First Grow: Hydro

[jagotf]

Tent - BudBox 120 XL Pro White
Lighting - HLG 600H
Ventilation - 6 inch carbon filter; 350CFM exhaust fan; 2 6" clip fans
Starter Medium - HTG Starter Plugs; plastic humidity dome; unaltered tap water
Long-term Medium - Hydro; clay pebbles
Nutrients - CX (Regen-A-Root; Wilt Guard; Hydro A; Hydro B)
EC in reservoirs - 1750-1850 us/cm
pH in reservoirs - 6.0-6.5
Ambient Climate (no humidifier) - 64-68F / 17-22% RH
Tent Climate (24hr humidifier) - 70-79F / 50-65% RH

Week 1 notes:
RH levels hard to maintain alongside internal heat with warm-mist humidifier. Solved by replacing with ultrasonic humidifier.
Light negative pressure in grow area with fan on lowest setting. Overbought, may re-buy or elongate ducting with turns to reduce velocity.
Plants were moved into tent 4-23 as they had outgrown plastic humidity dome.
Temporary 150w "full spectrum" light from hardware store installed, removed upon installation of
HLG light arrived 4-27, 4 days after moving plants.
Plants are light starved and stretched after dealing with fiasco for shipping light.
Plant 3 fell early afternoon 4-27. 3 is currently tied to a makeshift pole to prevent further damage to stalk.
Coloring seems light, may be due to lighting issue as well.
Plant 1 has light yellow spots on first row of leaves, growth seems stunted as well. Also attributing to negligent lighting.
Plants responding well to current nutrient solution, will continue with current levels for another week.
HLG currently hung approximately 36 inches from canopy, approximately 75% on included potentiometer.

Week 2 goals:
Solve negative pressure issue to exhaust higher heat from larger light.
Find happy-medium with light distance and intensity.
Diagnose yellow spotting on Plant 1.
Secure Plants 1 and 4 if necessary due to stretching.

Tent overview - week 1

Plant 1 - week 1

Plant 2 - week 1

Plant 3 - week 1

Plant 4 - week 1

 

[jagotf]

4-28:
Issue:
Heat and humidity have become a large issue overnight with the new light, even dimmed to 75% at ~36" above canopy. Room temps have come up to 76-78F, while the tent has risen to 85+F. RH has dropped into the low 40s, down from 55-60% the day before. Outside temps are low 40F's, other rooms in the house are around 67F, so central air is a non-option.

Remedy:
Opened the second passive inlet on the bottom of the tent; added a 4th 6" fan to turn a passive inlet into an active inlet; opened the venting above the door to the room to hopefully vent some more of the warm air into the rest of the house; increased volume of moisture being introduced by the humidifier to 3x previous amount.

Overall:
Plants seem to still be doing well in regards to color and new growth, may be slightly yellowing due to heat stress, will be keeping a close eye on them throughout the day. Will also research and brainstorm ways to either introduce more cool air, or vent more hot air, and implement as necessary.

 

[bluter]

hiya ..

they look a tad early to be in the big buckets. i used to move them when they were a bit bigger when i was in hydroton.

can't tell for sure about colour, but they might not be finding enough nutrients without a top feed.

 

[jagotf]

hiya ..

they look a tad early to be in the big buckets. i used to move them when they were a bit bigger when i was in hydroton.

can't tell for sure about colour, but they might not be finding enough nutrients without a top feed.

Appreciate the input. I was under the assumption that since they were still in the spongy starter plug they would be alright, since they're covered up to the stalk in water, and secured in place with the plug to give it routes to root. What would you suggest changing?

 

[bluter]

Appreciate the input. I was under the assumption that since they were still in the spongy starter plug they would be alright, since they're covered up to the stalk in water, and secured in place with the plug to give it routes to root. What would you suggest changing?

it's been a while. i did top feed til the roots hit the res then direct to root / bucket after. at that point you are relying on the res to feed and your stones and pump to roll a pile of air.


never used plugs tho. rockwool starter. probably behaves a touch similar. the plugs are smaller.

 

[bluter]

you can build a top feed for now if you want. super super easy.

take a three-sided tee and a length of hose. connect the hose to the two parallel sides, and poke a bunch of holes in it.
voila ! top feed circle.

 

[jagotf]

it's been a while. i did top feed til the roots hit the res then direct to root / bucket after. at that point you are relying on the res to feed and your stones and pump to roll a pile of air.


never used plugs tho. rockwool starter. probably behaves a touch similar. the plugs are smaller.

Yeah, by the time I actually moved them from the humidity dome to the reservoirs, at least 2 had roots out the bottoms of the plugs. Pump is going 24/7, so they're getting an aggregation of O2 at all times, but I might look into bigger airstones than the ones that came with this kit tho, they bottleneck the amount of air the pump can deliver by a long shot. I can hear when I reach the limits because the pump starts feeding back into itself.

 

[StoneOtter]

Love your setup Jagotf!

 

[bluter]

Yeah, by the time I actually moved them from the humidity dome to the reservoirs, at least 2 had roots out the bottoms of the plugs. Pump is going 24/7, so they're getting an aggregation of O2 at all times, but I might look into bigger airstones than the ones that came with this kit tho, they bottleneck the amount of air the pump can deliver by a long shot. I can hear when I reach the limits because the pump starts feeding back into itself.

air pump does nothing til roots hit the res ...

