Al B. FAQt

Thanks for your reply

The plants mentioned have had a good 2 weeks (sitting being manually watered seperately in trays) to recover from the brutal root attack of 08, And beleive me i felt like a murderer with the knife, The roots are more than 1" thick off the bottom slab, (from the bottom the slab is all white)

So i guess my question is, should i ever top water the rockwool (4" tall 6-8" square) after putting the roots on top of the buckets?

Also, just to let you know, becuase im not sure anyone knows it is possible (havent searched for it) but i have successfull cloned a DEAD plant.. Literally.. All leaves down on a large plant that had been without nutes for days, and i cut a clone and 3 days later it popped right back up and that is the story of the Great GDP recessitation.

Really i had heard that both sulfur and ozone generators were pest detterents ;-(, i do have a very large co2 tank already, but no regulator, could i just have it filled and let it all out in the room like a fogger? (that would be great, worlds largest reusable fogger) or would that kill my plants? Just vent after a little while or what do you reccomend?

BTW my small soil op that i mentioned is about the biggest varieties of strains ive seen grown, (admittadley that is not a good thing really), Its not hydro though so its not perfectly consistent, but i have grown a few (GDP, black domina) strains that just dont yeild very much at all, but are very high quality, and a few that are the opposite (mars og) and my favorite out of the 18~ i have had experience with is c4. I see what your saying you like your cannibis to smell like cannibis, but if you smelled it you would have a whole new opinion on what cannibis could smell like , from my understanding, c4 is also known as "Pineapple Express", I will post pics of c4 SoG results when i have them just for you

Which brings me to a short story, I once used lemons instead of ph down, and accidentally dropped a lemon seed in the nutes and 3 days later i had a little lemon tree sticking out of my rockwool . planted in my yard!... i like that story

Also I read in one of your threads you dont like light movers, a freind has 2 with 2 1000's (not cool tubes but they each have a fan that keeps each cool and vents outside) , He wants to test out the SOG style waters but only has one res so no every 2 weeks, Should he just smush all his pots as close as possible togethor and stop the light movers? keep the light movers going a shorter distance?

any suggestions let me know .

Hey albf i was wondering would not enough fresh air cause stretch? I have a sealed room with not much fresh air comming in, If i add Co2 could this solve my problem? Thanks!

Just found this,
"* Sulphur burner. These devices vaporize (not burn) elemental sulphur, coat the room with a fine film of sulphur, inhibiting PM spores from germinating. Also inhibits insects to some degree.

Run for 12 hours initially (at night, exhaust blower off, circ fans on), then 1-4 hrs/night thereafter. Some discontinue when buds begin to form, other let it run up to the last week. Very effective prevention "

that seems a bit ridiculous, What exactly would happen if there was too much? happen to know if a plant can actually OD on sulfur? 12 hours seems crazy, i wouldnt even want to think about 12 hours worth of sulfur sitting on buds... sulfur smoking ... ew. But yet it seems some people do, I guess maybe with this much sulfur anything in the room will die like co2??? cant be safe... i dont like it.

eww especially now i find things warning people not to use sulfur sprays on buds or it will leave a sulfur taste.

If you are using HPS lighting with cooltubes, a ventilation system (be that a single exhaust blower with passive intake or separate exhaust & intake fans) can move as little as 1/3 of the room volume per minute. Passive intakes should be about twice the area of the exhaust blower i.e. 2x 250mm dia inlets for a 250mm dia exhaust blower to prevent restricting the CFM rate of the exhaust blower. It is often easier to trap light on the inlet if you are using an intake blower as not so large of a hole needs to be light-trapped.

If you are not using cooltubes with your HPS lighting, 1CFM per cu ft of room volume is about right.

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I am using cool tubes... (2) 1000w HPSs... which brings me to my next question.. I know you said u can use up to 3 cooltubes in a daisey? ill be using 2 of them inline. what size fan should i use to blow through them? so because im using cool tubes and my room is aproximately 500 cubic feet, an appropriate exhaust fan would be 166cfm or more. And an appropriate intake fan will be about 10-20 percent less than that? and just wondering.. why do you suggest such less air movement with a room with cooltubes than without? Is there another reason than obvious heat issues?

