Colorado Griz's - Ebb & Flow - Coco - LEC 630 - Grow Journal - 2016

[ColoradoGriz]

Great looking grow and set up you have going in here CG! I'll sub in for this, as I am soon going to be growing Pakistan Valley Kush and Delicious Candy as well.

Also like the ebb and flow set and interested in seeing how all of that works...

Anyways happy growing!


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Thanks Colorado Kid! Glad to have you aboard! The Ebb and Flow was easier to set up than it looked. It's not a bad system so far. I set the float valves to water up to a certain point. When I change out the rez I tweak them to fill the buckets higher with PH water (two cycles) to flush out any left over salts settling at the top. Then I wash out the rez and set it up for feeding.

 

[ColoradoGriz]

Almost forgot, Pakistani Valley has been a beast so far it is my favorite grower this round. The delicious candy has been kind of a runt but I think it just gets hungrier than the other strains.

 

[ColoradoGriz]

My man!

Very impressive start so far! Things look fantastic!

I wouldn't miss this garden for the world!

Count me in big guy!

So glad to have you in my garden Bro! I'm excited about this one. My last few grows were Meh. I was doing Lucas and the final product seemed plain, plants were green but hungry and scraggly looking lol.

 

[Coloradokid19]

Colorado Griz's - Ebb & Flow - Coco - LEC 630 - Grow Journal - 2016

Thanks Colorado Kid! Glad to have you aboard! The Ebb and Flow was easier to set up than it looked. It's not a bad system so far. I set the float valves to water up to a certain point. When I change out the rez I tweak them to fill the buckets higher with PH water (two cycles) to flush out any left over salts settling at the top. Then I wash out the rez and set it up for feeding.

Glad to hear that about the Pakistan Valley, and I bet that the Delicious Candy will catch up in flower. I saw another journal on here with Delicious Candy and it was a stretcher. So we will have to see how yours does... That'll also give me a better idea on how much she will stretch for me.

So the Ebb and Flow system seems a lot less complicated that I thought. Then again I have to admit I didn't do an extensive amount of research on it either.




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[ColoradoGriz]

Re: Colorado Griz's - Ebb & Flow - Coco - LEC 630 - Grow Journal - 2016

So the Ebb and Flow system seems a lot less complicated that I thought. Then again I have to admit I didn't do an extensive amount of research on it either.

As for the Ebb and Flow, I was blown up by an IED back in 03. I was lucky to keep all of my limbs but the blast pretty much pulled every bone out of their sockets. I'm healed up for the most part but still get bad bouts of arthritis which sucks at my young age. I was trying to find a good self-watering system. Drip seemed all right but friends told me the thin lines clog easily. I considered a drain to waste but with an outdoor grow going also, I already spend a lot of time making water. Some ebb and flow systems were flood tables and Rockwool, but I've never been a fan of Rockwool. The Hydro Farm buckets seemed like the best choice for me. The buckets have an indention and a plastic grate on the inside to keep debris from getting back into the lines, the indention keeps the bucket from sitting in water. So far all of the water has been draining as intended and my medium is sufficiently saturated. The moisture going to the plants periodically has also kept humidity at good levels when the lights are on. The most work has been monitoring the rez and keeping track of the water temps. PH and EC have remained pretty consistent and have only needed slight adjustment about every three days.

I bought a second pump that hooks to a garden hose. I throw that in the rez to drain it to the basement tub drain. After scrubbing and washing out the rez I flip the pump to a bucket in the tub and refill the rez. Minimal lifting for those days my body is uncooperative. Jury is still out until harvest but if the Ebb and Flow works out, I will probably expand to a 4x8, add more buckets to the system and buy another LEC 630.

Granted, you could probably save $100 bucks building your own but the time saved for something pre-built, made up for the loss in savings for me.

 

[Coloradokid19]

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that but glad to hear you walked away from it. Ebb and Flow definitely sounds like it was the perfect solution then!

I might have to look into trying that in the future because just watering as much as i do, it'd be nice to take some steps out of the watering process.

Thanks for the info on the Ebb and Flow, now I am definitely way more intrigued!


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[qaza]

Very interesting Journal mate, I will follow with interest

 

[ColoradoGriz]

Thanks Qaza! Welcome aboard!

 

[ColoradoGriz]

Lot's of healthy growth over the last couple of days. I'm going to chalk this down as week 4 day 1 instead of week 3 day 1.

In any case, after 2/3 weeks of veg, I'm flipping them to 12/12 tonight. The tent is already telling me to put the carbon filter up and some of the girls are in pre-flower. I really wanted to give them a break after I took clones but screw it.

Tonight I will take clones, put up the net, work these girls through and change the timers. Oh, and change the rez.

Temps have continued to drop here in Colorado which has kept the tent and rez much cooler. 70's for the tent, 66-68 for the rez. I think that helped a lot in the growth over the last few days. Humidity @ 50-53

 

[Stage]

Nice CG,
I really love how the CMH spectrum promotes such beautiful leaves and short nodes.
Pass the green butter please...

