How to build and maintain your own custom bubbler DWC grow

[deftdrummer]

some more

[Earthy Dank]

awesomely amazingly beautiful

[Earthy Dank]

07-08-07 Day #19 of Flowering.
Cab Temp: ~80F
RH: 45%
Nutrient Temp: 75F
PPM: 136
pH: 5.6

We did a nutrient replacement today with just plain pH balanced water. We wanted to try and flush out the roots for a day since they were beginning to show some rust coloring. We will do a full nutrient change tomorrow. We are still waiting for the centrifugal fan to arrive in the mail so we can get some serious heat relief and it couldn't take longer it seems!

We have also been spraying twice daily with the bugzyme for about two days now. The spider mites are very low in numbers and we'll continue to spray as long it takes to rid ourselves of the infestation. Spider mites can ruin flowering healthy plants in the matter of a week depending on how fast they spread. We don't want to take any chances, and ladybugs are not out of the question if the mites were to get that bad. We doubt it will come to that though.

I would go to WARRR with those little freeloading mother%#$@ers before its too late. I started noticing a few around a week until harvest... so i let them stay and didn't wanna spray my almost ready buds with neem... well I wasn't able to visit them for a few days and when I came back about 3-4 days later... There we're literlly webs over the ENTIRE CANOPY. There were webs on top of webs... most of the leaves were crispy as shit... It was scary as shit... I have no Idea how they exploded like that... I was starting to get consistently hot and i think that might have sped them up alittle but daMNNN. Lucky enough the buds turned out fine. They attack too late to really fuck them up... But right after that I moved the entire grow and flooded that room with neem... neem everywhere...

[deftdrummer]

well from what I've read neem isn't safe to use during flowering either because it ruins your buds. This stuff that we got bugzyme is supposedly safe to use all through flowering. That is amazing your crop survived if it was as bad as you say it was. Damn

[palerider7777]

thats what i have a 30 gal res and pvc pipe hooked to a water pump u put in the bottem i have 4 set up and it cost 200 for pumps res tubing pvc sprayers and an extra 80 for and 385gph air pump hooked to air hogs air stones just to get the extra air flow in the res

[deftdrummer]

7-11-07 Day #22 of Flowering.
Cab Temp: ~80F
RH: 57%
Nutrient Temp: 78F
PPM: 1100-1250
pH: 5.5

The pH went up today to about 6.3 as it usually does in the mornings. We added some pH down and got it back in the range. While the plants were out of the grow tent we decided to install our new centrifugal fan that came today in the mail. I included some pictures of installation to show you all what I was talking about. The fan again is rated at 175CFM and is very very quiet. We were really excited to hear how quiet it is since it will be near a ceiling vent. Apparently the fan only runs at 48dBA which is certainly a lot quieter than our current squirrel cage style fan. After installation however we have mixed feelings. Among our worries was the possibility of the fan being too powerful for our small space and thus sucking the walls of the grow space inward. This was the case when we took the glass out of the light to improve airflow and improve airflow it did - a little too well. Then the notion of bugs and other things getting up into the light without the protective glass so we started to change our minds. At the same time, we also realized that removing the glass actually created more heat in the room since the light was now nothing more than a passive intake through the bottom, and subsequently the light got hotter, which in return made the grow space hotter. Needless to say, we installed the protective glass again - for safety hazards if nothing else. This pretty much puts us back to square one again as far as ventilation. We have had a good few days where it has been overcast which is a nice change-up from the 103F heat we have been having consistently. If anything, we think in the long run having a more powerful fan hooked up to the light will remove even more heat which obviously keeps the overall temps down. If we really feel the need to install both fans then we will, but the weather should be getting gradually cooler and cooler here pretty soon.

As far as plant growth goes, it is good with bud growth being solid and having great color / smell. However, the spider mites seem for the time being very persistent with regards to our biggest plant. If it comes down to it and we really need to eradicate ourselves of these pesky bugs then we will resort to using a hot-shot pest control strip that can be found at the hardware store. We have used this in the past but have refrained for all of this grow due to health hazards associated with them if too close to your living / growing space.

[deftdrummer]

heres the fan and buds

[deftdrummer]

07-13-07 Day #24 of Flowering.
Cab Temp: 78F
RH: ?
Nutrient Temp: 74.8F
PPM: 1058, 1096, 1110
pH: 5.4, 5.3, 5.4

Hey all, yesterday we went out and bought a hot shot strip for the inside of the grow cab. I fear it is a bit too late however, since on our biggest plant nearly every bud has at least a few spider mites. We have had a grow in the past that got infested with spider mites and smoking the weed was not that great. The popping is horrible and every time you hear it it reminds you of the spider mites going into your body. We are going to try and get as many as we can off with Q-tips which will be a painstaking process, but hopefully we can minimize the damage. We know that the hotshot strips have kept 100% of spider mites off in the past, so we are hoping that it can kill 100% of them off quickly as well. Already we have seen lines of them like ants on the mylar seemingly vacating the area.

The fan is keeping the temps in very acceptable ranges, but we still don't have a temp gauge that we can read from so for now we are just estimating the temps, but they are definitely cooler even to the bare hand.

One thing I noticed this morning however is that one of our pumps is almost crapped out. This is pretty disappointing considering it didn't quite last one full grow. I don't know how it happened but the pump on the biggest plant is not generating enough pressure to make the drip ring work. So for now, the roots just get bubbling from underneath and no overhead watering. The pumps are cheap so we will have to just run out and buy another one in the next few days. I tell ya, I really am tired of spending money and am starting to get a little discouraged.

[palerider7777]

where did u get the strips at ? and the money issue thats to be expected going into trying new things. and the fan u have to buy anyways really for exhaust for the right set up so the things ur buying u would have to buy anyways.looks like u were going in half cocked or skimping to as low as u could go hoping it would'nt need more than that it's no biggie.i have learned long ago that the stuff that should be small end up big and the big well...it just stays big but the small end up biggest lol i know how it goes.

[palerider7777]

u know how it goes opps typo