A SEEDLING JOURNAL

[latewood]

just keep a 1/4" of water in the bottom of tray...no need to replace jiffy peelets anywhere. I ahve grown seedling 6-8" high using just a tray or ebb and flow. when you get 4-5 alternating nodes...then you put them into system on 400ppm of nutes. Not before. All they need now is water.

Pete. rockwool only has problem if you leave it sitting in water...It wasn't designed for that. It was meant for drip or ebb and flow...where water is cutoff for extended periods of time.

[boss30349]

The seedlings are starting to work on their second pair of leaves, now. Everything is going great so far!

Originally Posted by socialistpete
1. I can't tell what type of light your using from that pic but it looks like a regular flouresent house light. Most people use a shop light with (2) 40 watt bulbs. What light cycle are you using? 18/6?

2. Leave the wrap around the rockwool. Next time I would suggest using grow plugs, they wont get over saturated like the rockwool cubes can.

I'm using a 18/6 light cycle, right now. I heard that a 16/8 light cycle would produce more females, and a couple of other factors.

Originally Posted by bongerstonerd00d
I agree wit Pete. Get a few 40-42 watt CFL's (6500 Kelvin) and put about 1-2 inches from the plants. Will keep em from stretchin, and get a fan blowin on them plants. Make em big n strong. And, purchase a pH/EC/TDS tester if you do not already have one. Very impotent fer hydro grows. Can get a Milwaukee SM 802 combo pH/EC/TDS tester off that e place auction site for 135 bucks (good deal). Deff need a way to test once you put in ya 'dro setup and start feedin sum nutes. Best of luck wit ya grow:rasta:

I already have a pH tester, and I went and bought some CFLs. I am also about to get a fan blowin' on those babies as soon as I can. Thanks for the help.

Originally Posted by latewood
just keep a 1/4" of water in the bottom of tray...no need to replace jiffy peelets anywhere. I ahve grown seedling 6-8" high using just a tray or ebb and flow. when you get 4-5 alternating nodes...then you put them into system on 400ppm of nutes. Not before. All they need now is water.

Pete. rockwool only has problem if you leave it sitting in water...It wasn't designed for that. It was meant for drip or ebb and flow...where water is cutoff for extended periods of time.

Thanks for the help!

[align=center]QUESTIONS[/align]
1. Is it too late to change to a 16/8, and would it be wise to do so?

2. Am I allowed to place the seedlings in the system whenever they show growth outside of the rockwool cubes?

3. bongerstonerd00d said that people use a few 40-42 CFLs, and I was wondering if I'm able to use the 4 60 watt CFLs that I bought today. Is it going to be too powerful for the seedlings, or do I need to get something stronger in the CFL class??

[align=center]PICTURES[/align]
1. Starting to show the second set of leaves.
2. The CFLs that I bought today. Are these good enough?
3. The pH tester that I had bought earlier last month.
4. The duel-air pump that I will be using for the air-stones.
5. The airstones and hose that I will be using.

[boss30349]

I don't know what to do about the roots that are growing outside of the rockwool cubes. I'm tryin' to get a response from people, but there hasn't been any information or help for the questions I have. I'm going to go ahead and set up the four 60 watt CFLs I bought yesterday. I'm also about to put the rockwool cubes inside of the WaterFarm bucket, with no nutrients. The reason I'm doing this is because I don't have anything else to transplant the cubes into. Everyone wish me Good Luck!!

[latewood]

leave the roots cover so algae doesn't grow...you need to get them in a system. ooops Oh I see. you have e & f cover the tray so light cannot penetrate the trays and cause algae to grow all over including the roots.

[boss30349]

Since the roots were growing out of the rockwool cubes, I decided to place them inside of the WaterFarm systems. I made some more holes at the bottom of the top-bucket, since the pre-drilled ones were not enough. Then I placed the top-two plants (judging by how many roots were growing out of the rockwool cubes) inside of the system. I then added a rotating fan inside of the closet and placed 2 60 watt CFLs over one plant each.

[align=center]QUESTIONS[/align]
1. Is the lighting that I'm using, well enough for the seedlings, or should I place a 400 watt MH over them? Right now they are currently around 14 days above ground.

2. Is there a smaller drip ring that I can purchase for the seedlings?

3. It seems as if the water from the drip ring holes are starting to sputter out, instead of flowing smoothly. Is this normal or do I have something wrong with my pump and system?

[align=center]PICTURES[/align]
1. Some more holes that drilled in the bottom of the top-buckets.
2. A look at the roots before they are going inside the system.
3. A picture of how the seedlings look, while inside the system.
4. A look at the most recent setup.
5. A total look at how the closet is setup.

[fhydro]

Hi,
the air pump makes noise by the drip ring holes, it's normal, waterfarm makes noise. The problem is that the water won't go to the little roots because of the distance. You have to put a leaning plane under one part of the dripping ring to the little plant for approx 2 weeks and after it's OK with the normal system. Or you can water yourself for 2 weeks, or put a dripper with water pump. The idea is to help the root system to grow without the definitive ring.
OK ?
Fhydro

[boss30349]

***WILL MORE PEOPLE PLEASE HELP!! I SEE THAT NOBODY DOESN'T ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, AND THIS THREAD HAS PLENTY OF VIEWS FOR PEOPLE TO AT LEAST GIVE SOME TYPE OF FEEDBACK!***

Originally Posted by fhydro
Hi,
the air pump makes noise by the drip ring holes, it's normal, waterfarm makes noise. The problem is that the water won't go to the little roots because of the distance. You have to put a leaning plane under one part of the dripping ring to the little plant for approx 2 weeks and after it's OK with the normal system. Or you can water yourself for 2 weeks, or put a dripper with water pump. The idea is to help the root system to grow without the definitive ring.
OK ?
Fhydro

Thanks alot for the feedback, fhydro! I usually water the seedlings myself since the drip is too big to reach, but when I let the air pump run, the water splatters over the whole surface area. So it pretty much reach the roots that are short and new. I will keep watering them for quite some time until I'm sure that the root system is decent enough to run under the power of the WaterFarm on its own.

The plants are doing just fine (I think)! I still have them under the 4 60 watt CFL. I'm still debating if I should move them under the 400 watt MH I have. Based on the pictures below, do they look like 16 day old plants, or am I behind? Please let me know what I need to upgrade to.

[align=center]PICTURES[/align]
1. Plant #1 is doing good.
2. Plant #2 has a little more growth than Plant #1.
3. Plant #3 is showing the most growth, but I don't have it inside the system because it looks as if it is showing sativa-like characteristics.

[PatrickHenry]

yo brotha, get some more lights. the CFLs aren't going to be sufficient for too much longer. see how the package says 60 watt equivalent? it's a marketing trick, they're actually only 14 watts.

[boss30349]

Originally Posted by PatrickHenry
yo brotha, get some more lights. the CFLs aren't going to be sufficient for too much longer. see how the package says 60 watt equivalent? it's a marketing trick, they're actually only 14 watts.

Thanks for the info. I recently put them under my 400 watt MH, and I have the light around 3 feet above. I'm mad that I got tricked with the packaging.

I added some SuperThrive when I switched over to the 400 watt. The tips of the plant's leaves are starting to get a little yellowish after a couple of days later. I don't know if it was a nute-burn problem or the pH was wrong. Instead of trying to flush the SuperThrive out, I tried to adjust the pH to around 5.8-6.0. I hope that I did the right thing. I'll be updating soon.