GrowAce AirCubes with Tropicana Cookies

~FastBuds Tropicana Cookies~ This was my first time running this FastBuds strain, along with my first attempt at 'hydroponic' growing using the AirCube Active Oxygen Ebb/Flow System from GrowAce. I cultivated three plants from seed to finish in just over 70 days growing in a 70/30 Coco/Perlite mix coupled with a layer of straight Perlite in the bottom of the fabric pots to ensure drainage and fed Plagron nutrients for the entire run with the exception of a 10 day flush at the end. Among those three cultivars, I had three distinctly different phenotypes. The #1 plant grew short and extremely bushy, with beautiful thick purple flowers, showing more Indica like traits. The #2 plant, which was the only one of the three that was topped, stretched her 'legs' and grew fairly tall in comparison to the #1. She also lacked the deep purple coloration of the #1, having just hints of light lavender in her flowers which were stacked tightly and completely frosted over with glistening trichomes! Lastly, the #3 phenotype grew the tallest of the bunch with wide, 'Sativa-like', node spacing. She was the one that experienced several issues during the grow, but finished out not looking too bad with a super dark purple coloration to her flowers that almost appears black. That dark purple color, coupled with her dark orange pistils give her flowers extra eye appeal! FastBuds Tropicana Cookies Auto was a very easy to cultivate strain and produced really spectacular results all things considered. I'll definitely be looking forward to running this one again in a 100% organic grow and can't wait to the results from that! 😎👍 Now let me move on the the AirCube Active Oxygen Ebb/Flow System from GrowAce. I was sponsored this system in return for my feedback on it shared through my Social Media accounts. On paper, this looks like a really great product, and I'm sure with enough time and experience you could get optimal results from using it, but for me that just was not the case. The initial setup went very smoothly, GrowAce's AirCube System looks to be extremely well made, comes with fairly clear instructions, and went together easily. I did add hose clamps to all the fittings attached to hoses for an extra measure of insurance against leaks (no one needs 20+gallons flooding the grow room!) and also placed the reservoir and 'brain bucket' outside of my 4x4 which allowed me to place all six AirCube pots in the tent, and yes it ended up being a bit too tight for me... it probably would work better with 3 plants or less in a 4x4. So lets get in to my pluses and minuses in my opinion for the GrowAce AirCube Active Oxygen Ebb/Flow System: Positives: • Well made • Easy to assemble • Easy to understand instructions and lots of 'how to' media available • Easily expandable Negatives: • Not for novices, previous hydroponic growing experience needed • No way to control solution temperature in reservoir • Roots growing out of the fabric pots end up dying and rotting which results in a ton of debris in the solution necessitating draining/cleaning/refilling the system every 4-5 days • No way to adjust nutrient levels for individual plants, they all get the same PPM like it or not. • Requires having all plants start together, and finish together as there is no way to flush individual plants. • Lastly, I like to turn my plants, which is impossible and also to photograph them which is difficult with this setup. All in all, I enjoyed the experience of 'hydro' growing, but am ready to get back to what I really LOVE to do which is 100% organic grows... Stay tuned fam!