Roto-Grow Journal

[aficionado]

Almost forgot - if you want to see it in real time, I have IP cameras set up so I can watch things when I am gone. They have infrared so I can even babysit when its dark. Inbox me for logon details - folks with established accounts and verified history only please.

Ooo... infrared.

 

[aficionado]

Applied a foliar application of Azatrol to help keep the mites in check. Canopy is super dense, and I was barely able to penetrate the top layer with the spray. Let it dry for 2 hours with high air flow with the lights off before resuming the photoperiod.

 

[kpw555]

Great job + rep for the experiment of all experiments.

Keep up the good work my man.

I would suggest that you add H2o2 to your tank to eliminate any algae that lives in your expensive juice, eating up the good stuff from your plants.

I use about 16oz for an 80 gal reservoir and have no problems at all with algae. With no H2o2 algae starts growing almost immediately.

This is the best source I have found for peroxide 35%, fast service too.

http://www.dfwx.com/h2o2.htm

Again great job, thanks for posting this thread. I'll be watching, like this.

 

[aficionado]

Great job + rep for the experiment of all experiments.

Keep up the good work my man.

I would suggest that you add H2o2 to your tank to eliminate any algae that lives in your expensive juice, eating up the good stuff from your plants.

I use about 16oz for an 80 gal reservoir and have no problems at all with algae. With no H2o2 algae starts growing almost immediately.

This is the best source I have found for peroxide 35%, fast service too.

http://www.dfwx.com/h2o2.htm

Again great job, thanks for posting this thread. I'll be watching, like this.

Thanks for the info! I was thinking of going hydrogen peroxide - great to see somebody with real world experience coming to the same conclusion.

 

[aficionado]

Weekly update pics will be taken tomorrow - ya'll going to love what I see now. Now its getting to be really exciting.

 

[sickstoner]

i'll be here your results will hep me judge if i'ma get one so far i'm saving up so it looks good

 

[UrbanAerO]

Nice to see one in action, besides sitting at my hydro store. Always thought it would be too limiting on height and light burn might occur, but yours is looking great. Whats you water cycle? I also give you props for choosing house and garden, I use it religiously with a few other botanicare, mad farmer products. I think H&G would blow away AN in a nutrient challenge, but AN doesnt want you to see that. Do you use superthrive(drop a gallon), its a hormone with b1 and I use it in every stage of growth. Highly recomend adding it to your schedule, cheap and will last you forever.
Also your nutrient reservoir, do the PPMs climb mid-week? do you add any water to refill for the evaporated water? I use aeroponic boxes with seperate ressy's and find that PPM climb quickly as water gets absorbed/evaporated. I have had a root rot issues when I just add RO water midweek and now Im making new nutrients twice a week to keep the problem at bay, also I cut back watering schedule to dry out the roots more. I cant find high % peroxide anywhere now(someone prob made a bomb with some), I used to use that to clean the roots, pumps and ressys. I use a 5 gallon reservoir for every 10 plants also and have 40 plants under 1 1000watt thats on a light mover. Its all about lbs per light

 

[sickstoner]

new pic's?? lol

 

[aficionado]

new pic's?? lol

I have them in the camera - been a long night, so I will upload them tomorrow. Stay tuned!

 

[aficionado]

Nice to see one in action, besides sitting at my hydro store. Always thought it would be too limiting on height and light burn might occur, but yours is looking great. Whats you water cycle? I also give you props for choosing house and garden, I use it religiously with a few other botanicare, mad farmer products. I think H&G would blow away AN in a nutrient challenge, but AN doesnt want you to see that. Do you use superthrive(drop a gallon), its a hormone with b1 and I use it in every stage of growth. Highly recomend adding it to your schedule, cheap and will last you forever.
Also your nutrient reservoir, do the PPMs climb mid-week? do you add any water to refill for the evaporated water? I use aeroponic boxes with seperate ressy's and find that PPM climb quickly as water gets absorbed/evaporated. I have had a root rot issues when I just add RO water midweek and now Im making new nutrients twice a week to keep the problem at bay, also I cut back watering schedule to dry out the roots more. I cant find high % peroxide anywhere now(someone prob made a bomb with some), I used to use that to clean the roots, pumps and ressys. I use a 5 gallon reservoir for every 10 plants also and have 40 plants under 1 1000watt thats on a light mover. Its all about lbs per light

Great to have you aboard the thread!

Water cycle - weekly water changes, aerated RO water with <10 TDS used as the base.

Superthrive - I do not use it - first I have heard of it. Is it similar to the B series within Root Excelurator? I would be interested to see what is inside. I will look into it tomorrow. (thanks for the tip)

Reservoir - I currently have not added any makeup water to make up for evaporation, as up until now, the plants were not absorbing enough to adjust the PPM too far out of bounds with a weekly 100% water change. This week, I will start testing for PPM and adding fresh water as necessary. The reservoir is 100 gallons capacity and due to the design of the Roto, I have opted to cover most of the top with plastic, save where the aeration pumps are working, to cut down on humidity, evaporation, and light penetration in the reservoir area (algae prevention). It would be interesting to study the water evaporation rate, and the rate of nutrient uptake to the plants throughout the week in terms of relative PPMs. I wonder if they would cancel each other out? I have also developed an automatic top off that I use for my marine reef aquariums that could be a perfect fit for keeping the reservoir constant if the PPMs fluctuate. That coupled with the auto-Ph device I have nearly completed testing and this baby should be on autopilot!

