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This is my first hydroponics grow and will be using a single 20L RDWC system. Setup is in a 1mx1mx1.8m Mars Hydro Tent. Canna Aqua Vega measured as a combined total in all nutrient listings (e.g Week one is 2ml, so 1ml part A 1ml part B) Using every thing at half the recommended dose, unless mentioned. Full dose of Rhizotonic in this week.
Had issues with temp control to get it at a stable 23c ended up having to plum a direct A/C feed into bottom. Was fluctuating between 18c-26c for the first 4 day. Also had humidity control issues, was at 35% but at 50-60% from day 4 on wards (two open water buckets seem to keep it at this range).
Ph issue, won't stay at 5.9. Always rises back to 7.2 and above. Keep adding Ph down to correct, normal every 2-3hrs if I get a chance. Always rises back to 7.2 within a few hours. Solution at 400PPM.
Slight rotten smell from solution, not sure if its from RHIZOTONIC, dogs went crazy over the smell of this stuff :) or maybe contamination issue (thinking this might be cause the Ph issue) Plant looks healthy so going to keep the solution until the weeks end.
Day count started when transplanted into RDWC. Germinated seed in rockwool. Soaked rockwool in water Ph 5.5 for 1min, let drain for 15mins. Put into a mini green house, took 3 days to sprout. Transplanted after 2 days with no visible roots.
It seems that ph is the biggest issue people struggle with in hydro. It is usually one of 2 issues. Either nutrients that don't run stable or bacteria breeding causing an unbalanced environment in your reservoir. To rule out the bacteria issue add 2 tsp per gallon of 3% hydrogen peroxide to your reservoir. This will kill any bacteria and add oxygen to the water at the same time. I always run it in my system week 1 just to be safe. As for the nutrients I use maxigro and maxibloom. They buffer pH great and will run stable all week. It is also really cheap. Those 2 things will solve your pH issues and make life a lot easier. Good luck
First nutrient change out. Flushed plant for around 4hrs with peroxide water (150ppm), made new nutrient solution once peroxide levels had dropped to 25ppm. Ph seemed stable for the rest of the day, next day same ph issue of it constantly rising. Continue to adjust throughout the days to try and keep it close to 5.9. First two leaves have become twisted looking after this whole process. Plants spent quite a bit of time out of any solution as I didn't prepare very well for the swap out.
Some slime on the roots when transferring to week 3's solution. Used spray bottle to rinse roots, slime washed away. Roots look nice and white and healthy (looks slightly brown in pictures but these were taken prior to be rinsed).
Made fresh batch of water up 2 days before change out (peroxide @ 200ppm). Added Canna Aqua Vega 24hrs before change out to try help stabilise the ph, Rhizotonic added 12hrs before. Will wait until peroxide test at 0ppm before adding in Cannazym.
End of day 14 with fresh nutes, ph is holding much more stable now. Adjusted once throughout day, was previously have to adjust every 2 hrs. Cut off bottom two leaves, became twisted after last change over and looking quite unhealthy.
Day 15 - Peroxide levels back to zero, noticed roots are covered in slime. Washed slime off, cleaned hydroton and rockwool. Plant suffered some shock, recovered in a 2hrs. Added Cannazym (half recommended dose). Roots still slimy that night. Added another half dose of Cannazym.
Day 16 - Roots no longer slimy, has changed into more of a solid. Rewashed roots clean. Plant currently still looks healthy.
Ph is still going good much more stable, one adjustment first thing in the morning, one at middle of the day, one before bed and it stays within range of 5.5 - 6.5
Day 17 - Roots have come good and are nice and white again, no slime or anything on them.
Day 18 - Topped the new growth, some accidental FIMing to the side of it lol. Turned on bloom lights as well that arvo. Removed bottom nodes as they weren't growing or receiving much light.
Day 19 - Had to add an extra A/C Duct just for the light. With the bloom switch now on temperatures rose to 26*C+. Temperature back at stable 23*C without have to turn the A/C right down. Almost no heat can be felt from light now unless you're within an inch from it. 👌
Day 21 - Change out nutrient solution. Found out late that night my timer hasn't been working since the beginning (side switch turned to on instead of timer), so light has been on for 24hrs a day since beginning. Started bending leaves/branches to allow light through to more leaves.
