Rex's Perpetual Hydroponics, LED, 4x4 Tent Using TBC 10 Gal System: All Are Welcome, Come Learn & Help

[Rexer]

Hey brother I hope all is well with you

I see you got the plants in and there’s a milestone for ya for sure. Nicely done and it’s all coming together.

Good catch on the plugged bucket and I hope you can get this sorted.

I tend to leave a certain % of the not so evil spiders in my grow spaces lmao.

play safe and enjoy everyone

Thanks KC, so they're more on the beneficial side? I'm not a spider fan but if they ain't gonna mess with my crop, and they keep nasties away- they can invite they're cousins to stay lol

Were all the buckets about to overflow like that? Scary stuff. I had to go check ours after seeing that lol.

Yup- and I think they overflowed while I was asleep. The smart water sensors that will on the floor have been ordered, hopefully that'll help me in case of next time.

Today I believe I found the culprit. The perlite. Some of the tiny particles made it threw the screen. I took the shop vac to it and got the sediment build up cleaned up. It was easy to remove the perlite bag luckily.
Now I've got a continuous top feed going- and I'll keep a close eye in case it happens again. I'll chalk this one off to growing pains, I have zero experience with perlite and underestimated the amount of a first rinse needed.

Looks pretty nasty eh? I'll be doing a res change soon as the RO reservoir is filled. What you're seeing is mainly sediment from the hydroton and perlite mixed with the MC and nutes.

No matter how much you rinse new hydroton your gonna get some sediment in your system. I'll be doing extra res changes on a regular till the system is clean out.

Here's some pics of the girls....the last one is quite curious looking.

the SuperSkunk (below)

 

[dick23rk]

I find that perlite, as soon as it dries out it get dusty again. And if any of the chunks break up, you'll get fine granules again. I noticed the same when I did perlite hempy buckets.

Also noticing the same with the hydroton in my current dwc buckets. Rinsed that hydroton a few times, set up buckets for a few days to run and check for issues, rinsed it again a few times and still getting it in my buckets if I top feed at all.

 

[Rexer]

I find that perlite, as soon as it dries out it get dusty again. And if any of the chunks break up, you'll get fine granules again. I noticed the same when I did perlite hempy buckets.

Also noticing the same with the hydroton in my current dwc buckets. Rinsed that hydroton a few times, set up buckets for a few days to run and check for issues, rinsed it again a few times and still getting it in my buckets if I top feed at all.

I think I may try double bagging it then - it'd be nice if it would just settle. I don't mind running the continuous top feed, that was actually my plan....the hydroton will eventually run clean (its just gonna be a real PITA to get there).

I should also have mentioned that right now I'm feeding at a PPM of 338 and a PH of 5.6.

 

[Rexer]

So now hopefully I've got things on track.
I've discovered the reason I'm having the issues in the perlite bag vs others doing Dutch buckets is that when doing the Dutch buckets, people have been using paint strainer bags, which has a finer mesh. For now I've noticed have the continuous top feed (and not turning off the water) allows the water to flow. Soon as it's stopped, the perlite shifts and creates a clog. Fun stuff, I've got an idea or two, but for now I've also double bagged it with the bags supplied by the bucket company.

Now onto the grow.

The girls still aren't happy. I'm thinking I have to get my light dialed in. I've lowered it and have it turned half way down drawing 330 watts (monitoring by Kill- a- watt meter).

I've also noticed a high spike going on in the PH department. I keep coming back and finding it at 6.8ish to 7.3ish
I've reset the ph for now. I'm wondering if it's the sprayers causing it to rise or just some kinks to work out.

This morning I readjusted ph to 5.8, and did a pour from top to around where the roots are to make sure they get a good sip. I'll keep doing this till I know the roots are feeding from the emitters.

So...remember the spider I took a picture of? Remember I said he could invite his/her friends if they were friends? Seems they brought they're big cousin Vinny. MOFO gave me a scare when scurried beside my hand (movement made me jump).

 

[Rider509]

Perlite is of the devil. At least with the hydroton the sediment just sits in the bottom of the grow tubs and minds its own business. I’m glad you figured out the flooding problem.

I need to go back and see your products and nute strength because your pH rise is perplexing. We expect to see a slow rise in pH in DWC/RDWC/whatever as the plants eat the nutes but that is extreme.

 

[Rexer]

Perlite is of the devil. At least with the hydroton the sediment just sits in the bottom of the grow tubs and minds its own business. I’m glad you figured out the flooding problem.

