LED Grow Light Forum

rkymtnman wrote:one suggestion for the aeration bucket:

try to find a cat litter square bucket instead. holes seal much better on a flat vs rounded surface. or find a plumbing supply and get some uniseals. they are expensive but are almost 100% leak proof if installed correctly.

Wow, that's so obviously brilliant... I'm in awe. Do they have square buckets that are NFS (national food safety or something like that) rated? Does that even matter if you're just storing water in it? I got the buckets I did because of the measuring units on the side, and because they're safe for food storage.

Actually I just remembered using some white, square food service buckets at a few jobs I had when I was younger. I wonder where you get one of those...

Either way, I siliconed everything on my existing bucket again today, and will wet test again tomorrow. Fingers crossed again.

rkymtnman wrote:for the tip issue, how about the basics? what is pH?

pH has been: 5.0 in rockwool and germination stage, 6.0 mild nutrient solution feeding, 6.3 tap water

It could be the nutrients for sure. I was under the impression somehow that these "don't cause" burn or are "amended by the media prior to absorption" or something like that. Canna definitely stated that pH adjustments are not necessary with the media and nutrient line I'm using.

I was planning to adjust the pH to 6.0-6.3 anyway though. I was not planning to run EC measurements, just to follow the nutrient line instructions. I'm beginning to believe that's not the best way to do it for some reason.

rkymtnman wrote:what is EC? temp and RH seem to be OK.
if I had to guess, too strong on the EC.

You're probably right. I haven't checked the EC, or PPM because I thought my meter was broken. I was incorrect. It is broken and thrown away, so I ordered another one tonight. It'll be here Friday so I can test normal tap water, and my filtered reservoir water.

I'll keep my eye on it until then. I haven't watered again today. All looks the same as this morning, so I'll update again tomorrow.

i don't think you need food service rated stuff. if you can find the cat litter, rinse with hot water and bleach and it'll be fine.

if you need a bunch, http://www.uline.com/BL_8172/Square-Pails

then just take your bucket, take a gallon jug and a sharpie and make some level marks on the inside of the bucket for 1 gal, 2 gal etc... or by the quart or however precise you want.

the pH for soil I can't help you on. do you know if the soil you are using is already pre-fertilized. some come prepped for a few weeks of growing with just water needed. then you'd be double nuting if you are adding more nutes.

Here's some info from Canna. The bottom bold part might contain my answer. I don't know how I missed that before.

Terra Professional Plus
CANNA Terra Professional Plus formula was developed to fulfill the desire of creating the purest soil mix possible and to obtain the best effects with CANNA TERRA nutrients.

CANNA Terra Professional Plus is made up from raw materials each of the highest quality. Exclusive, high grade ingredients such as airy peat moss and different types of tree bark (as a substitute for perlite) are components of CANNA Terra Professional Plus. They have an antiseptic effect and increase aeration qualities. This has a direct result in promoting exceptional root development and formation of thicker stems, while faster metabolism combined with low sickness rates ensure an increased production.

CANNA Terra Professional Plus is enriched with special feeding mixes, containing all the elements plants need during their first week, meaning no additional feeding is needed at that time! The medium is also pH-adjusted for long-term control with a lime charge large enough to last an entire cycle. It has a mineral-nutrient starter charge that adjusts the initial level of nutrients up to a good beginning charge, correcting the ratios to work perfectly with CANNA TERRA nutrients.

So I'll be watering with plain pH adjusted water until my EC meter shows up. Then I'll switch back to mild nutes next week. Or Saturday.

Seriously, NOBODY else has used this? Well I'll Guinea Pig it.

Also, if I ever build a reserve reservoir again, I'm going with one of these:
http://goo.gl/T7ytcn

So easy.

Thanks again everyone!
MC

This evening the seedlings look very similar to yesterday. Here's some photos.







Most of the pots felt pretty light. I also stuck my finger into the media of all of them, and all were dry or only slightly damp except droopy Pineapple Chunk #2 with the burned tips. I brushed aside the top layer of soil, and it was still quite moist and dark underneath.

Because of this, I watered all of the plants except Pineapple Chunk #2. I resisted the temptation to water her though, even though she looks droopier than this morning somehow... All of the other plants received pH 6.0 filtered water in about 2-4 cup quantities. There was minor drainage after each feeding, and I topped all of them off 1 more time. They were not 100% saturated.

I am sure the soil isn't too hot, it's been 72 deg in there. I've got my good ole waterproof fish tank thermometer buried in the Incredible Bulk's container.

Temps in the grow chamber have been 77 degrees, occasionally up to 80 but only for like an hour or two at a time. RH has been incredibly difficult to raise, and has maintained about 40% while the humidifier is running. The dehumidifier is not running at all.

I will be using nutrients at my next feeding - for all plants except Pineapple Chunk #2. She will receive only pH 6.0 filtered water next time until she starts to look better. Hopefully. If she doesn't die.

Thanks everyone!
MC

MissingCow wrote:
I am sure the soil isn't too hot, it's been 72 deg in there. I've got my good ole waterproof fish tank thermometer buried in the Incredible Bulk's container.

By too hot, I mean it has too much nutrients causing nutrient burn, not that the soil temperature is too high.

SisterMaryElephant wrote:

MissingCow wrote:
I am sure the soil isn't too hot, it's been 72 deg in there. I've got my good ole waterproof fish tank thermometer buried in the Incredible Bulk's container.

