First time growing in 10 years, tell me what you think of my setup

berkman858

Well-Known Member
Nice!!! U got the 1000 watts , the tent , fans & all .. I'm envious! Lol, I was actually thinking about going to a tent myself.. But idk how u guys keep em cool. It seems like even after venting, it would still be hard to keep the tent under 78 degrees for 6 months out of the year and I live in the north.. But still thinking about it, maybe just 4 veg & I'll put some t5s in there so it won't get so hot.. But what strains are u growing??
Keeping a 1000 watt light cool is a whole new venture for me so I was very surprised when I setup my tent (without the water chiller) and saw my water temperature rise to 83 degrees overnight! I was very displeased at this and immediately went out the next morning and bought a water chiller and this does wonders keeping my water temps at a chill 66 degrees.

My tent runs ~75-83 degrees with light on and ~65-70 degrees with the light off. I was thinking of setting up a makeshift air cooler made out of an oil transmission cooler running cold water from my water chiller and a small fan... stand by for a separate thread on that.

This grow is all Pineapple Kush, one plant is a week ahead of the others but they are all from the same mom.
 

berkman858

Well-Known Member
Updated pics from last night
 

Attachments

berkman858

Well-Known Member
So I have been losing the battle against some type of algae in my system and H2O2 wasn't doing enough. I just went and picked up some H&G Roots Excelurator and Multi Zen, and some Orca to add some good bacteria and [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]mycorrhiza. I hope this helps kill that shit because there are some tan spots on my roots and it's making me nervous. The Roots Excelurator should help repair the roots and act as a shield against any new shit.

Anyone had experience with Orca?
[/FONT]
 

rocknratm

Well-Known Member
83 is too hot imo. Get a bigger fan.,seal the hood with tape, add an intake or exhaust. Without co2 I wouldnt go above 80
 

berkman858

Well-Known Member
83 is too hot imo. Get a bigger fan.,seal the hood with tape, add an intake or exhaust. Without co2 I wouldnt go above 80
Yeah I have been worrying about that but I was hoping 83 was not going to be too hot since the water is at 66 degrees. I thought that might help alleviate any heat stress. I also have a good breeze blowing on the plants so their temp should be a little lower than the actual air temp, I am hoping. CO2 is a def for next grow, but I just don't have the money for it until harvest. Do you think 3 degrees will cause a lot of harm?

P.S. - I replaced my ghetto bug screen (pantyhose) for an actual bug screen and that opened up the air flow a great deal and because of this extra airflow I had to add a 3rd passive air intake so I am hoping this will keep the temp down a free degrees, maybe around 81. I will monitor and report back with results.
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
So I have been losing the battle against some type of algae in my system and H2O2 wasn't doing enough. I just went and picked up some H&G Roots Excelurator and Multi Zen, and some Orca to add some good bacteria and mycorrhiza. I hope this helps kill that shit because there are some tan spots on my roots and it's making me nervous. The Roots Excelurator should help repair the roots and act as a shield against any new shit.

Anyone had experience with Orca?
the algae thrives on h2o2. u need that bomb beneficial bacteria. take a few buckets of just plan phd tap water with a bit of h2o2 in it and dip them in it until the are as clean as possible. clean out the buckets thoroughly and add fresh water and the orca u got. it will help. but make sure u wait a day to add the orca if ur using tap water becuz the chlorine in tap water will kill it all. let it go a day with pumps going so the chlorine evaporates first. shouldn't take more than 24 hours. also make sure u clean ur system about once a week or when u do nutrient changes. having a few extra 5 gallon buckets is nice cuz u can fill them with water and just let the plants sit in them until ur done cleaning everything. that way u can really scrub the system good. algie if caught early can be easily treated but if u let it get too bad it can turn into the dreaded black slime and it can happen almost overnight with the right environment. black slime eats algie and algae thrives on h2o2 and h2o2 is the only thing that i know of that will really kill black slime. its a vicious circle. black slime and algae cause root rot over time so keep a close eye on it. also if u can look at a nice tea from a hydro store in ur area. the teas r gonna be a savior for ur buckets and r also a great preventative measure like ur orca. i use it on my bubble cloners every time i take cuttings. hopefully i didnt leave anything out.
 

