That Guy's 400 Watt Hindu Kush x White Widow SOG

[that guy]

So coco isn't really hydro, but it sure ain't soil! So here I am.

I've recently harvested my first indoor grow. I originally started ID to clone for my swamp grow, but once I realized that I was but a light bulb and some nutes away from an ID harvest, I went for it!

I started with 19 plants back in Feb, 3 of which didn't start well, so they got the ax early on. By the time I had them sexed in the beginning of May, I had 7 females. 2 Hindu Kush x White Widow, and 5 bagseed.

I cloned from one of the HKxWW, and 4 of the bagseed. One of the HKxWW clones I grew into a mother plant under a 125 watt CFL, along with a bagseed clone just in case I didn't get a good survival rate from the HKxWW.

However, out of 19 clones I took, 18 survived. One is going to a buddy is putting it outside, and is going to bring it (the actual, living plant!) to a festival we go to in Oct, and the other 17 will get flowered.

They have currently been vegging for almost 3 weeks, and 13 are good and big. 5 are runts, and I haven't even transplanted them from 18 oz keg cups into the 6" square pots I will flower them in.

My woman has also been taking care of 2 plants that are about to finally be flowered. One HKxWW, and an Afghani.

So here's what things look like.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=94

[that guy]

I am growing in a 60/40 coco/perlite mix, with some GH rare earth mixed in.

I'm currently using the GH 3 part nutes, along with Floralicious Grow, Hygrozyme, Flora Nectar ( a sugar, malt extract, and molasses product, with added potash), a couple of drops of superthrive, and 15 ml of hydrogen peroxide per gallon.

My temps are currently a little high during the day, but I'm in an attic that has no window, so what can you do? I'm sure it will get better once I go to 12/12, since I'm going to keep the lights off during the heat of the day.

Any questions, feel free to ask. I want to be as informative as possible.

All the best,
TG

[CB]

hoi fellow attic grower :D will be about


AC works the wonder in the summer;)

grow on

[CylonBud]

Those plants look like their doing real good in that mix of yours that guy. :D
Grow on! :cool:

[CezarCronic]

Guy looking awesome dude , I'm very interest in that type of grow man , i can only have a set for Hydro maybe 4 to 6 buckets but no more... is to hard to cool water so i can probably deal with a small set.

But i think i like to keep the Hydro style with coco and perlite using Nutes every time i water .


Be checking this one bro best of luck my friend :D

[larfin1]

My temps are currently a little high during the day, but I'm in an attic that has no window, so what can you do? I'm sure it will get better once I go to 12/12, since I'm going to keep the lights off during the heat of the day.

TG


Looking good that guy. ;)
Re hot temperatures, any chance you could duct in some cooler air from another part of the house?

[tripps]

Yeah, small AC units are only $100 now, I got caught short this year when my grow ran longer than anticipated, I will have one installed before I start my next one.

[that guy]

I so wish I could put an AC up there, but there's no window that leads outside. I've got this room that's only accessible from a window, and there's a small window that goes outside on the other side of the room. I already vent out that way, so there's no way I can get an AC in there. I want to get a portable AC, but I don't have $400 for one.

I have a 14" fan at the bottom of the stairs blowing my AC'd air from downstairs up. I'm pretty sure that everything will be fine once the lights aren't on during the day.

[that guy]

Thank you all.

Cezar, water temp is unnecessary with coco. No air, no cooler:D It's definitely an easy medium! I'd recommend it to anyone who wants hydro yield without hydro headaches ( watering frequency-you have a pretty large window with coco; air-it helps a lot, but it's definitely not necessary; water temps-once again, I'd imagine that they'd do better with a cooler, but not necessary ), and a neutral pH, unlike peat moss.

So I realized that the title of this thread is kind of a lie now. I'm actually doing a 525W SOG, since I bought a 2700K 125 W CFL.

[that guy]

And now I just realized that I never posted the other pics I had!

Here they are.

This is a closer shot.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=96

Here's that girl's Afghani on the left, and her HKxWW on the right.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=97

And here's a closer shot of her HKxWW.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=98



Also wanted to add that I just started using GH diamond nectar (fulvic acid, 0-1-1).

All the best,
TG

[that guy]

P.S- Those 125 W 6500K CFL's, hung vertically, are perfect for growing bonsai mother plants!

[that guy]

OK, so I have been slacking hardcore on updating.

Everything went into 12/12 on Sun evening. I now have 17 HKxWW clones, 1 HKxWW from seed, and 1 Afghani that has what's starting to look a lot like balls.

So I may be down a plant.

