Which would produce more DO in a DWC?
- Thread starter JSB99
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JSB99
Well-Known Member
A few pages back I was talking about how the ballast, wired to the two outer T5 tubes, went out after only a month of use. Hence the addition of CFLs to the hood, to take the place of those tubes.
I contacted the seller, and they were super cool! That hood had been discontinued, so he said he'd just give me a refund. He told me to just keep the hood, too! I figure, I'll just get another ballast, and have a hood for the price of that ballast.
I cracked the case to take a look at the faulty ballast, and much to my surprise, it's an American company! I was thinking I might be able to get it swapped out, if it was under warranty. But because it was sold in a unit, by a seller, and not directly from them, that it wasn't covered. So I bought a replacement for a mere $22, shipping included. What's cool, is that the new ballast has a 1 year warranty. So if either of them goes out, it's covered!
I contacted the seller, and they were super cool! That hood had been discontinued, so he said he'd just give me a refund. He told me to just keep the hood, too! I figure, I'll just get another ballast, and have a hood for the price of that ballast.
I cracked the case to take a look at the faulty ballast, and much to my surprise, it's an American company! I was thinking I might be able to get it swapped out, if it was under warranty. But because it was sold in a unit, by a seller, and not directly from them, that it wasn't covered. So I bought a replacement for a mere $22, shipping included. What's cool, is that the new ballast has a 1 year warranty. So if either of them goes out, it's covered!
SSGrower
Well-Known Member
On theing to look for on a t5ho balast is programmed start. This essentially allows the lamp to warm up a bit before being lit. It helps bulbs last longer.A few pages back I was talking about how the ballast, wired to the two outer T5 tubes, went out after only a month of use. Hence the addition of CFLs to the hood, to take the place of those tubes.
I contacted the seller, and they were super cool! That hood had been discontinued, so he said he'd just give me a refund. He told me to just keep the hood, too! I figure, I'll just get another ballast, and have a hood for the price of that ballast.
I cracked the case to take a look at the faulty ballast, and much to my surprise, it's an American company! I was thinking I might be able to get it swapped out, if it was under warranty. But because it was sold in a unit, by a seller, and not directly from them, that it wasn't covered. So I bought a replacement for a mere $22, shipping included. What's cool, is that the new ballast has a 1 year warranty. So if either of them goes out, it's covered!
Also look for balast factor for a given length lamp. It is usually less than 1 on most but if you search (particularly horticultural models) Ive seen them as high as 1.4. I run my t5s at 1.2, a 20% overdrive.
And now I see after typing this you have already ordered, Cheers.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Check out my "Mini-fan on a Stick"! . It's great for adding a very gentle breeze to the rooted clones, to start giving them some exercise! I had an extra mic pop-screen, from the studio days, and I removed the screen, leaving just the flexible mount. Clips onto the plug just right
The clones are coming along nicely. The White Widow ran away with the race to root. They all started rooting first, and developed really fast. The Gorilla Cookies and Girl Scout Crack are much slower, but getting there. All the WWs are in the middle. Even though I don't recommend doing this to noobs, I'm going to grow all three strains at the same time. I'll have to work to keep them the same height through the grow, but I'm sure I can manage it via topping and supercropping.
I decided to veg via the mini-dwc. Next time I'll set up the RDWC or UC, but for now, I'll go through a few weeks of managing them individually. I already installed the bulkheads, so I'm just using the 3/4" tubing as a pseudo-plug.
I saw that they have drip couplings and elbows that you can disconnect. They're pricey though! So, this is an easy way to accomplish the same. Using the really flexible 1/4" line, it easily separates from the coupling. The rigid, black 1/4" drip line is a different story! Much more difficult to attach and detach fittings. I use both because I'm a little short on tubing. Being able to easily attach and detach the tubes makes it easy to carry the buckets to where I can dump and refill them.
. It's great for adding a very gentle breeze to the rooted clones, to start giving them some exercise! I had an extra mic pop-screen, from the studio days, and I removed the screen, leaving just the flexible mount. Clips onto the plug just right The clones are coming along nicely. The White Widow ran away with the race to root. They all started rooting first, and developed really fast. The Gorilla Cookies and Girl Scout Crack are much slower, but getting there. All the WWs are in the middle. Even though I don't recommend doing this to noobs, I'm going to grow all three strains at the same time. I'll have to work to keep them the same height through the grow, but I'm sure I can manage it via topping and supercropping.
