New Grower Gorilla Glue Autos in a 4x4 tent. New grower. Advice welcomed.

[Mañ'O'Green]

Hi @ItzSticky

My tap water can come from different sources - surface or well water. I grow hydroponically so the answer to your question is yes I test the PPM of each batch of my starting water. PH does not matter when I start mixing This is the most used mixing order but you MUST follow your nutrient vendors mixing order.

If your water contains Chloramines you treat it first with ascorbic acid. 50mg per gallon will treat water with 3.8 PPM of chloramines. Chlorine will dissipate rapidly so just aerate overnight.

Silica is added next and a few hours or better left overnight so it can bond to the water. Do not add after anything else as it will bond to some of the other elements and make it much more difficult for the plant to take up.

Now is the first addition from your vendor, if it is a one part nutrient then you are done with this part. I run a 2 part system. Part A is added first. My nutrients GreenLeaf Mega Crop 2 Part is dry so I measure out in grams the amount I want and dilute it in a cup of warm water before adding to my reservoir and waiting 15 minutes for the mixing pump to do its thing (you can use a spoon ) . If I need Epsom Salt (or any other pure element) in my formula this is added now, wait 15 then add Part B. Next is any beneficials such as Kelp, Humic Acid, carbohydrates etc. Let that mix well then PH to 6.0 FOR ME in soil PH to 6.4. I time all of this so the reservoir sits overnight with the stirring pump (which is always running) mixing and doing its thing. About 2 hours before the first fertigation I PH the reservoir again. It almost always needs a correction.

If you buy commercial soil it will most often be buffered for calcium and magnesium with Dolomite Lime this along with microbe activity keeps the PH of the soil in a comfortable range for the roots of the plant living there. Roots will stimulate microbes by altering the PH with exudates to encourage the microbes to produce more P-K. In DWC I have observed this activity many times as the PH takes a sudden 1 full point PH dive. So do not stress or do a kneejerk reaction to a PH change. Just do like mother nature would and feed at the same PH all of the time 6.4.

 

[ItzSticky]

If you'd got chloramine, you'll want to treat your water with .050g of absorbic acid per gallon. Chlorine can be gassed off by letting it sit for 24 hours.

I purchased a boogie-blue filter to help remove the chlorine and chloramine agents from my tap.
Not sure how effective it is.

 

[ItzSticky]

Hi @ItzSticky

My tap water can come from different sources - surface or well water. I grow hydroponically so the answer to your question is yes I test the PPM of each batch of my starting water. PH does not matter when I start mixing This is the most used mixing order but you MUST follow your nutrient vendors mixing order.

If your water contains Chloramines you treat it first with ascorbic acid. 50mg per gallon will treat water with 3.8 PPM of chloramines. Chlorine will dissipate rapidly so just aerate overnight.

Silica is added next and a few hours or better left overnight so it can bond to the water. Do not add after anything else as it will bond to some of the other elements and make it much more difficult for the plant to take up.

Now is the first addition from your vendor, if it is a one part nutrient then you are done with this part. I run a 2 part system. Part A is added first. My nutrients GreenLeaf Mega Crop 2 Part is dry so I measure out in grams the amount I want and dilute it in a cup of warm water before adding to my reservoir and waiting 15 minutes for the mixing pump to do its thing (you can use a spoon ) . If I need Epsom Salt (or any other pure element) in my formula this is added now, wait 15 then add Part B. Next is any beneficials such as Kelp, Humic Acid, carbohydrates etc. Let that mix well then PH to 6.0 FOR ME in soil PH to 6.4. I time all of this so the reservoir sits overnight with the stirring pump (which is always running) mixing and doing its thing. About 2 hours before the first fertigation I PH the reservoir again. It almost always needs a correction.

If you buy commercial soil it will most often be buffered for calcium and magnesium with Dolomite Lime this along with microbe activity keeps the PH of the soil in a comfortable range for the roots of the plant living there. Roots will stimulate microbes by altering the PH with exudates to encourage the microbes to produce more P-K. In DWC I have observed this activity many times as the PH takes a sudden 1 full point PH dive. So do not stress or do a kneejerk reaction to a PH change. Just do like mother nature would and feed at the same PH all of the time 6.4.

