Blackforest's RDWC ^2 Grow

blackforest

Well-Known Member
Looks good what you feeding them now? I need some new strains as well. Be runnin new nutes soon once my tank comes in. Where you from?
I'm out here in CO too. I've lived all over and to me this is one of the safest places with the most freedoms, at least outside of metro areas, although a nice Caribbean island does not sound too bad either. Right now I'm just running GH 3 part, but will cut out the grow and just use micro and bloom after they are done stretching. I just get bored and want to try new things, but GH is cheap and easy imo.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
I'm out here in CO too. I've lived all over and to me this is one of the safest places with the most freedoms, at least outside of metro areas, although a nice Caribbean island does not sound too bad either. Right now I'm just running GH 3 part, but will cut out the grow and just use micro and bloom after they are done stretching. I just get bored and want to try new things, but GH is cheap and easy imo.
Because you're there, you might as well stop by Hydro-gardens.com, aka chem-gro. It's getting to be quite the well known source for inexpensive, yet high quality nutrient salts for agriculture.
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
I wish I had an issue or a problem to talk about, but everything is running like clockwork. EC is dropping, ph is stable, girls are growing, temps are perfect. Pretty neat because mostly I just check the external rez and watch the water level drop knowing it's all working now. Can't wait.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
I wish I had an issue or a problem to talk about, but everything is running like clockwork. EC is dropping, ph is stable, girls are growing, temps are perfect. Pretty neat because mostly I just check the external rez and watch the water level drop knowing it's all working now. Can't wait.
Interesting. What are you running for EC?
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
Interesting. What are you running for EC?
Edit to my original: PH def rises, but it's 'stable', no real crazy swings. @firsttimeARE The rez is ro water, so yep that brings down the ec too. The new growth is pretty light green/yellow, and I'm just attributing this to new growth vs a N def. They are drinking about 5-6 gal a day now. When I did the rez change last week, the ec was about 1.7 then went up to 1.8 for a couple days before it started to drop again. Sign of too high ec when I changed the nutes? If the ec is too high, will they just drink water?
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
Silly question, and it might not even matter in this size space, but Im having a hard time deciding if I should keep my lights at the top of the tent (aprox 24" from canopy) or lower them a little. They are 9 days into flower, so the stretch is on, and I'm hoping to get them about 8-12" above the second net in the image below. They are only 600w lights and the temps are 70-72 in the tent so I can get them pretty close if necessary. This strain stretches pretty decently, but I've topped them each a few times, so I'm not sure how that's going to affect the overall stretch. When I flipped them they were just at the first layer netting 8 days ago. Growing about 1+ inch a day.
IMG_3574.JPG

This image is from the 1st run I did with this strain, but they were not topped. The cola's grew quite a bit above the second layer.
DSC_0006.JPG
 
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firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
I run my lights closer. When they are air cooled as close as 12 inches i've gone.

I ran out of space this grow(unknown strain to me) so I have no choice but to keep them close.
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
I run my lights closer. When they are air cooled as close as 12 inches i've gone.

I ran out of space this grow(unknown strain to me) so I have no choice but to keep them close.
If I run them pretty close during the stretch do you think it will reduce the stretch? I need to get them another 12" higher
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
Hell yeah. Watch your heat carefully and have a plan to add some more cooling or air movement to help if needed.
Right now I have a snorkel going out the window well into a tub that acts as an intake. It has some inconspicuous slats cut out up top and a lid so it looks normal. The exhaust goes into the well, so it's pretty warm air, but the intake is as cold as it is outside right now. Right now it's just passive and I point it up or down depending on the room temp, but I did just get in the mail a backdraft damper and I'm going to order this slick $20 temp controller and hook it up to one of my small inline fans so it will kick on/off by itself. It might get too cold this winter for a constant passive intake and the lights go off at 4am so I don't want it drop too low. It's working well though.
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
I'm wondering if I pruned too much and sent these ladies into shock. After pruning and changing out the water, they are not drinking at all like they were. They look very good up top, no deficiencies to speak of, and the roots look very good too, still nice and white, no bad smells, and no sign of any rot at all. They were drinking 4+ gal per day, but for the last 2 days, hardly anything at all. I looked around on the web for other similar scenarios, but could not come up with anything substantial. Anyone else have something similar happen?
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
I'm wondering if I pruned too much and sent these ladies into shock. After pruning and changing out the water, they are not drinking at all like they were. They look very good up top, no deficiencies to speak of, and the roots look very good too, still nice and white, no bad smells, and no sign of any rot at all. They were drinking 4+ gal per day, but for the last 2 days, hardly anything at all. I looked around on the web for other similar scenarios, but could not come up with anything substantial. Anyone else have something similar happen?
Over pruning will do what you're describing. You really want to remove 20% or less of the plant's total mass in order for it to keep growing vigorously. The way to handle big jobs is over time, with several pruning sessions so the plant can adapt on the fly.
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
Over pruning will do what you're describing. You really want to remove 20% or less of the plant's total mass in order for it to keep growing vigorously. The way to handle big jobs is over time, with several pruning sessions so the plant can adapt on the fly.
Yeah, I figured as much. I didn't really think I took off that much, but hindsight is 20/20, lesson learned. They are starting to drink a little more now, so maybe they are starting to adjust. I'll keep a close eye on them. Thanks for the clarification.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I figured as much. I didn't really think I took off that much, but hindsight is 20/20, lesson learned. They are starting to drink a little more now, so maybe they are starting to adjust. I'll keep a close eye on them. Thanks for the clarification.
Can you increase light intensity? Not that it's been a few days, I'll bet they'd really respond.
 
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