1st Grow, RainForest 318, 400W HID, Chronic Haze, Yumbolt47, California Dream

Mr White said:
How did the 2 plants in the system work for you? I would love to hear a lessons learned with this system if you have the time.
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Wish I could say, Mr. W. I had some cooling problems last summer (not helped by 110-degree outdoor temps) and still haven't started another grow. I'm out of smoke now, so it shouldn't be too long before I start one. But as for the RainForest, I'm skipping it to try a hempy grow. I like that idea for a few reasons, such as being able to move the containers around individually, and having the plants about a foot lower to begin with.

I still have the new chiller, reflector, Icebox, and new framework inside the tent that I'm eager to try out, as well.

I'll get back to the RF after that one, either to do a regular grow or possibly to get some clones going. Too early to plan that one though.
 
Are you happy with the RF though overall? I have one coming and an aeroflo as well. I dont have the heat problems in my room that you do thankfully. I dont live in a sunny paradise though either. I won't be able to start seeds for another 4 weeks or so, but I would appreciate it if you would sub to my grow as I am new to the system and hydro in general. Take care, by the way you have 666 posts.

Great journal man
 
Mr White said:
Are you happy with the RF though overall? I have one coming and an aeroflo as well. I dont have the heat problems in my room that you do thankfully. I dont live in a sunny paradise though either. I won't be able to start seeds for another 4 weeks or so, but I would appreciate it if you would sub to my grow as I am new to the system and hydro in general. Take care, by the way you have 666 posts.

Great journal man
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Yeah, no complaints about the RF, other than it's high up off the floor (I did a bad job of training my plants to keep them away from the reflector). You may not like changing out the res, but once you get the routine down it goes pretty fast. Expect your plants to grow faster with the RF than they do with other systems, so you'll have to keep them trained or they'll turn into a jungle once they get started. I ended up using considerably less nutrients than called for, so watch to make sure you don't overfeed. Might have to do with the really efficient way the RF sprays/aerates the roots, but I don't know for sure.

Subscribed to your new grow. Hopefully it'll stimulate me to get off my butt and start another one myself.
 
Bolivar, so it only took you 3 months from seed to harvest with the rain forrest? That is insane if I read all the dates right. From nov 20 or so to feb 20 or so, right?

I am glad I found this thread, as I wanted to try the Rain Forrest, and now I am pretty sure I will. It was a bit dissapointing to see that you only got 12 ounces from 4 plants. My Grandpa in Humbolt gets about 2 pounds per plant--grand daddy purple, sensei star, etc.

It is probably best to stick with indica or mostly indica hybrids in this system.

I am going to try it with LED grow lights. Just got my growers card recently. woot!
 
I started the grow on Oct. 20, as stated in the first post, so 4 months, not 3. Yes, go with the shortest strain of your choices, because they're going to be pretty high up in the RF. I had problems with the top buds growing past the light, and that could lead to mold problems. I did find mold on one of the top buds, but just got rid of it and no more showed up. Probably a good idea to do some training and/or pruning along the way. Good luck.
 
Bolivar said:
My objectives with the grow were:
1) Learn how things go and how things look in a real-life grow, rather than pics of other people's experiences.
2) Figure out nutes. So many different brands, regimens, dosages, etc. to decide on. I decided to go with the GH nutes that came with the RainForest, and go way easy on the dosages (thinking that it's a lot easier to add more than it is to remove stuff from the res...).
3) How to control temp, humidity, and air circulation.
4) Best lighting schedules and heights.
5) When to switch from veg to bloom, and when to harvest.
6) Characteristics of the 3 strains.

So far, no big problems. But I'll start at the beginning...
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Objectives I had in mind as well. My setup and build is also an objective to stay active and mobile. What strains do you suggest for a beginner?
 
dresdenrow79 said:
Objectives I had in mind as well. My setup and build is also an objective to stay active and mobile. What strains do you suggest for a beginner?
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For a first-timer, I'd say pick one or two that sound good to you that aren't at the expensive end of the price range. I bought my seeds at Attitude (hope they're still sponsors), except for the first ones, which turned out to be as good as the ones from Attitude, and I looked for ones that were Indica or mostly Indica (I grew in a tent which had a lower ceiling than your 8' one), had smoke characteristics that interested me, and which were cheap enough that I wouldn't slash my wrists if I ruined them. Things turned out well, though, and I hope yours goes as well as mine did.
 
Have you got anything on the go at the moment?
 