So here's how things look now.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=155
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=160

A closeup of one of the runty plants. You can also see my irrigation tubing and emitter hose in the pic. That system was a lot of fun to design, build, and then see work!
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=157

You can see the irrigation system better here.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=158
A closeup of one of the larger plants. Only 9 inches tall, but look at how many tops it has!!! Sorry about the glare, too bright.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=159

All the best,
TG

[CezarCronic]

Looking sweet my friend they are packing very nice and leaves are very healthy and green :cool:, the house is rocking now bro :mosh:

[Mr Burns]

Very nice colour green and well used space TG 2thumbs

[that guy]

Thanks, Cezar. We'll start seeing buds soon!

Burnsy, looks like I know what I'm doing, huh? I can't even begin to describe how happy I am with how the space is looking!

So the Afghani turned out to be a boy, so it's out of the closet, while I try and talk a friend who's just about to get into growing into flowering it for me so I can collect some of the pollen.

I'll hit a couple of my plants OD with it. Down low, where the popcorn nugs will be. Try the paintbrush method, to keep the pollen where I want it, and nowhere else.

All the best,
TG

[Foxy]

Looking great TG. 2thumbs

I like the idea of the vertical bulb. ;)

[larfin1]

P.S- Those 125 W 6500K CFL's, hung vertically, are perfect for growing bonsai mother plants!

Lol so i guess my using one in a fridge could be called overkill :eek:

[CylonBud]

P.S- Those 125 W 6500K CFL's, hung vertically, are perfect for growing bonsai mother plants!

Lol so i guess my using one in a fridge could be called overkill :eek:

I'd say not. I've done the same myself with great results!:D

[that guy]

Yeah, I gotta agree with cyclon. I've seen people hook up 250 HPS in fridges. Granted, they cut holes for intake and ducting, but as long as you cool it, fridges can take the heat and have enough room for the light.

Thanks, Foxy. I tried it because I believe that CFL's lose too much light when used with a reflector. Not to mention the fact that CFL's give off their light across the entire bulb.

Combine those things with the fact that CFL's can be placed within 3 inches of plants, and they're the perfect candidate for vertical grows!

I didn't even have to try to get the plants to bush out. All I did was FIM it, and the light did the rest! It penetrates the side of the plant so well, it just wants to side branch.

All the best,
TG

[larfin1]

Thats great info guys .i was referring to the light being a little over the top for a fridge. I am relatively new at this indoor stuff , after many years of outdooring, so its a bit of trial and error for me at the moment.
I actually am using a reflector at the momemnt with my CFL but now am considering changing that to a vertical/no reflector system.


cheers.

[that guy]

I'd go for the vert setup. IMHO, what with the law of diminishing return (with light), and the fact that CFL's emit their lumens across the entire surface of the bulb, a reflector loses too much light.

What I mean is that if the light has to leave the bulb, reach the reflector, and then go down to the plant, the distance the light travels can be up to doubled.

So I think CFL's are great vertically, but not so great with reflectors.

All the best,
TG

[CylonBud]

They make parabolic reflectors for using lights in vertical setups. :D

[larfin1]

I'd go for the vert setup. IMHO, what with the law of diminishing return (with light), and the fact that CFL's emit their lumens across the entire surface of the bulb, a reflector loses too much light.

What I mean is that if the light has to leave the bulb, reach the reflector, and then go down to the plant, the distance the light travels can be up to doubled.

So I think CFL's are great vertically, but not so great with reflectors.

All the best,
TG

Thanks for your input, yes i agree vertically would give the most efficient light transfer and i will be changing soon..
I am amzed at how efficient these globes are. Growth has boomed since switching over from the old 2 ft tubes.

[Cranky]

its swings n roundabouts if yas asks me when it comes to hanging them horizontal or vertical...hanging them vertically wont cover as much of an area unless ya can cover all sides of the plant which means more bulbs.

just my 2 bobs worth

cranks

[Mr Burns]

I'm up for trying parabolics with HPS. From what I've read, parabolic shades went out of fashion because the early HID lamps used solder with a high lead content which melted due to the uprising heat from the lamp. Since lamps have been made with lead free solder the heat hasn't been an issue.
I see it as a bad egg will always be labelled as rotten with parabolics because of early HID lamps, IMO. Had my build not cost so much I'd have gone with em 100% but I never had enough left in the kitty for such expense.
I really would switch to parabolics if the money was in my hand. It'd probably be my No1 change of choice with my grow room.
As far as I've read they're very popular with Australians although I'm not saying that Ozzies know what's best, I think its more to the fact that parabolics caught on their later, when the lead free solder came through.

[CylonBud]

I'm up for trying parabolics with HPS. From what I've read, parabolic shades went out of fashion because the early HID lamps used solder with a high lead content which melted due to the uprising heat from the lamp. Since lamps have been made with lead free solder the heat hasn't been an issue.
I see it as a bad egg will always be labelled as rotten with parabolics because of early HID lamps, IMO. Had my build not cost so much I'd have gone with em 100% but I never had enough left in the kitty for such expense.
I really would switch to parabolics if the money was in my hand. It'd probably be my No1 change of choice with my grow room.
As far as I've read they're very popular with Australians although I'm not saying that Ozzies know what's best, I think its more to the fact that parabolics caught on their later, when the lead free solder came through.

