Doco's Waterfarm Hut

[doco]

Well, the plants seem to have survived the transition from bubbler to the waterfarm so this will be the start of my latest adventure, Doco's Hut 3.0. This is my first time getting wet with hydro and naturally I am running into various little problems but I guess thatâ??s another way to learn.

First I overfed them and most of them got some nute burn around the edges of the lower leaves. The Ph was running high (6.3) and I tried correcting it a couple of days but just couldnâ??t get it to come down so I made a fresh batch, made certain it was phâ??d to 5.8 and only about half the nutes I used before. Tonight I checked again and the Ph is up at 6.7 so Iâ??m not sure wtf is going on. I dunno â?? like I said, this is as much a learning experience as anything else â?? Iâ??ve got plenty of herb from my last harvest so if I muck this up itâ??s ok.

After that first res change I knew that two piece GH Res/Controller combo was a goner. After some quick footwork and just a little spilled water, I eliminated the secondary res and now just have the one that the recirculating bucket feeding it directly.

Plants seem to be growing well despite my clumsy start. These are just over 4 weeks from seed, germed the beginning of April. One thing that is really perplexing me is this new digital ballast I have does not seem as bright as my standard old clunkerâ?¦maybe itâ??s just my perception but Iâ??m scouting for a 1000w now. I am putting way too much time & energy into this to be half steppinâ??.

Forward into the unknown!!

doco Reviewed by doco on 05-04-2007. Doco's Waterfarm Hut Well, the plants seem to have survived the transition from bubbler to the waterfarm so this will be the start of my latest adventure, Doco's Hut 3.0. This is my first time getting wet with hydro and naturally I am running into various little problems but I guess thatâ??s another way to learn. First I overfed them and most of them got some nute burn around the edges of the lower leaves. The Ph was running high (6.3) and I tried correcting it a couple of days but just couldnâ??t get it to Rating: 5

[Weedhound]

Your ph is too high because they got burned doco....you will have to check it several times a day to keep it in check until they have outgrown the problem. EVERYONE does it.....people like myself more than once. It helps to lighten up your nutes for a few days as well, then go back to normal.
They look really good. :thumbsup:

[xcrispi]

Hey Doco ,
The p/h thing can get to be a pita , mine rises a lil bit each day still too due to no R/O system . The stronger the nute strength gets the easier it will get for you , as there will be more buffers in the mix then .
I got rid of the float valve etc... in a hell of a hurry too , why I said I wished I had just bought a big rubbermade garb. can to begin w/ .
Looks great so far !
Peace
Crispi :jointsmile:

[doco]

Thanks, I hope they stabilize soon. I will check it morning & night now. What I don't get is what is causing it to go so high? I ph the RO water in 5 gallon buckets before I add nutes, add nutes, ph again and use two different recently calibrated meters to verify it so I know it's right when I first do it.

Weedhound: How are your girls doing? I was mortified to hear about the mishap the other night.

Crispi: I love your setup man - It's making me start to think outside the hut....

[Weedhound]

I was told that the process of destruction of the plant tissue itself causes ph to rise. For me, it's usually the first sign that I have done something wrong. Not only does it go up quickly, its hard to bring back down and just doesn't want to stay there until the plant stabilizes. This is not like the rising ph at the end of flowering which is normal and due to high nutrient needs.

[doco]

The Waterfarm continues to amaze me with incredible rapid growth but the plants seem a little stretched and stringy to me too. I haven't grown this strain before and I am highly suspicious of this new digital ballast I got too (seems weak to me) so it may be a combination of things. I'm having a new 600w digital delivered on Monday and I may pick up a 1000w when I see a friend this weekend - 600w should be perfect for a HydroHut Mini but I'll have the 1000w if I need it.

The PH has settled down and I usually only need a few drops of pH down in the evenings. The main thing was I had to develop a trust relationship with my pH meter, which I know sounds strange but it's true.

They are somewhere in the range of 5.5 , maybe 6 weeks old. I topped them earlier this week and I'll put them into flower Monday night, once I have the 600w installed. So far, one looks male and two have positively shown female. It's more the plant structure than anything else that's making me think male - it's got a distinctly different structure than the others. In the photos its front & left, closest to the camera.

[doco]

Wow, I just looked at the pics from one week ago - thats a lot of growth!

[doco]

I am starting to really like hydroponics. Only 4 days since the last pics and I can't even see the recirculating bucket anymore.

Changed the nutes out last night, added some B-52 to help with the stretch and I'll start to flower them tomorrow after installing the new 600w digital.

Although I'm impressed with the hyper growth they are having, I'm a little concerned about the stretching and the branches ability to bear the weight of giant buds. I've got a feeling I will be tying a lot of these up to keep them supported. If that's the worst of my problems, I guess I'm doing ok!

[dusto2k3]

hell ya doco. I'm glad to see your new setup is kicking ass. I think i'm moving to 2x600hps next time. I have this coco and it amazes me as well

Like i said, it looks rockin!!!

[doco]

dude that would be sick! Thats like 190,000 lumens!! In a HydroHut lol!! I was thinking of two 400 in here but decided just to go with one 600 for now since it's nearly twice the lumens as a 400 anyway.

You know this is all mostly your fault, right Dusto? I was just gonna grow in a closet with CFL's and I would have been perfectly happy....then I saw your thread last year with your HydroHut. Now, $$$ later I'm still not done! Damn you!! Oh, but wait - I haven't had to buy herb since then either....:jointsmile:

I just saw a water cooled cooltube on ebay, claims to take 93% of the heat from a 1000w bulb. Doesn't need any special venting or fans, just a water pump. From here in town too...very interesting. $375 though, ouch!