First grow auto-flowering Slow Rider w/ Bubbleponics!

So my first grow is finally underway. 5/6 of the seeds just sprouted this morning so I guess I will go ahead and start a grow journal! I hope this will be helpful to any other first time growers, bubbleponics users, and/or anyone that is interested in auto-flowering strains!

My setup is quite basic as follows:

-Multi-spectrum Bubbleponics combo kit
-Custom-made box painted flat white
-3 105w CFL's in a reflector (supposed to put out 17k lumens)
-A vent fan on the top running 24/7
-Vent hole on bottom to allow fresh air in
-A 4" fan blowing up towards the lights

I encourage anyone and everyone to please leave any comments/critique/advice on this page I would like this to be as helpful as possible. Any advice would be welcome as this is my first grow.

Day 1: 5/6 babies sprouted, the top right one still seems to be hanging on and I am hoping will sprout soon.











EDIT: Original pictures were very high resolution and were taking up whole page, if you click on the pictures and click twice you can zoom in.

very nice - looks like you have a nice setup - i am ust about to purchase my system and it seems like a very reliable way for a first timer to get started, not to mention good yields for the amount of time it takes. i will look forward to following your progress and learning - as you will have about a months time on me. - is the light system you have the same that roseman suggests?

Mr.MojoResin said:

very nice - looks like you have a nice setup - i am ust about to purchase my system and it seems like a very reliable way for a first timer to get started, not to mention good yields for the amount of time it takes. i will look forward to following your progress and learning - as you will have about a months time on me. - is the light system you have the same that roseman suggests?

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Thanks. Yea I got the multi-spectrum lights, which is a step up from the dual-spec lights that come w/ the cheaper kit. Not sure which Roseman suggests, you'd be good w/ either the multi-spec or dual-spec lights depending on how much lighting you want to have and how well you can cool you place down.

Unfortunately, i've only had this up for about 3-4 hours now and the temps have skyrocketed to about 88 degrees it seems. I tested them last night in a larger room and it stayed at a steady 80 degrees. I have an extra 4" fan that wasn't there the other night and an oscillating fan blowing into the box w/ the doors cracked. I am afraid that if I leave the doors closed my sprouts will die. I believe I am right on hitting the lights as soon as the sprouts come up but I hope I am not killing them w/ the heat, it may be a little too early as only 1 sprout is over an inch tall atm. Anyone could comment on this?

Followed your link from Roseman's thread, as you'd requested. I'm also using the Multi Spectrum BP. I got the "deluxe" light set which seemed to be an unnecessary upgrade after I got them, but now I'm glad I did. LONG story somewhat shorter, the two plants in the back are much larger than the two in the front (the latter are clones of the former), so when my (cheaper) DWC unit also from SH arrives on Thursday, I'm going to put the two smaller ones in there. One of the "veg" lights from my "deluxe" set was dropped and shattered the day my neighbor and I set up everything (he's helped me with SO much the last ten months, I told him he doesn't need to buy me a new one), so I still have a spare "flowering" bulb left from that set. SO, when the DWC arrives on Thursday, I'll have one more "veg" bulb from there. Then I'll have five working lights, which I'll spread evenly between the two units using separate reflectors instead of the one that came with the Multi Spectrum set. (I'll be posting photos of all the insane moving I did today in my thread ASAP, if you need a visual of my jumbled rambling here. LOL!)

RE: the tempurature issue.... I've a feeling that the thermometer I received from SH with my kit is a DUD. (Don't know if it's the model, or just mine in particular.) The humidity seems to coincide with the guage on there, but the temp is just wrong most of the time with mine. I know this because I can have my tent open for hours, and the thermometer doesn't doesn't at all even though the temp in the house changes exponentially. Also, with the tent closed it gets much warmer in there, and yet (again) the thermometer doesn't move down more than a degree or so after I've had the tent open and it's cooled of a LOT. So now I'm going basically by how it feels in there, and compare that to how it feels in the rest of the room. I'm getting a new thermometer this week, then I'll see if the one that's in there now is accurate or screwy.

Don't know how much all that drivel will help you. But that's what has gone on with my thermometer, so I thought I'd put in my two cents' worth just in case it's the model and not just the one I got.

Lots of luck on your grow!!!
~~ Kat ~~

Katatawnic said:

Followed your link from Roseman's thread, as you'd requested. I'm also using the Multi Spectrum BP. I got the "deluxe" light set which seemed to be an unnecessary upgrade after I got them, but now I'm glad I did. LONG story somewhat shorter, the two plants in the back are much larger than the two in the front (the latter are clones of the former), so when my (cheaper) DWC unit also from SH arrives on Thursday, I'm going to put the two smaller ones in there. One of the "veg" lights from my "deluxe" set was dropped and shattered the day my neighbor and I set up everything (he's helped me with SO much the last ten months, I told him he doesn't need to buy me a new one), so I still have a spare "flowering" bulb left from that set. SO, when the DWC arrives on Thursday, I'll have one more "veg" bulb from there. Then I'll have five working lights, which I'll spread evenly between the two units using separate reflectors instead of the one that came with the Multi Spectrum set. (I'll be posting photos of all the insane moving I did today in my thread ASAP, if you need a visual of my jumbled rambling here. LOL!)

