Advice, Opinions on this Tray Ebb&flo/Dwc System
- Thread starter CoreyPKGrower
- Start date
CoreyPKGrower
Member
Harvest all done ! Finished up Friday night. Its all in drying racks now so I will post final weight soon...
Roots..... Well they were all VERY brown. The picture doesn't show it well cause of the camera flash. But they were very brow. Yet the plant was very healthy ! Tugging and mucking around with the roots revealed that they were
strong and did not pull away. No odors, just a normal earthy smell.
I would say this was a success ! Some more tweaking of watering cycles and nutrients, additives etc.
I only used standard 3 part feed. Micro, grow, bloom. And H2O2. Nothing else was added at any time. Now that the system has proven successful. I can tweak feed on next crop. I'm transplanting new batch of clones tomorrow.
Yes that quick ! Now that I have no Rock wool to drain and dispose, restock, cut, layout, etc. The system is cheap and fast to run and cycle ! sweeeet..... lol
Heres a pic of a average plant b4 trimming...
Now the roots for this plant...
Another...
Again. The roots are much browner than the pic shows.
Based on what I'm seeing and plant health. I figure the poor quality water here ( brown) is staining the roots. They start off white then as time goes on they get darker.
So on this next batch I'm investing in a Reverse Osmosis unit to provide clean water. I hope this will make a difference and prove my theory once and for all !!!
Also... The 3.5 inch RW starter cubes are not a good idea with this system. I went to the expanded clay pellets on this next batch. Much better liquid transfer and cheaper ! lol
Thanks again for everyone's input ! YAK I couldn't have done this without you man !!!! Also Stonetech for great advice and feedback..
Roots..... Well they were all VERY brown. The picture doesn't show it well cause of the camera flash. But they were very brow. Yet the plant was very healthy ! Tugging and mucking around with the roots revealed that they were
strong and did not pull away. No odors, just a normal earthy smell.
I would say this was a success ! Some more tweaking of watering cycles and nutrients, additives etc.
I only used standard 3 part feed. Micro, grow, bloom. And H2O2. Nothing else was added at any time. Now that the system has proven successful. I can tweak feed on next crop. I'm transplanting new batch of clones tomorrow.
Yes that quick ! Now that I have no Rock wool to drain and dispose, restock, cut, layout, etc. The system is cheap and fast to run and cycle ! sweeeet..... lol
Heres a pic of a average plant b4 trimming...
Now the roots for this plant...
Another...
Again. The roots are much browner than the pic shows.
Based on what I'm seeing and plant health. I figure the poor quality water here ( brown) is staining the roots. They start off white then as time goes on they get darker.
So on this next batch I'm investing in a Reverse Osmosis unit to provide clean water. I hope this will make a difference and prove my theory once and for all !!!
Also... The 3.5 inch RW starter cubes are not a good idea with this system. I went to the expanded clay pellets on this next batch. Much better liquid transfer and cheaper ! lol
Thanks again for everyone's input ! YAK I couldn't have done this without you man !!!! Also Stonetech for great advice and feedback..
Stonetech
Well-Known Member
Nice work Corey! I wouldn't worry bout the roots color like you said as long as they're not all mushy. I don't even think its possible to keep them super white in ebb and flow, when you drain the nutes stain the roots a little bit at a time.
I've been lookin at getting an ro unit as well, right now I'm just buying distilled (PITA). I find its way easier controlling ph with 0 ppm water. And your gonna like working with leca way better too, I promise. I think you'll find, as I did, that when the roots get long you can lower the flood level to below the pots, increasing the oxygen absorbed.
Here's a couple pics of my OGK mom in ebb/flow bucket. The flood level is bout 1.5" below the pot. You can see the hairs on the roots above the flood level breathing away.
Honestly I'm surprised you were so successful with rw in this type of system, but then again I'm surprised by alot of the shit guys are able to do on this site. I'll never be more than a hobby grower but its nice to be able to exchange ideas with guys who do it for a living (or a source of income).
Anyways can't wait to see the next run buddy! I think your gonna blow this run outta the water!
I've been lookin at getting an ro unit as well, right now I'm just buying distilled (PITA). I find its way easier controlling ph with 0 ppm water. And your gonna like working with leca way better too, I promise. I think you'll find, as I did, that when the roots get long you can lower the flood level to below the pots, increasing the oxygen absorbed.
Here's a couple pics of my OGK mom in ebb/flow bucket. The flood level is bout 1.5" below the pot. You can see the hairs on the roots above the flood level breathing away.
Honestly I'm surprised you were so successful with rw in this type of system, but then again I'm surprised by alot of the shit guys are able to do on this site. I'll never be more than a hobby grower but its nice to be able to exchange ideas with guys who do it for a living (or a source of income).
