Stoney's Soil vs Hydro Apple Fritter Auto show

[SiamSam]

soil: mixed crab and lobster shell with stonington and watered in with great white, king crab, and green aminos
hydro: put seedlings in washed hydroton. water has floranova grow, orca, king crab, cal/mag - ppm: 256 pH: 5.6

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Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down, steady as she goes.

 

[Bandit420]

i was thinking maybe a boat or submarine, but nope got me a ducky!! .. maybe i should have gotten a toy aquaman!!! shhh.. don't tell him i said that.. he'll stop helping with my nutrient solution!! AM has been a great help with getting my ingredients sorted and dosages and tons of great info on how to learn it going forward myself the right way. i have zero hydro habits right now so if i never pick up any bad habits i'll only know the correct way! the easy part on me is most of you helping me all seem to agree on most things, of coarse not every single thing but shit who does with anything!

i feel as prepared as i possible can be at this point and just can't wait for their heads to pop up!! i haven't looked yet today soooo...



Oh man that is a collection of all kinds of awesome hydration, for me and plants!!! you got my tail wagging for sure my man!!

i don't need any of those 4" inch air stones though, i have a few here.. one even has a ring of led's around it!!!!

that is a good tip man, it's every bit of $30 w/tax. might be yet another thing i add to the prime sale list!! batteries, band-aids, and floranova!!

ya know when i first opened the bottle i spilled a little on the floor, i went oooo don't get this on your clothes!!!! i already have tiny dots sprayed on the lid already.. sloppy sloppy!! it's weird though once it's mixed with water it makes the water look like mud, then a little while longer it lightens up and looks lighter than iced tea right now. in the ducky pic you can even see the pvc pipe through it, and my pipes are grey not white. all i had on hand was pvc conduit. same material and dimension only it's made to be light proof. thats what it says on the side of the pipe anyway i'm no expert on pvc.

.

ya know i've had this cheapo ph pen for so many years now and i feel it's reliable. i got that probe kit and calibrated it with the two solutions, it's manual with a screw. and it was off by only 0.4!! i swear the drop solution i got with the GH up/down is what's throwing me off so bad. my dip strips are kinda close, it's hard to tell with those sometimes. and to be honest my strips are from when i worked in the semi conductor mfg stuff like 20 years old now i bet but they seem to be accurate with the pen and calibrating solutions. i have another set of solution test from a master pond tester but it is for a very broad test and only has five colors on it.

you're right i need to just pick the pen i trust and roll with it. it's why i bought a good one, i figured it was more important to know my ph more accurately than my nutrient level at this point. plus i was very surprised with my tds meters when i put in the solution, both were spot on and never needed any calibration. plus there are so many variable that will determine my nutrient needs that the number will probably just be a number for me not others. but PH is ph so i want to know as accurate as i can.

speaking of the tofu torching, i wish Anthem was still around to see this.. he and i discussed me trying a dwc setup and it would be cool for him to see. i know he would have done everything he could to make sure the hydro plants lapped the soil ones, he was competitive thats for sure!!

ya know i've shot up and set fire to plants that pissed me off, how come i never thought of an electronic meter??? great idea man!!!
i never did et to break this bad boy in yet...
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we got this oldie but goodie..
ya know, when you get that male plant and it really pissed ya off....

Blasting that feller never gets old!
I'm just surprised shooting a soil born plant didn't give @moe.red a boner

Fanciest pH probe I ever had was the kind where it had a digital display box mounted to the wall and wired probes down in the rez for continuous monitoring.
It was a POS.
Later after a few cheapies and spendy options the guy who got me into aquaponics kinda schooled me on them. Biggest thing I took away from those conversations is there was a reason why Hanna only had 3 week warranties on their probes at the time

soil: mixed crab and lobster shell with stonington and watered in with great white, king crab, and green aminos
hydro: put seedlings in washed hydroton. water has floranova grow, orca, king crab, cal/mag - ppm: 256 pH: 5.6

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And they're off!!!
For a minute there I wasn't sure if you were making fuel for a solid rocket engine or garden so now I know, yeah it's a garden.

Weird you dropped some Jane's Addiction too bro. I've had that cranked up in my truck all week!

