Homemade Under Current...Part 2...400w/Scrog

Hobgoblit

Active Member
Hello again, this will be grow 2 in the UC.
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Started germination last night, October 28th. I use a black bowl, black saucer, and a napkin. You can see it sitting on top of the UC in the above pic. Works pretty good, usually have seedlings in 2 to 3 days. I use tap at first, but will go to R/O when they hit the cubes.

Will be using Flora Nova Grow and Bloom again, as well as Flora Kleen for flushing. I use the simple version of Heisenbergs Tea, for prevention, Mycogrow brewed in a 5 gallon bucket with molasses. Adding 1 cup to the reservoir a day.
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Gonna try scrog this round. Still deciding on a design for the screen, but it will have to move up and down for pot draining. A few inches is all I need.
Suggestions welcome...
 

Hobgoblit

Active Member
Here a pic from last harvest. My wife finished it out while I was away so I got screwed on the pictures. I'll have more when they finish curing.
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UnderCurrentDWC

Active Member
How's it Hobgoblit?

Looking great man!
Did you get a new tent and are you using the control bucket outside the tent again?

I use the tea as well.


Here's what I do for a scrog it's more of a frame to tie the plant down with zip ties, like a perma-LST.







 

Hobgoblit

Active Member
Thanks for dropping in UndercurrentDWC. I really like that idea. Are the pegs screwed to the top?
Nope, same tent.
 

UnderCurrentDWC

Active Member
I really like that idea. Are the pegs screwed to the top?
No, everything is a slip fitting I just press them together and they stay together buy compression alone. I take them apart by pressing a screwdriver down the middle against the plug and force it out of the coupler. There's enough lip on the plug to act like a washer keeping the risers in place.

 

Hobgoblit

Active Member
No, everything is a slip fitting I just press them together and they stay together buy compression alone. I take them apart by pressing a screwdriver down the middle against the plug and force it out of the coupler. There's enough lip on the plug to act like a washer keeping the risers in place.
Way to use your head man, thats exactly what I need. Thanks.
 

Hobgoblit

Active Member
Anybody remember these? I hated them when I was a kid. Rebirth? Yes indeed. Just a ruff fitting test, but I believe it will work. 2X4 exactly.
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lordjin

Well-Known Member
Appreciate it lordjin, this is gonna be fun. I feel much better prepared this go round.
Yeah! Me too.

Great feeling to improve upon our previous efforts, huh?

You really got your shit together, btw. Very clean looking all around.

Won't let me rep you again.
 

Hobgoblit

Active Member

Understanding why your PH does what it does...
When water reacts with itself to create the H3O(+)(hydroxyl) and OH(-) (hydroxide) species, one of the most fundamental and important characteristics of aqueous solutions is generated. The reactivity of a solution and its interaction with living organisms is determined in a great extent by the concentration of these two species, a variable usually measured as pH which is nothing but the negative value of the logarithm of the concentration of the H3O(+) ion. In hydroponic culture – where our plants are in great contact with aqueous solutions – the understanding of the role of the H3O(+) and OH(-) ions and their measurement as pH becomes very important if an in-depth understanding of what is going on wants to be attained. On today’s post I will attempt to guide you into this micro world of pH and how and why pH changes within a hydroponic crop. What determines pH ? This variable is inversely proportional to the concentration of H3O(+) ions and directly proportional to OH(-) ions, the more hydroxil ions you have the more acidic your solution will be (the lower the pH) while more hydroxide ions will increase your pH and give you a higher pH reading. It is important to understand here that hydroxyl and hydroxide ions determine each other’s concentration. Since water’s self-reaction equilibria must be maintained, the sum of pH and pOH must always be equal to 14 (a neat consequence of chemical equilibrium theory). When the concentration of hydroxyl and hydroxide ions is equal, pH and pOH contribute equally to the solution and they are therefore both 7, reason why the pH of a neutral solution has this value. Now that we know a little bit about pH we can understand better what happens when plants interact with a nutrient solution. When a plant is put within a given solution it wants to absorb the nutrients it needs to grow. These nutrients are available as ions that have a given charge. For example, nitrogen is absorbed as the nitrate ion (NO3(-)) while potassium is absorbed as the K(+) ion. When a plant takes potassium in, it deplets the solution of a positive charge. Since the solution must remain neutral the plant gives the solution an H3O(+) ion to compensate. The plant has therefore decreased the pH of the solution by absorbing a potassium ion. When nitrate is absorbed – an ion with a negative charge- the plant does the opposite and exchanges the nitrate for an OH(-), the pH of the solution is increased.
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If plants absorbed nutrients in a perfectly symmetrical fashion, they would not increase or decrease pH as overall charge changes would be compensated. However – as no one is perfect- plants absorb nutrients at different rates and they therefore create a “pull” towards a certain pH region. If a plant absorbs nitrate heavily it will start to contribute far more OH(-) than H3O(+) ions into the solution and the result will be a net increase in pH. Depending on the composition of the nutrients and the overall growth stage of the plant, different net movements in pH can be achieved by the plant.
The most influential factor in the changes of pH within a solution is generally the composition of the nitrogen component of the solution. When plants absorb ammonium ions NH4(+) they tend to decrease pH while nitrate – as mentioned above – tends to increase pH when absorbed. If you contribute a percentage of the nitrogen in your solution as ammonia the net effect will be a beneficial “absorption pH buffer” since plants will take nitrogen in both forms, effectively delaying the onset of important pH variations. Of course, the ratio of nutrients also performs a vital role since plants’ nutrient absorption mechanism are largely non-specific and they are greatly influenced by the different concentrations of nutrients within the solutions. Having a nutrient solution designed to provide an adequate balance will be vital in helping you control pH fluctuations. :bigjoint:
 

Hobgoblit

Active Member
Simple and easy rockwool conditioning video by Grodan.
[video=youtube;RLyYY72mGKM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLyYY72mGKM[/video]
 

lordjin

Well-Known Member
That bit on ph was a little mind-numbing at first, but when it got into the nitty gritty of how the explained chemistry applies to plant roots in hydro solution... really awesome.

It makes a lot of sense and has answered a few questions for me. Thanks. I'd rep you again for that if they would let me.

There's this notion that's being spread around right here on RIU that a drop in ph can only mean bad microbes are having a field day on your roots. I dismissed that as false since my ph has been fluctuating pretty much since day one of my current Tahoe grow and my plants have shown nothing but good health. I dismissed it as false and just kept on my merry way, adjusting ph as necessary.

As that article applies to my grow, my plants have been absorbing nitrate in the first 36 hours after res change causing a slow upward drift, and have been getting to work absorbing potassium and what have you in the rest of the week, causing a slow downward drift. It's pretty consistent with the conclusion regarding ph I've come to after all these grows I've done. It's not really the ph influencing the plants, but the plants establishing the ph depending on what they decide they need from the nutrient solution. Hey, what do you know? I was right.
 

Hobgoblit

Active Member
That would be the article that finally made me understand, and 4 days after I took my hands of the PH the growth took off. Literally. Anyway, glad that helped you. Right now I'm concentrating on getting my roots through to the water, my top feed is on 5 minutes every 3 hours. Put them in the hydroton yesterday, and with such low humidity in my room I put on the domes to push the roots.
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Hobgoblit

Active Member
Thanks to everyone who supported me here on this site, I appreciate the help some of you tried to give. This is the end for old Hob here, no sense in wasting my time, no one reads this thread anyway. Wishing you all luck with the green thumb, peace RIU.
 
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