I need to go back and see your products and nute strength because your pH rise is perplexing. We expect to see a slow rise in pH in DWC/RDWC/whatever as the plants eat the nutes but that is extreme.

I'm beginning to believe you on that perlite point- I blame @bluter for making it look so easy lol.

The ph rise could be a result of adding to the MC.
MC is good stuff, but adding to it is always experimental.
I'm tempted to put the MC to the side for now, but I'd like to give it a proper chance. I added about 20ML of hydroguard this morning.

Believe it or not....after the last res change I'm not seeing as much sediment from the hydroton. They are playing with the drip emitters but I knew that would be an issue and have tons of spares.

The reservoir last night had the following (as the journal progresses this will be part of my regular updates):

100L of RO water

28grams MC (going by memory)
15ml of Orca
25ML of hydroguard
10ML ocean magic

PPM 326
Res temp 18.6C (a bit chilly...but heater is on way- res is sitting on 1 inch poly styro)

 

[Rider509]

I’ve never heard of MC before but it looks like a well designed nutrient. You might try bumping up to 5 or 600ppm. If you start seeing tip burn from too much nitrogen you can always dial it back, but that’d help with your pH swing. Nutes are acidic and when they are depleted your pH will rise.

I started my girls off at 600ppm and went quickly to 800ppm and then 1000ppm. I’ll do a res change today and probably take it to 1200ppm because they are eating like hungry teenagers.

 

[Rexer]

I’ve never heard of MC before but it looks like a well designed nutrient. You might try bumping up to 5 or 600ppm. If you start seeing tip burn from too much nitrogen you can always dial it back, but that’d help with your pH swing. Nutes are acidic and when they are depleted your pH will rise.

I started my girls off at 600ppm and went quickly to 800ppm and then 1000ppm. I’ll do a res change today and probably take it to 1200ppm because they are eating like hungry teenagers.

I've only played around with the Mega Crop on two previous grows- the first I was chasing deficiencies, the second was off to a beautiful start and I had to cull them to move.
Dang...that's a hot start, just to make sure- this would be ok with autos? I'm not one to believe the hype on how sensitive they are but I've never started one that hot. I also don't have C02 yet- I'm not sure when I'll get one...its only a matter of time but most likely not this summer.

I gotta say...when I dropped by your journal my jaw dropped at the two week growth.

I played around with my lux meter and don't think it's working great on this LED (originally bought it for a MH/HPS setup). So I'll have to read some more to get this dialed in.

So far this has been a pain, but I'm loving every second of it....its been a fun challenge.

I really appreciate everyone's patience and help along the way

 

[Rider509]

I've only played around with the Mega Crop on two previous grows- the first I was chasing deficiencies, the second was off to a beautiful start and I had to cull them to move.
Dang...that's a hot start, just to make sure- this would be ok with autos? I'm not one to believe the hype on how sensitive they are but I've never started one that hot.

My first grow was White Widow autos in Fox Farms Ocean Forest, which is a pretty hot soil, and I fed them like a regular plant with no unusual problems. I start with the manufacturers suggestion and then adjust up or down depending on what the plants are showing.

 

[Rexer]

My first grow was White Widow autos in Fox Farms Ocean Forest, which is a pretty hot soil, and I fed them like a regular plant with no unusual problems. I start with the manufacturers suggestion and then adjust up or down depending on what the plants are showing.

Greenleaf calculator shows it at 53g for seedlings/small plants-105g normal veg)grams to be added, though when you go by PPM (500 scale) it says 277 seedlings/small plants to 555 for normal veg. I'll give them a boost tomorrow and we'll hopefully see some improvements.
when I was out in the garage the PH had gone back up to 6.9, I reset to 5.8 again. Water level down about 2 inches in res (topped up before ph'ing).
I managed to get VPD a little better on track. Now at 27C and 74%RH.

I also dimmed the light to a draw of 238 Watts. I'll see how they respond.

 

[Rider509]

Greenleaf calculator shows it at 53g for seedlings/small plants-105g normal veg)grams to be added, though when you go by PPM (500 scale) it says 277 seedlings/small plants to 555 for normal veg. I'll give them a boost tomorrow and we'll hopefully see some improvements.
when I was out in the garage the PH had gone back up to 6.9, I reset to 5.8 again. Water level down about 2 inches in res (topped up before ph'ing).
I managed to get VPD a little better on track. Now at 27C and 74%RH.

