4k Watt ebb & flow GDP Grow

So after much thought I have finally decided to start a grow journal so perhaps it would help others that are growing my particular strain and also to help me keep track of my progress as a whole.

I have
-4 120/240v 1000 watt digital HPS
-x2 4x4 trays that share a 40 gallon reservoir and x1 3x6 that has a 70 gallon reservoir as well. I am just using sawhorses with 2x4s to hold the trays above the reservoirs.
-industrial air pump with each reservoir having 3 large airstones....An extreme amount of bubbles keeps the nutrient solution constantly stirred and aerated.
-CAP 240v 4 light controller hooked up to a CAP XGC with c02 display
-I have two 20lb c02 tanks one to keep on hand when needed.
- a few oscillating fans
- 12" vortex can fan for the air cooled hoods venting into the attic.
Not running Air conditioning as we are in winter and its not needed.

My nutrient line right now is Cutting Edge Nutrients. I use the micro, grow, bloom, uncle johns tea and mag amped. I was using the plant amped but I got a bad batch of it and it created a nasty slime in the reservoir so I am not using it. Also I was using the Lucas Formula with GH nutes but the plants just didnt seem to look like they were doing well so I went back to my first nutes Ive used which are cutting edge. I use a tad bit less than recommended on the bottles.

PPMs are set at 1250-1300 and the PH is at 5.6-5.9
Room temp 65 at night and 74 during light cycle.
C02 PPM are at 1400 PPM

I flood three times a day on 12/12 for 15 minutes. I have the pumps set to fill for 9 minutes and it takes 6 minutes to drain thats how I came up with the 15 minute drain time.

The strain I am growing is Grand Daddy Purple and I have 80 total plants right now started from clones. I started 24hr veg cycle on December 19th 2011.

Here are pictures of the plants in the 1st week of veg when I used the Lucas Formula:



Here are the Plants 1/1/2012 using cutting edge nutrients and on 12/12:





and my saltwater tank

nice set up! looks like fun.

Very nice! Sub'd. Love watching GDP grow. Cool fish tank too. Peace

Ok so now I am approaching week 2 of flower and the plants have really taken off. They are doing extremely well and I have recently added a dehumidifier to keep the RH to 50-60%. I just changed out the nutrient reservoirs today with fresh RO water and cutting edge nutes. I added some big bud just because I had a jug in the closet otherwise I would never buy it to use it, I feel its a waste of money imo. As long as your plants are being fed properly and have the right amount of light and c02 they will do better than what any additive says it can do. My PH levels have been staying stable and room temps are between 80-83 degrees.

Here are some pics just taken today:

looking very nice setup man i love sog and im just starting to think about using ebb and flow as well this will be a good look at things before i take the plunge im subbed for sure cheers

nice setup man. How long is optimum time for the pan to fill and then drain? Is 9/6 what you were shooting for? Is slower or faster fill and drainage better? Also, is using a venturi pinwheel pump a good idea instead of an air pump?
thanks

awesome grow I am setting one very close to the same. what do you normally get per table yield wise? PS cool tank I love me saltwater tank also

Subbed, awesome setup you have here, hope you pull a couple of pounds with this one

Weedasaurus said:

nice setup man. How long is optimum time for the pan to fill and then drain? Is 9/6 what you were shooting for? Is slower or faster fill and drainage better? Also, is using a venturi pinwheel pump a good idea instead of an air pump?
thanks

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I dont have any experience with a venturi pump in the rez I just use a few large airstones in my reservoirs and it works very well. I guess adding a pump could help with keeping the solution from settling at the bottom of the rez. I came up with the 9/6 flood and drain time by just experimenting with my setup. Your setup could vary depending on table and pump size.

bcguy01 said:

awesome grow I am setting one very close to the same. what do you normally get per table yield wise? PS cool tank I love me saltwater tank also

Click to expand...

