Dick23rk's Fresh Start: Mantis Nutrients Featuring MedicGrow's New Spectrum X+ 880w Light Panel

[dick23rk]

The all look great Slacker Dick!

You've almost got me ready to dig out one of my DWC buckets!

Thank you sir! ya, ya, slacky dick

Get em out after you harvest that beauty of a flower tent.

Nice and neat. Real tidy, infact , OCD tidy and neat. Probably the neatest training I've seen. Great work mate
Oh! Talking about neat and tidy. Did you know @Grand Daddy Black irons his underpants? Now that is a neat and tidy OCD.

I do try to keep it neat, but this isn't quite ocd neat haha. I was cringing a little when some of the branches weren't straight though

That gdb, doesn't surprise me much. Is that why he kind of walks like a penguin? Got too stoned and let the iron sit there too long? Got stiff unders

Ha! I'm not that bad, Dick. I fold my drawers but I don't iron them. @Squiggle has been smoking...again.

You sure you don't stack them hang them? Lol

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

Get em out after you harvest that beauty of a flower tent.

If I ever do DWC it won't be them, it'll be one bucket.

However, it does sound a lot easier for you than it was for me due to the nutrients you're using. I used the GH trio (along with about 3 other things that I can't remember at the moment). And I had to completely change the water weekly once they really starting eating. And keeping the PH in range was a constant battle. Not to mention I had air pumps fail and air stones clog for no apparent reason.

And I've just talked myself out of the idea of doing it again!

I've been spoiled by soil.

 

[dick23rk]

Had to edit that last comment haha

 

[Rexer]

Hey @dick23rk I'm a lil late to the party, but wanted to drop by. Nice setup and congratulations on the sponsorship!!

 

[dick23rk]

If I ever do DWC it won't be them, it'll be one bucket.

However, it does sound a lot easier for you than it was for me due to the nutrients you're using. I used the Geoflora trio (along with about 3 other things that I can't remember at the moment). And I had to completely change the water weekly once they really starting eating. And keeping the PH in range was a constant battle. Not to mention I had air pumps fail and air stones clog for no apparent reason.

And I've just talked myself out of the idea of doing it again!

I've been spoiled by soil.

I think these nutrients are what really drove me to finally try dwc. I like it so far and I'm glad used these nutes over my 12 bottle GH lineup. I think if I even used that I would just use the trio and calmag, or Lucas formula even. Maybe another time when I have more experience in it.

I do know there are some certain nutrients that will clog the stones, I know the floralicious plus in my GH line will do that, it's thick and leaves a film. You'd just need to find the right ones to use with them or do a waterfall and eliminate air stones all together.

I had to venture out of my peat based mixes and try something else. I though about organic but had most of the stuff kicking around here for hydro since we have fish too.

Hey @dick23rk I'm a lil late to the party, but wanted to drop by. Nice setup and congratulations on the sponsorship!!

Hey Rexer! No worries being late, the party is still getting started around here right now. Should be more exciting in a week or 2.

Thanks I'm super happy about the sponsorship, hoping the light will be here Friday. Just on the waiting game with FedEx

Come by anytime, I'm usually not too far and checking notifications.

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

I think these nutrients are what really drove me to finally try dwc. I like it so far and I'm glad used these nutes over my 12 bottle GH lineup. I think if I even used that I would just use the trio and calmag, or Lucas formula even. Maybe another time when I have more experience in it.

I do know there are some certain nutrients that will clog the stones, I know the floralicious plus in my GH line will do that, it's thick and leaves a film. You'd just need to find the right ones to use with them or do a waterfall and eliminate air stones all together.

I had to venture out of my peat based mixes and try something else. I though about organic but had most of the stuff kicking around here for hydro since we have fish too.

Hey Rexer! No worries being late, the party is still getting started around here right now. Should be more exciting in a week or 2.

Thanks I'm super happy about the sponsorship, hoping the light will be here Friday. Just on the waiting game with FedEx

Come by anytime, I'm usually not too far and checking notifications.

Dick, I edited my previous post. I meant to say I used the "GH" trio. I've got GeoFlora on the brain.

Please know I'm not downing DWC. I think it's a great way to grow if one has the time to invest.

But my #1 goal is to do as little as possible to grow nice plants. Both Mega Crop and GeoFlora afford me that opportunity. I won't do Coco because it needs to be watered to often. And I won't do hempy just because I don't like the way it looks. So it's soil or peat based (ProMix) for me for the foreseeable future.

Those DWC plants of yours will probably get huge and I'll admire your work as much as the next guy.

