New RDWC Hydro Grow - Apples and Bananas - BudBuilders

[SweetLeafGrow]

I'm getting off to another start in this 4 site system and hoping I do better than I did for the maiden voyage. This system has proved to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated but hoping to learn from my mistakes and forge full steam ahead

On Wednesday, I got in and got the system drained and cleaned out, then this morning when I got home filled and loaded the res as follows.

Approximately 28 gallons RO water. My RO tank is getting some contamination and I have yet to figure it out so my starting ppm was right at 99, we'll call it 100 with a pH of 7.8.

Added 50 ml AgSil 16 - ppm @131, pH 9.0
Added 49 ml PH Down - ppm @141, pH 6.1
Added 13 ml Cal/Mag (50 ppm) - ppm @190
Added 50 ml Hydgrozyme (1/2 dose)
Added 30 ml each GH brown, green, and pink. ppm @310
PH Down 13 ml - pH 5.8
Added 50 ml Hydroguard

I've got 4 clones from an Apples and Bananas that are fully rooted and waiting to go in the system. Will likely let the system run overnight and put the clones in tomorrow morning, but I may do it this afternoon if I have time, have to work at the bar tonight.

Only thing I really need to do is figure this light out, hanging distance, intensity etc.

 

[steamroller]

First in on this~!

 

[Cool_Beans]

Nice! In 2nd let's go SLG

 

[smoke]

3rd

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

Thanks guys, glad to have you along for the ride!

So the system has been running for about 24 hours, had to pH down from 6.3 this morning and the ppm's climbed ever so slightly, not sure if it just settled in or there is some evaporation going on, sitting @320 and adjusted pH to 5.7.

Got the 4 best looking clones out of the 6 I took snips for and got them in the system, ready to rock and roll the Apples and Bananas!

I brought the light down to 8-10" above the plants, changed to a veg spectrum and set the intensity to 20%.

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

Trying to get some updates today, these gals have been in the system about a week and are doing pretty good. I topped them all yesterday and will need to start some LST soon. From what I can tell, the res has been pretty steady, still building the buffer but nothing crazy going on.

Still running low on ppms at around 350 but thinking I might need to amend that up very soon, seeing some paleness and watching closely. Roots look good.

I

 

[smoke]

Explosive growth top and bottom. Looking real good imo

Im currently 10 days ahead of you for comparison sake. (And i am)

 

[GoodShit97]

Trying to get some updates today, these gals have been in the system about a week and are doing pretty good. I topped them all yesterday and will need to start some LST soon. From what I can tell, the res has been pretty steady, still building the buffer but nothing crazy going on.

Still running low on ppms at around 350 but thinking I might need to amend that up very soon, seeing some paleness and watching closely. Roots look good.

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They look so happy in there bro!!
Cant wait to watch this one unfold.

 

[smoke]

To compare root growth/looks i though id post mine today. You are running live correct ?

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

Thanks guys, hopefully I can keep this going!

Smoke, your roots look great. Remember I am running the 4" net pots and I believe you have the 8". I think that is why mine are showing more, I'm betting you are clearing showing a week ahead in that larger net pot.

Yes, I am running live with hydroguard. Also running some enzymes and I got some of those biomedia filter blocks for the bacteria colony. I just put them in another res for a few days from the last grow while this one was being cleaned etc, then transferred them back once I got the system running. I can't see it, but I have to assume the colony got a great headstart using these.

 

[smoke]

Thanks guys, hopefully I can keep this going!

Smoke, your roots look great. Remember I am running the 4" net pots and I believe you have the 8". I think that is why mine are showing more, I'm betting you are clearing showing a week ahead in that larger net pot.

Yes, I am running live with hydroguard. Also running some enzymes and I got some of those biomedia filter blocks for the bacteria colony. I just put them in another res for a few days from the last grow while this one was being cleaned etc, then transferred them back once I got the system running. I can't see it, but I have to assume the colony got a great headstart using these.

My net pots are 5.5" from current the culture store to fit in their "current culture lids" that you buy at the current culture store.

Yes, I am running live with hydroguard. Also running some enzymes and I got some of those biomedia filter blocks for the bacteria colony. I just put them in another res for a few days from the last grow while this one was being cleaned etc, then transferred them back once I got the system running. I can't see it, but I have to assume the colony got a great headstart using these.

I was looking at those bio blocks today and thinking.
I know moe mentioned the other day about moving air stones and a couple blocks to his new start. In veg i don't think I've ever changed the water out so when i move to the flower room i take a gal of water with them. I don't know if thats even necessary

 

[Nesta]

Damn SLG! Those roots took off! Looking great as usual.