The (2) 1000w HPSs will be over (2) Aeroflo 36 site systems.... If you are familiar with the systems what do u think about them? I hope that the (2) 1K watters are enough for the system. Its over the 50 watts/square foot you suggested if you use the actual growing area as the surface, but not the whole grow room's surface area because of room for fans dehumidifier and resivoirs. <-- if you follow that?

sparkafire said:

But what if he has been bad??

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Then spank him til he pukes!

firsttimegroww said:

Hey albf i was wondering would not enough fresh air cause stretch? I have a sealed room with not much fresh air comming in, If i add Co2 could this solve my problem? Thanks!

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To be honest, I don't know what the effect of insufficient CO2 would be. Every grow that I have seen that was so poorly ventilated as to suffer from lack of CO2 was first killed by excess heat. Adding CO2 via a proper controlled system can't be bad, but it is outrageously expensive. Makeshift CO2 generators (i.e. yeast & sugar, vinegar & baking soda) are wildly unpredictable. You just don't know how much CO2 they are making. Ventilation is job #1 in any grow op. If you can't easily and effectively ventilate a space, pick a different space. A freestanding wardrobe is easier to vent than a walk-in closet, for example.

SmellsLikeLemonz said:

Just found this,
"* Sulphur burner. These devices vaporize (not burn) elemental sulphur, coat the room with a fine film of sulphur, inhibiting PM spores from germinating. Also inhibits insects to some degree.

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That's the first mention I have ever heard of S inhibiting insect activity. I'd look for some corroboration in proper botanical science instead of sales literature. I'd like to know what insects are affected and by what biological mechanism.

Run for 12 hours initially (at night, exhaust blower off, circ fans on), then 1-4 hrs/night thereafter. Some discontinue when buds begin to form, other let it run up to the last week. Very effective prevention "

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You'd have a bunch of cooked leaves after one 12h stretch of the thing running in a grow room. Starts on the leaf tips, can mimic a mild nute burn. I saw leaf tip burn with 10 mins runtime 2x/day, cut it to 8mins 2x/day and the problem has not come back. It takes minutes worth of runtime, not hours, for a sulfur evaporator to control PM.

an11dy9 said:

I am using cool tubes... (2) 1000w HPSs... which brings me to my next question.. I know you said u can use up to 3 cooltubes in a daisy [chain]?

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Yes, it's possible to run 3 in a row, but it's not my favourite arrangement. When the air in the cooltube is significantly hotter than the ambient air in the grow room, the duct and the glass will lose their heat into the room air, defeating the purpose somewhat.

ill be using 2 of them inline. what size fan should i use to blow through them?

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A typical 200CFM 150mm axial blower will do fine.

so because im using cool tubes and my room is aproximately 500 cubic feet, an appropriate exhaust fan would be 166cfm or more.

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Cooltubes require a separate blower to the room exhaust. The room air exhaust requires a thermostat so that blower can shut off when the room air temp drops to the setpoint. Cooltubes must have a constant air supply while lights are on. If you tried to use a thermostat on the fan driving the cooltubes, they would overheat when the thermostat shut the blower off.

why do you suggest such less air movement with a room with cooltubes than without?

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Without cooltubes, the room air exhaust blower is not just removing CO2 depleted air, it is also removing heat from the lights. Cooltubes are so effective at removing lamp heat that the room exhaust blower can be much smaller as all it is doing is exchanging air to replace CO2 depleted air.

The (2) 1000w HPSs will be over (2) Aeroflo 36 site systems.... If you are familiar with the systems what do u think about them?

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Not familiar with them. A watering system is a watering system for the most part. If it wets the roots, it's doing its job.

I hope that the (2) 1K watters are enough for the system. Its over the 50 watts/square foot you suggested

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Ought to be plenty!

Hey AL , Whats goin on man? Hey where do get that h202 at 50%?

Thanks Al........

