The second round with the UnderCurrent, The $6,500 expearment gets better

legallyflying said:

I tell you, I think there is a link between motivated growers and ADD or excessive compulsion disorder. Been spending hours researching and trying to design the rdwc conversion. The only real bummer is that it seems like a little more of a pia than my interconnected dwc bucket system that uses a ebb and flow bucket controller to maintain water levels. It's kind of pseudo rdwc really as the control bucket drains all the grow sites and then fills them up, thereby keeping the nutrient solution mixed.

Maybe I'll just set it to drain and fill every 30 minutes. It wouldn't be constantly circulating but it would be close.

One question, I read that people drop the water level during flower. Do you employ this tactic? Reason I ask is that if you did you would have to have an adjustable top off float...correct?

Click to expand...

hellraizer30 said:

Legal got a good question, im wondering the same thing about water levels between bloom and veg!

Also i see you and others run your ppms low theres a reason?

Click to expand...

Yes I do drop my levels and my auto fill is adjustable. You can get one similar at any hardware store, look for a float in the humidifer section, drum humidiriers use them. When the plants start I have the water 1" above the bottom of the net pot. After I see roots I drop to 1" below, and once there are lots of roots 2" below, and for the final 10 days 1/2 the space between the bottom and the net pot. This stimulates fall conditions for the plant.

Remember I have the room to drop the water that much, in smaller systems adjust using smaller increments. The big one to do is the drop below the bottom of the net pot once you get roots showing. Remember you have all those bubbles popping on the surface to soak the bottom.

PPM are kept low because you will kill your plants if youfollow the feeding instructions the manufactures reccommend. I use 1/2 to 1/3 of the reccomended and my plants love it, I tried pusshing them to 800 but they started cupping and burning up. Live and learn. Your plants will tell you what they want. I know that sounds like hippy talk but with RDWC it's true, you have so much avalible food for the plant when they are eating your PPM and PH move.

Here is the rule to follow

If your nutes are at 500ppm and two days later there at 350ppm you need to up your ppm! It works like this, change res set ppm at say 600ppm ph 5.9 run for 24hrs, now if you ppm rise and ph drops nutes are too strong. If ppm drop and ph rises, nutes are too weak. But if your ppm and ph are basically stable then you have found the right mix for your plants.

So had a closer look and I think 3 days to go, I see a few dark trichromes on some of them and the KO has a few too.......

one of my favs...


[video=youtube;2jQN6y5mW08]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jQN6y5mW08[/video]

Thanks wood for clearing that up, the ppms im used to using now wont work in a uc thats good means less money
To spend on nutes

woodsmaneh! said:

Here is the rule to follow

If your nutes are at 500ppm and two days later there at 350ppm you need to up your ppm! It works like this, change res set ppm at say 600ppm ph 5.9 run for 24hrs, now if you ppm rise and ph drops nutes are too strong. If ppm drop and ph rises, nutes are too weak. But if your ppm and ph are basically stable then you have found the right mix for your plants.

Click to expand...

bam! i think this one should be repeated for people who might have gotten all caught up in the bud porn. this has been proving dead on in my gro n flo's.. I have to top off about 8 gallons a day for my 12, so i have been playing with this feeding rule for a couple of rez changes..

[video=youtube;Yi6XV8yBFoU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi6XV8yBFoU[/video]

Carlin was the man!

I grew up with Carlin and he was so funny, but as he got older he got meaner and started forusing on the ugly part of life, he turned bitter in the end

On June 22, 2008, Carlin was admitted to Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica after experiencing chest pain, and he died later that day of heart failure. He was 71 years old.[SUP][62][/SUP] His death occurred one week after his last performance at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. There were further shows on his itinerary.[SUP][22][/SUP][SUP][63][/SUP][SUP][64][/SUP] In accordance with his wishes, he was cremated, his ashes scattered, and no public or religious services of any kind were held.[SUP][65][/SUP][SUP][66][/SUP]

So do you think that the undercurrent setup did any better than a traditional sec?

