First Hydro Grow!!

[kpw555]

Hello everyone!

This journal will cover my first hydro grow. I have grown outdoors and indoors using soil based media, but I wanted to try hydro for it's fast growth and flowering times.

After reading hundreds of posts on this forum I have chosen to use the perpetual harvest technique as I am only growing for myself and I like fresh Weed .

The reason I have started this project is so that I don't have to mess with dealer and supply issues (have you smoked any of that commercial schwag that is passing for marijuana these days?). Also my money goes to support the various industries that supply me instead of the mexican or columbian drug lords.

One short rant about the drug laws in the US, and I will try to keep the ranting to a minimum.
Where do the feds think gangs get money for guns? The truly harmful drug war in the US is directly responsible for supplying the business that these dangerous gangs ply.

Now to the good stuff:

Outdoor shed

Grow size 3'x12' total floor space with 8' ceiling.
Flower closet is 3'x3' within this space.

1 10,000btu ac unit inside the veg room
2 1500W Electric heaters (one in each space)

1 600W HPS with arctic sun reflector and electronic ballast for flowering
6" 200cfm fan and ducting for separate bulb and fixture cooling

3'x3' wooden flowering table 5" deep with hardware store made up fittings and lined with firestone 45mil pond liner.

50 cfm exhaust fan with carbon filter on thermostat. I think I am going to have to get a bigger exhaust fan maybe 150cfm or so for the flower room and move the 50cfm unit to the veg room.

mother shelf with a pair of shop light fitted with 4 40W cool white lamps

Will be using GH nutes

Have 35% h202 coming via UPS maybe tomorrow.

Hanna combo PH and TDS EC meter.

Rockwool cloning system. I am currently working on this project as I hope to need it soon!

So far the hardest thing to get has been the patience to not do anything to the little babies and let them grow.

The babies I have are 1 White widow 3wks(I started two but one came up with a big chunk missing out of its stem and it promptly died)
3 Bubblegum 2wks (all lived that I started)
1 bagseed 2wks (came from wicked shit but growing sadly at this point)

I am always seeking useful and thoughtful input.

Once again I have modeled this grow after Al B. Fuct get a harvest every two weeks. Al uses very simple and easy to duplicate methods and that suits me well as a new grower.

As with any endeavor pick a successful system get it running smoothly and then go in any direction that YOU choose. Till then ask for and follow advice from successful growers.

 

[BigBudBalls]

Very nice set up!
(I do have reservation with outbuildings for security in general. But you know your situation better then I.)

I like the tiles in the bottom of the flood tray. Nice stable base. Plumbing looks nice too.

One thing I'd change is to move all outlets above the flood tray level. Even if its on a GFI, if it trips, all still goes out.

 

[kpw555]

Thanks for the input BBB I think you are right that would not be good. I will move them before I start.

 

[kpw555]

By the way BigBudBalls the shed is in a fenced back yard with dogs running loose. I feel pretty secure except some nosy neighbor seeing something. But I am reasonably sure of my closest neighbors security is always on my mind.

 

[kpw555]

I like the tiles in the bottom of the flood tray.

The tiles make it so it drains to dry bottom insteas of an 1/8 inch or so puddle that is left below the lowest hole I could drill in the outlet.

 

[kpw555]

Got my MH conversion bulb yesterday and put the babies under for about 6 hrs. Started on MH this am at dawn. They seem to like their environment.

If anyone sees a potential problem developing please leave a comment.

Still working on ventilation for the clone box. Hope to need it in a couple of weeks or so.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

 

[ldnsharkkid]

Very nice setup man you obviously put a lot of time and effort into building it so ou deserve to get some bud in a coupla months....

Dont worry about the 600w MH just make sure you leave it far enough from the plants, and then try dropping it maybe 5cm after a couple of days and so on you want the light as close to the plants as possible without burning them....but what would i know im a noobie lol....

 

[kpw555]

Thanks for the compliment. I have indeed put a lot into this.

I started with 6hrs of MH the first day then a full day at long distance and lowered three chain links this morning.

Here is a couple pics from today.

I think they are showing signs of overfeeding caused by using Miraclegrow soil.

 

[kpw555]

Finished my clone box last night.

2 100W equiv CFL
4" duct booster fan
ductstat temp control
plexiglass door
plastic clone tray
root zone heater (no thermostat for it yet, maybe today)

I basically just partitioned off the space between two shelves and installed the equipment inside.

There is some space left on that shelf and I hope to have a mushroom fruiting chamber there someday. I just gotta get this garden rolling good first.

I plan to take about 10-15 clones every two weeks. I can only flower 7-9 per cycle.

Looks like the ductstat from Home Depot Might work fine for this application. I saw it at Home Depot and bought one, then that evening someone posted a link to it in Al B. Fuct's FAQ. It is a little fiddly to set but seems to keep about a 3 degree F spread. I hope that is not too much. At $21 if it works ok it will be a good buy, as the fan plugs right into the unit.

I placed a hygrometer in the box and it has stayed at exactly 20% since I opened the package. I placed some wet rockwool and sprayed some water around on the warm tray and it still never budged. I am beginning to wonder if it works at all. I will double check that with different meter before I use it.

Hopefully I will need this in a week or two.

 

[kpw555]

I was hoping to get some input. How about it RI?

 

[Styl!st07]

Nice setup Buddy

 

[kpw555]

I..........can't...........stop..............staring............lost...........all..............powers..............getting weak

 

[Scalded Dog]

Thats the shit man looks great

 

[kpw555]

It's been a while since I posted and I have a lot to post so I will make more than one.

My clone box is running well at 78.8-80.3F. I got a White Widow clone from a friend and am giving it a good try out.

When I initially started the clone box, if the temp dropped below about 71F in the room the box was in, the temp inside dropped below where I wanted it to be. I added an automatic damper and it made a big difference. The damper is just a piece of balsa wood connected with a duct tape hinge so that the air lifts it automatically when the fan starts and drops it for a tighter seal when the fan stops.

The thermostat was also big and clunky and did not sense exactly where the clones where to be placed. I fixed that by extending the thermistor on a lead outside of the thermostat box and I can place the probe exactly where I want, and also put the thermostat box wherever I want.

Here is some pics

 

[kpw555]

Thats the shit man looks great

Thanks, Scalded Dog.

 

[kpw555]

I hope to have many clones to take in the next few weeks and get this perpetual pipeline filled up and get some weed.

Here are a few pics from yesterday.

 

[kpw555]

I finished the grow pod for a pair of mothers. Just a basic ebb and flow system using two walmart containers, an aquarium pump and some misc plumbing.


Each pod will hold two mothers for cloning into a perpetual sea of green.
I have space for three pods. Two copies of each strain so that means I can get another strain to grow.

Here are some pics of the setup and the girls.

I had three Bubblegum plants and one is definitely male, I culled him last night. I am pretty sure by preflower activity, the White Widow and the other two Bubblegums are all girls.

.

 

[Scalded Dog]

BUMMER TO HEAR THAT ONE OF THE BUBBLEGUM'S ENDED UP A MALE...
BUT THAT'S LIFE I GUESS.
MAKES YOU WANT TO SOMETIMES HUH...
JUST SIT BACK AND A GOOD ONE

 

[Scalded Dog]

LOOKS GREAT
NOW ALL YOU GOT DO DO IS FILL IT UP

 

[kpw555]

I don't think I came out too bad, out of 2 WW that I started with 1 came up with a big chunk missing out of the stem and died right away and there are female preflowers on the other.

Of 3 Bubblegums 1 is a male and 1 has female preflowers the other is unknown as of yet.

My god these things grow slow when you stare at them.