SH Bubbleponics kit with Extras.... Aurora Indica (feminized).... First Grow

MrSenator

MrSenator

Member
07/12/09: Inserted 3 seeds into pre-soaked RR cubes.

HEAT PROBLEMS!!!
I am running a 600watt external ballast light system, which is giving me hella heat problems in my HomeBox L.
THEN: Air Temp: 90 Water Temp: 85
1) Ducted exhaust air OUT of the room
2) Closed other room registers for more air flow to registers in grow room.
3) Installed 170cfm duct booster fan in register box, and ducted AC air directly into HomeBox with insulated 6" flex duct.
4) Added oscillating stand fan in grow room.
5) Raised res 4" off of floor and added window fan to blow under res.
6) Installed Ice Probe Chiller in side of res during last res change.
7) Upgraded from 4" fan/filter combo @180cfm to 6" fan/filter combo @425cfm. I HAVE NOT installed yet. Need to find some kind of dimmer so HomeBox doesnt implode with 425cfm of power.
NOW: Air Temp: 80-82 Water Temp: 77
So, i think that should take care of my heat problems. Another idea would be NOT to start in the heat of the summer, duh.

pH PROBLEMS!!!
Holy crap, I have pH problems.:confused:
My babies are a little over two weeks old, and i am not sure if they will see another two weeks cause of the massive pH changes that they are suffering through. I have changed res twice so far, and I drain out as much as possible and wipe down the inside with paper towel. I replace with 5 gal of RO water, and then add 1 gal RO water with nutes and pH down. My pH meter says mid 5s then will skyrocket up to a little over 7 and will stay there.I rinsed the hydroton rocks over and over before i started, and I soaked the RR in RO water with pH less than 7.

Example: Monday morning I added 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of pH down to res. Bring pH down from 7.5 to 5, or so the meter says. 24hours later it will be back up to 7.5.

I noticed yesterday that my res water was looking a little foamy around the sides. My babies bottom leaves are starting to looked dried up and curling. There is a little new growth, so I am puzzled.

The only other things I can think of to correct these problems are: install 6" fan/filter with dimmer, get a portable evap cooler, wait for my little plants to die, clean everything really well, and try again.:cry:

Oh, and lastnight before I went to bed, I put some Hydrozyme in with pH down. When i looked at it this morning, no visible change.
Roseman & Purp......kiss-assany suggestions?

Post pics are from lastnight....
 

Attachments

southern homegrower

southern homegrower

Well-Known Member
MrSenator said:
07/12/09: Inserted 3 seeds into pre-soaked RR cubes.

HEAT PROBLEMS!!!
I am running a 600watt external ballast light system, which is giving me hella heat problems in my HomeBox L.
THEN: Air Temp: 90 Water Temp: 85
1) Ducted exhaust air OUT of the room
2) Closed other room registers for more air flow to registers in grow room.
3) Installed 170cfm duct booster fan in register box, and ducted AC air directly into HomeBox with insulated 6" flex duct.
4) Added oscillating stand fan in grow room.
5) Raised res 4" off of floor and added window fan to blow under res.
6) Installed Ice Probe Chiller in side of res during last res change.
7) Upgraded from 4" fan/filter combo @180cfm to 6" fan/filter combo @425cfm. I HAVE NOT installed yet. Need to find some kind of dimmer so HomeBox doesnt implode with 425cfm of power.
NOW: Air Temp: 80-82 Water Temp: 77
So, i think that should take care of my heat problems. Another idea would be NOT to start in the heat of the summer, duh.

pH PROBLEMS!!!
Holy crap, I have pH problems.:confused:
My babies are a little over two weeks old, and i am not sure if they will see another two weeks cause of the massive pH changes that they are suffering through. I have changed res twice so far, and I drain out as much as possible and wipe down the inside with paper towel. I replace with 5 gal of RO water, and then add 1 gal RO water with nutes and pH down. My pH meter says mid 5s then will skyrocket up to a little over 7 and will stay there.I rinsed the hydroton rocks over and over before i started, and I soaked the RR in RO water with pH less than 7.

Example: Monday morning I added 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of pH down to res. Bring pH down from 7.5 to 5, or so the meter says. 24hours later it will be back up to 7.5.

I noticed yesterday that my res water was looking a little foamy around the sides. My babies bottom leaves are starting to looked dried up and curling. There is a little new growth, so I am puzzled.

The only other things I can think of to correct these problems are: install 6" fan/filter with dimmer, get a portable evap cooler, wait for my little plants to die, clean everything really well, and try again.:cry:

Oh, and lastnight before I went to bed, I put some Hydrozyme in with pH down. When i looked at it this morning, no visible change.
Roseman & Purp......kiss-assany suggestions?

Post pics are from lastnight....
Click to expand...
when i added hygrozyme to my rez my ph jumped to 7.2 and i would add ph down and it would only stay down 10 min. so i called the store i bought the hygrozyme from and they said it will bring ph up somtimes they told me to let it go a few days and it should come down and it did maybe this will help maybe not but it worked for me
 
Roseman

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
pH Stablization

The pH should not vary more than .5 to .7 everyday, and if it does flucuate alot more up OR down daily, something is wrong.
First, ask yourself, what is going into the tank? Water, Nutes, pH UP and Down should be it. Adding anything else, WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM, is not the wisest thing to do. (Yes, sometimes some small amount of peroxide or hydrozyme might be needed, but I've done 7 grows without it.)
And if you are making NUTE SOUP, ( a nute and supplement mix) I can not advise you about your pH.

