Testing the Aerolife True HPA AA (Air Atomized) System -First run

PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
TB, welcome home.

As you know I have played with my version of hpa (sans accumulator) for a few years now, with mostly disappointment. HOWEVER, my simplified version is finally working pretty good. After a stall (pilot error not adding HD Al foil to block light entering the root chamber) plants took off shortly thereafter, and are just getting ready to sex. Big primary leaves, lots of secondary branching...

Very simple: Aquatech 8800 (3 yo and working just fine) in a 33g tote. I run a 4 head mister from Reptile Basics: 6-8 seconds on and 6-8 minutes off. It seems the more developed the root mass the lower the on time is needed.

Veg ppm ~ 200, force flower @ 450+, and will likely stay around 600 ppm thru to finish

I reuse my nutes until bud sites develop, then D2W

For anyone interested, I have a thread on IC same UN
 
Trichy Bastard

Trichy Bastard

Well-Known Member
PetFlora said:
TB, welcome home.

As you know I have played with my version of hpa (sans accumulator) for a few years now, with mostly disappointment. HOWEVER, my simplified version is finally working pretty good. After a stall (pilot error not adding HD Al foil to block light entering the root chamber) plants took off shortly thereafter, and are just getting ready to sex. Big primary leaves, lots of secondary branching...

Very simple: Aquatech 8800 (3 yo and working just fine) in a 33g tote. I run a 4 head mister from Reptile Basics: 6-8 seconds on and 6-8 minutes off. It seems the more developed the root mass the lower the on time is needed.

Veg ppm ~ 200, force flower @ 450+, and will likely stay around 600 ppm thru to finish

I reuse my nutes until bud sites develop, then D2W

For anyone interested, I have a thread on IC same UN
Click to expand...
Aye PF, thanks dude... I think Atomizer was right when he basically said proper aero was about control and the accumulator is an integral part of that control. You had loads of fun and somehow managed to keep yourself happy with your yields even so, so I think there was nothing lost and still alot of knowledge gained for all of us. However, I am glad to see you posts often more about happy surprises rather than messed up ones lately - so congrats for that :)

Anyone else still around? Atomizer, tree farmer, mike, AJ, etc... ? I need a pep squad to keep me on track for this new build, somehow it feels alot less lonely with all the input here... :)
 
I

indrhrvest

New Member
PetFlora said:
As you know I have played with my version of hpa (sans accumulator) for a few years now, with mostly disappointment. HOWEVER, my simplified version is finally working pretty good.
Click to expand...
Not perfect Aero roots I know, but I have been pretty conservative with the feeding times since my main goal was water usage. We are doing 3 seconds on and 6 minutes off right now. We are around .08 gallons a day per plant right now and I think I can cut that in half yet.

Check out this Basil at just 19 days, we just topped it too.






We should have added some black or dark green pigment to the plastic when we cast the tray. You can see some algae starting to show itself inside the root chamber. It's not really a concern at this point though and wont hurt the plants for our intended test length. I thought the white pigment material would keep the UV light out but it didn't. Oh well.. can't learn if you don't make mistakes.
 
Trichy Bastard

Trichy Bastard

Well-Known Member
indrhrvest said:
Not perfect Aero roots I know, but I have been pretty conservative with the feeding times since my main goal was water usage. We are doing 3 seconds on and 6 minutes off right now. We are around .08 gallons a day per plant right now and I think I can cut that in half yet.

Check out this Basil at just 19 days, we just topped it too.







We should have added some black or dark green pigment to the plastic when we cast the tray. You can see some algae starting to show itself inside the root chamber. It's not really a concern at this point though and wont hurt the plants for our intended test length. I thought the white pigment material would keep the UV light out but it didn't. Oh well.. can't learn if you don't make mistakes.
Click to expand...
As I often preach, try adding 6 drops bleach per gallon of water, you might get faster growth as it keeps the roots real healthy without having to fight off any nasties. My chamber always gets a musty smell when I don't add bleach, and within days the roots start to darken and experience slower growth. However, my chamber temps are likely higher so I probably get problems sooner. Or are you using organics and reliant on the friendly bacteria? P.s., the bleach is not bad at all for the plants, the 6 drops only brings you into no more than municipal tapwater levels (if even that), but you can always use some food grade peroxide if that makes you feel better- I started off using peroxide and quickly found the bleach had much better staying power and worked much better for me as the peroxide had to be added every other day, but the bleach lasted until the next res refill a week later.
They really look great :)
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
TB, it's my own cross between a Sat I call Brother's Keeper and a True Indica (whatever that means anymore). These are F1, trying to get to F2 but have a shit pot full of hermies screwing with me. I have no idea why, as the first 8 seeds were either M or F.

