AfricanGrower's 1st Hydro Journal - Ebb&Flow - Bubblelicious 2013

[TheCapn]

Update Log 1

I am just putting up some numbers I pulled from my meters for my reference and everyone elses reference. In no way is this an ACTUAL update, or in no way are these numbers 100% viable until my 3 DAY TEST commences on Monday.

Excerpt from notes

22/11/13

-PPM: 1020
-pH: Adjusted down to 5.8 from a pH of 6.8 in 48 hours

23/11/13

-PPM: 810
-pH: adjusted to 5.9 from a high 7.3 in 24 hours

AG, I created that BLOG entry for you, buddy. Check it out.

Don't stress about your PH battle. I know it sucks, but it is common for this stage of rapid growth. Your tap water has some mean buffers in it. You could aim for 5.5 so it will rise to 6.5. By the looks of your plant, it has no problem with the PH swings!

I'm waiting for sky to cook up that 5.8 buffer solution. We would sell thousands. You can be our marketing director.

 

[Skybound]

That'd be awesome to have a solution that can be added to any res and draw everything to 5.8, like an octane additive for reservoirs.

Edit - If such a recipe were to be concocted, then it only stands to reason that other formulations could be concocted like 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.9, 6.0 and growers could then do some real experimentation with this plant.

 

[AfricanGrower]

You better get to work Sky, I need something to start marketing haha

And Capn, the Bubb is definitely a trooper when it comes to these pH swings. I completely take back the ill remarks I said about it when these problems first started to arise!

 

[Cultivator]

That'd be awesome to have a solution that can be added to any res and draw everything to 5.8, like an octane additive for reservoirs.

U dont want ur res to stay at 5.8, u want fluctuation up and down. U just dont want huge swings which are likely to go outside the range any nutes will uptake. I never keep my res at 5.8. Depending on the medium, rockwool in this instance as that is what AG is using, i set the mix to 5.5 i wont adjust that ph unless it goes above 6.2 or below 5.2. remember most quality nutrients have high chelates which makes the availablity of nutes through a better range. Its like saying give ur plant zero stress and stick rigidly to watering at this time every day, IMO thats a bad thing too as the plant gets lazy and doesnt have to work for anything. Dry periods will speed up the plants metabolism and it works super effectively in rockwool. make that plant work and it will reward u, just so long as u arent extreme.

The AN PH perfect has impressed me alot. it recommends using R/O water but i have very soft tap water and use that and i am yet to see a problem. the plants are lush, if my end product isnt effected i will switch all my grows to AN Ph perfect as it will save me alot of work thats for sure.

 

[AfricanGrower]

The AN PH perfect has impressed me alot. it recommends using R/O water but i have very soft tap water and use that and i am yet to see a problem. the plants are lush, if my end product isnt effected i will switch all my grows to AN Ph perfect as it will save me alot of work thats for sure.

That's good to know! Once again feel free to post an update here if you are completely satisfied with them.

 

[Skybound]

Cultivator, what size res do you use? I only have a 2 gallon res and had pH climb all the way up to 7.5 and a little higher. My res also used to instantly jump up 0.5 per feeding. I believe I was able to correct that yesterday, but the pH battle will get the best of my grow if I leave it alone too long. at the beginning of next res change, I will cycle the res through the medium for 15 minutes to deal with all the problems up front.

 

[Cultivator]

i have different size res's 180-200litres average. so 40gal? but thats irrelevant as they run more plants so its proportional to a smaller res running 1 or 2 plants. Rockwool can be a pain in the arse sometimes regarding ph issues. it normally boils down to not pretreating the media and the nutes used. i favour coco and clay pebbles over rockwool, clay pebbles especially when runnin drip irrigation.

 

[Skybound]

One of the major selling points for me about the simple hydro setup was that the RW is easier on the roots. Container movements translate into pinched roots in the rocks. Plus once roots grow through the net pot, you're pretty much committed to that sized pot, no? The simple hydro method uses multiple pot sizes to promote max root development within the media. Allowing the roots to circle a bit before TP will ensure a denser population of roots at several stages from the inner core of the root ball, all the way out to a 5 gallon air pot. Once air potted, the roots continually try to grow beyond their reach and are air pruned. The inner sets of roots can then grow more hairs and further this goal.

Unless you are speaking of using hydroton in a regular nursery pot with no netting on the sides, then that's a different story, but how would transplants work? Does the root ball hold all those little balls into itself? How much would that weigh? Can you transplant often? Does it require more feedings?

 

[Cultivator]

u can transplant hydroton plants easily so long as u have allowed it too root enough. u would feed 3-4 times daily and wont have the same issues with ph fluctuations cause by rockwool. U will get faster growth due to the extra o2 in rootzone. personally i would pot straight to the pot u plan on finishing in. u will still get fantastic root development and u will match or increase the yield on rockwool. its personal preference how u grow but u could get the same results without all the repotting and a simple switch to pebbles. plus u can use the pebbles over and over again. u dont need to use net pots for hydroton, it can go straight into any type of pot u want including airpots.

 

[Skybound]

Wow, thanks for the input cultivator! What are your thoughts of mixing RW cubes with hydroton? That might add a new dynamic to both mediums and possibly have the pros outweigh the cons, like better water to air ratios and improved drying or something like that. I wish I had the space to do a 3 way side by side b/c everything before and after could be an identical routine. Then we'd have more insight into both mediums and possible combinations of the 2.

