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Alien RDWC Setup and Testing


SKELE-TORO

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Hi Spaniard,

It been established that the deficiency was Nitrogen, this occurred from having my nutrient at half strength from the beginning.

They have already reacted to an E.C increase.

I understand that Cal Mag may be necessary for me in the future, I will keep a close eye on them for that.. hopefully with fortnightly res changes I should eliminate that?

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Keep rising 0.2ec per week.

Glad they showing a good response.

The roots stopping dead like that is not what we want.i think it's indicative of too low water temps.

I would have the water at the level the roots stop at.im sure at 20*c they'll dive right in.

With small plants I cover the top of the bucket with newspaper to stop the pots heating up from the lights.when the canopy grows it'll sort itself.

Pull all the dodgy leaves off if they were mine.cant stand yellow leaves lol

Edited by stu sleeper 20vt
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Hi Skele-toro

I've used the Alien RDWC hydroponic system in the past year but never seen the problem you are having. These systems are generally very easy to use as long as you have a chiller from the start.

Nutrients differ from one to another in this system. For instance in full bloom Dutch pro works fine at 2.2 where as Canna and House & Garden Aquaflakes burn at 1.6. So I would say the stage your plants are at 1.2 should be the max.

Here's my 2p's worth:

1. Get a chiller

2. loose the H202. If you are putting in 150ml every 2 days this is your problem.

3. Keep the water level high as you have very short roots then lower an inch or 2 as the root mass increases.

4. Lights look a bit too close for such small plants. Are they turned down to 250w?

Here are some photo's of my previous grow up to week 6 of flower using Dutch pro A & B and Explode nothing else. No H202 or beneficial bacteria.

SANY0009.jpg
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Wow thats a nice canopy mate fair play! Thanks for taking the time to upload those pictures to my diary.. Looks like you had a stunning harvest.

It's great to see people are having great results with these :alien2: systems!

Big up to Ryan and the Team at Alien Hydroponics.

This RDWC PRO system won product of the Year 2014.

The problem with the yellowing, was due to me using the nutrient at half strength from the start, the plants were not happy with the food levels and displayed N.def. Also chilling the water way below the desired temperate caused the roots to halt before dropping into the water and probably didn't help with the mineral uptake either.

I upped the E.C to 1.3 last week and ditched the ice for a bit they are loving it so far.. come and check them next week.

Thing is without a chiller I HAVE to use H202 as a preventative.

With those pictures though... I'm gonna take your 2p and pop it into the piggybank of knowledge. :v: Thanks for your donation.

1. The chiller is a definite must for me by summer.. I just cannot afford one right now. I'm working on it. but... I WILL HAVE ONE.

2. I'm not sure I wanna take that risk at the moment without a chiller? What precautions do I have against Pyth?

3. I have made that correction now.. Water is currently sat 2" below nets allowing airspace for roots.

4. The lights are 600W dimmable currently set at 400W each.. they're about a foot and a half away

So the real questin is .. what happens if you get pyth introduced to the system?

And why do you think that the H202 would have a negative affect on the roots at that dosage?

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glad you have taken the chiller necessity on board Bro.

have a look at the house and garden product, Roots Excellurator, touch wood, but I think this is top stuff, protecting your root system as well as optimising nutrient uptake. No need for peroxide then.

also the air pumps.... if they can draw cooler air in, that may help keep the res temps down.... think about where your air pumps are positioned.

how about insulating or putting reflective material on the black pots and pipes, cos your lights will be keeping all that nice and toasty?

:yinyang:

Edited by teehee
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Alright Guys?

I just changed the res out, so thought I'd do an update.

The girls have undergone a drastic improvement from last week. New growth is lush and green. Looking forward to some net filling action now.

E.C 1.3

P.H 6.0

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Nutrient temp?

They still don't look like they wanna dive in the drink!

Regarding pythium.airflow airflow airflow.

With good aeration you'll be sound.

Why are you using h202?

Edited by stu sleeper 20vt
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Hey Stu. Hope you had a good Christmas mate.

I'm sitting at 20Cish maybe a touch more .. I need new probe, and really set on a Guardian... but all seems good atm.
Temps should also drop slightly when I have a canopy.
I'm just done wrapping the cool intake pipe round the header pot just to see if it makes a difference?

Well I reckon the air pumps up to the job.. might look at getting fatter airstones next time, to keep the bubbles more centered in the grow pots, as the air stones have a habit of gliding off to the corners.

