MP's Hydro A Go-Go

MP_Grow · August 27, 2024, 2:04pm

[Prep & Setup]

For this grow I am diving into the world of hydroponics. As much success as I had doing my previous Chocolope grow, I figure it might be fun to give hydro a shot to see overall how the bud quality is after a hopefully successful harvest

So to begin with my hydro setup, first and foremost I made sure to give everything in the tent a complete wipe down using water & peroxide (Lights, fans, humidifier, etc)

For seeds, I am working with two different strains. The ideal goal was to do the same strain for both reservoirs, but due to a bad batch of seeds I opted to mix it up instead. I’ll cover that off more on the germination/transplant post

I purchased a variety of nutrients as listed in the HWG grow chart listed on Patreon. Also purchased a quart of Hydroguard for ensuring that the roots are maintained in the healthiest environment possible, as well as use it to help further prevent root rot

From my previous grow I will be using the following:

Vivosun S538 5ft x 2.75ft Grow Tent (60"x32"x80")
Vivosun AeroWave E6 Grow Tent 6 Inch Fan (x2)
Spider Farmer 2023 G4500 450W LED Grow Lights
Vivosun Smart Air Filtration PRO T6 Kit 6", AeroZesh T6 Inline Duct Fan w/GrowHub
Vivosun Wireless Digital Hygrometer Temperature and Humidity Monitor (Sensor included)

For the hydro equipment I purchased the following:

Black Reservoir (Res) Buckets (x4) = Amazon.com
HydroFarm Wide Lip Net Pots (x2) = Amazon.com
Legigo Organic Clay Pebbles (Hydroton) = Amazon.com
AQUANEAT Aquarium Air Pump (x2) = Amazon.com
Grow Tent Corner Shelves = Amazon.com
64 QT Latching Storage Box (x2) = https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sterilite-64-Qt-Latching-Storage-Box-14978006/206721480
Mylar Insulation Wrap = https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-24-in-x-25-ft-Double-Reflective-Insulation-Staple-Tab-24x25RI-SE/315103185

Basically I left all the previous grow equipment in place. For the hydro res buckets, my first task was to figure out what kind of water temps I would be working with. After placing the buckets in the tent, I left the grow lights on for 24 hours just to get a read on the air temps. Using the PPFD as a reference guide, with the lights about 24 inches up I had my 250 PPFD for germination, and am seeing the air temps reach as high as 82°F. This in turn caused the res temps to hit that point which gives me concerns for the roots when they grow further into the bucket.

To counter this, I first froze a 1.5L bottle filled with water and placed them in the buckets. Let them sit for some time. Temps only stayed maintained for roughly 12 hours before the frozen bottles needed to be swapped. I’m a busy guy… so if I have to babysit my res buckets all day that’s just not gonna fly!

I then purchased a couple storage boxes from Home Depot and wrapped them in mylar insulation. This should help to repel light and dissuade heat from hitting the water in the res buckets. I cut out a hole on the latching lid which would allow for me to place the bucket in the storage container, and then put more insulation on the top of the net pot. Once done, I placed two half gallon frozen water jugs in and tested again. To my advantage, I was able to maintain temps between 66-75°F for up to 3 days. So that’s a solid win!

Light PPFD… check! Water temps… check! Overall all systems are a go.

Next we germinate. Stay tuned!

@DoneDeal @StonedCold13 @Thumper @FUKAZ28 @SnkeyezCobra @TMC.PRE @MadamCalamity @StonedCold13 @Highgrow @Alien_Shore @PogueMahone @Jaysittinback @Riskguy @PhatPat @Bentstick @jdw @Bonjoyle

StonedCold13 · August 27, 2024, 2:06pm

Strong start

MP_Grow · August 27, 2024, 2:13pm

Wait til my next update. The germination journey was well… a process

On the plus side - ILGM def lived up to their germination guarantee

Cooper · August 27, 2024, 3:16pm

Looks good. Interested to see how it goes. are you in a high heat area? I had to add a chiller to chill the water or I am sure it would have gotten root rot. My tent temp is always high 80’s even hit 90 a couple times.

MP_Grow · August 27, 2024, 3:21pm

Thank you @Cooper I appreciate that!