Back in high school my friends and I would play that song when we drove down off the mountain to head to Berkeley for a punk rock show at Gilman Street Project. Great times getting high, dropping sid, and huffing on whipits

 

[Stoneyluv]

I ran 4:5:10 for a week and then 8:10:20 for a week. Then I hit them with 10:20:20 and right now they're at 25:50:50

yep, thats close enough for me... you got the big block so way more torque.. at five blades emerging i'll turn up the white.

Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down, steady as she goes.

yes sir!! or as i like to say, keep it between the mayo and the mustard!!

Blasting that feller never gets old!
I'm just surprised shooting a soil born plant didn't give @moe.red a boner

Fanciest pH probe I ever had was the kind where it had a digital display box mounted to the wall and wired probes down in the rez for continuous monitoring.
It was a POS.
Later after a few cheapies and spendy options the guy who got me into aquaponics kinda schooled me on them. Biggest thing I took away from those conversations is there was a reason why Hanna only had 3 week warranties on their probes at the time


And they're off!!!
For a minute there I wasn't sure if you were making fuel for a solid rocket engine or garden so now I know, yeah it's a garden.

Weird you dropped some Jane's Addiction too bro. I've had that cranked up in my truck all week!

Back in high school my friends and I would play that song when we drove down off the mountain to head to Berkeley for a punk rock show at Gilman Street Project. Great times getting high, dropping sid, and huffing on whipits

well if this doesn't pan out maybe i can sell the gear for making biofuel!!!!!!!!

man that's my all time JA favorite right there^^

ahhhhh whipits... i almost forgot those!!! wha wha whaw wha!!!

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got a tap root in the water today!!

 

[Zen_seeker]

Back in high school my friends and I would play that song when we drove down off the mountain to head to Berkeley for a punk rock show at Gilman Street Project. Great times getting high, dropping sid, and huffing on whipits

Lol, read this while eating one of these. Struck me as funny.

 

[Stoneyluv]

View attachment 69391

Lol, read this while eating one of these. Struck me as funny.

you're gonna eat something by a company named Dare?!?! ballsy!!!!!

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.

hung up some panda film..



and got serious with notes!!!

 

[Stoneyluv]

that old red mylar under the dirty plastic floor in the photo was bothering me... so were the messy cables!!

 

[Stoneyluv]

my first couple days with hydro have gone ok, pH was creeping up faster than expected. second day i lowered the ph with just ph down and ppm's were a little higher EC went from .4 to .6. third day the ph was back up three tenths again. and ppms were much higher. i looked at the charts and both of those charts said to do opposite things when both EC and PH rose so i did none of those and reached out to Aqua Man and he suggested just adding the armour si to buffer the ph.

i mixed it up in a jug this morning and went to work, pH in the rez was oddly still at 5.6 this time. after work i checked my mail and got my new bluelab ph pen, perfect timing!! calibrated it and happily it matched my cheapo i've been using to this point. so i checked the pH again and it was still at 5.6.. held all day, now in the evening and still holding steady at 5.6 and ppm's are right back in line at 252 EC @.4... weird to me. could i have had bad samples for three days, that doesn't make sense but either does it just magically balancing out perfect all of a sudden. it's been spot on for seventeen hours now so i'm not going to add the armour si yet. if it ain't broke don't fix it i guess. the only changes that happened that i can even think of is it got nice and cool last night and before bed i opened up all the basement windows and doors and sucked all kinds of fresh cool air in and it dropped three or four degrees. the rez temp also dropped a degree and a half. sitting at 68.5* right now.

so much to learn yet!!!!

.

they're alive though.. still only one root -







who's winning?? soil? h2o?.... tight race on day four!

anyone, thoughts? opinions? concerns? criticism?

 

[GoodShit97]

thoughts? opinions? concerns? criticism? actual fact?

Yeah.
You suck
Jk looks good man.

 

[Stoneyluv]

Yeah.
You suck
Jk looks good man.

see now that would fall under opinion not criticism.. or "actual fact" if you ask my woman!!

 

[GoodShit97]

see now that would fall under opinion not criticism.. or "actual fact" if you ask my woman!!

They're, I fixed it

 

[GrumpAzz]

Looking good bro. It's weird how the res settles but it eventually made sense, so it'll come. It's a good feeling when your res is rock solid. It's what allows me to borderline forget about the plants in the back room. Toddler and work's keeps me short on time. They get a peek through the window and a glance at the meter once a day at best.

-------

Man, Aqua's the damn man.