Except for the very first time you add the water to the tank, You should pH balance your water FIRST, everytime, outside of the tank, then add the nutes, pH balance it again, then add it to the tank. It should not go up more than .5 within one day or 1.0 in two days.
If it does go up more in one day or two days, you got to do something to stablize it. After the first two or 3 weeks pass, and the plants are drinking a gallon a day, you can add one gallon back that is over adjusted or over compensated, to get it back down. FOR EXAMPLE, If the tank is reading 7.2, then add one gallon of 6.0, and you'll get it dwosn SOME, without it being too drastic.
DRASTIC pH CHANGES WITHIN 24 HOURS ARE VERY DANGEROUS.


OR
Try adding a lump of charcoal or two tied in a panty hose or nylon stocking to the tank.

Go to Walmart or PetSmart to the Aquarium Dept, next to the fish food, filters and additives and sea salts, and get those little packages of Ammonia Control absorbant packets. They look like little sponges in a wrapper. I can not remember what they are called, but they work great to sTAbalize the pH. Or get the Ammonia control pellets and add a few to the tank.

Get everything in your tank like you want it, (except the roots or plants,) and add two heaping tablespoons of baking soda to a gallon of water,Stir it good, then add it to the tank. Wait ten or 15 minutes, then pH adjust it again. Then it should stay stabalized until the next Drain and Replinish.
 
Roseman

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
I've done a lot of research on pH Control and I 'd like to offer some advice and my opinion.
NEW growers worry about it too too much, and the biggest mistake they make is trying for a perfect contstant same pH.
You will do better, to just try to keep it between 5.6 and 6.8 without changing it often. Plants eat more nitrogen at 5.7 to 5.9 than at 6.7 to 6.9. But they eat more iron and magnisum at 6.5 to 6.8. You need a flucuating pH level for your plants to absorb different nutes at different levels.
When you get your water, add nutes and pH test it, no matter what the results, if it is between 5.6 and 6.4, leave it alone or only adjsut it by .1 to .2 down.
DO NOT PLAY the pH Game.
Do NOT ride the pH Roller Coaster. Adjust it once a day and let it go.

Drastic or FAST adjustments really mess up the entire system.
Adjust gradually, and slowly.
 
Roseman

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
Primarily what one needs to add to the water are neutralizers and buffers that will stabilize the acid and alkaline levels to the degree that is required for the plants. Most of these stabilizing products are sold in great volume at any pet store that specialized in aquariums and tropical fish and if one is not familiar with what product to purchase, then one should consult with the qualified salespeople so as to arrive at a specific product that will properly address the specific needs of the fish and their owner. You want something that rduces the acid.

instead of buying a buffer, you can simply put a cube of charcoal, or a lump of peat moss tied up in a nylon stocking, and add it to your tank.
 
Roseman

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
You need a pH BUFFER.

A buffer solution is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid. It has the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small amount of acid or base is added to it. Buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant value in a wide variety of chemical applications.


You can simply add two heaping table spoons of baking soda to your water, (before yu put it in the tank). Yes, it will wreck the pH, but then you adjust it with pH Down, and then it will stay more stable for a few days.
 
MrSenator

MrSenator

Member
Roseman said:
I've done a lot of research on pH Control and I 'd like to offer some advice and my opinion.
NEW growers worry about it too too much, and the biggest mistake they make is trying for a perfect contstant same pH.
You will do better, to just try to keep it between 5.6 and 6.8 without changing it often. Plants eat more nitrogen at 5.7 to 5.9 than at 6.7 to 6.9. But they eat more iron and magnisum at 6.5 to 6.8. You need a flucuating pH level for your plants to absorb different nutes at different levels.
When you get your water, add nutes and pH test it, no matter what the results, if it is between 5.6 and 6.4, leave it alone or only adjsut it by .1 to .2 down.
DO NOT PLAY the pH Game.
Do NOT ride the pH Roller Coaster. Adjust it once a day and let it go.

Drastic or FAST adjustments really mess up the entire system.
Adjust gradually, and slowly.
Click to expand...


I am trying not to play the pH game, but I think the pH game is playing me...
 
M

Mr.Bob Saget

Active Member
I think I see the problem with your setup.

You should be able to use the 600 watter, but most would be using a 400 in the box you have. Most people use a roof mounted carbon filter, like the Can-Fan 9000 and pull the air out of the tent, from the top. It appears you have a fan at the bottom of the tent, I'm thinking you are trying to suck the hot air out at the bottom, this is incorrect as the heat rises. If you where pulling the hot air out of the top the lower mesh openings in your tent would be pulling fresh cool air past your plants.

If I was you I would change the venting system. Remove the inline fan from the light, pull exhaust from the top, open the mesh vents at the bottom, just enough so there is a little negitive pressure. This should keep your tent within 10 degrees of outside ambient temp when lights are on.