 

[Stage]

Re: Colorado Griz's - Ebb & Flow - Coco - LEC 630 - Grow Journal - 2016

High CG,
Nah not at all.
In your setup you can get very big with little volume needed in your pots.
Your veg is/was vigorous and you have pretty much filled out the space nicely.
If you haven't grown these strains before I think flippin now is a good idea.
Besides, you got a few clones for next time and if you wish you can veg more or less.
IMHO.....YMMV.

This is gonna be good.

I have a red card and a legally higher plant count for edibles. I'm actually going to take clones tomorrow night, give them some time to recover and flip them to 12/12 on Monday. These are 2 gallon pots and I think vegging any longer would push the limits of their pots.

I've never grown out of 2 Gallon pots before, at least not intentionally. I've thrown extra plants that were in 1 gallons into flower before, instead of throwing them out, but those were in soil and under LEDs. These plants took off faster than I anticipated. Unfortunately this being the first time with an LEC, Ebb and Flow Buckets, and Advanced Nutrients line, I'm not sure what to credit the growth with.

Granted, I consider my girls seedlings until they have 4 sets of leaves and I top the fifth set as soon as they have enough to pluck. So one could argue that these girls are on week 3. Still, growth over the last week has more than doubled what I normally get at this stage and it's across several strains. en that twisted up Delicious Candy plant looks better after pulling them further from the big fan.

Your thoughts? Did I grow them too much to survive an 8 week flower?

 

[ColoradoGriz]

Re: Colorado Griz's - Ebb & Flow - Coco - LEC 630 - Grow Journal - 2016

Nice CG,
I really love how the CMH spectrum promotes such beautiful leaves and short nodes.
Pass the green butter please...

High CG,
Nah not at all.
In your setup you can get very big with little volume needed in your pots.
Your veg is/was vigorous and you have pretty much filled out the space nicely.
If you haven't grown these strains before I think flippin now is a good idea.
Besides, you got a few clones for next time and if you wish you can veg more or less.
IMHO.....YMMV.

This is gonna be good.

Thanks Stage! I'm running the 3100K bulbs which are supposed to be better for running Veg and Flower with theses lamps. Last month I was debating running the 4200K for the Veg and switching over to 3100K for Bloom but I'm not seeing the need. Good advice about not having run these strains before and flipping. Clones have a tendency to outshine their mothers so I should have a good idea how to run the next batch. I'm seriously thinking about a Gorilla 4x8 and another one of these lights for the next grow. That's if I don't try Brix first.

 

[Stage]

Re: Colorado Griz's - Ebb & Flow - Coco - LEC 630 - Grow Journal - 2016

CG,
Running those strains in a 4x8 with two 630w CMH would be sick!
Looking at the CMH spectrum charts show an excellent splash of blue and red with plenty of UV.
The 3100k is excellent for dual bloom / veg duty. I wouldnt bother with the 4200k.
Look at your girls. For that space could it be that much better?
The clone are gonna out- rock the mothers I agree.

About Doc's kit, If I were you I would send Doc a PM.
Get a kit. The starter kits are fairly cheap compared to a new light and 4x8 tent.
Cook the soil. Grab some clones and run em.
The whole process will take about a month and once you run the kit you will understand why so many (hydro) folks are jumping on the bandwagon.
Its....just....easier bro.
Clearly you are a skilled grower and I see you are killing in a new setup.
So that means you are adaptable.
If I were you I would get the kit 1st and let it cook while you complete this run.
Once you complete your maiden Brix run you may me putting the Ebb Flow on Craig and Dems List.

Thanks Stage! I'm running the 3100K bulbs which are supposed to be better for running Veg and Flower with theses lamps. Last month I was debating running the 4200K for the Veg and switching over to 3100K for Bloom but I'm not seeing the need. Good advice about not having run these strains before and flipping. Clones have a tendency to outshine their mothers so I should have a good idea how to run the next batch. I'm seriously thinking about a Gorilla 4x8 and another one of these lights for the next grow. That's if I don't try Brix first.

 

[ColoradoGriz]

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days.

I did put the girls in flower under a 12/12 on Sunday night. Set up a proper exhaust and intake along with a carbon filter. Added a Trelis and tucked the girls last night. I didn’t take any pictures as they looked rough after the tuck. I will take some tonight.

Hardest part about flower is waiting to check on them till lights on. I could see light leaking out of the tent, from inside the tent I can’t see anything. I keep this room off limits from 4am to 4pm anyway. Contemplating just turning this whole room into a grow room at some point.

I didn't take any clones, yet.

 

[Billyjack]

You have some nice looking plants. Looking forward to more pics

 

[ColoradoGriz]

You have some nice looking plants. Looking forward to more pics

Thanks man! Here's pics from tonight.

