4 Site Aero-Tote'o-Scrog 3X Bublelicious, 1X White Siberian

Well I've decided to give this another whirl. My last grow was 5+ years ago and ended up going only one cycle due to issues beyond my control. Anyway, I'm at it again. I wanted to try something different and after reading one of Lordjin's journals I decided to go the aeroponics route.

System Info:
1X 400w MH (will switch to HPS for bloom)
Automatic cooling system
1X 4 port air pump
1X 400 GPH pump (each)
8X 180 sprayer (each)
2X 5" round air stone (each)
1X 35 gallon tough tote (each)
*(each) because there are two separate systems.
NOTE: Will be adding a timer to control sprayers. Currently they run 247.

Ladies: (3x) Bubblelicious [Nirvana]
(1X) White Siberian [Dinafem]


11/20 I planted the 3 bubblelicious seeds that sprouted [these referred to as A,B,C]. The fourth hadn't shown signs of life, but I wanted to be patient.
[24/0, no nutes, ph 6.0, temp set to 85*F]

11/22 Installed light timer and completed temp control system.

11/24 Gave up on the 4th bubblelicious, sent 1 White Siberian [D] to the germinator.
[18/6, no nutes, ph 6.0, temp set to 85*F]

11/25 A,B,C, all about 1" tall. Discovered very small caterpillars eating my infants. Manually removed them and brought to local shop for ID.
[18/6, no nutes, ph 6.0, temp set to 85*F]

11/26 A,B,C, all about 1 1/4" tall. D has sprouted. Treated all plants with Don't-Bug-Me (DBM) spray and spray-treated media with Azamax. (AZ)
[18/6, no nutes, ph 6.0, temp set to 85*F]

11/27 Removed all media, and replaced with AZ soak-treated media. NOTE: C has much longer fishbone looking roots; A & B had very short roots in comparison to C. "D" has sprouted and has been planted. A,B,C showing signs of yellowing on leaves. Raised light another 6", now sitting at 18" over tubs.
[18/6, added "Grow" nutes per instructions, ph 6.0, temp lowered to 82*F]

11/29 A,B,C, are looking funky. D has come out of the cube and is looking good so far. I think "C" is a different strain or something, it doesn't look like A & B. I know it's still early, but the leaves on A & B are narrow, while C has broader leaves with better roots.
[18/6, ph 6.0, 82*F] @1730 Added 1/3 shot of ph down.

Well guys and gals, let me know if I'm doing anything terribly wrong or if I'm just over concerned about the yellowing on my girls. I've raised the light, lowered the temp and am trying to inch the ph down to 5.5 all in an attempt to cure the yellowing. Granted this was only over a few days time, but like any new parent; I'm watching them closely.

View attachment 1911843View attachment 1911849View attachment 1911848View attachment 1911846

Full room shot. Nutes and bug napalm.

Questions, comments, smartass remarks; All welcome

11/30 A,B,C, all look about the same. D, looks good so far. Added media to cover moist areas in pots and to cover cube on D. Built repeat timer for pumps. Set for 1.23 ON, 3.29 OFF; works like a champ.

12/05 Noticed air stones were flipping over. Corrected by hot gluing them to a plate. Works beautifully.

View attachment 1921322

Week 2 Yellowing has subsided. All plants look healthy. Ph 5.5

Are my plants trying to tell me something? Plant "A's" leaves have something going on. Tell me what you think it may be.

Oh no, not another one. Now I have to worry about two of you. Hope the other guy is doing well... haven't heard from him in a while. gulp. I'm sure he's fine.

Well you seem to be doing well.

You've provided a pretty detailed start to your journal. But I'm super high and may have missed your mention of water source. Are you RO filtering?

And in answer to your question, you're absolutely right. The more free air hang space the more you'll get the aero effect -- resulting in more rapid growth than a straight dwc soak. You can use as much or as little water as you want just so long as you nute, ph it properly and keep it cool. Also, the lower your water level, the more distance the droplets falling from the sprayers will travel back down to hit water surface, agitating it more vigorously (most if not all of our dissolved oxy comes from this surface agitation). And naturally, less water means less liquid volume to oxygenate, hence greater concentration of oxygen.

Edit:
Try a little calmag... especially if you're using RO like me. And those weird leaves seem to be characteristics of the plant to me. Minor warps and deformities are nothing to fret over.

Man I really appreciate your input. I haven't gone to RO water just yet. This is a trial setup and don't have the coin to buy an RO filter system as of right now. It is time to change the res and I will use this as a chance to bring my water level to the correct height. What is calmag and do I need it with a non-ro system?

As for the leaf deformities: I figured I was being an over concerned parent; but I can contribute that to the bug issue. The little sneaky bastards almost went unseen. I've got their number now though

I originally left the port covers unpainted, but noticed algae growing so I painted them in hopes it would block the light. I don't know if it was in vain because the tub lid itself actually allows light to pass through. I'm toying with the idea of giving them a base coat of black and then a top coat of white. I figure once I have a full canopy it won't be an issue, but the time between sprout and shade is enough to allow the algae bloom. Again, I may just be paranoid; but my thinking is I want nutes feeding my girls, not the algae.