Day 24 - Drinking some water now, added 2ltrs + nutrients to top up. PPM were at 750ppm proir to top up and 750ppm after.
Day 25 - Made wood frame below canopy with glue gun. Glued to basket so it can still be removed. Tied down plant. Added new humidifier to room to try raise it to 50%.
Have been adding a little extra Cannazym thoughout the week, probably around 6ml every 2nd day. Roots looking much better.
Day 28 - Nutrient Change, reading at 700ppm. Not sure why its less then last time as I've added more nutrients. May have to invest in a better meter for the next round.
Day 30 - Topped the two main stems.
Day 31 - Tied down stems
Day 33 - Added ScrOG. Snapped one of the branches, taped it back together.
Left out the Rhizotonic this week to see if it makes a difference to my root rot/algae problem.
Will need to reduce my air intake or upgrade my extraction fan, currently running at a positive pressure and starting to smell.
Day 35 - Lifting pot with ScrOG worked out good, nutrient change was still easy. Washed roots some of them where slimy/brown.
Day 37 - Checked roots. Less slimy today, cleaned them with spray bottle. Added another 50ml of Canazyme. Trunk of plant looking nice and thick.
Day 38 - Defoliated under the canopy and all the smaller foliage. Some fan leaves on the side left, to be trimmed over the coming days.
Day 39 - More defoliation.
Day 40 - Seems to be responding well to the defoliation.
Day 41 - 🐶
Should I trim some of this out, not much below the canopy besides some fan leaves. Just thinking theres not enough space between the heads. Was thinking of starting flower next week.
Hi @shibbyguy you can do some defoliation on the bigger leaves mainly under the net where the light doesn't reach and slightly over the net. the secret of defoliation is to keep doing it little by little so as not to stress your plant. good luck mate 👍🙏
Quite happy with the width of the plant, going to veg for one more week and get some more height before I flip it.
Day 42 - No slime on roots for the first time and looking whiter then ever. Also the first week (week 6) I didnt run Rhizotonic, wondering if I had a bad batch or if it naturally makes the roots slimly🤔
Day 44 - Defoliated some larger fan leaves.
Day 45 - Noticed light timer not working, must of only failed a day or so ago at the most.
Day 46 - Replaced power board (also dodgy) and timer.
Day 47 - Nutrients levels have dropped to 800ppm, will top up tonight.
Day 48 - Nutrients levels back to 1200ppm. Topped 3 branches to level the canopy out slightly. Cut 4 smaller branches off underneath that weren't developing and never going to make it close to the top.
Day 49 - Topped one more stem. Have changed my mind about flowering, going to veg for one more week.
Day 50 - Decided to veg for one more week. Plants currently 70cm x 70cm wide and 33cm tall, hoping to get to 40cm at end of week.
Fixed issue with the low extration rate. Found the filter had become blocked from the humidifier. Have moved it to the opposite side of tent. Hopefully this prevents it from happening again.
Day 53 - Have been have Ph issue again due to algae. Plant hasnt been drinking much and growth seems very slow.
Day 55 - Defoliated whole plant. Roots have some slime on them. Peroxide flushed with plain water for 12hrs maintained around 150ppm. All slime appears to be gone.
Growdiaries needs a hall of fame for stuff like this.. This is awesome in a sense because it's a good learning experience for others and more so for you I'm sure... Don't do this.
Sorry have been busy the last couple of weeks so have been a bit slack on the uploads.
Day 63 - First sign of pistols.
Day 70 - Roots have started to recover nicely plant growing again. Think I've finally solved my root for problems. Reservoir temp hasn't consistently been below 21c, have seen it around 24c a few times not realising it was an issue. Since keeping it 18-19c nutrients have been way cleaner and roots more white.
Day 71 - Roots have recovered very nicely feeling very thick and dense.
Carried out it's final defoliation.
Day 72 - Chopped off unhealthy part of root system,
Been a good week so far, no issue with the plant.
All is coming along nicely, starting to get some nice frosting around all the buds.
Roots are way more dense now and not all stuck together since fixing the rest temp. The unhealthy part I chopped of the other week (almost half the root system) does not seem to of affected it much. Have noticed it's drinking a more normal amount of water since it's recovered. 😆
Maybe only a week or two left until harvest. Only around 15% of the hairs have started to turn orange and the trichomes are still clear. Hard to see in the pics due to shakey hands.