Al B. FAQt

[Chumlie]

Hey I recently made one out of a coffee mug and the shit taste funny. I was thinking how to replace the metal bowl with a glass one. Any ideas on how to heat up the glass bowl?

 

[iloveit]

Thank you uncle Al

 

[SpruceZeus]

Hey Al,
Can you please tell me everything you've said in this thread so far. It really seems like a big hassle for me to read it when i can just get you to tell me all about it.
seriously though, good on you for being so damn patient. I would probably kill someone the 93rd time i got asked how high to flood my table\what nutes to use\how to hide this all from my mom.
You ever find your way to Canada i'll take good care of you.
-Zeus

 

[BigBudBalls]

Hey Al,
Can you please tell me everything you've said in this thread so far. It really seems like a big hassle for me to read it when i can just get you to tell me all about it.
seriously though, good on you for being so damn patient. I would probably kill someone the 93rd time i got asked how high to flood my table\what nutes to use\how to hide this all from my mom.
You ever find your way to Canada i'll take good care of you.
-Zeus

Al, I was *just* thinking about this.

If you start a new FAQt, one suggestion would be, is to snag the first 5-10 posts. Then edit them, from time to time for the FAQ type things. (like the venting pic that is posted often) This way the first page covers the basics. I can understand the hassle of looking through 150+ pages of a single thread.

Just a thought.

 

[YaK]

I read this thread alot, although not entirely

I think I read in another thread that you were collaborating with someone on doing a batwing/cool tube combo, an "AlBFuct signature series" ??

I'f you've posted an update on this, then I'm sorry, but I'm interested in getting one, I like the setup alot.

You are a very inspiring person... thanks!

(I was going to ask about fytocel too, but I think I can find that in the harvest every two week thread)

 

[ldnsharkkid]

Thanks for the advice again Al....i worked out the fan controller basically just undo the 4 screws on each corner and then fix in wires, bit like a plug.

I will be buying some solid pots tomorrow i did have a feeling they were the wrong ones but they came with the flood table kit so i just used em...im paying a trip to the hydro shop tomorrow gonna get myself a cooltube and an intake fan.

Al, another quick question if you dont mind, im gonna suck air through my carbon filter and then push it through the cooltube then out the exhaust, is this ok. I dont have enough intake/extract vents for the time being but this should be ok for my 1st grow shouldnt it. Im gonna test it out tomorrow cos i think i should still be able to use my fan controller but just set a higher idle speed for the extractor fan.....what u think????


Can i also say anyone who is just joining the thread and is thinking of doing a setup like this read it fully from page 1. I have done so and my knowledge has gone from little to large without asking anything, also the "get a harvest every 2 weeks" thread, a MUST read for anyone, every aspects of growing covered. And all thanks to Al B Fuct who must be a flood and drain LEGEND.....keep up the good work

 

[iloveit]

Cooltubes must be able to source cooling air from outside the grow room airmass and dump it outside it as well.



If you can establish the airflow necessary for cooltubes, you will also be able to ventilate the room.



So, you germed your seed, got a roughly 1/4" long taproot out of the seed and planted it in the holes in the RW, right?

WAY too wet. No wonder nothing's happening. The cube must only be damp, never wet or saturated. No way a seedling will take enough water out of the cube to justify watering 2x/day. For this situation, cubes on a heat mat (you DO have a heat mat, right?) will only need about 5-10ml of water/day, on the very high and outside... They may not need water every day.

yep, fine.

However, you're not growing an aquatic plant and don't need to give anywhere near as much water as you are. You should not be able to shake any excess water out of the cube- it must be damp, not wet or saturated.

One last thing, when the time comes for watering 5-10ml would it be wise for me to pour the water directly on to the seed so it doesnt die due to dryness?

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Any ideas on how to heat up the glass bowl?

Thermonuclear weapons? Dunno. It'd be very hard to affix a heating element to glass. If the thimble you use is stainless steel, it shouldn't flavour it.

Thank you uncle Al

no wucking furries.

Thanks for the advice again Al....i worked out the fan controller basically just undo the 4 screws on each corner and then fix in wires, bit like a plug.

coolio.

I will be buying some solid pots tomorrow i did have a feeling they were the wrong ones but they came with the flood table kit so i just used em...im paying a trip to the hydro shop tomorrow gonna get myself a cooltube and an intake fan.

farm out, mang. check discount shops for the plastic pots, see if they're blowing out the ones in ugly colours for cheep.

