New Papaya/Kush Journal with pics

[gohydro]

Hello to all again. For those of you who followed my last journal Papaya, Hindu Kush Aerotub Journal I appreciate all the comments. As I mentioned in the last post of that journal I was a little disappointed in the potency but feel sure I caused the problem with a nute concentration that was way too nitrogen rich towards the end of the flowering period. I also started from seed due to some unfortunate circumstances with my last set of clones. Even with the Indica variety of seeds I ended up with plants that were too tall to manage properly on an indoor grow. I went to 12/12 when the babies were about 2' tall (as soon as preflowers appeared) and ended up with HUGE plants that required constant attention just to keep them away from the HID fixtures.

That grow is behind us and I'm now working with 12 clones (same variety) which were taken directly from the aerocloner and placed under (2) 400w HPS fixtures. These clones were 6-8" tall at the time they went to 12/12 and the results appear much more favorable than growing from seed.

The system:

Flower Area (5'x5'):

(2) 20 gal DIY Tupperware aerotubs . 6 plants in each tub.
(2) 400w Fixtures with Lumatek ballasts and Hortilux HPS eye bulbs
(1) Intermatic t101 mechanical time clock.
(2) dual outlet air pumps and 4 12" airstones. (2 stones in each tub).
(1) 450 cfm vortex fan.
(1) Ultrasonic humidifier
(1) GE Merlin R.O machine providing as much as 700g/day of R.O water.
GH and AN nutes (3 part, bud blood, carboload, Dr Hornbys)

Mom Closet (3x2 x 9' tall)

(1) 400w MH fixture with Lumatek digital ballast
(3) Hydrogarden drip systems
(1) Intermatic t101 mechanical time clock
Intake and exhaust provided by splitting the outlet (using dampers) of the 450cfm vortex fan feeding the flowering clones.

Cloning area:

(1) aerocloner
(4) 150cfl bulbs in 2 cheap Home Depot reflectors (2 bulbs in each reflector)

Current Status:

6" Clones moved to flower area on 5/30. Running at 590ppm, 5.7ph. Pictures below were taken on 6/12. (13 days under 12/12)

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[gohydro]

A little clearer picture. Lots of budsites for 2 weeks in to flower.

PPM 550
PH 5.7

 

[edux10]

That is awsome. I want to do a Box o Green! Ill be watchin..

 

[gohydro]

That is awsome. I want to do a Box o Green! Ill be watchin..

Thanks EDU. Feel free to PM with questions. As with every grow this is trial and error and I certainly have made my mistakes. Hopefully I've learned from the past and don't mind passing on anything I've learned.

Good Luck!

 

[gohydro]

Day 17 of flower and lots-o-buds.

PPM -650,
PH -5.8
Room temp 76 fah

Added bud blood today with the new nute mix. I'm expecting to take 10 more clones from the Mom's (not shown) in a few days and give them 10 days to root. Once they root they're going straight to this area (12/12) and I'll add a 600w HPS. Hopefully my future harvests will be 5-6 weeks apart.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[cloudflyer]

Nice little room you have there

 

[gohydro]

Thanks Cloud. I own a mechanical/electrical contracting business so it would be unacceptable (in my mind) to have some funky ass set-up. Everything is commercial grade (except those Tupperware tubs) and I'm always improving on it. I've built in quite a bit of redundancy as well as tried to make almost everything "quick change". With my luck, shit fails when I need it the most. Experience has taught me that. Last grow it was a failed 600w ballast (over the holiday weekend no less when the hydro show was closed). My next upgrade will be a PH dosing system. Those aero tubs could (if necessary) go unattended for a week at a time if I didn't need to adjust the PH every damn day.....sometimes twice a day. It's time to monitor and adjust automatically.

 

[jimbizzzale67123]

wow LOVE that SCROG there im gonna have to make one like that for my veggies.

 

[gohydro]

Took 20 clones last night from the Moms (not shown) and they should be rooted in 8-10 days. I'll add them to this group under 12/12 and that should set me on track for a 12 plant harvest every month and a half. Not big by any means but more than enough for me.

Picture below is 20 days in to flowering. So far they're looking schweeeeeet!

 

[gohydro]

Day 23 here of flowering and everything is going well.

Temps=78fah
PPM= 600
PH= 5.8


I've had a few PM's asking for pictures of the grow area. Here ya go.

Pics below:

(1) 5x5 grow area w/ (2) 400w HPS
(2) Da Buds @ 22 days
(3) Time clock, ballasts, dual outlet air pumps
(4) R.O. Machine on right.

 

[gohydro]

Day 25 under 12/12 and the buds are looking mighty frosty for just over 3 weeks in to flower. Switched ballasts and bulbs from 400w to 600w. Pics below.

The 20 clones taken 6 days ago are beginning to show roots. Perfect timing.....they will go to 12/12 in about 2 weeks which should give me a harvest every 5-6 weeks.

Germed, well...started the process of germinating some "Gremlin" seeds last night. Anybody who might have any thoughts on this strain is welcome to comment.

 

[gohydro]

freekin lumatek 600w ballast went bad AGAIN! This is becoming a pain in the ass. Yeah... they have a 5 year warranty but when it goes bad I need to switch to a *spare* 400 and change the bulb not to mention taking time out of my day to drive to my local hydro shop to get the replacement.

Enough bitching. The clones I took 7 days ago are beginning to show roots. A few more days and they'll go under the 12/12.

Out of the 6 "Gremlin" seeds I put in wet paper towels 3 have popped. Time to plant.

 

[gohydro]

Got the replacement ballast and now my ladies are under (2) 600's instead of (2) 400's.

28 days in to flower and everything is looking good. Still maintaining 5.7-5.8 PH and still running at 600PPM. Room temps staying around 75-80.

