1st grow with BCNL producer... God bud!

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stillcantroll

Active Member
Bigbux said:
Does anyone have issues with ph climbing up rapidly? I got my nute mix to 5.5, changed rez, and 30 minutes later it was up to 6.2. So I got it down to 5.7ish and hours later it had climbed to 6.8!! I've been dealing with this for a while but now it's worse than ever. I've used half a litre of TechnaFlora's pH Down in 25 to 30 days. I'm also wondering if too much ph Down is bad for roots and/or nute solution. What everyone else think?
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How does your solution look? nice and clear? if its cloudy or smells bad, rapidly rising pH can be a sign of bad bacteria multiplying in your res. it might just be that your pH buffer was expired, or defective. Try GH or AN's buffers, and check for any slimes or smells in your res.

ph climbing is a sign of a healthy system, but just not that fast.
 
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salinas

Member
hello nice herbs you got goin there wondering if you can tell me anything about these cool looking machines worth the buy arethey noicy anything you can tell me higly appretiated
 
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stillcantroll

Active Member
salinas said:
hello nice herbs you got goin there wondering if you can tell me anything about these cool looking machines worth the buy arethey noicy anything you can tell me higly appretiated
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They are well built machines. They are worth the money in my view, but might want to consider buying second hand, as they are very, very expensive. If you grow twice properly, it's paid off. GL
 
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Bigbux

Active Member
The Producer turned out to be more work than I thought,(adding ice and frozen bottles to rez for temp., and shop-vaccing a rez full of roots is not an easy chore when one wrong move sux up thousands of dollars)but these fuckers grow fast. And I mean fast. I've never seen any plant grow as fast as the ones in the Producer. And I've learned a lot about hydro from a professionally built machine that's been tried and tested for almost ten years now. It's slightly louder than they claim, and the temps are much hotter than they'll admit to, but these issues can be fixed and the result will be a machine capable of 6 to 8 harvests a year if used correctly. Of course, if I lose my first crop in the next 30 days I take back everything I just said and BCNL can rot in hell:)
 
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85kryptonite

Active Member
whats up stillcan, hows the quality of the buds smoked from this first harvest? did you have problems with humidity like ancap has had? also, can you post some pics of some of your buds now that they are fully dried
 
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stillcantroll

Active Member
85kryptonite said:
whats up stillcan, hows the quality of the buds smoked from this first harvest? did you have problems with humidity like ancap has had? also, can you post some pics of some of your buds now that they are fully dried
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I can't post any pics of the buds im afraid, camera is on the fritz... also why I haven't started my next journal yet.

But the quality of the buds is outstanding, myself and friends are blown away. The buds and the hash are both top knotch. One thing I will say, is that it's a lot more of a head high than I prefer. I did harvest on the conservative side, but in hindsight, they could have used another week. There was some mold though, so overall I did harvest at the best time but, next time itll be better airflow and being more patient.

I do have humidity issues, but it's not as catastrophic as ancaps. I think i'll be able to get away with my current humidity by just doing a better job pruning for better air flow. My plants were bushy as hell, tons of moisture build up as a result.

As for the smell, i absolutely did have smell issues. I'm not ready to blame the box just yet, i'm going to try a different filter this run, and do a better job light proofing so no odours can escape. The box as it stands is so, so far from light proof it's not even funny. BCNL says the chambers are "sealed"... in a sense they are I guess, but it's certainly not light proof. It's more like little beams and specs of light escaping on something in the neighbourhood of 15-20 different small spots. The good news is most of these if not al of these lights can be solved by a little bit of tin tape, but I mean honestly, from a manufacturing perspective, someone simply turning the box on then taking some silicone and sealing after construction would be an intelligent solution... or simply taking the words "light-proof" of your advertising, as to not fool customers.

It's important to note that I doubt even with all of these little leaks, that any of the light from your room is getting to the plants during rest, it's more of just an esthetic thing. I have mine in my bedroom, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to sleep with the buzzing of an airpump (doesnt bother me), but the light leaks would make that impossible, and it would completely obliterate the stealthiness of these cabinest in any regard.

By the way, if i'm being honest, anyone saying this thing could pass a cabinet, or that it would be undetected in a garage or something is so full of shit. The thing isn't loud, but it generates enough noise to be heard in adjacent rooms, and it's hot, and has light leaks. I've heard this nonsense like it's just a fuckin bookshelf that grows dope... GET REAL!!

