Cannibal's AK47 & Mango Grow Journal - 2009

Cannibal

Cannibal

New Member
High All!

New (well, mostly) grower here. I've grown in soil before with good results, but bad luck (Florida 2004 hurricane season was a bugger!). This is my first attempt with a hydro system and I must say, I'm very excited. I am the caregiver for my girlfriend here in Colorado.

We purchased 3 clones from a local dispensary. Two of our girls are the well known AK47 strain (65% Sativa/35% Indica) and the other one is a Mango strain of unknown percentages. The Mango clone came in dirt, so her name is "Dirty Girl"; she's on the far right in the video below. The other two will be named after showing their own personality.

We are using a top-drip hydro system with a recycling reservoir. The reservoir is a 20 gal. tub that we have spray painted (outside) flat black. Inside the reservoir are two 5" airstones and a 140gph submersible pump. The pump feeds a 1/2" irrigation hose, from which 1/4" spaghetti drip lines feed the pots (2 lines per pot). The pots are Bato Buckets (Dutch Buckets) that sit above the reservoir on a PVC (Schedule 40) stand. They are black and measure 10x12x9. The back of the Bato Buckets drain into the back PVC rail and the solution then drains back into the reservoir.

I'm using a medium of coco coir, perlite, and expanded clay. The expanded clay covers the top couple of inches to prevent the feeding cycle from disturbing the coco coir and perlite, as well as to provide support for my young ladies. The coco coir and perlite mixture is approximately 60/40.

For light, we are using only a 400w HPS with a XtraSun reflector. This first grow will use the HPS for veg as well as flower. The next grow, we will be using a florescent set-up for the veg stage, but funds are limited and I felt the HPS was the best 'first investment'. I've been told that it will work fine. Guess we'll find out. It is running 24/7 currently and is about 2' above the girls.

The grow room is 12x8x8 with flat white painted walls. It is in the basement with a small window. The window should make setting up a ventilation system a breeze. There is also immediate access to the house's plumbing right around the corner. I'll be installing a faucet in the grow room because I'm already tired of lugging 5 gal buckets of water up and down the stairs. With the light on, the temp around the plants hovers between 70-75F. Lights off is closer to 60F. Is this a good range, or should I put a radiant heat space heater in the room? There is no central heat in this room, but the door is left open at all times. Of course, this is Colorado so when somebody says the word "humidity", people go in search of a dictionary. We don't have humidity here. The grow room hovers right around 30%. I've got a small humidifier that I will be putting in the room tonight, which will be the end of the girls' first 24 hours at their new home.

Tap water is a bit high on the ph scale (around 7.5 or 8). I am sooooo getting a digital ph meter. Trying to match colors is just a PITA for someone with a red/green deficiency in their color vision; that would be me. When I mixed the nute solution and adjusted the ph, I'm pretty sure I nailed it on the first try with the addition of the acid; my ph tester was a nice yellow with just a hint of green tint.

The submersible pump is on a mechanical timer set to run for 15 minutes, 3 times a day. Is that enough? I know the coco coir holds moisture very well, so I'm not that concerned. Just wanted to verify.

We are currently using Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Grow. Since last night was the first night in the system and I'm sure they're stressed from the whole thing, I'm using it at half strength. Is this a good thing? When should I move up to full strength?

I tried taking some pictures last night, but the HPS seems to cause havoc with the lens. I shot some video which is slightly better, but the horizontal black lines are still there and it caused the picture to be very jumpy. Any suggestions? I want to share the beauty with everyone, but seem to be having problems.



Any and ALL advice is very, very welcome. I've got a brown thumb, there is just no doubt about it. I'm hoping that since I'm not dealing with dirt (it's brown you know) I'll be a better gardener. Only time will tell the tale I suppose, but I've sure been doing a bunch of reading this time around. Before, I just stuck plants in the dirt, watered them, and hoped for the best. I was very dismayed to discover that my nutrient solution was an ugly brown color, but I refuse to allow my brown thumb access to my psyche.

Thanks in advance for the assist!
Cannibal
 
Honestly, I would just use floros while they're vegging for the first few weeks as you can give them a better spectrum of light, which will help them grow faster. Look for a higher color temp value, 5500k and above. You will use less power too running floros, and then when you're ready to flower, throw the HPS on them and watch them explode.

Your setup looks good bro, good luck on the grow! I'm in for the ride.
 
Very cool, and nice hydro set up. I wish I had the ballz to post a video hehe, but I have never trusted youtube even though I have all my paperwork filed away and everythings legal.

May I ask you what dispensary you bought your clones at in colorado? Private message me if your not comfortable with posting. I strongly considered Mango when i recently got my clones because of the flowering time, but the Strawberry Cough sounded intriguing and had kinda already researched and set my mind to them when i went in. Keep it up.
 
