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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
11/8/09 Update - Veg Room
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Before transplant & relocation
In the Vegetation Room: The second major event was the transplanting of mother clones into the dutch bucket system just put into the veg room. There are some other left over mother clone cuttings standing by should anything go wrong with these clones. The Mother Dutch Bucket System was fed with Hygrozyme, Cal-Mag+ and regular Vegetative growth formula - I hope it isn't too strong, but I'm treating the clones as if they are the age of the plants they were taken from, as they are not seedlings. The strongest specimens of each strain/sub-strain were taken and put into the dutch buckets from the seedling trays where they sat in rockwool on perlite. The dutch bucket mothers are: C99 'grapefruit', C99 'pineapple', C99 X BB 'bravo', Sugar Blossoms, Blueberry, and C99 X A11.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...E_4AFF2944&jpg
The permanent mother system
The flower unit still in the veg room holds all plants that were cloned as possible mothers for Apollo 11, Blue Apollo & Sugar Berry. They were either very alike, equal in quality & I'm waiting to see how they flower before choosing a mother or I haven't decided which qualities I would find more desirable in that strain for a mother ie. a shorter, thinner bushier plant or a taller, stronger one for example. This unit was also changed and given the Hygrozyme, Cal-Mag+ and General Hydroponics Vegetative Growth formula.
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Last flower Unit left in the veg room
The only plant not added to the Dutch Bucket Mother System was C99 x BB 'echo' because the cutting had not rooted yet. I recut the cutting, split it down the middle & put it back into the aerocloner. Hopefully I can stimulate it to root again - it does have white root bumps. If it doesn't work out, I'm very happy having only C99 X BB 'bravo' which looks like a true cross between C99 and Blueberry vs 'echo' which is a big, strong plant with lots of bud sites, but looks as if it inherited more C99 than Blueberry as it looks very similar to the C99 X A11 mother. I'll try my best to preserve C99 X BB 'echo's genetics as much as I can, I'd even go so far as to try to re-veg the plant if it came down to it as my focus now is genetics - not this particular harvest. This harvest is a nice bonus & informational. Main goal is the perpetual system.
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Veg Room after changes as it is now
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
11/8/09 Update - Unit 2 Pics: C99 X BB 'bravo', C99 x BB 'echo', C99 x A11
As a first time grower, I'm in awe of the beauty and the thrill of the plants coming into bloom so I'm sure these pictures are quite redundant in some ways - but not totally useless at all. Here you can really get a sense of the different phenotypes & characters of the strains I got going here.
Just a note about what you're looking at with the Group 2 pictures: I took a lot of shots of them as they are the most accessible but if you want a layout - those spinachy stalks in the left hand back are C99 X BB 'bravo' - directly in front of that and leaning over towards Group 1 is C99 X BB 'echo' who looks very much like the plant that really dominates the whole of Group 2 which is my C99 x A11 'alpha' - when you look from left and even across the center into the Blueberry crosses territory - that canopy, those branches are all being flung out largely by that one plant. This is observable in all pictures taken head on of Unit 2, so you can go back to those pictures to see what I mean and where certain plants are.
C99 x BB 'bravo'
This particular plant from this strain, to me, shows the more indica, blueberry, genes of the two (bravo & echo) Notice her dark greenery & the leafy abundance around her buds (hash, ahoy!) ow, he's beautiful (I know this plant's a 'he' despite being technically female - & he's definitely the more macho of the two. 'Bravo's unique looking.
Here is 'bravo':
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Bud cluster
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Three stalks of 'bravo'
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Leaves & Buds
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Stalk & flower cluster, notice the abundance of dark leaves
C99 X BB 'echo'
This specimen of the Cinderella Blueberry cross is so similar looking to my C99 Apollo 11 cross, I'd have thought I accidentally mislabeled the strain (I know I didn't, I was very careful) He's big & branchy, though not as large as his brother 'bravo' I don't think. He also has many bud sites, more than his brother I think. He responded well to training via breaking & redirecting growth, so he's strong. He tends towards the more C99/sativa side of the family it seems. He's a fine plant & I am working hard to preserve a clone of him, initially taken on somewhat of a lark, it may prove too similar to C99 X A11or not enough of a yielder compared to 'bravo' to be worth keeping if I can revive it at all, we shall see.
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Some echo branches
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Looking down a long stalk of echo
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Echo bud close-up
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Echo view from the top down
C99 X A11 'alpha'
What can I say about this plant that the pictures don't? She's a veritable monster, she takes up 75% of the unit space & has multiple bud sites. Cannot wait to see what happens with this one, she's all arms, it's true what Joey Weed said, she looks like she'd be great for SCROG. I love the prettiness of it all, I have a ton of picture of her.
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C99 X A11 Canopy tied
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She's a huge plant
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Close-up of bud frond
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Bud & greenery jungle
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
11/15/09 Update
Beginning of fifth week of flower for Groups 1 & 2
Beginning of second week of flower for Flower Unit 3
Beginning of the first Week of Flower for Flower Unit 4
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Before Unit 4 was added
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Flower Room After Unit Four Added
Major changes this week:
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Flower Unit 4
The last flower unit has been transferred into the flower room. This is the unit that contains the last three strains to be cut & chosen - Blue Apollo, Apollo 11 & Sugar Berry. Extra cuttings for back up mothers were taken (2 from each plant) before hand.
Another major change - I've decided to add FloraShield as a mainstay in all reservoir - those yellow leaves got me worried. It's like H2O2. In Groups 1 & 2 I drained the reservoir and ran FloraShield & water at the recommended dilution (changed & cleaned all the part of the 2 systems) for the recommended time (1-2 hours, I did a little over 2) Just incase I am dealing with a case of root rot. The plants in the dutch buckets are quite root bound which has caused drainage problems & overflow & I've mentioned the unwashed Hydroton before, I just don't see why I'd take the chance especially as I observed yellowing leaves starting on my second unit - that's what did it for me. I can't have this spread around the whole room. The only thing I sacrifice is the beneficial bacteria/organisms & I guess if they had established themselves, I wouldn't be having this problem, so my choice was clear.
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Unit 2
As there isn't much to tell now, I'm mostly looking toward the future. My worries are so far: when to add the Dry KoolBloom (Ripen)? Shall I do it for 3 weeks prior to harvest? 2 or only 1? I hear that stressing w/products like that can cause hermaphrodites, but vastly increase bud size so I'll do a little experimenting. As I'm using the aggressive bloom strength formula, might as well go the whole 9.