I'm curious to know how well you Hanna constant testing meter is working? Do you notice the readings change soon as the lights come on, as in interference or anthing unusaul light the PH indicator rises when the lights are on?
 
M

Mr.Bob Saget

Active Member
Ahh.. Never mind I just noticed that you are sucking the hot air out the top with a filter, its just inline on the light...You should be good??
 
S

SirForest

Member
I would also be nervous of all that foil in there causing hotspots too. Looks like you are going to grow some nice bud in there though,,Cheers
 
StreetRider

StreetRider

Active Member
Try and keep your res below 74 degrees. Above that the bacterial growth kicks up and that can mess with your ph as well. That could also explain the foam in your water. Althou just nutes could cause it as well, the foam that is.

Is your res. light tight? No light. And I would suject running an air pump, but if you pump in hot air it will raise the temp.

Keep up the fight, it is worth it.
 
MrSenator

MrSenator

Member
Mr.Bob Saget said:
I think I see the problem with your setup.

You should be able to use the 600 watter, but most would be using a 400 in the box you have. Most people use a roof mounted carbon filter, like the Can-Fan 9000 and pull the air out of the tent, from the top. It appears you have a fan at the bottom of the tent, I'm thinking you are trying to suck the hot air out at the bottom, this is incorrect as the heat rises. If you where pulling the hot air out of the top the lower mesh openings in your tent would be pulling fresh cool air past your plants.

If I was you I would change the venting system. Remove the inline fan from the light, pull exhaust from the top, open the mesh vents at the bottom, just enough so there is a little negitive pressure. This should keep your tent within 10 degrees of outside ambient temp when lights are on.

I'm curious to know how well you Hanna constant testing meter is working? Do you notice the readings change soon as the lights come on, as in interference or anthing unusaul light the PH indicator rises when the lights are on?
Click to expand...

I am not a fan of the 6 in 1 constant testing meter. I purchased it from SH, and have thought about calling them to ask if anyone else if having trouble with theirs. I am thinking it is giving me inaccurate readings. The readings from the meter never sync up with the readings from my pH strips.... I have ordered more calibration solution so that I can be sure of the meter's accuracy.

As far as flux when the light come on?? I am still in the flowering/dying phase, so I have the lights on 24/0, and I am having so many pH problems that I can't tell either way.

Ventilation:
I removed one of my registers diffusers and inserted the same size register box with a 6" duct fan booster @ 170cfm pulling/pushing cold A/C directly from the wall to the 6" air intake in the tent. I also have the left vent flap open, and have a window fan there if I need any more air flow. At the moment, I only have a 4" air fan and filter combo @ 185cfm. I will be installing my 6" air fan and filter combo when my fan speed controller gets here. I also got a evap cooler coming.

I just wish I could control my pH problems.
 
MrSenator

MrSenator

Member
Mr.Bob Saget said:
Ahh.. Never mind I just noticed that you are sucking the hot air out the top with a filter, its just inline on the light...You should be good??
Click to expand...

In:
AC unit > 6" booster fan > 6" insulated duct > in to tent
Out:
4" filter > 6" cool tube > 4" inline fan > out of tent > 4" insulated duct > out of room
 
MrSenator

MrSenator

Member
StreetRider said:
Try and keep your res below 74 degrees. Above that the bacterial growth kicks up and that can mess with your ph as well. That could also explain the foam in your water. Althou just nutes could cause it as well, the foam that is.

Is your res. light tight? No light. And I would suject running an air pump, but if you pump in hot air it will raise the temp.

Keep up the fight, it is worth it.
Click to expand...

My res is up off the floor by about 3.5"-4", and I do have some air flow under the res. I can have more air flow under the res if I turn on my window fan at the tent vent, but that created positive pressure in the tent, more air coming in than the filter and fan can get out. It bulges like a balloon.

I have been fighting my res temps also. I bought an ice probe chiller that has brought the temps down from like 85 to around 77. I have the res wrapped in aluminum duct tape.... you think that is making the water hotter than it would otherwise be without the metal tape?

I did a complete drain and refill of the res last night and when I cleaned out the res, there was nasty goo type stuff along with the foam that I pulled out. The smell reminded me of my dirty goldfish tank from when I was a kid. I scrubbed everything with hydrogen peroxide and replace the water and nutes.


The reasons I wrapped the res in shiny tape and aluminum duct tape was to reflect light to the underside and into the plants, and so that no light penetrated the res sides and top. With that 600watt HID, I am getting some light into the res, but not alot. I would suspect there is ALOT more light getting into (example: roseman's) res because the last pics I saw, he didnt wrap his up. I also remember him saying that he didn't wrap his, and he doesnt have any problems. (I could be wrong.) I have thought about wrapping the top with more tape, cause the tape I used on the top and the tape I used on the sides are different. The tap on the top is more shiney, but is not as thick and more light can pass through it.

I am running two air pumps... 1 dual outlet suppling 2 12" air stones, and 1 single outlet suppling 2 4" air stones. (I just hooked the single outlet one up lastnight.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top