Hey All,
I've finally decided to take the plunge and start growing. I was looking at a few different boxes as I wanted the unit to be self contained and easy since it was my first grow. First I looked at one brand that seemed nice, all inclusive, but a fairly hefty pricetag. The BC NorthernLights BloomBox looked nicer, but cost even more. Then I found a secondhand BloomBox on Craigslist for $1500. I figured even if it wasn't complete, $1500 was a hell of a deal. I jumped on it and bought it.
The state of the box:
1 of the submersible pumps was broken, the other was missing
Missing the CO2 regulator
The 9 site tub is cracked
Missing the carbon filter
It also came with the drying box (broken latch, missing carbon filter), and the following nutrients
Cornucopia Plus Plant Energy (the guy at the hydro store said this was a fancy ph down)
Scorpion Juice
PH Buffer #7
Sensi Bloom (Part B only)
Sensi Grow (Part B only)
H2O2
Before getting it, however, I got impatient, germinated a few seeds I had lying around the apartment (removed from bud over time) and planted in Miracle Grow potting soil in solo cups. (I know now that this was a horrible decision). Once I got the Bloombox (last friday), I moved the solo cups (which hadn't sprouted yet) into the BloomBox and put them under the CFL. The next morning I looked, and the two plants had sprouted
.
After seeing that, I was hooked.
I spent the rest of the weekend cleaning out the veg side of the BloomBox, and the veg tub. I used a couple capfuls of bleach mixed in water for cleaning.
Tuesday, I went out to my local hydro store to get some of the missing parts (dosing dropper, clay pebbles, rubber tubing, submersible pump, PH up/down/tester solution, and Flora Nova). The guys at the store recommended I use clay pebbles rather than the rock wool which came with the box. I heeded their advice.
I measured our a 1/4 dose of FloraNova to approximately 6 gallons (estimated... water goes 1/2" from the bottom of the cups) of tap water filtered through an old Brita filter (if this is a worthwhile strategy, I'll replace the filter). At the time, I didn't have a ph pen yet, so I used the ph testing solution, and used some ph down to lower the ph to around 7.
I rinsed the clay pebbles in tap water.
I then took the solo cups, tapped them upside down in my hand until the dirt loosened and the plant fell into my hand. I then loosened the dirt with my hands, being careful not to damage the roots. then I filled the cups with pebbles while kind of holding and supporting the plant. I think I should have waited a few days before transplanting the plants. when the stones move a little bit in the cups, the plants totally flop around.
I moved the plants to the veg chamber in the 12 site tub under a cfl.
I had some seeds that had been soaking in tap water to germinate for a day or two and started showing a little tap root. I took some rockwool cubes, used the ph test liquid with brita water, to try to get it around 5.5 (estimated at best). Soaked them for around 15 minutes, squeezed them out lightly, then planted seeds into 5 of the rockwool cubes (2 seeds hadn't sprouted yet before planting). I know some of them may not work, but hey these are random seeds that came out of buds.
I left them under the MH in the flower chamber for half a day, then thought the better of it and turned the light off, but then the temperature dropped too low so I turned the light back on. Ugh... don't know what to do, it's been 2 days they haven't sprouted.
Today my ph pen and tds pens showed up (cheap $15 ones from amazon). I calibrated the ph pen with the powder it came with (it's an autocalibrate model). I didn't have a water thermometer yet (tds pen came later in the day), so I estimated the temp of the water, the instructions said it should be less than 25 degrees celsius. The powders didn't fully dissolve, but I went along with the calibration anyway... hope that's not a big deal.
I measured the ph of my water, it was around 7.3. I used some ph down to bring the tank down to 6.6. TDS was at 661.
Anyways here's my pictures. I'll try to do daily updates. I'm supposed to get 2 free clones at a grow club tomorrow. We'll see if it happens. I have my fingers crossed. That'll be a much better start for me than the random seeds I found. Good genetics that I know are female. Can't beat that. Please give me any and all advice. This is my first grow.