Hey Al, Got a question, just received my beans yesterday, and want to crack them. I have 1.5" RW cubes, tray and dome, but I cut out 2 holes in the dome, because the last few times I did clones, I felt it was too humid with the high temps in my garage.

Anyways, my question is this, would you change your method for your clone solution vs. seed?

* 9-10L tapwater
* 9-10ml H2O2 (50% horticutural grade)
* pH adjust as needed to 5.8 (correct pH last)

What I was thinking was, placing seeds in wet napkin with ph water of 6.0 with small amount of superthrive place in a ziplock bag in a dark area for 3-5 days till tap root comes out, then place in RW cubes. I just want advice if cracking them this way and the solution for the cubes to have the best success and cracking and fast rooting. Thanks...

SmellsLikeLemonz said:

The roots are more than 1" thick off the bottom slab, (from the bottom the slab is all white)

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That sounds good

So i guess my question is, should i ever top water the rockwool (4" tall 6-8" square) after putting the roots on top of the buckets?

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Usually when folks have started a plant in RW, later intending to run the plant in pellets, it's in small (40mm) RW cubes, with a much smaller rootmass than you have.

If you top water your big block much, roots won't find their way down into the damp pellets. They'll stay happily contained in your (relatively huge) RW block. However, a vigorous plant which has a significant rootmass may wilt without some wetting of the block until the roots seek down into the pellets.

Nest your block in pellets so that the roots which have popped out of the sides of the RW block are covered, but make sure the RW block is 1/2" above the flood level. Mind the plant closely for signs of wilt, wet the RW if you have to, but try to wait as long as possible before doing so, so that the roots will look for water in the pellets.

i have successfull cloned a DEAD plant..

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If you could clone it, it wasn't dead yet. Might have been in bad, bad shape, but if the tissues had fully collapsed, you would have not gotten far.

Really i had heard that both sulfur and ozone generators were pest detterents

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New ones on me.

i do have a very large co2 tank already, but no regulator

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A 3000psi CO2 tank without a reg is a very good dry ice generator! Seriously, cracking open a cyl without a reg on it is really downright dangerous. Crack a valve on a CO2 tank without a reg on it and bits of dry ice may go flying out of the valve as it collects on the outlet surfaces. Use a face shield and heavy leather welding gloves. You don't want any freeze burns, on you or the plants). Buy or borrow a reg if you can, it'd be much safer.

The greatest hazard to the plants from all O2 being displaced from the room air is if the rootmasses are deprived of O2 for a significant period of time (more than a couple-3 hours). However, the foliar mass won't care.

Saturating the room airmass with CO2 for 2-3h WILL kill any oxygen breathing critters in there. It can kill you too if the gas can escape into the living spaces of the house. Don't crack the valve and go have a nap! Make sure the windows are open in the rest of the house.

Which brings me to a short story, I once used lemons instead of ph down, and accidentally dropped a lemon seed in the nutes and 3 days later i had a little lemon tree sticking out of my rockwool . planted in my yard!... i like that story

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Well, I like it too, great pub tale... but it seems highly improbable. I guess that's what makes it such a good story. 3 days isn't really enough to get much of a root out of a lemon seed, much less have a small tree growing already...

Should he just smush all his pots as close as possible togethor and stop the light movers?

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yes!

Light movers are not generally a good thing. A stationary light of a size suiting the area you need to cover is far preferable. Otherwise, you have to de-rate the amount of light that the plants are getting while the mover has the lamp at the other end of the grow.

flipsidesw said:

where do get that h202 at 50%?

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Hydro shops, chemical supply houses.

DeweyKox said:

Hey Al, Got a question, just received my beans yesterday, and want to crack them.

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Make sure to build your grow room and have all equipment operating and tested BEFORE cracking beans. You don't want to be racing the clock, building a grow room.

I have 1.5" RW cubes, tray and dome, but I cut out 2 holes in the dome, because the last few times I did clones, I felt it was too humid with the high temps in my garage.

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ok

Anyways, my question is this, would you change your method for your clone solution vs. seed?

* 9-10L tapwater
* 9-10ml H2O2 (50% horticutural grade)
* pH adjust as needed to 5.8 (correct pH last)

Click to expand...