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Units 1 & 3
Another worry is circulation, budrot. I'm thinking of adding several fans & really blow those plants around - humidity has been good, 47% last I checked. But, The vegetation is dense & the plant are stacked on top of each other. I've ordered more fans to mount on the walls just to rattle each leaf & stalk. I've also cut the lower third
side stems & leaves off of the plants in units 3 & 4.
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Units 2 & 4
I've taken readings with my Lux meter above the canopies of all my flower units - they range at the darkest points 50,000 Lux - to the brightest being 600,000 Lux. I plan on addressing the issue of the plants getting the lesser amount of light by adding perhaps an LED over them as it worked for my Flower Unit 3. It doesn't jump the Lux reading - LEDs give lower readings, but due to their more specific spectrum, give more useable light with the added benefit of using blue light to keep the stretch down.
One observation - the plants in Groups 1 & 2 are low odor strains, but are finally starting to show odor now if you go up to them - they smell sweet. Some smell like candy, I put that up to the Pineapple!Rush FloraNectar sweetener I'm using, just my guess.
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Trichomes
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Got some close up pics of trichomes to show everyone just for laughs - took them with the Eyeclops. Most are at 200X magnification and a few are 400X. I took a little bud off C99 X A11 for observation (which was dutifully chopped, dried and smoked by those who shall remain nameless - they got all happy, giggly & chatty, proclaiming it "definitely good shit" - happily when questioned they confirmed hat the seedmakers said it would do - a head/psychedelic high with euphoria but also a decent light body high, it's more than I expected given the small quantity, early harvest & knowledge of their smoking habits, so hooray!)
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All comments and observation are welcome & wanted as I'm totally new to reading trichomes. As it is 5 weeks, I'm reading them as all clear. Perhaps someone with more experience can let me know if I'm right. I'm using UVB and I know that often accelerates trich maturation & degradation, so perhaps the trichs really are part cloudy.
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When taking pictures of the trichs, you can often only get a few into focus as they are often on a curved surface. I am considering only the ones in clear focus for accuracy.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...F_4B03BA65&jpg
Even though in the pictures there appears to be cloudy heads, I think that is b/c they are out of focus or in front of other objects that make them appear coudy - with this picture at the bottom it even looks like there are 2 broken amber heads, but I doubt that. I don't know, first grow and all, but I think early week 5 is too early to see anything but clear heads. Correct me if I'm wrong. And if any of you old timers have any tricks to share regarding how to tell when plants are indeed cloudy, don't be afraid to shout.
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Clones of the last remaining strains taken
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Second set of clones (new clones) taken in front - older clones in back tray
Regarding this last crop of mother plant cuttings I kept 4 Apollo 11's, 2 Blue Apollos and 2 Sugar Berrys. At first glance, the Sugar Berrys are twins, however, I have noticed Sugar Berry 'hotel' is taller & sparser than Sugar Berry 'india' which is a little less tall, but much bushier. I think 'india' will win out in the end and become a permanent mother.
With Blue Apollo we have 2 plants very much alike, again one taller than the other, but still bushy which is 'bravo'. The other is slightly smaller & less thick branched but is very bushy all around, 'echo'. What might throw this to 'bravo' though is while it is not as bushy as 'echo' - it has a very large, circular, bushy canopy that I can imagine would produce many large buds.
I kept 4 potential mothers for Apollo 11 b/c I think she's going to be a real standout. As of now, 'golf' is the clear front runner - she's by far the bushiest & decently tall. 'delta' is the tallest, fairly bushy itself and like most of the taller ones is sturdy. Then comes 'echo' and 'bravo' - they are both smaller but very bushy, 'echo' being a little more so. I have faith in the strain so I'm willing to devote the time & the space to find out which is best. In the other cases - the choices were very clear and luckily are bearing themselves out in the flower room now.
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New Veg Room Set-up, permanent set-up still in progress
Another thing: I've got my mothers up and running in the dutch bucket mother system in the veg room. The final mothers, I took one of each clone - one I put in rockwool and one I put directly into the Hydroton, bare roots. It looks like they're doing fine. Plus I have The other clone in rockwool & 2 more cuttings in the cloner unit for backup should it not work. The clones I had taken earlier & rooted first in rockwool & placed in Hydroton are doing great & growing. Regarding the clones I took bare rooted & placed directly into hydroton, first off I was very gently, secondly they had a lot of roots. I just held the plant up where I wanted it & rolled the hydroton balls under & through the roots and gently around them, trying to leave not much space to collapse. Then I took the emitter and watered the area where the roots were. I then just left them with the others, it's been 3 days & they haven't died so I'm optimistic.
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Permanent mother plant system in veg room
I'm concentrating on establishing my mothers. I've topped the established plants just above the third node on each in the hopes of getting a bushy, short plant that will quickly provide cuttings for the perpetual harvest system.
Anyway another piece of good news - my little C99 X BB 'echo' cutting has rooted! I'm going to be very careful with him and let him sprout a few more before I o putting him into rockwool as I only have the one. Even thought I was successful with the other mothers, transplanting them with bare roots, I only have the one and it is such a different pheno than it's brother 'bravo'
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
One last try on the yellowing leaves situation: Normal N loss during flower, disease or both?
*All pictures are of the C99 'grapefruit' plant on two particular bud sections: http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...8_4B067D3F&jpg
C99 'grapefruit' bud, interveinal chlorosis, chlorotic leaves - this is typical of all the branches on this plant.
I had mentioned before that some leaves were yellowing - nearly all of C99 'grapefruit's and quite a few of C99 'pineapple' - with the two smaller plants in group 1 showing absolutely no signs of this disorder whatsoever despite them being farther from the lights. I cannot say for sure - but it is useful to note that C99 'grapefruit' and C99 'pineapple' are much larger than their two sisters, causing problems due to being heavily root bound - also these two plants reside in the uncleaned Hydroton where as the other two are in cleaned Hydtoton. This leads me to conclude that the dying from the inside of the branch to the outside is a sign of some form of root rot or damage, hence the FloraShield cleansing and it's addition to the system as a regular staple.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...E_4B065270&jpg
Same bud shot and leaves but shown in perspective with the rest of 'grapefruit'
What has me most worried now is the progression of yellow fan leaves amongst the larger plants in Unit 2. It started with C99 X BB 'bravo' & appears to be showing up in C99 X A11 'alpha.' Now, these plants could have caught whatever it is making the sick plants in unit 1 ill, but then why haven't the others in the same units gotten ill as well? This is only occurring amongst the largest plants in each unit. Perhaps it's due to an inadequate amount of root space. I really do not know. It's also worth mentioning that it is later in flower (middle of week 5) so perhaps this is a normal loss of N as I am using an Aggressive Bloom formula. I've heard it can happen. I wonder though. And it must be said - the plants are putting out nice buds.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...E_4B065270&jpg
A different grapefruit bud close up with more pronounced chlorosis - the tips are curled and burnt on some sections.
