Grow Journal For Silver Haze & Higg's Boson Haze

[PigSquishy]

Day-10 Blue System
Water Changed- Day-10 / 1
System Water Level- 3/4 / Full
pH- 6.10 / 6.00
PPM's- 149 / 108
Water Temp- 76.0 / 71.0
Air Temp - 78.5 / 81.5
RH- 45.0 / 44.5
CO2- Off / Off (problem found & and fixed?)
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

(The / shows the numbers at the time of the draining of the system, and the other side shows the numbers at the time of the system restart. Since the water/nutrient tank isn't with the plants, and each plant sits in its own 2.5 gallons of water with #2 four inch air stones and each plant having its own air pump, and the main system also being fed by its own tank and air supply, I can shut down the pump drain and change the water completely and stall the plants with their own water and air supply while I work to bring the main systems back online to return recirculating water at 25-gallons an hour to each plant.)

$- Out of Humic Acid
$- Out of Silica
$- During routine inspection I found the CO2 hose 3-inches from the tank regulator has a 1/8" hole in it, it doesn't appear to be a burn, no signs of melting. thus it either has to be caused by very cold CO2 coming out or it got scrapped/cut and given its location I am prone to think the cold CO2 somehow affected the hose causing the leak. Recommendation, replace all CO2 hose with new hose and follow up with closer weekly inspections until the exact reasoning is found, and specifically fixed, also follow up with a recommended replacement interval on all CO2 hoses.

*Starting water temp is 65.9, pump on only to heat water (no water to plants) until a water temp of at least 72.0 is reached minimum.
*15-gallons fresh water, saving 5-gallons (Plants) of old to restart the system with Humic Acid until next water change
* Saved 1-Quart of previous water (Week-1 Veg Nutes with Humic Acid & Kelp) for foliar spray this week if needed
* Week-2 Veg Nutrient Schedule Started along with
20-ml Veg A
20- ml Veg B
30-ml Cal-Mag
30-ml UC Roots

+ Kelp 1/4 tsp
+ Yucca Root 1/16 tsp
+ OminA 3/4 tsp
+ 30-ml pH Down (AN)

Yesterday I was unable to take photos of the plants, but clearly the Humic Acid (former tank water) being sprayed on the plants for the first time has also had an impact on the plants in the past 12-hours, since the water change. I am just now being able to restart the system recirculation after having to wait for hours for the pump to heat the water to proper temp and now I'm able to close the valve to start the fresh flow of water up to the plants again and mix in the old with the new. Upon going back through procedures and notes of the past, I realized the answer to fixing a problem, I will now start leaving the plant water and not removing it as I had previously done. It will allow for a better water tank change and lessen the chances of root shock and hopefully curb the pH swing in restarting the system. Since this is the first time I've ever attempted this, and have considered it previously it will be important to closely monitor the numbers of everything over the coming hours to see and note any changes at all.

15-Mins Water temp has gone up by 0.5 degrees
30- Mins Water temp has gone up by a total of 1.0 degrees

* If things were going to change they should have been noticed within 5-10 mins has been the norm for changes, and if in doubt the general rule is 30-mins for any swings to really start to show. Confirmed plant water is mixing with new water and all water is properly mixing for accurate readings. Nutes are slightly on the high side today in Cal-Mag & UC Roots, but I cut back on the RAW Solubles to make up the difference because of adding OminA. Will carefully watch the Cal-Mag now to see how the plants feel about it, expecting to see changes in stem and leaf structuring getting bigger and stronger in the next week.

[PigSquishy]

Day-11 Blue System
Water Changed- Day-2
System Water Level- Full
pH- 6.00
PPM's- 130
Water Temp- 79.8
Air Temp - 80.5
RH- 48.8
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

- Made a bypass "pipe" to replace the temporary bypass "hose" from the Blue Filter to the Red Sump

Overall the plants look very healthy, and are growing at a beautiful rate, again it appears the top growth has slowed down as the roots appear to be growing again as the canopy is now able to supply the newest round of energy to further more deeper root growth. It is very hard to see the canopy race off for a couple of days, then seriously slow its growth as it needs to again turn its attention back to the roots to support a larger canopy, but it is a give and take relationship which must be kept in a proper balance for a good end yield.