The clone watering soln as listed will do fine for seedlings.

What I was thinking was, placing seeds in wet napkin with ph water of 6.0

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5.8, please.

with small amount of superthrive place in a ziplock bag in a dark area for 3-5 days till tap root comes out, then place in RW cubes. I just want advice if cracking them this way and the solution for the cubes to have the best success and cracking and fast rooting.

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Should work fine.

Al b i got a question, i think i remeber u saying u dont flush your plants a while back but i could be mistaken

but if u dont flush does your bud crackle? and in all honesty do u think it taste diff????

the reason i ask is i dont have enough money for a another table and am doing a contious babies at diff ages on 2 trays and there both filled.

later

brontobrandon1 said:

Al b i got a question, i think i remeber u saying u dont flush your plants a while back but i could be mistaken

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No, you're quite right, I don't. It's not necessary.

but if u dont flush does your bud crackle?

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Nope. I've seen badly nute burned plant matter crackle when burned, though. If you're not overfertilising, it won't do that.

and in all honesty do u think it taste diff????

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No difference between flushed & non, provided the plant is not fert burned.

the reason i ask is i dont have enough money for a another table and am doing a contious babies at diff ages on 2 trays and there both filled.

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What's 'contious' mean?

hey big Al,
did a search on Sulphur burners and cant find alot someone said you use a burner so maybe i could get some pointers and info from you please.
first off how long do you burn the burner on lets say a 10'x10' area?
also how deadly is this stuff? i dont want to kill anyone or myself.
if you need pics of the burner i will snap some that will be easy its not a big burner about the size of a coffee can hangs from a wire. any help would be great thanks again. jeff

eyy wus goin on Al. i respect that u put it out there sayin that your not even trying to do some big ass op. in a wharehouse. small space. means less room for error lol.. i got 3 grow rooms. i built in my apts. bedroom. a 7'x7' room (clone/2-4week clone room, 4-6 week veg room, and my flowering room)... i was thinking about switcing to mylar but not sure. so i figured i ask u.... for small spaces. mylar er white and black poly?
pe@ce

Al B. Fuct said:

Smart move, you certainly won't regret it.

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Well, thanks!

I am sure I won't...

Just placed an order with HTG for a 600 HPS w/ 8" cool tube...

It will be coupled to a 265 cfm blower... not an in line booster...

I want to thank you for your patience and advice... this thread is GREAT!!!



Gypsy...

EDIT: i was a bit out of it when i wrote this originally, and it made little sense, it has now been Revised with added sobriety


okay maybe i could have been more clear about the tank, It was used for paintballing originally, 5000 psi tank with a nozzle + gauge showing psi. Are you saying it would be unsafe to just crack the nozzle a bit? i wish i had a freind with a spare co2 regulator and meter but i do not ;-(.


On the lemon tree, It had 2 green chutes coming out of the seed, roots going through a few grow cubes, i had been watering said plant twice a day with Bcuzz Root as well so that may have helped. but i was surprised as you are, i had to assume most of the story as it was the only logical conclusion to there being a mini lemon seed in my rockwool .

thanks for the info on the Slabs, My freind had already put the slabs (he said he had to squish a few even ;-( ) into the ebb system, and we just got through re-potting them 1/2" above the flood level, The cubes were soaked, so they now owe you twice over, heres to hoping the pay it forward theory works out eh?

you think maybe i should make the light mover only move 6"-1ft to avoid burn and keep it closer to the plants? id think that because if would leave all the plants under the light even at its furthest point that this would be much more logical? I guess im trying to still use it and the light in motion at all would mean i could keep it closer to the plants right?

Also what do you reccomend using to flush the system in between nutes? h202?

So mites fruit flies etc etc would all die from a full tank of that co2 being released and sitting for a couple hours? Why do more people not do that? Foggers get (&#$ing expensive after a while and filling with co2 is fairly cheap. and would work on everything that aspirates oxygen.

