Nirvana Bubblelicious Waterfarm Scrog in a Secret Jardin Tent 600 Watts

@ Serapis: What temperature range does your tent usually sit at with the 600w light on? And what is your usual ambient temperature outside the tent? The reason I am asking this is because I would like to run 2 waterfarms in a Secret Jardin DR100L or DR90 (the Dark Room 2 line) which are both approximately 3'x3'x6'. I know a 400w light would work just perfectly, but I would prefer to go with a 600w.

Also, my buddy and I propped the waterfarm up on a bucket so that we could drain the res into a 2 gallon bucket. What is your technique for draining the res?

bongmarley2009 said:

@ Serapis: What temperature range does your tent usually sit at with the 600w light on? And what is your usual ambient temperature outside the tent?

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Looking at my display, the high is 83 in the tent and the low is 73. The temp outside the tent is around 75 currently.

bongmarley2009 said:

Also, my buddy and I propped the waterfarm up on a bucket so that we could drain the res into a 2 gallon bucket. What is your technique for draining the res?

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I would have loved to have had some height on my farms, but that would have detracted from the canopy. As it is now, I'm going to have buds about 16" from the light. Draining the res takes patience, and I never worry about not getting it all out. I'll be scrubbing it out after harvest. I am going to raise them 3.5" next time with 4" x 4"'s..

bongmarley2009 said:

@ Serapis: What temperature range does your tent usually sit at with the 600w light on? And what is your usual ambient temperature outside the tent? The reason I am asking this is because I would like to run 2 waterfarms in a Secret Jardin DR100L or DR90 (the Dark Room 2 line) which are both approximately 3'x3'x6'. I know a 400w light would work just perfectly, but I would prefer to go with a 600w.

Also, my buddy and I propped the waterfarm up on a bucket so that we could drain the res into a 2 gallon bucket. What is your technique for draining the res?

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If you increased the extraction you will have no problems, I have a friend who runs a 1000W in a 3x3 with a 8 inch extraction fan and he has no problems with heat issues. I personally have a 600W in a 4x4 with a 6 inch and my temps never go beyond 80 even in the summer.

hey man i use a 2 1/2 gallon wet/dry shop vac from walmart to drain the last bit of my water farm. It will pretty much suck it dry. The shop vac is only about a foot tall and has a handle on it for carrying etc. All you gotta do is turn the blue drain hose to the side like normal and turn on the shop vac.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Shop-Vac-Portable-Wet-Dry-Shop-Vac-589-02-00/15567192

two2brains said:

hey man i use a 2 1/2 gallon wet/dry shop vac from walmart to drain the last bit of my water farm. It will pretty much suck it dry. The shop vac is only about a foot tall and has a handle on it for carrying etc. All you gotta do is turn the blue drain hose to the side like normal and turn on the shop vac.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Shop-Vac-Portable-Wet-Dry-Shop-Vac-589-02-00/15567192

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Good idea!

Damn the bad luck... Babylicious, has once again developed a problem with her Water Farm. The pick-up became clogged. I got the air tube and pick up about half way up the chute before the damn pick-up tip separated from the water supply tube that goes to the T in the drip ring. The damn pick up tip and the air tube collars are the exact same size as the inside of the water/air supply chute. Poor design if you ask me.

I was unable to fish the tip out, so I pushed it through and used the one from my back up waterfarm. She is now getting good water supply. The ppms are still in the 1600 range. The canopy is looking nice. I'm no longer relocating the hardier stem tops. It's time to let them catch the end of the stretch from right where they are.

newworldicon said:

If you increased the extraction you will have no problems, I have a friend who runs a 1000W in a 3x3 with a 8 inch extraction fan and he has no problems with heat issues. I personally have a 600W in a 4x4 with a 6 inch and my temps never go beyond 80 even in the summer.

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Same here. I use a vortex for tent air exhaust that's been scrubbed, and I use an isolated fan/duct for the hood, drawing air from outside the tent, through, and out the other end.

Serapis said:

Damn the bad luck... Babylicious, has once again developed a problem with her Water Farm. The pick-up became clogged. I got the air tube and pick up about half way up the chute before the damn pick-up tip separated from the water supply tube that goes to the T in the drip ring. The damn pick up tip and the air tube collars are the exact same size as the inside of the water/air supply chute. Poor design if you ask me.

