Bubblelicious, New York Power Diesel, and Super Skunk in DWC

[Bob Smith]

You asked for .02 so I might as well. I've been thinking about this myself. Since you have money to burn, here goes.

You're aware of the barrel/controller/bucket setup I have (Ebb & Grow by CAP). Imagine that setup with Flood Tables instead of buckets! The 55 gallon res would fill a 3x3 no problem.

Build a grid platform on the ground with 2x4s. Put the 3x3 tray on top and put the controller bucket on the ground next to it. Slightly raising the controller would allow you to control the height of the flood. You could easily run 3 or 4 controller buckets off one barrel at staggered times. You could flood a large area and only have to worry about dealing with the 55 gal barrel.

This would allow you to have the flood tables 4" off the ground. You would have the FULL height of the tent available. Plus, you would be able to walk around in there.

I like your thinking - going to do some more research, but it's certainly a possibility.

Right now I'm leaning towards just building shorter tables, and putting a "real" reservoir under them, something that runs more like 12" high - that would save me almost a foot, and then with the better reflectors, the 600s being able to be ~12" away, and then the extra 1' that I'll get by building it myself, I think I'll be straight.

Will have a large update tomorrow when this CO2 system is (hopefully) up and running - ducting and everything else is finished, just need an extension cord and to light the pilot and run some tests on it.

Four of the seedlings have broken the Rapid Rooter surface (2 Ice, 1 of each of the others), and the flowering plants are all looking as good as can be expected.

 

[Bob Smith]

2x4s - $30
Panda Film - $150
Rent staple and nail guns - $60
4 3x3 trays - $400
4 3x3 tray inserts - $560 (this thing, so I can use 5.5" netpots - almost be a DWC/E&F hybrid, allowing the roots to grow monstrously - http://www.amhydro.com/index.php/Do-It-Yourself-Components/199-3-x-3-Net-Well-Insert/flypage.tpl.html)
4 electronic ballasts - $700
4 Magnum XXXL Reflectors - $850
Another 6" inline (going to have one 6" cooling two hoods, so two 6" in total) - $80
8" inline (for exhaust) - $110
3 more 400 GPH pumps - $100
2 55 gallon reservoirs (two tables to one res) - $250
Miscellaneous - $300

Gets us to ~$3600 for the whole kit and kaboodle.

Yikes.

 

[smokingrubber]

2x4s - $30
Panda Film - $150
Rent staple and nail guns - $60
4 3x3 trays - $400
4 3x3 tray inserts - $560 (this thing, so I can use 5.5" netpots - almost be a DWC/E&F hybrid, allowing the roots to grow monstrously - http://www.amhydro.com/index.php/Do-It-Yourself-Components/199-3-x-3-Net-Well-Insert/flypage.tpl.html)
4 electronic ballasts - $700
4 Magnum XXXL Reflectors - $850
Another 6" inline (going to have one 6" cooling two hoods, so two 6" in total) - $80
8" inline (for exhaust) - $110
3 more 400 GPH pumps - $100
2 55 gallon reservoirs (two tables to one res) - $250
Miscellaneous - $300

Gets us to ~$3600 for the whole kit and kaboodle.

Yikes.

Greatness has a price . . . and it's less than 4k Dont forget fans and more fans. I can't wait to see this one.

Plus timers for the lights +50x4 - continuous nute monitor +200x2 - new carbon filter for 8" fan +280 - 6" intake fan and hepa filter +250 - Dont forget BULBS for all those lights +100x4 - ...

 

[Bob Smith]

Greatness has a price . . . and it's less than 4k Dont forget fans and more fans. I can't wait to see this one.

Plus timers for the lights +50x4 - continuous nute monitor +200x2 - new carbon filter for 8" fan +280 - 6" intake fan and hepa filter +250 - Dont forget BULBS for all those lights +100x4 - ...

Lol...........getting kinda expensive, eh?

Although if I knew six months ago what I know now, I could've have all that up and running and saved myself a few grand as compared to what I've already spent on a measly 4x4 tent.

That being said, can get the nute monitors for $120 off of Ebay (was one click away from getting one about a week ago), and as far as the intake, was thinking I could get away with the spare 4" that I have - pretty sure that would do the job.