 

[AfricanGrower]

Wow, thanks for the input cultivator! What are your thoughts of mixing RW cubes with hydroton? That might add a new dynamic to both mediums and possibly have the pros outweigh the cons, like better water to air ratios and improved drying or something like that. I wish I had the space to do a 3 way side by side b/c everything before and after could be an identical routine. Then we'd have more insight into both mediums and possible combinations of the 2.

I have seen hydroton/rockwool mixes out there, but it is not a very popular way to grow. Growers usually either go full hydroton, full rockwool, or most commonly seen is a 90/10 rockwool to hydroton mix, leaving only a bottom layer of hydroton for better drainage.

The only downsides I see with a 50/50 mix of the two are:
1. A heavier pot overall; since you would want to transplant as often as you do in rockwool, going up in pot sizes with 50% of the medium being hydroton, will greatly increase this.

2. And the price of the combined mediums. Although hydroton can be reused, trying to clean and separate all the rockwool pieces from the root mass and the hydroton will be tedious work. Maybe to the point that it is not worth the effort to do, so purchasing new medium for each grow might be necessary.

These are the only cons I can think of, but I'm sure the benefits, if a grower decides to experiment with this, WILL be interesting to see and compare!

24/11/13

FLOWER DAY 25

Not much much since the last update, but since I am changing the res today to start Capn's 3 Day PPM Test, I thought it was best to give an update of how things look before I reduce the feed down to 900 PPM this week. I will be posting my first readings of the new nutrient mix later today after it has had time to settle and after 3-4 readings 30 minutes apart. I will then start feeding this mix starting tomorrow morning at the plant's first feeding.

But for now, here are some pics

 

[Skybound]

Lookin Bubbeautiful!

 

[AfricanGrower]

Thanks Sky. Looking at the bagseed now, I regret not starting one earlier with the Bubbs...she is really starting to outshine the Bubb in terms of trichome production, and overall STANK

Not to mention the bagseed handles feed at 1200 PPM VERY WELL!

 

[Richard Richardson]

Looking great Bruncle

with your test

 

[b.real]

here we go brobean. that first sativa plant is a beauty kinda looks like an el dorado

1200 ppm? damn that's a big tank of a plant good stuff for sure man

 

[danklover79]

Very lush, nice looking ladies!

 

[WildRosebud]

I remember chatting with oyu bout yer PC grows , then I went back and was blown away that you got a one of a Kind 420 xps gaming comp LOL I like that game!

Much love brother!

 

[AfricanGrower]

I remember chatting with oyu bout yer PC grows , then I went back and was blown away that you got a one of a Kind 420 xps gaming comp LOL I like that game!

Much love brother!

Damn...I didn't even realize...A WHOLE 3 YEARS growing in that thing and I did not realize it had XPS 420 written on it. Haha, it must have been fate Wild. Thanks for the realization, I'm going to spark one up to celebrate the new discovery. Then I will probably start a couple of beans in there come the next few weeks!

here we go brobean. that first sativa plant is a beauty kinda looks like an el dorado

1200 ppm? damn that's a big tank of a plant good stuff for sure man

It's funny that on the Nirvana strain info page, they state this strain of Bubblelicious to be a 60% Indica, but from the start this female has shown pure Sativa characteristics. I'm pretty sure the Bubb that turned out to be male had more Indica pheno's in it. I still wish I could have grown both plants out, but I have 8 more Bubb beans left, so I have years to experiment

...And thanks for the words of encouragement Dank and Rico! The ladies accept green vibes 24/7

First test results will be posted in the next hour after my 3rd and final readings!

 

[AfricanGrower]

PPM TEST DAY 1

Okay, so I have mixed up a new batch of nutrients and filled up my res to 12.5gallons. I used Capns recipe, and dialed it in to a PPM of 847, and a pH of 5.6-5.7.

Excerpt from notes:

3 DAY PPM TEST

-Starting Tapwater: pH-7.8; PPM-165
-Calibration: PPM Meter-.5grams/500ml of Distilled Water=1000PPM
pH Meter - Vinegar with a pH of 2.4; Distilled Water with a pH of 7.0

-4ml/g of Florablend
-5ml/g of CaMg
-6 Parts Bloom
-4 Parts Micro
-3 Parts Grow

-Initial PPM: 849
-Initial pH: 5.7

Okay so after calibrating my instruments 3 times over again, I was satisfied that they were accurate enough to start testing.

My initial readings, just after mixing all the nutrients together and letting it settle for 10 minutes came up to a PPM of 849 and a pH of 5.7

30 minutes later I rechecked the readings, after recalibrating the meters. PPM:847; pH:5.7

30 minutes later I rechecked the readings, after recalibrating the meters. PPM:847; pH:5.7

30 minutes later I rechecked the readings, after recalibrating the meters. PPM:848; pH:5.6-5.7

So I have reached a reliable reading of 848 PPM and a pH between 5.6 and 5.7. I will go about the SAME exact process tomorrow after all three, 15 minute scheduled feedings. Until tomorrow

 

[Light Addict]

Hey AG things looking great in here as usual my buddy. best of all things green and stanky!