 

[Stoneyluv]

Looking good bro. It's weird how the res settles but it eventually made sense, so it'll come.

so it's normal for it to move around a bit at first when it's new? ppms went up 100parts the other day and now it's a little lower than it started.

i get that the ph could drift but i didn't expect that much change day to day. i was trying to keep it as close to 5.5 as i could and it was getting up to 5.8 around 24 hrs later.

It's what allows me to borderline forget about the plants in the back room. Toddler and work's keeps me short on time. They get a peek through the window and a glance at the meter once a day at best.

i can see why the live monitor helps. now because it's new i bet i'm down there six times a day! haha

Man, Aqua's the damn man.

yea ya know i didn't even have to ask him.. he reached out to me and offered.

 

[Stoneyluv]

@moe.red , would it be a reliable way to measure my rez using these three sensors with an eps32?

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

 

[GrumpAzz]

so it's normal for it to move around a bit at first when it's new? ppms went up 100parts the other day and now it's a little lower than it started.

Yeah there's normally not a ton of drift on the EC but it does happen occasionally. Once it settles it aughta stay put with just seedlings. They won't be able to eat enough yet to affect the EC readings.

i get that the ph could drift but i didn't expect that much change day to day. i was trying to keep it as close to 5.5 as i could and it was getting up to 5.8 around 24 hrs later.

I usually end up with a 5.7 ph when I mix. That usually drifts up and I don't bring it down until I see 6.2. I want to say the initial rise has to do with the Silica breaking down or becoming usable. I'm just spitballing

A natural drift is good and I like to see if it'll settle before I adjust. My range is 5.5 to 6.2

i can see why the live monitor helps. now because it's new i bet i'm down there six times a day! haha

Man it's a blessing for sure, and worth it to me. It'll be worth it for you too if you ever decide on a full on hydro go.

Side note... don't use duct tape to hold up sensitive electronics. I thought I was being slick and taped my monitors to my top-off res. It looked good, but eventually my newest monitor, the one for my top-off res, fell.and jerked out the wire from my ph probe. Now I gotta order a new probe...

yea ya know i didn't even have to ask him.. he reached out to me and offered.

He wants us to succeed and I just think that's awesome. If you can read through his fat-fingered messages, you'll gain a lot from listening to his advice. Hell.. I barely asked any questions on my second grow because he prepared me well enough through my first. Gotta love it.

 

[Aqua Man]

View attachment 69194

Some info is incorrect but oretty good chart.

In flower you may experience a static pH or small pH drop. This can be a concern and can be normal. If all else is good with a small pH drop its simply the difference in nutrient demands. Usually week 3ish. As nutrient demands change the release of h+ ions from the plant can increase resulting in a slow pH drift down. This can be addressed by slightly tweaking nutrients and adding more buffer

 

[moe.red]

@moe.red , would it be a reliable way to measure my rez using these three sensors with an eps32?

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Not sure man I have not used these. I can look a little deeper later.

They will work just don’t know accuracy

 

[moe.red]

Man I like I2C comms the best personally.

This would b a good start for environment

ESP32 Weather Station and Weather Instrument Kit,ESP32 WiFi+BT+BLE Integrated 0.96'' OLED Board DHT-11 Temperature Humidity BMP-180 Atmospheric Pressure BH1750 Light Sensor for Arduino IoT Starter
https://a.co/d/cuxWrRZ

I’ll look up some more gimme a bit. Handling some biz atm

I would not use that ph probe.

The temp probe is not I2C I’d get a probe that uses that and has temp and TDS in one then use the temp readout to compensate the ph reading in software.

At that point you can add any sensors you like at any time. I’ll explain more in a bit.

 

[moe.red]

Stoney scroll down a bit on this page

Unlock Precise Water Monitoring with Arduino's pH Sensor Kit

Transform your water quality projects with the advanced Arduino pH Sensor Kit. Dive into precise monitoring and long-term data collection. Ideal for developers!

www.dfrobot.com

Look at the project

You can start small and add what you want when you want like peristaltic pumps o2 co2 rh flow sensors level sensors and and and.

What I like about dfrobot and Adafruit is the software is done and done well. It will be easier than pulling parts from all over. The cheap Chinese shit looks great on the wallet but can drive you crazy. Typically the documentation is bad or just wrong.

