Learning Up In This B*tch

Status
Not open for further replies.

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
I think you guys already answered mine. I think I am going to run drip to waste scrog
OK excellent man! You'll love it. Nutes stay fresh, you don't have to worry about cross contamination and plant disease spreading from plant to plant etc. Best way to go for automation imo
 

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
OK excellent man! You'll love it. Nutes stay fresh, you don't have to worry about cross contamination and plant disease spreading from plant to plant etc. Best way to go for automation imo
I was also thinking that since you rock the organics, you could do a raised bed rols and just plant, water, chop, repeat ;) I might try a go at it at some point indoor, I like the idea you don't have to move or change the soil, pretty sweet imo
 

Dr.D81

Well-Known Member
CannabisNerd said:
s also thinking that since you rock the organics, you could do a raised bed rols and just plant, water, chop, repeat ;) I might try a go at it at some point indoor, I like the idea you don't have to move or change the soil, pretty sweet imo
Thing is I am trying to max my yields and ease of operation. Also have you ever ran lava rock to plant in?
 

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
Thing is I am trying to max my yields and ease of operation. Also have you ever ran lava rock to plant in?
Then for sure the dtw system will work the best for ya. On my first grow in rockwool blocks, 17 day veg, I got 22zips with cookies on a regular 1000w bulb, so when it's dialed I think it can be even better, especially with a better yielding strain (cookies suck lol).

I've not used lava rock but I've used every single form of hydroton type mediums. Expanded clay balls etc. I've never used them in a drip system before though, but for ebb and flow they are THE best medium and out performs rockwool by a lot. I'd reckon lava rock is similar but don't have much info on them. The reason hydroton works better than rockwool is because you're able to water many more times during a light cycle which = more feedings =more growth = more buds. My ebb buckets crap all over the drip system but it's also a lot more of a pain in the ass to set up and the little pebbles can get messy if you spill them. I think ebb buckets yield 20% more than rockwool and drip from what I've seen since running rockwool. But, the ease of rockwool is worth the lower yield imo
 

adower

Well-Known Member
Could you use a horse trough
You don't want to use any metal for a reservoir. I don't think I've ever seen a plastic horse trough. I believe the metal can react with nutrients from my research. Should use food grade plastic.

Also I need it to be light proof so algae and what not wont grow.
 
Last edited:

adower

Well-Known Member
Then for sure the dtw system will work the best for ya. On my first grow in rockwool blocks, 17 day veg, I got 22zips with cookies on a regular 1000w bulb, so when it's dialed I think it can be even better, especially with a better yielding strain (cookies suck lol).

I've not used lava rock but I've used every single form of hydroton type mediums. Expanded clay balls etc. I've never used them in a drip system before though, but for ebb and flow they are THE best medium and out performs rockwool by a lot. I'd reckon lava rock is similar but don't have much info on them. The reason hydroton works better than rockwool is because you're able to water many more times during a light cycle which = more feedings =more growth = more buds. My ebb buckets crap all over the drip system but it's also a lot more of a pain in the ass to set up and the little pebbles can get messy if you spill them. I think ebb buckets yield 20% more than rockwool and drip from what I've seen since running rockwool. But, the ease of rockwool is worth the lower yield imo
Hydroton is a pain to wash. Especially 10-12 bags of it. It used to take me an hour plus to clean it all. So I got creative and bought a super big heavy duty tote that holds four bags of hydroton. I used a small drill bit and made like 100 holes in the bottom.

Just dump all four bags in and run a hose over it and agitate the rocks by hand. Way easier!!
 

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
You don't want to use any metal for a reservoir. I don't think I've ever seen a plastic horse trough. I believe the metal can react with nutrients from my research. Should use food grade plastic.

Also I need it to be light proof so algae and what not wont grow.
I use these big solid black thick plastic troughs from tractor supply. I think the brand is Tuff stuff? They go up to 150 gal i believe and are fairly cheap, about 70$ for the big one. You can make a lid for then, I use reflective insulation board since it's easy to cut. I've not a problem using them and it's been over a year or so. Worth a look if itll fit your needs.

Link >>http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-oval-tank-110-gal
 

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
Hydroton is a pain to wash. Especially 10-12 bags of it. It used to take me an hour plus to clean it all. So I got creative and bought a super big heavy duty tote that holds four bags of hydroton. I used a small drill bit and made like 100 holes in the bottom.

Just dump all four bags in and run a hose over it and agitate the rocks by hand. Way easier!!
That's a great idea. I have a love hate relationship with hydroton lol. I've even went as far as using a hair dryer to get the little roots off, was a pita but worked but took forever. I just hated the idea of roots rotting on the pebbles when I reused them, so I switched to using enzymes for a while
 

Dr.D81

Well-Known Member
You don't want to use any metal for a reservoir. I don't think I've ever seen a plastic horse trough. I believe the metal can react with nutrients from my research. Should use food grade plastic.

Also I need it to be light proof so algae and what not wont grow.
Yea they have plastic ones and they are hella nice
 

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
Yea they have plastic ones and they are hella nice
Yes sir, they are killer. Aero told me the scoop on them a while back. 1/3 of the price of a botanicare res. I think my 70 gal botanicare res cost like 150$, they work but such a rip off. (the botanicare res is a rip off not the troughs, didn't want to confuse anyone)
 

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
So while I still can't post pics for tutorials or anything yet I want to say this.

Everyone that hasn't switched over to double ended light fixtures yet, you should soon!
I just had my first harvest from using double ended lights and let me tell you, I was impressed. The plants that I flowered were pretty over grown and tattered because I was expecting to move but my closing date got delayed so I ended up flowering just 16 plants under 2 de fixtures in a 5x11 space. The plants had severe root damage due to moving them from a flood tray and the roots grew together into a root mat so I had to cut them out. I ended up with 2lb a light. It wasn't even a mono crop, it was a 3 strain grow with some small plants, medium plants and big plants and was by no means even worthy to flower them. Still 2lb a light!

I use nanolux DE fixtures on the 1100w setting. Was Hella impressed and am converting to all de bulbs from here on out. With a dialed grow, if you're already getting 1-1.5lb per light like I'm used to with the strains I run, you'll instantly double your yield, densen your buds, have to lollipop way less (I didn't even lollipop the cookies and had rock hard buds at the stem base the size of a decent sized marble).

Highly recommend. I think 3.5lb-4lb per de is easily achieveable with the right strain :) not cookies, but something like a mendo Breath or gg4 or similar.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top