It must be nice to know that your able to/do help so many people, Its great to be in the position to type a few words, spit some knowlege, and have it be worth so much more to the person you are helping than the effort was of you simply telling them what you know. Im sure you will never understand the amount of forests you have helped create.

Hey AL! Hope all is well.

Ok so im gonna try a flood system. Im looking at a botanicare 3x3 tray(which is way more expensive than i would thought) . Also thinking 40 gal res should be sufficient.Yes? 256gph pump. All sound ok?

Im having trouble figureing out the pot size and type. I wanna cram in 4 per sqft. Is there a way to set up the pots to where the roots stay enclosed. Im sure this is a redundant question for ya but If dont mind addressing it again for me i would be very gratefull. Im wanting to start gathering stuff but i dont have every angle covered...

Couldnt find that 50% h2o2 so i got some 35%. ill just have to use a lil more right?

Thanks again Al I'd be fuct if ur weren't around.

hey al, just wondering incase the increased ppm doesnt work maybe its the strain
Im probly going to change strains,
what some you recomend?

worble said:

hey big Al,
did a search on Sulphur burners and cant find alot someone said you use a burner so maybe i could get some pointers and info from you please.

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sure, no prob

first off how long do you burn the burner on lets say a 10'x10' area?

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Run it on a timer during lights-off, start with about 8min 2x/day, I run mine an hour after lights-off and an hour before lights-on.

also how deadly is this stuff? i dont want to kill anyone or myself.

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Sulfur is not toxic to humans. It's really quite safe to use.

if you need pics of the burner i will snap some that will be easy its not a big burner about the size of a coffee can hangs from a wire.

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Something like this?

Jtoth3ustin said:

i got 3 grow rooms.

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Busy little beaver, ain't ya?

i was thinking about switcing to mylar but not sure. so i figured i ask u.... for small spaces. mylar er white and black poly?

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I'm not a fan of mylar. It's a bit too reflective and doesn't diffuse light well. It can hotspot if not fixed down to the wall totally flat. Pandafilm is tough, cleanable and diffuses light very well. 250 micron thick panda film is all but lightproof, you can't see any glow even from a 1000HPS through the stuff.

flipsidesw said:

Ok so im gonna try a flood system. Im looking at a botanicare 3x3 tray(which is way more expensive than i would thought) . Also thinking 40 gal res should be sufficient.Yes? 256gph pump. All sound ok?

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Shop around for prices on the tray. I pay $53 for 900 x 900mm trays, another $8-10 for fill/drain & overflow fittings, 400L/H water pumps are about $11, air pumps are $8. 5L per plant is a good res capacity. 256gph is about 1000L/h, more than enough. I use 2000L/H pumps because I drain my tanks using the system pump, makes quicker work of it than the little 400L/h pumps I had previously used.

Im having trouble figureing out the pot size and type. I wanna cram in 4 per sqft.

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Use 140mm x 140mm (about 5.5") standard soil pots (with drain holes) if you want 4/sq ft.

Is there a way to set up the pots to where the roots stay enclosed.

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The roots will tend to poke out of the drain holes, but exposure to air will 'prune' them for you.

Couldnt find that 50% h2o2 so i got some 35%. ill just have to use a lil more right?

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Use 35% grade at 1.7ml/L.

Thanks again Al I'd be fuct if ur weren't around.

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I'm Fuct so you don't have to be.

firsttimegroww said:

hey al, just wondering incase the increased ppm doesnt work maybe its the strain
Im probly going to change strains,
what some you recomend?

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I'm not sure it's the strain, but indica dominant hybrids are the best choice for SoG. NL, Skunk #1, LUI, Big Bud, Power Plant are high producers in SoG, as will be any other primarily indica hybrid.

Hey Al, I just poured a jar of molasses into my res like you suggested, what kind of results should I be looking for? I can't wait to see them sparkle!!!!Oh goodie, goodie!

I was thinking to myself that this thread should become a sticky, but why should it. It never leaves page 1.

It'll not be long now, until you've caught up with the number of posts on the 'harvest every two weeks' thread. It lasted 15 months, and you're not even past the second month on this thread.

When does RIU start issuing the medals? LOL