So where I live it can vary depending on the season. Right now the temps are roughly between 75-85°F during the summer months which also helps bump up the humidity. My grow tent is in a basement where it never really exceeds 71-72°F

Inside the tent temps are running between 79-81°F during lights on… so what I did was install those storage coolers to act as DIY chillers. I’m popping 2-3 large 1.5 L or higher bottles with frozen water in them to help regulate the temps in the res buckets. This method warrants me like 2-3 days before I need to replace the bottles. The mylar insulation wrap also repels light/heat to help with prolonging the cooler temps

It’s a work in progress until I get a better method, as well as saves me from buying a $100+ dollar chiller

StonedCold13 · August 27, 2024, 3:21pm

Adding a chiller has been on my wishlist for many years

Cooper · August 27, 2024, 3:34pm

My chiller was $430 & it is barely big enough for my 50 plus gallons of water. Its supposed to be for up to 40 gallons. Lol next biggest one was over $640. Couldn’t do it. My average temp is 109*, next week 110* average. Hopefully summer will go away soon.

MP_Grow · August 27, 2024, 3:42pm

Yeah that’s insane. I’m just gonna keep it simple with res buckets and ice coolers

Cooper · August 27, 2024, 7:04pm

Agreed. Next year i think I will build a separate lung room with its own ac system or possibly skip the summer grow altogether if i have enough supply. Heat is a bitch to overcome. Usually dry heat, but this time of year high humidity too. It’ll take years for me to break even

Alien_Shore · August 27, 2024, 7:37pm

Along for the ride - looks like it’s gonna be a good run!

MadamCalamity · August 27, 2024, 11:12pm

Sweet! Set to watch!

FUKAZ28 · August 28, 2024, 1:29am

Setup is killer. Im along for the ride for sure.

MP_Grow · August 28, 2024, 2:41pm

@Alien_Shore, @MadamCalamity, & @FUKAZ28 -

Welcome back! I sure hope it’s a good one. I’m going in green here with the hydro

MP_Grow · August 28, 2024, 5:49pm

[Germination]
2024-08-15T04:00:00Z→2024-08-22T04:00:00Z

SPOILER ALERT - This has by far been the most daunting germination experience I’ve dealt with since growing cannabis. First two grows I had 100% germination. This grow nearly 60% of my pack of Strawberry Cough seeds were duds whether it was performed in a rapid rooter or a glass of water. This pretty much set me back weeks

For one of the two seeds that actually did germinate, my initial attempt to start hydro had a disastrous start. I placed the rooter near the top of the net pot so that the sprout was above the rim, which left me with a lot of hydroton between the bottom of the roots and the water. I filled water up through the hydroton and think I did it too high to the point where the rooter got drenched. There was a ton of algae buildup and ultimately rotted out the roots

Rather than bore you with my trials and tribulations, I’ll just pick up where things went successfully

Given I only had one SC seed left, I opted to mix up this grow. The two strains I will be growing are listed below:

Strawberry Cough (80% sativa, 20% indica) = Strawberry Cough Feminized Cannabis Seeds
NYC Diesel (60% sativa, 40% indica) = NYC Diesel Feminized Seeds For Sale - ILGM

For this germination attempt, I ended up starting the seeds in a cup of water. Both germinated within 48 hours. After that I dunked a couple rapid rooters in some water pH balanced to 5.8 and mixed with a splash of peroxide. Stuck the seed in with the taproot facing down and ripped off a piece of the rooter to place on top. Placed the tray in middle of the tent and sprayed some water & peroxide mix on top of the tray lid. Also to not restrict any root growth, I completely cut out the bottoms of the squares I selected to place my rooters in for my tray

As the week transpired, I observed both sprouts appearing on top as well as saw the root growth appearing underneath in only a couple days. Due to my previous mishap, I opted to let the seed continue growing in the tray for about 7 days. During that timeframe, I opted to do the following:

Tested the aerators to ensure water was being oxygenated
Installed tent corner trays to place aerators on top of
Created veg juice (I’ll cover that in another post)

When time came to transplant the rooters, I filled the water buckets about 75% up to where I saw the bubbles popping right below the net pots. I took a few mason jars full of hydroton and opted to both hand wash them with warm water, and also boiled them in a pot mixed with peroxide and rubbing alcohol for roughly 30 minutes on top of the stove. Med-high was enough to see it bubbling on top, and once done I drained the water and added some hydroton to the net pots.

