My First Cree cxa3070

[apoulin]

UPDATE!!!!

Alright I went and got aluminum backed tape and completely covered the top of my tub. Can I say that it looks 100 better and definitely seems brighter in the closet.

Now the air pump, I went and purchased a 100gallon dual output air pump for $29 and I have that powering the two 14" stones I already had in the tub. I had an 80gallon dual output air pump on the 14" stones at first but decided to upgrade and now have this pump running 6 cylinder air stones (3 on each output). There is a lot more turbulence now and a lot more bubbles rising to the surface, the water even seemed to lighten up a bit. The only downfall is that now the tub is considerably louder, and at first I thought it was the pumps so I placed them in a nearby drawer. The bulk of the noise is actually coming from the tub and the stones pushing the air out, so I figured I could get something to wrap the tub in to dampen the sound.

1. Air stone plumbing I was able to rig together with the last couple T connectors I had
2. The babies with the aluminum tape down, I put a screw around the edge near each plant and am starting to train them as well

I am calling this the first problem I had, diagnosed and fixed! Should have healthy roots for a long time to come

The res has been at 68 all day, the air has been at 70 and 65% humidity. They are now at roughly 530PPM and still adding strength every other day.

Still not updates on the driver from china

 

[apoulin]

So I have some updates for you guys, but none for the driver from China Still says "dispatched from sort facility on Feb 7th"

I have been doing some more rollitup reading

I was reading about airstones vs powerheads while trying to introduce oxygen into the water.
From my understanding airstone bubbles do this by floating to the surface and popping which breaks surface tension and introduces the oxygen to the water. This is why smaller bubbles are better at introducing Dissolved Oxygen into the water, the mass amount of smaller bubbles have a larger surface area then fewer larger bubbles. The process of the airstones bubbles rising and popping creates the turbulence required to make sure there is no dead spots of standing water in your res.
Powerheads use flooming, which is essentially flowing water across the surface of the water to create turbulence which in turns introduces DO into the water. Since this is done with a powerhead it is much more powerful than an airstone, so it in turns introduces more DO into the res. This is why airstones are not the primary method to introduce DO into a large fishtank, at least this is what I have gathered from my readings.

Please correct or add any input

I decided to experiment, especially since I have been improving my own root conditions. I went out and bought a Marineland Maxi-jet 900 Powerhead at a local pet store on sale for $28. I did this because I wanted more water movement in the root zone, and would like to replace the smaller air pump if I am able to because it is quite noisy. I installed the powerhead in the center of one of the short sides of the tub and have the water aimed up to create a small waterfall effect while circulating the water in the res tank completely. I have no idea what effect this will have but am hoping for improved res conditions, I will leave both air pumps on as well as the powerhead for the next few days and see what happens.

Anyone with any experience with powerheads, please give me your 2 cents on the situation and what your experiences were

1. Powerhead I purchased
2. Updated pic of the babies, they will be put into flower today or tomorrow. I have time restrictions on this grow, so 12/12 here we come!
3. Under the lid, powerhead above water to reduce heat transfer. Roots looking better (I think) and constant 550PPM @ 68 degrees


Also I noticed the bottom left plant had some upward curling on the edges but no discolorations. I looked it up and the best I could come up with was heat stress, but it doesn't get over 70 degrees and it is a good 8" away from a CFL. Any suggestions?

 

[Dloomis514]

So I have some updates for you guys, but none for the driver from China Still says "dispatched from sort facility on Feb 7th"

I have been doing some more rollitup reading

I was reading about airstones vs powerheads while trying to introduce oxygen into the water.
From my understanding airstone bubbles do this by floating to the surface and popping which breaks surface tension and introduces the oxygen to the water. This is why smaller bubbles are better at introducing Dissolved Oxygen into the water, the mass amount of smaller bubbles have a larger surface area then fewer larger bubbles. The process of the airstones bubbles rising and popping creates the turbulence required to make sure there is no dead spots of standing water in your res.
Powerheads use flooming, which is essentially flowing water across the surface of the water to create turbulence which in turns introduces DO into the water. Since this is done with a powerhead it is much more powerful than an airstone, so it in turns introduces more DO into the res. This is why airstones are not the primary method to introduce DO into a large fishtank, at least this is what I have gathered from my readings.

