It's A Fuct World

[dlively11]

While I'm here, I've got to comment on 'magic sauces.' I was in my local hydro shop the other day and noticed they've expanded the range of magical rubbish by a factor of 2, at least. If you're using a good quality inorganic nutrient (I use Canna nutes), you simply will have no need for anything else beyond H2O2 and perhaps some phosphoric acid based pH Down. You'll find that good nutes already include pH buffers that will set the pH of most tapwater to 5.8-6.0 when you mix for 1000-1100ppm. However, when you top up tanks (always with plain tapwater), the pH may wander upward somewhat. Correct it carefully with pH Down- and don't overshoot. Too low is as bad as too high.

Dump your tanks every 2 weeks and mix entirely new solution. Don't try to add nute concentrates to a half-eaten tank of nutes. You'll have no way of knowing if the NPK ratios are correct- but I can guarantee you that they won't be.

I was told to dump my tank every week. Or atleast it was ideal. Do you think I am wasting my time/money Al ? I have been doing it this way for well over a year since I went to hydro.

 

[dlively11]

What are your thoughts on the whole defoilation debate for a full SOG table. I have had my best results doing 4 per SQ foot and removing all the large fan leaves by week 3 of bloom. There are some in here that seem to beleive we are hurting the grow by doing this. That being said they do not grow SOG themselves. Just curious as to what your thoughts were on the matter. Here are a few I did at 4 per foot and removed all the larger fan leaves. Averaged 30 grams per plant dried and cut.

 

[mindphuk]

Thank you sir, think I'll go ahead will invest in a Digilux bulb and see how it treats me. Also went ahead and ordered a lux meter, sounds like a wise tool to keep on hand.

Instead of a lux meter, you really want to get a quantum meter to measure PAR.

They are a bit more expensive that lux meters but it looks like some aquarium hobbyists were able to get a really good discount on one particular brand. I think we should look into something like this http://www.reefland.com/forum/reef-aquariums/26252-group-buy-apogee-mq200-par-meter.html

 

[iflylow]

Hey Al, was reading the MSDS on 29% H2O2 (you do read the sheets on all your hazardous chems right?!!) and discovered that its biggest hazard involves contamination followed by rapid oxidization. How do you handle your 50% stuff?

How do you measure out small quantites of the potent stuff without contaminating your source?

Have you ever had any issue with spills?

I was talking to the local hydro shop owner and he told me a story of a bottle of 29% he sold that didn't have the cap entirely on. It was leaking out onto the customer's back seat. The customer was driving home, heard some noise, smelled the smoke and watched as his rear seat effectively melted down. I don't expect that to happen to me but I also don't want to go blind just transferring 6.8 mL into 4L of water. Am I being over cautious?

 

[pdillo]

Instead of a lux meter, you really want to get a quantum meter to measure PAR.

They are a bit more expensive that lux meters but it looks like some aquarium hobbyists were able to get a really good discount on one particular brand. I think we should look into something like this http://www.reefland.com/forum/reef-aquariums/26252-group-buy-apogee-mq200-par-meter.html

Thanks man! I ordered the lux meter (same one they sell on HTG) from china for 15 bucks a few days ago… once that one breaks I'll def invest in the quantum meter

 

[hellraizer30]

Hey Al, was reading the MSDS on 29% H2O2 (you do read the sheets on all your hazardous chems right?!!) and discovered that its biggest hazard involves contamination followed by rapid oxidization. How do you handle your 50% stuff?

How do you measure out small quantites of the potent stuff without contaminating your source?

Have you ever had any issue with spills?

I was talking to the local hydro shop owner and he told me a story of a bottle of 29% he sold that didn't have the cap entirely on. It was leaking out onto the customer's back seat. The customer was driving home, heard some noise, smelled the smoke and watched as his rear seat effectively melted down. I don't expect that to happen to me but I also don't want to go blind just transferring 6.8 mL into 4L of water. Am I being over cautious?

all i can get is 29% at the local shop and ive never been burned by it yet so id have to call BS on that story, it is hazardus just dont believe its that stong

 

[doniawon]

all i can get is 29% at the local shop and ive never been burned by it yet so id have to call BS on that story, it is hazardus just dont believe its that stong

stick your finger in the bottle and count to 20!!!