 

[smoke]

Added 30 ml each GH brown, green, and pink. ppm @310

Slg, im curious about the ratio's your using in your veg formula, ie: where did it come from?

For comparison the formula i have bean using in veg is 3 green to 2 brown to 1 pink. (15cc,10cc, 5cc)

For comparison now in my grow, i fed on top of what my starting base was (290 ppm/700) i gave them 15 cc green 10 cc brown and 5 cc pink which we call a single dose and will increase our ppms by 30 ppm/700 the first week in, then the second week i gave them a second single dose which brought the ppm up to 350ppm/700. Yesterday which was day 20 in my system and the ppm for the first time fell and settled at 340ppm.

From what I can tell, the res has been pretty steady, still building the buffer but nothing crazy going on.

What do you mean when you say "still building the buffer"
Tks

 

[GrumpAzz]

Slg, im curious about the ratio's your using in your veg formula, ie: where did it come from?

For comparison the formula i have bean using in veg is 3 green to 2 brown to 1 pink. (15cc,10cc, 5cc)

For comparison now in my grow, i fed on top of what my starting base was (290 ppm/700) i gave them 15 cc green 10 cc brown and 5 cc pink which we call a single dose and will increase our ppms by 30 ppm/700 the first week in, then the second week i gave them a second single dose which brought the ppm up to 350ppm/700. Yesterday which was day 20 in my system and the ppm for the first time fell and settled at 340ppm.

What do you mean when you say "still building the buffer"
Tks

Not sure what his base is but with my setup, the Agsil seems to take a few days of pH Down to level out. Afterwards, though, I've been able to go a week or two at a time without adding anything.

I top-off with mostly RO that's 5.5-5.8 already. It's roughly 3:1 as I added 10 gallons of RO to about 5 gallons of my nute mix. Ppms have finally started trickling down slowly. She's drank half of the top-off res so far, ~7.5 gallons.

This is my first grow so I may be doing things wrong but my plant seems to love it.

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

Slg, im curious about the ratio's your using in your veg formula, ie: where did it come from?

For comparison the formula i have bean using in veg is 3 green to 2 brown to 1 pink. (15cc,10cc, 5cc)

For comparison now in my grow, i fed on top of what my starting base was (290 ppm/700) i gave them 15 cc green 10 cc brown and 5 cc pink which we call a single dose and will increase our ppms by 30 ppm/700 the first week in, then the second week i gave them a second single dose which brought the ppm up to 350ppm/700. Yesterday which was day 20 in my system and the ppm for the first time fell and settled at 340ppm.

What do you mean when you say "still building the buffer"
Tks

So what I did smoke is I took the clone feeding ratios off the GH feeding chart which says use a 1:1:1 ratio. I've been noticing some paleness so I upped things from that 350 range to close to 500 this morning.

I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do or not, but what I did there is I looked at the GH chart for early veg and got that ratio, then subtracted the number of ml's I used initially from those numbers. That gave me the difference between the 1:1:1 base I had in the res, and what I need to add to bring the whole ppm up to that next stage ratio, if that makes sense.

Here is a run down of what I did this morning, all referenced from the GH feeding chart. I only followed this chart for the ratios themselves and added slowly and conservatively to not go over.

Clone Ratios and what I used for the initial res. 30 ml is what I added of each, ppms around 350 as I remember.
Brown - 1.8 ml per gallon
Green- 1.8 ml per gallon
Pink- 1.8 ml per gallon

The difference between these two ratios are- 1.8 Brown, 1.6 Green, and .8 for Pink.

Early Veg Ratios and what I used to amend. Amounts listed below.
Brown - 3.6 ml per gallon - I amended 36 ml.
Green- 3.4 ml per gallon- I amended 32 ml.
Pink- 2.6 ml per gallon- I amended 16 ml.

Again, not sure if this is the right thing to do or not but it's what I did and will be watching. Brought me to right around 450 ppm.

Buffer as I understand it is the water's ability to resist ph swings. I don't fully understand it but it's a desirable thing to have.

 

[GrumpAzz]

Your amounts and ppms fall right in line with mine. I did the same, almost. I added mostly green at the start. And slowly worked my way up. When I amended the first time, I also followed the chart and ended around 350. Second amendment brought me up to 480 and then I added some epsom for a supposed mag deficiency and that put me at 520.

I think I'm planning a res change when I flip to flower. I'd just like to know pretty close to exactly what's in there at pretty much the halfway mark for me. I'd just be quessing what she's eaten, otherwise.

 

[smoke]

It seems i break all the rules, ive had 6 plants now in my 50 gal system for 21 days.