Still totally happy with the product and what it has taught me, and the results i'm getting but it's not much of a stealth anything really. With the knowlege i have now, a tent with a nice big carbon filter, and my own DWC system would have been am uch better solution, but i didn't know what i was doing back then, now i do, and I have bcnl to thank for that so, hey, good investment as far as I'm concerned!

I'm totally on the fence as to how i'll expand my setup. I may either build my own, or buy another producer for second hand and modify it as I have with this one, well see!
 
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85kryptonite

Active Member
hmm interesting, thanks for all the info. do you live in a house or apartment? how bad was the smell and how far could you notice the smell from the producer? im thinking about getting the producer royale so, i will need to get a portable ac unit to vent into the intake? what other things will i need? i know co2, and shop vac....how did you hook up another air pump and air stones or whatever it is you did? id like to be able to put a small oscilating fan inside also
 
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stillcantroll

Active Member
85kryptonite said:
hmm interesting, thanks for all the info. do you live in a house or apartment? how bad was the smell and how far could you notice the smell from the producer? im thinking about getting the producer royale so, i will need to get a portable ac unit to vent into the intake? what other things will i need? i know co2, and shop vac....how did you hook up another air pump and air stones or whatever it is you did? id like to be able to put a small oscilating fan inside also
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At the back of the producer there is a small housing around the intake fan. You can pry this housing open with a screwdriver, just enough to run
extra air lines. I pried the two top housings open, and ran 2 air lines through each, giving me a total of 8. My 2 extra dual diaphragm airpumps just sit on a towel behind the producer. Then, I put the housing back in and simply tape it to the back of the box rather than using the holes. Best decision ive made with this machine bar none, what a difference. My clones are almost done week 2 veg, and are growing about an inch a day, and my roots look better now than they did at the end of harvest of my first grow. Can't wait to see the results of these healthy roots in this run.

I live in a condo, and I don't have my AC rigged up to the intake, which is a good idea but overkill in my situation. My AC brings my entire room down to 65 degrees or lower, so venting into the box is a bit redundant. My box temperature rarely exceeds 75, and my res sits right around 70 all day, which is perfect, and the extra air seems to be fending off any potential root problems.

The smell wasnt terrible, but i have my AC hot air vent going outside my condo via ducting, and you could smell it faintly directly outside my unit. If you took 3 steps away from hte vent, nothing, but, you could smell it directly outside. It's not much, but its enough to get someone curious, and way too much to be comfy. I'm going to tin tape the remaining leaks and try the spare filter BCNL sent me and give a report. Also, the ONA block they sent me didnt really do much but make the air outside my unit smell like citrusey-dope smell... not what i was looking for. If these two solutions fail, then it's either a better filter from BCNL, or a stand-alone carbon scrubber with its own fan, one of the two. I'll keep you posted.

Other things you'll need... hmmm... if you do the air pump thing (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED), then you wont need hydrogen peroxide or anything like that I don't think. Portable AC and the extra air are very important, and the 20lb co2 tank is great too. I wouild recommend going 4 psi rather htan BCNL's 5, because it runs out too fast at 5... unless you want to make 2 trips per harvest to the shop to get it filled, then by all means.

One other note, I would recommend running your producer and its airpumps on its own circuit. When you get an AC going, it can really strain a 15 amp breaker, and mine has popped several times. I finally got a good buddy of mine whos an electrician to wire me up on a 20 amp circuit that now belongs to my producer.

Take the time to light proof your lid, and I would recommend running the 125w CFL bulb all the way through flower to harvest. Don't really need it during veg, too much redundant blue spectrum in my opinion, but I would run the t5's through the entire veg + flower cycle.

Good luck bro
 
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85kryptonite

Active Member
sounds good, so should i get any other nutes or just use only the ones that come with the royale? where can i get a 20 lb co2 tank at? also i forget do you use tap water for your res.? sorry about all the questions and if im being annoying
 
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stillcantroll

Active Member
85kryptonite said:
sounds good, so should i get any other nutes or just use only the ones that come with the royale? where can i get a 20 lb co2 tank at? also i forget do you use tap water for your res.? sorry about all the questions and if im being annoying
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Nah man, i'll jump over hoops if it means someone doesnt have to go through the learning pains that I did. You can buy a 20lb co2 tank at any welding supply store, there should be plenty near wherever you live.