Please correct or add any input

I decided to experiment, especially since I have been improving my own root conditions. I went out and bought a Marineland Maxi-jet 900 Powerhead at a local pet store on sale for $28. I did this because I wanted more water movement in the root zone, and would like to replace the smaller air pump if I am able to because it is quite noisy. I installed the powerhead in the center of one of the short sides of the tub and have the water aimed up to create a small waterfall effect while circulating the water in the res tank completely. I have no idea what effect this will have but am hoping for improved res conditions, I will leave both air pumps on as well as the powerhead for the next few days and see what happens.

Anyone with any experience with powerheads, please give me your 2 cents on the situation and what your experiences were

1. Powerhead I purchased
2. Updated pic of the babies, they will be put into flower today or tomorrow. I have time restrictions on this grow, so 12/12 here we come!
3. Under the lid, powerhead above water to reduce heat transfer. Roots looking better (I think) and constant 550PPM @ 68 degrees


Also I noticed the bottom left plant had some upward curling on the edges but no discolorations. I looked it up and the best I could come up with was heat stress, but it doesn't get over 70 degrees and it is a good 8" away from a CFL. Any suggestions?

A couple of things, o2 solution in water is a mass transfer problem that occurs on the bubble surface. The bursting of the bubble on the surface isn't the mechanism of interest. Dwell time under water and bubble size are the determinant factors. SO put the bubbler as deep in the water as possible and make the bubbles as small as possible, pressure will help minimize bubble size

 

[apoulin]

A couple of things, o2 solution in water is a mass transfer problem that occurs on the bubble surface. The bursting of the bubble on the surface isn't the mechanism of interest. Dwell time under water and bubble size are the determinant factors. SO put the bubbler as deep in the water as possible and make the bubbles as small as possible, pressure will help minimize bubble size

I am confused, I thought the transfer took place on the bubbles surface and the surface of the res and was allowed to happen by the popping and disturbance of the surface by the bubbles. If that makes sense lol But are you saying that the actual exchange occurs while the bubble is submerged and it rising to the surface and popping isn't the "mechanism of interest", which is why you said smaller bubbles deeper down? Smaller bubbles for more surface area and deeper down to allow more time for the transfer to occur?

Also, is this for the airstone bubbles only, or can the same principles be applied to the powerhead I just installed?

 

[Dloomis514]

I am confused, I thought the transfer took place on the bubbles surface and the surface of the res and was allowed to happen by the popping and disturbance of the surface by the bubbles. If that makes sense lol But are you saying that the actual exchange occurs while the bubble is submerged and it rising to the surface and popping isn't the "mechanism of interest", which is why you said smaller bubbles deeper down? Smaller bubbles for more surface area and deeper down to allow more time for the transfer to occur?

Also, is this for the airstone bubbles only, or can the same principles be applied to the powerhead I just installed?

The surface of the bubble as it rises through the water is way more important than when the bubble pops on the surface. There is Air on the surface for sure, but the contract time at the surface is less that the contract time under the surface. See what I mean?

 

[apoulin]

The surface of the bubble as it rises through the water is way more important than when the bubble pops on the surface. There is Air on the surface for sure, but the contract time at the surface is less that the contract time under the surface. See what I mean?

I guess I have just been reading that 90% of the DO in a system comes from the surface of the water. The surface agitation is more important than bubbles flowing through water. From my understanding bubbles were a good way to introduce oxygen to the system but not an efficient method of delivering (Popping). Powerheads have a more efficient delivery method (powerful surface agitation) but without proper ventilation can lack the raw oxygen that air stones produce. I thought that is why people use both, air stones as the best method to introduce new oxygen and a powerhead to improve the rate at which the transfer happens. Aquariums can get away with not having air stones but only using powerheads because the surface is open to the air, however since mine is confined to a tub and sealed (light mostly) there is little air transfer on the surface. I do have vent holes that tubing is running into towards the top of my tub but not enough to supply sufficient exchanged oxygen.
These are the thoughts and ideas I have formed from my readings and I by no means have any practical experience lol I just want the best for my babies as any parent would

 

[Dloomis514]

