RacerX back at it again with Recirc DWC

Been some days since I was last year; months. Very busy to say the least. But I do have some stuff setup again. I started originally with 18 buckets a year ago, then to 12, now to 6. More plants does not always mean more yield. These will be trees. Vegged about 7 weeks (they are 3 weeks old now). Grapefruit, good genetics. No topping, no LST. Just some trimming of the inside canopy that doesnt get light.

IGS environment controller, 600 watt digital ballasts, no air cooling, 10,000 BTU Air Conditioner, CO2 supplementation (I match CO2ppm with nutrient ppm). Recirculating Deep Water Culture (DWC) hydro system with 40 gallon reservoir, 5.5" netpots, airstone in each bucket, and 35 watt large air pump (shit bubbles like fucking mad). The 3/4" water chiller is absolutely essential for this type of system, she keeps things at a perfect 68F even if its 85 degrees inside the room.

This will be my 5th grow on this system and its steadily got better and better. I expect to get the same yield results as last time, but with larger buds and far less plants. I would gladly sacrifice a little yield in order to further make things easy and simple.

Temps are 76-77F in the middle/end of the day, 65F in the night. Stays about 70-72F until the later afternoon. Right now I am only using 1 HPS 600 watt and 3 dual bulb T5 HO fluros. This keeps growth tight and stable and also helps the smaller plants catch up. I want equal sized plants and I tend to find that HPS can cause such fast growth that any differences may not be equaled.

I use only Grow, Micro, Bloom along with Hygrozyme as an additive. Hygrozyme is absolutely wonderful, helps break down nutrients even further for easier uptake, keeps pathogens out and roots clean. I am at about 750-800ppm. I am going slow. I plan on never passing 1200 this time, both with CO2 and nutrients. I usually tend to max everything out, but I'd like to try less this time. Again they are about 3 weeks old. The HPS was added last week. There is no air cooling, simply bulb hanging down there. Oscillating fans distribute the heat and air. I expect over 3 pounds from this room. In the end, there will be 4 600s before flowering goes into effect. The is lots of room to spread the buckets out, and slack in the lines has been left.

The last pic above is my mother closet. Purple Kush. Now here are pics taken a few days ago.

Looks great,

I will be watching this thread to see your progress.

One thing I want to point out. You basically stated "I am getting the same yeild as growing 18 buckets". Well you increased growing time by 3 weeks. This is an increase in electrical costs, time between harvests plus other minor costs that go with growing. All this is cutting into your bottom line.

Please don't take my critisizm negatively, I think it is great how you have taken growing to an art and wish to share it with others.

Looking forward to future posts keep`em coming.

Very nice, I will definitely be following this.

glad to see you back again

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jerry Garcia 2007

Looks great,

I will be watching this thread to see your progress.

One thing I want to point out. You basically stated "I am getting the same yeild as growing 18 buckets". Well you increased growing time by 3 weeks. This is an increase in electrical costs, time between harvests plus other minor costs that go with growing. All this is cutting into your bottom line.

Please don't take my critisizm negatively, I think it is great how you have taken growing to an art and wish to share it with others.

Looking forward to future posts keep`em coming.

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The bottom line is that I dont do this for profit. I am a medical patient. I enjoy the hobby immensely and have fellow patients who benefit from it. For me, ease is more important then saving some money on electrical costs.

This way that I grow, I use T5 lights for the first 3 weeks. I dont do the larger digital lamps until I am into flowering or almost there, which keeps costs down as well since its 12/12 then. Right now, my power bill is low. The A/C does not have to run much, and the water chiller is only about 450 watts. Its a very small price to pay, in order to have everything simpler and easier, with less chance of pests or mildew due to poor circulation or anything of that nature.

1 or 2 weeks is not much to me. For quick stuff, I would rather stick to tables or soil SOG. Recirc DWC I tend to veg way out and I can get 1/2 lb per plant. This time I hope for more.

That's a very tidy and CLEAN grow room! You set a great example.
The grapefruit- is that 'real' grapefruit or a Sweet Tooth type variety?
Your setup and plants both look wonderful.
It's nice to see you back.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

That's a very tidy and CLEAN grow room! You set a great example.
The grapefruit- is that 'real' grapefruit or a Sweet Tooth type variety?
Your setup and plants both look wonderful.
It's nice to see you back.

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According to the grower, it is "real" grapefruit and supposedly he knows the lineage for quite awhile. Personally, I have seen a few different phenos of Grapefruit and I would have been satisfied by any of them. The guy has a good reputation as well, and has an out of this world Sour Diesel some friends have been tossing around for awhile.

I am excited about the purple kush. The 2 clones had a rough beginning, as they didnt have a home until I got ahold of them. Put them into a rubbermaid, but pH issues and me not being home left them struggling. Finally got it under control. I will use these for a small SOG. Id like to see the product first hand before I invest a lot into the strain. However, from what I have seen, it is a light eater and I like its growth structure.

Good to see you back racer. I still have your #, still wanna hang sometime man? Always good to hang with locals and chat it up and exchange ideas.

Any updates Racer?

I fell in love with your grow and want to see how things are going! Flowering should be starting in the next week or two, right?