Scrog Waterfarm Grow

[therootsofpositivity]

First off this is legal Medical Grow. Here is my first online grow, first time trying scrog, and first time I am using Waterfarms which I have modified quit a bit. Here is the info:

What strain is it? 16 Cinderella 99
Is it in Veg or Flower stage? Veg
If in Veg... For how long? 8 weeks or till screen if filled
If in Flower stage... For how long? Will flower for 8 weeks
Indoor or outdoor? Indoor
Soil or Hydro? Hydro
Size of light? Veg 2 x 1000w MH Flower 4 1000w HPS
Is it aircooled? Nope
Temp of Room/cab? Hopefully 25C
RH of Room/cab? 40
PH of media or res? 5.6
Any Pests ? Thrips are a problem
How often are you watering? 15 on / 15 off
Type and strength of ferts used? Right now Optimum Grow two part. Hoping to switch to Calcium Nitrate and 06-11-31 with a bit of Epsom Salt.

So I should have pictures of it all up running tonight or tomorrow. I will try and explain it now. I have modified waterfarm system so it is a recirculating drip system using a rubbermaid as a reservoir. Right now I will be growing all 16 girls on one 7 by 3 1/2 table under two 1000 MH. I will flower under 4 1000w HPS on two 7 by 3 1/2 tables. I am hoping to scrog two 4 by 8 areas (yup a little bigger than the tables). Will see if that is possible vegging the plants for 8 weeks from rooting. Right now they are two weeks old from rooting. I am hoping to use my own nutrient mix just need to purchase the fertilizers. I think my screen will be10 inches from the top of the buckets. Okay here is a picture of the girls.

 

[Screwnuts33]

You sure have the lighting covered. lol. Best of luck on your grow.

 

[slosmokin]

I'm in, I strongly considered the waterfarm. Good luck!

 

[therootsofpositivity]

Sorry, I am feeling under the weather so updates are going to have to wait. Have the system up and running, almost. Just need to stick the girls in, but unable to do anything tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Roots of Wisdom

 

[Charon187]

damn your not playning around with lighting are you??lol

 

[therootsofpositivity]

Okay here is pics I got the other day. More will come tonight as I took the day off and will be working on the system when I get the energy.

One thing I forgot to say is what medium I am using. I am using about a 50/50 mix of hydroton and diatomaceous stone. I am interested to see what effect the silica has on the plants.

This pic you can see that I have sealed the end of the tubing so I can use a pump the water through the dripper instead of bubbling it.

This is a real time saver makes life so much either! Thank you for forums like this as this tip saved me a lot of time and frustration! Sorry I can't remember who on here gave the tip, but thank you none the less!

Here is all system completed.

If you look closely you can see the system is up and working. You can see a few drops of solution running through the system.

And finally a picture of the girls. This is from two days ago.

Next pics should be them in the system.

 

[therootsofpositivity]

I admit the vegging them under two 1000w MH is probably more than needed. I figure if I have the lights, I might as well use them. For flower I am going to transfer 8 to another table that way I am hoping to have a canopy close to 4 x 8 times two. So one 1000HPS per 4 foot square. I don't know if I will be able to get a canopy that size as I have only half the area to veg them. Once I have the 16 covering a 4 x 8 I am going to separate half to another table and flip them into flower. We will see what happens.

RW

 

[Charon187]

nice.. cant wait to see them in there new homes

 

[PitViper]

just a suggestion bro....run the pump 24/7. I have used waterfarms extensively and they should be running all the time.. IMHO

 

[therootsofpositivity]

Thanks for the advice Pit. I think I am going to run them 24/7. People have told me that the Diatomite holds a lot of water, but until I see signs to do otherwise i think I will take your advice.


Well I definitely should have transplanted these a lot earlier. However such is life. Still a shame to see nice healthy roots left in the cutting tray. It was a solid mat of roots! This I know set them back and I am hoping tomorrow they look happy, but would not be surprised to see signs of shock and slowed growth for the next few days. Here are the girls in their new home:

Okay I thought I had a pic of them all, guess that will have to wait.

