WATERFARM SCROG!!!! ..first frightening waterfarm grow....Dr.Amber Frankenstien

Dr.Amber Trichome said:

high everyone. your girls looks so healthy an beautiful. i cant wait to see them grow hundreds of colas with big huge frosty buds on them.im wishing the best for everyone!good luck.

I am finally seeing some nice new greeen growth on my girls.
I got my Phat filter up.
I switched my light from 400 to 600 watts
I changed out my rez.
My out readings were... 210 ppm, 6.5 ph OUT
i added some flora nova grow and flora nova micro.
My in readings were 420 ppm, 5.1 ph.. IN
Im keeping my ph in low because when it goes through the hydroton pebbles it bumps up quite a bit.


How often should i change my rez? i have heard quite a variation .. some daily, some once a week. Should this be based on water leaving the system of just that the plant is eating the food and it should be changed out reguardless...?????
???




aint she cute?
View attachment 1909639
a little musical rotation..
View attachment 1909641

take it easy
amberstien

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Looking beauteous Doc! Absolutely beauteous!!!

Dr.Amber Trichome said:

high everyone. your girls looks so healthy an beautiful. i cant wait to see them grow hundreds of colas with big huge frosty buds on them.im wishing the best for everyone!good luck.

I am finally seeing some nice new greeen growth on my girls.
I got my Phat filter up.
I switched my light from 400 to 600 watts
I changed out my rez.
My out readings were... 210 ppm, 6.5 ph OUT
i added some flora nova grow and flora nova micro.
My in readings were 420 ppm, 5.1 ph.. IN
Im keeping my ph in low because when it goes through the hydroton pebbles it bumps up quite a bit.


How often should i change my rez? i have heard quite a variation .. some daily, some once a week. Should this be based on water leaving the system of just that the plant is eating the food and it should be changed out reguardless...?????
???




aint she cute?
View attachment 1909639
a little musical rotation..
View attachment 1909641

take it easy
amberstien

Click to expand...

at the stage your at now once a week should be fine. scottyballs said in his journal that he monitors the water that goes in so if its a 2gal res u just monitor your add backs. once u have put in 2 gals worth its time for a change. other people say once a week. at the moment im changing mine daily but its only because my buddha eats like crazy and if i dont stay on top of it it starts to show signs of a nitrogen deficiency.

They are looking spiffy, Amber! I tend to change my res once a week, but this past weekend, I didn't have the energy. My ppms and pH levels were good and the temps are holding good so I just didn't see the need.

All of my previous full res changes have been because of something I felt urgent about correcting through a total change. In the beginning, it was high temps in the res (can you say bath water?), then I had the root rot issue with the VK, and so forth. This weekend, everybody looked good, their ppms were in order, the ph was in order and the temps were good so I figured, it ain't broke, don't fix it...cuz I sometimes take the approach, if it aint broke, fix it till it is...LOL

I've followed journals were the grower went the entire grow with only one or two res changes, and I've seen folks that change them every few days. Not sure if there is a "right" answer, but I think its a gut feeling sort of thing...

Dr.Amber Trichome said:

:
I am finally seeing some nice new greeen growth on my girls.
I got my Phat filter up.
I switched my light from 400 to 600 watts
I changed out my rez.
My out readings were... 210 ppm, 6.5 ph OUT
i added some flora nova grow and flora nova micro.
My in readings were 420 ppm, 5.1 ph.. IN
Im keeping my ph in low because when it goes through the hydroton pebbles it bumps up quite a bit.


How often should i change my rez? i have heard quite a variation .. some daily, some once a week. Should this be based on water leaving the system of just that the plant is eating the food and it should be changed out reguardless...?????
???

t:

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Hi Amber,

Yes the girls look better and they are cute too! You numbers look good. Getting the nutes up on the one in the WF is a very good idea, she looks a little hungry still.

Oh, keep in mind that I am new to this too, but I have done a lot of research.

Nute change. When small, every 10 days is fine. When larger, every 7. More often is not needed.

Now that she is getting bigger, she may start to use water. Keep an eye on that level tube and add back when down a liter or so. I have been adding back water only, no nutes. Some add back water that has some nutes in it. Watch you PPM in the res. If you see it dropping, put some nutes in the makeup water. Make sure adjust the dose for the amount of make up water added.

Getting the right dose will take some experimentation.

Growing sure is fun! You get to play chemist. Digital meters. oh boy!

GreenGiant49 said:

Now that she is getting bigger, she may start to use water. Keep an eye on that level tube and add back when down a liter or so. I have been adding back water only, no nutes. Some add back water that has some nutes in it. Watch you PPM in the res. If you see it dropping, put some nutes in the makeup water. Make sure adjust the dose for the amount of make up water added.

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Just as a reference, my RCB is now at the end of Flowering Week 1. All total, she is 43 days old from seed. I've noticed recently that she is now drinking about a 1/2 gallon a day. I have to add water back to her every single day and I check her pH and ppms after the add-back and adjust accordingly.

Bluejeans said:

Just as a reference, my RCB is now at the end of Flowering Week 1. All total, she is 43 days old from seed. I've noticed recently that she is now drinking about a 1/2 gallon a day. I have to add water back to her every single day and I check her pH and ppms after the add-back and adjust accordingly.