Anyways can't wait to see the next run buddy! I think your gonna blow this run outta the water!
CoreyPKGrower
Member
Thanks Stonetech !! Well I am hoping for a modest improvement on this next round. Mostly root health and not having to use H2O2 to deal with root rot. I picked up some SM-90 for a wetting agent to help roots xfer better. Plus I can use on
Spider Mites along with Neem.
Ive been thinking.... Instead of RO water. Maybe use Charcoal water filters to clean the water and UV Sterilizer Lamp to kill the nastiest in the tap water. Like you. I don't really want to deal with 0 PPM water issues. I'm sure PH and odd deficiencies will
haunt me.
Hey man ! Them roots look great ! Looks like you got things figured out too. So you don't have your water even touch the pot ? The clay pellets don't dry out ?
I'm transplanting today so I will get some root pics of the new clones. Their about 15" tall and I FIM or topped them all a week ago. When I started up the 120Gal system after clean out. I added 15ml/ gal H2O2 to clean up the water 2 days b4 transplant.
Roots are difficult not to damage during transplant and I'm sure that's how disease enters the plant ! So I hope to avoid that right of the start this time around...
Spider Mites along with Neem.
Ive been thinking.... Instead of RO water. Maybe use Charcoal water filters to clean the water and UV Sterilizer Lamp to kill the nastiest in the tap water. Like you. I don't really want to deal with 0 PPM water issues. I'm sure PH and odd deficiencies will
haunt me.
Hey man ! Them roots look great ! Looks like you got things figured out too. So you don't have your water even touch the pot ? The clay pellets don't dry out ?
I'm transplanting today so I will get some root pics of the new clones. Their about 15" tall and I FIM or topped them all a week ago. When I started up the 120Gal system after clean out. I added 15ml/ gal H2O2 to clean up the water 2 days b4 transplant.
Roots are difficult not to damage during transplant and I'm sure that's how disease enters the plant ! So I hope to avoid that right of the start this time around...
CoreyPKGrower
Member
Just finished weigh in.... 5 Lbs. Now b4 you think I should be getting more. Keep in mind they are Purple Kush clones. Average for this plant is .5 lb per 1000w lamp. Its the most popular strain for what Im doing. So am
stuck with it ! Fetching $1900 to 2300 /LB. Depending on quality of course. Im pleased with the results of this test crop. And will fine tune it a bit more as time goes on.
Finished transplant yesterday of the new batch of 100. Same system but this time I used clay pellets and increased pot height in the tray as well as not covering the sides of the pot(to prevent roots out the side ). I let them run free.
Removing from clone tray to flowering tray/room was easy and the roots did not cause a problem inserting the pots into the holes. The weight of the root mass kept them close to the pot sides. Also I guided the roots to either side of the pot as I placed
them in their holes. Rather than just lowering them straight down into the holes. This should slow root bounding a bit more.
Roots are in excellent condition and plants are great so far .
stuck with it ! Fetching $1900 to 2300 /LB. Depending on quality of course. Im pleased with the results of this test crop. And will fine tune it a bit more as time goes on.
Finished transplant yesterday of the new batch of 100. Same system but this time I used clay pellets and increased pot height in the tray as well as not covering the sides of the pot(to prevent roots out the side ). I let them run free.
Removing from clone tray to flowering tray/room was easy and the roots did not cause a problem inserting the pots into the holes. The weight of the root mass kept them close to the pot sides. Also I guided the roots to either side of the pot as I placed
them in their holes. Rather than just lowering them straight down into the holes. This should slow root bounding a bit more.
Roots are in excellent condition and plants are great so far .
Yeah, nice ass!!
If I'm out of line here let me know and I'll let you guys get back to it but have to ask. So how did that fan work for ya? I've been interested in that idea for a while. Even started a thread on it. I didn't understand the roots thinning out thing. I'm assuming that was bad but I'm hoping not?
Stonetech
Well-Known Member
Hey doser, I aborted the idea not too long after that post so I didn't really learn too much. I think it would still be worth exploring but I've moved on to a different system now, one that can't be ventilated the same way. If yer to try it just be careful and start out very slow (low cfms). By thinning out I just mean that the roots were visibly getting thinner, losing volume due to being dried out too much. If you can't visually check the roots then I wouldn't even bother, you won't know its wrong until its too late. Honestly I think it might work but its such a thin line between benifit and failure I don't think its worth the hassle. Anyways, there's lots of ways too get oxygen to yer roots, you really don't need to cram it down there throats.
Good luck
Good luck