You do have a point on the filter, though - however, for as little as the intake and exhaust would be running, also kinda figured I could use the filter I already have (rated for 550 CFM, so a bend or two in the ducting should get the fan to about that CFM).

And timers for the lights would be $10 a piece (one $20 timer per light).

And the bulbs, that's a good point (but can get them for $50/piece).

Gonna do at least one (likely two, if not three) more harvests after this one in my 4x4, so ETA for "MegaTent" is sometime in late summer/early fall (fall would work better to be able to handle the temps, so that's a better guess).

Want to wait until it's all setup and running before I put anything in there, but now I'm wondering if I could simply build the tent and fill it up (the "guts") as I go.............don't wanna spend 10K+ on this "hobby" before I've made a penny back, but also am super stoked to get this fucker up and off the ground, and don't want any "down time" for a couple of weeks as I test the tent out and have nothing flowering (can't fit the 4x4 in there with the "MT" frame).

This current harvest will suck (.5 lbs, if that), but then hopefully the next one will be in the 1.25-1.5 range, which almost gets me to even, and then the one after that would be icing on the cake, and pay for "MegaTent".

That's the plan for right now, but we'll see how things go.

 

[wonderblunder]

My wife definitely disgusted at times with my justifaction process for spending on the "hobby". According to her I have spent at least 6 grand. Me, I think about 3k. Im upgrading myself here too. Between 6-8k of hps

 

[smokingrubber]

Yeah I'm sure you can find deals on a lot of the stuff. The point is . . . exactly what you said . . . this hobby can siphon your funds and its never as simple as JUST 4k by the time it comes to flip the switch! A wise man would realize a harvest or two before wading even deeper into the pool.

... I keep staring at that last statement I wrote. I am maybe not as wise as I had hoped. We'll see.

You're on the right track. Plan it out, chew on it, and when the time comes to pull the trigger you'll know exactly what your strategy and budget looks like. That's what I've been doing and it's certainly evolved (for the better) with time to think things through.



Bulbs for 50?

 

[Bob Smith]

Sorry guys, this is gonna be a duplicate post to something I just posted in a thread dedicated to that project, but I'm really pleased with myself, so deal with it

This is in regards to the generator, FYI.

Don't wanna jinx myself, and there's certainly significant left tail risk involved (like burning down the house), but so far this works better then I could've hoped.

Took me forever to get the pilot lit, and I was just about to quit before I finally got it, but I'm loving this right now.

Stats:

Firstly, turned my Sentinel from Fuzzy Logic (for compressed CO2) to Generator, and also raised the deadband from 25 to 200 (the max deadband). Setepoint is still at 1500.

So, let the temp get down to 72 and the CO2 get down to 400, then I fired the system up -

Took 1.5 minutes - temp went up to 77, CO2 went to ~1800, and humidity went a few % points.

Stayed in to watch it in "maintain" mode, and it runs for about 30-45 seconds every five minutes, raising the temp about 1-1.5 degrees each time, and lowering the humidity a coupla points, while hitting ~1825 in PPMs.

Again, not trying to put the "mush" on myself, but so far this is working beautifully.

Need to figure out a failsafe in case the ducting should come down while I'm not there, which would lead the burner to stay on continuously, and need to brainstorm about some other things that could go wrong, but I'm feeling pretty good about it right now.

Thanks to all for their help.

 

[Bob Smith]

My wife definitely disgusted at times with my justifaction process for spending on the "hobby". According to her I have spent at least 6 grand. Me, I think about 3k. Im upgrading myself here too. Between 6-8k of hps

6-8K of HPS? You run a power company?

Sheeeeeeeet.................that's a lot of light right there..............

 

[Bob Smith]

Yeah I'm sure you can find deals on a lot of the stuff. The point is . . . exactly what you said . . . this hobby can siphon your funds and its never as simple as JUST 4k by the time it comes to flip the switch! A wise man would realize a harvest or two before wading even deeper into the pool.

... I keep staring at that last statement I wrote. I am maybe not as wise as I had hoped. We'll see.

You're on the right track. Plan it out, chew on it, and when the time comes to pull the trigger you'll know exactly what your strategy and budget looks like. That's what I've been doing and it's certainly evolved (for the better) with time to think things through.