Only thing I can think of is I had a NEW pH probe go bad, so it is possible nutes were too alkaline.

I have 2 plants in my Hybrid Bubbler (under leds), so far they look female, but so did the others that flipped. I shudder to think I wasted 2 months
 
Trichy Bastard

Trichy Bastard

Well-Known Member
PetFlora said:
TB, it's my own cross between a Sat I call Brother's Keeper and a True Indica (whatever that means anymore). These are F1, trying to get to F2 but have a shit pot full of hermies screwing with me. I have no idea why, as the first 8 seeds were either M or F.

Only thing I can think of is I had a NEW pH probe go bad, so it is possible nutes were too alkaline.

I have 2 plants in my Hybrid Bubbler (under leds), so far they look female, but so did the others that flipped. I shudder to think I wasted 2 months
Click to expand...
Yikes. Fingers crossed for ya...
 
Mike Young

Mike Young

Well-Known Member
Welcome back Trich! You mean to tell me that you ventured across the pond & didn't have a beer with Atomizer??? I've been checking the threads every so often, but it really has been a ghost town for awhile. I recently watched a documentary called gashole, and inadvertantly picked up a new hobby. Inspired by Charles Pogue & Tomas Ogle, I am in pursuit of vaporizing gasoline. :) Not too far from the world of high intensity aeroponics, lol. My tinkering addiction is taking over my life! I've got a seedling started though, and plan to get some things growin again soon. Crappy winter weather is perfect for bringing these threads back to life with new builds & ideas!

Cheers
 
Trichy Bastard

Trichy Bastard

Well-Known Member
Mike Young said:
Welcome back Trich! You mean to tell me that you ventured across the pond & didn't have a beer with Atomizer??? I've been checking the threads every so often, but it really has been a ghost town for awhile. I recently watched a documentary called gashole, and inadvertantly picked up a new hobby. Inspired by Charles Pogue & Tomas Ogle, I am in pursuit of vaporizing gasoline. :) Not too far from the world of high intensity aeroponics, lol. My tinkering addiction is taking over my life! I've got a seedling started though, and plan to get some things growin again soon. Crappy winter weather is perfect for bringing these threads back to life with new builds & ideas!

Cheers
Click to expand...
Hey Mikey... I wasn't really anywhere near him for any meaningful amount of time, although it would have been fun I am sure... The vaporizing of gasoline is interesting to me, I am going to read up on your links- thanks man... I bet you're going to be just as interested in my new thread as I am!
 
hammer21

hammer21

Well-Known Member
Welcome TB I am interested in your next build also mine is running but not 100 percent yet. Been battling spider mites set up a new system in spare room. Started with 12 clones all spider infested sprayed everything only to kill more than half to get the bastards under control. Wife is mad about running a fat boy pump in the house they are loud as hell ordered a couple of shurflo 150 psi pumps hope they are not as loud.
 
Trichy Bastard

Trichy Bastard

Well-Known Member
hammer21 said:
Welcome TB I am interested in your next build also mine is running but not 100 percent yet. Been battling spider mites set up a new system in spare room. Started with 12 clones all spider infested sprayed everything only to kill more than half to get the bastards under control. Wife is mad about running a fat boy pump in the house they are loud as hell ordered a couple of shurflo 150 psi pumps hope they are not as loud.
Click to expand...
Try the natural predator mites... The aquatec pumps are the quietest of all fyi...
 
Mike Young

Mike Young

Well-Known Member
An old hippie who's been growning more years than I've been alive swears by cedar chips. I cannot confirm 100%, but I can say that since keeping an open bag in my room, I've not detected their presence. Oh, and aquatec all day!
 
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