Billys watery wonderland- The Sweetest edition.....so far!

[badbillybob]

The extra 16 inch pedestal fan is definitely helping temps, its knocked a couple of degrees off the previous norm of 28/29, now its sitting pretty at 26. 

Heres my biggest fans - eh? eh? gedditt eh?

 

the blackjacks are going for it, I reckon I will be flipping at the start of next week at this rate, ker- boooom

Also included some rootage shots of the cream caramels, all looks well in that department, which is cool.

 

Not long now till the magic starts happening. 

 

Whats the stretch on these strains? 

im thinking they are gonna at least double in size, the sweet afghan tho might have other ideas, time will tell. 

 

Have a good weekend everybody, see you next week...

[ROCKSTEADY6]

Solid roots there Bill. My sons school reception has one of those white tubs with flip lid on it right at the front . Whenever I pick him up I can't help but picture one of your trees coming out of it. 

[delagdo]

Looking great now after a few little bumps on the way! I love those masses of roots!

[badbillybob]

Yes, thanks, man, they are looking much better now. 

I checked the roots today and the SAD ones look a little tinge of brown, but im not gonna worry, ive got some bleach for that...only kidding...

They are ready to flip. I usually go by how close the plants are to each other, and if the leaves from one plant are touching the other, its time to go. 

well its close enough and ive got some moby dicks on other side of room which are going mental, so the time has come, heres todays view from the door.

first pic is the 2 bjs and a cream caeamel, , the blackjacks are also going for it!!

2nd pic is the other bj and the SAD. im pretty happy with these overall, they are doing great and im looking forward to the flower show...

 

they have recovered well from the bleaching incident, and are ready now to build some buds. 

 

this is 4 WEEKS veg !!! they went in on the 8th of January, not too shabby eh?

 

pics are as flows; 

1st pic- 2 blackjacks, relaxing

2nd pic - cream caramel

3rd pic- 2 bjs, 2 cream caramels

blackjacks.

 

Like I said, its time to flip them, I think its gonna get B_I_G this time, and cant wait to see how they perform.

you can see the pics where the 2nd round of topping has made a big difference, lots of heads.

feeds are at 1.1/1.2 ec, ph is around 6.0. 

the res is due a change midweek, but I might leave it till Friday, we will see how they go....

 

 

Tomorrow is gonna be the first day of flower.

 

'mon the budz!!!!!

Edited February 10, 2020 by badbillybob

[Punta Roja]

Exciting times....

[AustrianToker]

Good luck with the flowering.

[ratdog]

wow, 4 weeks mate, that's stunning, mine are at three and looking like newly rooted clones

 

keep it up and you could be a contender for a top three mate

[Exhale]

Here we go!

 

 

[BUDZ4DAYZ]

Ready for take off. How long before the flip would you recommend topping all the tops. I'm thinking a week before? Give then a little time to recover. I'm using rdwc so they seem to bounce back rather sharpish. 

[badbillybob]

yes, id say a week or so before flip.

Gives them time to recover from the stress. 

 

[Sweet Seeds -Jaypp]

Looking really good mate 

I will try to use some of bleach in my morning coffee, maybe it could clean my lungs hehehe

 

Now, my advice for you

When you use bleach, it kills not only the bad bacterias and fungus, it ends with of the life in the water. Mi advice is to restore the "good ones" with a good microbe tea that you can do.

 

Take a look to "Heinsenberg tea" on the web so you can prepare it. Ever since I made use of it, all my problems are gone in my aeroponic. And it's a big one...

 

 

Here I leave a extract from this recipe:

By making a microbe tea with a diverse selection of organisms you will have a super tonic for you res that will ward off nasty gunk and build up while at the same time keeping your roots stimulated and growing. Best of all it can be made for just pennies per batch.

Ok so we wont be starting from scratch. You have to buy a few products. But instead of using the products directly in the res, you will be breeding them in a tea. This way, you can use a fraction of the regular dose and make your products last much longer. Plus, you will end up with a freshly active tea that is more diverse than anything you can buy on the market.

Aquashield ($12) The product composition consists of: Bacillus subtilis, Paenibacillus polymxa, Bacillus circulans, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. This gives you a base population of beneficial bacteria. (Aquashield can be replaced by any inoculation that contains bacillus bacteria.)

ZHO Powder ($10) The product composition consists of: Glomus intradices, Glomus aggregatum, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus mosseae, Trichoderma harzianum, and Trichoderma koningii. This gives you a base populartion of beneficial fungi. (ZHO can be replaced by any inoculation that contains myco fungi)

Ancient Forest ($14) - Soil amendment provides a high diversity of microorganisms, including more than 35,000 species of bacteria and over 5,000 species of fungi. (AF can be replaced by any earth worm casting)

EDIT* Mycogrow soluble is the cheapest and most diverse inoculant we have found. It can replace everything here except the ancient forest.