wormdrive66

Well-Known Member
Love the setup!! Like a doctors office. Clean room = clean herbs. Looking forward to seeing your results. Subd :-)
 

berkman858

Well-Known Member
the algae thrives on h2o2. u need that bomb beneficial bacteria. take a few buckets of just plan phd tap water with a bit of h2o2 in it and dip them in it until the are as clean as possible. clean out the buckets thoroughly and add fresh water and the orca u got. it will help. but make sure u wait a day to add the orca if ur using tap water becuz the chlorine in tap water will kill it all. let it go a day with pumps going so the chlorine evaporates first. shouldn't take more than 24 hours. also make sure u clean ur system about once a week or when u do nutrient changes. having a few extra 5 gallon buckets is nice cuz u can fill them with water and just let the plants sit in them until ur done cleaning everything. that way u can really scrub the system good. algie if caught early can be easily treated but if u let it get too bad it can turn into the dreaded black slime and it can happen almost overnight with the right environment. black slime eats algie and algae thrives on h2o2 and h2o2 is the only thing that i know of that will really kill black slime. its a vicious circle. black slime and algae cause root rot over time so keep a close eye on it. also if u can look at a nice tea from a hydro store in ur area. the teas r gonna be a savior for ur buckets and r also a great preventative measure like ur orca. i use it on my bubble cloners every time i take cuttings. hopefully i didnt leave anything out.
Thanks for the info! I use R/O water so no worries about chlorine. I always scrub my buckets every week to make sure they are clean. No more H2O2!!!! Only good bacteria and that my$^$%^% stuff that I can't spell. Do you think teas are better than Orca? I have heard a lot of good things about teas and will probably try them out, but I want to hear more opinions first.
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
how many cfms is ur exhaust fan thats hooked up to the hood? should be at least a 400cfm fan for a 1000 watt bulb. also if u have a filter hooked up to it or r planning a filter for the smell of flowering u may want to look at an 8 inch fan cuz the filter will drop ur airflow a ton and raise the heat. also do u have an actual intake fan? if u got a nice 4 or a cheaper like 200 cfm 6 inch fan as an intake it will greatly drop ur temps in the tent. the more airflow u have going thru the intake and exhaust the cooler ur tent will be and the happier ur plants will be.
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info! I use R/O water so no worries about chlorine. I always scrub my buckets every week to make sure they are clean. No more H2O2!!!! Only good bacteria and that my$^$%^% stuff that I can't spell. Do you think teas are better than Orca? I have heard a lot of good things about teas and will probably try them out, but I want to hear more opinions first.

the teas r a life saver. they really do make ur root systems look fabulous and the bacteria in the tea keeps u from having to watch for the dreaded algae and slime as much. also dont need to add as much orca and stuff.
 

berkman858

Well-Known Member
how many cfms is ur exhaust fan thats hooked up to the hood? should be at least a 400cfm fan for a 1000 watt bulb. also if u have a filter hooked up to it or r planning a filter for the smell of flowering u may want to look at an 8 inch fan cuz the filter will drop ur airflow a ton and raise the heat. also do u have an actual intake fan? if u got a nice 4 or a cheaper like 200 cfm 6 inch fan as an intake it will greatly drop ur temps in the tent. the more airflow u have going thru the intake and exhaust the cooler ur tent will be and the happier ur plants will be.
I looked up the 6" Max-Fan specs and it is 340 CFM so I guess I am a little under powered. The guy at the hydro store may have underestimated my needs. I was planning on getting a smaller fan for intake so I can avoid so many passive intakes. Thanks for the info!
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
I looked up the 6" Max-Fan specs and it is 340 CFM so I guess I am a little under powered. The guy at the hydro store may have underestimated my needs. I was planning on getting a smaller fan for intake so I can avoid so many passive intakes. Thanks for the info!
get a bad ass 8 inch exhaust fan and use the other 6 inch as an intake. u will never have to worry about heat issues again as long as ur room isnt 200 degrees. lol. ebay has a power controller for them for about 25 bucks which is nice so u can slow them to what u need and helps save power in the long run. i can guarentee if u did it would drop ur temps drastically. plus craigslist has a few nice 8 inch fans in our area for way cheaper than new. plus the fans last like ten years so thats one thing i never worry about breaking or taking a crap on me when buying used.
 

berkman858

Well-Known Member
get a bad ass 8 inch exhaust fan and use the other 6 inch as an intake. u will never have to worry about heat issues again as long as ur room isnt 200 degrees. lol. ebay has a power controller for them for about 25 bucks which is nice so u can slow them to what u need and helps save power in the long run.
Great info! Rep'd. Thanks buddy.

EDIT: can't give you any more love right now until I give others REPs so.......
 
Top