 

[hellraizer30]

for the sake of my finger il pass lol just havnt been burned and ive had little drops get on me from time to time and
no issue, although i wiped it off but melting a car seat im not sure about that.

 

[pdillo]

I've accidentally gotten 35% on my finger tips a few times… actually it happens kinda frequently … oxidizes my skin (turns it white) for a half hour or so. Don't be a lazy ass like me, wear some rubber gloves! Haha. I've never felt a 'burn' sensation tho… but then again I don't go stickin my finger in the jug either!

 

[jojodancer10]

5 inch square pots = 4 pots per sqf total 32 plants

 

[WWShadow]

Al B. I never thought I'd get the chance to thankyou for your tutorials@ on a harvest every 2 weeks, how long are you drying & curing? Or do you just smoke it right off the stalk? lol I love the week baron thread!! I hope you'll be back to visit more often.

thanks for all the knowledge

WW

 

[Al B. Fuct]

OK, had to tend to some crap for a few days. Let's see if I can catch up.

I am currently doing almost an ounce per SOG plant with a 5 day veg.

Sounds good.

During veg, the plants are Uncle Ben topped and the cuttings become clones. So the idea is to have a motherless perpetual with 48 plants. Not sure if that makes sense, since I have no experience cloning or growing big plants.

Topping plants in a straight SoG op is not a good idea. You're eliminating the top cola. If you top the plants, they will branch out & grow a number of smaller terminal coals on each resulting stem.

I was going to do it in 6" RW cubes (3.5L) volume, really for the lack of something better. Hydroton doesn't hold enough water for safety margin for me and I don't want to clean it, coco doesn't seem ideal for flood and drain, can't get fytocell and sure-to-grow look to be crap. What's my best bet for these bigger plants in a flood and drain?

6" RW cubes will do fine, as will pots of RW floc. Just be careful with watering when the plants are still small. RW has such a high water holding capacity that small plants might suffer from overwatering issues if watered daily.

Hey medicine Mary,
I flood and drain coco with no issues.
I lay a layer of floc (bottom 8cm) of my pot.

Works great for me.....

Sounds OK, though I'm not a fan of coir. Organic matter will break up when repeatedly exposed to H2O2 and the bits will get loose in the system. You've solved that problem by putting some RW in the pot bottoms, though.

Hey al, i went to my local hydro store to get some flock, there asking me if I want repelant or obsorbant rockwool flock.
Do you mix these two together for better drainage? I know you don't use flock for flowering anymore but I wanted to know if you were using a mix of theses two when you used to use it for flowering? You have written that flock holds too much water so this could help? Also I was at the hardwear store looking at insulation and came across rock fiber insulation. It looks exactly the same as rockwool slabs. Was thinking of trying test to see if it would work as well. Any thoughts? Thanks.. Nice to see you still kicking around.

Normally, you will want only absorbent RW floc. You could conceivably mix absorbent and repellent floc, but I've not tried it and can't really advise you on the mixing ratio. 'Rock fibre' insulation very likely is what growers know as rockwool. It's probably the water repellent variety, though- by itself, in slabs, would probably not be suitable for hydroponic growing.

Thank you sir, think I'll go ahead will invest in a Digilux bulb and see how it treats me. Also went ahead and ordered a lux meter, sounds like a wise tool to keep on hand. Along with the dim feature on new Lumateks, there is also an overdrive (or SUPER LUMEN!!) setting… which is probably good for burning bulbs out a lot faster. I've just kept it on normal 600w output so far.

The Digilux lamps are kinda pricey. Expanded spectrum lamps are not necessary for flowering. Plain old HPS streetlight tubes will work fine. I prefer name branded lamp tubes i.e. Sylvania, GE, etc.

I'm with you- I would not use the 'overdrive' function of the electronic ballast.

Lux meters are handy, mainly as an aid in judging when an HPS tube is worn out. When you put in new tubes, pick a convenient spot and measure the luminous output. When the measured output is down 20%, replace the lamp.

While we got ya here, thought I would bug ya about batwing reflectors. I'm thinking of making my own to fit over my cooltubes for a better rectangular spread (pretty much the same dimensions as a medium adjust-a-wing). Would you say common hardware store mill aluminum with a high-heat matte white paint job suffice? Or would it be a better idea to go ahead and spend the extra cash on the reflector specific 'german aluminum' material (shiny aluminum with dimples) from the hydro shop? I mean, aesthetically that would be less ghetto looking

I'd prefer the dimpled aluminum to a painted reflector. In high-humidity environments, the paint will eventually start peeling.

just curious, why would you not want to flush plants?