Bulbs for 50?

Funny, was shopping today and saw your post in your thread about upgrading by next week come across my Blackberry, and I was gonna say the same to you

Need to see some sort of return on my investment before I go dropping stacks and stacks on this hobby; hell, could move somewhere in a few months and then I've just got $10K of growing shit with nowhere to put, you know?

Thinking I need to go more one step at a time, but we'll see

And yuppers, check 'em out..........

http://www.businesslights.com/hps-lamps-c-27.html

That's where I got my inline fans from - they work great and they're cheap (half the price of comparable Vortex, etc.).

 

[smokingrubber]

Need to figure out a failsafe in case the ducting should come down while I'm not there, which would lead the burner to stay on continuously, and need to brainstorm about some other things that could go wrong, but I'm feeling pretty good about it right now.

Thanks to all for their help.

Don't they make some kind of high-temp cutoff sensor? Put that in the garage and if the temp gets too high it won't allow the Co2 gen to kick on? Something between the Sentinal and the gen.

 

[Bob Smith]

So, things are rolling along.............still expecting a shitty yield from this harvest, still unsure as to what makes the most sense to do to try and salvage it, still focusing mainly on my next run and getting these clones ready.

That being said, gonna take about 10-15 clones off of the super skunk mom today (root them in E&F, which I'm much more comfortable in then rapid rooters).

Need to have ~25 fairly large, viable mothers within about five weeks (have 36 4" clones doing well in E&F right now, so I think I'll get there) - doing this grow with one strain is simply out of the question at this point, gonna need all the healthy clones I can get - shooting to take 216, and choosing the best 144 (clone selection is so, so, so important when doing a SOG, so more selection is better).

Anyways, just decided as I typed that to try and fix the flowering tent as best I can - gonna take the net off today, rearrange the plants to try and maximize what yield I can, and then put it back on, using twist ties and all

Anyways, here's some pics:



P.S. - made a video of my new setup, here's the link for anyone interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRXXJyuok90

 

[smokingrubber]

Great video. Nice to hear the engine room running at warp 2

 

[Bob Smith]

Great video. Nice to hear the engine room running at warp 2

Lol..............thanks man

 

[smokingrubber]

With that accent, its getting harder to pull off the California 215 tag. Shoulda thrown in a few "knarly"s for effect lol.

 

[Bob Smith]

With that accent, its getting harder to pull off the California 215 tag. Shoulda thrown in a few "knarly"s for effect lol.

I'm looking out my window at the Golden Gate Bridge as we speak



Anyhow, took the screen down in the flower tent with the thought of shuffling the plants around and putting it back, and now have just decided to leave it off.

Putting it on was just creating a mass of foliage and buds, which inhibited all growth and would surely have led to problems down the road.

Have decided to just do my best to rotate the plants every couple/few days, and see how that does for me - I guess I'm gonna put the bamboo stakes back in them now

Also took thirteen clones off of my super skunk mom - 11 are directly in hydroton in the E&F tray, and 2 are in rapid rooters surrounded by hydroton in the tray - wanna test this out anyways, and those two clones were too short to root in just hydroton.

 

[smokingrubber]

I'm looking out my window at the Golden Gate Bridge as we speak

Me too ... knarly!

 

[statik]

Damnit, lets just make fun of people from Cali now... We don't ALL say knarley. You forgot "Hella." Or better yet, "Hella knarley."

Anyway, when did you put the screen in there Bob? I have been thinking about going Scrog in my room as you know. The only problem I can see is if I have to move plants for some unforeseen reason later on. Sorry to temp jack your thread, but I dropped my plants to the floor like Gnome and I were talking about. Thinking about putting them on some 6 inch tall (upside down) hydro buckets so I can run a drip to waste (waste being on the floor) and just mop up what falls through. RH will go up like mad of course, but thats what dehumidifiers are for right? I would only lose that 6 - 7 inches by doing so..unlike the 18 or so I was taking up with the tubs.

Ok enough hijacking. So what exactly is it you think you did wrong this round Bob? You keep saying the harvest is going to be crap. Mind explaining, not just for me...but for the others who may not want to read back over 70 pages?