Here are the symptoms one last time. It begins on the larger fan leaves - they turn bright yellow and can stay that way for a while. When they are fully yellow their veins and stems take on a purple color although there is purpleness present in the healthy plants too. In the final phases, the leaves dry, turning brown along the edges and curling upwards at the tips and along the edges. The leaves to go last are the ones closest to the ends/buds. I realize that I may have to harvest early if this situation progresses and the plant starts to die - especially the 'grapefruit' plant.
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Here is a picture of a leaf on grapefruit in mid-chlorosis
As I read more, maybe I'm having a little hysteria (in the case of unit 2 at least) over what naturally happens - nitrogen loss during flower. Perhaps that is also the case with Unit 1 to a degree, but I have to think it got too bare too soon, at least 'grapefruit' did. I know C99 loves Mg, but I am supplementing, it couldn't be lacking Mg save for lockout, which worries me. I don't know. I'm showing this to show what the problem looks like on the plant - this is the best illustration of the problem thus far, it's all there in a nutshell.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...D_4B065270&jpg
Same 'grapefruit' leaf as the first plant pictures above but in close-up. Notice the complete yellowness, the curled up brown edges.
Unit 2, I'm thinking might be experiencing a natural yellowing during flower. The yellowing is primarily large fan leaves, most of the growth remains dark and lush. Not like the bare branches of the C99 'grapefruit' plant. Any ideas are welcome as I'm stumped. I am fairly certain that the two large plants in Unit 1 have problems due to complications that I'm not entirely sure what they are, but that have left them with diminished functioning root mass. There will be a 'root autopsy' which I will post after harvest if this isn't figured out to a near certainty.
Here are some details on what most of these yellow leaves look like.
Here's a picture of a progression from mottled green to yellow to yellow with brown fringed tips:
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Close up of typical yellow leaf:
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This leaf has gone beyond any green remaining in it's veins & is totally yellow. Notice the brown tips and the purple stem.
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Hey Apollina,
Looking good!
I tend to start losing water leaves during flower that look similar to your pics. Don\'t sweat it too much, just keep an eye on the sugar leaves on the buds.. I\'ve also found this is strain dependent too.. I have one that loses leaves quickly, but always produces.. This one, generally around week 4 it starts yellowing and less the buds, they\'re all about gone by harvest.
You say this is your first grow? You did a lot of homework and bought/built a lot of equipment.
Some thoughts your mothers.. What I do is keep mine in soil-less mix in #2 containers and regenerate them when necessary. This allows me to use rooted clones from my clone bucket in either system (aeroponic or mix) without having to screw with rockwool. The other advantage is I can totally tear down and clean the veg system between cycles without impacting any mother plants.
That\'s quite the jungle you have in flower!!! I noticed in some earlier pics you were skipping plant sites in the flower system. Was this by plan? You must have a fairly large light footprint with 4 systems. I designed mine based on a HPS lighting foot print of 4\' x 10\', which gave me enough room for a 6 x 3 plant grid on 15\" centers, hence the 3 individual 2 x 3 systems.
Peace,
Farmer Rich
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Quote:
Originally Posted by Farmer Rich
Hey Apollina,
Looking good!
I tend to start losing water leaves during flower that look similar to your pics. Don\'t sweat it too much, just keep an eye on the sugar leaves on the buds.. I\'ve also found this is strain dependent too.. I have one that loses leaves quickly, but always produces.. This one, generally around week 4 it starts yellowing and less the buds, they\'re all about gone by harvest.
You say this is your first grow? You did a lot of homework and bought/built a lot of equipment.
Some thoughts your mothers.. What I do is keep mine in soil-less mix in #2 containers and regenerate them when necessary. This allows me to use rooted clones from my clone bucket in either system (aeroponic or mix) without having to screw with rockwool. The other advantage is I can totally tear down and clean the veg system between cycles without impacting any mother plants.
That\'s quite the jungle you have in flower!!! I noticed in some earlier pics you were skipping plant sites in the flower system. Was this by plan? You must have a fairly large light footprint with 4 systems. I designed mine based on a HPS lighting foot print of 4\' x 10\', which gave me enough room for a 6 x 3 plant grid on 15\" centers, hence the 3 individual 2 x 3 systems.
Peace,
Farmer Rich
Hi there Farmer! Thanks for the info about the leaves - big exhale over here.
Yes I did do my homework! I researched for about 6 months and I built all the systems you see w/specs provided by StinkBud and a hydro book for the dutch bucket system. That part wasn't that hard & was fun, building the PVC structures & all. The every other thing, I moved the plants in group 1 to optimize light as it's moveable. The others in the aero-units was at first less by design - Unit 2 had the males pulled and units 3 & 4 were placed that way prior to addition to the moving into the flower room.
I think I see what you're saying about the mother plants - crazily enough those plants I rooted by hand - just took from the aerocloner & put them into the Hydroton carefully are alive! Every last one! Now I have successfully regenerated a cutting of C99 X BB 'echo' that had not taken before so I only have the one. Now I'm scared, despite the success I've had with the others & think I may put it into rockwool first even though I'd rather just put it right into the system.
I got the Magnum xxxl reflector which should give me a 5' X 5' foot print. My plant systems in the final set up will be 4 units 4' X 8' and a little over, I'm guessing.
You're right about the jungle part:D - I'll be checking out your journals when I get a chance to crawl out sometime!
