1st Hydro Grow

KillAton said:
Great journal so far. I too made a room in the basement, I only had a 7x12' area though. Think about possibly making 3 rooms inside your space. 1 for flowering 1 for veg and 1 for curing, clipping and storage. I'll be expanding my room soon, it's just to tight of a squeeze. Make sure to think through everything very well, where the fans will go, where you'll pull fresh air from, where you'll exhaust air from, how the ducting will work, whether to insulate or not, where you'll get water from. I thought I had everything thought out perfectly than once I got into it I realized I didn't. Not that I'm not happy with my results, it's just not as perfect as I imagined. I'm also not a do it your self type of guy. Good luck
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Great advice KillAton...I made my money in the construction business so almost everything that needs to be done, I can do. This is going to be a large project to be sure and as I finalize my plans, I'll post drawings and schematics for all to see and comment on. I like the idea of having alot of people looking over my plans and making comments/suggestions. Anyone who believes that they know more than everyone else is an idiot and living at the absolute height of arrogance.

Anyhow, stay tuned for updates and construction pics.
 
TorturedSoul said:
A solar-powered grow room?

I love it! Make sure and file for the tax break for installing & using alternative-energy sources so that the govt. can help pay for your grow operation!
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Damn right...they've taken and taken and taken from me...now its time to give some back...lmmfao!!!
 
Just added 1 tsp of nutes to the res to head off a nitrogen deficency...all lower leaves were starting to yellow so I gave em an easy dose to get em restarted today...Will be going to full strength nutes(veg) tomorrow unless I hear different before I change the res tomorrow. Waiting for awhile to do a ppm check, but despite the meter being calibrated, I'm starting to think I got what I paid for with it. Well, that won't be a problem past this grow.
 
Glad to hear you are expanding your production... it's really nice to have a room dedicated to the grow. Only problem is your wife may never see you again... ;)

Anyway, just wanted to throw out the suggestion that you turn that 20x20 room into a 16x16 room by creating 4' closets along two walls... I did my expansion by throwing up some studs and attaching 23/32 plywood sheets with hinges... I trimmed it to look like it's just a wall, but the plywood sheets open up like doors.

Not sure if stealth is a factor where you are... but it's nice that I can shut my doors and not worry about my Mother in Law wondering what's up downstairs... plus it gives more control over the grow space to have it sealed from the rest of the room.

:peace:
 
obxgardener said:
Glad to hear you are expanding your production... it's really nice to have a room dedicated to the grow. Only problem is your wife may never see you again... ;)

Anyway, just wanted to throw out the suggestion that you turn that 20x20 room into a 16x16 room by creating 4' closets along two walls... I did my expansion by throwing up some studs and attaching 23/32 plywood sheets with hinges... I trimmed it to look like it's just a wall, but the plywood sheets open up like doors.

Not sure if stealth is a factor where you are... but it's nice that I can shut my doors and not worry about my Mother in Law wondering what's up downstairs... plus it gives more control over the grow space to have it sealed from the rest of the room.

:peace:
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no shizzzzzz man, the gf and i have been getting in fights lately because im always either messin with the plants or cruising 420 mag forums!
i finally had to give her a couple seeds for her to plant for herself, that shut her up for a few hours at least
 
rc51sport said:
no shizzzzzz man, the gf and i have been getting in fights lately because im always either messin with the plants or cruising 420 mag forums!
i finally had to give her a couple seeds for her to plant for herself, that shut her up for a few hours at least
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LOL...I hear you. Fortunately my missus is strung out on the WoW spike so I can do as I please.
 
Hey all, I was just engaged in one of my favorite pastime...reading about diseases, deficiencies and infestations...and thinking about how to provide a better nitrogen source, when two thoughts came to me. Please try not to laugh.

First idea-If whe can flood tents, cabinets etc. with Co2...could we not difuse a small amount of nitrogen directly into the res at set intervals and set amounts? I'm not sure about the efficency of such a setup, but nitrogen is cheap and readily available at any welding supply and even some home improvement/building supply companies.

Second idea-Has anyone ever used MG or Schultz instant feed powderd ferts, dissolved and put directly into the res? The nitrogen content of these ferts is very high and without the time release component found in their potting soils, may be an interesting way to keep nitrogen levels up.

Anyhow, just my curiousity acting up again.
 
SouthernWeed said:
Hey all, I was just engaged in one of my favorite pastime...reading about diseases, deficiencies and infestations...and thinking about how to provide a better nitrogen source, when two thoughts came to me. Please try not to laugh.

First idea-If whe can flood tents, cabinets etc. with Co2...could we not difuse a small amount of nitrogen directly into the res at set intervals and set amounts? I'm not sure about the efficency of such a setup, but nitrogen is cheap and readily available at any welding supply and even some home improvement/building supply companies.

Second idea-Has anyone ever used MG or Schultz instant feed powderd farts, dissolved and put directly into the res? The nitrogen content of these ferts is very high and without the time release component found in their potting soils, may be an interesting way to keep nitrogen levels up.