Al, another quick question if you dont mind, im gonna suck air through my carbon filter and then push it through the cooltube then out the exhaust, is this ok. I dont have enough intake/extract vents for the time being but this should be ok for my 1st grow shouldnt it. Im gonna test it out tomorrow

If you draw cooling air for the cooltube from the room's airmass, temp stability will suffer. The cooltube blower must run all the time that lights are on and thus cannot be run on a thermostat. The cooltube and room need separate blowers.

i think i should still be able to use my fan controller but just set a higher idle speed for the extractor fan.....what u think????

Yes, using the motor speed controller will be great so you can adjust the setup so the room is at negative pressure.

And all thanks to Al B Fuct who must be a flood and drain LEGEND.....keep up the good work

no prob.

One last thing, when the time comes for watering 5-10ml would it be wise for me to pour the water directly on to the seed so it doesnt die due to dryness?

No- water the cubes by squirting water on the underside of the cube. Invert it & squirt away.

Plants do this stuff by themselves without your help! New growers totally overestimate the amount of water plants should get- and kill them all the time because of it!

The seed raising medium should be damp, never wet or saturated.

 

[iloveit]

Ok got it, thank you Al

 

[kpw555]

I am currently modeling my op after the harvest every two weeks method and I have a couple of questions that I hope you can help me with.


1) I have chosen perlite as a replacement for the Fytocell material due to availability in the US. I put weed block fabric in the bottom of the pot (about a six inch across by 8 inch tall with big holes in bottoms) then a few sterile rocks for weight and the rest with perlite. A rockwool cube was placed in the medium to simulate placing a into flower. When I flooded the table the moisture never reached the rockwool even after setting overnight and a repeat flood the moisture never wicked closer than about 2 inches from the top of the medium.

Should I add some vermiculite or some other wicking type of media to this mix? Or am I wrong in thinking that the top of the media should be damp after a flood.


2) My table takes about 5 min to flood and about 10 minutes to drain are these acceptable times.

Thanks ABF for all the posting you do on this forum.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

When I flooded the table the moisture never reached the rockwool even after setting overnight and a repeat flood the moisture never wicked closer than about 2 inches from the top of the medium.

Wet the perlite thoroughly from the top before plugging a cube in it. This will start the wicking action, assuring there's water in the rootzone, but the tops will dry out. Don't top water in future, only just before plugging the cubes in. Wicking to 2" below the top is ideal. This will assure that the roots will find water but the medium tops will remain dry, preventing algae growth on the top surfaces.

Should I add some vermiculite or some other wicking type of media to this mix? Or am I wrong in thinking that the top of the media should be damp after a flood.

No, the media tops should remain dry.

2) My table takes about 5 min to flood and about 10 minutes to drain are these acceptable times.

Yep, that's fine.

Thanks ABF for all the posting you do on this forum.

No worries.

 

[kpw555]

Awesome!! Thanks for the fast reply to my question.

I have been building this op for weeks now and I am coming into the home strech.

By home strech I mean that my beans are sprouted my op is coming together nicely and am on schedule to take some clones.

Pics will be posted so that I may show my creation off and get some feedback from the forum before the clone box or the flowering room are needed.

 

[Old in the Way]

Hey Al,

I recently moved 4 sexually mature indica plants to flower to take up half the tray for my first batch in the flower room-these are going to be flowered under a single 1kw light. The other half the tray has 60 clones under their own 1kw light-thank god i got the 4th light. Aerocloner probs left me short on clones for my first batch, hence the cheating-Remember i have 8'x4' trays that require 120 clones every 20 days.

So the mature Indicas came from a drip set-up in the veg room being watered 5x/day at 1400ppm 5.8 ph, 1kw light, etc, etc.......

Prior to moving them I ran them under the drip for an extra hour or so. Don't ask why because i couldn't tell you.

Several hours after moving them to flower yesterday they were watered 1x for 15 minutes about 2 hours before lights off.

When double checking the room just before lights off they showed symptoms of being severely overwatered.

I set the timer to skip the watering first thing in case i slept in and thought they would recover with out a problem. They did so just fine so I allowed the midday watering to occur as scheduled-Drip 15 minutes at 1 pm.

They just finished getting watered and are drooping severely again with the tops bent all the way over. I am concerned there may be a systemic problem in the roots because they are in hydroton and it retains very little moisture as you know and never have they displayed the signs of overwatering before.

Roots at the bottom of the pot are white and healthy-so my question is.....

Is this likely to be an acute isssue from the extra watering yesterday and if so will it sort itself out once allowed to dry out sufficiently??

OR.

Would a soak in a concentrated solution of H2O2 force some air back in the root zone and aid recovery. I have seen others post about using this technique on overwatered specimens and wanted to hear you validate it.
If this is an advisable method what ratio H2O2/H2O should be used.

Thanks as always.
OitW

 

[fred1]

Thanks Al!!!

