DaGambler's 4k HPS 99 Plant Hempy Grow

[southern homegrower]

Thanks for the help. I never had these problems when i grew outside just had to deal with bugs.

 

[bigjesse1922]

DG I don't have much time these days but I thought I'd stop by and checkin!

Things are lookin great bro. I bet you are sure happy to have switched to ebb and flow!

and

 

[DaGambler]

meh...

i'll harvest w/in the next 30 days and be switching over to lava DWC in "MPB" buckets:

Adding to the system:

(1/3 h.p. chiller, prolly undersized... will do till summer)

(9000 cu. in. per minute air)





(12 SuperBox totes, but with (2) 5 gal. buckets in each)

I'm ready to try DWC... me thinks Ebb 'N Flow is the most limiting factor in my garden right now. Hopefully the MPB buckets work like a Cadillac. They combine a drip line, recirculating deep water culture and boat-loads of air blown into each tote.

- DaGambler
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[DaGambler]

Holy Crap... every time i get interested in something it turns to shine-ola.

Been looking at picking up some T.H.Seeds Heavy Duty Fruity ... then i come across this:

"Public Announcement!

Unfortunately due to a number of bad reports regarding the quality of thseeds stocks, Cannaseur have decided to cease stocking thseeds as of now.

I know i was impressed by images of heavy duty fruity when i was first introduced to thseeds, unfortunatelt i have been through 2 packs myself and know of a number of others that have also bought this strain hoping to find plantgs as described on the strain description but no luck.. all i got were uncontrollably stretchy plants taht had very weak stems and terrible yields."

The internet is double-edged sword.
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[Bob Smith]

meh...

i'll harvest w/in the next 30 days and be switching over to lava DWC in "MPB" buckets:

Adding to the system:

(1/3 h.p. chiller, prolly undersized... will do till summer)

(9000 cu. in. per minute air)





(12 SuperBox totes, but with (2) 5 gal. buckets in each)

I'm ready to try DWC... me thinks Ebb 'N Flow is the most limiting factor in my garden right now. Hopefully the MPB buckets work like a Cadillac. They combine a drip line, recirculating deep water culture and boat-loads of air blown into each tote.

- DaGambler
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I'm not sure if you're right about E&F being the limiting factor in your garden (I'd be pretty shocked if it was, but anything's possible, I guess), but from someone who's switched to E&F from DWC, I can tell you that I'll never go back.

The root issues, checking multiple reservoirs (which may or may not be an issue with what you're doing, I'm not very familiar with the system pictured), etc., are all issues that I never wanna have to deal with again.

Any specific reason you think that E&F is what's limiting you?

 

[DaGambler]

Any specific reason you think that E&F is what's limiting you?

it could be my choice of media as much as the hydro setup itself. perlite, i'm finding, is deffinitely not ideal for an ebb 'n flow setup. I only water 3x per week... and the media can still stay too water-logged between waterings. Perhaps i should have tried a pure coco run before changing over to DWC. If DWC doesn't thrill me then maybe i'll fall back to a coco ebb 'n flow.

i've got a pretty one-track mind, so thanks for making me rethink things a little
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[Bob Smith]

it could be my choice of media as much as the hydro setup itself. perlite, i'm finding, is deffinitely not ideal for an ebb 'n flow setup. I only water 3x per week... and the media can still stay too water-logged between waterings. Perhaps i should have tried a pure coco run before changing over to DWC. If DWC doesn't thrill me then maybe i'll fall back to a coco ebb 'n flow.

i've got a pretty one-track mind, so thanks for making me rethink things a little
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I use hydroton, and it works phenomenally - flood every two hours during lights on, and could go to every hour if I wanted to (a "virtual" equivalent of DWC in growth rates/oxygen to the roots, without the nasty side effects like root rot, algae, etc.).

The more often you can/do flood, the better your growth rates, etc - the time after the flood has just subsided (when the roots are in contact with all the water/nutes they want and all the oxygen they want) is when you get the really explosive growth.

If you're only getting that point in time two or three times a week (if that), I agree that a change is in order - that being said, it's a helluva lot cheaper to buy some hydroton and use it then it is to setup a whole DWC system (trust me, look at the first 20 pages of my journal if you wanna see a 16 bucket interconnected DWC failure).

If you're like me then you're gonna do what you want, but I'd highly recommend reconsidering - it's $100 worth of hydroton vs. several hundred, besides the time and effort of putting it together.

Whatever you do, good luck.

 

[hairyrabbit]

good growing man u gna post up the final results up?

 

[GypsyBush]

I like the hydroton too....

I started out with DWC and would prolly never go back....

but that's just me...

 

[DaGambler]

If you're like me then you're gonna do what you want, but I'd highly recommend reconsidering - it's $100 worth of hydroton vs. several hundred, besides the time and effort of putting it together.

Whatever you do, good luck.

If i were a chick - i would be the easiest slut on the planet, bob. It's like i have no willpower and will do whatever i am told to do !!

I've already dropped 300 bucks on totes and buckets and another 300 on a 1/3 hp chiller... the buckets i'll use... the 1/3 might come in handy this summer even running ebb 'n flow... the totes would be a bust (already cut holes in all the lids) ...