I decided to veg via the mini-dwc. Next time I'll set up the RDWC or UC, but for now, I'll go through a few weeks of managing them individually. I already installed the bulkheads, so I'm just using the 3/4" tubing as a pseudo-plug.
I saw that they have drip couplings and elbows that you can disconnect. They're pricey though! So, this is an easy way to accomplish the same. Using the really flexible 1/4" line, it easily separates from the coupling. The rigid, black 1/4" drip line is a different story! Much more difficult to attach and detach fittings. I use both because I'm a little short on tubing. Being able to easily attach and detach the tubes makes it easy to carry the buckets to where I can dump and refill them.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Give me anything, and I'll stick a fan on itNice fan o stick
JSB99
Well-Known Member
For noobs,
BTW...
You can get DC power supplies for cheap, at Goodwill! Unlike AC fans, which are frequency dependant, you can use any DC (computer) fan with most DC power supplies. Old cell phone chargers work great for a single 80mm fan! The speed, and the amount of fans that can be run off a single wall bug is going to depend on the DC output voltage, and the mA. 5vdc to 12vdc will work.
You can also order the fans in bulk, for cheap, online! They come from China, so it takes a couple weeks to arrive, but if you order 10 or 20 fans, it'll definitely save some money.
PC fans are awesome for getting into tight spaces, where you might have a dead zone of circulation. And obviously, they work great for small plants. Even though I have a clip-on AC fan breezing the mums, I could get away with just using these fans. In fact, that's probably what I'm going to do.
BTW...
You can get DC power supplies for cheap, at Goodwill! Unlike AC fans, which are frequency dependant, you can use any DC (computer) fan with most DC power supplies. Old cell phone chargers work great for a single 80mm fan! The speed, and the amount of fans that can be run off a single wall bug is going to depend on the DC output voltage, and the mA. 5vdc to 12vdc will work.
You can also order the fans in bulk, for cheap, online! They come from China, so it takes a couple weeks to arrive, but if you order 10 or 20 fans, it'll definitely save some money.
PC fans are awesome for getting into tight spaces, where you might have a dead zone of circulation. And obviously, they work great for small plants. Even though I have a clip-on AC fan breezing the mums, I could get away with just using these fans. In fact, that's probably what I'm going to do.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I got a couple White Widows in the tent.
For the noobs...
Even though the WW roots were more than long enough to reach the bottom of the netpots, I keep my water bubbling up through the bottom of the netpots until more of the roots are hanging through. This helps get more water bubbling through the Hydroton so that the upper roots don't dry out.
For the noobs...
Even though the WW roots were more than long enough to reach the bottom of the netpots, I keep my water bubbling up through the bottom of the netpots until more of the roots are hanging through. This helps get more water bubbling through the Hydroton so that the upper roots don't dry out.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I've had these small buckets set up for a few days, and I'm going to abandon the idea. Balancing such a small amount of water is really tricky. I still plan on setting up a small UC with these, along with another 3-gallon bucket as a res. I've got the big system going, and I'm going to move them from the buckets soon.
I decided to put my mums under the big light, and grow them out a bit. Then, I'm going to take some really good clones from each, and re-grow the mums. After some experience, I see ways I should've done things, and other things I shouldn't have done. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the original mums. Maybe I can move them outside to grow this summer.
I've got my fogger in the closet, with the young ones. In the tent, I use evaporative cooling to increase the humidity. The towel always stays wet, because it acts as a wick with the water in the bucket.
I had my water pump suspended, by the attaching pipes. I thought that would create the least amount of vibrations and noise. But I was getting a lot of hum going through the pipe manifolds. I could hear it in the next room, it was so loud. So, I had a 4 1/2" block of wood I was using as a temporary base for the pump. I reattached the block, and everything went silent. The block isn't attached to the floor at all, just to the pump. This isn't the best pic, but...
Rooted clones. These might be contenders for going outside this summer.
My clip-on PC fan works nicely with my fogger
I decided to put my mums under the big light, and grow them out a bit. Then, I'm going to take some really good clones from each, and re-grow the mums. After some experience, I see ways I should've done things, and other things I shouldn't have done. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the original mums. Maybe I can move them outside to grow this summer.
I've got my fogger in the closet, with the young ones. In the tent, I use evaporative cooling to increase the humidity. The towel always stays wet, because it acts as a wick with the water in the bucket.