Opened the tent to this. Temps were 86 above the light 78 under the lights. Plants have gotten withing 16"-20" of the hood but not showing any signs of heat stress. Held my hand at canopy top for 30 seconds. This LEC has the heat of an LED and the grow power of an HPS from my experience so far. LEDs didn't give me these kind of results. Humidity 35-40 which I'm sure will come up a bit over the next few weeks. The EC has been stable at 1.1, I didn't go full strength this week. PH staying close to 5.8 water temps 68.

It's a mess down there. I let things go natural this run, no training. I topped once out of habit after their 4th set of leaves but nothing since. I was curious on how much penetration this light would get and the growth under the canopy is just as healthy and green as the top.

Big Stems

Big Leaves

Thanks for checking it out! Any tips or advice is much appreciated!

 

[Pigeons420]

Tips and Advice???? Sure looks like you've got everything under control!

I love the size of the stems and the tightness of the nodes.

I suppose since I'm thinking about it, I would recommend a real good cleaning of the bottom vegetation to ensure there's no puny weak stuff that's gonna hold you back. (Hold you back come trimming time if not anything else)

Much love my Brudda!!

 

[Stage]

High CG,
What Pigeons said.
I would wait till it's time to take clones.

Tips and Advice???? Sure looks like you've got everything under control!

I love the size of the stems and the tightness of the nodes.

I suppose since I'm thinking about it, I would recommend a real good cleaning of the bottom vegetation to ensure there's no puny weak stuff that's gonna hold you back. (Hold you back come trimming time if not anything else)

Much love my Brudda!!

 

[ColoradoGriz]

Tips and Advice???? Sure looks like you've got everything under control!

I love the size of the stems and the tightness of the nodes.

I suppose since I'm thinking about it, I would recommend a real good cleaning of the bottom vegetation to ensure there's no puny weak stuff that's gonna hold you back. (Hold you back come trimming time if not anything else)

Much love my Brudda!!

That's good advice! I decided not to take clones this time. Shame as there are some good performers so far. I just don't have time. The outdoor grow is almost done so I'll have more time to do clones next run. I was telling the wife though that I need to get under there this weekend to clean it out for airflow. Got to looking down there last night and it's a mess but everything is healthy.

Thanks for the love! Back at ya!

 

[ColoradoGriz]

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been BAF. So since the last update, I went below deck to clean the girls up. My wife thought I was abusive but later weeks had me regretting not going harder. Looking back, I'd hack all but the main 4 shoots. I thought a few stems showed potential but they will be popcorn buds at best. I had removed all the fan leaves that were a small hand size. This didn't slow the growth down at all, and I was getting concerned I had slowed the flower process. Right on time, pistols became baby flowers.

Here I am in Week 4 of flower and everything is nice and sugary. A taller grow tent is on my list as I've had to zip tie my light to the ceiling and add a third trellis. Next time I will keep the light at 30" throughout the grow. My inexperience with the LEC made me immediately think 30" was a heat reference and not a footprint reference. Lesson learned. As I did my initial pruning their was a really long stretch I think I could have avoided. Nodes are tight and flowering down deep in the canopy.

My EC has been going up more than normal this week so I plan on doing a 2 day (6 cycles) flush using a product called Flawless Finish. It is supposed to provide minimal nutrients so the flush isn't depriving, and is supposed to flush out the excess salts. That is assuming the climbing EC is from excess salts.

Looking back on previous grows, this is my current assessment.

MEDIUM: The Tuper is working great in this setup. It maintains it's moisture and my plants are looking happy. The first few weeks some of the medium washed into the reservoir, settling at the bottom like black coffee grounds. No issues since.

NUTRIENTS: This is my first time using Advanced Nutrients and I have to say I am not disappointed. I'm using the hobbyist level which consists of 3 products at a time, with the main nutrient being a 2-part. My EC/PPMs were higher than normal, and I went with the recommended dosage for this trial. Eight weeks from seed and no deficiencies.

LIGHT: Low heat. So low I had to quit porting air from outside because the light couldn't keep the tent warm enough at night. As mentioned earlier, I flawed the light assessment by fluctuating in distances. I love this light so far. First of all, I love how everything looks under it without the need of glasses. It photographs nicely. I definitely think the spectrum and the additional UV are making things frost up fantastically. Colorado has a benefit in outdoor grows with our high elevation. Extra UV causes the plant to produce more resin as a protectant from the UV. So I'm hoping the UV from this light will have the same effect.

EBB and FLOW SYSTEM: Soooooo easy. I check my meters and change my water once a week. The roots are happy, salt buildup minimal. Plants have never been thirsty, no clogged hoses or leaks. Only downside is that for space reasons, I put the controller reservoir outside the tent with the main reservoir. Since this causes the hoses to go up, from the floor through the tent duct, and down; it effects the flow and water level, slightly.

Next run will be the same setup in a Gorilla tent, less plants, spread out, controller rez in the tent. Now for pics.

This was a few days ago. Downside of multiple strains, multiple heights.

Node spacing is nice and tight, filling in. Had to had another trellis to bend the plants down, getting too tall.