Anyhow, just my curiousity acting up again.
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I don't think adding nitrogen gas would do anything as air is mostly nitrogen. You'd just be reducing your oxygen levels.

You could bump your chemical nitrogen up with most ferts... but it would burn your plants if you go above the level they can use.

I like your thinking though... I was thinking of injecting air into the dirt on my soil grows... :peace:
 
rc51sport said:
no shizzzzzz man, the gf and i have been getting in fights lately because im always either messin with the plants or cruising 420 mag forums!
i finally had to give her a couple seeds for her to plant for herself, that shut her up for a few hours at least
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Yup, women hate competition for your attention... another girl, dog, car, plant... it don't matter.

Only thing that shuts my wife up is when I threaten not to share my harvest... ;)
 
Dweeden420 said:
Southernweed, DJB and I are on our 2nd successful hydro grow and we too had a nitrogen deficiency in our first grow. Someone there suggested that we use stay green and we found a product from supernatural called greenstay and b1 thrive that has kept our leaves beautiful throughout this hydro grow so far.
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Thanks alot Dweeden...I'll look into that.
 
rc51sport said:
no shizzzzzz man, the gf and i have been getting in fights lately because im always either messin with the plants or cruising 420 mag forums!
i finally had to give her a couple seeds for her to plant for herself, that shut her up for a few hours at least
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Been there, done that! And you better not try telling her exactly how she's trying to kill her plants and why it's a bad idea to do so. And you better hope that despite all of the "care" she gives them that they turn out at least reasonably close to yours or you'll be sorry lol.

To the ladies reading this: Don't take it personal. I'm sure it's completely our fault for not properly explaining things, or our inability to do it in High Tibetan or something. I'm sure there's a good reason.

Alternatively, you can start sneaking into the basement after the Mrs. goes to sleep and perform CPR on her plants. But if you get caught...

SouthernWeed said:
Second idea-Has anyone ever used MG or Schultz instant feed powderd ferts, dissolved and put directly into the res? The nitrogen content of these ferts is very high and without the time release component found in their potting soils, may be an interesting way to keep nitrogen levels up.

Anyhow, just my curiousity acting up again.
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You're thinking about using MG? In a hydro setup?!? What have those poor plants done to YOU?

LMAO Just kidding!

But... MG?
 
TorturedSoul said:
You're thinking about using MG? In a hydro setup?!? What have those poor plants done to YOU?

LMAO Just kidding!

But... MG?
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Not really tortured...what I'm trying to sort out is a solution to what has to be the most common problem across all types of growing. The schultz/mg ferts have, on average 2 times or more nitrogen than the veg nutes that are commonly used in hydro growing...and everyone, at some point or another, seems to have nitrogen problems. My idea was not to use MG/Schultz exclusively, but as a nitrogen booster in conjunction with standard nutes.

Anyhow, it was just my brain wandering down a different path.
 
Day 19

Ph 5.8
Room temp 68
Water temp 66
rh 39%
nute ppm 580

Morning all. Well today's the day that we finally lay the full dose of nutes on the plants. I'm going to be changing the res in a couple hours, and hope to see an explosion of growth in the next few days.

Plants are all in the 4th or 5th node and they are really starting to stack up nicely! An obsevation for anyone growing White Dwarfs...these things have an unbelievably strong odor, and they aren't budding yet. If you plan to grow some of these make sure you have an excellent air purification system in place. Can't wait to get a whiff of these babies when they are in full flower.

Spidermite update...found several corpses on the top of my res this morning...no visable webs or new damage. I'm sure some of the bastards are still kicking, but they are not visable right now. I'll dose em again next week. I'm also going to a local nusery today to investigate the pyrethrum/marigold connection. Hell, I have no problem with putting a few flowers in my grow area...if they keep pests away. Much respect and +rep to Tortured for the idea.
 
Day 19 pics...

Ok y'all thanks for being patient. I know these pics aren't the best, I'm in a bit of a rush today...seems like every SoB in the world wants some of my time today.

I'll post better pics tomorrow, but I think y'all will be able to clearly see why my mind was wandering down strange paths in an attempt to figure out how to keep enough nitrogen in the plants.

We are now at full strength veg nutes, mixed by printed instructions on bottle...my ppm meter has crapped out, and if I can get enough time today, I'm going to replace it with a top shelf tri-meter.

Enjoy

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Hey Pan

I may be completely wrong on this but I don't think the nutes are the problem...I think my ppm meter was telling me wrong and the plants ran out of nutes. The reason I'm thinking that is last night I added a very small dose of nutes as a sort of test to see how the plants would react. You are quite correct that they look pretty off today, but they looked worse beore I added some more nutes. I'm going to keep a very close eye on them tonight and tomorrow before I start freaking out. If things haven't perked up by tomorrow evening, I'll get with you and see what you think. The top new growth looks very green and healthy, but I am concerned about the overall health of the plants. Just have to use a little patience.

Also, is there any chance that the Pyrethrum has caused the droopy look...extra weight on the leaves, perhaps? I really sprayed the hell out of them and a slight sheen has appeared on the leaves, which seems like possible residue to me. Just an idea.
 
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