I had my water pump suspended, by the attaching pipes. I thought that would create the least amount of vibrations and noise. But I was getting a lot of hum going through the pipe manifolds. I could hear it in the next room, it was so loud. So, I had a 4 1/2" block of wood I was using as a temporary base for the pump. I reattached the block, and everything went silent. The block isn't attached to the floor at all, just to the pump. This isn't the best pic, but...
Rooted clones. These might be contenders for going outside this summer.
My clip-on PC fan works nicely with my fogger
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JSB99
Well-Known Member
These White Widows are f'n robust! They rooted right away, and are running circles around everything else!
It'd be cool to have some of these around the house, but they wouldn't do as good as a house plant.
These are under the T5+CFL hood. The hood is around 5" to 6" above, and registering between 35k - 43k lumens.
These were from the same set of clones. The ones on the left look pretty dinky, in comparison LOL! They've got healthy hanging roots, but they haven't taken off yet.
It'd be cool to have some of these around the house, but they wouldn't do as good as a house plant.
These are under the T5+CFL hood. The hood is around 5" to 6" above, and registering between 35k - 43k lumens.
These were from the same set of clones. The ones on the left look pretty dinky, in comparison LOL! They've got healthy hanging roots, but they haven't taken off yet.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I'm debating transplanting the two White Widows in soil to the DWC, to replace the two smaller plants on the left. I've been reading up on doing this. It seems like it's going to be a little bit of a pain in the ass, but I'm patient . With as hardy as they are, I think they'll survive.
The other option would be to close off the left tote, so it's not a part if the DWC, put a couple 5-gallon root bags in there, for the two in soil, and do a half DWC, and half soil grow. I think they're close enough in size and age, to grow evenly.
Let's take a vote. Transplant to DWC, or a side by side grow?
Opinions/advice?
. With as hardy as they are, I think they'll survive.The other option would be to close off the left tote, so it's not a part if the DWC, put a couple 5-gallon root bags in there, for the two in soil, and do a half DWC, and half soil grow. I think they're close enough in size and age, to grow evenly.
Let's take a vote. Transplant to DWC, or a side by side grow?
Opinions/advice?
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I think what I'm going to do is, move the WW in soil to a couple of my mini-buckets, and see how they do. What this will do is allow some time to get all the dirt off the roots, before putting them in the tent, so that I don't get debris in my pump. And, it'll give a little more time for the small plants on the left to take off. If they don't take off after a week, I'll replace them with the WW.
kingtitan
Well-Known Member
Just catching up on this thread, started wondering why JSB hasn't used the nice UC that got me all excited to do mine. But here we are! Looks awesome man.
Love the muffin fan and DC plugs. my wife made me get rid of 50% of my computer hoarding before I was allowed to buy a tent lol. but even then i still have a lifetime supply of DC/AC plugs and fans, and wire...lots of wire.
Love the muffin fan and DC plugs. my wife made me get rid of 50% of my computer hoarding before I was allowed to buy a tent lol. but even then i still have a lifetime supply of DC/AC plugs and fans, and wire...lots of wire.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Hey, check this out...
A while back I was wondering if having airstones directly under the netpots, as opposed to having them to the sides, made any difference. I was wondering because I had them directly underneath last time, and the roots were all spread out from the center, because of the force of the bubbles. So, I had moved one of the stones to the side, to see if there would be any difference. But, I had forgotten that I did this until last night. I've been wondering why the back White Widow was substantially larger than the front. I remembered I did this last night, so this morning I moved the front plant's stone back under the netpot. Not 3 hours later, the front plant was about caught up to the back! It was that quick!
A while back I was wondering if having airstones directly under the netpots, as opposed to having them to the sides, made any difference. I was wondering because I had them directly underneath last time, and the roots were all spread out from the center, because of the force of the bubbles. So, I had moved one of the stones to the side, to see if there would be any difference. But, I had forgotten that I did this until last night. I've been wondering why the back White Widow was substantially larger than the front. I remembered I did this last night, so this morning I moved the front plant's stone back under the netpot. Not 3 hours later, the front plant was about caught up to the back! It was that quick!
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I've been growing everything in the closet, until recently. From clones, to rooting, then vegging for a bit, its been like a month. Yeah, I'm happy to have it going again. It's so easy to keep stable, because of the amount of water
,
PC fans are awesome! I've got some 100mm, 120mm, and 150mm fans lying around in my electronic hoarding bins LOL! I've got so many old computers, parts and stuff, to go through. I've got to purge my stone-aged old DIMMs, cards, and processors! But what if I want to build some junker PCs some day, for something! I better hold on to it LOL!