 

[Stoneyluv]

I want to say the initial rise has to do with the Silica breaking down or becoming usable. I'm just spitballing

so a little food for thought.. AM says "the ph may rise due to the off gassing of carbonic acid released as co2. So after a day or 2 depending on aeration this may slow down as gasses reach equilibrium.

You can aerate the water before use for 12+ hrs it will remove that from the equation but as long as you are aware of that then no big deal may just need a few more adjustments the first couple days."

remember i wasted all my aerated water in my barrel from leak testing so when i filled my system it was directly from my un-aerated rain tote outside.

so that all kind if makes sense.

.

i'm still having drift issues though, gotta be the way i mixed the stuff or something. i cleaned out a barrel that i can mix everything in before adding it to the system like you do. i'm going to mix up a fresh batch and do a change out. i need to rule out something whatever the issue is.

if nothing else it will make for good practice. a couple bucks to learn but no schooling is free!

He wants us to succeed and I just think that's awesome. If you can read through his fat-fingered messages, you'll gain a lot from listening to his advice. Hell.. I barely asked any questions on my second grow because he prepared me well enough through my first. Gotta love it.

i'm sure he has typed out some of the same things he told you along with a hundred other people but still does it without asking and has the passion to see it work properly. he's been around a long time!!!

Not sure man I have not used these. I can look a little deeper later.

They will work just don’t know accuracy

with those reviews i just wasn't sure at all... you understand what i'm looking for.

Man I like I2C comms the best personally.

This would b a good start for environment

ESP32 Weather Station and Weather Instrument Kit,ESP32 WiFi+BT+BLE Integrated 0.96'' OLED Board DHT-11 Temperature Humidity BMP-180 Atmospheric Pressure BH1750 Light Sensor for Arduino IoT Starter
https://a.co/d/cuxWrRZ

I’ll look up some more gimme a bit. Handling some biz atm

I would not use that ph probe.

The temp probe is not I2C I’d get a probe that uses that and has temp and TDS in one then use the temp readout to compensate the ph reading in software.

At that point you can add any sensors you like at any time. I’ll explain more in a bit.

now your talking!! this is what i was trying to find, something that was comparable to a bluelab monitor.

Stoney scroll down a bit on this page

Unlock Precise Water Monitoring with Arduino's pH Sensor Kit

Transform your water quality projects with the advanced Arduino pH Sensor Kit. Dive into precise monitoring and long-term data collection. Ideal for developers!

www.dfrobot.com

Look at the project

You can start small and add what you want when you want like peristaltic pumps o2 co2 rh flow sensors level sensors and and and.

What I like about dfrobot and Adafruit is the software is done and done well. It will be easier than pulling parts from all over. The cheap Chinese shit looks great on the wallet but can drive you crazy. Typically the documentation is bad or just wrong.

you are the fuckin man Moe!!!!! this is exactly what i want and didn't even know it!!!!!!!!! hell yeah this is what i need.

they give ya the parts lists, the codes, the instructions, the hardware lists, drawings... damn!!!!!!!!! this is perfect Moe, my next project for sure!!

so if i don't include the dissolved oxygen or ORP sensor i could make something that will monitor my ph, ec, and water temp with just this stuff for $184?



only thing is i don't see any type of mention of a display or a way to see it live, just that data is stored on sd card.

also seems like there has not been any activity on it since it came out 6 years ago... they even have plug n play kits but the feedback doesn't look the best:

KnowFlow Kit: Monitor Water Quality Effortlessly

Discover KnowFlow, the ultimate water quality monitoring kit. Get real-time data on pH and EC levels, stored on micro-SD, accessible via Bluetooth.

www.dfrobot.com

 

[Observer]

so it's normal for it to move around a bit at first when it's new? ppms went up 100parts the other day and now it's a little lower than it started.

i get that the ph could drift but i didn't expect that much change day to day. i was trying to keep it as close to 5.5 as i could and it was getting up to 5.8 around 24 hrs later.



i can see why the live monitor helps. now because it's new i bet i'm down there six times a day! haha



yea ya know i didn't even have to ask him.. he reached out to me and offered.

That chart smoke posted is a good starting point

Plants will adjust their own pH too btw

And if you're blowing ambient air into a res, that air includes CO2, which will affect pH.

In part of why bigger systems, more water volume, can be more "stable"

And you'll want you're plants water to drift from 5.4-5.9 or so, to help ensure nutrients availability for all elements.

