The Great T5 Adventure!!!!

H2o2 update: So I was checking out the dutchmaster website, http://www.dutchmaster.com.au/?language=english&page=growers_guide&topic=hydrogen_peroxide , and they had some interesting stuff to say about h2o2 use. They say that the ideal way to administer h2o2 is to put it in the water you will be using 24-36 hours before use...this way it disinfects the water, but the h2o2 will have broken down in that time, so it won't be harmful to the roots.

If in a week my roots continue to appear rot free, then I'll probably stop using the h2o2...there are a few organic compounds I'd like to use (such as thrive alive), and I can't use them with the h2o2. We shall see...

Update: So my plants are doing very well! They look much healthier, and the rate of growth has increased dramatically. I no longer see any root rot; accordingly, I'm planning on stopping my daily h2o2 treatments when i perform my weekly res change, which is in 2-3 days. I think I will just clean my res with h2o2 during nute changes, and dunk my plants in a bath once a week (thanks tee five!). I'll upload pictures in the next day or two!

Entry # 16 Finally...
Pictures:
Here are the pictures I said I'd put up. As you can see, they are doing MUCH better (even the ugly mutant runt-plant). I'm pretty sure I've finally worked all of the problems out of my setup. The unit should pretty much run itself now. Though I take readings daily just to be safe, I don't really "do" much anymore.

There is still a little coloring on some of the leaves, but I think that's because my nutrient levels have consistently been a little high (like 100-150 ppm over what is recommended on the advanced nutrients calculator). But, since I am doing my weekly res change tomorrow, I'll adjust the levels then.

Tomorrow, I will also be inspecting my plants for signs of root rot. I haven't seen any for some time, but it's hard to tell when my plants are still in the reservoir (I only take them out when I clean). Assuming I see no rot, I will probably stop using the h2o2, since I was only using it to fight the rot problem caused by my high reservoir temps in the early days. Since then, I've added a second air pump, 4 more airstones, and a water chiller; I feel that the rot will probably not come back.

There are some nutes I would like to use that are at least partially organic, and I cannot use these if I'm still using h2o2, so I'm going to take a chance! I'm have some thrive alive which I was going to use originally, but since I'm now using advanced nutrients, I might just switch over

Entry #17: Oo Oo, That Smell...
So, today I installed my carbon filter. As you can see in the picture, I now have a 200 cfm centrifugal fan drawing air from the A/C and carbon filter. Everything seems to be working quite well.

Today, I also did my weekly reservoir change. I'm thinking I'm going to try going 2 weeks without cleaning the reservoir, since I didn't see any root rot. However, I chickened out and put another dose of h2o2 in my reservoir. My plants are finally starting to look good, and I want to change as little as possible while they are still in recovery.

My next objective is to improve my nutrient recipie. Currently, I'm only using AN GMB, as well as AN Revive (which is to help my plants recover from the lack of micro formula I gave 2 weeks ago).

I'm thinking of ditching the Revive, now that my plants are getting better, and instead using B-52 to help keep my roots healthy. I also plan on using Big Bud when it comes time to flower. I've considered using more nutrients, but I'm pretty sure after a certain point AN is just trying to upsell me, so 5 different fertilizers should be enough for a small project like this.

If anyone has any experience with Advanced Nutrients in a Hydro setup, let me know!

Update:
Wtf, one of my bulbs went out today...I've been running this light for less than 2 months...it's definitely not usual for a T5 bulb to burn out this soon, they can seriously last for years. The only thing I can think of is that I accidentally touched the bulb at some point, but the bulbs don't get hot like HIDs, so I doubt that's what would cause it to go out. Weird.

I guess it's not a big deal. I'm going to just buy 4 new 2700k bulbs anyways (flower time soon!!), so I'll just swap out the burnt one and three others, and just use them as spare replacement bulbs.

Entry #18: This Tub Ain't Big Enough For the Three of Us...
So, I'm worried my plants are getting too large. It has been roughly 6 weeks since the cuttings were planted...I was going to veg for roughly 2 months, because I plan on having a 3 plant harvest every 2 months. I do this because the medical laws in my state make it practical to have 4 month cycles, and not use a permant mother plant (since it counts as a grown plant, and limits the # you can bloom). So, I was going to start flowering around the June 20th-30th, but I'm worried my plants will get much too big for the reservoir I'm using. Here are some pictures, if anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

how many inches are they? Hard to tell by pics

but they are looking good

Interesting can't wait to see how your buds turn out - the plants have turned out really good, looks nice

Entry #19: Pretty Colors
So today I went multi-spectrum! I purchased 4 3000k bulbs, and put them in my lamp (So now I have 4x 6500 and 4x 3000). I alternated the bulbs, so the light is mixed evenly over the canopy. I'm doing this as a run up to flowering, which should be in a couple weeks. But, I will likely just start growing multi-spectrum through veg from now on...I just didn't earlier because I didn't want to spend the $60 at the time, since I got the 6500 bulbs free with the light.

