PuffBomber
Member
This is my first grow and I welcome feedback...especially if you have suggestions on how to do better the next round as I just ordered some choice seeds and consider this batch a test run.
I started with some bag seed and planted them in rock wool. Put them in a dome on a heat pad to keep them nice and warm. Had sprouts within a week. I then removed the heat pad and added a fluorescent light for 18 hours/day.
Once the sprouts reached four inches tall I relocated the rock wool cubes to my ebb/flow hydroponic system. It's housed in a 3'x3'x8' area and the hydroponics are DIY. I used a cement mixing tray filled with pebbles for planting and have a rubbermaid tub underneath containing the nutrient solution and a pump to drive the system. I also added a bubbler to help aerate the solution, raise humidity and keep it from sitting stagnant.
The room is by a Hortilux enhanced spectrum super HPS grow lamp driven by a Future-Brite high efficiency 1,000W electronic ballast. In hindsight I realize that's overkill for this size space, but I got it on a deal and who knows when you'll want to expand, right?
Keeping that small space cool with that many watts was a serious challenge. I started by installing a bathroom fan in the ceiling (vented out the roof), but that didn't make a dent. I added a 6" inline fan which gave plenty of suction, but there wasn't enough cool air coming in so I cut a hole in the floor and added another 6" fan pulling cool air from under the house. Now it stays under 86F.
I measured out CNS17 Bloom (2-2-5) at 500ppm and balanced at a PH of ~6. I used bloom because that's what the guy at the hydroponics store suggested for root growth. I'm currently learning more about specific nutrients and have been incorporating Foxfarm Grow Big (6-4-4) into the mix.
I know I've made some mistakes. For instance, when I transferred the rock wool cubes I forgot to remove the wrap from around the sides, which I'm sure meant they retained way too much moisture and my poor plants have been having trouble breathing. I also feel like I'm floundering with the nutes, although I've been careful to stay conservative and not overdose.
In any case, growth seems to have slowed significantly...at least when it comes to vertical growth. This might also be because they've got 1,000w of high intensity light only 4' over their heads and don't need to stretch for light. The leaves are getting bigger, but not very rapidly and I'm not noticing new growth as fast.
The tallest seedling is looking pretty good.
I'm a bit more concerned with the yellow spots and leaf tips on this one.
Before anyone says mites, I know those can sometimes cause yellow spots, but I've checked them and there are no creepy crawlies. I thought these might have been caused from spattered water which magnified light from the HPS and burned those spots, but that doesn't really explain the leaf tips.
They all look a bit more droopy than before I relocated them, but from what I read it seems this could be normal. Just in case I have the pump scheduled to only run for fifteen minutes every four hours. I'm hoping this will give the roots enough time to breath while still keeping them moist with nutrients.
By the way, I used to be big into aquariums so I still had some old equipment...some of which has come in handy. I connected up my AquaController 3 to monitor temperature (probe buried near the surface of the media) and ORP. I still need to get solution to re-calibrate the ORP and am relying on a handheld, but the nice thing is I can set it up to notify me via email or on my phone if the parameters get too far out of wack and it keeps a constant log that I can pull up on my computer. Eventually I'd love to get a PH probe so I don't have to take manual readings. I haven't been able to find anyone who makes a humidity probe that would work with it or I could even have it control a humidifier.
I started with some bag seed and planted them in rock wool. Put them in a dome on a heat pad to keep them nice and warm. Had sprouts within a week. I then removed the heat pad and added a fluorescent light for 18 hours/day.
Once the sprouts reached four inches tall I relocated the rock wool cubes to my ebb/flow hydroponic system. It's housed in a 3'x3'x8' area and the hydroponics are DIY. I used a cement mixing tray filled with pebbles for planting and have a rubbermaid tub underneath containing the nutrient solution and a pump to drive the system. I also added a bubbler to help aerate the solution, raise humidity and keep it from sitting stagnant.
The room is by a Hortilux enhanced spectrum super HPS grow lamp driven by a Future-Brite high efficiency 1,000W electronic ballast. In hindsight I realize that's overkill for this size space, but I got it on a deal and who knows when you'll want to expand, right?
Keeping that small space cool with that many watts was a serious challenge. I started by installing a bathroom fan in the ceiling (vented out the roof), but that didn't make a dent. I added a 6" inline fan which gave plenty of suction, but there wasn't enough cool air coming in so I cut a hole in the floor and added another 6" fan pulling cool air from under the house. Now it stays under 86F.
I measured out CNS17 Bloom (2-2-5) at 500ppm and balanced at a PH of ~6. I used bloom because that's what the guy at the hydroponics store suggested for root growth. I'm currently learning more about specific nutrients and have been incorporating Foxfarm Grow Big (6-4-4) into the mix.
I know I've made some mistakes. For instance, when I transferred the rock wool cubes I forgot to remove the wrap from around the sides, which I'm sure meant they retained way too much moisture and my poor plants have been having trouble breathing. I also feel like I'm floundering with the nutes, although I've been careful to stay conservative and not overdose.
In any case, growth seems to have slowed significantly...at least when it comes to vertical growth. This might also be because they've got 1,000w of high intensity light only 4' over their heads and don't need to stretch for light. The leaves are getting bigger, but not very rapidly and I'm not noticing new growth as fast.
The tallest seedling is looking pretty good.
I'm a bit more concerned with the yellow spots and leaf tips on this one.
Before anyone says mites, I know those can sometimes cause yellow spots, but I've checked them and there are no creepy crawlies. I thought these might have been caused from spattered water which magnified light from the HPS and burned those spots, but that doesn't really explain the leaf tips.
They all look a bit more droopy than before I relocated them, but from what I read it seems this could be normal. Just in case I have the pump scheduled to only run for fifteen minutes every four hours. I'm hoping this will give the roots enough time to breath while still keeping them moist with nutrients.
By the way, I used to be big into aquariums so I still had some old equipment...some of which has come in handy. I connected up my AquaController 3 to monitor temperature (probe buried near the surface of the media) and ORP. I still need to get solution to re-calibrate the ORP and am relying on a handheld, but the nice thing is I can set it up to notify me via email or on my phone if the parameters get too far out of wack and it keeps a constant log that I can pull up on my computer. Eventually I'd love to get a PH probe so I don't have to take manual readings. I haven't been able to find anyone who makes a humidity probe that would work with it or I could even have it control a humidifier.
