OA. Third grow, first in hydro. 600w Growlab Tent/Ebb&Flow/Hydroton

Lanternslight

Active Member
So, I turned my plants and have been finding things like these growing all over them! Look at the size of the hairs on these bad boys. I definitely have to get those bigger containers stat!




This is the root stimulant I have been using. I feel like it is doing an amazing job. I put the girls in the hydroton July 1st, only 5 days and roots are exploding. This is also my first time growing hydro, so it might just be exciting to watch the roots grow as well as the tops. :}

 

steeZz

Well-Known Member
I just read somewhere that it's a bad idea to do multiple different plants on the same reservoir, it kind of makes sense but is that really a big deal?
 

Lanternslight

Active Member
I probably won't get the yield that I should off some. Or they might end up dying. It won't make my equipment spontaneously explode hopefully, I will see what happens. It's why I didn't want different strains. I might be turning my bedroom into a grow room. Making my current tent the flowering tent, with two seperate trays and reservoir systems. Then having a bigger one for the clones and vegging girls.
 

Lanternslight

Active Member
Ok, so today .... yesterday ( the 9th) was my birthday. Had a lot going on, girlfriend trying to buy me presents, transplanting to bigger pots, birthday dinner, changing reservoir...etc. Got everything done with the exception of the reservoir change. I read that Canna recommends you flushing and changing reservoir every two weeks. While topping of with nutes if needed, so I will try it out this week.

I took pics of the root balls and the plants in their new beds inside the tent. I will update with those tomorrow hopefully.

Sense vegging in hydro cuts the veg time by half (I have read this from numerous professional magazines, in grow journals etc.) I had planned on vegging these girls a month or so. I am starting to think I may go by height for the flip. One of the Blue dreams is already 10" tall in 1 week. That is a 4 inch jump. Depending on growth spurts I feel like it may only be another week and a half.

Well goodnight all, will get those updates with pics stat!
 

Lanternslight

Active Member
Pics, don't know why it didn't post when I left this morning. Here it is in a splash. I got 3 gal Rooter pots. They are hopefully gonna be amazing, tons of good reviews behind them. Anyways, the Skywalker (Big Sky) and Blue Dream(Tall Dream) are my favorites so far. Ph was nominal, same with ppm and ec. Temp was around 74.5F Tent was around 68 when I woke up this morning :} I will continue to monitor this. Decided against the reservoir change. I was reading the manufacturers magazine and they suggest Res change every 2 weeks and top off on the nutes as needed. We will see, anyone disagree with the manufacturers guidance? They got nutes, superthrive(b vitamins), and a little dose of the rhizotonic(which I may add to during the week). I got bamboo stakes today :} And I will be putting up a netting as well for added support. Some might believe this is overkill. To me the safer the better. Got a new 4 nozzle air pump and 4 twelve inch airstones, which adds to the one 4 inch cylindrical airstone I had. Will have more updates after the netting is up and the bamboo is in :}

Here they are after 1 week. First 2-3 days were at low wattage then 600 for the last 4 days. 18/6 and had them on 24 hrs for a couple days in the middle of the week. Canna Aqua A+B vega, rhizotonic, b vitamins











 

alotaball

Well-Known Member
Lantern.. good job.. shows how well things can go with some research.. im sure your gonna hit some hiccups.. but looks awesome so far..
 

Lanternslight

Active Member
Thanks guys!

They were a little droopy on my arrival home. Maybe heat and stress of last night. I have a sneaky suspicion that my timer for water hasnt been working. They are the analog kind with the pegs or whatever. Had digital timers...ex-wife got them in the divorce...I will have to wait until I have spare money in the budget again to replace the one i believe is broken. I will try a new surge protector first to rule out the socket it is plugged into currently. I luckily have a spare in the house.

I will be manually activating the flood. Once every 6 hours during lights on, not within 1 hour lights on or 1 hour of lights off. I feel like I need to occupy my time more. All I want to do is watch them grow. not even a little bit. I could watch the whole cycle without time-lapse. They change so quickly, its exciting!
 

steeZz

Well-Known Member
DONT LIE, YOU TOOK PICTURES OF THE BEST ROOT SYSTEM IN YOUR SETUP !!! nahh im just jealous i'm sure all your plants roots look great :P

i'm with you on that one though, i woke up rather late this morning around 11.. lights come up at 6 so they went through like half their cycle with me asleep...
probably good though cause i need the sleep and i'm finally comfy enough to let them be :p

but i swear, when i open that tent.. it's like everything in the world doesn't matter anymore.
and just knowing you're giving life and making something so damn beautiful makes you so happy, an proud.
ahhhh.
 