In other news, I finally got around to calibrating my meters. Not surprisingly, they were way off. As a result, I've been dramatically overfeeding my plants; I'm surprised they've done as well as they have (although this strain is known for its resiliency). My pH tester was also out of tune, but surprisingly, my pH levels tested at appropriate levels (around 5.7ish). The only thing I can think of is that I used AN nutes, which are "pH perfect". I honestly just thought that pH perfect was a load of crap, but clearly there's some truth to it. Every day, I would lower my pH, and every day, it would jump back up...now I've realized my meter was off, so the pH was way too low each day, but the nutrients automatically boosted it up. Perhaps there is something else going on, but the pH perfect thing seems to be the most obvious answer. It certainly raises my opinion of AN a bit...3 cheers for idiot-proof nutrients!

I've also been doing some minor maintenance on things...I've slowly been replacing all the duct tape I've used with much stronger/stickier metal foil tape. Basically, I was hoping I could get away with using cheap tape, but I should have known better!

Additionally, I'm in the process of creating a new reservoir. The one I'm currently using is to small at 36" long, 18" wide 12" deep. It's maximum capacity is 27.5 gallons, although I normally keep about 12-15 gallons of water in it.

My new reservoir is much larger, at 43" wide, 22" wide and 18" deep. It can hold 50 gallons of water, but I only plan on using roughly 20 gallons of water. I've purchased 1" foam board insulation, which I will use to insulate my reservoir (it should be even more well insulated than the last one). Basically, I'm going to use my current reservoir as my veg res, and the new one as my flowering res. Hopefully I'll have this new reservoir up and running within a week.

In Response to Tee Five:
My plants are roughly 18" tall. However, the problem is not their height, but their width. My plant's are pretty bushy...at their widest point, the'yre roughly 30"...so they're almost twice as wide as they are tall. I attribute this to the light I'm using, which is very wide (like 27"). Normally I'd be pleased, as I prefer bushy plants, but I guess I was just caught a bit off guard, since normally my size issues have revolved around height.

Finally, I'm going to do some trimming at my main project tonight. I'll take some pictures of this new harvest, since most of the plants are the same strain I am growing in my cabinet (Big Bud). If the current harvest is any indicator, I will have an excellent harvest soon enough!

i've been following along, as i am considering using t5s all the way through my first grow. love to see how those plants bounced back! so, am i summarizing correctly so far when i say that the only problem you've had with the lights was the one bulb burning out? if so, that's awesome. doesn't look like you are having penetration problems with those bushy looking plants. i'm pulling up a seat for the rest of this one. +rep

also, what are the measurements of the two light fixtures together? i see you are 8 bulbs wide, but how long is the fixture? 4ft?

thanks!

Hey man...how about an update?

Did you start flowering yet?

Good god...my plants have practically exploded.

I was out of town for a little over a week, hence the lack of updates (apologies everyone!). I had a friend take care of my plants. As you can see, they are absolutely gigantic, I haven't even started flowering, though I plan to do so in the next 2-4 days.

I still haven't upgraded the reservoir, I ran out of time before I had to leave. But, I will likely do that tomorrow, so I'll post some pics of that.

As well, I'm thinking about getting some 1 or 2 bulb t5 fixtures, and place them on the sides of the plants to help increase the light penetration (although the plants seem to be doing just fine).

In response to dirtybean:
My fixture is roughly 48" by 27"; I'm only using one per box, although as I said, I'm considering adding a couple of "side bulbs". It is a 8 bulb phoenix t5 fixture. And yes, aside from one bulb burning out prematurely, the fixture has worked splendidly (and honestly, the problem was likely the bulb itself, rather than the light). The nice thing about t5s if even if one bulb does burn out, the light still works pretty well until you can replace it.

Now that I'm back from vacation, I have some serious work to do on this project, so y'all can expect regular updates, so check back often!
-CDXX

thanks for the info. i'm pulling up a seat for this since our setups are (or will be) very similar.

where did you grab that phoenix? having a hard time locating one online to check out...

I grabbed the light from a local hydro shop, Evergreen Garden Supply. They used it as a newer replacement for the sunblaze 48". I like the phoenix better, since it is wider and has better heat/light dispersion. I tried checking online, and couldn't find it. If you are really interested in pursuing this particular fixture, you could try contacting the store, perhaps they could tell you where to look.

sounds good. thanks!

