I'm using an airlift pump to drip feed the seedlings . Could I leave the drip feeders running 24/7? At the moment I drip feed in the morning and afternoon for 1 hour at a time.. There looking great but will they stand for watering 24/7?
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I'm using an airlift pump to drip feed the seedlings . Could I leave the drip feeders running 24/7? At the moment I drip feed in the morning and afternoon for 1 hour at a time.. There looking great but will they stand for watering 24/7?
as long as the tap root doesnt sit constantly in ur water it should be ok , try it and if u see the seedling starting to show signs of over watering just revert back to what u where doing for another 2 days. also if u can try exhale co2 bags u should give them a go, i saw 1st hand lastnight the difference these can make in a small grow. these exhale bags had been added to the grow just on saturday and the grower told me that plants had grown 5/6" in 24 hours ( infact for the two hours i was there they had grew about another 1cm) the plants are 3 weeks into 12/12 and look super healthy but he maintained the bags have made them look better.
exhale bags are a waste of money, its a proven fact that they dont put out high enough co2 levels to be effective...better off (and cheaper) to just get dry ice and let em bath in the fog for an hour or so...would pretty much be equivalent....but may be one of those "different strokes for different folks"
Dry ice does work well, most bang for the buck, will say bottled compressed co2 dripping on the tops.
I know this is a controversial subject, but IMHO CO2 is a waste if you don't have all the other conditions ideal. And it favors growth of fungus. It would be the last factor I played with, get everything else down first. There is a lot of mythology about CO2. Plants can derive all they need from atmosphere unless they are overcrowded and air-stagnant. And those would be the factors to address first if that were the case. Having said this, I do build little yeast CO2 generators for my rooms and its admittedly fun to see them bubbling away. But I seriously doubt they're really factoring much in the overall growth. I agree with ranger that dry ice is the most efficient in terms of money and effort. Just my 2cents. Happy growing.
In my room just think me being in there, is probably the best, another way your the most important part of your grow.
These small cabinets are probably a different animal, I want air circulation - lots of it! Which makes adding co2 sketchy at best.
guys i have seen these bags for myself , i just called around with my grower friend and he had marked the height of the plants when we where in lastnight , there is a noticable difference in height today . i would say at least 3 inches from last night. from what i have seen the last 2 evening theres nothing to say that these exhale bags are a waste of money. tbh its nothing to me if they work or not but from what i have seen the last 2 evening they are deffo doing sumthing right for the plants they look super healthy and my friend swears they have only look like that from he added these bags.... ill try can get sum pictures and post them. BTW this friend has years and years of growing experince and his produce is always top drawer so if hes telling me the have helped in just 3 days well im not going to call him a lair.
if u dont mind me asking have guys any experience of using these Exhale Bags 1st hand , it would be interesting to here other grower 1st hand views about them.
Hal
Exhale C02 Bags PPM Tested! - YouTube
this video shows that these bags actually increase co2 from 300 ppm outside a 4x4 grow box to over 1200 ppm inside. not a bad increase. they may not be as effective as dry ice and other methods but they are probably alot more accessible for people to get and for a fraction of the price of expensive CO2 system they'll offer improved results. IMHO if they raise the PPM of CO2 of the ambient air they can only help.
pics as promised
Hal I have not used the bags. I've used dry ice and yeast bubblers. I never set it up as a comparison study so I really don't know if it had an effect one way or the other. That's something I should do in the future, though it would be difficult to set up a "no CO2 added" vs "CO2 added" and keep everything else the same. I'll have to think about that. Your plants look nice, and you may well be getting a boost from the bags. I just tend to be skeptical because I've seen people with decrepit grow setups and weak plants who spent more time and energy on getting added CO2 than on just taking care of their plants properly. Obviously that's not the case with you, so you may be in a perfect position to benefit from it. Keep in mind, however, that plants in the early-mid growth phase can grow very fast, even with no additional CO2.
Thanks for all the co2 advice but I was after watering advice.
Apologies Rizlaninja for the off-topic stuff. I've never done what you are doing with the drip system, so I can't directly advise you there. But as long as oxygen can get to the roots, and the dripped water isn't stagnating around the taproot, seems like it should be fine.
rizla i gave u advise in my 1st post ... maybe u didnt read . Chromophore i have been a grower myself over the years , if u search my username ull see i have a far idea of what i am doing. these arent my plants they belong to a friend i know. this guys has maybe 10 years experience growing and hes the only person i know who i would trust to get my weed off. like i said if hes raving about them ill take his word for it.
I got a couple shiny pennies.:)
I agree with Chromophore.
Without a parallel, "no extra CO2 grow" as a yardstick , all you have is an impression of benefit.
A little research tells me that CO2 becomes detrimental when >1500ppm. so, careful with the dry ice.
I also read that there is little benefit at ordinary temperatures, but definite gains at >80 degrees F.
That makes sense.
At normal temperatures all influences on the growth are well balanced.
Increasing any one influence is wasted
However, if one of them goes out of balance (High Temperature), one or more others can be augmented to restore balance.
With living things, it's all about balance.
In the heat of the summer, I port air from the veg room, to the flower room.
Why?
Because vegging plants actually raise the ambient CO2 during their dark time and flowering plants use it day and night.
For a few hot months, I ported the excess CO2 from my wine making room to the veg. room, which then went to the budding babes as well.
Did it do any good?
Hard to say.
I only have one veg room. :)
Bottom line?
At less than 1500 ppm. at least it won't/didn't hurt.
And at elevated temperatures there is definite benefit.:cool:
Aloha,
Weezard
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chromophore
I'll second that.
Sorry about the digression.
Attachment 298025
Good news is, I've done the watering both ways, and then some.
To address your question.
Yes!
IF, (and that's a big if), the water is well aerated. :D
I was successful with a constant drip using hydrotron.
Tends to absorb air on the fly.
Do not try it with rockwool!
And there is no problem with the tap root entering the water.
Again, if the water is air saturated.
I do that all the time with DWC.
Full immersion is no problem.
Attachment 298024
Aloha,
Weezard
Shallow Hal I never questioned your knowledge or abilities, I was simply giving my advice on CO2 based on 28 years as a plant scientist and greenhouse technician. I offer it freely and no skin off my back if people ignore it. Now can we please stop hijacking this thread and get back to the original question?
Cheers for that. I am using rockwool but the water I'm using is very well aerated . Iv got a quad output monster air pump with a 4" donut air stone . 2x 4" donut air stone and 2 x air lift pump for the two water drip feeders.Quote:
Originally Posted by Weezard
I was told to basically keep it damp until the tap root hits the water then I could run the water feeders 24/7. Sound about right?
Perfect. :) co2 feeders are a few grows down the line for me.. Lol. Don't suppose you could tell me what's the best distance to have my 300w cfl from plant top? I dint want to burn the babies. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Chromophore
"I was told to basically keep it damp until the tap root hits the water then I could run the water feeders 24/7. Sound about right?"
Sounds exactly right.
You have more than enough air.
My rockwool drip experiment ended with stem rot. :(
Admittedly It was a very limited experiment and may have been coincidental.
Use your nose.
Sniff the cube every time you pass by.
You'll know if it starts to go sour. :)
Aloha,
Weeze
Use our wrist like checking baby formula, how far from light is comfy, too close too hot, just right is just right, from the tops and you don't want to burn those nice ends. Sorry about the off the road. Just spent way to much on gas.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizlaninja
Cheers guys. That helps a lot :)