I was unable to fish the tip out, so I pushed it through and used the one from my back up waterfarm. She is now getting good water supply. The ppms are still in the 1600 range. The canopy is looking nice. I'm no longer relocating the hardier stem tops. It's time to let them catch the end of the stretch from right where they are.

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I thought you may have nitpickety issues with them waterfarms, nice idea but too many things to clog and go wrong. Ebb and flood baby!!!!

newworldicon said:

I thought you may have nitpickety issues with them waterfarms, nice idea but too many things to clog and go wrong. Ebb and flood baby!!!!

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Yea but my buddy bought a $500 ebb and flow table and uses a 600w light. I bought a $65 waterfarm and use a 400W light and I am going to grow more than he will.

jimbizzzale67123 said:

Yea but my buddy bought a $500 ebb and flow table and uses a 600w light. I bought a $65 waterfarm and use a 400W light and I am going to grow more than he will.

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And that's down to the waterfarm vs. the ebb and flood??? or down to the strain, grower etc.

newworldicon said:

And that's down to the waterfarm vs. the ebb and flood??? or down to the strain, grower etc.

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Really just grower, he sucks. But the waterfarm is the shit.

jimbizzzale67123 said:

Really just grower, he sucks. But the waterfarm is the shit.

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It's good to believe in your products. Lets hope he is not on RIU checking this thread out. LOL.

@ Newworldicon, thanks for your input. I would definitely plan on running a 600w air-cooled light with a 6" 400+ cfm fan hooked up to a carbon filter. I would go with a 3'x3' or bigger Secret Jardin tent. In addition, I like your idea of using that shotvac to drain your res. Great idea and definitely beats having to prop the waterfarm up 6" or more.

@ Serapis, is your Vortex fan loud? I have a valueline 4" and 6" and they are not exactly quiet. I ended up purchasing a duct noise reducer plus a fan speed controller to combat the problem. And I do wish that the waterfarm's column support brown tube was just a little bit bigger so if it does get clogged, you can easily slide out and fix the pumping support column with clear tubing. When I first got the waterfarm, I had trouble with the clear tubing coming apart from the pumping column when I was sliding it into the brown support tube. Luckily, the only problem we had was the drip ring getting clogged for 3 days 1 week before harvest.

bongmarley2009 said:

@ Newworldicon, thanks for your input. I would definitely plan on running a 600w air-cooled light with a 6" 400+ cfm fan hooked up to a carbon filter. I would go with a 3'x3' or bigger Secret Jardin tent. In addition, I like your idea of using that shotvac to drain your res. Great idea and definitely beats having to prop the waterfarm up 6" or more.

@ Serapis, is your Vortex fan loud? I have a valueline 4" and 6" and they are not exactly quiet. I ended up purchasing a duct noise reducer plus a fan speed controller to combat the problem. And I do wish that the waterfarm's column support brown tube was just a little bit bigger so if it does get clogged, you can easily slide out and fix the pumping support column with clear tubing. When I first got the waterfarm, I had trouble with the clear tubing coming apart from the pumping column when I was sliding it into the brown support tube. Luckily, the only problem we had was the drip ring getting clogged for 3 days 1 week before harvest.

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I did not realise I had helped with input but it's a pleasure. Vortex 6 inch runs at about 40+ db at full tilt, the quietest fans are S&P fans, the 6 inch is 19db but double the price unfortunately. Which continent you on Marley?

@ Newworldicon, I am in America. Unfortunately the S&P 6" fan is only 293cfm which I am not sure will be effective cooling the reflector when also hooked up to a 6" carbon filter. I did see one on ebay for $137 shipped which isn't bad if its the quieter than the rest.

bongmarley2009 said:

@ Newworldicon, I am in America. Unfortunately the S&P 6" fan is only 293cfm which I am not sure will be effective cooling the reflector when also hooked up to a 6" carbon filter. I did see one on ebay for $137 shipped which isn't bad if its the quieter than the rest.

