The Vivosun Bud Factory: Dessert Time! 5x5 VSF6450 RDWC

[LKABudMan]

The Vivosun Bud Factory
Featuring the VIVOSUN Smart Grow System and the VSF6450
Sponsored by VIVOSUN​

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Welcome to the Vivosun Bud Factory, a Vivosun 5x5 (60x60x80) advanced grey tent equipped with a custom Vivosun Smart Grow System (SGS) with a Vivosun VSF6450 and a 45g 4-site RDWC system.

Vivosun Smart Grow System settings: ** Seedling Mode ** (Vegetative scheduled 5/1)

• Light - Vivosun VSF6450
  • 22:00-04:00 OFF
  • 04:00-22:00 Spectrum:Seedling, Intensity:40%, Simulate Sunrise/Sunset (12 DLI / 9200 LUX / 175 PPFD)
• Circulation - Vivosun AeroWave E6
  • 00:00-24:00 Speed 2 (20%) Oscillating
• Exhaust - Vivosun 6" AeroZesh
  • 22:00-04:00 75% RH, Speed 1, Default off
  • 04:00-22:00 High 82F / 80% RH, Speed 3, Default off

Other Equipment:
- Vivosun Humidifier set to 75% warm mist + ionize
- Vivosun 13" Air Circulator oscillating horizontally on speed# 1
- Vivosun AeroWave A6 on low oscillating

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Date: 4/21/23 Day# 2​

Strains: Banana Pudding (BP), Mango Mousse (MM), Apply Betty (AB), Forbidden Fruit (FF)
Nutrients: Stout MSA, MC, Voodoo Juice, Pirhana, Hydroguard, z7
Medium: 8" Netpots with clay balls in RDWC system (5x13g buckets)

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Temperatures

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I went ahead and put BP and FF in the RDWC system, only two days after the other two. They're still pretty small, but if they're going to grow roots they may as well be in the RDWC. AB & MM sprouted 5 days before the other two, but I kept them in the pucks longer to try to even everyone out.

I actually have two FF: the original one that was planted and came out after 7 days, and the second one planted and sprouted after three days. The original FF never looked very healthy and is growing a bit wonky. I ended up using the second FF, which looks healthy if not a bit short.

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

Seedlings in tray

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

Seedlings in the pucks

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

Banana Pudding day# 3

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

FF1

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

Top view of seedlings

I received my @DYNOMYCO prize today and I think they may have the best packaging out there.

I used it on the plugs and in the clay pebbles when I put the two seedlings in. They were so small I couldn't bury them much. I did carefully cover the plugs with hydroton, being careful not to mess with the seedling too much.

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

Forbidden Fruit seedling in 8" netpot

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

RWDC system waiting for the last seedling

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

Banana Pudding in the RDWC

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

Forbidden Fruit in the RDWC

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

Everyone is in place

I have the @VIVOSUN SGS set up for a .6-.8 VPD, allowing them plenty of moisture in the air while they get their roots under them. I'll monitor the RDWC and keep it at around 5.8 and 250ppm until I see roots getting established, then I'll start taking up the PPM. It usually takes a week or two for the roots to get going, then everything goes quickly. For now, it's been a few months since I've had plants in the Bud Factory so I'm just going to enjoy it. As long as I remember to fill the humidifier every day or so, the @VIVOSUN Smart Grow System is taking care of everything else.

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 21, 2023
• lovewhatyougrow vivosun

Vivosun Bud Factory

#VIVOSUN #LoveWhatYouGrow

 

[HashGirl]

Thanks for the tag, LKA. I know nothing about RDWC. Can you give me a quick and easy lesson?

 

[LKABudMan]

Hi HashGirl! DWC (Deep Water Culture) is roots in water with an air stone. For my first grow, I had four 5G buckets for four plants. Each bucket had to be measured and maintained separately. Luckily my wife and son were helping, because it's a lot of work to take care of four 5g buckets. Each one only hold about 3.5 gallon when full, and the plants can drink > 1G/day in late flower. Because there is so little water in each bucket, PPM & pH fluctuates a lot.