Because it has no effect on the taste of the buds.

i notice when i flush my plants the smoke tastes much better. i have harvested a few plants without flushing(same strain) and the smoke tasted like chemicals.

By any chance, had those plants been fert burned? That's the usual cause for that sort of problem.

i know a flush isnt needed, but shouldnt flushing be a requirement to grow premium dope since it improves the flavor?

A plant that hasn't been fert burned will yield perfectly fine tasting buds.

haha, good luck convincing al of that! you might want to go ahead and bring up the importance of a 'good cure' while your at it

Yeah... 'curing' is just not necessary in a modern grow op. That's a practise that you'll find described in VERY old grow books- we're talking early 1970s. Back in the day, growers used to leave quite a lot of fan leaf matter in with the buds. Aging or 'curing' as it were does break down chlorophyll, which is important if you're smoking leaf. Buds by themselves have a very high resin to vegetable matter ratio and a lot less chlorophyll than fan leaves. There's no need to 'cure' buds. These days, fan leaves go to the compost- problem solved.

lucas works good for young plant but as soon as they get bigger you will run into a def. and lucas swears by not useing supliments and thats BS GH has a online nute
calculator to custom build a feeding program. if you mix 1300ppm in 55gal of water and a day later its 40gal and 1400ppm your going to add back water to get back
to the 1300ppm but at the same time, if this is the case then I believe your ppm is to high to start with. If you start at 1300ppm and lose 10gal and its still 1300ppm
then I think its a perfect ratio, now plants will take more or less through there life span so get a calander and chart every feeding and change so next time you can follow
or correct your feeding. I use 1300ppm as a nonfiction number.

I'd follow the mfr's mixing instructions.

1300 is a bit too strong. Remember, these are plants, not V8 engines. There's 'not enough,' 'just right' and 'cooked.' 'More' is not always 'better' unless we're talking about light. Plants will do fine at about 800-1000ppm.

If you mix for 1000 and find the TDS has jumped up when some of the water has been used, yes, you can add some plain tapwater until the TDS drops back to 1000 (and then correct pH). What's happening is that the plants are proportionately using water faster than the nutes in the solution. You might try mixing for a lower TDS, perhaps 800ppm.

hello family, DR. Al B. Fust, got a question for ya, i dont have much room so i built a home made box that's 4 feet long, 4 feet tall and two and a half feet wide. i had a t5 8 bulb light from my first grow about 2 years ago. i have been studing your style and i have came to the point that i will take cuttings from my mom's every 8 weeks. will the moms be ok under the flo's? or do i need to spend more money on my light bill? what size light system should i get if i am to spend money? a 150, 250, 400 or 600 watt light for 24sqf

It depends on how fast you need mums to regrow after taking a batch of cuts and how many cuttings you need to make. 8wks is a long time between batches of cuttings. Fluoros may be sufficient in your case, but one thing you won't get with mums under fluoros is big, thick stems. If your mums don't regrow fast enough, look at a 250W HPS or 175W MH.

I was told to dump my tank every week. Or atleast it was ideal. Do you think I am wasting my time/money Al ? I have been doing it this way for well over a year since I went to hydro.

It depends on the volume of your nute tank. If you have about 5L of tank volume per plant, you should be able to get through 2 weeks between tank dumps. Mind you, I'm quite sure your local hydro shop operator would have you mix new tanks every day if he could convince you to do it.

What are your thoughts on the whole defoilation debate for a full SOG table. I have had my best results doing 4 per SQ foot and removing all the large fan leaves by week 3 of bloom. There are some in here that seem to beleive we are hurting the grow by doing this. That being said they do not grow SOG themselves. Just curious as to what your thoughts were on the matter. Here are a few I did at 4 per foot and removed all the larger fan leaves. Averaged 30 grams per plant dried and cut.

Leave the fans on. Leaves are solar panels for your plants- they're responsible for making the sugars that build the cellulose plant matter. SoG trimming involves removing all the branching on the lower 1/3 of the plant, usually at the end of wk 1 & 3- any branch that's threatening to get more than about 1" long should be pruned off. However, I'd leave the fans on, for the aforementioned reasons.