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
11/22/09 Update
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End of fifth week of flowering, beginning of sixth week of flower for Units 1 & 2
End of second week of flowering, beginning of third week of flower for Unit 3
End of first week of flowering, beginning of second week of flower for Unit 4
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Well let me say first off, now I don't have a knot in my stomach anymore regarding the density of the bud - it got fat this week, swollen and feels hard. It's also very sticky, even after casual handling I have to wash my hands. The smell is very sweet and fruity. I don't know if this is due to the flavored sweetener I'm using or just the strains themselves which do boast low & fruity odors, but marijuana smell hasn't been a problem yet due in part to the strains and the ONA & Can Filters.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...A_4B0B0E35&jpg
As scheduled I have started the Ripen formula using KoolBloom Dry in the oldest 2 units. The calyxes have begun to swell so now would definitely be the time, I think. I'm using it at a strength of 1/4 tsp per gallon as per the company's recommendation. I'm a little concerned as there was some problem in Unit 1 that may have stressed them enough already (KoolBloom induces ripening & bud swelling in part by stressing the plant - it appears to be a P & K bomb, the guaranteed analysis is 2-45-28)
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...1_4B0B0E35&jpg
I'm really starting to appreciate the strengths of the genetics I've chosen and believe me, it was a painstaking choice - a lot of research went into picking these particular strains/breeders. I hope the genetics prove strong & resistant (and please don't hermie on me w/the KoolBloom!) - they already are producing distinctive, and in my opinion, handsome plants.
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Unit 3:
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http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...1_4B10D42C&jpg
Unit 3 is at the start of the third week as of this day. All plants are doing well and drinking a lot of water at this time in their lives. I took cuttings for clones from one plant in the unit despite it being 2 weeks into flower because it had a thick meristem & so far, what I've seen is the best plants have the thickest meristems stems. It's not the best specimen of Apollo 11, but may turn out to be very good. I took 4 cuttings from Apollo 11 'hotel.' I know Cinderella 99 has had clones taken from it successfully 2 weeks into flower, as Apollo 11 is Cinderella 99's descendant, I'm hopeful one may take root giving me the option of another specimen as a mother. I took so many cuttings of Apollo 11 because out of all the strains, it has been the smallest by far offering only one stand out and that plant is smaller than the other strains, so I want to give myself the best possible chance for picking the right mother. Also, I've notice that Apollo 'delta' which I had taken cuttings of before is not a good rooter, which would be a problem when running a perpetual harvest system that relies on clones.
Unit 4:
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http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...7_4B0B2D3E&jpg
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...4_4B0B2D3E&jpg
Unit 4 is very large & seems to keep getting larger exponentially - they are showing their superiority to the plants in Unit 3 that I didn't select for mothers, same for the Blueberry mother & Sugar Blossom mother. The plants are quite tall and I think appear to be getting enough light, as are the plants in Unit 3. The Magnum xxxl reflector has a rather wide footprint. As you can see from the pictures, you can no longer anything but the top of Unit 2 when viewed from the front. This reservoir as also changed today from the Transitional formula to the Aggressive Bloom.
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
OMG...:jumphappy:...what a grow!...:thumbsup:..good genetics is always the first step
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
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Not much to tell in the Veg room, all the mothers, save C99 X BB 'echo' - the newest transplant have been topped above their third node in the hopes of producing bushy plants. I thought it was risky to transplant from the aerocloner directly into the Hydroton with no Rockwool intermediary step, but it worked fine for all of the plants I tried this with so I was very pleasantly surprised. The success rate of the previous transfers are what changed my mind about putting my only surviving, rooted clone of C99 X BB 'echo' into rockwool first & instead I decided to just put it directly into the Hydroton as I felt now that the Rockwool may even present an unnecessary extra step with its own complications.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...3_4B0B133D&jpg
I transplanted my one cutting of C99 X BB 'echo' that lived & I successfully re-rooted directly into the Hydroton from bare roots in the aerocloner. It's been 2 days, the leaves are perked up. I hope the little guy survives - I think it will. I hope so, as I don't want to re-veg the C99 X BB 'echo.'
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Trichomes
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Initially I was thrown by the appearance of amber heads this early in groups 1 & 2. I didn't expect that. The first place I'd look for the cause would be at the UVB. One thing I know, the trichomes I've gotten into clear focus look very clear to me. There also appears to be some true clouding starting. The amberish heads all appear smaller than their brothers or damaged and probably not representative of the "true" ambering I expect to see later. I'm going to hope and assume we're on schedule. Before this, I was worried that I hadn't used enough UVB or put it close and the trichomes wouldn't mature fast enough. But this reassures me somewhat on this point, plus light at that end of the spectrum is powerful and does carry, so more plants than I think may be getting the UVB light. Just to remind, I added the supplemental UVB b/c I am using very red Super HPS Solarmax in addition to having them put behind glass in vented hoods, blocking any UVB I would be getting from an HID.
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A small bud was taken off C99 X BB 'bravo' and my "lab rats" smoked it. The report was similar to last week's test of C99 X A11 tiny sample, but a bit more potent this time - a good clear "up" high but needing to mature (obviously) as you could feel it as immature & not "all there" yet - but still potent. The bud was sacrificed for the trichome pictures, but I am finding it helpful to get this feedback, it's relaxed my worries about the trichomes' maturity & if they are too ripe for their age.
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A small bud of Cinderella 99 'pineapple' was taken to observe the trichome development. Like the C99 crosses taken before her, she was smoked after being thoroughly examined & photographed. The reaction from the "lab rats" were much more pronounced this time. The sample got them much more high than the previous samples and had a very clear, very bright, very happy up head high and although it was very young - it was pretty potent, so I'd caution anyone smoking C99 to take it slowly at first because one small bud of this 5 week old sample got two somewhat-heavy/heavy smokers stoned with mostly clear trichomes that appear to be just starting to turn cloudy.
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As these are sativa dominant strains and I'd rather harvest when mostly cloudy up to 25% amber the farthest for most of the strains and 50% cloudy 50% Amber for the C99 X BB maybe. I read a post that I found reassuring; it said that basically, you do start to see ambering here & there at weeks 5 - 6 sometimes, but it levels off and maturation goes much slower after that, ambering in earnest around week 8 and later (I notice that my all or mostly indica strains give a week or two longer of projected harvesting time, perhaps this is why), so if that holds true I won't have to pull the plants early. I also see that there are quite a few clear heads and most of the amber heads appear to be smaller or damaged. I'm looking at a 50 day harvest schedule for the 2 units, all trichome dependent, of course. I am totally new to this so if anyone has a better read/interpretation of these trichome pictures, please say so.