 

[jagotf]

air pump does nothing til roots hit the res ...

I should clarify, maybe. Can't get a good pic without fear of dropping my phone in the res right now, but the lids are these, and all roots are past the plastic and into the res itself. The plugs are resting on the center piece, so no pebbles to block growth past bottom of plug, and roots are reaching res. Am I still wrong in that train of thought that the airstones are still working as intended?

 

[jagotf]

4-29
Issues:
Still having trouble managing heat and humidity. Temp in tent still 86F, RH still under 50% at 9:30a.

Remedy:
Moved exhaust equipment around to open more area inside the tent. Moved 2 of the 6" fans to the top of the tent to blow down directly at the heat spreader for the light to help with the heat dissipation. Will venture to local hardware store today to see about portable air conditioning and a possible second humidifier. Will also purchase a watt meter to more accurately set light dimming. May order a CO2 monitor and add a CO2 bag depending on levels.

Overall:
New growth seems to be taking off exceptionally well under the new light with no stretching. Nutrients topped off, roughly one gallon split between the 4 reservoirs. Current nutrient solution still seems to be well rounded, will continue with current concentration at 1mL/L of regen-a-root and wilt guard, 2mL/L of hydro a and b. EC seemed high after mixing solution and pH correcting to roughly 6.0. Will clean mixing bucket and keep an eye out for issues. No new discoloration or light stressing noticeable.

 

[StoneOtter]

Sounds like you got this covered so far.

 

[jagotf]

Sounds like you got this covered so far.

Thanks! I'm primarily concerned about getting the heat down right now, but did just get an AC installed in the room the tent is in. Hopefully that should take care of that issue, then I'll worry about dialing in the humidity exactly. Plants are nowhere near as happy this afternoon as they were yesterday, but that should change.

 

[jagotf]

4-30
Issues:
Plants may take some time to recoup from the heat yesterday. Temps were 94F with 24% RH when i got home from the hardware store yesterday. While temps are under control today, could still benefit from another humidifier to bring the humidity up. RH still hovering around 40%.

Remedy:
Heat was managed by a full tent move to a larger room in the house, while adding a portable AC unit that vents directly out the window. High temp after the move last night was 79F, while the high temp this morning is 77F after 5 hours of the LED being on. May Amazon a second, or larger humidifier to install. If I can't find a desirable outcome from Amazon, will make another trip to the hardware store.

Overall:
While the humidity is not ideal, the temps are at this point. Going to watch growth to see if any signs of severe heat stress from yesterday become apparent today. Reservoir levels are acceptable, so will not be topping off. Watt meter tells me that from the wall the light is pulling 640W, as advertised. Have dimmed light to 531W since it is easy to replicate if the dial gets moved, and still using ~83% intensity at ~36 inches above canopy.
Patience will be a personal issue once the environment gets to where i need it.

 

[StoneOtter]

Good temps there Jag!

 

[jagotf]

Appreciate it stone! Was definitely a bit nervous when I got home and looked at the thermometer and saw 94F. Hopefully it doesnt have too much of an adverse side effect on them this early.

 

[StoneOtter]

These things want to live.

 

[jagotf]

I think I'm having a problem somewhere. I brought the temp down to 75F in the tent, the humidity up to 55%, but my seedlings are curling down. Leaves still feel sturdy and thick, colors aren't terrible, but don't seem right. Is this a nutrient problem? Something in the reservoirs? Deficiency somewhere? Am I just overthinking them? The worst of them seem to be Plants 3 and 4, could it be too much light to one side? There still seems to be a lot of growth overall today, but i need to keep better records with pictures.

Plant 1 also seems to still have a lot of yellow on the first set of non-serrated leaves.

Plant 2 isn't as bad, but still not as horizontal or upward pointing as i would like.

Plant 3 has a ton of yellowing at the center of everything, but still seems to be one of the ones to grow the most.

Plant 4, is where my concern mainly lies. Deep green coloring everywhere, but curling all the way back into itself.

Any help with this from someone with more experience would be extremely appreciated.

 

[StoneOtter]

They're still yellow, looking hungry to me. If they have roots in the rez, can you increase the nute strength? I looked at your PH mentioned earlier. 6.0 to 6.5. That's more a soil ph in my mind and might be causing a lockout of nutes. Check this chart out and use the hydro ph side. 5.5 to 6.1 is for hydro. By getting it in the zone it will in effect increase the nutes.

 

[jagotf]

They're still yellow, looking hungry to me. If they have roots in the rez, can you increase the nute strength? I looked at your PH mentioned earlier. 6.0 to 6.5. That's more a soil ph in my mind and might be causing a lockout of nutes. Check this chart out and use the hydro ph side. 5.5 to 6.1 is for hydro. By getting it in the zone it will in effect increase the nutes.

Awesome! I've got some higher nute solution mixed up. I think I'm going to drain the res's and do a top feed for a few days to flush the plugs and hopefully kickstart some more root growth. I 1.5x'd the A and B base nutes, as well as the regen-a-root mix i have in the lineup. Kept the 1x of wilt guard since they'll be free air to pebbles for a few days.