SME, no...when they give those dimensions that is the overall. The actual grow area for all 6 chambers, measured outside to outside, is 39" wide by 63" long. The overall dimensions include reservoir, pump, drain, stand for chambers(which is wider than the chambers themselves)... I know the width is tougher to cover than the length, and I haven't gotten real creative with it yet...but I have a little over 17 sq ft with a little over 1000 watts LED(drawn w/UV)...even so, I think there could eventually be 2 more 200s in the distant future... I like the 2 I have hanging!! I have them both hanging on the same threaded rod...so by spinning a few nuts I can fine tune the distance between them...right now I have them spread a little wider than the SS400 is and coverage seems great all the way across the area. Maybe they could make the SS400 with a longer spacer panel between the 2?? Or sell them as modular kits that all include UV?? And I could patent my threaded rod idea...and be a sub to CLW?? hahahahaha

My idea for the frame is to build it out of PVC pipe, sized for 11-12" spacing on each side of the grow area. Then hang the appropriate length Orca panels on the frame that will be height adjustable... The film come 54" wide, so I am planning to split it down the middle.... to make up 27" panels for each side of the grow area. Not to stretch my light, but to catch and maximize it... And no, I am gluing as little of the PVC as possible....if it takes any. Figure a light tap from another piece of pipe should snug em up or get em apart. Thinking maybe glue on just a couple of corner post fittings to help with square-ness at most...but we will see when I get there...

Regarding PPM....if I am sitting back just watching...When the numbers change, how big of a change, either way, should I let go on before doing something?? Today is 35 days of 12/12 complete, about a month on Lucas Formula, PPM is 1110-1120 tonight(up 10 in 24) and Ph is still holding a steady 5.8...so steady I still double check with a hand held...just to make sure it's not froze!

Patience does seem to be one of the toughest part of this.....besides equipment failures!!! Waiting to hear about warranty replacement of my controller....but between the seller and the manufacturer one should get another one to me soon....I hope!

Happy

Cool!! I got an RMA and return shipping label for my controller tonight! Can't happen soon enough!

Right; the lights can cover the length but not the 39" width and that's not including the width of the plants in the outer chambers. How wide is it with one or two less chambers?

I wouldn't go by the numbers, I'd only do something of they started showing signs of burn or deficiency. That way you use up what in the res before starting with a fresh batch.

Well, that is part of what I like about the pair of SolarFlare 200s vs a single SolarStorm 400. The 400 is two of the 200s with about 4" in between, and the added UV bulbs. With the pair of 200s on the rod, spaced about 8" between, they seem to cover the full system width better without giving any intensity in the middle.... How important are the added UV bulbs?

SME, you suggested a reservoir cleaning,and refill at the 4 week mark....Did you mean 4 weeks after starting Lucas or 4 weeks from finish?? Either way, that 4 weeks is this weekend....lol

So I drained, cleaned, rinsed and refilled the reservoir on the Aeroflo last night. Because my PPM had been going up previous to the nute change, and the advise I had gotten, I was planning to mix up the nutes weaker so I could slowly raise it to meet their needs. After 45 gallons was mixed and added it settled at 830/5.8 before lights went out.

This morning when the lights came on the Ph was flickering between 5.8-5.9, so I put a little Ph down in to make it a steady 5.8. ppm is still at 830.

I have little buds all over!! But they are little... If everything remains steady for the rest of the ride, and the girls are kept happy, how big will these little buds grow in the next 4 weeks??

Happy

Today is day 41, all the numbers are still holding steady and the girls are looking healthy. It has been a day and a half on the new nutes and they haven't shown any signs of not being happy.

They are drinking a lot of water. Still seeing 3 gallons a day drop in reservoir, which is good, isn't it? But the numbers are staying pretty steady...

I've been reading about harvest & curing....hopefully I will need to practice it in about a month....

Here is a few pics at Day 41....



Happy!

It's good to start fresh every so often to avoid a build up on some nutrients and lockout/deficiency of others.

Is that 830ppm based on a number you picked out of the air or is that the result of 7/14 or 6/12 LF?

Asking how big they'll get is like asking how much my lawn will grow in 4 weeks. Flowers do put on the most weight in the last 2-4 weeks depending on the strain.

Patience...

Actually, I arrived at that number by chance, but it is based on 1:2 ratio with AquaShield and KoolBloom in the mix.