Popped my head in before to check them quickly and sheeeeeeet they have grown !!! doubled in size. Lots of fresh new rootage heading down in the drink too.
You will be surprised next update. Proper turn around after your advise. thank you.

I'm using H202 to keep my system sterile. i.e. no harmful OR helpful bacteria in the water. Completely 'dead res'.
The plus of this is nothing can survive the alternating daily dosage of H202 in the water, keeping the whole system sterile (inc pipework) and root area free of of any bacteria inc. pythium and other nasties.
At these dosages it has no negative effects on plants and is converted to extra oxygen in the water as it breaks down within 24-48 hours

I'm still researching about bacteria supplements in this particular system, so please correct me, but I'm under the impression if I did not use H202, whilst also running at higher temps. without a chiller, colonies of good and bad bacteria could form in the res.. risky, as when the bad bacteria wins the battle and takes over... your fucked basically, opening the system up to infection, and in this system it could happen overnight destroying a crop instantly.

The other option on hand to avoid pyth contamination is adding good bacteria into the rez per change out. ie. pirahna/tarantula/voodoo juice They also colonize the roots and attack any bad bacteria before it has a chance to dig in.

I'm very happy with the change from last week, so i'm gonna try and keep going on this.

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seriously man, have a look at Roots Excellurator by House and Garden

so far I have told you everything Stu and Potpot have advised ;)... chiller, insulation, inc airflow, higher water level, etc

blulab guardian is the business, but save your cash for the chiller first

Edited by teehee
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Yo teehee!
sorry mate didn't mean to ignore your post man... and certainly not avoiding your advise bro!

I'm just not sure I can get that particular one here in Spain? Maybe I can order it? I was looking at that great white mycorrhizae. I'm sure thats on the same steez?

I'm most probably gonna stick with dead res this time though mate I need to see it out to document the difference.
My only probs were it was way too cold and not high enough E.C.. with those two factors addressed they are going mad.. honestly wait till you see them next week.

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That's cool @@SKELE-TORO Bro... sometimes too much info from too many to keep track!

The Roots Excellurator is not a live product, so no Micorrhizae etc.... this is what the company blurb says....

This powerful root stimulator ensures the explosive growth of the roots, rids the plants of brown roots, root diseases and provides an excellent rhizosphere (root environment) in the soil, hydro or coco medium. Roots Excelurator creates a film around the roots, which functions as a kind of membrane. It keeps harmful diseases and germs out of the root zone but allows the absorption of nutrients. Roots Excelurator also isolates the germs and prevents them from reproducing.

I know a lot of people are pro-Canna on here, but this is a product I swear by!!! It's pretty concentrated too, 0.3 - 0.8ml/L depending on the stage you're at, so it goes a long way.

Can't wait to see your next pics....with DWC you can literally see them grow in front of your own eyes!

atb Teehee

Edited by teehee
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Hello All...

Well, it seems to be going a lot better this week... my gawwwwd they have grown! Nice to finally see some action! :yahoo:

If they carry on at that rate the net will be full in no time. :sly: hehe

E.C 1.3

PH 5.8

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Difficult to get this full shot in.. my back was flat against the wall.

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Even the side shot is difficult.

First time they have visually made a big dent in the drink.. thirsty.

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To be honest, I was a bit worried at the color of the roots this week.. they have a brownish tinge? Doesn't seem to be causing any problems yet?

I noticed with using Canna Aqua, the B part seems to turn the water a slight red/brown.. maybe this is just staining? I hope so!

Anyway.. they headed down to the drink eventually.. they're really going for it now, spiraling down, down, down.

med_gallery_53527_9820_10384.jpg

The filter was full of algae shit this time, I think I didn't seal the header pot properly last time, and it's let some light through.

This is it after a soft brush with an old toothbrush under scorching water... I should have taken a picture of it dirty first, but realized to late.

This filter is a great piece of kit.. so quick and easy to do.

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Last shot is after I removed a few large fan leafs from the girls to allow more central light penatration, and I have also re-bent the supercropped limbs to spread them out for training along net.

Till next week. :v:

Edited by SKELE-TORO
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...and we're off!!!

Good luck Bro, all the best for 2015 and may Shiva bless you with bountiful harvests :)

Finally... Thanks man.. all the best to you and yours buddy!

I can vouch for roots excel. It's one of my few must haves alongside base nutes

Wizard :oldtoker:

Hey stonerwizard... Happy 2015

I'm looking in how to source some where I live.. it would be nice to have some kind of re-assurance against infection. It certainly has some great reviews!

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