Not quite sure as this is my first grow with the GDP. I usually pull 4.5+ with bubba kush but I think I am liking the GDP a little better, we shall see how the yield works out in a month .

iamaaror said:

Subbed, awesome setup you have here, hope you pull a couple of pounds with this one

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lol I hope more than a couple!

Week 4 of Flower, just changed nute solution again running at 1550 PPM now.

looks very nice man im sure you'll nab more than a couple Ps outa that .

Thanks ....I think I need to cut the ppms down a bit, I think I am getting some signs of nute burn/lockout not quite sure which one but I was using the full strength dosage on the bottle and I know I shouldnt have.
The reason I think I am over feeding is because the yellowing starts at the tips and works its way back and the tips eventually get crispy and light brown. Also the tips of the serrated edges on the leaves have brown spots also

so glad to have found this, I love SOG as it is also my preferred method. I only have 1x1000hps and a 4x4 table ,so I'm subbed,this might just change my mind to buy more lights and tables..,I run more plants then you per table with no veg,so I am also curious to see what you average per plant is. You have a great looking set up and I'm sure you are out performing me.

Yeah I am using 1 gallon square pots and they are spaced out about two inches on all sides from one another on the tables. I kind of wished I would have lollipopped them when they were in veg to get a true SOG but I only did some slight trimming about a week into flower. I am pretty surprised the branching on near the bottom of the plants are producing some really nice thick and close bud sites and they are filling in pretty good, I think this is because of the c02 I am using that is helping make the popcorn nugs swell up.

I have another room right next to this one that is empty and after this harvest I am going to throw 4 more 1k's with a flip box so I can have a 24 hour flower going . I like the 4x4 trays also I am going to use them in this next room as well.

sounds fucking sweet man im jelous for sure would love to have a 24 hour flower going on , question for ya how many plants ya got total in there? and did you do those up from seed or clone? cheers

I got them from clones, they were pretty small clones about the size you see in the first pic I posted here. From what I heard you can only get GDP from clone but im not quite sure. I think if I were to go with GDP again I would go with Kens Cut.

My total plant number is 85 I think. There are two retarded ones I kept in the room, they are funny looking their all short and growing weird, they look healthy but they are just short and odd looking. Ill get some pics of them shortly .

I just finished flooding them with straight PHd RO water for a 3 days. When I tested the water after the three days the PPM was at 380 which is a good sign meaning I got a good amount of salt buildup off the hydroton from my over nute episode . I went ahead and changed the rez out today with fresh RO water and added 50% strength nutes @ 680PPM and 5.8 PH.

I also added a De-Humidifier a couple weeks ago and man I am glad I got that thing, it works like a charm. The only thing I would recommend to someone else that is thinking about getting one is to get the biggest pint model you can as I think mine is a 70 pint model but I have to empty it nearly twice a day to keep my humidity at 50%. I also noticed the de-humidifer gives off a little bit of heat so take that into consideration as well.

Curly do you have a grow going right now? If you do give me a link to your journal

hey OMG thanks for all the info man , yes i do have a small setup going right now i actually use led's and i have 5 12/12 from seed girls going right now under my spectra 290w model. i do have a journal but not on RIU its on another led friendly forum not much to look at right now anyhow but soon i will have a 6-800w led grow going and i will be seeing some pretty nice numbers ..... nothing like yours of coarse but im just using a 4x4 tent as im an apartment grower. when this new setup is ready i will be posting here on RIU as well as the other site i frequent. also all are welcome at this other site just ask me and ill send ya the link if ya like , i used to always post on RIU but trolls and haters pissed me off so now i just browse occasionally only reason im coming back is cause im doing a journal for a buddy sending me some lights. cheers man

Your not the first person to tell me that about rollitup lol. A lot of forums are like that, it becomes a pissing contest and usually the next person always thinks they know more than the other.

LED huh? That sounds expensive!? Yeah you gotta work with what you got, no shame in that! How many plants are you gonna have in the tent?

Here are a few pics of the stunted plants followed by some new ones of the normal ones I took earlier.