But I'll try it your way, bob. I will run One More cycle of Ebb 'N Flow, but this time with Lava (which is apparently most comparable to Hygroton). This should allow me to flood multiple times per day as you suggest.

I read ur journal and all the problems you were having with slime (even with apparently good amounts of bubbling action) in the DWC. Yikes. I don't want to have those problems.

I hope ur right, bob. Cross ur fingers for me, 'cuz it's Ur ass on the line.


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[DaGambler]

good growing man u gna post up the final results up?

yessir, yessir, always do. but don't expect to be "Wow'ed". There's a reason i'm looking to make changes to the current system - and they have entirely to do with past yields.

So stay tuned if you want to see a 'Work In Progress' rather than a one-hitter-quitter, 'cuz this is a Perpetual Grow, brotha.

Don't put away the drawing board.
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[DaGambler]

I like the hydroton too....

I started out with DWC and would prolly never go back....

but that's just me...

holy shit, ur alive !!! thought you got ate by a polar bear

been meaning to stop by ur thread lately. seems you havn't been active in a while (or maybe that's me) ... have to get caught up on ur thread.

- DaGambler
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[MediMary]

Hey da scoundrel = )
good to see yah sir.. +rep
that funny...
"I hope ur right, bob. Cross ur fingers for me, 'cuz it's Ur ass on the line."

 

[DaGambler]

Heheh. Thanks for stopping by MediMary... "Gambler, Scoundrel, Ruffian" ...
That's actually printed on my business card

Found some nice info on Lava Rocks as a media here (discussion of Lava vs. Hygroton);

http://boards.cannabis.com/hydroponics/50491-can-you-use-red-lava-yard-rocks-grow-medium.html

Apparently its not a bad idea... and a few persons even prefer Lava to Hygroton. One things for sure, it's a helluva lot cheaper.
.

 

[Bob Smith]

If i were a chick - i would be the easiest slut on the planet, bob. It's like i have no willpower and will do whatever i am told to do !!

I've already dropped 300 bucks on totes and buckets and another 300 on a 1/3 hp chiller... the buckets i'll use... the 1/3 might come in handy this summer even running ebb 'n flow... the totes would be a bust (already cut holes in all the lids) ...

But I'll try it your way, bob. I will run One More cycle of Ebb 'N Flow, but this time with Lava (which is apparently most comparable to Hygroton). This should allow me to flood multiple times per day as you suggest.

I read ur journal and all the problems you were having with slime (even with apparently good amounts of bubbling action) in the DWC. Yikes. I don't want to have those problems.

I hope ur right, bob. Cross ur fingers for me, 'cuz it's Ur ass on the line.


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Yeah dude, no offense to anyone who uses it, and this will probably rub some people the wrong way, but DWC is for people growing in closets under fluoros, IMHO.

You don't see too many (if any) "real" grows going down with it, and that's because it's a pain in the ass and doesn't scale well.

Have never used lava, but if it's comparable to hydroton, you're golden - I flood every two hours, and will most likely bump it up to every hour when the weather gets a little warmer.

That's maximum dissolved oxygen (DO) and nutes to the root zone.

As an aside, I'd return that chiller, if you can - using hydroton (or a comparable medium) in E&F doesn't require cool (65ish) water (which by definition holds more DO), because unlike rockwool, perlite, and other mediums which hold more water, the DO in hydroton comes from the air, not from the water itself.

As Lucas says*, when the water recedes, the "fogging" action in the rootzone is where the magic happens, and that's the air (DO) mixing in with the water and the nutes.

* Google "Ask Lucas Cannabis World" for more info - that's one of my favorite threads of all time (if not my favorite).

 

[FromClone]

very impressive keep that shit up!

 

[shnkrmn]

Hey gambler. I started out in DWC. Root rot got me every time. In fact, I just threw a few extra clones into that rig last week and blammo, 5 days later they suck. Throwing it all out. Waiting on an ebb n grow system right now. No more hempy for me.

 

[DaGambler]

I never realized how many Anti-DWC people there were... if the last few posts are any indication... a whole barrel of monkeys has come away from DWC with a bad taste in their mouth.

I'll deffinitely hold off for now and just change up the system Via a different media and much more frequent fill/drain cycles. As long as some significant change is taking place - I'm happy to keep experimenting in hopes of a better return.

I just want to hit 1lb per 1k lamp... (7 lbs. per harvest would tickle my fancy quite well enough). If ebb 'n flow can still let me get there, so be it. Still contemplating co2, but the kicker there is that this is a non-A.C. grow just using straight ventilation like in a greenhouse. I guess you can toggle the co2 and the exhaust via a timer or controls and such... but i've pulled a 1lb per 1k w/o co2, damn't, so hopefully i can get there again w/o having to introduce co2 !!
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[southern homegrower]

i am new to dwc have only done 4 grows i use the same totes you are using 6 plants in each tote and get about a 1/2 plb per tote. i have not had any root rot problems yet . i had to paint the yellow lid because the 1000w light was getting through it. if i only put 1 or 2 plants in the tote i get 7 to 8 oz per plant. im not sure but i think that tote being black stops the slime build up in the tote. i have no slime in my totes after a 4 month grow and i have no chiller

 

[DaGambler]

you should throw up a journal man. i'd like to see ur setup. the link in your sig just goes to a blank page... i've clicked it a couple different times on different occassions now.
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