TealAtlas: RDWC Hydro, Gelato/Blueberry, 2021, First Hydro Grow

[tealatlas]

Hey @tealatlas Mind if i pull up a chair for this one? I'm a sucker for DWC and RDWC grows and you have one clean set up in there. We actually eyeballed this kit before building our own RDWC system. So clean and simple.

Please do! Thanks for the kind words. This is the old "blackout series" UC4XL13 without some of the recent enhancements like easier-to-clean joints. I did adapt the epicenter with a new float valve from the new series. My setup looks exactly like the one below, except with a chiller on the return pump.

I hear from a few others that bluelab controller is the business. Any thoughts on it you'd care to share?

I can't lie, it was an impulse purchase. But what can I say? It just works. It's incredible. You calibrate it once a month just like you do with their other meters/controllers, set an on time/off time as well as a timeout in-between doses. Uses far less pH adjuster and stabilizes pH even as new RO flows into the res. It significantly minimizes the time I would spend pHing nutrient solution.

I don't have a cadence down yet, but my "weekly" plan is to set the pH controller to 6.5 as RO comes in, mix in nutes and let them bubble, set the controller to 5.8, let it bubble, and then change the solution.

But as far as the controller goes... if you've got your source water figured out and you're a pH master, it's less necessary than it would be otherwise. I have it connected to my res which can have a varied amount of water in it at any given time, so it's beneficial to me. Definitely worth it regardless though if you've got the cash. The more time spent training the girls the better!

 

[Michael Hunt]

What a great impulse purchase . Impulse purchases usually aren't that useful in our house lol.

I've got our water pretty much figured out, and can adjust it with my eyes closed damn near haha. But not having to do it myself at all would be great. I set ours to 5.6 in the early stages inching towards 5.8 closer to transition. then run 5.8 for the first 2-3 weeks of 12/12 and bump the tank to 6.0 until the end. And having a controller to do that for you. That would be the perfect hydro life right there

 

[tealatlas]

What a great impulse purchase . Impulse purchases usually aren't that useful in our house lol.

I've got our water pretty much figured out, and can adjust it with my eyes closed damn near haha. But not having to do it myself at all would be great. I set ours to 5.6 in the early stages inching towards 5.8 closer to transition. then run 5.8 for the first 2-3 weeks of 12/12 and bump the tank to 6.0 until the end. And having a controller to do that for you. That would be the perfect hydro life right there

I got used to adjusting the pH of my water during my last soil run... definitely could never quite do it with my eyes closed but the accuracy combined with the ease of use really did make the controller a worthwhile impulse purchase. Plus I have a Wyze Cam Pan positioned on it so I can check the pH of the res from my couch, so that's what really ties it all together.

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[tealatlas]

 

[Michael Hunt]

I got used to adjusting the pH of my water during my last soil run... definitely could never quite do it with my eyes closed but the accuracy combined with the ease of use really did make the controller a worthwhile impulse purchase. Plus I have a Wyze Cam Pan positioned on it so I can check the pH of the res from my couch, so that's what really ties it all together.

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i like the idea of the camera to monitor the system. Not only can you check your monitor, you could catch an overflow disaster before it got real bad from afar

 

[tealatlas]

i like the idea of the camera to monitor the system. Not only can you check your monitor, you could catch an overflow disaster before it got real bad from afar

Nailed it! haha the reason I have a Wyze Cam Pan there is so that I can see the pH monitor, the res, and an entry door all from one camera. It worked out pretty well

 

[tealatlas]

Today was topping day, so of course I took about a million photos. I also mounted an oscillating fan in my grow area... hopefully that will build up some nice strong stems. Meanwhile, the SCROG frame is built, I just have to finish the netting and mount it.

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Pre-Topping

 

[tealatlas]

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Post-Topping

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The Sacrificial Lambs

 

[tealatlas]

Everyone seems to be satisfied and happy. pH buffers are working well and are keeping the nutrient solution stable at 6.2 at ~170ppm. No nutrient fluctuations really as of yet. Grow tips are quickly emerging from the topping points.

And we finally finished the ScrOG net!

 

[tealatlas]

Week 3 starts today!

 

[tealatlas]

Week 3 started on 4/14. pH has been stable for the most part, apart from the natural curve up. EC has been noticeably going down, which is good to see. I will have to start premixing small batches of nutes in the res so that I'm topping off those PPM.

Other than that, I'm not seeing any noticable issues as of now.

 

[tealatlas]

Week 4 starts tomorrow, which means we'll be at max nute strength for veg! I'm expecting veg to last 6-8 weeks.

Question for anyone who knows -- I'm running out of Cultured Solutions coco cal, but I have some Botanicare Cal-Mag on hand. From the perspective of a nutrient mix, I would assume that cal-mag would be a pretty cut and dry formula. Is it okay if I deviate cal-mag brands? If not I can just get more coco cal.

 

[tealatlas]

Noticing some small spots on the leaf tips. Don't think it's nute burn, but it could be pH fluctuations, light, or heat stress. So I bumped up the humidity and turned off the blurple booster lights. I'm just using the Phlizon's full spectrum diodes at the moment until I figure this out. Meanwhile I'm on to week 4 nutes and I'll just be crossing my fingers that we don't have issues tbh

 

[tealatlas]

 

[tealatlas]

Not seeing any nutrient burn/light burn/whatever on the new growth, so I'm not too worried. But I'm still keeping my eye on things closely. Meanwhile they're vegging quick

 

[tealatlas]

Topping day #2! They look like hell at the moment, but I expect that they'll come back with a vengeance.

 

[tealatlas]

Also... does anyone know how to manage this pest?

 

[tealatlas]

Week 5 starts today!

 

[tealatlas]

Things have been fairly uneventful. I've been defoliating on an ongoing basis and probably doing a shitty job with LST. Since I'm so limited on space -- the contortion that I have had to do to get under the canopy is basically HST for myself. Pretty sure I supercropped my neck. But pH buffers are working well and the plants are drinking and eating. I'm running nutes slightly low, but overall I'm happy with the rate of growth and I haven't seen any signs of burn or lockout on new growth for a few weeks. Week six starts today and vanity photos are below.

 

[tealatlas]