The recipe is really simple. Start with non-chlorinated water. I make 2 gallons at a time, but you can easily adjust the additives for whatever amount you wish to make. Now put the water into a bucket and throw in a couple air stones. The more air the better. You want the water to be almost turbulent from the bubbles. Now, add 15-30ml of aquashield and about 1/4-1/2 scoop of the ZHO powder. You will be breeding these into the billions so it doesn't really matter how much you start with, just don't overdo it. Now take an old sock or pantyhose and fill it with about 2 handfuls of EWC or Ancient Forest. Tie off the sock and place it in the water above an air stone, or better yet, feed an air stone down into the sock itself. If you want, you can just throw the EWC directly into the water and strain it out later with cheesecloth or even an aquarium net. Next, add about a tablespoon of molasses to wake up the microbes and give them something to eat. We will only be feeding the microbes in this tea; never add food for the microbes to the res itself. It's okay if the bennies in the res starve. You will be replacing them every few days. Now let the tea bubble at room tempeture for 48 hours. It can be used after 24, but will be more active and diverse at 48. If you use EWC you will probably notice a foam eventually, this is normal. After 48 hours you can store the tea in the fridge where it will stay fresh for about 10 days. Once it starts to go bad it will develop an odor. If you ever detect an odor from your tea, throw it out and make a new batch. Fresh tea can have a range of smells from earthy to mossy to shroomy. Bad tea smells like gym socks, fecal matter, or decay.

Initially, add about 1 cup to your res for every gallon of water, and then add 1 cup total every 3 days after. If you can, pour a little over the base of the stalk to inoculate the root crown. Your water might get a little cloudy but your roots will stay white and stimulated. When you use tea and practice proper res maintenance you can feel confident your roots will be healthy. By multiplying the microbes this way your products should last a great deal longer. Once you have eradicated slime and simply want protection from future outbreaks, adjust the tea dosage to 1 cup per 10 gallons about once per week.

If you are interested in why the tea works, or what products you may use for substitution, continue reading the rest of the thread. It is a journey I took with others to learn a great more about the tea. If you want to see how I use this tea in a cloner, jump to here.

-------------------------------------------
You can substitute just about any product you want. Any EWC will give you a good base of microbes. Any product or combo of products which contain mycos, bacillus, and trichoderma will do the trick. Don't worry about matching my exact ingredients. The exception is AN microbe products. Stay away from AN microbe products!


If you notice a dark sort of slime form after you treat with tea, stay the course. As long as you see new shoots growing you are on your way to recovery. The after-slime is harmless and will not expand or stall roots. New root tips are what you want to see.

Do not use tea with h202, sm-90, Zone or any type of sterilizing product. Do not filter tea beyond 400 microns.

If you have slime attacking plants with very small roots, adding housing to your res like a lava rock or koi pond mat will make a big difference. Place the housing in your tea brew for the duration and then move it to your res.

No one has reported sprayers clogging from using regular tea. But, if you are concerned you can also try aquashield by itself without brewing. High pressure nozzles will kill most microbes, medium pressure and simple sprayers are fine. 


Take care of impropoer res conditions FIRST. Even the tea will not save you from disease if you do not have enough oxygen or proper temperatures. Res water should be around 75f with bennies. Air pump should be at least 1wt per gallon. Light proof your buckets!

If this solution works for you please post in the thread and tell us your story.

I'm happy to answer questions in the thread. You will get a faster reply here than messaging me. Remember, all advice I give is intended for a synthetic DWC grow.

Some FAQ's

Can I run a perpetual batch of tea?

No. The key to fighting slime is a diverse microbe population. No matter what you do to your brew, diversity will peak and begin to decline around the 48 hour mark. 

Can I feed the bennies in my res instead of letting them die and replacing them?

No, you would be feeding the slime as well. Some bennies will live on in your roots, most will die. It is simple to replace them which we do every three days while fighting slime, and about once a week after the slime is gone.

Will the chlorine/chloramine in my tap water kill off my bennies?

It is best to use pure water to brew the tea, however adding tap water directly to your buckets in small amounts to top off will not kill enough bennies to matter. I add as much as a gallon of un-aged tap water to my 5 gallon res with no ill effects. If you are worried, simply add a little tea a few hours after watering. 

Can I add too much tea?

As long as your tea is brewed properly it is really hard to add too much.

I added tea, maintain proper res conditions, and still have slime!