My exhaust fan wasn't a centrifugal fan, so I am returning it and going to get it done right. Probably just going to use two centrifugal fans of equal cfm. Think that because the duct is so long, this will work best.

Thanks! Plus rep, not that you need it.

 

[holmes]

howdy
Do you know if there is a unit that will allow me to switch lights on a single ballast, they have expensive controllers for 10 to 20 lights.

do you think we can put one together on a timer,relay

 

[budightman]

Hello, can anybody tell me if it is possible to have a 400 wt hps in a homebox s? The dimensions are 31.5" X 31.5" X 63". Or, would that be too much heat. I dont have a cool tube, which may be a problem. I have a 4" intake as well as a 6" outtake that are both hooked up to 80 cfm inline fans, as well as an internal oscillating fan. Also, it gets very cold in the winter where I am so I figure that could help with the heat a littlebit. Any suggestions would help. Thanks.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

so my question is.....

Is this likely to be an acute isssue from the extra watering yesterday and if so will it sort itself out once allowed to dry out sufficiently??

Usually when you see wilt occur which is due to overwatering, it's not a one-time event. When plants are drooping it's because there's been some root rot that's been taking a while to destroy enough rootmass such that the foliar mass can't be sufficiently supplied anymore. You say your roots are bright white in the bottom of the pot, so I'm not so convinced it's root rot.

What are the room temp & RH when you see the wilt?

Would a soak in a concentrated solution of H2O2 force some air back in the root zone and aid recovery. I have seen others post about using this technique on overwatered specimens and wanted to hear you validate it.
If this is an advisable method what ratio H2O2/H2O should be used.

yes, this is a useful rescue method. Not so much a soak as a dip, though, enough to saturate the rootmass with a fairly strong H2O2 soln, about 10ml/L. Allow them to dry back significantly before watering again.

Upside is that even if you have no root probs, this will not bother the plant, but if you do, it'll begin to sort them out.

My exhaust fan wasn't a centrifugal fan, so I am returning it and going to get it done right. Probably just going to use two centrifugal fans of equal cfm. Think that because the duct is so long, this will work best.

I agree. Should work great. If the blowers are too noisy, you can always put motor speed controllers on them. A blower running at 80% max speed may only make 50% of the noise. Good quality centrifs are damn near silent, though.

howdy
Do you know if there is a unit that will allow me to switch lights on a single ballast, they have expensive controllers for 10 to 20 lights.

do you think we can put one together on a timer,relay

Just to be clear, you want to alternately run 2 lamps on one ballast? Say one in one room for 12h and one in another for the next 12h? That's pretty easily doable.

Hello, can anybody tell me if it is possible to have a 400 wt hps in a homebox s?

What's a homebox s?

The dimensions are 31.5" X 31.5" X 63".

Is that LxWxH? If so, a 400 is a good match for the floorspace.

Or, would that be too much heat. I dont have a cool tube, which may be a problem.

For about $60, you could have one. Will also take about $40 worth of fan & about the same in aluminium flexiduct (as used for range hood ventilation).

I have a 4" intake as well as a 6" outtake that are both hooked up to 80 cfm inline fans, as well as an internal oscillating fan. Also, it gets very cold in the winter where I am so I figure that could help with the heat a littlebit. Any suggestions would help. Thanks.

Cooler weather is a blessing, but it shouldn't be part of your longer term grow room operation plans. Problems will come right back in the spring.

I'd add another 4" intake and upgrade the 6" exhaust to a better blower, one that moves about 200CFM. Use the old 80CFM 6" unit to drive your cooltube.

 

[holmes]

Just to be clear, you want to alternately run 2 lamps on one ballast? Say one in one room for 12h and one in another for the next 12h? That's pretty easily doable.

that is what i want, that should help with the temps and evenly distribute power consumption.

 

[Old in the Way]

Good on ya,

Thanks Mate!

I was worried about them heading into lights out last night so a couple hrs before hand I went ahead with a dip of 8ml/L then dipped in a rinse a straight h2o @ 5.8 of course.

Lights on in an hour or so. I will let you know how they are doing.

I assume this can be done again to no ill effect if needed.

Preciate It!

OitW

 

[Old in the Way]

As to the environment......

Precision control my man precision control, lol.

Temps 76-78 lights on, 69-74 lights off (last night it hit 69-the lowest it has ever gotten)
RH 50-60%
Ph 5.8-dead nuts
DM Gold Flower Nutes at 1190ppm to start
35% h2o2 at 1.7ml/L

..............wooohooo, lights just kicked on in flower room an they have recovered again, going to let them dry back and try the midday watering again in 5 hrs or so...

-OitW