Nice trichs (under 30x RS scope) for such young ladies. Started adding carboload with each nute change and will be adding Dr. Hornby's from here on out.

 

[gohydro]

Day 29 of flowering. Time to take 10 of the clones from the aerocloner and add them to this group with no veg time. This will allow a harvest about every 6 weeks. Built a new, larger Rubbermaid tub w/550gph pump, 10 spray nozzles and a dual outlet airpump feeding (2) 12" airstones. I added (1) 400w HPS over the cuttings. I also took 2 of the clones and put them in a Mom cabinet. I want to keep this strain (papaya) going.

 

[hothousemary]

great journal!! impressive set up!! I noticed that you have a reverse osmosis filter set up.. Im getting one very soon, any advice on choosing or setup? Come check my journal out and let me know what ya think.

 

[gohydro]

great journal!! impressive set up!! I noticed that you have a reverse osmosis filter set up.. Im getting one very soon, any advice on choosing or setup? Come check my journal out and let me know what ya think.

Here's what I can tell you about RO machines: If you got the money, spring for that one. The 200-300 dollar models at places like home depot (or on the web for that matter) don't put out the gpm I want. They're very slow unless you install a float valve so you can walk away while your reservoir fills. That is a GE Merlin and it has a 700gpd output if you have 60psi inlet pressure. I think I paid about 400 bucks for it. RO machines also have a drain connection as they dispose of about 3x as much water as they make during the RO process. I'm lucky...my RO machine sits beside a floor drain. I probably use about 50 gallons per week (but I don't want to wait 2 hours to get it) and the filter system ought to last well beyond a year. It looks almost like a German design.....very sleek, well thought out and great craftsmanship. All of the connections are similar to a pneumatic connection (sort of plug and play) and the support leg doubles as a wrench for tightening the filters.

In the attached picture, the filter canister you see with the pressure gauge isn't part of the RO machine although the other filter (with the blue line) is part of the RO system. It's a charcoal filter. Anyway, I thought I'd put a pre-filter ahead of the RO machine (thats the one you see with the gauge) and the pressure drop across the filter was too great so I took the cartridge out of it.

Hoses supplied with the machine are only about 4' long but here's what they're for:

Clear-1/2" water in
Black- 3/8" drain
Blue- 3/8" RO Water out to charcoal filter.

I have about 15' of clear 3/8" hose (from home depot) attached to the outlet of the charcoal filter so I can walk from one place in my room to another and fill various tubs.

Oh...the best thing? Tap water in :160-180 ppm........RO out: 12 ppm.

 

[hothousemary]

here is where I was looking at getting one.. They have yours but I was looking at the 100-200 gpm.. Making have second thoughts on that one.. the material used is no problem for me, I am a plumber and have all the supply's needed to make a custom install... take a look at the link and tell me what ya think.. the merlin here is really expensive! Do you know of a cheaper than here Texas Hydroponics :: Environmental Control :: Water Filtration

 

[gohydro]

Those figures are Gallons Per Day, not Gallons per minute and that is under ideal inlet water pressures (usually about 60psi). I always figure on the low side, so at 200GPD you're looking at less than 10gal/hr. That was my problem. I didn't want to hook up a float valve (didn't want to come home to a stuck float and flooded basement) and I didn't want to wait around for 5 hrs to get 50 gallons.

That place you sent me the link to is expensive. Look on e-bay and you can find the GE everywhere for between 350-400 bucks. Just make sure your purchase includes the cartridges. There are 3....1 paper filter looking thing, and 2 RO membranes.

I'm a plumbing contractor also so it's nice to be able to talk to someone who understands. If you look at the photo you'll see that I fed a tee which branched out to (2) 1/2' ball valves. (I love 1/4 turn valves in an emergency situation.) One valve feeds a standard hose bib so I have water to wash stuff out and the second valve off the tee is a shut-off to the inlet of the pre-filter, which again, was not part of the system.

Prior to buying this I tried about every $100 and down whole-house water filter known to man......thus the cartridge filter ahead of the RO machine. None of them reduced the PPM more than a few parts per million....don't waste the bucks unless it's a true RO machine. HOWEVER....if you have all day to wait for RO water, believe it or not that $20.00 Mr Clean car wash gadget they sell at Walmart (that guarantees no water spots) is actually a tiny RO cartridge. I know...I bought one and tried that too. You MIGHT fill a 20 gallon bucket in 8 hrs if you're lucky using that thing. It's a pin sized spray that they fan out for rinsing your car.

Again, this is an expensive machine but I consider it one of the most essential parts in my system (besides my lights) and I couldn't be happier with my investment. Those $299 Home Depot/Lowes models just don't have the output I need OR the craftsmanship I like to see.

 

[hothousemary]

found this one for a $100 less than the place I was looking! Great advice! thanks.. A friend I am doing this with (sharing expense, at times and a plumber also) says he will give ya 200 bucks for your setup!No need to respond to that, I'm just pacifying the meat head!
Hydro-Logic Merlin GP

 

[gohydro]

Well...lets see. I have (2) 600w digital ballasts at $250 each, (2) 400 digital ballasts at $175 each, about $600 worth of bulbs (MH & HPS) 4 CFL's , a RO machine, Hydrofarm hoods and reflectors, a 500 cfm vortex fan, 2 Truncheom meters, a Hanna meter and various nutes. I suppose I have about $3500.00-$4000.00 tied up in the set up and that doesn't include the DIY aerotubs which end up costing about $100.00 a pop. Yeah...I'll jump right on THAT offer.

BUT...THIS harvest is gonna kick ass! Those Papaya buds are unbelievable for their age. Now....... I might sell you sum-o-dat for a couple of hundred.