Johnny's doing it again

You have done an excelent job with the details in your journal! Im sorry to hear about all the problems you have had, but at the same time im glad to see this system in action because I was hoping to try this system next. Im rethinking the idea now. Best of luck to you and i will be watching your progress. Happy growing!!

Okay, I was messing with the clones this morning when I noticed that the only one which looks decent has a root popping out of the clone!!! May not be big news to you guys, but this is the first successful rooting clone I have ever taken!!!!

The system is still running optimally. PPMS and Ph have barely moved at all since I last changed the nutrients and stay well within my predetermined +/- 10% threshold. Check out the pics!

Just a quick snapshot of whats going on. Had to take more clones on the 25th because none of them made it. The girls are still looking pretty good. I've gotta do some work with my nutes this evening, so I'll probably update later.

Mmmkay, I had to change the reservoir today because things started to get a little funky. I made it 25 days between reservoir changes, which isn't too bad.

I've included pics too, cause I know I like seeing those in people's journals. First up, the ever popular cola shot. This is from the one plant that is actually growing compact and tight like I wanted.

Next, a whole plant shot.

The next pic is from the 2nd largest of the three. I used zip ties to get this one under control. It has a lot of bud sites on those lateral branches, so I didn't want to lop them off.

This pic is from the largest of the three. I'm not really happy with how this one is growing. It's very tall and very lanky. The top of the plant has now grown above my light which sucks because I can't raise the light any higher.

Finally, I've been keeping track of ph and tds in a spreadsheet. I posted this so you could see how level things were running here. No crazy spikes or surprises.

I have come to the conclusion that I suck at cloning. This is my 4th attempt at it and I'm still not having any luck. So, I'm going to build an aero-cloner so I don't have to fuck with temperamental rockwool cubes any more. Furthermore, my woman has decided that I can proceed with the tray system, so I'll be building a DIY setup there too with my tax return.

I'm waiting for the first full cycle on this reservoir to complete so I can top it off and get my PPM's at 1300 where I like em. The plants were starting to suffer a bit with some spotting on the leaves. I think I was having a light leak in some clear plastic tubing I was using which caused a buildup of funk in the system. I changed everything out in order to avoid root rot, which I can ill afford to deal with right now. Anyways, more updates later on in the week.

It has been a while since I've updated. Today is the 4th week of flowering, and things are coming along nicely. So far, there haven't been any unexpected surprises, which I like. Buds are swelling, trichomes are popping up all over. I managed to get two clones to root for a mother, and I kept the best one. I'm currently waiting for its roots to develop some more before I start giving it nutes.

In other news, I've started assembling parts for my next grow. I'll be constructing a Ebb n Flow table. While the multiflow works great, it's better suited to smaller spaces. Additionally, I should have spent a little more time designing the system as evidenced by the mishaps I have encountered during this grow.

Since I'll be using a table, obviously I'll have to keep the plants much shorter, so I'll be doing a SOG with 6" square pots to make the most out of my space. While I have the hardware to build the table and I've already picked up a reservoir, I'll be spending the next 4 weeks trying to anticipate any issues I might encounter. I'm hoping that once I get everything assembled in the tent that I will have a fully functioning system with no leaks or weaknesses. Anyways, for now, I leave you with pics of buds forming, and a shot of my mother. The mother looks kinda bad, but that's because the plant I took it off of suffered a bad bit of root rot which caused the leaves to look the way they do since I harvested this clone off of the bottom of the plant.

Those buds are looking super nice!

How are you going to build your tables? How big? Im about to build two 4x6 tables out of 3/4' plywood. IM either going to seal it with a thick polyurethane coating or find some kind of liner. What are your ideas?

I'm using 1/2 fiberboard for the bottom, 1''x8'' boards for the sides, and I'm building the table and supports out of 2''x2'' boards. I'll be using pond liner to make sure everything is nice and waterproof. You can pick up pond liner at Lowes or Home Depot. It's not the cheapest stuff, but building this is a fuck of a lot cheaper than dropping $300+ on a ready made unit. I'll also be using steel L brackets for additional strength. The table itself will be 36''x36'' to fit in my grow tent. This way, I'll be able to make the most of space.