Peroxide - there was a link posted by kpw555 for food grade. Shipping is a b$itch, but at least it can be ordered online. I was thinking about checking the local hydro stores before buying it online to save some shipping costs. I will report back on what I find this weekend.

lb/watt - I can definitely see why growers would be interested in this type of setup if the yield makes sense. I can appreciate the need to maximize the return on investment if that is the goal. Personally, my interests are in perfecting the art of the grow to produce some really nice MJ. Growing itself relaxes my obsessive compulsive nature and I can ensure my meds are 100% grade A. I end up giving most of my 'experiments' away to a few close patients who help with curing/trimming/etc. and the heavy lifting when I need a hand. Its a win-win for everyone - well, maybe not so much for the poor saps who taste some of my uh, not so great ideas. HA! Thats a story for another thread.

 

[aficionado]

New weekly pics - Enjoy!

 

[aficionado]

Ha! That list picture is a bud sticking out the outside of the Roto. It is pretty funny having to poke them back in from time to time

 

[aficionado]

Week 6 - beginning of Week 4 in flowering (May 6 - May 13) notes

Preparation:
I have prepared the following nutrient solution for Week 6 -
1050 ml of Aqua Flakes A
1050 ml of Aqua Flakes B
380 ml Bud Xl
40ml of Drip Clean
150 ml of Multi-Zen

Ph: 5.5; DO - 8.9; Temp: 74 degrees; RH: 55%

Light cycle - 12/12

Notes:
Vertical growth still continuing at rate indicated last week. I mistakenly predicted the vertical height acceleration would have been completed last week, but as can be observed in the pictures, that is not the case. Plant phenotype continue to influence growth patterns and reaction to nutrient supplements, where the different strains can easily be identified by rows/trays. This has led to some minor imbalance in the wheel's rotation, but nothing that would suggest issue with structural integrity or uneven rotation.

Avg height - 12.5"
Avg width - 10"

Light source proximity is a growing concern, but the progressed calyx development indicate that the plant is full bloom and vegetative growth should subside. No noticeable light burn on the top cola for any strain (see pictures) Maximum height of 14" is still the target, and current trends would lead to the conclusion that the project may be on track to achieve this.

All strains showing accelerated calyx and pistil development at all levels within the plant. Internodes not in direct contact with the light source seem to be progressing similarly to the top colas in terms of flowering. Increased canopy density was observed. No indications of noticeable light deprivation of the lower branches were observed.

Lower leaf pairs (first internodes - present in cloning stage) are dropping from most specimens. Will schedule a maintenance cycle to remove all trays, and clean up the dead leaf matter to prevent the pumps from clogging.

Signs of spider mites persist, yet at a much lesser degree and overall health of the plant does not seem to be adversely affected.

DO measurements were taken before the change in water, showing 6.4 mg/L at the end of the week. This is up from 1.8 mg/l the prior week. Added aeration is working as intended.

Pictures indicate increased root development and overall increased density of the root mass within the cubes. Noted algae development at the base of the cubes is subsiding, likely due to the lack of light penetration at the base of the cube from the dense canopy.

Added a second dehumidifier to the room to reduce relative humidity to 40% or below- concern with ambient conditions promoting mold/mildew development.

The next 2 weeks should prove to be the most interesting/critical in terms of possible success of the experiment. During this critical phase, daily observations and monitoring will occur to hopefully identify any issues before they become major problems.

 

[aficionado]

Hey all, just for fun and because we all like to see a little eye candy - a couple plants near completion from my soil grow

NOTE: these are not the plants from the Roto, although I have some of these strains in the Roto, so it will be interesting to see how different their development.

Green Crack (aka Dream Queen), and Bubba Kush (these colas are 7+ inches long and over 3.5" in diameter and very dense)

 

[aficionado]

Woot! 1000+ views on the thread - hope ya'll are enjoying seeing this as much as I am in doing it.

 

[Disco Pwnstar]

ho-ly-shit

 

[aficionado]

...and for the obligatory time lapse shots (each pic is a week apart)

 

[copperfacedave]

Nice. Could you tell me the approx dimensions of the res, also how tall is the system.

Thanks

 

[aficionado]

Nice. Could you tell me the approx dimensions of the res, also how tall is the system.

Thanks

Sure. I will take the measurements tonight. Ballpark estimate is that the height is around 5', with the reservoir actually being underneath the device in between the posts\legs. It is a 100 gallon reservoir and is the same dimensions as the Roto itself (L/W) and a tight fit, so it does not stick out.

 

[UrbanAerO]

What does the multi-zendo? I was told not to use it in aeroponics by idiots at the hydro store. Ive been using the same H&G mix as you minus the multizen. I also use H&G topbooster, mad farmers nuts& PH up/dwn, botanicare sweet& silica blast&blastoff B1 , b'cuzz bloom stim, M.O.A.B, superthrive, hydroplex, techniflora cal-mag.Ive been having root rot issues but seem to have it figured out with cutting back water cycles to 15 on/ 75min off, but maybe I need the multizen also? Have you ever thought of using a liquid cooled light?
BTW looking fabulous on that soil gro... house and garden on that also? what kind of soil is that?