BC Northern Lights Producer - Ender 01 - Super Critical, 2012

Bumbaclat said:

I just re-programmed my box a few days ago. It now runs over night. The temps dropped 2 degrees Celsius and the electricity is half the price. Instructions are here ​http://www.bcnorthernlights.com/support-videos/changing-parameters

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Awesome. Thanks for sharing about your energy savings. I will keep all of that in mind.

goDsnataS said:

Yeah I run my producer at night too. I also removed the intake fan for the lights and installed a 4" 123 cfm canfan to push the air through the lights, through ducting, and out the window. Keeps my temps in the box about 5-7 degrees above room temperature in the summer. In winter, I remove the ducting, and use it to heat my room. When I do that my box stays room temperature or a degree or two lower. I'm thinking about removing the light exhaust axial fans and switching the 123 cfm canfan with an HO can fan or vortex to see if that improves my temps.

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I was thinking it would work out similarly for me as well. Washington gets nice and chilly in the Fall and I don't foresee having to use a heater at all this year.

Pretty progress taking place. I have the water pump unhooked for the time being. The 3-inch rockwool cubes are still moist to the touch. And I don't want the plants to suffer from water logged root balls, so I'm going to hand water until we have a healthy root system peeking out from the bottom of the 3.5" pots, then flip to auto-watering twice a day.



Some close-ups:



Any recommendations on what strains I most definitely should check out for this particular indoor greenhouse grow box setup?

I envision starting my second round of seeds mid-November. Eyeing Himalaya Gold with the thought that I definitely want to grow some really delicious connoisseur strains.

have you thought of keeping a mother plant and cloning?

big liverski said:

have you thought of keeping a mother plant and cloning?

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Absolutely. I'm going to take a clone from this grow and begin a bonsai Super Critical mother.

hey bro get some rockwool covers,or make some please don't use foil!! they aren't that expensive like $8.00 or so,i reuse mine just wash them after every grow..good job all around..

maphisto said:

hey bro get some rockwool covers,or make some please don't use foil!! tIhey aren't that expensive like $8.00 or so,i reuse mine just wash them after every grow..good job all around..

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You definitely want these! Algae on your rockwool is a bitch. When you get a new Producer it comes with covers. On a related note, if you aren't using a hole for a plant you'll want to still put a cover over it.

I finally responded about feedback on building a PVC for the Producer. It's in my grow journal.

maphisto said:

hey bro get some rockwool covers,or make some please don't use foil!! they aren't that expensive like $8.00 or so,i reuse mine just wash them after every grow..good job all around..

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Bumbaclat said:

You definitely want these! Algae on your rockwool is a bitch. When you get a new Producer it comes with covers. On a related note, if you aren't using a hole for a plant you'll want to still put a cover over it.

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Thanks guys. I definitely have a few cap covers, but for some reason there weren't 18, so I hadn't put them on. I'll swing by the hydro shop on the way home from work tonight to pick up a set. Gave the ladies a watering last night. Everything looks great so far.

On other news, I'm getting my dream camera this weekend. Expect a very nice improvement on the picture quality in my journals!

Today I picked up a FujiFilm Finepix X100 and so naturally, I wanted to snap and share couple of happy seedling photos:



Oh mighty CFL:



The Producer Golden Rule: ALWAYS CLOSE YOUR IRRIGATION T-VALVE!



Have a great night folks!


P.S. I only have have 16 out of 18 CubeCaps right now. Ordering another set tonight to complete everything and have some spares.

Contemplating outfitting my box with DripCaps. Has anyone ever used these before? Seems like a worthy investment. I like the point they make about dispersing water differently than conventional drip stakes.

Website: http://www.cubecap.ca/product_en.html

Just ordered a set of 18 DripCaps (actually click on the DripCap and scroll down for more info) through my local hydro shop to be delivered on Thursday. I guess this could be considered my first official "mod" to my Producer. By outfitting it with these I'll be able to remove all the drip stakes. I'll pick up enough t-line splitters and some extra whip line so that water is evenly dispersed from both sides of the cap. The kind of thing you invest in once, and always just wash and reuse.

Here are some updated shots of how the Super Critical seedlings are doing:



I noticed that one of the little plants in the back row (second from the left) was looking kinda sad. So I gave it a nice hand watering, switched spots with a perky sister in front and let her use the cap for the time being:



CFLtography:

I ended up purchasing 18 DripCaps, a nice handful of t-line splitters and some extra poly tubing last night. However, after taking one of the caps and trimming it down it was easy to see that easy water flow with very little tubing (and keeping the cap to lay flat) was going to be difficult.