When I was at 1200 it climbed, 1100 it climbed, so I knew I wanted lower PPM. And actually my aim was to get it low enough that I saw the numbers drop...(this is all new to me)...just to help me get a better feel for things, if nothing else.... I thought I would aim for 800-900, using 1:2....

I put 3 gallons in a bucket and started playing. I stepped it up 1:2 until I was at 850...with the AquaShield and KoolBloom in the mix at the lower end of their recommended mixing rate. The final ratio of M:B came out to be only 3:6....and after mixing up 14-three gallon batches the PPM averaged out to be 830. And now, almost 48 hours later, the water level has dropped almost 5 gallons and PPM has dropped to 820. Ph is still solid at 5.8, RH is 51%, Ambient is 82.3 with lights on today....
... So that tells me that my girls ARE eating, and they are drinking....and I can't see any signs of distress or deficiencies. So whenever I top off, I should aim for about 850-900 again?

BTW SME, I have abandoned the idea of PVC frame for the Orca panels.... I was at Lowes yesterday and happened down the aisle that has the 4'x8' Styrofoam insulating panels...like for the outside of new construction... I think this is rigid enough to be a good backer for the Orca, and light enough that I can easily hang it using 2 light hangers per panel and just hang it from the ceiling. I have perforated angle mounted on the ceiling, above both sides of the Aeroflo for hanging lights. Thought is that I could set the bottom of the panel on the edge of outside chamber, then adjust the angle of the panel to the plants using the hangers. I figure this will provide for better air flow inside the panels and allow easier removal/replacement for tending to the plants.... What ya think? Better?

You should know me well enough already to know that PATIENCE is the hardest part for me!!!


Happy!

Oh my...

If you're happy with the health using the 830-900 ppm nutrients based on 1:2 + your additives you can keep doing it that way but the whole idea of LF is to make it simple and easy to repeat. I've told you how I would do it but you're free to make it more complicated if you want. I don't tell people they can't grow one way or the other I can only suggest what I would do. I'm not saying that you're doing it wrong or bad either. It's your grow...

I thought the PVC frame was an expensive and over-complicated solution too, the insulated panels should work fine as long as they last. You can re-enforce them with wood/grommets or something if needed. I'm not sure if changing the angles will be needed or not but you can always experiment. I'd just hang them and move them in/out as needed.

YMMV...

I don't know any better...What should I aim for, if 1100 was too much and kept going up? You know I want the best results I can achieve....

I know you say to pay more attention to the plants than the numbers....but when the only thing I can find is a little tip burn and a few lower leaves yellowing & falling off, while the numbers are going up daily shouldn't I be dropping it?? Especially at a water change?

So where should I set my aim on the PPM??? Is 1000 more where I should aim to be?? Mixing water to hit my target numbers doesn't seem to be any problem....It is just me learning the right numbers to shoot for.... Tell me what to shoot for as a starting point...

Happy?

Lucas suggested 8/16 (ml) per gallon of RO for high intensity lighting (like HPS) and 5/10 for low intensity lighting (like CFL) so I'm assuming the right number for LED will probably be in between.

I've told you several times that it's not about the ppm and you keep asking for a number. LF isn't about constantly adjusting ppms either. It looks like 8/16 is too much for LED plants so I suggested checking what 6/12 or 7/14 would give you but you seem to want to micromanage the ppms. Think of LF as more of a "set it and forget it" formula.

One last time; this is what I would do: I'd take a gallon of water and add 6/12 and see what the ppm reading is just for reference. If it's too low then add 1/2 more (which would be 7/14 per gallon) and see what that ppm looks like. Once you figure out whether 6/12 7/14 or whatever you settle on is going to work then stick with that from veg to harvest. When you make a new res and you put say...40 gallons of fresh water in it and *if* you're using 6/12 then that would be 240/480...done. You can use your additives if you want but the LF part should be very simple. You don't even have to mix it 3 gallons at a time.

If you let the plants drink most/all of the res and then refill with LF + additives you'll barely need your ppm meter but it is good to keep an eye on it once in a while in case something weird happens. If you want to top off and add-back often, you'll need the meter more but you still should change out your res once in a while to keep imbalances from occurring.

If you want to do it more complicated feel free. Again, it's your grow and there are many ways to grow so I'm not saying that you have to do it the way I would.