3rd CFL Closet Grow - single AK-47 - Waterfarm - 2x125W Envirolites
- Thread starter SunnyJim
- Start date
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
I just refilled her tank with balanced water and a batch of full strength bloom nutes, so that should keep her happy enough for the next 10 days to 2 weeks.
Her buds are developing nicely. I haven't counted how many buds there are, but I might when they start to fatten up a little.
She is crying out for a larger home - the cab is simply too small for a plant that size. I shouldn't have vegged her for as long as I did (I thought I might ScrOG her, but decided against it.. In retrospect, I probably should have.). I'm going to have to get creative with the LST because I'm tying down branches almost daily now.
All that said, it should be a very happy Halloween for me and a few select friends.
Some baby bud porn:
Jim out
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
The buds are beginning to fill out now. White pistils sticking straight up. On Sunday I think I'll dump her tank and give her another dose of full strength bloom nutes.
I don't need to tie her down quite as much now - she looks like she's really slowed down her vegetative growth and is concentrating on bud production. The cabinet seems to be just about big enough for the entire grow, but it's super cozy in there. I got lucky. Had I vegged her for a week longer I'm pretty sure she would've been too big.
Approximately 6 weeks left. Oh baby.
Thinking about experimenting with my next grow and planting 3 Super Lemon Haze in the one Waterfarm, but doing a 12/12 from seed. That would result in 3 small plants rather than one or two large ones. More manageable? I wonder what the yield per plant might be.. I would be stoked with a per plant yield of between half an Oz and one Oz. I'm assuming the plants would each throw out one main cola.
Peace
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
A few more pics after some LSTing. Some taken with a flash, some without.
I pruned a fair amount of fan leaves off her, so I hope I haven't stressed her too much. I had a scare and thought I snapped a branch, but after having inspected it, I think it survived.
Fresh tank and new batch of full strength nutes today, too.
some0kid
Active Member
You've definitely inspired me to grow hydroponic in all future grows. Going to start 15 seeds of black jack and hoping to get at leaast 8 females in 4 2 plant tubs. gonna lst/scrog them like yours. seems so easy just change the water clean the tub if you see mold and add nutes then tie when it's time and let her do her thing.
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
It is pretty easy to grow hydro, like you said. And if something goes wrong (over nute, pH problem, etc) all you have to do is dump the tank and refill it - no need to repeatedly flush like I've seen with soil grows. And the nutes last years, reusable clay pebbles. The only thing which needs replacing for new grows is the rockwool and the seed itself.
And LST is a necessary evil if you're growing with CFLs. They simply do not reach enough of the plant unless you LST/ScrOG.
What kind of lighting do you have? Dimensions of your grow space?
Peace
Ontheball
Well-Known Member
Hey dude nice work with the grow youve definatly got a fat lady there does she even get through the door lol 
Im about to make the switch from hps to cfl , should be receiving the lights over the next few days. Im also thinking of moving away from soil would u mind taking a few pics of that system u have there ?
Im about to make the switch from hps to cfl , should be receiving the lights over the next few days. Im also thinking of moving away from soil would u mind taking a few pics of that system u have there ?
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Thanks man. Yeah, she's one fat lady.Hey dude nice work with the grow youve definatly got a fat lady there does she even get through the door lol
You're making the switch from HPS to CFL? Interesting. Most people tend to go the other way - from CFL to HPS. Other than heat and height issues, is there are reason for your switch?
Sure, I'll take pictures of my setup. I'm just about to go out for a few hours, so I'll post some pics when I get back.
Ontheball
Well-Known Member
Wicked thanks dude , yeah for me its the heat issue ! my first cfl just arrived , i was looking at 42w cfl and thought fuck it may aswell go all out and get a 300w i never planned it would be this big check link in my sig if u wana see it lol
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
As promised, here are some pics of my setup, plus a few more of the plant/buds.
I use a Waterfarm, which is now a DWC/bubbleponic setup with an airstone aerating the water in the reservoir. It pretty much takes care of itself now, and only needs the tank refilled every couple weeks with balanced water and a fresh batch of nutes.
I took a look at your 300W beast, and damn! I'm looking forward to seeing your results with it.
Shoot me questions if you have any and I'll try to answer them.
Peace
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it sort of looks like one bucket, but there is a half-sized basket which sits inside the bigger bucket. The clay pebbles and rockwool sit in the backet, and the roots grow downwards through the clay pebbles and basket, and into the bucket containing the water and nutrient solution. There's also an airstone connected to an air pump bubbling away to make sure the roots don't drown. It starts off as a drip feeder, though.
They're pretty good little hydro systems, but not all too difficult to make yourself, for less than the waterfarm costs. And you can make one to best fit your grow space.
They're pretty good little hydro systems, but not all too difficult to make yourself, for less than the waterfarm costs. And you can make one to best fit your grow space.
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
I got mine here: http://www.growell.co.uk/aquafarm-waterfarm-systems.html
Onlyoneman
Well-Known Member
Is that a DIY box you have there? What is that reflective material you used?
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
thats not a bad looking bitta kit starts getting a little expensive tho when u add pebbles nutes etc think i might just get a old fish tank pump and try knock something up but its good to get a break down of how it works
Totally. A fish tank and pump would work fine, or storage bins. Any big container with a lid would probably do.
Post some pics when you have your setup running.
Yeah, it's just a small office cabinet, which I modified slightly for my grow. I lined it with diamond reflective sheeting:
http://www.growell.co.uk/premium-diamond-reflective-sheeting.html
Good stuff, and fairly easy to tape to the inside walls.
--
Quick update (with a shit ton of pics, obv):
I just refilled my tank and gave her what I think will be her last dose of bloom nutes. I'm pretty sure she'll be good for the chop in a few weeks max, so I'll probably start flushing her in a week.
I need to get a magnifying glass to check the color of the trichs. Maybe next weekend.
There looks to be about 20 decent-sized buds, so I'm hoping for somewhere north of 2 Oz. Some of the pistils are turning amber. Good times.
I had to LST her again, because when I put her back in her box after refilling the tank, some of the buds were touching the bulbs. You'll notice from some of the pics that a few of the fan leaves are a little scorched at the tips from heat burn. Meh - it doesn't look too serious, and hopefully won't stress my Russian Tzarina before I harvest her. I keep tucking the leaves down, but they like to pop back up when I'm not looking. Sneaky fan leaves. I deserve it, though. I vegged her for way too long, being the greedy fuck that I am, and she's required almost daily canopy management from about 3 weeks in.
Check her:
Lyghtsout
Member
She looks healthy and happy my friend! Handled her with care the whole way thru....well done. Would that amount of light have grown two decently yeilding plants in your current setup, and how much of a factor do your reflective sheets make over a) nothing; and b)typical mylar, white paint, etc.? Thanks bro....Happy Harvest!
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Thanks! Yes, that amount of light is sufficient for two plants. This is my third grow, the first two grows I completed were two plants each. The first one was 2 Spoetniks from Paradise Seeds, and the second was 2 AK-47 from Serious Seeds (the same strain I'm growing now). I just vegged the two-plant grows for less time so that they didn't grow as large as this lady I have now.
Good question about the reflective material. I'm really not sure how much it helps, or if this diamond sheeting is better than standard mylar of even flat white paint. All I know is that I looked at the price, and figured I should just go for the diamond stuff because it really isn't expensive to line a cabinet as small as mine.
Peace