RE: the tempurature issue.... I've a feeling that the thermometer I received from SH with my kit is a DUD. (Don't know if it's the model, or just mine in particular.) The humidity seems to coincide with the guage on there, but the temp is just wrong most of the time with mine. I know this because I can have my tent open for hours, and the thermometer doesn't doesn't at all even though the temp in the house changes exponentially. Also, with the tent closed it gets much warmer in there, and yet (again) the thermometer doesn't move down more than a degree or so after I've had the tent open and it's cooled of a LOT. So now I'm going basically by how it feels in there, and compare that to how it feels in the rest of the room. I'm getting a new thermometer this week, then I'll see if the one that's in there now is accurate or screwy.

Don't know how much all that drivel will help you. But that's what has gone on with my thermometer, so I thought I'd put in my two cents' worth just in case it's the model and not just the one I got.

Lots of luck on your grow!!!
~~ Kat ~~

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Yea I was thinking the same thing about that thermometer, my temp was fluctuating a lot from 80-90 F for no apparent reason no matter what I did. It also did not respond to any cooling that I used... very weird, let me know how that new thermometer works for ya.

Little update on the babies tonight. They are doing well it seems, 3 of them at least are looking pretty green and were startin to see some nice green leaves start to show. One of them is being a stubborn little bitch and doesn't want to sprout, she may have to be replaced as much as I want her to thrive. We shall see, and thanks for the post Kat! Stay tuned for some updates tomorrow!

Here is a little update for Day 2. Not much has gone on really, they grew a bit overnight and are starting to show their nice green leaves. Let's hope they all turn out female! I had a few bugs in there yesterday I smashed a few of em that were crawling, and the flyers seem to have departed. Just in case I went and grabbed some of the pesticide below and sprayed that around the box. Hopefully I won't see no more creepy crawlers. Enjoy the pics (sorry some are quite blurry, still gettin used to this camera and digital cameras in general lol)














EDIT: Day 3 - The last seed has sprouted and is showing its two round leaves! Time to catch up to your bigger cousins little one. There was a large white/brown bug underneath my styrofoam saucer today, so naturally I squashed him. There were also 3 tiny little "dots" moving around inside my box, it was easy to spot them cause the paint is white but I am afraid they may be spider mites as I have heard them described as tiny little moving dots. I sprayed some more pesticide around the box, so we shall see if that keeps them at bay. More pics to come once these babies mature a bit.

Day 4: Not much has gone on w/ the little ones since yesterday, minor growth here and there. I am starting to see the roots grow down into the reservoir on the majority, which is a good sign! All seems to be going well. Placed the reservoir on two 2x4 pieces of wood to give it a little air flow underneath to cool the water a bit. Also went to Walmart and picked up another Dual air pump w/ 2 valves so no need for a t-splitter anymore. Many MANY more bubbles w/ the two air stones which is good, more oxygen the better! So the grow area is all set-up to maximum potential other than a DIY carbon filter and possibly another small fan to blow air on the stems when they get larger and stinkier! Pics will come when some noticable changes start happening! Thanks for taking a look!

any updates or new pic of your plants?

greenearth5 said:

any updates or new pic of your plants?

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Should have some new pics in a few days. Thanks for stoppin by i'll try to keep it updated from here on!

Hi pete,

Nice set up buddy -

Just for clarification - is it "slow" or "Short" Rider that you are growing?

I'v just started growin the Short rider myself, 22 days old now, I posted a couple of pics on Chemindeuced thread!

They seem to be slow starters don't they? so maybe "Slow Rider" is a better name for it (especially as Chemindeuced's doesn't look that short either) LOL

Good luck with the grow buddy, I will be starting my own journel over the next few days if your interested!

RedEyeJedi

RedEyeJedi UK said:

Hi pete,

Nice set up buddy -

Just for clarification - is it "slow" or "Short" Rider that you are growing?

I'v just started growin the Short rider myself, 22 days old now, I posted a couple of pics on Chemindeuced thread!

They seem to be slow starters don't they? so maybe "Slow Rider" is a better name for it (especially as Chemindeuced's doesn't look that short either) LOL

Good luck with the grow buddy, I will be starting my own journel over the next few days if your interested!

RedEyeJedi

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LOL yeah I had forgotten by now, but I made a typo with the title there and tried to edit it but no go lol. Indeed it is Short Rider, not Slow rider.

Mine really did start slow, but then they took off, but who knows I had a lot of pH issues and bug issues in the beginning.

I will post pics real soon, it has been over 3 weeks since I have last posted pics gaining on 4 now. I will post pics as soon as I get a chance, I was gonna keep this journal updated but ran into so many problems it wasn't worth it. Nobody likes to see sickly plants lol!

Good luck wit ya grow man, let me know when the journal is up i'll check it out. Peace

Cheers Pete,

Sorry to hear about the problems, Hope you overcome them!
My Journal is up as of yesterday (Link in my sig)
I'm on 25 days - and mine is still "Short" and "Slow" lol..

I hope she starts flying soon?!

