FIRST HYDRO JOURNAL - Armageddon - Motivation

I'm still working with a 600w HPS but I bought a MH conversion bulb for veg this time. I actually started with a bin system but because of a bacterial infestation I switched to the tried and true bucket system. On my last grow PH was a major issue so I went ahead and spent the money on a Hanna GrowChek. I would have to say money well spent. It's extremely accurate and very convenient. Since high water temperatures caused my bin system to get a bacterial infestation I rigged up a cooler with some hose coiled in it that I fill with frozen water bottles. I have a pump that pumps the res water through the hose in the cooler and back into the res. It keeps the water nice and cool and was really easy to make. Here are some pics of the new setup : I have all the buckets connected at the bottom draining into the bottom of the res and a pump pumps water to the tops of the plants. FEEL FREE TO POST!

Nice man I like the diy chiller... cheap and effective I bet, how long do those ice bottles last you? Subscribed

Yeah for real that could save some serious cash if it is effective... i'd like to know the same thing as Someguy15, How long do those bottles last and what temp is the water coming out of that cooler at? Is that a recirculating DWC system or is that cooler just chilling the res?

I change the bottles twice a day and the water stays in the low 60's, but you can adjust the temps by adding/removing bottles. I just pump the res water through the cooler and I have a separate pump in the res that pumps water to the tops of the plants. The buckets are connected at the bottoms and they drain back into the bottom of the res. The cooler is effective, it works great. I didn't want to put frozen bottles directly into my res in case they leak or have some other unseen issue and I personally didn't feel like dropping $3-400 on a water chiller.

interesting for sure... gotta hand it to you man that is some Stoner Ingenuity!!!!!!!! not sure if it will work for what i was thinking but that sure is a clever idea. Good Job!

Thanks! Here's a quick update.... all the roots have touched the water and they are taking off! I'm going on a vacation this week and I can't wait to see how big they are when I get back. Ph has been staying at 5.8 for 3 days now and water temps in the low 60's with a ppm of 460. Luvin it!

I was nicely surprised to see that my plants had EXPLODED when I got back from my trip! One week and the stems are the size of fatty crayola markers and the leaves out span the buckets! Only a few problems...I'm thinking some cal-mag might clear it up since I used R/O but I'm not sure about the last 2 pics. They are from the motivation plant and it's the little one on the left in the group shot, any ideas?

I just added some cal-mag today and I got another air pump with some more stones. I'm anxious to see if this fixes my problem.

See i had a way similar chiller idea as you but mine didnt end up working.. I planned on running five 5 gl buckets, 4 for plants, 1 for ice. I was going to pump water from one bucket to the next at the same speed so the water was constantly moving at the same speed.. unfortunately none of the pumps ran at the same exact speed and i flooded my cab with a good 8gl of water..

Where did you get the pumps?

Im also growing motivation right now so ill be interested to see how this goes!

You sprung for the hanna meter and loved it, just think of all the other things you could do with a chiller?! Supplemental AC, Water cooled co2, res cooler...!
Very nice crystals last time, can't wait to see how it turns out on this one, I've wanted to grow Armageddon for a while now!

Yeah a chiller is coming...I've been saving and doing research. I just bought another pump, larger this time, with some more stones and I could see the difference over night. Now I'm running almost 60 watts of air pump in my 22 gal setup. Phelps - instead of using 2 pumps just run a single pump to pump water through a thin lined tube coiled inside the "ice bucket" and leading back out the top. No 2 pumps (even same model) pump the exact same amount of water. Try to keep your pump outside of your bucket because pumps generate heat themselves. Basically have an intake tube for your pump lead into your res and have the out-going tube go into the lid of your bucket, coil it up on the inside (more tube=more cool) and then have it come back out the lid and back into your res. Also a cooler would work better because it will stay cooler longer allowing you to change your ice less often. It works good but changing the ice kinda sucks.

The Armageddon is EXPLODING at a rate of 1-2 inches a day. The Motivation is very sensitive and is a little behind my 3 armageddons. Both strains are showing some yellowing and rust spots. I tried cal-mag but it did nothing so I tried a half dose of superthrive and they actually seem to be doing better, but not yet cured. I'll post more pics soon.

Ahhh okay i gotcha, when you get alittle more time do you think you could maybe post some more pics of your Cooler/chiller so can get a good visualization of it? Ya i bought 5 160gl per hour pumps thinking that they would all be on que but that def wasnt the case lol..

Ya man my motivation is way sensitive to, its a good 100ppm's behind the other strains i have going.. I also noticed rust spots in the beginning but they have since all gone away..

Is that doggie nuts armageddon?

Michael Phelps said:

Is that doggie nuts armageddon?

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Lol god no man I would never spend $750 on seeds they're from Homegrown Fantaseeds haha and yeah I'll post more pics of the cooler tomorrow when I get a chance.

Hahaha word man cause i was gonna say your the first person ive heard of that spent that much.. 750$ is way outrageous, especially because you know there is many strains out there with genetics that are equal to or better for way cheaper..


Cool thanks man! Id def really appreciate it!

The first shot is just an updated pic of the girls. Phelps the foil wrapped (I KNOW) container is my res. I have a pump in my res (last pic on bottom) pumping the res water through a tube, out the top of the res, into the top of the cooler, coiled up inside the cooler with ice bottles, then back out the cooler, and finally back into the res (shooting out the hose in top of last picture). Lol I hope this helps you if you have any more questions hit me up.

Lol just some root porn the pic is of the monster of the bunch. The roots take up the whole 5gal bucket haha!

Okay that makes alot of sense! I really appreciate it.. How do you feed water from your reservoir to the buckets?

Nice man thats a good size root ball haha..

Juice box did that superthrive fix your rust problem on the motivation? Im starting to get those spots again..

I have another pump in the res pumping water to the base of the plants and all the buckets drain back into the res. The superthrive didn't hurt them they actually seem to be liking it. I havn't seen any new spots and they're growing faster than ever. I did a res change and I lowered my water temps a little, so that could have helped too. I think it's too early to tell though. I'll keep you posted.