 

[Observer]

Some info is incorrect but oretty good chart.

In flower you may experience a static pH or small pH drop. This can be a concern and can be normal. If all else is good with a small pH drop its simply the difference in nutrient demands. Usually week 3ish. As nutrient demands change the release of h+ ions from the plant can increase resulting in a slow pH drift down. This can be addressed by slightly tweaking nutrients and adding more buffer

See, this is the type of info you only get from "OGs"

And it's much appreciated.

 

[Stoneyluv]

That chart smoke posted is a good starting point

Plants will adjust their own pH too btw

And if you're blowing ambient air into a res, that air includes CO2, which will affect pH.

In part of why bigger systems, more water volume, can be more "stable"

And you'll want you're plants water to drift from 5.4-5.9 or so, to help ensure nutrients availability for all elements.

it's drifting pretty much about .5-.7 in twelve hours. well until today anyway... today has actually been the best it's ever been. i don't want to jinx it but it's been holding steady for about 14 hours now.

i added silica but may not have been mixed properly so maybe it tool a little more time to settle down i'm not sure. i've been writing everything down and keeping notes so hopefully i learn something from it.

tomorrow will be their first week finished and they look fine so i'm not going to change much up yet. the water has been drifting fast but still easy to bring back down and that really has been the only maintenance whatsoever.

Aqua Man has been a great mentor in steering me with the nutrient solution and even though i'm having a slight issue it has been very easy so far.

i picked up a bottle of this to add in for week two...

 

[Stoneyluv]

 

[moe.red]

so a little food for thought.. AM says "the ph may rise due to the off gassing of carbonic acid released as co2. So after a day or 2 depending on aeration this may slow down as gasses reach equilibrium.

You can aerate the water before use for 12+ hrs it will remove that from the equation but as long as you are aware of that then no big deal may just need a few more adjustments the first couple days."

remember i wasted all my aerated water in my barrel from leak testing so when i filled my system it was directly from my un-aerated rain tote outside.

so that all kind if makes sense.

.

i'm still having drift issues though, gotta be the way i mixed the stuff or something. i cleaned out a barrel that i can mix everything in before adding it to the system like you do. i'm going to mix up a fresh batch and do a change out. i need to rule out something whatever the issue is.

if nothing else it will make for good practice. a couple bucks to learn but no schooling is free!



i'm sure he has typed out some of the same things he told you along with a hundred other people but still does it without asking and has the passion to see it work properly. he's been around a long time!!!



with those reviews i just wasn't sure at all... you understand what i'm looking for.



now your talking!! this is what i was trying to find, something that was comparable to a bluelab monitor.



you are the fuckin man Moe!!!!! this is exactly what i want and didn't even know it!!!!!!!!! hell yeah this is what i need.

they give ya the parts lists, the codes, the instructions, the hardware lists, drawings... damn!!!!!!!!! this is perfect Moe, my next project for sure!!

so if i don't include the dissolved oxygen or ORP sensor i could make something that will monitor my ph, ec, and water temp with just this stuff for $184?

View attachment 70060

only thing is i don't see any type of mention of a display or a way to see it live, just that data is stored on sd card.

also seems like there has not been any activity on it since it came out 6 years ago... they even have plug n play kits but the feedback doesn't look the best:

KnowFlow Kit: Monitor Water Quality Effortlessly

Discover KnowFlow, the ultimate water quality monitoring kit. Get real-time data on pH and EC levels, stored on micro-SD, accessible via Bluetooth.

www.dfrobot.com

If you want to get on the phone this weekend I finally have a little respite. Might be easier to talk it thru.

I like the I2C stuff because it is all on a bus - each device has an address. You query the address on a sensor, and get back a digital reading. So instead of an analog voltage that you need to interpret - like PH = 2.67V ::: Calculations ::: PH = 6, you get [Address read ... serial return PH = 6]

On things like peristaltic pumps, your command is [Address send 27] where 27 is the amount of steps you want the pump to take.

With that, you can easily make a PH dosing system for example. Or nute dosing.

All of this stuff is add on for future. Start with getting PH, Temp, EC, and build from there.



On the display side, you have a couple of options. For an Arduino / ESP32, video driving is not really in the cards without additional hardware. So you will be limited to either an LCD display like on your CLW stuff, an add on video driver board, or sending the info to a network PC, tablet, etc or something like MQTT (Adafruit has a free MQTT server) for displaying on the web and customizing the display / output.