[PigSquishy]

Day-12 Blue System
Water Changed- Day-3
System Water Level- Full
pH- 5.90
PPM's- 128
Water Temp- 77.1
Air Temp - 80.5
RH- 61.0
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

Keep foliar spraying between the Cx Clone Start & the former res water bottles as often as I think they look like they could use a bit of a misting to keep the RH up there. I'm noticing the Silver Haze (Clone) stem is really becoming quite woody and tough looking and it has finally sprouted out a lower leaf on the stem as well. It's like once both plants seemed to get to the same height they both stopped growing vertically and the Clone stopped growing, only the Higgs Boson Haze (Seed) is pushing out its canopy, which the Silver Haze concentrates on making its stem woody and thicker. I know well enough to know what is going on is centered in the root zone, and the PPM's dropping by 2-points really says a lot as I keep spraying Humic Acid on the leaves and Yucca Root, and on top of that I keep feeding it a foliar spray specifically meant to concentrate on getting the plants to push out massive root balls. Adding to that the knowledge that the high aeration of the water has seriously increased the nutrient uptake and greatly helps grow the root balls to amazing sizes, I just have to keep in mind what I've seen for roots from this way of doing things.

Because of my head injury and losing everything I had but these two tiny plants and still not being anywhere near back to myself still mentally, I struggle everyday wanting to do something I know and I know very well, something to calm me that I still remember enough about I can do without another's help to do it. Plants are the one thing I really do know hands on I can sit and do without the help of another, and it just royally sucks that I only have two tiny plants inside growing right now and that I'm still not to where we can plant outside still as it is suppose to freeze again tonight. Which simply leaves me with too much time on my hands to watch these two tiny plants grow, as I watch their every slightest movement of growth and sit here acting like a newbie going "is it suppose to be growing this slow? Can I speed it up somehow? What can I do different to try to speed it up?"and all I can sit here and do is read and remind myself everything I know about plants as I try to be patient and wait for another week so I can start planting outside and have something else to obsess over besides two little tiny plants. They say my memory and such will hopefully come back in time, and that in time this non-stop massive migrane will go away when the pressure in my head lessens, in the fall of the year... that is a very long time away, but my memory could take a year to come back if it does. Thankfully I've been working with plants for so many years and know so much about them that I still have something to turn to for stress relief.

[PigSquishy]

Day-13 Blue System
Water Changed- Day-4
System Water Level- Full
pH- 5.80
PPM's- 130
Water Temp- 75.8
Air Temp - 80.5
RH- 61.0
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

+ The plants were finally tall enough I was able to put the Reflectix (IR Bubble Material) sheet inside with the plants finally, I was able to keep algae away up to this point, but I knew it wasn't going to last no matter how clean I tried to run the system, because light was hitting the water and sure enough it finally happened. I have the very first signs of algae grow in the plant water tanks, hence why the Reflectix had to go in now. I am concerned I of how close the leaves are to it, but there is nothing I can do at this point, I am battling tiny plants that weren't ready to go in this system yet because of their small size, but do to unforeseen issues I am forced to push their growth early.

- I've decided I am going to put in a 2-inch layer of styrofoam under the Reflectix to insulate the Roots away from the plant canopy temps as well as the lights, it will more than pay for itself in so many ways, and then on top of that I will put the free layer of Reflectix, and over the top of that I am seriously thinking I should put a free layer of Ocra so I don't have to worry about the hot spots being created from the Reflectix, and I know it would more than pay for itself in one yield, so its clearly worth setting up the new layers like this.

Jorge Cervantes stated in some of his work I just read today that keeping the roots temps at 78-80 F and the canopy temps 6-8 degrees cooler will cause massive root development, and I kept thinking of how true that is and kept thinking why am I thinking I need 60-68 F degree water? It makes no sense... right? Then with a little bit of research and going back over the things I know and struggling to wrap my head around it all again, I found the answers plain as day. 68-degrees is the best temp to keep dissolved oxygen in the water for the roots, and you want 8-ppm dissolved oxygen at the root level to keep roots healthy and to keep healthy bacteria's at their best and that will do a great deal in keeping away things like root rot. If the plant canopy is going into the 90's you can lower the water temp down to 60 degrees to reduce the stress on the plant canopy so the plant isn't affected by a negative stress. When people talk about stressing a plant in Flower, all to often people don't discuss the differences of positive or negative plant stresses.