As for the nutrients, It's hard for me to say, as I'm still trying several others to gauge their effectiveness. I'm almost into week 3 of my next grow, and i've added dutch master silica, and b-52 and fulvic acids from advanced. My clones are absolutely perfect, and I mean perfect, they are growing about an inch a day, and the roots look better than I've ever been able to produce. Is that the new nutes, or just me not fucking up and over feeding like last time? I think both. Advanced nutrients is typically way overpriced on their products. They have a silica product as well (rhino skin), but its way, way more expensive, and if you do your research, alternatives are available that are just as effective for much cheaper. My alternative was dutch master's. The only reason I bought fulvic from advanced was because the store I bought it from had it for 30 percent off. The b-52 I had heard really great things about, and it has kelp and some other lovely things in it, so I decided to give it a whirl. No complains so far, except for a bit of staining on my roots but who cares. Overall, the biggest yield booster is included in the royale which is big bud. A nice PK boost will do wonders, especially when you're working with a 2 part nutrient and can't really tweak the ratios.

I do indeed use tap water for my res with no problems, but whether or not you can is a different story. If your tap water tastes good, and has a PPM of 150 or less, then I'd say go for it. If it's more than that, then consider an RO filter. I'm quite lucky as the tap water where I live is a measly 25-30ppm, so an RO filter is a bit of an unnecessary investment for me.
 
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85kryptonite

Active Member
ok cool, so how do you know what nutrients to use and how much of each nutrient? do you think the royale is worth it, or just to get the producer?
 
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stillcantroll

Active Member
85kryptonite said:
ok cool, so how do you know what nutrients to use and how much of each nutrient? do you think the royale is worth it, or just to get the producer?
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The producer comes with a nute schedule, use that. I don't know what nutrients to use, which is why I'm trying new things, and seeing how it goes. Gains from nutrients are totally eclipsed by proper plant care. Learn how to manage your humidity, light exposure, and Co2, and itll beat the shit out of any additives. Focus on base nutrients, and big bud, and go from there.

The royale for me was worth it, the dryer is a huge help, and the little bonuses were great.
 
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stillcantroll

Active Member
I do need a portable AC unit. I mentioned before I might be able to get away with not using one because of the new air to the roots, and i think this is true, but the AC also serves as a bit of a de-humidifier by its function as you're aware, so I'll be keeping mine on. I bought a humidity meter, and my humidity is in the early 40's with the carbon filter off, so I fear I may be in ancaps spot when I throw it on in a couple weeks. I'm trying to figure out of another oscillating fan inside the unit will be enough to fight off any moisture build up, because I'm a little paranoid about boosting my hydro bill anymore with a de-humidifer.

A 20lb tank costs between 30-40 dollars to fill up, and was about 170$ for me, as my buddy is a welder and got me a good deal. With my AC running, and my box, my hydro bill went up about another 50-60$ per month.
 
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85kryptonite

Active Member
hmm thats not too bad of a bill increase, so what portable ac unit do you have? im trying to figure out which one i can get that will vent good to the producer.....what nutes do you use? im thinking about getting some more nutes besides the ones that come with the royale, but not sure which ones that i should or need to get
 
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stillcantroll

Active Member
85kryptonite said:
hmm thats not too bad of a bill increase, so what portable ac unit do you have? im trying to figure out which one i can get that will vent good to the producer.....what nutes do you use? im thinking about getting some more nutes besides the ones that come with the royale, but not sure which ones that i should or need to get
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Again, the nutes thing is something you simply have to try for yourself. Noone will agree on what nutes are the best, that's why there are so many of them still selling today. I strongly recommend at the very least, the base nutrients that come with the box, and a PK booster such as 'big bud', which you'll also get in your royale package. Everything after that I can't reliably speak to, as I've had such wonderful gains by tweaking things other than nutes. The biggest increase in productivity and root health was adding the extra air pumps, nothing else came close.

I don't port my AC to my box directly, it's just sitting in a small room with the producer in with it, and displacing the hot air out of the room. I use a "noma 7000 btu portable air conditioner". I would recommend a window unit if you can get it installed, theyre cheaper and just flat out better in my view, but you won't be able to duct it directly to the machine if that's a major concern of yours. It wasn't for me.
 
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