If you want to do a small touchscreen like this

Amazon.com

Raspberry Pi is the way to go. They have full video support and 2 HDMI outputs.

I've got all these different options running in my basement, I can walk you thru the + and - of each and you can decide.

 

[GoodShit97]

@frowny229 swears by this shit

 

[Stoneyluv]

If you want to get on the phone this weekend I finally have a little respite. Might be easier to talk it thru.

that would be awesome Moe... let me know me know man, i'll send you my cell # and just text me. it would be cool if we could spend a couple minutes talking about the stoneybox as well!!!

I like the I2C stuff because it is all on a bus - each device has an address. You query the address on a sensor, and get back a digital reading. So instead of an analog voltage that you need to interpret - like PH = 2.67V ::: Calculations ::: PH = 6, you get [Address read ... serial return PH = 6]

On things like peristaltic pumps, your command is [Address send 27] where 27 is the amount of steps you want the pump to take.

With that, you can easily make a PH dosing system for example. Or nute dosing.

All of this stuff is add on for future. Start with getting PH, Temp, EC, and build from there.

oh that does sound much easier to decipher than the esp32 way. i'm on it Moe, i'm gonna gonna order some parts.

On the display side, you have a couple of options. For an Arduino / ESP32, video driving is not really in the cards without additional hardware. So you will be limited to either an LCD display like on your CLW stuff, an add on video driver board, or sending the info to a network PC, tablet, etc or something like MQTT (Adafruit has a free MQTT server) for displaying on the web and customizing the display / output.

If you want to do a small touchscreen like this

Amazon.com

Raspberry Pi is the way to go. They have full video support and 2 HDMI outputs.

I've got all these different options running in my basement, I can walk you thru the + and - of each and you can decide.

okay, so this falls right into the same situation kind of with our other project that you explained to me about. depends on needs and wants.. i kind of like option B with the touch screen and Pi.. we can talk about it a little then i'll make a choice from there.

thanks again Moe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@frowny229 swears by this shit

i actually grabbed a pint of that and a quart of the kleen for my flush!!! ya know before this hydro the only flush i knew was in poker!!!

 

[GoodShit97]

W

ya know before this hydro the only flush i knew was in poker!!!

Well there goes coming to see you!!!
If you don't know how to flush the damn toilet i ain't coming by!!

 

[steamroller]

This is too cool to watch you build a system.
Both the StoneyBox and controls for the Hydro.
I am more of an owner than builder in tech regards.
When I was thinking real hard on hydro I purchased the HM 500.
Psyched to see what you build.

 

[Stoneyluv]

W

Well there goes coming to see you!!!
If you don't know how to flush the damn toilet i ain't coming by!!

i pee outside!!

This is too cool to watch you build a system.
Both the StoneyBox and controls for the Hydro.
I am more of an owner than builder in tech regards.
When I was thinking real hard on hydro I purchased the HM 500.
Psyched to see what you build.

Thanks man it's been so much fun to make, more fun than using it. although this Ph thing has be so busy with it. i can't get my water buffered correctly and my ph is rising. well maybe not now.. i was getting some readings back and forth and it's gotta be this pen, i feel i'm doing everything correct and still getting sporadic readings. i think a live monitor could eliminate this. i can't just spend $400 on a meter though.. plus you know me, i'm a built versus bought kind of guy to start with.

don't tell the plants i'm having ph issues though, they wouldn't believe you anyway. gonna be the first day of the second week already tomorrow!!! gonna bump up the nutes a little and also give the soil plants some great white/green aminos and just a sniff of neptunes!!!

funny this is the gallon challenge plant is kicking all their butts so far!!! and that was the smallest seedling!!!

but can easily see me grow forward with both hydro and soil.. kinda fun man! especially if the end results are a little different from each other. if they're identical idk what i would choose yet.

thats what i really want out of this though is for both styles to be great and hope they both turn out very similar, not identical but similar that would be the win win for me!!! but if the hydro does outgrow the soil crazy like other say it does than it will be kinda tough for me to get dirty again. just being truthful..

it's why i don't want to skimp or cheese out with either one in any way. i want this to be a fair race!