What ive fed to date. 125 ml calmag, 30 ml green 20 ml brown 10 ml pink.

I feed 3 2 1 all the way through veg, switch to 1 1 1 when moved to the flower room (transition for a week to 10 days) then the flowering rates.

Imo slg, your needing more n

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

Imo slg, your needing more n

Thanks bro and I agree. I am watching this new amendment closely to see if things get resolved.

 

[smoke]

Thanks bro and I agree. I am watching this new amendment closely to see if things get resolved.

And less k

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

I finally got in and did some LST on these gals this morning. Went pretty well, cept'n I snapped a main branch on one, we'll call it topping . Tried to tape it up but the last bit that was still connected broke during the process. I pulled a few of the plate sized fans off and took off some lower branching. Roots look good, pH has been still dropping slightly on me but seems to be stabilizing.

When I top off, now I have been going to amending the top off water to reflect the ppms I am running to see if that is changing. So far, everything has been static with the ppms, starting to understand a bit about the pH - PPM imbalances. Last week, I bumped everything up to around 475-500 range and they definitely responded positively, no more paleness and they're taking off up top.

I've still got the light dialed back and waiting a bit more to start to bring that up.

One other thing @Moe.Red, some feedback on the Cannabis Caddies. I am imagining you have already figured this out, but the tie downs have proved to be a bit cumbersome. They do work but are a bit of a pita. What I did to make things easier, is I took a piece of the horticulture wire and ran it through the holes all the way around the ring and then used that to tie the branches down with. If you look close at the after group photo, you will see what I am referring to.

 

[ZombieRider]

Slg, im curious about the ratio's your using in your veg formula, ie: where did it come from?

For comparison the formula i have bean using in veg is 3 green to 2 brown to 1 pink. (15cc,10cc, 5cc)

For comparison now in my grow, i fed on top of what my starting base was (290 ppm/700) i gave them 15 cc green 10 cc brown and 5 cc pink which we call a single dose and will increase our ppms by 30 ppm/700 the first week in, then the second week i gave them a second single dose which brought the ppm up to 350ppm/700. Yesterday which was day 20 in my system and the ppm for the first time fell and settled at 340ppm.

What do you mean when you say "still building the buffer"
Tks

What is your reason for going more green and less brown in veg? I have been going with a 2:2:2 ratio in veg: 12ml Calimagic, 12ml Micro, 12ml Grow, 12ml Bloom. I think thats 2:2:2...still learning ma ratiozzz.

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

Got in and did another round of LST yesterday, took a few fans here and there. This grow is dialed in so far, pH stable with very slight rise, ppm's staying constant and they are drinking a couple gallons a day. I've been amending my top off water straight away and watching ppm/ec balance, seems to be going fairly well in all 3 of mine and the Mrs 3 grows, I'm starting to understand that balancing act that @Anthem275 has been trying to teach me. I'm running early veg on the GH ratios, cal/mag and agsil 16, buffer seems to be well established but does need slight adjustments when I add more nutrients....normal from what I can tell.

I've got some plastic trellis material coming soon and will get that installed when it gets here, going to try to scrog these the way @CannaGranny is teaching so I'd imagine I let the go for now and throw that scrog in there and push everything under it. I've thought about leaving them to go naturally, I'm super tired and generally not feeling well overall, but decided to suck it up and try to train these for a better yield.

Photos tell the story, still running < 500 ppm but will likely boost that up a bit based on what the single site plant is doing, same strain and the mother of these 4. I'm thinking these gals will be ready to flip before the end of the month and maybe sooner.

 

[smoke]

What is your reason for going more green and less brown in veg? I have been going with a 2:2:2 ratio in veg: 12ml Calimagic, 12ml Micro, 12ml Grow, 12ml Bloom. I think thats 2:2:2...still learning ma ratiozzz.

Ive bean using these proportions 321in veg then 222 transition 123 flower.
I measure feed daily according to their appetite. Today for example they ate good yesterday so today they got a double dose 30 20 10ml which is about 60 ppm/700

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

Ive bean using these proportions 321in veg then 222 transition 123 flower.

Hey smoke, so do you change out the res every time you change the ratios or do you just top off with the new ratios?

This is very interesting to see how you do things knowing how good you and your bride are at what you do. I'm still new to this so it's fascinating to me how different people do things and just observing all the different methods and paths to get to the same place.