Needless to say the idea has been scrapped and I'm going to exchange the remaining 17 caps for some Advanced Nutrients when I go back to the store.





I also drained and refilled the hydro tub last night. I'm currently using:

• 68cc Voodoo Juice
• 23cc Sensi Grow Part A
• 23cc Sensi Grow Part B

All in all, I'm very happy with how healthy things look. I'll start documenting the root growth soon as well.

Updated shots of the Super Critical ladies:

View attachment 2344976 View attachment 2344977 View attachment 2344978

Start flowering man, don't wait any longer.

Friendly Caregiver said:

Start flowering man, don't wait any longer.

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Hello Friendly Caregiver, nice to meet you and thanks for the input. I've been on the fence about waiting until they've grown a few more inches, but I think it's time as well. And it's Saturday! Good day for a project like this.

I think I'm going to switch to the HPS bulbs, reposition all the smallest plants directly underneath them and power back up in flowering mode.

To start off, I removed the right and left lighting chamber lids. Each contains six little screws and it doesn't take long at all.



I left the main CFL running during the bulb switch. Here are a couple of shots from above and inside.



For the vegetative stage I used x2 Artemis 400W metal halide bulbs.



For the flowering stage I'll be using x2 Artemis 400W HPS bulbs, x1 Sandblaster 125W CFL, x2 strips of 4ft. T5 lighting. (I would like to eventually add another two T5 strips along the outside edges as well.)



I decided to take of the middle chamber lid that contains the brains of The Producer. Pretty awesome looking!



Now it's time to drain the hydro tub in preparation for flowering.



Next come the nutrients. This week I'm using:

• 68cc Voodoo Juice
• 68cc CorboLoad
• 94cc Sensi Bloom Part A
• 94cc Sensi Bloom Part B

I'll be introducing B52 in about a week or two.



My local hydro shop carries these which I don't currently have:

• Connoisseur Part A
• Connoisseur Part B
• Piranha
• Bud Candy
• Tarantula
• Sensizym
• Bud Ignitor
• Rhino Skin
• Bud Factor X

Are there any that I simply shouldn't ignore? The plan is to test them all over time, but any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated!

Here's a shot of some of the root growth right now.



Another mini-project for today was replacing all of the CubeCaps with these much more simple Block Covers.



With the hydro tub refilled, everything appears ready to go...



Super Critical flowering is now in full effect!

I totally forgot I received some Bud Blood with the purchase of my Producer.

I added 4.85 teaspoons to the hydro tub this morning per Advanced Nutrients ratio recipe.

It's amazing the growth that can take place in just a few hours. I find myself constantly humbled by this growing experience.

Subbed. I'm all in. Looking good. Is your producer set to automatically ph your resovoir?

sky rocket said:

Subbed. I'm all in. Looking good. Is your producer set to automatically ph your resovoir?

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Thanks sky rocket, it isn't actually. I've just been monitoring that by hand on a day-by-day basis. I've taken a good look at the BCNL Grow Box Sensors add-on to automatically manage all of this. They're asking $3k for the complete sensor package (the majority of that cost coming from their touchscreen/sensor base). Not something I'm looking to purchase brand new any time soon. It would be fun to try out and document though.

Actually, there were a lot of questions I had before purchasing my Producer that would have been helpful to find all in one place. I plan on addressing these questions at the end of this grow journal:

• Noise Level
• Light Leak
• Heat
• Actual Power Usage & Bill Increase
• Smell
• Yield

Thanks for stopping by!

ewiggin said:

Thanks sky rocket, it isn't actually. I've just been monitoring that by hand on a day-by-day basis. I've taken a good look at the BCNL Grow Box Sensors add-on to automatically manage all of this. They're asking $3k for the complete sensor package (the majority of that cost coming from their touchscreen/sensor base). Not something I'm looking to purchase brand new any time soon. It would be fun to try out and document though.

Actually, there were a lot of questions I had before purchasing my Producer that would have been helpful to find all in one place. I plan on addressing these questions at the end of this grow journal:

• Noise Level
• Light Leak
• Heat
• Actual Power Usage & Bill Increase
• Smell
• Yield

Thanks for stopping by!

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Im seriously looking into getting one these for my closet. But let me get this straight, you sat bcnl wants $3,000 for the grow box sensor on top of the producer's price? Also do you have co2 in your producers setup?