Instead of a lux meter, you really want to get a quantum meter to measure PAR.

They are a bit more expensive that lux meters but it looks like some aquarium hobbyists were able to get a really good discount on one particular brand. I think we should look into something like this http://www.reefland.com/forum/reef-aquariums/26252-group-buy-apogee-mq200-par-meter.html

All you really need for light measurement is a relative indication. Any lux meter is fine, as long as it is consistent. There's not much use for lux meters else than determining when a tube is past its serviceable life. Beyond that is splitting hairs. There IS a such thing as too much information.

Hey Al, was reading the MSDS on 29% H2O2 (you do read the sheets on all your hazardous chems right?!!) and discovered that its biggest hazard involves contamination followed by rapid oxidization. How do you handle your 50% stuff?

Carefully!

I'm not sure what they mean by 'contamination followed by rapid oxidization.' An aqueous H2O2 solution, certainly when the water content is 71%, is not apt to cause spontaneous combustion of combustible materials.

How do you measure out small quantites of the potent stuff without contaminating your source?

By tipping it into a clean, dry graduated measuring cup. Very small amounts can be drawn out with a 10ml or 60ml syringe.

Have you ever had any issue with spills?

Yes. Spilled H2O2 should be flushed away with a large volume of plain water. If your grow room doesn't have a resilient floor where flushing is possible, while wearing rubber gloves, mop up with paper towels, which are then placed in a large volume (say, a 10L bucket) of water, then clean up the remaining spill with a wet sponge. Rinse the sponge out immediately under a running tap and repeat until the H2O2 on the surface is dilute enough to be safe. It's always smart to use safety goggles and nitrile rubber gloves when handling high strength H2O2. A splash in the eye MAY result in permanent eye damage but WILL be painful as hell.

I was talking to the local hydro shop owner and he told me a story of a bottle of 29% he sold that didn't have the cap entirely on. It was leaking out onto the customer's back seat. The customer was driving home, heard some noise, smelled the smoke and watched as his rear seat effectively melted down. I don't expect that to happen to me but I also don't want to go blind just transferring 6.8 mL into 4L of water. Am I being over cautious?

29% isn't especially strong, and as said, with 71% water content, isn't apt to cause spontaneous combustion. I honestly don't believe his story. The 29% stuff can cause skin irritation and eye injuries, though. I think he may have been a bit hypey/overcautious with his advice, but all the same, it's not wise to splash the stuff around.

Thanks man! I ordered the lux meter (same one they sell on HTG) from china for 15 bucks a few days ago… once that one breaks I'll def invest in the quantum meter

Meh. As said, any lux meter that reads consistently is sufficient.

all i can get is 29% at the local shop and ive never been burned by it yet so id have to call BS on that story, it is hazardus just dont believe its that strong

Agreed.

stick your finger in the bottle and count to 20!!!

Uh, no. 29% will definitely cause skin irritation, particularly if you get some under a fingernail.

Al B. I never thought I'd get the chance to thankyou for your tutorials@ on a harvest every 2 weeks, how long are you drying & curing? Or do you just smoke it right off the stalk?

My buds are usually dry in 3 days, using my bud dryer. Ready to smoke as soon as the stems snap.

lol I love the week baron thread!! I hope you'll be back to visit more often.

thanks for all the knowledge

You're quite welcome. 'How Not To Grow Dope' IS a good bit of fun. I just wish I had more time to write stuff like that.

 

[Rick Ratlin]

Hey Al great to have you back. I wanted to know if you use light diffusers with your cooltubes. I've got one on my 1K, about 14" above the canopy. Uncle Ben had mentioned bleaching that occurs from too much light, so I'm afraid to remove my diffuser.
I used your cloning tips with the best success, but I switched to a diy bubbler cloner that works well, I'm too lazy to water the rw cubes, as the new system is set and forget. I now have the free clonebox with exhaust, do you see any problem using it as a bud dryer? I also use a sulfur burner, no problems, for 5 minutes 1 hour after lights off, 1 hour before lights off, no fans running, about 55% rh. Sound good? Also, why not top off with pH 5.8 water? Sorry for the question grenade. Thanks for the advice, you're the best!