I've finally decided to take the plunge and start growing. I was looking at a few different boxes as I wanted the unit to be self contained and easy since it was my first grow. First I looked at one brand that seemed nice, all inclusive, but a fairly hefty pricetag. The BC NorthernLights BloomBox looked nicer, but cost even more. Then I found a secondhand BloomBox on Craigslist for $1500. I figured even if it wasn't complete, $1500 was a hell of a deal. I jumped on it and bought it.
The state of the box:
1 of the submersible pumps was broken, the other was missing
Missing the CO2 regulator
The 9 site tub is cracked
Missing the carbon filter
It also came with the drying box (broken latch, missing carbon filter), and the following nutrients
Cornucopia Plus Plant Energy (the guy at the hydro store said this was a fancy ph down)
Scorpion Juice
PH Buffer #7
Sensi Bloom (Part B only)
Sensi Grow (Part B only)
H2O2
Before getting it, however, I got impatient, germinated a few seeds I had lying around the apartment (removed from bud over time) and planted in Miracle Grow potting soil in solo cups. (I know now that this was a horrible decision). Once I got the Bloombox (last friday), I moved the solo cups (which hadn't sprouted yet) into the BloomBox and put them under the CFL. The next morning I looked, and the two plants had sprouted
.After seeing that, I was hooked.
I spent the rest of the weekend cleaning out the veg side of the BloomBox, and the veg tub. I used a couple capfuls of bleach mixed in water for cleaning.
Tuesday, I went out to my local hydro store to get some of the missing parts (dosing dropper, clay pebbles, rubber tubing, submersible pump, PH up/down/tester solution, and Flora Nova). The guys at the store recommended I use clay pebbles rather than the rock wool which came with the box. I heeded their advice.
I measured our a 1/4 dose of FloraNova to approximately 6 gallons (estimated... water goes 1/2" from the bottom of the cups) of tap water filtered through an old Brita filter (if this is a worthwhile strategy, I'll replace the filter). At the time, I didn't have a ph pen yet, so I used the ph testing solution, and used some ph down to lower the ph to around 7.
I rinsed the clay pebbles in tap water.
I then took the solo cups, tapped them upside down in my hand until the dirt loosened and the plant fell into my hand. I then loosened the dirt with my hands, being careful not to damage the roots. then I filled the cups with pebbles while kind of holding and supporting the plant. I think I should have waited a few days before transplanting the plants. when the stones move a little bit in the cups, the plants totally flop around.
I moved the plants to the veg chamber in the 12 site tub under a cfl.
I had some seeds that had been soaking in tap water to germinate for a day or two and started showing a little tap root. I took some rockwool cubes, used the ph test liquid with brita water, to try to get it around 5.5 (estimated at best). Soaked them for around 15 minutes, squeezed them out lightly, then planted seeds into 5 of the rockwool cubes (2 seeds hadn't sprouted yet before planting). I know some of them may not work, but hey these are random seeds that came out of buds.
I left them under the MH in the flower chamber for half a day, then thought the better of it and turned the light off, but then the temperature dropped too low so I turned the light back on. Ugh... don't know what to do, it's been 2 days they haven't sprouted.
Today my ph pen and tds pens showed up (cheap $15 ones from amazon). I calibrated the ph pen with the powder it came with (it's an autocalibrate model). I didn't have a water thermometer yet (tds pen came later in the day), so I estimated the temp of the water, the instructions said it should be less than 25 degrees celsius. The powders didn't fully dissolve, but I went along with the calibration anyway... hope that's not a big deal.
I measured the ph of my water, it was around 7.3. I used some ph down to bring the tank down to 6.6. TDS was at 661.
Anyways here's my pictures. I'll try to do daily updates. I'm supposed to get 2 free clones at a grow club tomorrow. We'll see if it happens. I have my fingers crossed. That'll be a much better start for me than the random seeds I found. Good genetics that I know are female. Can't beat that. Please give me any and all advice. This is my first grow.
. I'd subscribe, but can't figure out how (and I build web sites for a living). 
. Hopefully my plants enjoy it. My bloombox has a hookup for it, so I just bought a regulator and a 5 lb tank. I set the psi to around 3 for veg (they recommend 5 for flowering so I figured I'd use a bit less). Plants seem to be recovering now that I have a decent PH meter.