[PigSquishy]

Day-14 Blue System
Water Changed- Day-5
System Water Level- Full
pH- 5.70
PPM's- 135
Water Temp- 77.3
Air Temp - 80.5
RH- 63.5
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

Found some a couple of small start of green algae in the plant tubs and in the Blue Pump Bucket, nothing I can't fix by making some simple changes, but this is all just a part of dialing the system in. Added 64-oz's of H202 to fix the problem of algae growing, and help clean the system of anything I can't see... During next water change I will do a full scrub out and clean the system during the water change, and get the issue of light getting to the water fixed.

[PigSquishy]

Day-15 Blue System
Water Changed- Day-6
System Water Level- 3/4
pH- 5.70
PPM's- 133
Water Temp- 77.3
Air Temp - 80.5
RH- 47.5
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

[PigSquishy]

Day-16 Blue System
Water Changed- Day-7
System Water Level- 3/4
pH- 5.80
PPM's- 138
Water Temp- 79.4
Air Temp - 81.5
RH- 50.5
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

- The Blue Filter plugged up with brown bio-film and unknown debri colors of junk from the system continuing to wash things out, it was expected to take a couple of weeks to get whatever flushed out from wherever it was hiding inside the system. The res water has an off odor to it of a more earthy smell than anything, but since the water never smells I know this is simply screaming "Water Change", The Blue pump's impeller started being rather LOUD which told me I had a filter issue to check on, and even after cycling the valves and the pump several times after cleaning the filter it continues to be LOUD. Plan to make some new modifications to the 'overflow intake' during the water change to see if I can't improve the pump's flow, as well as plan to look at modifying the pump's NFT intake as well to see if I can't improve the flow of water into the pump there as well.

+ During the water change I am hoping to change over to one of two new 'plant watering rings' I've been working on, the first design is to use eight 1/2-inch PVC, 45-degree elbows to form the circle and the other is use four 90-degree elbows to form a box and try to figure out which one is the better design for evenly watering the roots. The Geo Pots are Square, which brings the question about which design might function better with the Growstones, thus some trial and error is believed to answer the questions which need answering here.

- The plants overall are really doing much better with the Silver Haze (Clone) really starting to grow in size vertically, and the Higgs Boson Haze (Seed) continues to branch outwards itself with a much larger canopy, they have only been sprayed a couple of times with the old res nute mix of Humic Acid. No signs of issues or stresses, and nothing to give any reasoning to think I need to not go to Week-3's nute schedule at the water change. Although it should be about time to add a little bit of Epson Salt to the water mix to see how the plants respond to see if the LED's are giving the plants enough grow that it is why they have really started to slow their growth at this point and haven't rocketed off as I have been expecting they should by this point in their growth.

[PigSquishy]

Day-17 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- 7/0
System Water Level- Full
pH- 6.00
PPM's- (NOT RUNNING PUMP)
Water Temp- 55.4
Air Temp - 81.5
RH- 50.5
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

The water had a sudden smell of earthy which quickly was changing to not to pleasant, which was expected from the Humic Acid clearly breaking down after so much time. There was also a white scum now coming to the top of the water, think of the scum of a Rootbeer float as a comparison to it. No signs of any green algae which was present prior to the H2O2 treatment, Thus it is believed that is the bio-film which is what caused the filter to get plugged early.

Without being able to prepare for the water change ahead of time, I drained the water in the tanks and tried to run the Red Pump & Heater in a few combinations to heat the water so I could restart the system ASAP. Sadly all attempts to do so was met with huge unexpected issues making the attempts lose a number of gallons of water, which then had to be made up with even colder water than what I had already sat aside in a more timely manner. In the end the tanks have to sit and warm to room temps, while I try to warm the room and the tanks via ambient air as fast as I can by stoking the room temps. As soon as the tanks are to temp I will quickly pump out the plant tubs for a full water change out and will be adding UC Roots then H202 in combination with a Yucca Root cleaning/flush to get whatever else out of the system in this water change.

