Round 2: Extrema & El Monstre DWC Cooler Scrog

woodsmaneh!

Well-Known Member
Keep rolling Bro, I know what you mean but keep going. I have gotten quite a few males from my Sannies seeds and I think it's like 75% males, I'll check when I get home but it is a lot of males vs ladies. Times flies, deer season in 2 1/2 months, hell summer just started. Did you send Sannie a pix of the 1/2 yellow leaf for his comment?
 

canefan

Well-Known Member
Looks good, I can't wait to see how your El Monstre turns out. I have been growing them since 2008 now and love them, I only have 1 pheno left from Sannie's which is a bubblegum smelling pheno. Also, I have a similiar problem? Don't know if it it is a problem but have the same yellowing up one side of my Lady Cane, in the past had it in a Sannie's Jack. They did in time turn green for me but why or from what I don't have a clue.
Best of Luck with them and I'll be watching for sure.
 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
Woods: No I didn't send him a pic of it. I have had pretty good luck with females and the El Monstre but the Extrema is a different story.

LJ: Yea I know what ya mean. My next setup will be more perpetually setup so I can use clones once I get some established. I'm not gonna stress it too bad.

Still gonna be some good smoke!!
 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
I have a good feeling about this lovely lady.
She is looking healthier and bigger than her mother in Round 1.

I am getting about an inch or two of stretch every night. Filling in the screen nicely.
Added Big Bud to the rez yesterday and raised PPM to 1200
Hoping these budz will pack on like I want them to. I'm pretty confident they will.
As you can see in a couple pics. I am kinda hard on the plant and force them to bend and train to the screen.
She likes it rough.


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BluBerry

Well-Known Member
The stretch has slowed a bit and the buds have started to stack up.
I counted approx. 30 bud sites that are 3-4 inches above the screen.
I expect them all to be 8-12 inches or bigger when finished.
In Round 1 with the mother I had a couple of them that were 18 inches long.
I am very pleased with the way this lovely lady is looking so far.

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BluBerry

Well-Known Member
I just wanted to put out there.
People have their own opinions about nutrient lines. This is only my 2nd grow.
I have never used any other line of nutrients than Advanced Nutrients Sensi Grow/Bloom and a couple additives from them.
I have never had to purchase nor use any Cal Mag or H2O2.
I used small amounts of bleach for a bit but I have not had to use any bleach at all in the last month.
But the bleach issue was my own fault. I had a clear air line that was allowing light to penetrate into the rez. Problem solved.
The cost of AN might be a bit high to some people. To me it is reasonably priced.
But if you account for the other stuff needed with the cheaper products then I think it evens out the same.
And my pH stays very stable. Not ph Perfect nutes either.
I pulled 8 oz dry from 2 plants in Round 1 on my 1st hydro attempt.
Plan to pull another 5-6 oz off of one plant this grow. Results speak for themselves.
I could just imagine the results I could get once I dialed in my system and technique a bit more.
Good Luck and Happy Growing RIU!!
 

Shafto

Active Member
I think you should pat yourself on the back then, instead of your nutes!

The more I read the more I see that all the nute brands are pretty much exactly the same. Plants take up the nutes they need with ease as long as the PH is in range and there isn't too much of an imbalance.

The main ingredients are calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate, potassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, potassium sulfate, sometimes ammonium nitrate and a range of micronutrients which are either sulfates, or chelated.

They all contain these things, and I really think it's all in the setup and environment, all in the grow itself. AN sure is great at advertising though!

I'm switching to single part ionic grow/bloom as soon as I'm out of what I've got now, and ditching all the additives except maybe a bit of bloom booster of some type for flowering.
 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
You are correct. It does have alot to do with the grower using the nutes. I have had my share of problems and still learning the ropes.
Just saying I have seen a few grows that are going great and still need the additives I mentioned.
Not saying AN is superior or anything at all. I have never used any other line and I'm sure they all work and perform about the same.
Just saying what has worked for me. I check the pH every 2-3 days and it stays pretty steady.
I have also been adding an ice tray of ice cubes into the rez daily to keep rez temps below 70.
I'd like to do a side by side between General Hydroponics & AN Sensi Grow/Bloom A&B to compare the differences. Maybe my next grow.
 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
Starting to show trichs and the white pistils are very vibrant looking.
I trim alot of the shade leaves that block light from the other bud sites.
Yes trimming can decrease your yield, but the way I see it.
I am increasing the yield by trimming & allowing for more bud sites which in the end will outweigh my non trimming option.