In short, my not doing DWC anymore is more a reflection of my laziness than it is a dislike of the process.

 

[Reave]

Yeh I did DWC one time to. Got sick of changing res real fast. Have to add additives to keep the res clean, ph fluctuations. Whole thing was a pain in the rear. It did grow some BIG plants FAST though.

 

[dick23rk]

Dick, I edited my previous post. I meant to say I used the "GH" trio. I've got GeoFlora on the brain.

Please know I'm not downing DWC. I think it's a great way to grow if one has the time to invest.

But my #1 goal is to do as little as possible to grow nice plants. Both Mega Crop and GeoFlora afford me that opportunity. I won't do Coco because it needs to be watered to often. And I won't do hempy just because I don't like the way it looks. So it's soil or peat based (ProMix) for me for the foreseeable future.

Those DWC plants of yours will probably get huge and I'll admire your work as much as the next guy.

In short, my not doing DWC anymore is more a reflection of my laziness than it is a dislike of the process.

Ah, well maybe it's the micro that does that, it also has a different consistency.

I can't blame you for wanting to do as little as possible. Why do you think I grabbed a bottle of these nutrients to try?

I will still stick with my potted plants as that's what I know, but since I have the room I'm going to upgrade the hydro to 4 or 6 buckets next grow and can still do potted plants off to the side. I want to see what I can accomplish is the end goal of it.

Yeh I did DWC one time to. Got sick of changing res real fast. Have to add additives to keep the res clean, ph fluctuations. Whole thing was a pain in the rear. It did grow some BIG plants FAST though.

Haven't changed the res yet, on day 27. And I haven't added and additives for keeping the res clean yet but have been looking at options similar to hydroguard as a backup.

All this gear would have still been sitting if it weren't for these nutes I bet. It gives me that ph and tds buffer, only thing I've had to add is calmag to one bucket today because of the RO water.

I'm hoping for the best lol

 

[Rexer]

Ah, well maybe it's the micro that does that, it also has a different consistency.

I can't blame you for wanting to do as little as possible. Why do you think I grabbed a bottle of these nutrients to try?

I will still stick with my potted plants as that's what I know, but since I have the room I'm going to upgrade the hydro to 4 or 6 buckets next grow and can still do potted plants off to the side. I want to see what I can accomplish is the end goal of it.

Haven't changed the res yet, on day 27. And I haven't added and additives for keeping the res clean yet but have been looking at options similar to hydroguard as a backup.

All this gear would have still been sitting if it weren't for these nutes I bet. It gives me that ph and tds buffer, only thing I've had to add is calmag to one bucket today because of the RO water.

I'm hoping for the best lol

Orca or Great white are alternatives. There's also I think Z9 is another great one (haven't tried that one yet)

 

[dick23rk]

**Quick DWC Update**

Hey again everyone. Just going to throw up a quick update on the big bangs as I made a couple of changes this evening after work. I figured I'd get it logged and done now before I forget next update.

Big Bang - Day 27

Tonight these 2 both got topped, it was a little early like I have done previously, but I was able to get in there with the snips. Topped at the 4th, removed the bottom 2 nodes. I'd like for these 2 to catch up to the others in time for flower flip, which is looking like it may be in 2, maybe 3 weeks. We will talk about that next update.

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• dick23rk
• Apr 7, 2021

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• dick23rk
• Apr 7, 2021

Also, I had to start dealing with this calcium issue before it keeps progressing on bucket 1. It's not time for a top up yet, water is only 2 or 3 inches below the net pots still. So I added some GH CaliMagic directly to the res of bucket 1, bucket 2 seems to be fine so far, I'd like to see the deficiency before trying to treat one.

I was aiming for about 100ppm extra in the res, bottle says recommended 1ml per liter, about 3 gallons in the res so I decided to start with 5ml. Good thing I didn't try more, I tested the res before and after, here are the readings.
Before calimagic - 5.65ph / 637ppm
After calimagic - 5.65ph / 772ppm

The pen was fluctuating a little, not much, but I added roughly 135ppm. Not a bad target number. Calimagic will be added to the mix for this plant from now on during top up.
Calcium deficiency was starting to slightly show on other leaves, the lower ones in these pics have been removed after topping and stripping.

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• dick23rk
• Apr 7, 2021

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• dick23rk
• Apr 7, 2021

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• dick23rk
• Apr 7, 2021

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• dick23rk
• Apr 7, 2021

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• dick23rk
• Apr 7, 2021

 

[dick23rk]

Orca or Great white are alternatives. There's also I think Z9 is another great one (haven't tried that one yet)

Thanks for the recommendations Rexer, I'll check those ones out. Also depends what is available in Canada for a non outrageous price.