The local hydro shop here had a few set up and I was impressed. They use a larger area for the reflector (Like an umbrella) though. :D

[Mr Burns]

The local hydro shop here had a few set up and I was impressed. They use a larger area for the reflector (Like an umbrella) though. :D
I agree Cylon but 600W HIDs are quoted as good for a meter square area, or sometimes quoted as 1.2 metre square.
Seeing how the parabolics are normally a metre square I thought them perfect for 600 lamps.

The advantage of getting them down lower to the plant seeing how the lamp is vertical, and the parabolics needing no shade adjustment like bat wing reflectors or adjusta-wings (which I use) I'm quite sold on the idea.

[that guy]

From my understanding parabolic reflectors are excellent for even light distribution. I've heard some hoods can create hot spots.

I don't have the room to use one right now, and I like the idea of air-cooled hoods. So I think I'll end up with one of those in the future.

Cranky, I agree insofar as HID's go, but I have to disagree in respect to CFL's. I've never flowered under one, but as far as veg is concerned, I just rotated the plant 90 degrees every day, and that promoted some serious side branching(not to mention the topping).

I'd imagine it'd be the same way in flower.

[that guy]

Forgot to add, I'm already almost out of headroom, so I bought this product called bushmaster that's supposed to stop stretching.

You can put it in the res, and are only supposed to leave it there for a maximum of 3 days. It's been in there for 24 hrs now, and I'll leave it in 'till tomorrow night.

I believe that they've already slowed the stretch, but I'll have to wait and see how well it works. I'll keep you guys informed!

All the best,
TG

[that guy]

OK,so time for some pics. I'd have done this yesterday, but I came down with a 24 hr bug. I got sick in about an hour. My head was pounding, and every joint in my body ached. To make it worse, I was just starting the walk up to my swamp! Torture, let me tell you.

So these were taken on Sat night, which was day 14 of 12/12.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=193
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=194

The bushmaster stopped the stretch after about another 3 inches. I was pretty impressed!

The plant from seed, interestingly enough, wasn't stretching anywhere near as much, which I attribute to the CFL. You can see in this pic the light is much more blue.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=195

And a couple of closeups.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=191
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=192

I'm about to go take a few more, to show how fast they are putting on size.

All the best,
TG

[CezarCronic]

looks very good man , they are getting nice and pack :D , hope you get better from that cold man ;)

[that guy]

Thanks, Cezar, I feel better already.

So I went upstairs and realized that I have a problem. It's one or more of the following.

I went up from 2 to 3 waterings a day about a week and a half ago.

I've spend up my rate of increasing the nutes compared to my last grow.

The pH has been fluctuating, up for the first couple of days after filling it, then down after that. I've needed to change it at least every other watering. When I went up there, I could see what you're about to, as well as the pH was at 5.5, and I haven't changed it since the 2nd watering last night. So it got 2 waterings without being checked, and who knows what it was at this morning.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=197
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=198
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=199
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=200
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=201

So I mixed up some new water with no P-K booster and a little less epsom salt than usual, added some, pH'ed it, and after one last mid-day watering at the proper pH, I'm going back down to 2 times a day and see what happens.

Still, good growth since the last time I looked last night after I awoke in the middle of the night.

All the best,
TG

[Foxy]

Doesn't look like there's anything wrong to me fella. :shrug:

Lovely even canopy and good colouring. 2thumbs

[that guy]

Well, I didn't take pics of the lower leaves, which showed signs of what looked like Cal and Mag deficiencies.

I know the GH 3 part has too little Mag, but the flora nectar and the KB dry have Mag and Sulfur, so I figured maybe I needed a little less epsom salt.

Sure hope you're right! If so , then I can go back to normal real soon!

All the best,
TG

[that guy]

Do you think the 5.5, which is AT LEAST .3 too low for coco, could be the culprit?

I just can't pick one, as they all can lead to deficiency symptoms :(

[CezarCronic]

Guy i think 5.5 is a bit low man , maybe 5.7 to 5.8 be a good number, are you using P/K booster , yellowing could also be potassium def , still i think they look good man :)

[that guy]

Yes, Cezar, I'm using a product called kool bloom, 2-45-28.

If anything, I'd think it would be toxicity related nutrient lockout. I'm giving them the nutes at week 2 that I gave them on week 3 last harvest. I think it was possibly too much too soon.

I've read that coco likes it's pH at 6 or so, and it was doing damn good at that!

I thought my pH going down may be caused by anaerobic bacteria (ones that live without oxygen), so I bought an air pump and a couple of airstones. Hopefully the aeration will help!