Budz are now about 4-5 inches above the screen and filling in nicely.
In the end I'd like them to be 10 inches or bigger.

I say all of this because I like to have a goal in mind and make the plant grow like I want it to for the most part.
Some people just plant a seed and hope for the best.
I wanted a short structured with a solid base to support the big budz.
I have my solid structure and wide spread out plant, now I just gotta get my big budz.
They are coming! You can take that to the bank.


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BluBerry

Well-Known Member
I have been doing this grow a little different than the first grow.
I did a rez change weekly in Round 1.
This grow during veg I changed the rez weekly but mostly because my rez was getting dirty from a light leak.
I changed and cleaned the rez real good then switched to flower nutes and haven't changed the rez since then. 3 weeks.
Basically just to see if the weekly rez change is necessary. So far so good!
I may do a rez change midway thru flower. Depends on how dirty the rez gets.
This is gonna be a 12 week flower. 2 more months. Which sucks!! Will be worth the wait tho.
I add an ice tray of ice and a little water to the rez daily and about once a week I mix approx. 40-50 mL of nutes and put them in the water I pour into the rez. I don't pour strait nutes in the rez.
Always measure it and then dilute it into the fresh water before adding to the rez.

 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
I will be going on vacation in about 3 weeks and have been stressing over how the week away will affect the plant.
She has been drinking a bit of water each day. I have a 5 gallon rez and have had the water level about 2 inches below the net pot.
I have thought about having an exterior rez with a float valve to keep water levels even. More work than I wanna do unless I have to.
So I filled the cooler almost to the top, which is submerging about half of the net pot.
This is an experimental type deal to see how long I can go without adding water or ice to keep the temps down.
Hoping I don't drown her, but I think she will be just fine.
I know I will be low on water when I return but I don't wanna run out.
Any suggestions? Float valve my best option?
 

TheGreenHornet

Well-Known Member
There's not much besides buying an aquarium chiller that you can do about temps... but my plants are in shitty storage tubs with no insulation, and the temps stay anywhere from 75-80, so I think you will be ok there, I dont see your temps getting above 80 during a week away, unless you have a big water pump constantly running, which will residually heat up the res, I know from recent experience.

For the water level situation, I don't know any other way to keep the water level constant besides a float valve, or just having a drain at a set level in your DWC, and having a pump constantly pumpin it in...effectively converting it to a RWDC (which are awesome by the way). I have another possibility though.. That air-injection deal that I sent you awhile back makes the bubbles explode upwards on the surface..so your water level can drop as low as 4-5 inches and still be flinging water up to the roots. Mine has gotten that low, and it still keeps my roots soaked.. it might as well be an aeroponics unit dude.

I haven't ever left mine for more than 4 days, but they have survived two lengthy fishing trips so far :)
 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
Thanks. I'm not really as worried about the rez temps as I am the water level.
I just try to keep my rez temps below 70 but if they rise to 75-80 for a couple days I am not gonna stress it too much.
My roots go all the way to the bottom of the cooler so I should be ok as fas as them drinking up the water in the cooler.
But once it drinks it all then that's it til I return. I thought about linking my other cooler to it but it will leak.
Yeah RDWC would be the way to go besides the float valve. For single strain grows. I'll check into adding the float to my setup.
 

TheGreenHornet

Well-Known Member
Right o. It'll be interesting to see how much they drink over the next few days... you're still waiting on your little experiment right?
 

woodsmaneh!

Well-Known Member
Looking good Blu, just a comment on the res temp, two main reasons to chill, the first is total DO is much higher at 60 than at 70 to 80, more Dosolved Oxygen = bigger plants, the other reason is to help combat water bore diseases like root rot, they don't like the colder temps, and the third is if you drop the temps down into the high 50's the last 10 days you can get some real nice colors if their in your genetics.
 
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