Lanternslight

Active Member
So as I wass typing an update my ciruit blew with the lights on it. I can't find the breaker. I believe its in the managers storage unit.
 

Lanternslight

Active Member
Yeah cept the yard with the breaker switch is guarded by 400lb pitbull. I found out the neighbor smokes thugh. he left his piece on the front porch haha
 

Lanternslight

Active Member
Oh yeah, the power is back on. girls actualy look healthier with their break. we will see, @i hope they dont hermie from the light stress. Can they hermie if they arent in flower? I freaked out a little last night for sure. this is a scary venture. wrought with peril, the rewards far OUTWEIGH the injuries we suffer. lol outweigh. i kill myself haha
 

ru4r34l

Well-Known Member
Oh yeah, the power is back on. girls actualy look healthier with their break. we will see, @i hope they dont hermie from the light stress. Can they hermie if they arent in flower? I freaked out a little last night for sure. this is a scary venture. wrought with peril, the rewards far OUTWEIGH the injuries we suffer. lol outweigh. i kill myself haha
You are worrying more than your plants, relax have a
or
.

You will find your plants will start to pick up on your behaviour, so take it easy and soon you will be harvesting.


regards,
 

Lanternslight

Active Member
I hear you. It is a little stressful when the lights go out @night and you can't find the circuit breaker. Lol. I'm sure they will be good. They seems to be droopy really bad this morning. Every since the lights went out I have been turning the 'Flood' on manually. I was told by the hydro store guy I probably need to water the girls 3 times a day. I feel like watering them 15 min every hour the lights are on again. They were healthier looking. Anyone experienced with hydroton?
 

ru4r34l

Well-Known Member
I hear you. It is a little stressful when the lights go out @night and you can't find the circuit breaker. Lol. I'm sure they will be good. They seems to be droopy really bad this morning. Every since the lights went out I have been turning the 'Flood' on manually. I was told by the hydro store guy I probably need to water the girls 3 times a day. I feel like watering them 15 min every hour the lights are on again. They were healthier looking. Anyone experienced with hydroton?
I would not say I am experienced but I have done a lot of reading, here is a quick paragraph I found a while ago in an online book (I think?) EDIT: quoted from Hydroponics.net

How often do I need to water my plants in an ebb and flow system?
Watering will all depend on the type of plants being grown, the size of those plants, and what type of medium you are using. As you know plants are very particular about being over or under-watered so this is an important question. First you need to determine if the medium you are using is absorbent or repellant. If you are using Rockwool you are dealing with an absorbent medium while Hydroton is a good example of a repellent medium that doesn't hold a lot of water. You want your medium to be moist but not drenched and you want your medium to dry out somewhat between waterings. So, if you watch your plants before and after waterings it will be very easy to tell if you are watering too much or too little. If your plants wilt before you water, but perk up immediately after watering, you may want to water a little more often. If your plants wilt just after watering than you are watering too much, and you should allot a little more time in between waterings. A good general rule of thumb is to start plants being watered about 2 to 3 times a day and increase as plants show signs of needing water.
How long should I water the plants for in an ebb and flow system?
In an ebb and flow system you are flooding a tray or pot full of nutrient solution to feed the plant or plants in your system. You do not want to keep the roots flooded for too long or you will risk drowning delicate roots. A good rule of thumb for watering in an ebb flow system is to water just long enough to completely flood your tray or pot with nutrient solution and then let the system drain. Most readily available timers have 30 minute increments so you may have to flood the tray for a little longer than it takes to reach the overflow level. This is fine as long as you do not keep the roots completely submerged for longer than an hour. Roots like oxygen, and keeping them submerged for too long cuts off the oxygen supply and can have fatal effects on your plants. So just remember to water only long enough to fill the system completely, and don't keep the roots submerged for too long.
regards,
 
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