I was at my local hydro store yesterday and was checking out a setup of a 4 bucket undercurrent system. I thought it looked pretty good, but the guy who worked there told me that he wasn't really impressed. He said he's having alot of trouble with the pump clogging up which causes very low pressure running through the system. The solution going back to the res bucket was barely flowing. He said he's had this problem with both organic and regular nutes. I thought this was strange, since all the systems online, including your, seem to be working fine. Maybe this is just a problem with the smaller 4 bucket system with a smaller return line? But thats just a guess. Oh well, I grabbed a few things that I needed, although I had to leave before I emptied my wallet. I allways feel like a kid in a candy store in there. Lol, I could do some serious damage to my finances (especially if my girl wasn't in the car waiting)
Undercurrent DWC Grow Journal
- Thread starter farmer.ed
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #82
farmer.ed
New Member
I have never had a system clog, I run a bit larger pump than most people, I run a 1200 gph, most are satisfied with 550-900, I like the extra aeration it provides, I also have different drain locations on the side of res, I start out with 14" above ground (see in my set up video) and work my way down to flush with the other buckets.
I have also played around with offsetting of pipes to run even larger pumps for addition of 10 more buckets. CCH2O.com has the right solution, it is best just to order from them on the phone, that way you will get expert advice on exactly what your needs are and will be. These systems when finished are a large investment, so making sure you plan it properly is your key to success. Decide how much real space you have to dedicate to the system, what configuration suites the space best, and finally lighting, making sure you do not create an odd size for light coverage. The next key is what do you want to grow? (LOL I KNOW) what strains so you will be able to determine plant spacing etc etc. I would be more than willing to help with the basics so you plan correctly. PM your info such as room size, room height, floor type strain type and anticipated yield etc.
I have also played around with offsetting of pipes to run even larger pumps for addition of 10 more buckets. CCH2O.com has the right solution, it is best just to order from them on the phone, that way you will get expert advice on exactly what your needs are and will be. These systems when finished are a large investment, so making sure you plan it properly is your key to success. Decide how much real space you have to dedicate to the system, what configuration suites the space best, and finally lighting, making sure you do not create an odd size for light coverage. The next key is what do you want to grow? (LOL I KNOW) what strains so you will be able to determine plant spacing etc etc. I would be more than willing to help with the basics so you plan correctly. PM your info such as room size, room height, floor type strain type and anticipated yield etc.
turttle
New Member
On a smaller system I think a good ideal would be to run some type of fabed filter that has good flow and easy acces to be rinsed daily.I even have one of them little fish tank nets to clean the floaties every now and then but I am just using my bubbler part for now.
turttle
New Member
Yes organics is the way to go.I am still learning with hydro but I think I got it down.Nothing big just little mini garden for the winter.In the begining it was the slime build up from my organic parts in my nutes that was killen me but now that I know about great white and been using hydrozyme grows are going to be much better.I am really liking your set up I bet your set up would work well outdoors in a green house...That would be awsome.lol but I can dream
Light-1-up
New Member
Looking good my friend...
Yeah, I figured the system would be fine with a little tweeking, and he suggested maybe building my own. That was my plan all along, but it should be a little easier, because this place carries almost all of the fittings I would need. I can't really start that project untill I finish my current grow. I just started flowering after sexing (4 out of 10 females). It hurt to get rid of a few of the males, I had put so much work into LSTing them, and they were looking great. Oh well, the girls I got look great too, just got to do some cloning to get a few moor to fill my room.
Things are looking good for your grow, I cant wait to watch them blow up with some beautiful buds!!! Keep up the good work.
Peace!
Things are looking good for your grow, I cant wait to watch them blow up with some beautiful buds!!! Keep up the good work.
Peace!
Hey there Farmer.Ed -
Just thought I'd pop in and check out your journal. Mighty nice, my friend! Love the set-up, the experimentation you do, and the commitment to organics and UC -DWC. I'm so jealous of the space you have - like others I have to remain a bit more stealth. Anyway - drooling over your set-up.
Happy growing!
Just thought I'd pop in and check out your journal. Mighty nice, my friend! Love the set-up, the experimentation you do, and the commitment to organics and UC -DWC. I'm so jealous of the space you have - like others I have to remain a bit more stealth. Anyway - drooling over your set-up.
Happy growing!
- Thread starter
- #88
farmer.ed
New Member
Thanks XLR8, Light 1 up, Turttle and Pharmer, I assure you this is one of the easiest systems to grow in compared to some of my other challenges this one is within reach for anybody. You can take the concept and go as small as you want or as large as you want. I am making a desktop system right now out of mini Heineken kegs (dutch keg system lol), I am just waiting on my uniseals for the 3/4 pipe connecting the kegs. All you need is a bit of imagination, patience and money doesn't hurt. You can build out these systems for very low cost to experiment with and see how easy it is.
Pharmer sorry to hear about the males, they tend to ruin a great party....
Pharmer sorry to hear about the males, they tend to ruin a great party....