Then I upgraded to my RDWC (Recirculating DWC). Now I have five buckets, the four grow buckets and a fifth outside the tent (the res). All of the buckets are connected by a 4" white pipe near the bottom of the buckets. The res has a pump connected to it that pumps 400G/hour (100G/hour to each of the four sites inside the tent) through the 1/2" black tubing you see near the tops of the buckets. As the res pumps water to each of the 4 plants (near the top in a 'waterfall'), the water flows back through the bottom pipes to the res. The entire system acts as a single 45 gallon 'bucket' feeding four plants. The pH and PPM are much more stable and any water/nutrients can be added to the res without even opening the tent.

The upside of RDWC is that it's a lot easier to maintain. The only downside is that each plant has to be fed the same nutrients. This is my first time with four different strains so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping the @Prescription Blend is good enough to handle them all

 

[jonoldstyle]

What a setup!

 

[StoneOtter]

Banana Pudding (BP), Mango Mousse (MM), Apply Betty (AB), Forbidden Fruit (FF)

Bring it!

I received my @DYNOMYCO prize today and I think they may have the best packaging out there

That's true but it's also magic!

 

[gwhunran]

Thanks , This is the first time I've considered exactly how it's working.

The big white pipes at the bottom just keep everything leveled up by gravity? No water pumps involved, except the one pumping water from the reservoir through the small hose dumping waterfall action nutrient water near the top of the bucket.

Is the water pumping and waterfalling mainly for aeration?
You will already have roots in the water that's aerated with a stone.

 

[LKABudMan]

What a setup!

Thanks Jon, @VIVOSUN really hooked me up on this grow!

Bring it!

Oh I can't wait to fill this 5x5 with these four beauties.

That's true but it's also magic!

Absolutely. Any time I see roots I reach for my @DYNOMYCO

 

[LKABudMan]

Thanks , This is the first time I've considered exactly how it's working.

The big white pipes at the bottom just keep everything leveled up by gravity? No water pumps involved, except the one pumping water from the reservoir through the small hose dumping waterfall action nutrient water near the top of the bucket.

That's correct. Once all of the buckets are connected with the 4" pipes on the bottom, it's basically one big bucket. There is a 'caterpillar' pipe that goes through the tent opening to the res outside the tent, but the water level stays higher than that.

Is the water pumping and waterfalling mainly for aeration?
You will already have roots in the water that's aerated with a stone.

The waterfall aeration is a bonus. The water pumping keeps everything the same PPM & pH and keeps the nutrients mixed. Without that I'd need to maintain the buckets separately, and from inside the tent. Since the whole system is just one big bucket that's constantly stirred, I can test and add to the RES to maintain the entire system.

 

[gwhunran]

I like it. I guess they've figured out the plumbing perfectly by now and worked all the bugs out. I can imagine the early adopters dealing with a few leaks. That's one reason I put my water pump tube and overflow fitting in the center of the tray and put he reservoir directly under it, so if it leaks it leaks into the reservoir.

 

[LKABudMan]

I like it. I guess they've figured out the plumbing perfectly by now and worked all the bugs out. I can imagine the early adopters dealing with a few leaks. That's one reason I put my water pump tube and overflow fitting in the center of the tray and put he reservoir directly under it, so if it leaks it leaks into the reservoir.

When I first hooked it up it had a small leak in the 1/2" tubing. It sealed itself in 15 minutes, and I haven't had a leak since (knock on wood). I have a Govee water sensor in the Bud Factory and another beside the res, just in case. The biggest problem with RDWC is that the return pipes get clogged, which is why these are 4" pipes. I've had roots make it into the res before, but nowhere near clogging the pipes.