I know you plan on shoving more clones in this next run, and throwing the switch sooner (at least I think thats what you had said before). Didn't we discuss topping as well?

 

[Bob Smith]

Damnit, lets just make fun of people from Cali now... We don't ALL say knarley. You forgot "Hella." Or better yet, "Hella knarley."

Anyway, when did you put the screen in there Bob? I have been thinking about going Scrog in my room as you know. The only problem I can see is if I have to move plants for some unforeseen reason later on. Sorry to temp jack your thread, but I dropped my plants to the floor like Gnome and I were talking about. Thinking about putting them on some 6 inch tall (upside down) hydro buckets so I can run a drip to waste (waste being on the floor) and just mop up what falls through. RH will go up like mad of course, but thats what dehumidifiers are for right? I would only lose that 6 - 7 inches by doing so..unlike the 18 or so I was taking up with the tubs.

Ok enough hijacking. So what exactly is it you think you did wrong this round Bob? You keep saying the harvest is going to be crap. Mind explaining, not just for me...but for the others who may not want to read back over 70 pages?

I know you plan on shoving more clones in this next run, and throwing the switch sooner (at least I think thats what you had said before). Didn't we discuss topping as well?

Hehe...............I'm hella buzzed right now, swilling this JD like it's water.

And as far as what I did wrong, it's very easy to sum up into one word - time.

I waited to long to flip the switch (like a douche), and my plants are too tall - only had 24" of usable space (giving a 12" cushion from the light to the top of the plants), so flipping at 12" for the clones and ~16" for the seedlings (even though all had been topped to control height) was semi-disastrous.

Other then that, I think my grow (the flowering aspect, at least) has gone along flawlessly

"And how was the rest of the play, Mrs. Lincoln?"

Like how I've got the atmosphere as in check as is really possible, Lucas Formula has been working very, very well for me (haven't changed the reservoir since the first week of November, with no ill effects), and I'm pleased at how my learning ("remembering") curve has progressed for the last month or two.

And yeah, for the next grow, I'm planning on 144 clones (or as many healthy and vigorous clones as I can get), and I'm going to flower at 2-3", with the expectation that I might have to cull 1/4 to 1/2 of them before harvest.

It's gonna kinda be an experiment in hubris, and you're all gonna be invited

 

[Bob Smith]

- go figure, so I just ordered a Magnum XXXL reflector for my flowering tent...............figure that should help with my coverage, and help my salvage something outta this harvest.

http://www.growlightexpress.com/grow-light-reflectors-4/magnum-xxxl-6-air-cooled-reflector-157.html

Also thinking I'll be using four of them for my next grow show, so it lets me "test out the merchandise" before making the commitment to buy three more.

That is all.

Holler.

EDIT: so looking at the dimensions online (prolly should've done that before purchasing, but that's not my style), gonna have to make some room in the tent - that means the filter and 6" inline for exhaust will have to come out of the tent and be mounted outside of it - Bob the Builder will be making a special holiday appearance to bring his Xmas cheer.

DOUBLE EDIT: so after having it explained to me that the 8" flange was way bigger (thought the only difference was the flange size, not the actual reflector size), I've emailed the seller to see if I can purchase the 8" instead - not too worried about it either way, but the 8" would be the shit.

The 8" is 38x30, and the 6" is 32x26.

TRIPLE EDIT: realized that the 8" wouldn't fit into my current tent (no 8" flanges on the tent, and there wouldn't be enough room to run the ducting, etc.), I'm sticking with the 6".

Also makes more sense because if I go to 4 3x3 tables, I don't need a reflector (the 8") which is longer then my tables (38" compared to 36").

Integra - was up early this morning and tried to get you some lights off pics, but dragged my feet and got out there as soon as the light came on

 

[budman52]

Well, checked on the ladies and detected a faint odor of algae (man do I hate that fugging smell).

Anyhow, emptied all the tanks out, scrubbed them down, and then refilled with nutes and 300mLs of H2O2 each; also added an additional couple of airstones per tub.

Definitely in the uber early stages, but I wanna nip this shit in the bud immediately - gonna see how they react to the 300mL I added and in a couple of days add some more if that's not enough.

good luck on growing peace out