~ AirCube Active Oxygen Ebb/Flow System sponsored by GrowAce, featuring Strawberry Gorilla Auto by FastBuds ~
Well guy's and gal's here we go again on another exciting Autoflower run together! This time will be different as I will be doing a 'Hydroponic' run utilizing the AirCube Active Oxygen Ebb/Flow System by GrowAce, who were kind enough to sponsor me for this run, so it should be interesting to see what results I get and have some fun along the way!
โขLet me first tell you about this 6 Pot Ebb/Flow system from GrowAce:
"The AirCube system is the one and only Ebb & Flow grow system on the market that combines the benefits of air pruning with a fully automated Ebb+Flow system! With the AirCube's proprietary fabric pot in bucket design, this system is guaranteed to outgrow any other Ebb + Flow system on the market. The results speak for themselves- grow MASSIVE roots that result in MASSIVE fruits!
Air Pruning- Air Pruning only happens with fabric pots. As the roots reach the fabric walls of the pot, they penetrate and grow into the breathable fabric. Once penetrated, the roots are exposed to air, which causes the tips of the root to dehydrate and naturally prune themselves. This natural pruning process forces the roots to grow tons of lateral fibrous feeder roots. This results in a plant that utilizes the entire root zone and fills the entire pot with tons of roots. These fibrous feeder roots are incredibly effective in uptaking water and nutrients, resulting in a plant that grows healthier and more vigorously!
Oxygen Benefits- Without oxygen, nutrient absorption cannot occur. On a molecular level, oxygen is needed to transmit nutrients across the cell walls and into the roots of a plant. With the AirCube's proprietary bottom lifted draining design, the system actively draws all of the water out of the bucket pulls vital oxygen into the root zone.
Maximum Versatility with Any Grow Medium: The AirCube System is the only system on the market that allows you to use any growing medium you like. Use coco coir, soil, peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, hydroton, rockwool or any other medium you wish! This system is the most versatile Ebb and Flow bucket system in today's hydroponics industry.
Temperature Control- with the fabric pots constructed with highly porous polypropylene fabric, heat dissipates easily and effectively. Unlike standard plastic pots, heat isn't trapped in the root zone. Heat in standard plastic containers can reach temperatures of up to 125 degrees. When this type of heat is trapped and unable to escape, it can damage your plant's health and limit the potential of your harvest. Growing in the AirCube System, plant roots grow cooler, healthier, and more vigorous.
Largest Pots in its Class- this system features 5 Gallon grow buckets, the largest pot size of any other ebb and flow hydroponic system in the market.
Modular and Expandable- start with 6 grow buckets and expand up to 36 grow buckets with the optional 105 gallons PopTank reservoir!"
For my medium and nutrients I decided to also switch things up from my regular Organic runs, going with Plagron Nutrients and Root Royale 70/30 Coco/Perlite. When filling the fabric pots with medium, I first added just under a gallon of horticulture perlite from Nor-Cal as a base layer to ensure good drainage and then filled the remainder with the Root Royale.
โขNow for one of my favorites, and award winning strain from my friends at FastBuds... Strawberry Gorilla Auto:
I'll be running Strawberry Gorilla Autoflower which is a 55/45 Sativa/Indica Hybrid. "ATTENTION ALL! Due to our continuous efforts in evolving our breeding process, we are proud to confirm that our Strawberry Gorilla Auto has now become one of the most potent autoflowers in the world! Paving the way to our recent success where she ranked on top & brought home the gold at the very first American Autoflower Cup in California. Moreover, she proved that not only modern autoflowers can compete with photoperiods, but they can even beat them in their field. At the most recent edition of the Farmerโs Cup and competing against various photoperiodic strains, Strawberry Gorilla Auto took home the title of 'Highest Combined Terpenes' in the highly sought-after 'Home Grow Hash' category, with an impressive 97.163 mg/g total terpene content! Our exceptional genetic selection's crowning Strawberry Gorilla Auto strain is a spectacular hybrid known for producing yields of up to 600 gr/m2 in 70 days. This is a very manageable grow that can reach heights of up to 150 cm - due to its magnitude we recommend it for more experienced growers, as a huge plant may be a little overwhelming for first-timers. This show stopping sativa heavy hybrid is perfect as an all day smoke, producing a taste bud tingling, pungent berry and diesel terpene-rich flavor combo that leaves you with a grin from ear to ear, a perfect choice for those looking for a day-and-night autoflower! "*
*References: GrowAce.com, 2fast4buds.com
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The Setup:
โข AC Infinity 4x4 tent
โขAC Infinity Cloudline T6 Exhaust Fan w/ Controller 67
โขHLG 650R w/UVA Bar *** For some reason GD does NOT have a listing for the USA version of the 650R so I selected the closest match to it.
โขAirCube Active Oxygen Ebb/Flow 6 pot System
โขTrolMaster Hydro-X Controller for light
โขAutoPilot APC8200 co2 controller fed by a 50# tank
โข16" Hurricane oscillating fan and 8" floor fan
โขTent cooling via filtered outside air delivered by AC Infinity Cloudline T6 fan
โขBlueLab instruments: PH Pen and Truncheon Nutrient Meter
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Weekly Updates:
11/29- Here we go into Week 4 of flower for the FastBuds Strawberry Gorilla's and I wish I could say they are looking epic, but that's not the case. The #2 plant continues to be ahead of the other two, and is really frosting up nicely. The #2 and #3 plants look pretty crappy, and after examining some other plants in the tent I've got a good idea of the issue. The fabric pots that the plants are in are supposed to 'air prune' the roots, preventing them from growing outside of the pot, and instead growing a large mass inside of the pot. I pulled one of the pots from its bucket and it was disgusting, with rotting clumps of roots in the bottom of the bucket along with some nasty looking brown slime. The fabric pot also had roots growing out of it, along with that brown slime across the bottom of the pot...ugh!
12/1- Tomorrow I'll be doing another drain/clean/fill of the reservoir, after which I'll add Plagron Cocos 'A' & 'B' along with Green Sensation and Royal Rush. After adding the nutrients I'll ph the solution to 5.6-5.8 @ 70โ.
12/3- Yesterday I did the drain/fill and continue to have the Plagron nutrient level at 800ppm. The #3 plant continues to struggle, but nevertheless is flowering away and actually has pretty decent trichome production, which I wonder if the stress she's experiencing has an affect on either positively or negatively.
12/5- There is four weeks of flowering for the Strawberry Gorilla's. Although they sure could look a whole lot better, they for sure could look way worse. Hopefully, they'll start to look a bit better in the upcoming weeks... fingers crossed! ๐๐ค
๐ Thank you for checking out my passion in life! Please visit as often as you wish and I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I know I will! Grow what you love, Love what you grow!๐
The real problem with running multiple hydro pods with a single reservoir, not all plant nutrient needs are addressed individually. Although possible itโs difficult to get to their potential.