told, would something like this be safe to use in a hydro grow and if so what are these white stones, they look pourus and are cut square, they sit inbetween the filters on my fish tank pump, always wondered what they are, my coffee table fish tank does not have these, it just has the pump and filters, but my big tropical tank with similar pump has these stones in it, wonder if they would be any good sitting in teh bottom of a hydro grow.

hows the plant looking now, has it started to pick up yet, i would not use anything to adjust the ph thats not ph up or ph down, follow jandre and giga's advice, also go to the auction site or the rain forest sounding site and get a digital ph tester, those strips are a joke, they can be way off, ive spent nearly £100 on testing stuff for my fish tank, it lets me put water in a test tube and add these liquids to it then i match the colour with the strips, but the water has to be a certain temp to get it to work properly, the tests i have got are for ph and nitrates and stuff like that, but i got a digital ph tester pen for £10 from the rainforest site, and it works perfect, i bought one of these cheap testers with the metal prongs that check the ph and how wet the soil is, these are also a waste of money and totally way off the actual results

buy a digital ph testing pen and this will help you loads, plus it can be used for hydro and soil so its worth having as you can test the res or in case of a soil grow you can test the nutrient solution before feeding the plants,
for a temp gauge you could either by a digital one of go to your nearest pet shop and buy a fish tank temp gauge, these cost next to nothing and can be left in the res and you can check it when you want to check the temps.

let us know how the plants going and if its recovered, when i was growing a plant in an aerogarden i soon found that the pump was pumping to much water to the plant, this was giving me some sort of mould growing on the stem of the plant so i turned the pump off and added some air stone and it solved the problem, but i found the light was not up to the job and the plant was stretching like crazy so no longer use the aerogarden,

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

AHAHA seriously DON you dont just have a fish tank, you have one for your coffee table too? tooo fly.
sooooooooo much info from all the wise ones. maybe i should have had all of these lotions and potions right from the off. i think thats why i bought the aerogarden in the first place, because it was a self contained unit which does it all except i seem to be buying stuff on amazon weekly.thank god for my lovely old neighbours signing for my led grow light haha.

DON, do you grow anything else in your aero? like flowers or veg?

anyway, both plants are now sat under 180w led and ive also got the aero lights supplementing. they look muuuch happier.
with regards to the PROBLEM plant, she is looking........well there are new leaves growing but i think they are just bud growth. they are tiny sets and all round the buds..but.....GREEN yay! and most of the dead leaves have fallen off (some with a little help) . i havent done anything to them but change the water with low nute mix to pure bottled water. so wierd the one plant having troubles and not the other.
anyone wanna guestimate how many Pounds im gonna harvest from these beauties?

im not tooo disheartened now cuz ive got two big bud seedlings sitting under my cfl rig on 24. amazing little buggers, 3 days old and they are a good 5cm out the pots.

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

its not all good mate, having a big coffee table fish tank is a nightmare to keep clean, plus keep it heated, but i got to admit it looks really good at night when all the lights are off and just the coffee table lights are on, very relaxing,

ive never used my aerogarden for anything, i grew one plant in it to give it a try and didnt like it so gave up on it, i was going to use it for clones but i have had good results cloning strait into soil, what i was thinking about doing with it though is this, i was going to remove the lid from the res and fill it with soil, and then stick and auto in it and leave the lights on 24-0, its the only way i can see me using the aerogarden, its either that or it sits in my cupboard un-used, i was given it and didnt like it, but im thinking it might be good for an auto and instead of hydro type grow just fill the res with soil and grow like that, i know their is no drainage but if you dont over water then their should be no problems, i could drill a few drain holes.

but my plant numbers are way to high for my liking so wont be doing anything with it just yet.

some strains take nutes better than others so that could of been the problem, it sounds like your on the way to recovery now so all been well you should be ok, just keep the nutes at a low level for a couple of feeds then slowly up it and keep an eye on the leaves, you should find a level then that the plants like,

tap water is ok to use as long as you let it sit for 24 hours before using it, i fill up a big bucket with tap water and leave it sitting around for a couple of days, doing this lets any chlorine evap off and then its good to use, another trick i learned from my tropical fish, if i used the water strait out the tap then id need to add some water safe so it dont stress the fish, but if i let the water sit for 24 hours then the water is safe to use without any water safe

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

Phone Dump!

the lowryder has caught up!

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

just had a couple of drinks and decided to buy a grow tent and a proper fan! haha this bloody game. figured id use my closet for clothes and my garden shed for growing. makes sense?

question. the tent is 1m x 1m , will my 180w (100w actual) led be enough? with cfl supplementing?

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

another query,

would an airstone in a soil pot do any good?

 

[GigaGrew]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

another query,

would an airstone in a soil pot do any good?

not really. you could use the same airstone to bubble your water before you feed them tho =)

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

but then whats the point in those pots with holes throughout?