Once done, I added small layers up to the point where I no longer saw any water bubbles popping and getting the hydroton wet. At which point I placed the sprouts in and began filling in hydroton around the rooter until it was completely buried. The sprouts were high enough out that it could still absorb light, but the main goal was to ensure that the rooter was fully buried to prevent another algae outbreak. I also took the tray cover that I used originally, and placed them over each net pot opening to create a humidity dome so that I could maintain at least an 80% RH level for the first couple of weeks

Lastly, I added my nutes to the res buckets. My initial PPM for my tap water is around 75. So I added my nutes as follows:

100 PPMs worth of CalMag
50 PPMs worth of Veg Juice
3 pinches of Epsom Salt (Around 1 per gallon of water used)
pH balanced the res water to 5.8
Final PPM in each res = 295

And with that.... week 1 begins! Stay tuned!!!

StonedCold13 · August 28, 2024, 6:03pm

Gonna be a nice start with those roots a poppin

OGIncognito · August 28, 2024, 8:07pm

Looking good Growmie

MP_Grow · August 28, 2024, 9:33pm

Thanks Grow-Bro!

MP_Grow · August 28, 2024, 9:33pm

Sure hope so!

MP_Grow · August 29, 2024, 3:05pm

Veg Week 1
2024-08-22T04:00:00Z→2024-08-28T04:00:00Z

What an interesting first week of growing in hydroponic DWC. There is definitely a learning curve to managing this, but nonetheless it's how you learn right? The tent light schedule has been adjusted in a way which I feel better suits both my needs, as well as my plants. Starting last week, I set my tent parameters as follows:

SF Lights at 50% to reach 250 PPFD (24 inches up)
Lights Off: 10:00am EST
Lights On: 4:00pm EST

The lights coming on at 4:00pm EST works best for a couple reasons. Summer time here the temps can get pretty high up. Even in a basement they jumped up to around 73-74 which translates to my tent reading at around the low-mid 80s when the lights are on. With the lights off in the peak hours of the day where the temps are up, and then having them on in the evening/night, seems to keep the tent temps balanced between 78-81°F for the duration of the day. Of course, I'm expecting this to change as I increase the PPFD, but for now this will suffice

The pH stayed pretty steady at around 5.8, and the PPMs only dropped slightly which I am guessing is due to the roots not yet hitting the res water. Saw fluctuations maybe go 15-20 at most, but am hoping that changes as the roots develop and drive towards reaching the water

On Day 4, the NYC Diesel (Plant 2) finally had a breakthrough with a couple roots. The Strawberry Cough (Plant 1) still has no roots showing even at weeks end. Patience will be a virtue here I suppose but the plant looks healthy so I’m not too worried overall

However… as exciting as that was, the following morning I observed a brown slimy substance forming on the roots on Plant 2 which I am assuming was some type of algae. Couple theories came to mind as to the root cause for that (No pun intended )

Water was too high in the res and hit the hydroton
Hydroton was not filled up high enough to cover side holes on basket
Possible foreign pathogen got in the tent

This substance appeared to slowly stunt the plant a little bit. I opted to do a res swap and kept the formula the same as I did before starting this project (See Germination update), and also gently rinsed off the roots to clear the brown slime from them before putting them in the res. Also prepped some more hydroton and added it to the net pots to fully cover the open holes in the net pot to hopefully prevent this from occurring again. Also gave the humidifier a deep cleaning to ensure nothing in there was causing the problem

The following morning the plant looked to recover and had leaves praying up towards the light again, and a couple days since I have not seen any recurrences. But now it makes me wonder if perhaps I should start adding Hydroguard instead of peroxide to the res water. If it recurs, then I’ll improvise

I’m getting the impression that there will be countless other obstacles out the gate that I will need to figure out for this… but for now with the roots continuing to develop, I am overall seeing steady growth on both plants and will work to bump up the PPFD and PPMs on 8/29/24 when I enter Week 2

Until next time folks..... Stay tuned!!!

Day 1