First be sure you are not simply seeing after-slime. (see above) If it is aggressive slime, then you are probably adding something organic directly to the res. Check each and every thing you put in your mix, and be sure foliar sprays do not drip into the res. Incorporate some type of housing into your res, such as lava rocks.

You are not teaching us how to breed microbes, only multiply them.

Correct"  

 

 

Good luck and thanks for the great work!!

jaypp

Edited February 10, 2020 by Sweet Seeds -Jaypp

[badbillybob]

Thanks for the advice.

iv used Heisenberg teas before and had nothing but problems with it in rdwc to be honest.

 

I ended up having to pull a crop, and ended up having to replace all my pipe work when I couldn't get rid of root issues after using it. And that was also after bleaching the system twice, and leaving high concentrate h202 in the pots and pipework for a few days, before flushing everything out with water, and replacing all the airstones. it was a real nightmare. 

im convinced it was the EWC, and which I am convinced was the root of the problem (excuse the pun) ,  introducing organic ewc to the mix, creating root issues.

 

It might work with aeroponics,  but its not good in recirculating systems, from my previous experience. 

 

the roots look good now to be honest, and I don't want to add anything that I havnt used before.

[badbillybob]

well, I got round to flipping them today, after checking the balance on my leccy meter, (Swoon...or h%ly f*ckin sh+t, as I actually said. ...)

 

the extra light for the seedlings  is hammering the electric, but like I said, I think this is gonna be it for the year, ive still got loads of weed from previous grows, I just love growing...

They will be in the dark for approx. 30 hrs, to see if it makes any odds on the time for the first pistils showing. 

 

it wont affect the electric that much, if at all because ive got a 2kw heater going full pelt, plus a 2 kw oil filled rad too, to keep the lights off temps up around 20-22 degrees (bangs head against wall).

I turned the variacs down,  so the fans are only putting 30% of their output through the room.

 

They were at about 40%, just kicking in to approx. 60% when temps went skyward. They need at least 30% to keep the fan motors cool, any less could be disastrous, so I will just add heat. you also have to keep the through flow of air at a reasonable pace to prevent the RH going skyward. its all a juggling match, temps, airflow, relative humidity etc, but im the ringmaster (some might say the circus clown lol)

 

ive read quite a  few stories where the poster says that if you give them 24 hrs of dark before going 12-12, that  it speeds up the time for flowers to show...

I cant see how myself, but ,well,  hey,...………. i'll try anything once...…….twice if I like it  (wont try the bleach twice tho)

 

oh and I threw the grids over them to try and keep them down. dunno why I keep leaving them in veg so long, im pretty sure I could have flipped these a week ago. I just end up fighting them when they get out of control, but hey, it keeps me off the streets.. One day i'll learn....maybe....

 

Anyway, keep it sweet and keep on truckin

Edited February 11, 2020 by badbillybob

[badbillybob]

Todays health and safety lesson....

Never, and I mean NEVER EVER EVER EVER use an extension lead that isn't rated for the appliance you are going to use at the end of it. 

What kind of dick would use a 5 A rated extension lead plug to run both a 2kw heater and a variac controller?

Cough...... ahem...….. I never checked the cable rating, or plug fuse,  when I made up a double extension lead from the excess wiring you normally get with pond pumps, rated at 5A apparently, er.….2kw heater alone pulls between 7&8 amps, er….aparrently......according to youtoob

whoops...……. we have had a bit of a melt down, tripped power , a fucked extension lead, variac controller with melty bits, and an extension socket that looks like this. The plug has fused (ho ho) itself to the extension lead, and let all the smoke out of the wires !!! I was trying to keep the smoke in there, but nope, its escaped

 

The plastic blob is out of my DIY variac controller. it used to be  an inline fuse holder, with a 2A glass fuse. 

Im really really hoping the variac controller isnt fried, and the inline fuse has done its job. Ive already fried one board on it, by overloading it with another 2kw fan heater. Controller  was rated to 2kw, guess it must have spiked when it blew....

The variac controller is the best bit of kit ive ever built, so im hoping I can salvage it from the melty mess..

 

seriously though, this could have started a fire in my groom and that would have been a major disaster, so if you are ever making up extensions or even plugging into bought extensions- check the load ratings of them FFS.

 

Electrics- A bit fukn dangerous, .......................in the wrong hands...…….eg. mine

 

edit to add,  - ive decided to now run a passive intake and run the exhaust fan off a spare single fan variac controller I had forgotten about, but has turned out to be very handy, ahem..... i'll try not to kill this one.

Edited February 11, 2020 by badbillybob

[Asterion]

Shit mate that could have been bad 

Glad to see it didn't get any worse. Hope the rest of the grow runs smoothly.