 

[GrumpAzz]

Thankfully, seedlings can handle a decent range of pH and might actually benefit from some fluctuating. Keeping the pH stable is more difficult the less nutes in the system. As you bump up the ppm, it'll be a bit more stable. You'll likely see an intial rise or fall as it settles, then more stability.

kinda fun man! especially if the end results are a little different from each other. if they're identical idk what i would choose yet.

I'd say, if the results are identical, stick to what you know and already have the stuff for. If Hydro doesn't noticeably improve your game, I don't know that it'd be worth the expense of going all out on it. Hydro does come with a steeper start-up cost and learning curve. You've seen that already.

You said it above, though. My wife wanted me to save the extra plants I had on deck and just grow them out in some soil. I said nah. I don't want the bug risk. I fuckin' hate the drain flies we already deal with, so fruit flies in my grow space is out of the question.

 

[moe.red]

This is too cool to watch you build a system.
Both the StoneyBox and controls for the Hydro.
I am more of an owner than builder in tech regards.
When I was thinking real hard on hydro I purchased the HM 500.
Psyched to see what you build.

Me too.

 

[Stoneyluv]

Thankfully, seedlings can handle a decent range of pH and might actually benefit from some fluctuating

it's the only reason i'm sticking with it and keep lowering it twice a day. Observer said they need that full range to absorb everything they need and want so i figured this couldn't be bad, just didn't know if too fast of a change was bad. plants seem to not care!! and that's what really has me not panicking about it, the plants are fine!

Keeping the pH stable is more difficult the less nutes in the system. As you bump up the ppm, it'll be a bit more stable. You'll likely see an intial rise or fall as it settles, then more stability.

oh this is great to know, maybe this is only in the beginning for me. today marks the start of the second week so ppm's are going to go up. i've added more Si to my mixing barrel and it seems to keep the ph better. i'll be adding the nutes later tonight and if all looks good i will do a rez change out for the first time!! i think they're ready for some more food. i've been secretly giving them all a foliar feed for the past four days now and they are responding very well to it so i feel it's time for some extra food. both hydro and soil will get fed extra already!!!! my light just got bumped up to 40%.. i really don't have any fear about too much light after watching your current round. my one 550 can't even get close to your light and you're at max power before flower.

ou said it above, though. My wife wanted me to save the extra plants I had on deck and just grow them out in some soil. I said nah. I don't want the bug risk. I fuckin' hate the drain flies we already deal with, so fruit flies in my grow space is out of the question.

they're so annoying man... and the fuckers bite!!! they get up in your hair and bite at your scalp... i try to treat them but i get slacked and then they come back even more... it gets to the point where enough is enough and i just nuke them all at once. it's one benefit from keeping and reusing old soil and adding amendments yourself and making your own soil, once you bring in brand new soil you always take the chance of bringing something in. i reused the same soil for like ten years, i know i know people say never do that.. i did it t the extreme but there is nothing wrong at all with using soil 2-4x over. nobody that grows in soil goes all the way through a grow without adding nutes to it so what's the difference when you add it!

 

[GrumpAzz]

and that's what really has me not panicking about it, the plants are fine!

Yeah man don't panick. I still don't have a full grasp on the chemistry of it all. I don't have to understand if it works

The beauty of hydro is they'll let you know pretty quickly if something is off and to fix it is usually as easy as a full res change. And they'll respond to your changes quicker than soil so you won't be wasting as much time chasing deficiencies. Following manufacturer feedcharts should keep those at bay for the most part.

i really don't have any fear about too much light after watching your current round. my one 550 can't even get close to your light and you're at max power before flower.

I'm surprised. My last light never got up to 100%. These guys seem to be loving it. The growth is off the charts. I'm a little anxious for the stretch.

Right now I have the light hung as high as possible. That might be why I'm able to crank out the photons. Or they're just some boss genetics. I've been pushing them pretty hard with the nutes to keep up and they just keep taking it. Maybe 3 or 4 leaves have a tiny bit of tip burn but that's it.

the fuckers bite!!! they get up in your hair and bite at your scalp

Yeah.. nope. Count me out. Hydro Forever FTW !!!