By too hot, I mean it has too much nutrients causing nutrient burn, not that the soil temperature is too high.

LOL! Oh my. Well yes maybe that too hot.

That's hilarious. Thank you for clarifying.

This morning I checked the floppy pineapple chunk again. Here's some better pictures of her this morning:




Her pot was pretty light this morning, and the soil didn't feel damp about 2" down, so I watered her with pH 6.0 filtered water - 4 cups. Again, drainage at around 10% out the bottom.

I did not water the other girls, but here's some pictures anyway.

My TDS meter arrived yesterday, so I set about having a fun evening testing the TDS of everything except bathwater. Here's my results:

Tap Water: 86 PPM
Filtered Water in grow room: 86 PPM
Tap Water at other sinks in house: 85-95 PPM
Filtered water in refrigerator dispenser: 74 PPM (woot!)

So with levels this low, I'm thinking I don't need to really worry about what is in the water. Is that a fair assumption? Here's another question: Which water looks like it has more oxygen in it?


Given the above results, I'll be scrapping the bucket altogether, complete with float valves, spigot, really-inflexible tubing, and enough silicone to seal 4 showers. I will however be saving the two air stones, and using them to keep pre-mixed nutrient solution aerated. This will not require any sealant, nozzles, hoses or float valves. So it's not a total loss.

Here are the girls. I'm starting to see the 2nd and 3rd leaf fingers coming out of that second set of leaves on Money Maker #1.



The next two are Money Maker #2. She is displaying slight leaf cupping downward which I believe looks like overwatering. Perhaps I saturated the soil too much at the last water? If you believe I'm right or wrong, or have a suggestion I'd love to hear it.




I will not be posting photos of the Pineapple Chunk #1, as she looks exactly the same as before, smaller than everyone else, but healthy and unchanged except the thickness and purpling of her stem.

The Incredible Bulk is looking quite a bit better, especially in the new growth areas. She does have some leaf damage at the tips where they were curled when she sprouted. I just had a brilliant/bizarre theory about why this happened:
- She was the closest seedling to my remote thermo/humidistat. This unit has a blinking red light every minute or so. I'd bet money that during her dark cycle upon first emerging (she was under a humidity dome in my kitchen - so she had a dark cycle for the first few days) her night cycle was interrupted by the blinking light right next to/reflecting on her.
- Ever since moving her to the tent, her light cycle has been 24/0. The blinking red light hasn't hurt ANY of them under the circumstances, as they have light all the time.
- On a PREVIOUS harvest, I had the same type of remote termo/humidistat hanging in the canopy. The leaves around this area were curled and light stressed in the same way.

Check the photo:


And I just now figured this out. What a noob. So let that be a lesson to you and learn from my mistakes. I will be covering the blinking LED with duct tape right now.

Question: do you think I may have hermied her already this early in her life? I don't think so. A little assurance from a pro would ease my guilt for stressing her as a newborn.

And finally, Pineapple Chunk #2. She is definitely in the running for "most likely plant to be pulled at transplant to 10 gallon bag time". Crawling along on the ground, peaking up, she is either a drama queen or still in some stress. What do you think?



The Solarstorm is still performing flawlessly, and I'm easily able to maintain a temperature of 76-77 degrees with the flaps of the tent open. I believe a normally ventilated tent would maintain these same temperatures. So good job there CLW. I will say however that the "wow this s@#$ is bright" effect has worn off a little. Maybe it's just exposure to it, I don't know. It is 1500% nicer to work under it though than 1000w HPS as the heat is not directed at your forearms.

Thanks for sticking with me this long. Lots of observations today!
MC

your tap should be fine. i'd let it set for 24hrs to let the chlorine dissipate. but the EC is pretty low which is good.

the stray light has caught many people. power strips, humidifiers etc. when I first switch over to 12/12, I wait for the lights to go off while I'm in the room and just double check there is nothing I missed. If you catch it ASAP, you won't have any problems.

rkymtnman wrote:the stray light has caught many people. power strips, humidifiers etc. when I first switch over to 12/12, I wait for the lights to go off while I'm in the room and just double check there is nothing I missed. If you catch it ASAP, you won't have any problems.

I will definitely do this once I switch to 12/12. I bought power strips w/o lights and already duct taped over all the lights I could find, but there may be more.

The dehumidifier has a green LED displaying the current humidity all the time. It's going to be behind the panda film from the plant, and it's green. Do I need to worry about this one messing up the plants photoperiod? I've read green won't because it's not photosynthetically reactive.

Here are my girls today. I believe the root systems of the Money Makers and the Incredible Bulk has established quite well as they are growing more rapidly than before.








The two Pineapple Chunks look... well not great. I'm not sure what the issues is for these two, but it looks like it could be several things:

• They may be damping off
• They may have nutrient deficiencies/overabundance
• They may be overwatered - They haven't been watered much, at least no more than any of the others. Their soil seems to stay wet longer which indicates to me that their root system is not doing as much absorption and may be suffering
• All of the above

Barney, if you're reading this, what's the deal with your seeds man? (I reserve the right to redact that if it turns out this is my error somehow) I don't really know. I'd like anyone's opinions on what this may be, and if there's anything I can do about it. Photos below with my observations.