|FCG|Frank's 1st Grow: Royal Haze | Area51 LED, CO2, Bubbleponics

|FCG|Frank

Active Member
Day 4

All three seeds have came out of their hole. The cotyledon of each seed has grown 3-5mm.



Look at that. So pretty :D

I have brought down the humidity in the tent to 50% from 60%. It will make the res last longer and the various books I read on the matter suggest 50% is enough.

Once I start supplementing CO2, is 50% still valid? This CO2 supplementation guide claims 50% is the very maximum.

Thanks for looking!
 

|FCG|Frank

Active Member
While I wait for my girls to grow I am reading Jorge Cervantes' books and he mentions foliar sprays.

I've also read some guy called JaliscoKid figured out keeping humidity at 60-69% for vegging gave major growth since it was just below the point where the somata close. Therefore you insure maximum transpiration. He suggests 70%RH+CO2+Foliar spray for "scary" results.

Are there better sprays than others out there, or some made specifically for hydro?
 

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
Root Hairs is a very good sign. Right amount of moisture- over/under watering will kill them

BTW, I cleared my PM box, but never got yours
 

|FCG|Frank

Active Member
I came back from a 5 hour dinner and found temps inside the tent at 90F and one of the seedling was definitely affected. The end of the cotyledon looks dried up.

I think I'm going to go with a Ice Box Pro (from hydro innovation) with a good water chiller and a res OUTSIDE the tent.
 

|FCG|Frank

Active Member
How grave of a mistake did I make? Will the seedling recuperate or did I damage it too severely I might just throw it out? All grow books mention how vital it is not to commit mistakes or the entire grow may be "severely affected".
 

|FCG|Frank

Active Member
My sunbeam humidifier is also unable to keep up. Because it's so dry around here (everywhere else in the house RH% is 35%...) the unit is simply to small. I'm asking it to compensate for a 30% increase and it just can't deliver. I'm gonna have to buy a bigger one.

The low ambient RH% will be very useful around harvest time. natural 35% with no need for a dehumidifier will be nice :D
 

Scotch089

Well-Known Member
I just wouldnt let it happen again, it'll stunt them a tad but they will be fine. I've even burnt mine with T5's before; browned the cotyledon leaves a bit.

...do you know how hard it is to burn something with a T5?!
 

Scotch089

Well-Known Member
lol I have the same issue with my RH..sits at 22% in my veg chamber, oof! i felt that one.. Ive definitely noticed my kids havin' some trouble. Ill have spikes to 54% on a good day along with some taco'd leaves to go with it (transpiration to compensate, yay..)

but flowering is going to be a breeze and curing's going to be awesome
 

|FCG|Frank

Active Member
Day 5

This is a good news/bad news scenario.

Bad news first: I'm scrubbing this 1st grow early. Yesterday the 90F temp cooked a seedling and I had to throw it out this morning because it was obviously not going to survive. I never expected the LED to output so much heat. This has forced me to get a cooling system. It is almost good fortune I first tried a grow with inexpensive seeds and immediately realized there was a fault in the system that needed immediate correcting. In the mean time, I will let the two remaining seedlings veg as long as I get ready for the second grow, then I will keep the healthiest one as a mother and start again from scratch.

Good news: my royal haze seeds arrived today (CHRISTMAS PRESENT! THANKS SANTA!) which I wasn't expecting. I also ordered cooling equipment, consisting of a GH 33gal res, a 1/10hp chiller, a 500gph sub-pump, a hydro innovations ice box 6" and a can-max 6" inline fan (speed adjustable) 334CFM. The chiller will keep the water at 65F and the ice box coupled with the can-max fan will act as a closed loop air conditioner with zero heat emission in the grow area. The can-max fan will be connected to the sentinel chhc-4 so it will only activate the fan when needed.