TheCriMsonK20 said:
Honestly, I would just use floros while they're vegging for the first few weeks as you can give them a better spectrum of light, which will help them grow faster. Look for a higher color temp value, 5500k and above. You will use less power too running floros, and then when you're ready to flower, throw the HPS on them and watch them explode.

Your setup looks good bro, good luck on the grow! I'm in for the ride.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know about the florescents. I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse about getting the HPS first, but what can I say...I'm a gearhead. I found a nice 4 tube 4' florescent set-up using T5s for under $200. I'll probably pull the trigger on that next week. But, until then, you think I'm OK using the HPS?

Lilstinky420 said:
Very cool, and nice hydro set up. I wish I had the ballz to post a video hehe, but I have never trusted youtube even though I have all my paperwork filed away and everythings legal.

May I ask you what dispensary you bought your clones at in colorado? Private message me if your not comfortable with posting. I strongly considered Mango when i recently got my clones because of the flowering time, but the Strawberry Cough sounded intriguing and had kinda already researched and set my mind to them when i went in. Keep it up.
Click to expand...
Well, I figured that the worst they could do is take the video down. We are totally legal and are keeping the grows within the law's allowance. I gotta say, it's a nice feeling to not have to hide the grow from friends and family. We are trying to keep it from being obvious to guests by keeping it in the basement, but I'm not too worried about YouTube. Lots of videos on there much more lavish than my little threesome.

We got the clones from Southwest Alternative Care. I can't recommend this place enough! Really friendly staff and the best prices I've found in town yet. Quite happy to answer questions and they allow caregivers to enter the facility with the card holder so they can ask questions and view products. Really impressed with them.
 
no don't have buyers remorse, an HPS is probably the most valuable part of your grow equipment. It will ensure your buds are fat and dense, and will give them the light they need to grow big.

If you flowered with floros and then flowered with a HPS, its night and day difference.

You will be fine using the HPS for now, no problems at all.
 
Heehee.

I forgot to mention that I'm a bit of a Mythbusters fan. After watching the episode where they tried to determine 1) if music actually had an effect on plant growth and 2) if so, what music was best, I've decided to provide my girls with music. Since the Mythbusters had the best results from heavy metal music (who'd of thunk it), my girls are on a diet of Ministry this week. Hopefully Al Jourgensen will serenade my ladies into big, healthy, and happy plants.

Has anybody here tried adding music to their growroom? What were the results? Makes it nice to spend time in the room when there is music and a view. :tommy:
 
:welcome: Cannibal, Ton of great details, Videos and Heavy Metal music. It is a party going on here. Great start to a exciting grow Buddy! :nomo: :peace:
 
DroJo said:
I like the DutchPot set up.. looking good bro :goodjob:

:popcorn:
Click to expand...
I love it due to it's relative low cost and simplicity. Only issue was that I couldn't find the Dutch Buckets locally. But, I found them online for about $7 per bucket, plus another buck or so per bucket for the drain elbow. Really easy build and cost well below $100 (not including lighting of course).

I've got some 5gal buckets systems built too, but we are using them for veggies around the house until I am comfortable with their function. Next grow, I'm thinking about doing an ebb and flow set-up. There are just too many different set-ups that I want to try. So begins a new obsession I guess.
 
Well, my first problem has surfaced. Sure didn't take long!

I was supervising their evening watering/feeding last night and watched as the water level in the pots rose to near the top edge of the pot. Some even dribbled over the edge leaving a nice puddle on top of the reservoir. I guess the buckets aren't draining that well. I'm wondering if maybe my coco coir/Perlite mixture is too heavy on coco coir? The design of the drain elbow would seem to eliminate the concern of blockage, at least IMO. My guess is too dense of a medium, but I don't really know.

I pinched off one of the two drip lines feeding each pot. I figure this will prevent the overflow for the time being. They should still be getting plenty of juice. I figure that a little is better than a lot since my babies' lower leaves were being submerged. That can't be a good thing.

Should I remix the medium with a higher percentage of Perlite then transplant them after they've recovered from the move? Or, should I just continue feeding via one drip tube. I haven't had a chance to watch it cycle through since I pinched the tubes, but I assume they will get plenty with just one line. I don't want to mess up and honestly, I'm a little concerned.

Help!
 
Sorry, I can't help with the feeding problems, but I can help with your lighting. Instead of purchasing a costly T5 florescent setup you could buy a Metal Halide Conversion lamp. They're $30-90 and will put out much more light than a florescent setup. In case you don't know a metal halide conversion lamp is a metal halide bulb that works with a HPS ballast. So you just replace your HPS bulb with it. Look I found these they're only $31400 Watt Metal Halide Conversion Bulbs | 1000Bulbs.com
 
Day 3

I spoke with someone famailar about this type of set-up last night and she suggested that I did not get the drain elbows seated properly. Apparantly you have to really crank on them until the barbs poke through the bottom. I do not remember seeing anything protrude from the drain holes, so I am assuming this is the problem with the pots not draining correctly. I pushed hard enough when I was installing the elbows that I was worried about snapping them; guess I needed to push even harder.

