Full journal of my 1st grow. Indoor aeroponics. Big Bud seeds. 400w HPS/MH

[eagleClaw]

This is my first attempt at a grow. I've done a lot of reading on this forum and elsewhere and have decided to go with home built aeroponics system detailed by FilthyFletch https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/22362-30-minute-6-plant-aero.html

I plan on detailing my grow from begining to end with lots of pics and detail so any other newbies can learn from any mistakes I make (I'm sure there won't be a shortage!)

I'd appreciate any helpful input on the grow and the progress I'm making.

Toke on!

 

[eagleClaw]

Ordered the seeds from Nirvana Shop. I went with Big Bud as it is an easy for beginner strain. The seeds came in about 7 days after my order which is faster than I expected.

• Plant type: Best suitable for indoor growing.
• Plant height: Medium- Indica/Sativa mix
• Stoned or high?: Stoney yet high- Allround Buzz
• THC level: Medium 8-15%
• Flowering Weeks: 8/10
• Yield (Sea of Green on one m2) : 500-600
• Harvest Month: 9/10
• Grow difficulty: Easy (Good for beginners)

iPod Sock??? whatever works

germination kit that I ordered with the seeds from Nirvana

once the seeds let out roots, I transplanted into rockwool

First signs of LIFE!!!

 

[eagleClaw]

I'm setting up my grow room in the utility room in my basement.

This is just the initial set up. I'll be putting on the finishing touches once the lights come in the mail.

My aeroponics setup thanks to FilthyFletch for the detailed plans!

 

[eagleClaw]

I'll consider this the day 1 of my grow.

Two seeds sprouted enough to where I moved them into the netted pots with clay pellets and put them under a CFL light.

Here are the 2 pioneers in all their glory!

These are the nutes I'll be using. Also plan on getting some H2O2 once the roots are long enough to be suspended in the water.

 

[anotherchance]

how long are you planning on before harvest?

 

[eagleClaw]

how long are you planning on before harvest?

I'm looking to doing about 5 - 6 weeks of veg depending on the growth I'll get from them and flowering for a full 8. No hurry here, trying to do it right.

 

[poolman420]

so far so good!!!tring a new 120secretjarin myself

 

[eagleClaw]

Thanks poolman, the hardest part is all the waiting around. I want to keep checking on my babies every 5 minutes. Damn, I need to smoke and calm my ass down lol

 

[LimPShoT]

subscribed, I am thinking of building ff's aero setup also this weekend, waiting for my seeds to come in and want to go with a secret jardine tent.

 

[eagleClaw]

subscribed, I am thinking of building ff's aero setup also this weekend, waiting for my seeds to come in and want to go with a secret jardine tent.

Hey, good luck!! So far it's about as easy as it looks on paper. No surprises yet, everything just kinda works...which is weird, I'd expect myself to screw something up!

 

[eagleClaw]

Looked this morning and 5 out of 6 seeds have sprouted. Looking good and strong. I'm waiting on the last straggler but have a feeling she'll be waking up any minute now.
I put them all under CFL for now to get them started. Still waiting on my HPS/MH lights to come in the mail.

Does anyone know how long I should keep the sprouted seedlings under the CFL lights before putting them into the Aero grow chamber and under MH light?

I'll post some pictures of my babies tonight!!

 

[eagleClaw]

This is day 3 and I have them under a CFL 24 hours a day. Got a humidifier at Walmart for $23 to raise the humidity level and it's creeping up slowly since I plugged it in about an hour ago. Also put in a small space heater into the room to get the temps up and keep that humidity in the air.

Here are the pictures of all the kids. As you can tell, one hasn't sprouted yet, but I've got faith in it. Hang in there little buddy!!!

Here is a closeup of my star player. First to sprout and looks like it's still the most advanced of the batch

 

[Inspectah]

hey nice setup

I would say its ok to put the seedlings into the system, I put mine in right when they sprouted

 

[eagleClaw]

I would say its ok to put the seedlings into the system, I put mine in right when they sprouted

Thanks for the advice. I'll throw the kids in the aero setup tonight. How soon did you start feeding them nutes?

I'm thinking of waiting a few days and letting them adjust to the change in environment and then starting off the feed schedule as documented with my Fox Farm nutes. Let me know if you think that's a good idea or should I wait longer?

Still waiting for my MH/HPS lights to show up. Also ordered a roll of mylar to increase efficiency of the lights.

 

[eagleClaw]

Here is what we're looking like at day 4

 

[eagleClaw]

I have a question about water pH levels. I just got a pH meter I ordered in the mail and was testing my water with it to surprising results.

My house tap water is testing out at ~550ppm at around 8.4pH and the RO filtered water I got filled at a grocery store is testing with only <100ppm BUT at a 9.1pH!!!

I've made sure that dipped in the calibration solution, the pH tester is showing the correct 7.01pH value. So, can't really blame it right?

Has anyone dealt with pH levels that high? I'm not sure what to do here, would appreciate any tips.

 

[eagleClaw]

Well, I made a run to a pet store and got some pH down solution in the aquarium section. Added a few drops into my water res after mixing the nutes and balanced it out to somewhere around 6.5pH.

I'm following the Fox Farms feed schedule so going with 1tsp/gallon of Grow Big and 2tsp/gallon of Big Bloom. (another rookie mistake here: I forgot to shake up the container of nutes before adding them to my water, they sure got a lot murkier as I shook them up. So, half of my nutes I added were before agitation and half, after. hope that's not too much of a problem)

I've transfered my sprouts into the aero setup today, still under CFL and will be posting some pictures soon.

Unfortunately clumsy me broke one of the sprouts during the transfer (don't ask) and so I'm down to 5 plants.

It's their first day in the aero setup and with nutes. Let's hope it's not too much of a shock for them. I'll be keeping a close eye and hopefully they'll adjust without any issues. I'll be posting updates soon

Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[LimPShoT]

looking forward to the pics, i made built my aero setup this weekend and turned it on looks to work. How big of a tub are you using anyways i got a 33 gallon and put 8 containers in it.

 

[sweetsmell]

Slow down there cowboy. I think it is way to early for nutes. I know the feeding chart says different but.......... yea I am really interested in your grow. Gl And I will be keeping an eye on this one

 

[eagleClaw]

How big of a tub are you using anyways i got a 33 gallon and put 8 containers in it.

It's a 31 gallon tub you can find just about anywhere, not sure where this one is from originally, just something I found in my basement.

Good luck with your setup! Mine seems to be holding up alright so far.