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
"I also see that there are quite a few clear heads and most of the amber heads appear to be smaller or damaged. I'm looking at a 50 day harvest schedule for the 2 units, all trichome dependent, of course. I am totally new to this so if anyone has a better read/interpretation of these trichome pictures, please say so. "
Aloha Appolonia.
(Patron saint of dentists)
I may have an explaination of what you are seeing.
The resin glands start clear and the plant makes new ones at a steady rate
The clear ones are hardly affected by the UVb.
Goes right through them.
As the plants mature, the first blush begins to ripen and cloud-up.
A cloudy cap IS affected by UVb in direct proportion to it's opacity.
A cloudy cap can darken, then shrivel, then fall off, in a single 8 hour exposure to UV.!
It's a continuous process.
Timing outdoor harvest can be tricky depending on lattitude and cloud cover.
You want to try to catch the last big burst of coudy trichs before they fry.
It's an ill wind, that gathers no moss...;)
So, I deprive my girls of UV during veg. and flower.
The buds continue to produce resin glands and the caps ripen and cloud without shrivel or drop offs.
They really pile up under LEDs.
[attachment=o232154]
[attachment=o232153]
Almost every trich is still capped too!
Then, I hit them with measured amounts of UVb and "tan" them to a turn.
1 hour exposure is noticeable in it's effect.
[attachment=o232155]
And 4 hours, near the equator, makes for some couchlock-tanglefoot.
[attachment=o232152]
[attachment=o232151]
I have no lab-rats but the wife and I.
So, testing has been a problem.:stoned:
One hit, and we lose the pipe.
Should we find it and dare a second hit we lose track of what we were supposed to be testing for.:stoned::stoned::stoned:
It's a major cause of dangling participles.:jointsmile:
And don't get me started on what it's done to my chess game.:o
I may be wrong, but so far, it's not so much if, you use UVb as it is when, and for how long you use it.
Hermie's doing a test on fresh cut LED grown buds to see if they need to be alive for the toasting.
I'm betting that uniform exposure to UV will be more difficult, but that exposure WILL let you tailor the character of the "side effects".
Time and curing will tell.
Does this get ya thinkin?:cool:
Weezard
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch Pimp
OMG...:jumphappy:...what a grow!...:thumbsup:..good genetics is always the first step
High praise indeed coming from you, Dutch. Yes, I am finding the genetics to be key. I'm not unaware of the fact that the errors & weaknesses I've had in my grow have been bolstered and weathered considerably b/c of the superiority inherent to the plants. Alas, the next week update I will have to confess to a rotten Co2 timer causing a chain reaction of inability to handle the higher temperatures which lead to a case of classic heat stress in my lovely C99 x BB 'bravo' especially. Mercifully I have a new timer - the old one had a mechanical error - I will be showing pictures of the damage done after two, possibly three days of higher temperatures at canopy level (around 90) without Co2. At first I thought it was brown algae (which is actually a misnomer; it is a cyanobacteria - an organism previously classified as algae b/c they shared similarities in food uptake, but cyanobacteria are prokaryotic cells as opposed to other forms of algae which are eukaryotic hence the re-classification. I wonder why they are called [I]cyano[I]bacteria. Are they blue? Anyway, back to the grow: I do believe I had a tad case of the slime, as it is also called, but I think I managed to beat it back with Hygrozyme and FloraShield and it has been contained. I think I got to it early and it was only really effecting the plants in units 1 & 2 - all those pictures of damaged leaves & such.
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weezard
"I also see that there are quite a few clear heads and most of the amber heads appear to be smaller or damaged. I'm looking at a 50 day harvest schedule for the 2 units, all trichome dependent, of course. I am totally new to this so if anyone has a better read/interpretation of these trichome pictures, please say so. "
Aloha Appolonia.
(Patron saint of dentists)
I may have an explaination of what you are seeing.
The resin glands start clear and the plant makes new ones at a steady rate
The clear ones are hardly affected by the UVb.
Goes right through them.
As the plants mature, the first blush begins to ripen and cloud-up.
A cloudy cap IS affected by UVb in direct proportion to it's opacity.
A cloudy cap can darken, then shrivel, then fall off, in a single 8 hour exposure to UV.!
It's a continuous process.
Timing outdoor harvest can be tricky depending on lattitude and cloud cover.
You want to try to catch the last big burst of coudy trichs before they fry.
It's an ill wind, that gathers no moss...;)
So, I deprive my girls of UV during veg. and flower.
The buds continue to produce resin glands and the caps ripen and cloud without shrivel or drop offs.
They really pile up under LEDs.
[attachment=o232154]
[attachment=o232153]
Almost every trich is still capped too!
Then, I hit them with measured amounts of UVb and "tan" them to a turn.
1 hour exposure is noticeable in it's effect.
[attachment=o232155]
And 4 hours, near the equator, makes for some couchlock-tanglefoot.
[attachment=o232152]
[attachment=o232151]
I have no lab-rats but the wife and I.
So, testing has been a problem.:stoned:
One hit, and we lose the pipe.
Should we find it and dare a second hit we lose track of what we were supposed to be testing for.:stoned::stoned::stoned:
It's a major cause of dangling participles.:jointsmile:
And don't get me started on what it's done to my chess game.:o
I may be wrong, but so far, it's not so much if, you use UVb as it is when, and for how long you use it.
Hermie's doing a test on fresh cut LED grown buds to see if they need to be alive for the toasting.
I'm betting that uniform exposure to UV will be more difficult, but that exposure WILL let you tailor the character of the "side effects".
Time and curing will tell.
Does this get ya thinkin?:cool:
Weezard
I love the Canna forums. Look at this post, what a great and knowledgeable community we've got here.
Weezard, again thank you for sharing your advanced knowledge of growing with me. The clear trichomes not being effected... wow, you sure gave me something to chew on (thank you thank you thank you!)
I've been running my UVB through out the flowering session, believing that b/c of my use of a Super HPS w/tempered glass reflector, I wouldn't be getting any of that lower frequency which would lead to lack of potency & ripening. But you're telling me the trichomes will cloud on their own, yes? And if they do so when the UVB is on them, they will amber & degrade rapidly, I take it.
The UVB is at a distance of no less than 24" away from the plants and are on 5 hours a day. Since I am growing sativa dominant strains at the moment - I think I will shut my UVB for now & only turn it on at the last or second to last day for one hour if I think they need ripening up. So UVB does not cloud the trichomes, they cloud as they mature... They will cloud on their own, am I correct in my reading of your post?