 

[Bandit420]

I'm just gonna leave this here for now, Nerds

The water spins like a toilet flushing

 

[Stoneyluv]

Yeah man don't panick. I still don't have a full grasp on the chemistry of it all. I don't have to understand if it works

The beauty of hydro is they'll let you know pretty quickly if something is off and to fix it is usually as easy as a full res change. And they'll respond to your changes quicker than soil so you won't be wasting as much time chasing deficiencies. Following manufacturer feedcharts should keep those at bay for the most part.

not panicking but thinking the Armor Si is not the stuff for me. i'm still having a tough time with buffering. did a rez change late last night and today it back out of control already in less than 24 hours. we're trying my ph up as a buffer this time and did another rez change just now.

i ordered the vagisil 15 tonight... (i know it's not vagisil, im tired! haha)

I'm surprised. My last light never got up to 100%. These guys seem to be loving it. The growth is off the charts. I'm a little anxious for the stretch.

Right now I have the light hung as high as possible. That might be why I'm able to crank out the photons. Or they're just some boss genetics. I've been pushing them pretty hard with the nutes to keep up and they just keep taking it. Maybe 3 or 4 leaves have a tiny bit of tip burn but that's it.

i'm at 15-20-40 right now, still riding the heavy blue!!

Yeah.. nope. Count me out. Hydro Forever FTW !!!

ahhh ya know though if you move out to the country you'll find out... hehe

I'm just gonna leave this here for now, Nerds

The water spins like a toilet flushing

man i tried so hard to make my buckets spin with the elbows on my waterfalls.. even had a soundtrack picked out for the post but never could get them to spin. i need to copy the design of helix tea brewer, that would be cool!!! twist those roots like a tornado!!!

.
.
.

speaking of ruutz.. we got more than one!!!!!!!



ended week one with no problems!! having a slight issue with ph buffering but nothing that can't be fixed.. i think the plants enjoy the swings!!

changed the rez and solution to 600ppm i mixed up 25 gallons but my system leaves a gallon inside so this was good so i don't lose my micro heard but it's way easier measuring out for 25 gallons than 24... so the extra got fed to the soil plants in there!!! how much more fair can that be.. the same nutes same ppm!!! hydro vs soil... i feel like the rocky theme should be inserted!!

 

[Zen_seeker]

not panicking but thinking the Armor Si is not the stuff for me. i'm still having a tough time with buffering. did a rez change late last night and today it back out of control already in less than 24 hours. we're trying my ph up as a buffer this time and did another rez change just now.

i ordered the vagisil 15 tonight... (i know it's not vagisil, im tired! haha)



i'm at 15-20-40 right now, still riding the heavy blue!!



ahhh ya know though if you move out to the country you'll find out... hehe



man i tried so hard to make my buckets spin with the elbows on my waterfalls.. even had a soundtrack picked out for the post but never could get them to spin. i need to copy the design of helix tea brewer, that would be cool!!! twist those roots like a tornado!!!

.
.
.

speaking of ruutz.. we got more than one!!!!!!!

View attachment 70454

ended week one with no problems!! having a slight issue with ph buffering but nothing that can't be fixed.. i think the plants enjoy the swings!!

changed the rez and solution to 600ppm i mixed up 25 gallons but my system leaves a gallon inside so this was good so i don't lose my micro heard but it's way easier measuring out for 25 gallons than 24... so the extra got fed to the soil plants in there!!! how much more fair can that be.. the same nutes same ppm!!! hydro vs soil... i feel like the rocky theme should be inserted!!

View attachment 70456View attachment 70457
View attachment 70458View attachment 70459

View attachment 70455

Don’t make it look too easy now.

Doing great man. Can’t wait to see how things turn out.

 

[GrumpAzz]

speaking of ruutz.. we got more than one!!!!!!!

Those are looking a little dark. What all you got in the water?

 

[Aqua Man]

Those are looking a little dark. What all you got in the water?

Agree bit looks like diatoms not rot… likely from the silica. Diotoms love it.

Probably come right off with a quick rinse

 

[GrumpAzz]

Agree bit looks like diatoms not rot… likely from the silica. Diotoms love it.

Probably come right off with a quick rinse

Ahh gotcha. I only used the Armor Si for one res change before you guys sold me on some Agsil.

My roots would turn a bit dark but I blamed the Micro and the Fulvic. No way he's got that much of those in there yet.

 

[Bandit420]

Ahh gotcha. I only used the Armor Si for one res change before you guys sold me on some Agsil.

My roots would turn a bit dark but I blamed the Micro and the Fulvic. No way he's got that much of those in there yet.

GH Floranova has a humic acid in it derived from leonardite which makes it so sludgy and it stains everything. Before too long even the underside of the ducky will be stained brown