Did yours smell from an early age? before pre-flowers?

Mine smells lovely already (only a light skunky aroma) Its a good sign though!

I'v been trying to find out more about Short Rider but there is nothing apart from the recent grow journals!
I'm learning abit though, I now know they are light feeder (Very nute sensitive) and PH sensitive too) I'v just transplanted into a bigger pot, so Im not gonna feed her for at least a week or so now! (I'v only fed her once in the smaller pot, 1/4 strength) She can deal with PH adjusted water for the time being!

Wow, sorry for the hijacking Essay! LOL

is there anything else I should know about the Short Rider that you've experienced?

Thanks buddy!

Good Luck..
Peace
RedEyeJedi

Here are pics... Week 5 - first grow (Click and click again for high-res)



Not perfect, but they are surviving and have been thru just about every problem imaginable with a bit of looming root rot which is being kept under control with sm-90.

RedEyeJedi UK said:

Cheers Pete,

Sorry to hear about the problems, Hope you overcome them!
My Journal is up as of yesterday (Link in my sig)
I'm on 25 days - and mine is still "Short" and "Slow" lol..

I hope she starts flying soon?!

Did yours smell from an early age? before pre-flowers?

Mine smells lovely already (only a light skunky aroma) Its a good sign though!

I'v been trying to find out more about Short Rider but there is nothing apart from the recent grow journals!
I'm learning abit though, I now know they are light feeder (Very nute sensitive) and PH sensitive too) I'v just transplanted into a bigger pot, so Im not gonna feed her for at least a week or so now! (I'v only fed her once in the smaller pot, 1/4 strength) She can deal with PH adjusted water for the time being!

Wow, sorry for the hijacking Essay! LOL

is there anything else I should know about the Short Rider that you've experienced?

Thanks buddy!

Good Luck..
Peace
RedEyeJedi

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Yeah mine started having that nice skunky smell a few weeks in. Gotta love that sweet!

I think you got it down, bro, found out the hard way about the nutes but you should be good to go. Since it's my first grow I can't really compare short rider to any other strains.. just haulin ass over here keeping these things alive but now it's all startin to settle down which is bomb...

Wow Pete,

I'm quite jelous!! They really do look nice buddy!

I'm gonna stick to soil for my next few grows as I know "roughly" what Im doing... but I may well look into a 4 or 6 pot wilma set up in the future (its an automatic flood and drain system) Not too expensive either for what it is...

There is a clear difference between bio and hydro when you compare mine to yours?! Short Rider seems to like Hydro a lot better than the soil !

Nice 1 buddy... can't wait to see your finished product!
Good luck

RedEyeJedi UK said:

Wow Pete,

I'm quite jelous!! They really do look nice buddy!

I'm gonna stick to soil for my next few grows as I know "roughly" what Im doing... but I may well look into a 4 or 6 pot wilma set up in the future (its an automatic flood and drain system) Not too expensive either for what it is...

There is a clear difference between bio and hydro when you compare mine to yours?! Short Rider seems to like Hydro a lot better than the soil !

Nice 1 buddy... can't wait to see your finished product!
Good luck

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, bro... mine seem to all be auto-flowering had them on 24/0 and the past 3 weeks 18/6.

Bud sites... bud sites... they're everywhere on the monster! They keep popping up and growing towards the light. I went in there one day... and found this... they actually looked sexy for once, aside from a little lasting burn from 2 weeks ago.


Here's update... Week 7.

(click on the pics, and click again for larger pic, you can zoom in high-res if you have firefox)










Anyone is welcome to post comments critique whatever you want, it's my first grow so cut me some slack!

peteman990 at the stage your at the tips of the plants where the buds do form may appear to be hairs or the starts of female flowers but in actual fact its leaves i would recommend doing 12/12 as the majority of your plants will not autoflower.

i have 1 out of my batch autoflowering with the rest on 12/12 and it isnt doing the auto any harm. and has definitely made a world of difference to the majority of the plants which were vegging forever more

heres a close shot of what my automatic has all over it very uniform budding



RedEyeJedi UK

i can only imagine you have been using bad compost or something as my plants have been a pleasure to grow in soil

i only watered mine for the first 5 weeks no nutrients i just bought decent compost... now they are on 1ml of bio grow and 2ml bio bloom and 3ml of big bud per litre with a touch of molasses for extra carb


i water every two days and the plants get nutrient every time now.

i have always been a believer less is more good luck to both of you

peace -defiant-

Well, I kind of forgot about this thread here and i've been real busy... but, the plants are doing well on about week 4 of flower now. I wish I had not chosen an auto-flowering plant, it ended up NOT auto-flowering I had to switch to 12/12 and had one male and one hermie out of the bunch of 6 feminised short riders. Remind me to choose attitude next time and not Nirvana. Here they are! Anyone who wants to say anything bout the grow, please do so i'll try to check it more often

peteman990 said:

it ended up NOT auto-flowering I had to switch to 12/12 and had one male and one hermie out of the bunch of 6 feminised short riders.

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Seems like we've all had the same problems - that aside, nice buds pete... real nice.... We'll have to compare smoke reports for sure !!