SmokeyMcMedic
New Member
I love how unique this setup is. You are absolutely right; my first journey into the world of DIY got me hooked. Money does help, but if you are determined enough, you can find good parts just about anywhere, beg, borrow, or steal. Do you colonize you resevoir with specific strains of bacteria, or do you just feed whatever grows in there naturally?
I would love to see pics of the desktop-size unit utilizing the Heine's, once completed!!!
I would love to see pics of the desktop-size unit utilizing the Heine's, once completed!!!
- Thread starter
- #90
farmer.ed
New Member
This is a primer on beneficials, I can't take credit, credit goes out to Heisenberg. This is his simple recipe, I have used it to start myself, then went onto optimizing my colonies.
Aquashield ($12) The product composition consists of: Bacillus subtilis, Paenibacillus polymxa, Bacillus circulans, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. This gives you a base population of beneficial bacteria.
ZHO Powder ($10) The product composition consists of: Glomus intradices, Glomus aggregatum, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus mosseae, Trichoderma harzianum, and Trichoderma koningii. This gives you a base populartion of beneficial fungi.
Ancient Forest EWC ($14) - Soil amendment provides a high diversity of microorganisms, including more than 35,000 species of bacteria and over 5,000 species of fungi.
The recipe is really simple. Start with non-chlorinated water. I make 2 gallons at a time, but you can easily adjust the additives for whatever amount you wish to make. Now put the water into a bucket and throw in a couple air stones. The more air the better. You want the water to be almost turbulent from the bubbles. Now add 15-30ml of aquashield and about 1/4-1/2 scoop of the ZHO powder. You will be breeding these into the billions so it doesn't really matter how much you start with. Now take an old sock or pantyhose and fill it with about 2 handfuls of EWC. Tie off the sock and place it in the water above an air stone, or better yet, feed an air stone down into the sock itself. If you want, you can just throw the EWC directly into the water and strain it out later with cheesecloth. Next add about a tablespoon of molasses to wake up the microbes and give them something to eat. You could also use any sort of carboload or bud sweetener. We will only be feeding the microbes in this tea; never add food for the microbes to the res itself. It's okay if the bennies in the res starve. You will be replacing them every few days. Now let the tea bubble at room tempeture for 48 hours. It can be used after 24, but will be more active and diverse at 48. You can now store the tea in the fridge where it will stay fresh for about 10 days. Once it starts to go bad it will develop an odor. If you ever detect an odor from your tea, throw it out and make a new batch.
Initially, add about 1 cup to your res for every gallon of water, and then add 1 cup total every 3 days after. Your water might get a little cloudy but your roots will stay white and stimulated. When you use tea and practice proper res maintenance you can feel confident your roots will be healthy. By breeding the microbes this way your products should last about 5x longer.
Aquashield ($12) The product composition consists of: Bacillus subtilis, Paenibacillus polymxa, Bacillus circulans, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. This gives you a base population of beneficial bacteria.
ZHO Powder ($10) The product composition consists of: Glomus intradices, Glomus aggregatum, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus mosseae, Trichoderma harzianum, and Trichoderma koningii. This gives you a base populartion of beneficial fungi.
Ancient Forest EWC ($14) - Soil amendment provides a high diversity of microorganisms, including more than 35,000 species of bacteria and over 5,000 species of fungi.
The recipe is really simple. Start with non-chlorinated water. I make 2 gallons at a time, but you can easily adjust the additives for whatever amount you wish to make. Now put the water into a bucket and throw in a couple air stones. The more air the better. You want the water to be almost turbulent from the bubbles. Now add 15-30ml of aquashield and about 1/4-1/2 scoop of the ZHO powder. You will be breeding these into the billions so it doesn't really matter how much you start with. Now take an old sock or pantyhose and fill it with about 2 handfuls of EWC. Tie off the sock and place it in the water above an air stone, or better yet, feed an air stone down into the sock itself. If you want, you can just throw the EWC directly into the water and strain it out later with cheesecloth. Next add about a tablespoon of molasses to wake up the microbes and give them something to eat. You could also use any sort of carboload or bud sweetener. We will only be feeding the microbes in this tea; never add food for the microbes to the res itself. It's okay if the bennies in the res starve. You will be replacing them every few days. Now let the tea bubble at room tempeture for 48 hours. It can be used after 24, but will be more active and diverse at 48. You can now store the tea in the fridge where it will stay fresh for about 10 days. Once it starts to go bad it will develop an odor. If you ever detect an odor from your tea, throw it out and make a new batch.
Initially, add about 1 cup to your res for every gallon of water, and then add 1 cup total every 3 days after. Your water might get a little cloudy but your roots will stay white and stimulated. When you use tea and practice proper res maintenance you can feel confident your roots will be healthy. By breeding the microbes this way your products should last about 5x longer.
Nice! Farmer, thanks for that info! That is valuable knowledge for me. I love this site, it's so easy for amazing info to be shared to all who love this amazing plant!
Im about to make a seed order, but it's so hard to decide. I think I'm leaning towards something purple with nice grape flavor. Any suggestions?
