3rd run in the Undercurrent, not bad at all

well started my 3rd grow in the uc 8 weeks ago. Been a bit of a ride, first thing I did was let humidity get down to about 20% and after 8 days I clued in because the plants were dieing same mistake I made first grow. Just not use to a closed room. Well they bounced back and at week 4 came back after 4 days to a flood. Note to self put water probe clo0ser to ground. Syetem call me when things go wrong. UC told me what to do and shipped a replacement no questions and at no cost to me. That's Cali to Ontario Canada. BIG UPS TO THE BOYS AT UC!!!!

Fixed the crack with silicone and 3 days later leaking again, UC told me to use the waterweld but thought I new better. fixed with waterweld, lasted 3 days, fixed with more waterweld, leaking in 4 days than new buckets showed up. Was not as hard to replace as I thought.

So I did not want to drain the whole system so I took some socks and put them in a ziplock and jammed them in the pipes took the bucket off replaced and pulled the zips with the socks out. Back in business.

Again I have been away for 6 out of 7 days so have not spent time with my plants and have just been top loading the nutrients. I have not change the res once. I have had no issues with PH or PPM this run, I sure like Dutch Master in the UC. I have been running at 800ppm for the last 3 weeks and all looks good. I won't get 3/4 a plant I don't think but when I stop traveling I know I can do 3/4 easy. I also won't screw up the first 2 weeks again.

Looking at 1/2 pound a plant again, don't get me wrong that's good but I can get so much more when I spend the time with them. Gives me something to look forward to.

So here are the girls at week 8, 1 more week to go me thinks. Growing RGS7 it is a cross of Northern Lights, Super Skunk, Hash Plant

My god, it looks beautiful.

sweet. what air/water temp are you running at?

Did you just say that you've never changed the res?
Do you get any kind of build-up in the tubing?

haole420 said:

sweet. what air/water temp are you running at?

Click to expand...

My room temps are 70 lights off ad 80 lights on

Water temp is 63/64 all the time. I run a 1/2 hp chiller

burrr said:

Did you just say that you've never changed the res?
Do you get any kind of build-up in the tubing?

Click to expand...

The pipes are 3 inch so no buildup to worry about.

Yes I did say no res changes in 9 weeks just top load right to the res.

Very nice work! I like the details about the room & water temp, as this is a highly relevant issue. Nutrients (and nutrient ratios) staying in solution and Ph are going to be affected by temperature, so this is a really helpful bit of info. Also, I'm encouraged by the fact that you can leave your hydro garden for a few days, and all still seems to be relatively OK.

One of my major concerns has been having to constantly hover over my plants and hydro setup and keep an eye on everything, but maybe I'm being overly concerned about that.

As normal they look awesome wood

Umlah000 said:

Very nice work! I like the details about the room & water temp, as this is a highly relevant issue. Nutrients (and nutrient ratios) staying in solution and Ph are going to be affected by temperature, so this is a really helpful bit of info. Also, I'm encouraged by the fact that you can leave your hydro garden for a few days, and all still seems to be relatively OK.

One of my major concerns has been having to constantly hover over my plants and hydro setup and keep an eye on everything, but maybe I'm being overly concerned about that.

Click to expand...

I am running Dutch Master with some Cal mag that's all I use. RO water at 11ppm and Ph7.0
week 1 flower 700 ppm and I work my way up to about 900ppm by week 8 and keep it there till finished

I don't chase Ph I keep it between 5.4 and 6.2 before I take any action. I have been top loading the system the last 2 grows and don't see any issues. (just adding direct to the res.)

90% of the time my Ph is 5.6, DM is very stable in this system.

I also only use 40% of the recommended feeding on the chart, so my food lasts 2x normal.

The chiller keeps the temps low as cold water holds more dissolved oxygen that warmer water, and pathogens like root rot don't like cold water.

If you have more questions ask away.

I am using a recirculating set up with a 900 gph pump.

Quick tip: If your system does become clogged somehow, and it's not your pump, run the pump backwards for 5 minutes. Straight up.