I've done everything I can, and I have faith that I've covered all my bases( still got my fingers crossed, though! Amazing how superstitious I've gotten since I've started growing!!!LOL)

All the best,
TG

[that guy]

I think the problem actually was a K toxicity due to my consantly having to add pH up, which was potassium carbonate & silicate.

With the air pump and airstones, though, it's been stable for 24 hrs since I drained and refilled it!

All the best,
TG

[CezarCronic]

Great to hear you got everything under control dude:D , remember you must flush the plants went you feat them hard , maybe every 20 days or 2 flush in 12-12 period , salts build up and pH drops in your medium , this cause nutes lockout ;)

Great job man keep rocking :rockon:

C.C.:peace:

[Foxy]

I think the problem actually was a K toxicity due to my consantly having to add pH up, which was potassium carbonate & silicate.

Nice spot. ;) Similar problem to what San and I have suffered but ours was from overloading P. :mad:

I use just Silicon as my pH up matey, dunno if you could too?

[that guy]

Cezar, my irrigation system runs for 15 minutes, so I'm only doing a mid-way flush, and a final flush. There's way more runoff than the plants actually get watered. I wanted a timer capable of programmable runtimes, but DAMN they're expensive!

I also just flushed them after the bushmaster was used, so I doubt salt build-up was the problem. Thanks, though.

Foxy, what product do you use? I never thought about how the potassium silicate could add silica to the plants until it was just pointed out to me recently. Now you tell me there's something even better? What product do you use?

All the best,
TG

[tripps]

I like pro tekt, has some K, but lotta silicon.

http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/msds/Pro-Tekt_DataSheet.pdf

[Foxy]

Foxy, what product do you use?

I currently use Growth Technology's Liquid Silicon, but I'm not sure if you can get their products... Before that I used Hydrogarden's Budlink (I think you can get Hydrogarden stuff?) and I only swapped because Liquid Silicon was cheaper. ;)

If my base water wasn't so bad I would use Silicon every single grow, it's benefits can be clearly seen, felt and weighed. For me though, I have to add so much pH down just to get my "normal nutes" res into a usable range that adding Silicon would mean too much pH down was then needed. SO now I just use it as a pH up.

Hope that helps Fella. 2thumbs

[that guy]

What is the pH of your tap water???

[Foxy]

What is the pH of your tap water???

Mine?

Ranges between 7.7 and 8.0. EC ranges from 0.7 and 0.9

[that guy]

WOW!!! My city water runs about 5.5-6, don't know EC, don't have a meter, but the water quality report only said about 60 PPM. I was shocked, because I have to add pH UP after I add my nutes. pH DOWN sounded crazy to me. But now it makes perfect sense!

Tripps, I've heard of a lot of people using pro-tekt with the GH 3 part. I'm already using GH Rare Earth, which has silicon, as well as the pH up. So I think I've got enough silicon.

All the best,
TG

[Kiwi]

Nice little coco SOG there Guy never had a running hydro system that can use the stuff, bit thick for a bubbler !

Love the pic of the carpet of green :drool:

Must check out that swamp grow....... :gthumb:

~Kiwi~

[CezarCronic]

Up date My friend ??? Hope Everything is OK :) Peace dude :peace:

[CylonBud]

We wait with baited breath that guy. :watch:

[that guy]

Sorry all, I've been a busy man lately, and haven't had time to post in all the forums I'm in. Things are looking good, and the dark green is lightening.

I'll be back with the updates later today. Gonna upload them now, and update after I wake up.

All the best,
TG

[that guy]

OK, so the update. I'm on week 6 now, and even though it's not the prettiest looking, it's still growing, so I'm a happy man!
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=284
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=287
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=288
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=283
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=282
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=285
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13&pictureid=286

All the best,
TG

[CylonBud]

Buds are looking good that guy! Keep growing. :D

[majestyk5]

looks like nice tight buds bro. and thats pretty
good growing

[Foxy]

I agree with my chums above, I think it looks great. 2thumbs

I love the purple ambience too. ;)

[CezarCronic]

Guy looking so good man:cool: , can see very well the improvement in your skills bro ;) Very glad for ya man , you really pulling it out big time :D

:peace:

[CB]

thx for the update bro:)

good grow'n..... time to bring them on home now:D

grow on

[that guy]

Thanks, guys!

Majesty, they are very dense! I'm happier than a pig in shit!

All the best,
TG

[CezarCronic]

Thanks, guys!

I'm happier than a pig in shit!

TG

:rotf:

[that guy]

Sorry I've disappeared again! Been a busy man, and hope to be able to get my updates up real soon!

Things are maturing more quickly than my last harvest. Almost all the pistils have already died back, and that's only on week 7!!! So I think I'm only going 8 weeks, instead of the 8 1/2 that I had planned.

All the best,
TG