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Blue, I do not like hearing that at all. About the amount of water being used. I have to leave my baby for 7 days this month. I worried about her dying of thirst. Im planning on adding a second reservoir for this. But if she is drinking up to two liters a day, I will be in trouble.

This is a question I have. Do plants use more water when in Veg or in Flower? I could keep her in Veg until I get back, if she would use less water that way. You know how they say there is an explosion of growth when they are put into flower? Logic would say that explosion would include water uptake too. Like you are seeing , Blue.

thanks for the all the great information and input!
i dont have a thermometer for my water.
it sounds pretty important.
can you please tell me which one you have and where i can get it?
what should the temps be at?

gg49.. dayzt said he had to add 2 gallons a day to his beast in flower. I had the same concerns. thats a crazy amount of fluid to add back, but i have seen the roots on the waterfarm and they are so thick. i do think the waterfarm rez is a bit small when i think of this.

GreenGiant49 said:

Blue, I do not like hearing that at all. About the amount of water being used. I have to leave my baby for 7 days this month. I worried about her dying of thirst. Im planning on adding a second reservoir for this. But if she is drinking up to two liters a day, I will be in trouble.

This is a question I have. Do plants use more water when in Veg or in Flower? I could keep her in Veg until I get back, if she would use less water that way. You know how they say there is an explosion of growth when they are put into flower? Logic would say that explosion would include water uptake too. Like you are seeing , Blue.

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I honestly cannot answer the question of veg vs flower. I did not really notice a huge uptake in the amount of water she was drinking after switching to 12/12 (actually 11/13), but this is just the first week... I know we talked about your spare reservoir. When are you leaving? If you've got a few days, I'd watch every day how much she drinks and make a note of it. There isn't likely to be a huge increase while you are gone so you should be able to calculate how much water she will drink in 7 days with some degree of accuracy. If you can figure that, plus maybe an extra day's worth or two, you should be fine.

You have something like a 2.5 gal res, right? Maybe you could get a really big tote (something you can add 6 or 7 gallons to without filling it deeper than your res). Even my gal wouldn't drink 7 gallons in 7 days. Since our girls are about the same age and size, if your's isn't drinking 1/2 gal or so a day, then maybe putting mine into flower increased it more than I thought.

All I can say is if she's not in flower by now, and you are leaving soon, I'd leave everything status quo until you get back. Just my humble opinion.

Dr.Amber Trichome said:

thanks for the all the great information and input!
i dont have a thermometer for my water.
it sounds pretty important.
can you please tell me which one you have and where i can get it?
what should the temps be at?

gg49.. dayzt said he had to add 2 gallons a day to his beast in flower. I had the same concerns. thats a crazy amount of fluid to add back, but i have seen the roots on the waterfarm and they are so thick. i do think the waterfarm rez is a bit small when i think of this.

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My plants slurping up 1 gallon a day but that's good and based on the size of the stalk and the general stature of my plant the rez is way to small but it keeps me on my toes. Temp gage is part of my Hanna meter. My res is around 68 dgrees.

Dr.Amber Trichome said:

thanks for the all the great information and input!
i dont have a thermometer for my water.
it sounds pretty important.
can you please tell me which one you have and where i can get it?
what should the temps be at?

gg49.. dayzt said he had to add 2 gallons a day to his beast in flower. I had the same concerns. thats a crazy amount of fluid to add back, but i have seen the roots on the waterfarm and they are so thick. i do think the waterfarm rez is a bit small when i think of this.

Click to expand...

Amber, you can get a cheap thermometer at a pet store (for fish tanks). Optimum temps from what I've read are between 65-70*F. You really shouldnt' let it get much over 75 if you can help it. Sticking your finger (clean, please) into the res will give you a subjective reading. If the water feels cool, it's probably okay. If you can't feel the water's temp, it is typically between 75 and 80 and marginally okay, and if it feels warm, you're screwed...get a frozen bottle of water in there stat.

Warm temps in the res is the number one cause of root rot. It allows the micronutes we add to develop harmful bacteria. Besides that, your baby will grow better if her water is at the right temp. I keep 4 soda bottles of water in the freezer for emergencies (two for each res) so I can bring the temps down quickly if I need to. Just float a bottle of frozen water in the res until it is fully melted and your temps should be back to good. Until you get a thermometer, you might want to keep some frozen bottles around just to bring the temps down to cool until you know the actual reading.

thanks ceejr and blues.. good info on the clean finger.
and the pet store and the frozen bottles.

i was thinking. its not going to be easy to lift the waterfarm rez, actully quite impossible once my scrog frame is on.. so i wont be able to place the frozen bottle in there. Do you have any other ideas how i can bring the rez temp down without having to lift the buckets apart..
thanks

Bluejeans said:

You have something like a 2.5 gal res, right? Maybe you could get a really big tote (something you can add 6 or 7 gallons to without filling it deeper than your res). Even my gal wouldn't drink 7 gallons in 7 days. Since our girls are about the same age and size, if your's isn't drinking 1/2 gal or so a day, then maybe putting mine into flower increased it more than I thought.