I mean dwc*

all yields are base on a combanation of factors and in different hands different yields. But for a novice grower to be able to build or buy a RDWC that is tuned correct and can produce 1# with 2 plants under a 1000w with no expearence, you be the judge. Remember this is indoors and the top growers are getting 2+# per 1000w I have seen 3# 1000w with 2 plants from a pro grow. Show me a better way and I will change. There is more to it than tossing a punp chiller and air stones together. This type of growing has been around for about 10 years but is so cutting edge that you have to have peers to talk to to learn what to do. The hydro shops and nutrieant manufactures don't have a fucking clue how these things work, but ton's of legal grow opps have switched due to the control and quality and QUANTY. But that's just my opinion.....were the ground breakers and we learn from eachother, here guys like Undercurrent are ground breakers and over at the THCfarm we have our own thread sponsered by UnderCurrent systems.... have a look and learn

Thanks for stopping in

Wow I checked it out and there's more info there than I know what to do with. Only thing I didn't see though was how to properly build the setup. Can you give me a run down or would you recommend spending the money to buy one. I'd really like to build though cause I'd only be able to afford a 4 site system in the reasonably near future.

Google around. There is plenty of info out there. Your probably looking at more money than your originally thought because your going to need a chiller but at any rate..

You need containers..5 gallon for smaller plants. 13-15 gallon for bigger trees. Then you need to buy the uniseals to put the PVC pipe into the containers. You could do 2" but everything I have read says spend the extra $30 and get 3". Uniseals are about $8 a piece. In the middle of your containers ( the farthest point from your collection bucket) you need to tap into the 3" pipe with a 1/2 or 3/4 inch hose that will run to your high quality water pump. (around 800gph). From the pump to your chiller and then into the collection bucket. A top of tank and Float Valve commects to the collection bucket. Then you just need some net pots, a BIG air pump and a bunch of airstones for an 8 site system:

9 containers $60
8 large net pots $20
18 3" uniseals. $145
20' of 3" PVC. $15
10 feet of 3/4" tubing $10
decent water pump $130
large air pump $80
8 airstones $10
50 gallon drum $20
float valve $15
1/10 hp chiller $300
Pvc fittings and elbows $25

So your in about $800. But that includes the chiller!

Well the deed is done they came down this morning, I flashed dried some of the KO and it's nice and works well but will wait till it is cured right. Here are some pic I have another chop in 8 days. Some eye candy

View attachment 1980391

Growing manicured buds!, Looks like there wont be much trim work for you!

Nice!

woodsmaneh! said:

PPM are kept low because you will kill your plants if youfollow the feeding instructions the manufactures reccommend. I use 1/2 to 1/3 of the reccomended and my plants love it, I tried pusshing them to 800 but they started cupping and burning up. Live and learn. Your plants will tell you what they want. I know that sounds like hippy talk but with RDWC it's true, you have so much avalible food for the plant when they are eating your PPM and PH move.

Here is the rule to follow

If your nutes are at 500ppm and two days later there at 350ppm you need to up your ppm! It works like this, change res set ppm at say 600ppm ph 5.9 run for 24hrs, now if you ppm rise and ph drops nutes are too strong. If ppm drop and ph rises, nutes are too weak. But if your ppm and ph are basically stable then you have found the right mix for your plants.

Click to expand...

Thanks for this I have a self made AERO system and I came to this same conclusion
for my 55gal rez. Hopefully I will post a thread oneday.

Just thought I would throw it out there since I am buying things for a RDWC system, hydro hut has 3" uniseals for $4.54!!! that is CHEAP.

http://www.thehydrosource.com/Pumps_Irrigation/Accessories/Uniseal_3_In.?zenid=85eao7nt0ki3n9hcg8ghec02f1

cheers.

legallyflying said:

Just thought I would throw it out there since I am buying things for a RDWC system, hydro hut has 3" uniseals for $4.54!!! that is CHEAP.

http://www.thehydrosource.com/Pumps_Irrigation/Accessories/Uniseal_3_In.?zenid=85eao7nt0ki3n9hcg8ghec02f1

cheers.

Click to expand...

I'm in that's dame cheap up here they are $11.12, I guess I'm building another system, I'll have one to veg them in.

Ive been wanting to build a DIY UC system. But its a big project!!
I just wanna grow some trees!

Keep doin your thing Woods!!

yup it's some work but if you like things that move and pump and blow and leak and on and on it's great. I love to mess around, frustrated inventor or something like that. It will also teach you skills you need to have as a homeowner. Plumbing, electrical, air, heating, cooling all kinds of things that people go to collages to learn, you get a free degree with every system from the school of fast learning.

I love trying to make stuff better, if you saw how much stuff I got from failed projects you would laugh so hard, but after all these years I have just about 3 to 10 of everything, pumps, fans, heater, bla bla bla, I love my job as a grower

Just got 2 1200gph mag drive pumps so I can switch over to the chiller coils. Bought online my delivered cost was $188.00 each, happy with that. I'm chopping the girls in the jumbo tomorrow so will be able to start the mods to everything I have planed.