Now I know I need a bigger humidifier for the beginning of the vegging stage and then later, when plants have grown and the tent is crowded, I'll switch to a dehumidifier. I got this Delonghi model from Costco. It has a built-in pump, so I will simply have it empty in the 33 gallon reservoir that will sit outside the tent. That way, I never have to worry about emptying it ever again. Whatever water is evaporated by the cooling will be put back in the res by the dehumidifier. Total and complete control over humidity, maintenance free and 100% automated. :D

With the watercooled AC system controlled by CHHC-4 controller, I'll have automated and total control over temperature as well. Should I need to HEAT the tent during night time in flowering, I can just plug a heater in the CHHC-4 and it'll prevent a drop further than 10F.

I've also ordered an additional 1/15HP chiller (it's the smallest I could find) just for the DWC reservoir to make sure water temps remain at the optimal constant of 65F. I noticed the water was way too hot because of the sealed environment.

Once reservoir water temp, tent co2 levels, temperatures and humidity are all automated, I won't have to worry about it. Just the daily check-up and feeding. No more stressing over cooking the plants. For those reasons, I thought it was smarter to start again and do it right with the mistakes fixed.

I won't be updating the journal until I'm ready to go from scratch with my royal haze and the whole ecosystem is fully setup.

At the very least I'll have gotten a G13 mother out of this first failed experiment :D Can I just keep it under a T5 24/7 in a closet when I'm ready to start again?
 

Endur0xX

Well-Known Member
1000$ of cooling equipment for a 280watts light!! It will take years for you to get a return on your investment. Anyway, by the looks of it you can afford it but it seems excessive. At least you got a good light so the results should be great.

what does FCG stand for?
 

|FCG|Frank

Active Member
1000$ of cooling equipment for a 280watts light!! It will take years for you to get a return on your investment. Anyway, by the looks of it you can afford it but it seems excessive. At least you got a good light so the results should be great.

what does FCG stand for?
The beauty of watercooling is that it can serve many, many rooms from a single reservoir. I got 33gal because I know I'll have a second tent soon. I could add a third and a fourth and with the proper chiller and room temperatures, you can maintain temp in all 4 tents from a single closed loop. That is when it pays off. So it's not necessarily excessive.

I'm the Friendly Canadian Grower.

I'm a legal grower and a medical user and care very little for the return on my investment at this time. I want the most efficient and automated system to fully bring out the genetic potential of each seed I will plant so I can get the best product possible. In the second tent I intend to grow a high CBD low THC strain to follow my doctor's advice. Such strains aren't worth much on the street I presume.

Compared to what I pay to get cannabis now, this system will pay for itself within the year.
 

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
lol I have the same issue with my RH..sits at 22% in my veg chamber, oof! i felt that one.. Ive definitely noticed my kids havin' some trouble. Ill have spikes to 54% on a good day along with some taco'd leaves to go with it (transpiration to compensate, yay..)

but flowering is going to be a breeze and curing's going to be awesome
Get a humidifier or a pond fogger from a big box- that's what I use when the RH gets too low

 

Scotch089

Well-Known Member
Hell yea Flora, I'm on the market for a nice humidifier, didn't think about a fogger! I even think I have one out n the garage.

Happy Holidays everybody!
 

|FCG|Frank

Active Member
Merry Christmas guys :)

I've been struggling to find oscillating fans because it's winter here. I was using a single "high tower" oscillating ventilator but I think even the lowest setting is too strong for plants in seedlings stage. And since I'm running a sealed tent with high humidity I'll have to make sure there is a BIG FAT ZERO amount of dead air pockets.

I might have to order online from the US. I was thinking of putting two on the floor (or clip em to the poles), 2 for the bottom 2 for the top, so 4 oscillating fans total that make sure air is always recirculating.

Or I thought of also getting a small vortex fan I'd put on the floor that ensures air moves in the tent, and add separate 6" clip-on fans aimed on the canopy for the breeze they need to grow strong.

Any brands or fans advice?
 
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