 

[jandre2k3]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

AIRPOTS! Hey, there's an airpot expert to seek out. OldMedMan. He grows some awesome herb in airpots, and he's a right helpful person. An airstone under one of those is useless because of how tight you need to pack the soil to keep it from running out the holes in the sides. Just make absolutely sure you assemble it the right way, and not upside down.

As far as yield, I'd be surprised if you get much more than 1oz(dried and cured) off those two plants. Sorry mate, it takes a much bigger grow to get pounds. And a better light than just CFL. I see you've got your LED up, so that will help, and with CFL broadside, that'll hit the lowers. so I'll call it at 3/4oz. or 21(ish)g per plant.

I'm glad to hear that the sick one is looking better. Gives me hope to see that you might not be discouraged from evolving your grow space as well. "Bigger-n-better" is the mantra!

Many well wishes headed your way, buddy. Make'em greener, and....

KEEP'EM GREEN!

 

[jandre2k3]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

yes oatbakes, there is a difference between ph up/down and a buffer.

Ph adjuster moves the PH to then number you want, a buffer at that number makes it harder for the PH to move away from that number.

just think of it this way, a buffer in your rez is like a handbrake in your car...it can still be moved from the place you parked it, but its much harder to do so.


Im a fan of the idea of buffers, but its very hard to come up with a convincing argument when im only academic on the subject and Jandre is a serious pro.

LOL! It's just a hobby for now, but thank you for the kind words. Professional growing of MMJ is still frowned upon in the US, but we're working on changing that.

About the handbrake analogy: I like it! It really helps to set it in your mind that it will not fluctuate as bad with a buffer. However, in the 3L res, it will still fluctuate quite rapidly regardless. To have a really stable pH, in my opinion, takes at least 3 gallons. The handbrake scenario would be more like 6+ gallons I used to grow in an AeroGarden, and I still use the light for veg.

In my experience with the .78Gal (3L) res in those, pH still needed to be adjusted slightly every day or two, but it was nowhere near the wild swings I saw when I was trying to do it with vinegar/baking soda to control pH. Actually just adjusting the pH using either of those is like pushing a round rock up a hill. As soon as you take your hands off it, it starts to roll back down. But with the buffer, at least, the pH was a little more stable (the rock rolled downhill through tall grass?). In my 2Gal (9L) res, I could get the pH stable enough to only need adjustment every 3 or 4 days. I attribute this to the larger volume of solution. In my 5Gal (20L) reservoirs that I run now, while I still check it every day, it stays in range quite well, and I can actually leave it for up to 11 days without needing adjustment.

So you see, the more volume of solution, the more stable the pH. I hope this helps understand the relationship of pH buffers, and reservoir sizes, as pertains to pH swings and stability. If anyone has any questions, or need better clarification, please let me know here, I'll try to better simplify it.

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

AIRPOTS! Hey, there's an airpot expert to seek out. OldMedMan. He grows some awesome herb in airpots, and he's a right helpful person. An airstone under one of those is useless because of how tight you need to pack the soil to keep it from running out the holes in the sides. Just make absolutely sure you assemble it the right way, and not upside down.

As far as yield, I'd be surprised if you get much more than 1oz(dried and cured) off those two plants. Sorry mate, it takes a much bigger grow to get pounds. And a better light than just CFL. I see you've got your LED up, so that will help, and with CFL broadside, that'll hit the lowers. so I'll call it at 3/4oz. or 21(ish)g per plant.

I'm glad to hear that the sick one is looking better. Gives me hope to see that you might not be discouraged from evolving your grow space as well. "Bigger-n-better" is the mantra!

Many well wishes headed your way, buddy. Make'em greener, and....

KEEP'EM GREEN!

i joke about quantities really. even if i got a mere gram id still be happy as shit. Ounce? AMAZING! seriously, i love smokin the stuff but at the moment the growing is keeping me from going mad. also, i think its providing me a new respect for the herb. im no longer just a consumer.

bigger grow area!! wooo

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

So you see, the more volume of solution, the more stable the pH. I hope this helps understand the relationship of pH buffers, and reservoir sizes, as pertains to pH swings and stability. If anyone has any questions, or need better clarification, please let me know here, I'll try to better simplify it.[/QUOTE]

great analogies Mr Jandre. i get it now for sure. do you think the difference in flux between your res' is due to a water root mass ratio? just trying to apply some common sense and maybe sound a bit clever.

 

[jandre2k3]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

3L supported 4 teens... 20L supports 36 clones and 6 mothers.... probably not a correlation of root mass/solution volume. Although it is worth something to think about, because I did, then I realized... nah... I have WAY more plants now, as compared to then.

 

[oatbakes]

Re: Oatbakes' aerogarden white dwarf+lowryder first time indoor grow

plus who wants to do all that math when there's bud to smoke