How much is your budget building your ebb and flow??

Well so far, I've spent less than $100 on materials for the table. I still need to get the fill and drain fittings, but those run about $7 at any reputable grow shop. So in all, the costs of building this unit is less than 1/3 of buying a pre-made unit and having it shipped.

I don't have any hydro stores within 100 miles, so I would have to have everything shipped anyways. I can't afford to have something that huge delivered because it would most definitely be suspicious if a big crate arrived on my doorstep.

How wide does the pond liner come? That is the only thing i need to buy. I have a bunch of plywood and 2x8s saved up from an old job. Im the same way. Id rather build it myself for half the cost. My first flood tables where concrete mixing tubs.

+ REP for the DIY

The sheet I bought is 7'x10'. They make an even bigger one too if you need it, but the price is exponentially higher. I think I paid nearly $40 just for the liner, but it's worth it for the peace of mind.

Well, I think my Ph meter crapped out on me this evening. I feel like I'm flying blind now. I had a spare probe, but I'm pretty sure the whole thing is shot. This is what I get for going cheap with the Ph meter. Hopefully I can get a new one before any problems come about.

General Hydroponics has a pretty good ph testing thing. Cheap also. I got it before I got a good meter. And just keep it on hand in case my ph meter goes down. It's way better than strip which IMO suck. http://www.generalhydroponics.com/genhydro_US/buffers.html

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

It's been about a week since my last update. Wednesday marked week 5 of flowering, so I'm a little over half way. I've got some pics here. 1st one is an immature bud which is getting covered in trichomes. The next pic is a bud from the top of my biggest plant. This isn't the main cola, which grew to be about 6 inches taller than the light can go!! These buds are getting pretty fat. Next is the clone that I took to turn into a mother. As you can see by the next pic, root growth has been pretty good, as they now reach almost to the bottom of the bucket. The last pic shows the remnants of the actual bud growth present on this clone when I took it from it's mother. I will take probably another week until it reverts back to full vegetative growth. It has regained some color and has shown slight new growth. I'm gonna wait another week or so until I start giving it nutrients, by which time I'm hoping for the resumption of horizontal growth.

I'm probably going to top this mother to provide optimum clone sites. The mother plant showed sex before the other two, and the hairs on her are already starting to turn. Additionally, without modifcation her phenotype exhibited the perfect growth traits for a SOG type lollipop plant growing only 1 major cola. This plant has a far more unified bud structure than the other two, but it will yeild less than the others due to being shaded a bit by the other two. Since my next grow will be a SOG using an Ebb n Flow table, this plant should be ideal.

My Ph meter has gone a bit wonky on me. I can't really trust it anymore, and I haven't gotten around to getting a new one since my Ph is usually pretty stable within acceptable tolerances. I'll be getting a new one soon hopefully. More updates in week 6.

Great Journal, very nice pictures.

What's up JohnnyPotSeed1969? I see that you use a Valueline 6 Inch Centrifugal Inline Fan. Do you think this fan could cool a 250 watt system? The price seems too good to be true for a 435 CFM fan... Does it really put out that much air? Thanks for the info man

Tom

Hey Johnny About to set up shop here with a nearly identical setup few questions(if you dont mind):
How do you like growing with Hydroton?
Notice that you setup is alot like the CAP ebb and Grow, but looks like you DIY'd it can I get an inside on that control bucket for the Ebb and Flow?
How well does that Carbon Filter work? (living in a certain Downtown area close quarters but not sharing walls scent is a big roll)
Also I see you are a fan of the HPS, how well does it ventilate with the addition of the Inline fan?

Btw great grow, despite early setbacks. Hope to be in your position one day. I am done paying for my bud why pay when you can grow?