All I can say is if she's not in flower by now, and you are leaving soon, I'd leave everything status quo until you get back. Just my humble opinion.

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Blue, yeah, the standard WF is not huge, only about 8 liters. Right now my plant is only using about 1/2 liter a day. Thanks why I am considering simple vegging 4 more weeks .... (sounds long as that would be double what she is now). From what I have read there really is no negative to a long veg????

Im thinking along the lines you mentioned for the secondary reservoir, something wide long and short (like our plants). A container like this will hold much more fluid at the 7 inch height limit.

I have asked on another thread about the water uptake , veg vs flower. Ill keep you posted

GreenGiant49 said:

Blue, yeah, the standard WF is not huge, only about 8 liters. Right now my plant is only using about 1/2 liter a day. Thanks why I am considering simple vegging 4 more weeks .... (sounds long as that would be double what she is now). From what I have read there really is no negative to a long veg????

Im thinking along the lines you mentioned for the secondary reservoir, something wide long and short (like our plants). A container like this will hold much more fluid at the 7 inch height limit.

I have asked on another thread about the water uptake , veg vs flower. Ill keep you posted

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Sounds like a plan. The only downside I know of to long vegging is just running out of headroom when the plant grows, but with something as wide and short as these, I don't think that's going to be an issue. Do keep us updated on the water uptake...tidbits of info like that are always valuable.

Doctor A~

If you don't have the screen on yet, you could set the whole waterfarm into a deep pan (like a shower pan or a hot water heater tray). Then, if the temp gets too high, you could then put ice around the WF into the pan. In my previous setup with the single 20 gal res with 3 ports, when the res got too hot, I just ran water in the tub around it. Brought the temps right down. If you think heat is going to be an issue, you just need to plan ahead by placing a way to cool the outside if you can't reach the inside!

If your pump is in the tent take it out so it can pump cool air into the res rather than the warm air in the tent. If possible put the pump near a window.

GreenGiant49 said:

Blue, yeah, the standard WF is not huge, only about 8 liters. Right now my plant is only using about 1/2 liter a day. Thanks why I am considering simple vegging 4 more weeks .... (sounds long as that would be double what she is now). From what I have read there really is no negative to a long veg????

Im thinking along the lines you mentioned for the secondary reservoir, something wide long and short (like our plants). A container like this will hold much more fluid at the 7 inch height limit.

I have asked on another thread about the water uptake , veg vs flower. Ill keep you posted

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Just be careful, Green. The stage the plant is in has little to do with water intake compared to the size of the plant. If you veg for another 4 weeks, I would think your plant would double in size from your already 4 week veg. It's more or less dependent on root mass and size of plant than whether or not she's packing on buds. Feel me? I like Blue's idea. Get another tote about the same height as the WF. You can get tubs that hold like 4+ gal at walmart or meijers, connect it to your res and bam. You have a 6+ gal res instead of just 2. That should buy you some time.

Tmac4302 said:

Just be careful, Green. The stage the plant is in has little to do with water intake compared to the size of the plant. If you veg for another 4 weeks, I would think your plant would double in size from your already 4 week veg. It's more or less dependent on root mass and size of plant than whether or not she's packing on buds. Feel me? I like Blue's idea. Get another tote about the same height as the WF. You can get tubs that hold like 4+ gal at walmart or meijers, connect it to your res and bam. You have a 6+ gal res instead of just 2. That should buy you some time.

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Yes, I hear you. That makes sense. Im going to watch the water uptake carefully to see exactly the demands. I may put her into flower in one week, so that I have awhile to watch the effects of that for a week or two before I leave.

I already have a big tote that I can use.

I have been growing under cfl's so far. I bought a small HPS (150) for flowering. I will supplement with some cfls. For this trip, I wonder how high I should keep the new HPS above the plant. I dont want her growing into it. How much could she grow in a week?

I leave for my trip on Dec.21.

GreenGiant49 said:

Yes, I hear you. That makes sense. Im going to watch the water uptake carefully to see exactly the demands. I may put her into flower in one week, so that I have awhile to watch the effects of that for a week or two before I leave.

I already have a big tote that I can use.

I have been growing under cfl's so far. I bought a small HPS (150) for flowering. I will supplement with some cfls. For this trip, I wonder how high I should keep the new HPS above the plant. I dont want her growing into it. How much could she grow in a week?

I leave for my trip on Dec.21.

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I use this:
View attachment 1910820

Tmac4302 said:

I use this:
View attachment 1910820

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Thanks! That is helpful. Now to guess how much she can grow in a week ....

Dr.Amber Trichome said:

thanks ceejr and blues.. good info on the clean finger.
and the pet store and the frozen bottles.

i was thinking. its not going to be easy to lift the waterfarm rez, actully quite impossible once my scrog frame is on.. so i wont be able to place the frozen bottle in there. Do you have any other ideas how i can bring the rez temp down without having to lift the buckets apart..
thanks

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Hey Doc Go To Home Depot And Get Some Reflective Insluation It's Very Thin.Wrap This Around Your Res.I've Read Where It can lower Res Temp's.Peace