Thanks again for the input. Feel free to chime in at any point if you see me doing something wrong.

Purplestickeypunch said:

Man I really appreciate your input. I haven't gone to RO water just yet. This is a trial setup and don't have the coin to buy an RO filter system as of right now. It is time to change the res and I will use this as a chance to bring my water level to the correct height. What is calmag and do I need it with a non-ro system?

As for the leaf deformities: I figured I was being an over concerned parent; but I can contribute that to the bug issue. The little sneaky bastards almost went unseen. I've got their number now though

I originally left the port covers unpainted, but noticed algae growing so I painted them in hopes it would block the light. I don't know if it was in vain because the tub lid itself actually allows light to pass through. I'm toying with the idea of giving them a base coat of black and then a top coat of white. I figure once I have a full canopy it won't be an issue, but the time between sprout and shade is enough to allow the algae bloom. Again, I may just be paranoid; but my thinking is I want nutes feeding my girls, not the algae.

Thanks again for the input. Feel free to chime in at any point if you see me doing something wrong.

Click to expand...

Calmag is a common calcium magnesium supplement that provides a boost of Nitrogen.

Yeah, blocking the light from your res is a priority. Algae will lead to root problems.

What stage should I use it and will not having an RO res make a difference as to if I should use it or not?

Purplestickeypunch said:

What stage should I use it and will not having an RO res make a difference as to if I should use it or not?

Click to expand...

You need to get an analysis of your tap's mineral content before I can answer that.

RO strips your water of everything, including vital trace minerals and metals your plant needs. Calmag is a requirement for RO users for replacing these useful elements. But if you're using straight tap, you need to find out in what quantities these trace minerals are present... and anything else that might potentially harm a growing plant.

lordjin said:

You need to get an analysis of your tap's mineral content before I can answer that.

RO strips your water of everything, including vital trace minerals and metals your plant needs. Calmag is a requirement for RO users for replacing these useful elements. But if you're using straight tap, you need to find out in what quantities these trace minerals are present... and anything else that might potentially harm a growing plant.

Click to expand...

I will have to look into that. Thanks for the info.

Purplestickeypunch said:

12/05 Noticed air stones were flipping over. Corrected by hot gluing them to a plate. Works beautifully.

THIS FAILED The glue let go of the plate on all 4 of them.

Click to expand...

12/11 Drained and cleaned both reservoirs. I don't know if what I thought was algae was actually algae or not. It smelled like a fish tank, but didn't look like algae. Once I removed the lids I noticed the "algae" wasn't green, it was more of a redish brown color. I thoroughly washed the media before using it so I don't think it was dust, but not sure. Refilled the res's to the 10 gallon mark instead of the 20. Added 150ml of grow A&B and 1/8 shot of PH down to both. I will add AZ to both tomorrow; I want as little shock as possible on the babies.

NOTE: In an attempt to save time; I opted out of painting the lids to block the light. Plastic is enough of a bitch to paint and the cold weather wont help that. That and I don't have a place to keep plants with exposed roots happy while waiting for the paint to dry. I went the lazy route and covered the whole thing in heavy duty aluminum foil. There won't be any light getting through that stuff. Next go around I'll do it properly, but it will have to do for now.

I'm pretty embarrassed to show this ghettophab solution to light getting into my res. I don't think I can keep my dignity and just leave it that way. I will have to do something about this in the very near future.

Get suction cup air line holders from the aquarium shop and stick them to the plates. Works for me.

Yes, keeping the light away from your res ares is of paramount importance. With so much bio-acitivity going on in there... things just want to grow...algae and other nasties seek it out. That's why we have to make it as unappealing for the little fuckers as possible. This means cold water and darkness. Try to grow in that, you little bastards.

LOL in deed. Algae genocide here I come.

Regarding the air stones: I used some industrial Velcro to secure them to the basin. I bought suction cups to secure the lines. I don't know what I was thinking I should have known they wont stick to a tuff tote. Live and learn.

12/12 All look a little shell shocked (droopy) from last nights cleaning. I added a "on click" to each "run" section of the mister timer. I think I will prep some replacement water before flushing next time. I don't know if they experienced a PH shock or if it is the new air space causing the roots to adjust. Could be something completely different. Time will tell.

Photo time: These are from 12/19 - today. Pretty bushy. Roots look great. Planning on scrog'n the girls on X-mas day. (day 20)

Looks great!

Thanks man. The one in the bottom left (A) is actually showing hairs in one place. I don't know if this is normal, but she looks healthy. I'm a little concerned about bending these things around. The main stalks are pretty thick. I'll give it a shot and see how it goes.