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Here's a link to the ones I speak of.......http://www.basementlighting.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?page=1/PROD/SPTD

The 6 inch is 580 cm3/h and actually 22db but still good.

bongmarley2009 said:

@ Serapis, is your Vortex fan loud? I have a valueline 4" and 6" and they are not exactly quiet. I ended up purchasing a duct noise reducer plus a fan speed controller to combat the problem. And I do wish that the waterfarm's column support brown tube was just a little bit bigger so if it does get clogged, you can easily slide out and fix the pumping support column with clear tubing. When I first got the waterfarm, I had trouble with the clear tubing coming apart from the pumping column when I was sliding it into the brown support tube. Luckily, the only problem we had was the drip ring getting clogged for 3 days 1 week before harvest.

Click to expand...

My fan controller actually arrived before my fan did. It's extremely quiet. My PC and external drive fans make more noise.

@ Newworldicon, I would use that 6" s&p fan to cool the reflector (via the Secret Jardin reflector ports) and a 4" fan hooked to a carbon filter for exhaust. But I'm just planning for the future when I do get the opportunity to grow again. I passed all my equipment to my buddy and he has been carrying the torch since.

@ Serapis, fan speed controllers are money money money. Makes the fan much quieter especially when you don't need to run your fan at full speed. Also purchased a duct noise reducer and that cut it down even more.

Out of Nitrogen?

You would think so after looking at some of the pictures. Trust me, the leaves are looking very healthy. VERY healthy. All of the cleaning I did below the screen was fortunate, as now I have new growth to remove, but I'm going to wait until the stretch is over.

Check out the drip ring on the plant on the right. That is as far as it will go down now. I suspect the other pickup connector is right below the replacement. I tried to move the chute around to get it out of the way, then I started thinking of what else could go wrong and I left it alone. I am contemplating gluing the pickups to the pickup tube for the next grow. I also have a spare plumbing set on the way. Anyone growing in a GH Waterfarm should have a back up set of plumbing in case something goes wrong, or for convenience. Imagine replacing the clogged drip ring in 10 seconds and tossing the dirty one in the dish washer or letting it soak in a sudsy sink. Only $15 on eBay with free shipping.

The keywords were "waterfarm plumbing" You could also use one of these kits, a 3 gal and a 5 gal bucket, some hydroton, and make your own waterfarm! The kit includes the grommet that the water level tube uses. Just need a drill and you are good to go. So for about $30, you can make yourself a $60 waterfarm. If any DIY'ers out there decide to do this, please start up a thread and post the link in here.

PH 5.6 - 5.8
ppms 1800
Res Temp 23.8 C

Check out the growth since the last pics!! Except for spacing colas, I'm not working the screen anymore. I am still tucking fan leaves back to let some tops get light, but most of the strongest producing tops are already in place. I'm only moving the thin stemmed ones around now to make sure that all the colas will have room to grow and expand. I am still working the plant on the left, as it is 2 weeks behind.

My Kandy Kush seed has yet to come up. I split the side of the Rapid Rooter and the seed has cracked and the tap root has wrapped half way around the seed and was aiming up. It's been two weeks. Yet another failed Rapid Rooter germination. I removed the seed and the still white tap root and placed them in a peat pellet. I also started a G13 Pineapple Express seed, in a peat pellet, just in case. If I avoid mold, peat never fails me. I have had nothing but problems with cubes and rapid rooters, non-germination, upside down seedlings, etc. The temp in the germ room is 83 and the humidity is 45%. If I see no signs of either seed by week's end, I'll open the closet door and cool the air down to 76 and see if that makes a difference. When I was growing soil and using a soil like organic starter, my germ rate was near 100%, so this is frustrating me. I'm so close to reverting back to soil for seedlings and then just converting to hydro with a root bath. I'd like to avoid that mess altogether...

On to the pictures.... I got some nice shots of some of the star tops that are sure to pack on the buds. The color is off due to HPS lighting.....

I will be building a fogging cloner in a day or two. I'm waiting on the net pots to get here and then I'll put together a quick tutorial and parts/price list in another thread. I'll link the tutorial in this thread when it is done. I got the idea from a forum thread somewhere and I can no longer find it. I have the idea pretty firmly in my head though, so no worries. It looks to be a fool proof cloning method. I'm tired of spending on seeds.