May I ask how far away you place your UVB lights when you shine them on your plants? My UVB lights are T8's, 3 foot long, 36 Watts each & there are 4 of them. I imagine UVB, being at the lower end of the spectrum does not dissipate the way red light does & is able to penetrate from greater distances.
I do want these plant to have a more head high with only the C99, Blueberry cross having much body in it, so my need for amber is not the same as that of a person growing indicas for pain management, for example, there more UVB exposure might be required.
Just 2 things - wow those LEDs produce amazing trichomes, no wonder everyone raves about the potency of LED grown bud. 2- I'm amazed at how little amber causes a couchlock stone! Thanks for the heads up, as I'd have ruined my plant's high going for a 50/50 mix of on the sativa-indica crosses!
I'm off to hermie's thread - thanks!
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
This grow is completely crazy! I love it!
:thumbsup:
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apollonia
I love the Canna forums. Look at this post, what a great and knowledgeable community we've got here.
Weezard, again thank you for sharing your advanced knowledge of growing with me. The clear trichomes not being effected... wow, you sure gave me something to chew on (thank you thank you thank you!)
I've been running my UVB through out the flowering session, believing that b/c of my use of a Super HPS w/tempered glass reflector, I wouldn't be getting any of that lower frequency which would lead to lack of potency & ripening. But you're telling me the trichomes will cloud on their own, yes? And if they do so when the UVB is on them, they will amber & degrade rapidly, I take it.
Or, so it seems.
So far, it's theory backed by observation and science.
The UVB is at a distance of no less than 24" away from the plants and are on 5 hours a day. Since I am growing sativa dominant strains at the moment - I think I will shut my UVB for now & only turn it on at the last or second to last day for one hour if I think they need ripening up. So UVB does not cloud the trichomes, they cloud as they mature... They will cloud on their own, am I correct in my reading of your post?
Yes, but they do take a while under LEDs.
As they pile up they cloud but seldom brown.
May I ask how far away you place your UVB lights when you shine them on your plants? My UVB lights are T8's, 3 foot long, 36 Watts each & there are 4 of them. I imagine UVB, being at the lower end of the spectrum does not dissipate the way red light does & is able to penetrate from greater distances.
Approximately 93,000,000 miles, give or take a furlong.:D
I have a 4' germicidal UV tube that I use to erase e-proms that I planned to use for the "tanning", but, tropical sunshine is free., yah?
I do want these plant to have a more head high with only the C99, Blueberry cross having much body in it, so my need for amber is not the same as that of a person growing indicas for pain management, for example, there more UVB exposure might be required.
Just 2 things - wow those LEDs produce amazing trichomes, no wonder everyone raves about the potency of LED grown bud. 2- I'm amazed at how little amber causes a couchlock stone!
There were about twice as many ambers as the pictures show.
You know how hard it is to get a good snap.
I'm guessing that the thumpiness starts while the caps are still cloudy and begins to degrade when they start to "cook" and brown.
Thanks for the heads up, as I'd have ruined my plant's high going for a 50/50 mix of on the sativa-indica crosses!
I'm off to hermie's thread - thanks!
You are quite welcome.
I like your work.
Aloha
Weeze
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
11/29/09 Update
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Unit 2 Canopy shot from front
End of week 6 for Units 1 & 2, first day of 7th week
End of week 3 for Unit 3, first day of 4th week
End of week 2 for Unit 4, first day of 3rd week
Today Unit 3 and the unit in the veg room had their reservoirs changed, unit 3 to aggressive bloom, mother reservoir to regular growth formula.
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C99 'grapefruit' cola
This week, trichome willing and if the plants keep to the schedule recommended by the breeder, should be the last week for our first 2 units before harvest day on the 6th of December at day 50. I hope I don't have to pull them early as I've noticed that after the addition of the Ripen one week ago, they have put on considerable weight. However, they have also been through a rough patch & I'm not just referring to the KoolBloom Dry.
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C99 'pineapple' with C99 x BB at the far right edge
At first I thought I was being over run by brown algae which I thought was choking/smothering the roots & eating their food which caused those pictures of damage I showed you before. I do believe that was a problem earlier on, but now as new growth is dandy & the yellowing is not continuing. Plus the PH is no longer climbing as it was when the algae was bit more of a problem - I believe the flushing out with FloraShield combined with the addition of Hygrozyme & FloraShield to the biweekly nutrient regiment either killed it off or at least kept it at bay from wreaking anymore havoc than it already had. Just to mention, "brown algae" is a misnomer - it belongs to a group of organisms previously classified as algae due to similarities in nutrient uptake, it is actually a cyanobacteria.
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C99 'grapefruit'
All seemed well, plants were improving, the yellowing had stopped, when quite suddenly midweek I noticed a more severe browning/crisping of the leaves at the top of unit 2. Naturally I thought the brown algae was back again, but the steady PH readings didn't seem to bear that out, they were holding steady and if anything, dropping a tad in Unit 3 - when you're dealing with brown algae, your PH swings up. What also convinced me was it wasn't just yellowing as it had before, it was browning & crisping and all the plants below the canopy weren't effected - all green. Plus, the leaves on the plants in the unit directly to the front of Unit 2 (Unit 4) were showing the same speckled browning & crisping as well on the side closest to the HPS - more importantly they were not yellowing as the older units had. I looked at a few pictures and it was clear the damage was heat stress. But why now? The canopy was at 90 degrees at it's highest but that should be no trouble for a plant room fully supplemented with Co2 and why the sudden sensitivity? It seems there was a broken timer, mechanical error, which lead to my Co2 burner not turning on for what I can gather must have been 2 or 3 days. This appears to be what caused the sudden heat damage. C99 X BB 'bravo' as the plant most effected, but basically, the plants directly below the HPS at the highest level of the canopy had their fan leaves burned. Especially those in Unit 2 as they were closer to the lights than the plants in Unit 1. Needless to say I replaced the timer & the Co2 is running on time again.
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C99 X A11 mid-level canopy
I hope the strain of it hasn't significantly damaged the plants in units 1 & 2 - the Ripen has significantly added weight to the blooms & they're drinking water like a champ. But a case of brown algae, no matter if it was contained, coupled with a spot of heat stress may have been too much for them, we shall see. I'll not cry as others have suffered far worse, a few days early harvest plus the favorable smoke reports will ease whatever sadness I will have over the lack of extra weight if an early harvest is needed.