Thanks for the info!

Maybe if anyone can vouch for the Boogie-Blue filter, I'll leave it at that, if its a gimmick I'll pick up some Asorbic acid, and Silica.

I'll be using Fox Farms nutrients so I'll have to look at their mixings. I hear I should even go 1/4 of the strength they recommend on their bottle.

How should I alter my pH/PPM when nutrients are already added?
-Using distilled water
-pH up/down solution
Is all I need to be able to alter pH/PPM up or down?

I'll be in OF soil, so I should strive to water at a pH of 6.3-6.4, and PPM 100-200?

 

[ItzSticky]

The first one to show signs of life! (3days in soil)
This was the one that I made the mistake of not watering the soil before placing the seed in. I ended up spraying it a couple of times and put something to cover the pot to retain moisture.
This just had to of sprouted recently because I had checked earlier and did not see anything

I adjusted my fans and placed them on low.
I turned my light on and raised it 2ft above the plant, going with the 18/6 light cycle.
I'm using the California extreme 500 led light.

When should I water this plant? I'm sure the soil is relatively dry since I did not water before planting the seed.

The seed that had the brown root is still not showing any signs of life.

 

[ItzSticky]

So now that my light is on i’m fighting to keep temps in range. Right now my tent is fluctuating between 85-87F, and even hit 92F.
I’ve got two small monkey fans inside (any better ways to secure them? they like to fall).

Also, you do want negative pressure inside a tent correct?

The soil in that one that sprouted looks really dry now, think i’ll give it a good watering today

 

[ItzSticky]

Going to see if a bigger monkey fan and an intake fan helps drop the temperature (only had an exhaust fan)Also going to try closing ac vents in different rooms to try and get cooler air in the room the tent is in.

EDIT: went with an 8in booster fan, but now i think im pushing more air in, and failing to keep the negative pressure in my tent. The temps did drop though

ive only been able to drop it to 84-85F and can only maintain it if I leave the door to the room open, which i rather not have to do. Think i’ll have to add a little portableAC

 

[Suki]

Going to see if a bigger monkey fan and an intake fan helps drop the temperature (only had an exhaust fan)Also going to try closing ac vents in different rooms to try and get cooler air in the room the tent is in.

EDIT: went with an 8in booster fan, but now i think im pushing more air in, and failing to keep the negative pressure in my tent. The temps did drop though
View attachment 1395380

ive only been able to drop it to 84-85F and can only maintain it if I leave the door to the room open, which i rather not have to do. Think i’ll have to add a little portableAC

An intake fan shouldn't be necessary, but you're going to want to open the intakes at the bottom to pull in colder air and co2.

 

[Suki]

Not sure that you need negative pressure in the tent, if the tent is side sucking you're not getting enough air exchange. What is that in the back left corner?

 

[ItzSticky]

Not sure that you need negative pressure in the tent, if the tent is side sucking you're not getting enough air exchange. What is that in the back left corner?

It was sucking, the walls were coming in, with just the exhaust fan.
Now, with the intake fan + exhaust fan, it looks like the walls are expanding. Not as bad with intake at Medium power, and exhaust at max but i rather not have to run the exhaust fan at max 24/7 if i can prevent it.

The back left is a dehumidifier. Thinking about replacing that with an AC/dehumid combo if i cant manage to get the temps lower.

 

[Suki]

Specific temps aren't nearly as vital as maintaining a good vpd. At your current temps you would want your humidity at 65-75%. There are plenty of people who keep their temp/humidity at 80*/60% from seed to harvest with zero issues. I can tell you from experience trying to chase temps and humidity can cause more issues than it solves, so as long as you're keeping them in a decent range you should be fine. Electrical energy does tend to convert to thermal energy, so anything electric you put inside your tent is going to raise your temps. If your exhaust fan is in the tent, I recommend putting it outside your tent if possible. Another thing that could help is to make sure you've got a 1' clearance around your tent. Once you open up those velcro covers, you can put a fan outside the tent pushing air around it, which should also help some. But like I said, the combo of temp and humidity is going to have a lot more of an effect than just the temp alone.