 

[Rexer]

Thanks for the recommendations Rexer, I'll check those ones out. Also depends what is available in Canada for a non outrageous price.

I'm in Canada as well, they're both on the high price side, but can be worth it. I actually managed to score some hydroguard not too long ago off the Zon for a good price (43 bucks). I keep my eyes open, the prices fluctuate like crazy at times.

 

[dick23rk]

I'm in Canada as well, they're both on the high price side, but can be worth it. I actually managed to score some hydroguard not too long ago off the Zon for a good price (43 bucks). I keep my eyes open, the prices fluctuate like crazy at times.

Oh yeah that's right, I read that in your journal. (Getting names and journals mixed up)

I'll definitely grab something to have on hand.

Edit.. I should ask but I'm sure it's not.. is GH florakleen the same deal? Or literally just for cleaning out salt buildup?

 

[dick23rk]

Well I had to grab some more calimagicsince I'm running low, also pot elevators and better saucers which I've been wanting for some time now. So I found a Canadian website that had these as well as a root zone additive. I grabbed the current culture uc roots. Seemed like a fair price compared to the others and should do the trick. Here's the description

Cultured Solutions UC ROOTS is a multipurpose root zone optimizer that uses proprietary chemistry to aid in mineral descaling and the removal of potentially harmful biofilms in nutrient reservoirs. By reducing the potential habitat for plant pathogens, UC ROOTS has been shown to aid in root development.
UC ROOTS is suitable for all hydroponics applications including Rockwool, NFT, DWC, RDWC, Ebb-N-Flow and substrate based DTW applications.
• Use in any hydroponic growing system
• Promotes thick, bright white roots
• Eliminates risk of Root Rot
• Increases ORP, creating an environment unsuitable for pathogen and fungi development
• Dissolves mineral buildups, reducing the risk of nutrient lockout
• Maintains a clean and clear nutrient solution
• No risk of root burn
• Neutral pH of 6.8, NO pH buffers necessary
• Reduces labor and decreases equipment maintenance
• Use at any stage of growth all the way to harvest

 

[Rider509]

I'm really interested in the Mantis nutrients, but they don't seem to be available in the U.S.

Happy to meet you!

The Canadians keep all the good stuff to themselves, like the ProMix HP. I remember midnight runs to BC to stock up and throw the bales over the border fence in the darkest hours of night back when I did soil grows.

Looks like a good time in here, Dick. Caught up and subbed up.

 

[dick23rk]

The Canadians keep all the good stuff to themselves, like the ProMix HP. I remember midnight runs to BC to stock up and throw the bales over the border fence in the darkest hours of night back when I did soil grows.

Looks like a good time in here, Dick. Caught up and subbed up.

Sometimes we do have the good stuff, but sometimes other good stuff is only across the border. Luckily, I live pretty.much right omnthe US/Canada border and have a buddy that crosses multiple times a week for work (trucker) and if I need anything picked up that can be brought across, he picks it up for me at a local drop off location. If it can't come across the border at all I'm screwed lol

But promix, didn't realize it wasn't available down there. You have sunshine #4 bales though right? Pretty much the same with a bit more water retention, I grabbed a bale when I couldn't get a bale of promix.

Thanks for dropping in though, I appreciate it. Should be back tonight after work with another update.

 

[dick23rk]

Oh boy oh boy! I just got confirmation that the new spectrum x+ light panel from medicgrow has landed at its drop off location across the border. My friend will be picking it up today on his work route and bring it back to Canada for me I'm over the moon excited!

 

[Reave]

Pro Mix is available in the US. What you talking about? Pretty sure @InTheShed isnt importing it. Before switching to coots I was growing in pro mix hp cc which has coco. Good stuff.

 

[Jon]

Oh boy oh boy! I just got confirmation that the new spectrum x+ light panel from medicgrow has landed at its drop off location across the border. My friend will be picking it up today on his work route and bring it back to Canada for me I'm over the moon excited!

New lights are so exciting!

 

[dick23rk]

Pro Mix is available in the US. What you talking about? Pretty sure @InTheShed isnt importing it. Before switching to coots I was growing in pro mix hp cc which has coco. Good stuff.

Maybe it's a little different than the promix here? Not sure honestly. Maybe at one point it wasn't available in the US? I always used promix hp but there wasn't any bales when I went looking. So went with sunshine #4

New lights are so exciting!

You're right, work needs to be done fast haha. He will be back this afternoon with it.