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C99 X BB 'bravo' cola - this is the very highest point of the canopy, note the severest heat stress damage
I've decided the plants will be taken early if it appears that either the plant is just dying, or the buds are being damaged. Temporarily I am of the mind that if the sweet leaves start to yellow, I'll sacrifice them for a few more days of weight if it comes down to it, just to see what kind of weight I'd have sacrificed had I saved the "sweet leaves" to be used for hash. If the plants leaves yellowing progresses to shriveling and dying en masse, I think I have no choice but to harvest in that case - I have to remember that this is an annual & that it is natural for it to die after it has pushed forth it's final reproductive effort. Plants don't harvest on a set schedule & there are any factors that contribute, got to remember that too. I do not think the plants have been damaged enough to warrant an early harvest as the two older units are drinking their water like mad. The one I'm keeping my eye on is the C99 X A11 - the phenotype is very Apollo 11 and it's got an earlier flowering time than the others by one week and it is coincidentally this plant that is looking like it may be ready very, very soon despite being the least damaged plant of unit 2. I also want to harvest in stages b/c it's an experimental grow, taking the buds just as they start to turn cloudy, a 50/50 clear-cloudy, & a 100% cloudy harvest to compare, maybe also a harvest with 10-25% amber for the C99s crossed with Blueberry (as these 2 units are sativa dominant I think their best expression is in the THC/cerebral high)
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Unit 2 C99 X A11, the lower part of the canopy
Another less depressing thought is this: Units 1 & 2 suffered some heat burn, Units 1 & 2 also suffered an early but brief bout of what was likely brown algae which caused an interruption in nutrient uptake causing a deficiency, but I believe it was successfully handled and is no longer present. The yellowing & crinkling leaves I have seen before in many grows here people flush the last week or two, it's a deficit of nutrients but primarily Nitrogen. I used the Aggressive Bloom formula which, unlike regular Bloom, uses no FloraGro - the main source of Nitrogen. Given all in all, I'm inclined to think this explains the dramatic (to my newbie eyes) yellowing without a flush and the reports on the nice taste of sampled buds from the lab rats, plus the plants being annuals and are ending their life cycle naturally. Had the plants not had to deal with the microbial issue, the surrounding leaves likely would have stayed greener up to now. That's my present thought on the subject.
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C99 'grapefruit' the lower part of the canopy - these buds were shielded by higher vegetation too
Another thought regarding the possible brown algae - I took a reservoir and filled it with "tainted" equipment, the reservoir would have been tainted with the algae as well - I added to it the recommended Physan 20 dilution. When Physan 20 hits microbes, it fizzes like crazy. Here it didn't. However, the much used measuring bucket which surely had some bacteria on it did react with the Physan 20 mixture & fizzed up as it killed whatever microbes were there. As I even threw in some of the brown roots, they did not fizz. Perhaps after treating the unit for so long with Hygrozyme & FloraShield the algae disappeared along with any other significant amounts of microbes.
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C99 x BB 'echo cola
I think I may add here that I'm likely not going to flush this crop. Nitrogen has the biggest effect on taste and as you can tell from the leaves, it's not got much if any Nitrogen (or other minerals) left in it. I will of course flush the Hydroton after harvest.
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C99 X A11 bud - I'm keeping a close eye on this plant as it's showing signs of being a faster finisher than the others
I've added extra fans on the floors & mounted on the walls to increase circulation. In light of some information from Weezard & others on Canna forums about the effects of UVB I will be shutting off my UVB for the rest of the grow & just let them cloud & hit them with a bit of UVB for an hour or four to amber the desired amount of trichomes.
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C99 x A11 bud arm
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Units 3 & 4
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Unit 3
Units 3 and 4, in their 3rd and 4th week respectively, have shot up considerably. I bent the stems down - sideways really, of some of the tallest plants that did not seem controllable by tying alone. I did this with C99 X BB 'echo' & other plants in Unit 2 early in flower and it healed quickly and went on to be one of my biggest plants.
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Unit 3 canopy
To my eye, the flowers seem to be developing well and on time. The PH in the reservoirs either stays steady or drops a few points, about 5.5, but they need to be topped of regularly as they are drinking a lot of water.
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Unit 4
As I'd mentioned in earlier posts, I'd pruned all the lower 1/3 growth, and I'm glad I did as the HPS is not properly centered and the lowest leaves & branches have been dropping off from lack of light - nothing drastic, but I am anxious to re-center the light and get them under the HPS proper. Of course I've been diligently removing all growth that is obviously dead or comes of very easily on all units to stave off bud rot.
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Unit 4 Blossoms
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Unit 3 Blueberry mother
I am mulling over the question of whether or not to "nuke" Units 3 and 4 with a dose of Physan 20 in a risky attempt to remove significant amounts of the brown algae that is present, but kept at bay by Hygrozyme and FloraShield. On one hand, I started these plants on Hygrozyme & FloraShield much earlier than the 2 older units so perhaps that will be enough to overpower it. In either case - Physan 20 or not - I might be adding some "bio-soup" I'm creating as a culture for my reservoirs as I explain below. The idea is to get a reservoir, fill it will water, bio-balls & an air stone, SubCultures M & B, FloraNectar & FloraBlend and use this mixture as a "tea" of beneficial microbials to start off reservoirs with before the algae or other nasties can take hold. If I due use the Physan 20, adding this tea will be essential or the algae will just grow back again. If I decide to continue without the Physan 20 routing, then the question is is it better to continue with the FloraShield - which is the sterile route or swap it out for the SubCulture bacterial soup - the organic control route. The decision whether or not to run even a small dose of Physan 20 through my plant's systems for a short while - no more than a few hours - is a heavy one as Physan 20 can kill plants very easily, even at recommended doses and below. I think perhaps it is wisest now to continue letting the Hygrozyme and the FloraShield do their work as I continually remove as many browned roots by hand as I can reach.
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Unit 3 Sugar Blossoms mother
The only thing "wrong" with either of the two younger units is the dropping off of lower canopy leaves and that very much appears to be due to their being out of the light - Unit 4 displays this more and it is the unit covered least, Unit 3 has a supplemental light (a Procyon 100) over it's canopy. Still, Lux readings are not bad at all - in the 100,000 - 300,000 range at the top and at the very lowest 56,000 - but those spots are small and at the very end. It will be remedied soon as Units 1 & 2 will be ready to be removed from the room & to be harvested. In light of this I'm inclined to go the way I have been unless I start to see signs of the nutrient deficiencies I saw before, which would mean the algae is now taking over and causing harm.