 

[Grand Daddy Black]

When I first hooked it up it had a small leak in the 1/2" tubing. It sealed itself in 15 minutes, and I haven't had a leak since (knock on wood). I have a Govee water sensor in the Bud Factory and another beside the res, just in case. The biggest problem with RDWC is that the return pipes get clogged, which is why these are 4" pipes. I've had roots make it into the res before, but nowhere near clogging the pipes.

Wait. You mean roots travelled through the pipes and reached the res outside of the tent? That's amazing!

 

[LKABudMan]

Wait. You mean roots travelled through the pipes and reached the res outside of the tent? That's amazing!

On my second RDWC, the Mimosa x Orange Punch. See this post. It happened twice on that grow. I just put on gloves and pulled them back through to the bucket. Then I loosely tie them in a knot to keep them from flowing back into the pipe.

I have a wall-mounted hydro lettuce grower in my salad tent, and the roots make it back into the res all the time (all the way through the black drain on the bottom left to the res outside the tent). I've seen over a foot of roots coming out of the drain in the res.

#Vivosun #LoveWhatYouGrow

 

[gwhunran]

Roots following the nutes has been a "rule" for me in hydroponics.
That's one reason I have maintenance holes in my pvc tray covers. They are right above the water pump tray fitting and overflow fitting. So I can reach my hand in there and clear out the roots following the pump hose.
I had a grow where the roots had followed the hose down towards the pump and it was causing a very very slow drain back into the reservoir.
I've already had my hand in there this year clearing roots away from the inflow fitting.

 

[LKABudMan]

The Vivosun Bud Factory
Featuring the VIVOSUN Smart Grow System and the VSF6450
Sponsored by VIVOSUN​

---

Welcome to the Vivosun Bud Factory, a Vivosun 5x5 (60x60x80) advanced grey tent equipped with a custom Vivosun Smart Grow System (SGS) with a Vivosun VSF6450 and a 45g 4-site RDWC system.

Vivosun Smart Grow System settings: ** Seedling Mode ** (Vegetative scheduled 5/1)

• Light - Vivosun VSF6450
  • 22:00-04:00 OFF
  • 04:00-22:00 Spectrum:Seedling, Intensity:40%, Simulate Sunrise/Sunset (12 DLI / 9200 LUX / 175 PPFD)
• Circulation - Vivosun AeroWave E6
  • 00:00-24:00 Speed 2 (20%) Oscillating
• Exhaust - Vivosun 6" AeroZesh
  • 22:00-04:00 75% RH, Speed 1, Default off
  • 04:00-22:00 High 82F / 80% RH, Speed 3, Default off

Other Equipment:
- Vivosun Humidifier set to 75% warm mist + ionize
- Vivosun 13" Air Circulator oscillating horizontally on speed# 1
- Vivosun AeroWave A6 on low oscillating

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Date: 4/25/23 Day# 6
Strains: Banana Pudding (BP), Mango Mousse (MM), Apply Betty (AB), Forbidden Fruit (FF)
Nutrients - Stout MSA, Megacrop, Voodoo Juice, Pirhana, Hydroguard, z7
Medium - 8" Netpots with clay balls in RDWC system (5x13g buckets)

---

Temperatures

There's not much happening in the Vivosun Bud Factory yet. I'm still waiting for the roots to get down into the buckets. Until then, I have the humidifier set to 70% keeping plenty of moisture in the tent (as long as I remember to fill it). With a VPD < 1, these girls have no problem getting their moisture from the air while they work to get their roots down to the water.

I used to hand water them for the first week or so, but now I just let them figure it out. They'll chase the moisture from under the buckets without any help. In the next few days those roots will reach the water and then we'll really get started. Until then, I'm just filling the humidifier daily and letting them do their thing!

#VIVOSUN #LoveWhatYouGrow

 

[InTheShed]

and 2 weeks behind on everything!

 

[LKABudMan]

and 2 weeks behind on everything!

and you've missed nothing. Today, though, the Mango Mousse is the first to start showing roots coming out of the netpot. Once those roots get down into the water and I drop the RH down then we'll really get started!