 

[Pipecarver]

Ive bean using these proportions 321in veg then 222 transition 123 flower.
I measure feed daily according to their appetite. Today for example they ate good yesterday so today they got a double dose 30 20 10ml which is about 60 ppm/700

View attachment 13641

Wow, that's almost double what I give mine at times I never give more than 5 -6 ml/gal Grow & the same with Micro, I rarely give more than 5-6ml/gal............in soil/promix & in a reservoir system with Auto Pots....but I'm learning it all..I've always fed pretty even as in 2/2/2/.....3/3/3/....5/5/5 until flowering and I start upping the Bloom and cutting back 1 ml/gal grow at 2 weeks in flower 5/4/7 ml/g....at 3 weeks 5/4/10/....M/G/B

 

[smoke]

Hey smoke, so do you change out the res every time you change the ratios or do you just top off with the new ratios?

This is very interesting to see how you do things knowing how good you and your bride are at what you do. I'm still new to this so it's fascinating to me how different people do things and just observing all the different methods and paths to get to the same place.

SLG, when i switch to a new formula every module on the floor (5 of them) will be changed out with new (fresh) RO water and new nute ratios My top up "rez" only holds RO water with calmag

 

[smoke]

Wow, that's almost double what I give mine at times I never give more than 5 -6 ml/gal Grow & the same with Micro, I rarely give more than 5-6ml/gal............in soil/promix & in a reservoir system with Auto Pots....but I'm learning it all..I've always fed pretty even as in 2/2/2/.....3/3/3/....5/5/5 until flowering and I start upping the Bloom and cutting back 1 ml/gal grow at 2 weeks in flower 5/4/7 ml/g....at 3 weeks 5/4/10/....M/G/B

Pipe, what's the total ppm your feeding you plants? Today when i did chores the ppm was at 340 ppm/700 so they got a double dose 30gro 20micro 10. When i left the room the ppms/700 scale were at 400ppm or about 300ppm/500

 

[Pipecarver]

Pipe, what's the total ppm your feeding you plants? Today when i did chores the ppm was at 340 ppm/700 so they got a double dose 30gro 20micro 10. When i left the room the ppms/700 scale were at 400ppm or about 300ppm/500

The last I looked I was around 675 - 3 weeks into flower. I'll read it again today when I feed another 3 gal.....I've never gone higher than 6ml grow/gallon....... my house well water is about 122 ppm....at 3 weeks I'll start adding 5ml Cal/Mag/gal......I use Micro/Grow/Bloom/ 4ml Diamond Nectar/gal/ 1/3tsp Kool Bloom starting at 3 weeks and 1 ml Hyclean.............in soil I switch to Flurolicious plus instead of Diamond Nectar.

 

[Pipecarver]

The last I looked I was around 675 - 3 weeks into flower. I'll read it again today when I feed another 3 gal.....I've never gone higher than 6ml grow/gallon....... my house well water is about 122 ppm....at 3 weeks I'll start adding 5ml Cal/Mag/gal......I use Micro/Grow/Bloom/ 4ml Diamond Nectar/gal/ 1/3tsp Kool Bloom starting at 3 weeks and 1 ml Hyclean.............in soil I switch to Flurolicious plus instead of Diamond Nectar.

PPm was 585 today in the reservoir. I need to add another 3 gal and I'll check each additive as I add them.....I added a 1 liter frozen bottle of water into the res. I could smell it when I opened the lid and that's not good, it didn't smell sour just nutrient odor but I don't get that whiff when its cool .

 

[smoke]

I'm getting off to another start in this 4 site system and hoping I do better than I did for the maiden voyage. This system has proved to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated but hoping to learn from my mistakes and forge full steam ahead

On Wednesday, I got in and got the system drained and cleaned out, then this morning when I got home filled and loaded the res as follows.

Approximately 28 gallons RO water. My RO tank is getting some contamination and I have yet to figure it out so my starting ppm was right at 99, we'll call it 100 with a pH of 7.8.

Added 50 ml AgSil 16 - ppm @131, pH 9.0
Added 49 ml PH Down - ppm @141, pH 6.1
Added 13 ml Cal/Mag (50 ppm) - ppm @190
Added 50 ml Hydgrozyme (1/2 dose)
Added 30 ml each GH brown, green, and pink. ppm @310
PH Down 13 ml - pH 5.8
Added 50 ml Hydroguard

I've got 4 clones from an Apples and Bananas that are fully rooted and waiting to go in the system. Will likely let the system run overnight and put the clones in tomorrow morning, but I may do it this afternoon if I have time, have to work at the bar tonight.

Only thing I really need to do is figure this light out, hanging distance, intensity etc.

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Hey @SweetLeafGrow , those float rings you have on your probes are they something available or did you make them. Im having different readings from different monitors with what my different blue lab monitors and im woundering if its because i just throw them in the tote.