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Unit 3 Blueberry mother blossom
On another note, the Blueberry and Sugar Blossom mothers I chose are living up to their promise - they are vigorish, full of bud sites, strong & stocky. As I've been bending and tying the plants in Units 3 and 4, due to this uneven distribution of stressors during flowering I won't be picking a definitive mother directly based on the results I get in the end. If a plant becomes monster like C99 X A11 'alpha' did, then that's a different story, but as of now, they all look either weak or fine but too alike to make a choice.
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Unit 3 Blueberry mother blossoms
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Veg Room & mother plants
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Veg Room
In the veg room all mothers have been topped to 3 nodes & are bushing out wonderfully - even little C99 x BB 'echo' was topped & has survived the chop so far (thankfully - he's the one I had to re-root) Since it is just as easy for me to keep 15 mothers as it is to keep 10, I may run a few grows to determine my favorites in the strains I had not previously selected for: Blue Apollo 'bravo' & 'echo', Sugar Berry 'hotel' & 'india', and Apollo 11 'bravo', 'delta', 'echo' & 'golf', if no real standouts occur as they did in units 1 and 2.
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Mother plants
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Trichomes & Harvest:
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All pictures are of plants from Units 1 and 2. This is at 100x magnification
It appears that the trichomes on our plants in Units 1 and 2 have turned cloudier making me think I may be harvesting those two units on schedule around day 50 as I think a few more days would be all that's needed to turn them all mostly cloudy and add the extra weight. Another indicator is the hairs have been turning red to one degree or another and recommended flowering times are helpful to guide you. All these things taken into account will steer me in the right direction, I believe.
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200x magnification
I've included pictures taken at 100X magnification as this is the magnification many people use and are familiar with in the hope they'd share their insights.
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200X - this is a shot of C99 X BB 'bravo' - I've heard that blueberry strains don't exactly amber but turn purplish-blue. I wonder if that's what's being seen here at the base of the trichomes
To my eye, it could go either way - they either look clear or cloudy from this vantage (100X). It is probably a combination of both - which hints to me they have at least a few days to go before getting yanked. To ensure I'm seeing cloudy trichomes for certain, I may allow a small few to go amber just to see what trichomes look like at the latest stage of cloudiness. With the exception of C99 x BB, I wish to harvest the plants when they are showing mostly clouded trichomes, the C99-Blueberry cross I think I will harvest with 25% ambering. This I will accomplish by exposing the plant to UVB lighting for anywhere between 1-4 hours, checking the effects of exposure as I go.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...5_4B182D03&jpg
200x magnification
Improvements to grow:
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...C_4B182DF6&jpg
100x magnification
I've been able to determine what improvements I'd like to make to the room for fine tuning. First off, as I'd mentioned, I would center the HPSes and make the UVB lights more easily adjustable. Secondly, I'm going to add another chiller to eliminate the need for any supplemental cooling with an air-conditioner to make the room truly sealed (and I can cut down on the cost of refilling propane tanks so often). As per a tip from Weezard & dependent on the grow results - I think I may be removing the UVB from my grow as a constant presence & only using it at the last to "ripen up" in the last few days a few hours or one hour in one go or remove it entirely as the far red in the light may be enough to ripen the plant sufficiently.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...0_4B182E83&jpg
100x magnification
I'm also adding a reservoir of beneficial bacteria & mycorrhizae which will be maintained with an air-stone for oxygen & bio-balls for a livable substrate which will be used to add a few cups of it as water to start off reservoirs and for reservoir changes & toppings off to colonize the plant's roots & the reservoir itself - this is to head off the brown algae that did the damage to the grow in the first place. It will be replenished with standing water when needed.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...D_4B182DF6&jpg
100x magnification
I may get a RO machine with UV to use to clear the replenishing water, but I'm reluctant as they seem to use a lot of water themselves. I'm less reluctant to do so as the water I'd be putting through reverse osmosis wouldn't be for all the reservoirs, just for the little colony I'd have going. I may also, in addition to adding a portion of this water to every reservoir, run each new unit through for about a week or two to establish the beneficials on the apparatus & plants (if I chose to do so with plants. I feel this will ensure and make clogged sprayers & overgrowth unlikely. Since I have it at hand, I'd probably use SubCulture M at full strength with some FloraBlend & FloraNectar added for food and run it for a week before adding the SubCulture B at full strength. Currently I'll be running a test of this new addition to see if it takes & if the bacteria become "gummy" & how likely it will be that the mixture will possibly be a source of clogged sprayers. Alternatively, if the bio-soup I'm thinking of concocting proves to be ineffective or a hindrance to the system in some way, my second option is to install UV filters in the reservoirs.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...E_4B182DF6&jpg
100x magnification
I'd have rather the first method work out as the UV can interfere with the chelated metals in the nutrients causing problems specifically with iron, manganese & magnesium, off the top of my head. I don't know how to deal with such problems & I haven't found any resources on the subject, so option one looks the best right now. This is to fend off further outbreaks of brown algae & other microbial enemies, I got the inspiration from a thread at IC Mag - it's stickied & if you type brown algae, you can find it. It appears the solution the posters with brown algae in their systems came up with the solution of mixing in 3 cups or so of earthworm casings tea to their reservoirs - or using UV light sanitizers, but all after a thorough cleaning of all parts of their systems with the nuclear bomb of sanitizers - Physan 20. Which I may use myself after this grow as I did have to deal with the brown algae. I'd rather not and just clean with FloraShield or bleach & try to grow with the beneficials from there, but if it comes to it I may have to break out the biggest gun of all in our horticultural cache.
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...0_4B182D03&jpg
200X magnification
http://www.imagehut.eu/pro/image.php...4_4B182DA2&jpg
100X magnification
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
apollonia....those are some great tric shots......i need one of those maginifiers....if i had one my job would be so much easier! i personally like to take my plants a little more into the amber tric range like 30-40 before i cut and by the time my im at like a month cure they look like 70-80 amber! looks sick! but once again those are some fab. shots.....keep them coming!
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My First Grow: Aeroponics, LED veg, Super HPS flower, CO2 sealed room
Hey Apollonia,
How\'s that jungle of yours coming along? You should be getting close to chopping?? Or at least the stage where you really want to, but need to hold out longer..
Peace, Farmer Rich