I guess I have just been reading that 90% of the DO in a system comes from the surface of the water. The surface agitation is more important than bubbles flowing through water. From my understanding bubbles were a good way to introduce oxygen to the system but not an efficient method of delivering (Popping). Powerheads have a more efficient delivery method (powerful surface agitation) but without proper ventilation can lack the raw oxygen that air stones produce. I thought that is why people use both, air stones as the best method to introduce new oxygen and a powerhead to improve the rate at which the transfer happens. Aquariums can get away with not having air stones but only using powerheads because the surface is open to the air, however since mine is confined to a tub and sealed (light mostly) there is little air transfer on the surface. I do have vent holes that tubing is running into towards the top of my tub but not enough to supply sufficient exchanged oxygen.
These are the thoughts and ideas I have formed from my readings and I by no means have any practical experience lol I just want the best for my babies as any parent would

All of the mass transfer of the oxygen from air occurs at the surface. My point is the surface of a bubble adds a lot more surface area and contract time than is available just at the surface. Turbulent surface aerators take advantage of this fact. So do air stones. I maintain air stones produce more surface area and stay in contact with the water longer than the surface aerators.

 

[apoulin]

All of the mass transfer of the oxygen from air occurs at the surface. My point is the surface of a bubble adds a lot more surface area and contract time than is available just at the surface. Turbulent surface aerators take advantage of this fact. So do air stones. I maintain air stones produce more surface area and stay in contact with the water longer than the surface aerators.

That makes sense. I would agree, more bubbles = more surface area > purely surface agitation. I guess at this point the more oxygen the better, my nutes were just sitting in the rez and build up was occurring due to poor circulation and I had been having issues with build up on my roots as well. The conditions improved when I added the second air pump but I think this powerhead is exactly what I was looking for. I drained a few gallons from the rez and replaced it with some balanced water and have had the powerhead runnning for a while and things seem to look better......or maybe I am just seeing what I want lol I guess time will tell.

 

[apoulin]

So I have been monitoring the rez frequently. I changed the light schedule to 12/12 yesterday and drained roughly half of the rez and wiped all of the build up that was accumulating before the powerhead was installed (this greatly helped with the build up on the sides near the top of the tub). I replaced it with balanced water and the PPMs dropped to 450, I do not want to add more nutes until some deficiencies start rearing their heads or they resume normal consumption. I also wiped down all of the tubing in the rez as well as took out my air stones and gave them a boiling water bath to clean the gunk out, which got me thinking

One airstone had some minor buildup and was producing more bubbles and a lot more evenly (I ended up shutting all pumps down for a minute and ran the 14" airstones only), the other airstone was covered in buildup and was only producing bubbles at one end. I looked at the plants most effected by the missing bubbles and sure enough the bottom side of the pot was dry, causing the root to dry out and die there. This left the bottom half of the root tangled in the start of the rootball and the top half separated and decaying. My water levels were right under the pots, there just wasn't any moisture reaching it and on top of that there is a fan blowing on top of the hydroton which I am sure dried it out faster. In the beginning of the babies life, I would pour nute solution over the hydroton daily to ensure it was moist until it hit the rez.

I have since cleaned out as many of the dead roots as possible (not a crazy amount, less than %5 roots). Have all airstones cleaned and pumping as much air as they can ( I even added the extra small pump I bought initially, So I have the 100gallon on 2-14" airstone and the 80gallon on 4 cylinder airstones and a 25 gallon on 2 cylinder airstones + powerhead) in about 10 gallons of water. The roots seem to be whitening up some more, I believe I am seeing new strong white roots. So hopefully things start to turn around! I still have not noticed any physical issues with the plants, other than they haven't seemed to grow or eat much lately.

NOW, with all of that said I want to point out that @churchhaze, you did warn me about organic dwc and after much more reading into the root and microbe/enzyme issues I have to say thank you for the fair warning lol I am for sure trying synthetic nutes next time and every time I am spending hours reading and checking up on the babies that is all I keep thinking, organic 12 gallon dwc probably not the best to jump into the deep end with.

I plan on brewing some tea shortly and plan on using @Heisenberg recipe. If anyone is having any similar issues with their rez, you should hop on over and check out his thread on his tea recipe. A lot of people were having good results, I learned a lot reading all of those pages

1.Roots after I cleaned out the dry/dead ones, how do they look to you?
2.Relatively clean after being in the bottom of the rez?
3.Gross (After adding extra pumps and powerhead the water flows a lot more now, hopefully avoiding this buildup again)


Still no update on the driver from china