Here is a pic of the res, not really exciting but I guess should be included:

The two air tubes, two drain tubing, and if you look closely in the top left can see the safety drain tubing. It is the clear plastic. I didn't mention all the nutrients I am using. I am using DNF Gold (fulvic acid), Hygrozyme, and Thrive Alive.

 

[hapgrowy]

Im definitely in for this one man... great job on the set-up +reps... hopefully the little ones will bounce back....

 

[therootsofpositivity]

Thanks for being on board slosmokin, Charon187 and dez97candycl. Hopefully Pit you will chime in with some advice once in awhile too. I have learned a lot forms these boards and seeing everyones setups, so I am hoping we can all learn from my attempt.

Res temps are getting a bit high at 82. I don't really have the budget for a water chiller. I have read on some boards that res temp aren't as big of a problem with the waterfarms. I am wondering how concerned I should be. Any input or suggestion would be greatly appreciated! I was going to cover the black tubing in white poly. Figure that black tubing must be getting hot under the lights and all my water has to go through it, making it a perfect way to warm it up.

One other concern I have is algae. I have seen in the tubing from the person I got the system from signs of algae. I am concerned that algae might be a potential problem with this system. Any input on if algae is a problem with the waterfarms and if so any tips on how to prevent it would also be appreciated. I have plant covers I am going to put on once the plants get a bit bigger. They will cover rest on top of the drip ring to cover it and the tube that extends down into the bucket.

Okay I hope to get some pics with a ruler so we can really monitor how much they are growing.

 

[slosmokin]

I have read that high res temp = trouble, you can try frozen water bottles to lower the temp, just make sure you don't fill the bottle full before you put it in the freezer.

 

[Zodiakgrower7]

I have seen that done too with the water bottles, don't know why it wouldn't work but have never needed to try it. Either way, nice setup and beautiful ladies.

 

[therootsofpositivity]

Thanks Zodiakgrower7.

Thanks for the suggestions slosmokin. I tried bubble buckets years ago and had total root rot as I didn't really understand the relationship between DO and water temps. I don't want to experience that again lol. I was thinking if res temps are going to be a problem I might be better off just to fill the whole bucket with perlite and do a perlite drip system. A lot cheaper than buying a chiller. I was hoping this system would oxygenate the roots enough that the res temps wouldn't be an issue. However as I am watching the temps stay at 82 I am rethinking my setup. If I am going to change it I feel the next few days is the time to do it in.

 

[The Weed]

Hey therootsofwis! Great show your putting on Friend! Will enjoy watching! And I see PitViper is Watching so your in good hands. Best of luck!

 

[therootsofpositivity]

Thanks Weed. I am just trying to put to use all I have learned on these forums. After watching Pits grows it is exciting to know that he is watching mine. Hopefully he can learn from me as much as I learned from him. I think these forums are such a great way for all to share ideas and learn.

Okay sorry no pics. I forgot the memory card for my camera in the computer. But I think my buddy came up with a good idea for res temps. We are going to try and get the air pump to push cool outside air into the reservoir. Right now I have a small pump that is just sitting on the table. I think we just don't have stuff dialed in yet. I don't know if any of the pictures show it but right now are fan is still on the floor. Hopefully this weekend we can tidy up this grow. I am also hoping to get the salt fertilizers tomorrow. Looks like I should be picking up a bag of 5-11-27 and calcium nitrate. Hopefully we can all learn a bit.

Peace

 

[DEAN420]

Luv the setup brother, lets see what you can do with it. As this is gonna be grate to watch.

Good luck.

 

[Charon187]

Looks good M8!
im trying to decide if i should add a air stone to my res as well i know it wouldnt hurt im just running out of power lolol!!

CHEERS!!!

 

[therootsofpositivity]

Thanks ThatBoyBean. It is my first time using the waterfarm and trying scrog so I am excited to see what I can do as well. As you will see in the pics to follow I waited a bit long to transplant them into the system and I think they are suffering a little.

Looks good M8!
im trying to decide if i should add a air stone to my res as well i know it wouldnt hurt im just running out of power lolol!!

CHEERS!!!

I hear ya on the power. This room does not have a lot of power going into it. To run the four lights in it I have to feed it power from another room and I am pretty much using all the power I can. I like and air stone in my res as I feel the more DO in the water the better and healthier the system. I think it also just helps keep things stirred up.