 

[medicine21]

Hey Al, still in search of a medium that is somewhere in between rockwool and hydroton in terms of water absorption, retention and capillary action for flood and drain. What are your thoughts on diatomite/higromite/dyna rock 2/etc...? It seems to fit the bill and adds silica as a bonus.

 

[pdillo]

Thanks Al for all this free consulting, u'z a patient man!

The Digilux lamps are kinda pricey. Expanded spectrum lamps are not necessary for flowering. Plain old HPS streetlight tubes will work fine. I prefer name branded lamp tubes i.e. Sylvania, GE, etc.

One problem I've had with the 600w setup is finding streetlight variety bulbs. Even GE and Sylvania types are a lot more pricey and harder to track down than the more common 400w and 1000w. I know, its a hard knock life!

I'd prefer the dimpled aluminum to a painted reflector. In high-humidity environments, the paint will eventually start peeling.

Cool, thanks. The sheets come 2'x4', so I would be able to cut two 2'x2' pieces for two batwings… u think a 2 foot width would be wide enough to work with for a 600w hanging over a 3'x4' area? Or should I buy 2 pieces of the stuff so I can go wider?

Do u filter your cooltube intake? My cooltubes are gettin dusty fast… my fear is my shit brushless axials couldnt take the added static pressure of a filter (gonna upgrade to BB axials once these go down!)

One last question about the bud dryer; do you manicure the buds off the main stem before loading em in? The only benefit I could see to keeping the buds on the stem would be to have something to bend or snap for judging moisture content… but it seems like it would dry faster and easier to get rid of fan leaves removing em from the stem…

Thanks, U rock

 

[Swiezy]

Anybody got an idea what to do with waste?? There will be probably a lot of that after every 2 weeks.

 

[pdillo]

Anybody got an idea what to do with waste?? There will be probably a lot of that after every 2 weeks.

Compost! If u don't have a yard for a compost bin, u can drive yer gro specific trash to a dumpster. Its okay to throw away certain things with the normal household garbage. Grow medium without any plant material can be sacked and mixed in discreetly with other household waste. U can deface or remove labels from nute bottles before putting em your trash or recycling, or take em to one of those recycling places where u load the plastic in yourself. Just make sure no obvious plant material gets in yer trash, u should be safe. One thing to note, if cops are sorting thru your trash, chances are u done fucked up anywho! But its good to be cautious.

Speaking of cautious, one thing thats always concerned me was ordering grow gear online… however buying gear from hydro shops isn't necessarily 100% safe either… has anyone ever had issues with online ordering or using personal credit/debit cards? or hell, even posting journals and such on these forums? Would having a VPN service be showing acute signs of paranoia? Seems like lots and lots of people are getting away with it… so thats assuring, ha!

 

[DIRTHAWKER]

Ive read the whole thread..thanks Al for all the great information!

Ive been running the full botanicare mix for the last couple years in an aeroponic stinkbud system. I always get brown semi slimy roots at (weeks 4- harvest).

How would you battle that when using an organic nute such as botanicare? I was all set to go pick up some 29% h202 and start using it. but botanicare is organic.

I will switch to an inorganic in the future but at the moment i am already stocked up with botanicare.

Thanks

 

[medicine21]

Ive read the whole thread..thanks Al for all the great information!

Ive been running the full botanicare mix for the last couple years in an aeroponic stinkbud system. I always get brown semi slimy roots at (weeks 4- harvest).

How would you battle that when using an organic nute such as botanicare? I was all set to go pick up some 29% h202 and start using it. but botanicare is organic.

I will switch to an inorganic in the future but at the moment i am already stocked up with botanicare.

Thanks

This thread right here seems right up your alley. All who have followed this recipe seem to report success of getting rid of slime.

 

[joe macclennan]

hey al i posted this question in the plant problems section but have received no responses.my question is about using abamectin i read in a post somewhere that you recomend using this to control spider mites so i went right out and got some. whew pretty expensive stuff. anyway i did not follow the recommended mixing instructions of 4 oz per 100 gallons as the fraction was too boggling to my somewhat fuzzy brain so i just eyeballed "a bit" into my one pint spray bottle.(bad move) the next day it looked as if my clones had received a serious nitrogen od. (at least to my eyes)i'm probably going to lose around a third of my clones
i have been spraying them 2x a day since w/regular tap water but the damage has already been done.so my question is what other care would you recommend for my babies at this time.
thanks a bunch you are an inspiration to many of us
joe