I also dimmed the light to a draw of 238 Watts. I'll see how they respond.

I hope the extra nutes do the trick for you. And you’ve got the temp and humidity right in the Goldilocks zone. Very nice!

 

[Mcdoolit]

So excited! Loveeeeee the new system, but hate spiders! I would be paranoid to put my hand anywhere in there after that lol.
Happy growing!

 

[Rexer]

So excited! Loveeeeee the new system, but hate spiders! I would be paranoid to put my hand anywhere in there after that lol.
Happy growing!

I won't lie....I'm not used to seeing spiders like that, gave me quite the jump. The internal instinct to go squishy was there!
I may have shaken the tent a few times watching for scurrying before opening the tent.
I may have also reminded myself several times that it's not poisonous, & won't hurt me.
But admittedly, it never left the back of my mind till closing the garage door.
I'll get used to them.....

I'm loving the new system as well thank you! I haven't been out to it yet today, but will post an update later once I do. I checked the cameras, they seem happier this morning, I think they either liked my Dimming the light, or they just got over the transplant into the new system.

I'm loving the new system, the accidental flooding was more of a user error then anything. I think there are some major room for improvements that would take this system to the next level and be cost effective for them....but they're not sponsors so I'll keep that to myself for the time being.


Here's a little picture update from the cam showing last night to this morning:

 

[DutchinAB]

Looking much more perky!!

Cousin Vinny; hope they keep the pests at bay for you!

 

[Rexer]

Day 27
Veg Day 12 (a rough average for a starting point)
Tent temp: 27C avg
Tent RH%: 50-70%
Previous PPM: :326
Current PPM: 452 (high rise)
Adjusted PPM to: 649 (+16g Mega Crop)
PH: 6.9 adjusted to 5.8
Res temp: 19.1C
Water level: down slightly- not topped with water
Light draw settings from wall: 238 Watts


So I added the 16 grams of MC. This brings things into alignment with what I see on the manufacturers website. The bump is slightly higher in PPM then @Rider509 suggested...but close!

The rise in the PH...I'm not too sure what's going on, I'm hoping that bump sorts it out (and it was just due to leaching from the roots).

 

[Rider509]

Isn’t growing a blast? I’m enjoying the hell out of it again. And I’m looking forward to watching your girls grow! This is going to be a good shakedown cruise for your new system.

 

[Rexer]

Isn’t growing a blast? I’m enjoying the hell out of it again. And I’m looking forward to watching your girls grow! This is going to be a good shakedown cruise for your new system.

Thanks man! Appreciate you helping get things back on track! I'm loving it, there's nothing like it. Once I get a good stash built up, I'm going to play around with breeding and making a few of my own crosses.
Eventually I'll venture into photos, but I love the speed the autos grow at.

I'd love to get my setup to get somewhere like what you've got going.

 

[Rider509]

I'm going to play around with breeding and making a few of my own crosses.

You’re a better man than I am, or a glutton for punishment! Trying to keep males for pollen and not letting the pollen get anywhere you don’t want it to be sounds like hard work. I wish @Weaselcracker was still around, but you can always glean a wealth of info from his journals. That man is a genius at making good crosses and splicing one plant into another. It’s crazy some of the things he experimented with. He was the one who hooked me up with the Mastik and the MamaThia x Pineapple Chunk that took over my room the last grow.

 

[Rexer]

You’re a better man than I am, or a glutton for punishment! Trying to keep males for pollen and not letting the pollen get anywhere you don’t want it to be sounds like hard work. I wish @Weaselcracker was still around, but you can always glean a wealth of info from his journals. That man is a genius at making good crosses and splicing one plant into another. It’s crazy some of the things he experimented with. He was the one who hooked me up with the Mastik and the MamaThia x Pineapple Chunk that took over my room the last grow.

Oh his abilities at grafting got my attention awhile ago- his journal is still very much active and a treasure trove of great info. Did you see any of his recent photos? Amazing.

Oh I'm one of those people that always needs projects going. Gotta keep my mind busy lol. So...yeah I'm very glutton for punishment- and cheap. Beans are expensive

I've gotten a few Genetics that I'd love to hold on to. I've got some STS on its way...that'll be used for 1st attempts. If I can't suceed...I'll see if I can get some regular Auto seeds and get a male.

But that's far down the road. 1st I have to get enough ahead that if I screw up and end up seeding the whole tent that I'll be ok med wise.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Hey brother, getting caught up.