Hiddenkoncept said:
Have you got anything on the go at the moment?
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I'm setting up my grow room again, just got some new seeds in, and cleaning the RainForest today. Looks like the freezing weather is over here for now, so I hope to germinate within the week. Going to try 3 Critical Kush to start with, and try to get another grow in with some Holy Grail Kush before summer heat hits. This grow will be under 600W HID, maybe the next one will be under 3 LEDs.
 
Hey, Bolivar and friends,

I've found this journal and the kind of "open discussion" that followed very helpful. I expect to get a RF 66 within a few weeks. Based on your experience and observations I expect to grow 3 at a time. Maybe germinate 4 and pick the best 3. I will be using an LED - probably from TopLED, who are a sponsor here - (Hi, Sara)

Reflector led grow light

and I hope doing it in a 5x5 Gorilla, maybe 4x4. I expect to use GH nutes.

Thank you for your time and trouble and open documentation of what went well and what did not. Very helpful to me at exactly the time I needed it. Remember that in spite of any problems, or we could call them "learning experiences," your yields have been very nice and that is really what counts. And your plants have been beautiful. Thanks very much.

I thought about getting 2 or 3 of the single-module DWC Current Culture Solo 13s, but your help makes the RF more likely now. It means just one tank to monitor, clean and change and I like the active Vortex sprayer in the RF, at least the concept. I have agreed to limit the number of plants I raise and the RF is right for the number for which I am authorized.

I look forward to more details of your adventures here when you get the next project underway.

Because of agreements concerning non-disclosure I have made with the person with whom I share my house I will probably not post a journal, at least not contemporaneous with the conduct of the actual Science Fair Project. I am sorry about that and if I can change the agreement to allow a journal I will.

Good luck and good times to ya.
 
I agree that 3 plants is optimal for the RainForest, and that's what I'm going to be running as soon as I get a replacement gasket for the Vortex sprayer. The old one dried out and cracked some in the years that it wasn't being used. As soon as I get that in and get the RainForest tested I'm going to germinate. I'm also going to try training my plants this time, keeping the tops lower and more spread out. Will post pics here once I get underway. I'll be using a 600W HPS for flowering (since I bought a new reflector, bulb, and chiller which haven't even been used yet), but next grow I expect to be using 3 TopLED 400W lamps. Let me know how yours work out with the RainForest.
 
Bolivar said:
I agree that 3 plants is optimal for the RainForest, and that's what I'm going to be running as soon as I get a replacement gasket for the Vortex sprayer. The old one dried out and cracked some in the years that it wasn't being used. As soon as I get that in and get the RainForest tested I'm going to germinate. I'm also going to try training my plants this time, keeping the tops lower and more spread out. Will post pics here once I get underway. I'll be using a 600W HPS for flowering (since I bought a new reflector, bulb, and chiller which haven't even been used yet), but next grow I expect to be using 3 TopLED 400W lamps. Let me know how yours work out with the RainForest.
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Thanks for the quick response. I will be most interested in how the TopLEDs work for you when you get them on board . That brand, if it is as good as I believe it is - is quite a bargain compared to some. I will use this thread to at least describe the basics of what I am able to do. Best of success to you.
 
Any updates?
Will post pictures in my journal tomorrow but the HGK is still the top dawg, has had problems but has hit the screen way before the other 2....literally can't wait to see how you go about it
 
Just got an e-mail today from General Hydroponics, and the guy is sending me a boot this week. So now I need to make sure the vortex sprayer still works, test the chiller to see if it still works, and test run the cooling system. Figure I can get all that done in a day, and will germinate as soon as everything's ready. I really need to get it going before the hot weather gets here. I can't wait to get the HGKs going myself.
 
Bolivar said:
Just got an e-mail today from General Hydroponics, and the guy is sending me a boot this week. So now I need to make sure the vortex sprayer still works, test the chiller to see if it still works, and test run the cooling system. Figure I can get all that done in a day, and will germinate as soon as everything's ready. I really need to get it going before the hot weather gets here. I can't wait to get the HGKs going myself.
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It's good to hear about the cooperation from GH and nice that everything is coming together. It sounds like having a spare Vortex sprayer in stand-by might be a good idea for someone who has $110 to tie up in that. Just a thought - certainly not a criticism of you or GH.

Patience is required at so many stages of this activity, here even before germination. You are close to blast-off. Good luck, Bolivar.
 
Only part of this whole process I don't like is the time at which it takes, I know they say good things come to those who wait but I'm not a patient man.
I'm looking forward to seeing your set up as it's not one I have ever seen in action.
 
As you can see, you can't spread the plants out very far, which is why I was interested in the hempy grow. I still might get individual drip pots for next time.

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