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 26, 2023

Mango Mousse day# 7 - Roots starting to peek out of the netpot

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 26, 2023

Mango Mousse day# 7

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• LKABudMan
• Apr 26, 2023
• lovewhatyougrow vivosun

Vivosun Bud Factory - Day# 7

#VIVOSUN #LoveWhatYouGrow

 

[LKABudMan]

The Vivosun Bud Factory
Featuring the VIVOSUN Smart Grow System and the VSF6450
Sponsored by VIVOSUN​

---

Welcome to the Vivosun Bud Factory, a Vivosun 5x5 (60x60x80) advanced grey tent equipped with a custom Vivosun Smart Grow System (SGS) with a Vivosun VSF6450 and a 45g 4-site RDWC system.

Vivosun Smart Grow System settings: ** Vegetative Mode **

• Light - Vivosun VSF6450
  • 22:00-04:00 OFF
  • 04:00-22:00 Spectrum:Vegetative, Intensity:60%, Simulate Sunrise/Sunset (24 DLI)
• Circulation - Vivosun AeroWave E6
  • 00:00-04:00 Speed 1 (10%) Oscillating
  • 00:04-22:00 Natural breeze Oscillating
  • 22:00-24:00 Speed 2 (20%) Oscillating
• Exhaust - Vivosun 6" AeroZesh
  • 22:00-04:00 62% RH, Speed 4, Default off
  • 04:00-22:00 High 82F / 66% RH, Speed 6, Default off

Other Equipment:
- Vivosun Humidifier set to 60% warm mist + ionize
- Vivosun 13" Air Circulator oscillating horizontally on speed# 1
- Vivosun AeroWave A6 on low oscillating

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Date: 5/1/23 Day# 12​

Strains: Banana Pudding (BP), Mango Mousse (MM), Apply Betty (AB), Forbidden Fruit (FF)
Nutrients - Stout MSA, Megacrop, Voodoo Juice, Pirhana, Hydroguard, z7
Medium - 8" Netpots with clay balls in RDWC system (5x13g buckets)

---

The @VIVOSUN SGS switched over to vegetative mode this morning, right on schedule. It moves them up to about 20-25DLI. It also raises the VPD above 1, meaning it's time for these girls to start drinking more from their roots.

This morning, I finally saw roots coming out of the bucket for the BP, and she was the last one I was waiting for. Right in time, too, as they're all starting to look a bit light-colored.

With the VPD and DLI both going up, it's time to feed these girls! I've started increasing the PPM, 20g of MC at a time, until I get to about 500ppm (1 EC). In the next week they'll really start drinking. As the PPM goes down I'll top off with full-strength (6g/G) nutrients. I'd like to get the res up to 1000ppm (2 EC) by the time they start flower. That's right around where the @Prescription Blend will pick them up and take them the rest of the way.

Dessert RDWC Tracker.png

• LKABudMan
• May 1, 2023

Dessert RDWC Tracker

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• LKABudMan
• May 1, 2023

Top view Day# 12

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• LKABudMan
• May 1, 2023

Apple Betty Day# 12

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• LKABudMan
• May 1, 2023

Mango Mouse Day# 12

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• LKABudMan
• May 1, 2023

Banana Pudding Day# 12

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• LKABudMan
• May 1, 2023

Forbidden Fruit Day# 12

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• LKABudMan
• May 1, 2023
• lovewhatyougrow vivosun vsf6450

The Vivosun Bud Factory Day# 12 under the VSF6450

#VIVOSUN #LoveWhatYouGrow

 

[InTheShed]

Best use of space blankets evah!

 

[LKABudMan]

Best use of space blankets evah!

I really should cover the sides of the buckets but I'm too lazy. Two more weeks and it won't matter anyways.

 

[InTheShed]

Why the sides and why won't it matter in two weeks?