Lucky/Unlucky depending on if you are a half full or half empty kind of person, but since the girls have only been in the system a short time I figure their roots haven't started spreading out too much yet. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to take a small trowel and pull them out without causing too much stress. I'm planning to pull them out Saturday and make the repairs. They shouldn't be out of their pots for more than a half hour or so. Wish me luck.

Happier note; both of the AK47s are showing new growth already and have completely stopped slouching. The Mango (Dirty Girl) is still struggling. We expected it since she came out of the dirt and I guess her 'dirt roots' have to die off to make way for more 'water roots'. She's doing OK, but her lower leaf tips have yellowed and she isn't standing quite as tall and proud as her neighbors. I have faith in her, she just needs a little extra TLC.

I've got the humidity in the room up a bit from where it was, it's hanging out around 48% and my temps are pretty stable at 73.6F. I'm pleased with how the plants are doing at this stage. They are doing better than I thought they would after only a couple of days. I'm a little sad that I have to take them out of their homes for a little while and I really hope they don't stress-out on me. The coco coir should help me keep their roots nice and bundled during the process. I've got my fingers crossed.

Oh yeah, I went ahead and ordered a HPS to MH conversion bulb yesterday. Thanks for that tip dfw-guy! It should be here by Monday, maybe even Saturday. All that will be left for the grow room is a proper ventilation system which I'll need when I set these girls to flower and start the next 3 ladies growing. For now, since the door is left open, I'm not too worried about the ventilation. There is a small fan in the grow room which should be more than enough to create good circulation and exchange. This stuff is fun!
 
Hey Hey SUP Cannibal, Man I can't believe how similar we are doing this thing! You are having the same issue I was having with drainage. I really thought about what was happening to clog it up. When I seated my elbows there would be a narrow gap between the elbow and the bottom of the bucket. (on the inside) But this gap apparently was too large and was allowing coco and perlite pieces to go through and into my rez, eventually clogging it up. I was pissed. I know what you mean about the barbs though. On the underside of the bucket the hole has two slots that the barbs will click into to secure them in-place. Once they click in I dont think there is much more need to push further. If the elbow gets too close to the bottom on the inside it might not drain either.

As I mentioned in my grow journal I took everything out, cleaned out the pots and the elbows, reseated them firmly and then applied a layer of river rock up to the ledge where the drainhole is. I think its working no clogs so far but only time will tell if this works long term.

I need to get a digital thermometer/humidity guage, not sure what my temps and humids are and those are important variables to control. I am dying to get a tent to help with this.

I bought a Lumatek Digital Switchable ballast so I can run both MH and HPS bulbs. I run the MH for Veg and I will switch to HPS for flower. I think this is the best configuration for the money. I do have a question for you...What light cycle are you gonna do for veg period. I am thinking of 18/6 which seems common, but I have heard others go 24/0 for veg. Not sure which to do, I will have to read more but what do you think?

18/6 will save money on electricity but if 24/0 produces more growth than it might be worth it. Any comments would be great!

Anyways I know that was long winded but Man I am excited to watch our grows progress.

L8ER
 
Party on Grooster!

I've been giving the light cycle quite a bit of thought and I think I'm just going to split the difference and go 20/4. I know I'm much happier after a nap and I figure the same logic has to apply to my ladies. Besides, once I get another group going, then I should be getting into a harvest cycle every few weeks. We'll still end up with plenty of good smoke, so I'm not overly concerned with having massive plants.

You can pick-up one of those digital thermometer and humidity sensors pretty cheap at Wallyworld (or any of the stores that end in "mart"). I like the ones with wired sensors for outside readings; they allow me to put the sensor right with the plants and keep the display someplace easy to read. I use them a lot for testing cold weather hiking gear, so I already had a couple laying around. Still, I think they are less than $20.

After reading your journal, I'm thinking about dropping in some lava stones at the bottom of my pots. Not much, just a inch or so. My only concern is the built-in reservoir on the Bato Buckets. The whole idea is to keep some nute solution in the pot in case of a power failure, that way the plants still have access to their juice. I'm not sure if the lava rocks would provide enough wicking properties to enable this function. Course, I'm hoping for no power failures, but me and the Murphy fella seem to go way back. I've got a couple of days to think about it and will post what I decide here.

Thanks for following my grow while I watch yours. Should be a blast!
 
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