Im about to make a seed order, but it's so hard to decide. I think I'm leaning towards something purple with nice grape flavor. Any suggestions?
- Thread starter
- #92
farmer.ed
New Member
As I said I started with Heisenbergs recipe and just kept adding more processes, you will find which ones work best for you, it is best to breed them yourself so you can see how powerful they really can be.
As far as strains are concerned, I can assist but need a bit of background on what you are looking to get from your meds. If you are looking for high THC, I have many suggestions, if looking for CBD I have a much smaller list to choose from.
For purples I like: Purple Diesel, Purple Sour Sage, Purple Sour Grapes, Grape Ape and Grandaddy Purple.
For other I like : Buddha Sister, Dr. Grinspoon, LSD, Violator Kush, Kings Kush and Woody Kush are some of my favorites and heavy hitters. Most of these are not big yielders, maybe 50gr per plant unless you veg for awhile.
As far as strains are concerned, I can assist but need a bit of background on what you are looking to get from your meds. If you are looking for high THC, I have many suggestions, if looking for CBD I have a much smaller list to choose from.
For purples I like: Purple Diesel, Purple Sour Sage, Purple Sour Grapes, Grape Ape and Grandaddy Purple.
For other I like : Buddha Sister, Dr. Grinspoon, LSD, Violator Kush, Kings Kush and Woody Kush are some of my favorites and heavy hitters. Most of these are not big yielders, maybe 50gr per plant unless you veg for awhile.
- Thread starter
- #93
farmer.ed
New Member
I am nearing the end of my veg cycle for the Dutch Pro run, I am taking the girls into pre flower nutrition.
Added 01/19
150 ml A/B Veg
50 ml A/B Flower
180 ml MultiTotal
100 ml Keep Clean
100 ml SoCal Biochar bugs
150 ml Take root
50 ml Organic Black strap Molasses
6.1 ph
70f
385 ppm
So this is considered a pretty hot mixture I have added, it should be enough to OD the girls and see how they react. I have quite a few pics from the day added and the 3 following. They have quite a bit of new growth again, and need to be super cropped again and trimmed down to flower weight. I am actually amazed that they did not wilt at all, no burned tips so far and no radical changes except massive growth.
Stats after 3 hrs
5.6 ph
Temp 71f
1450 ppm
Added 01/19
150 ml A/B Veg
50 ml A/B Flower
180 ml MultiTotal
100 ml Keep Clean
100 ml SoCal Biochar bugs
150 ml Take root
50 ml Organic Black strap Molasses
6.1 ph
70f
385 ppm
So this is considered a pretty hot mixture I have added, it should be enough to OD the girls and see how they react. I have quite a few pics from the day added and the 3 following. They have quite a bit of new growth again, and need to be super cropped again and trimmed down to flower weight. I am actually amazed that they did not wilt at all, no burned tips so far and no radical changes except massive growth.
Stats after 3 hrs
5.6 ph
Temp 71f
1450 ppm
- Thread starter
- #94
farmer.ed
New Member
Here are some pics of the girls asleep, you can clearly see how dense they are getting from the Dutch Pro diet, I will take some better ones once the lights go on. I am very impressed at the results so far and have not run into any of the wild PH issues others have reported. I am running a very diluted mixture at most times so I will not get to heavy heavy feeding issues until the last few weeks.......stay tuned
I have been trying to get my hands on Grape Ape seeds for a while, I can't seem to find them anywhere. Do you know any seed banks that have them?
Things are looking good, nice and healthy! Your really crankin up the nutes!
Things are looking good, nice and healthy! Your really crankin up the nutes!
SmokeyMcMedic
New Member
Do you use sunglasses when you are working around the lights? These plants seem to really enjoy the setup you are using.
- Thread starter
- #97
farmer.ed
New Member
Hey Pharmer here is a link to Brett Bogue the creator of Grape Ape, he is a local to me here in SoCal. I usually just get clones from them, I will ask if they carry the seed here, I know he sells most of his seed out of Amsterdam. Apothecary Genetics | Grape Ape - Bubba Kush - Goo - ChemDawg - Kaia Kush - Livity - HeadBand - Pez - Sour Diesel - 3D - Lowrider - Old School Jams - Silver Back - Strawberry Cough - Very Berry Haze, Sour Grapes, Super Silver Haze, Triple X
Hey Smokey, I don't need to wear sunglasses too often (I stopped looking directly at the light years ago), I do wear amethyst color correction for HPS from Bud Brothers, they are like having x-ray vision in the red haze. Your grow looks like it is off to a good start, just make sure to keep the humidity up for faster rooting, with the extra heat added they can dry out quick.
Hey Smokey, I don't need to wear sunglasses too often (I stopped looking directly at the light years ago), I do wear amethyst color correction for HPS from Bud Brothers, they are like having x-ray vision in the red haze. Your grow looks like it is off to a good start, just make sure to keep the humidity up for faster rooting, with the extra heat added they can dry out quick.
Wow. What a extremely interesting grow journal. I definately need to keep a eye on this one. I'm subscribed.
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