CDXX said:

I grabbed the light from a local hydro shop, Evergreen Garden Supply. They used it as a newer replacement for the sunblaze 48". I like the phoenix better, since it is wider and has better heat/light dispersion. I tried checking online, and couldn't find it. If you are really interested in pursuing this particular fixture, you could try contacting the store, perhaps they could tell you where to look.
View attachment 1006369View attachment 1006370

Click to expand...

One---Im glad you and/or your plants aren't dead.

Two--Im glad you weren't busted

Three---Welcome Back!!

Those are virtually the same as my lights as mine. As you know. My fixture isn't Phoenix---they are Sunblaze...but I'll bet they are made by the same manufacturer. Both have those name plates and made in China.


Welcome back Kotter!!!!


EDIT: Man your plants are looking great--but flower soon my man!

is there a big difference between the sunblaze and the teklight? i think the only difference i can spot the teklight having a ballast.

Updates:

First, apologies for slacking on my journal! I've been super busy with my other grow; we are in the process of moving what is now a 42 plant operation! it's legal, but a HUGE logistical pain in the ass.

That being said, I will begin flowering tonight or tomorrow morning. But this presents me with a dillema. Because I have waited so long to flower, the roots of my 3 plants have become very tangled. This makes it impossible to take the individual plants out of the reservoir one at a time, which is what I have done previously. So while I have a new, larger reservoir ready to go, I am unsure of what the best way to move the plants out of the old reservoir will be. I am considering just cutting a long, narrow hole through the center of my big reservoir lid, and then simply resting the old reservoir lid on top of it. I will upload some pictures in a bit, and you will see what I mean.

In other news, I've bought the needed supplies for flowering. I purchased another Iceprobe chiller, as well as some bloom enhancers from advanced nutrients. I've had a very positive experience with AN so far, so I will continue to use their stuff as long as I get results.

I'll be posting some updates w/ pictures in a bit.
-CDXX

In response to lighting questions:
I have never used teklight, so I'm afraid I can't provide you with too much guidance. That being said, there are a couple of things that distinguish these different lights that you might want to think about.
A) Dimensions. One of the reasons I like the phoenix is that it is roughly 8" wider than the sunblaze. I feel that this wider surface area creates wider, bushier plants. It also likely helps with heat dispersion; my plants are rarely farther than .5" away from the surface of the lamp, and have not been burned to speak of! However, a wider light means wider space requirements, and this could be problematic for for growers in smaller spaces.
B) Internal vs. external ballasts. I have never used a t5 with an external ballast, since I prefer the ease of use provided by lamps with internal ones. However, ballasts generate heat, so some people might wish to place them outside of a closet or cabinet to aid with cooling.

Hope this helps.

Major Renovations

Ok, so I finally got around to upgrading my setup. As you can see in the photos, I've upgraded my reservoir to a bigger model. Whereas my previous tub held a maximum of 27.5 gallons, this one holds a max of 50. In my previous reservoir, the roots got so large, that there was very little room left for water; I would have to add 2-3 gallons of water per day to keep the system from "running dry". As well, the constantly fluctuating water table made it difficult for the iceprobe to keep things cool; the res temp went from 19 degrees to 21 degrees. This is still in the "acceptable" range, but it's getting a bit warmer than I'd like.

It was no easy task to switch tanks this far through. The roots had grown together, and had practically "eaten" the airstones. So, I separated the roots as gently as possible, and cut whatever I couldn't pull apart. I was concerned that this might harm the plants, but it has been a few days, and they seem to be doing just fine. The only problem is that my iceprobe is having a bit of trouble cooling the increased amount of water. This makes sense, as I went from cooling 12-15 gallons of water to 22-25 gallons of water. The temperature has never passed 22 celsius, but I like my temp to stay around 20, so I've been using a frozen water bottle or two. The iceprobe does most of the work, but the bottles are just enough to lower the soup by a degree or two. I will likely install a second iceprobe in this tank, but it will take a couple of weeks to get the $/order it off amazon.

Once I switched the res, I began flowering. It's only been a 3-4 days, so there aren't any bud sites yet, but the plants are doing quite well. I've begun to tie up some of the heavier branches, and this has allowed more air and light to get through the plants.

Finally, I've included a couple of shots of what my plants look like. As you can see, they are BIG. Not bad for roughly 8 weeks of veg, using only the most basic of nutrients.

However, I do have one concern. There is some foam in my reservoir. I didn't seem to have this issue in my old tank. I've been using h2o2, and cannot see any rot, but this foam seems...ominous. Does anyone have experience with this? If so, let me know!