I will add the nutrients when the pump can be turned on the water mixed and the plants start being able to enjoy the new blend of Week-3 Nutrients I did pH the water to help stabilize the pH ahead of getting the nutes.

[PigSquishy]

There is a note in regards to the "Cal-Mag" I was using and the "Coco-Cal-Mag" I later got when I got Cultured Solutions nutrient line up, I tried the new Coco-Cal-Mag at one point and the plants really seemed to take off, and then going back to the other Cal-Mag they slowly seemed to taper off again. I always wondered and wanted to know what made the two Cal-Mag's different... and now I found this:

If you are growing in coco coir, then you need coco-specific base nutrients. That’s because coco coir binds with iron & magnesium, which means your plants can become starved of these important nutrients if your base nutes don’t contain optimal amounts of it.

http://www.advancednutrients.com/articles/hydroponics-plants-pests-and-diseases/

In regards to Silica:
As discussed, Rhino Skin is a soluble potassium silicate formulation that strengthens plants physically. It fortifies plant cell walls and protects crops from heat, drought, disease, and other stresses. (A nice bonus is that this silicon also increases production of trichomes and essential oils for more potent, higher-quality harvests

[PigSquishy]

Day-18 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- 1
System Water Level- Full
pH- 5.70
PPM's- 138
Water Temp- 72.8
Air Temp - 81.5
RH- 46.0
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

UC Roots- 100ml
Cal-Mag- 60ml
Veg A- 60ml
Veg B- 60ml
Kelp- 1/4 tsp
Yucca Root- 1/8 tsp
OminA- 1/2 tsp
Epson Salt- 1 tsp

~ 60ml of pH Down
The pH was 6.00, then it rose up to 6.20 and I had to add more water so I added more pH Down and suddenly I find it dropped to 5.70 and it isn't raising back up, but since it was 5.80 last at the water change, I don't see it being a big deal as long as the pH makes its usual climb back up as the water continues to get pumped about. This is the first time I've recorded for this Blue System that I did the water at cold temps, then added the pH Down to drop it from 8.80 down to 6.00 and then waited 24-hours before swapping out all the water, so we will see if the time of sitting makes a difference in stabilizing the pH.

- Pumped out the plant tubs of all the water, refilled with room temp water from the Res by turning on the pump to start mixing everything. Sprayed the plants with a fresh batch of Magic Green as a foliar spray, hoping to give them an edge. Dumped out the previous Magic Green and old Res Spray with old nutes, planning to really start pushing the foliar sprays and lean off on the nutes in the water to improve nutrient uptake and speed up the growth. Magic Green was mixed at a ratio of 1 ml per 500 ml Distilled Water.

* I noted today the Silver Haze Clone is really looking like it is almost ready to be topped, and when I do top it I am cloning the top of it into yet another plant, I am never keen on trying to push small clones, but given the circumstances of the issues I'm running into I feel as if though I am forced to, but very concerned about the risks if I don't get this right. As a precaution, I will continue to push the Clone Start spraying, and Magic Green this week as I strengthen it and get the system ready to accept another clone moving forward.

[PigSquishy]

Yeah I love that Physan 20 because it kills all kinds of things from diseases, pests, algae, and quite the long list of other stuff too... but when it's all done and evaporates it turns to carbon dioxide gas and is 100% harmless; if memory serves me correctly. I know when I went on the hunt for something to clean a hydro system I looked to things like hydrogen peroxide as I thought it was the way to go, and in the end I settled on this Physan 20 because it is so many problems all wrapped into one bottle, cheap and had no negative impacts in my system or in how I dispose of the water hence why I haven't looked to another product again.

On that Gnatrol how does that work? And does it have any negative side effects such as chemicals being left behind?

[alltatup]

Hey Greenthumb, the more I hear about Physan 20, the better it sounds!

As to the Gnatrol, the bag came with all kinds of warnings that scared me, but the more I researched it, the more I became convinced that it wasn't harmful to lab rats or to me. I was careful to use rubber gloves with it, but man, it knocked out the gnats in 8 days! Luckily I applied it quickly, as soon as I lifted the reservoir lid and saw them flying around below. I just mixed it into the reservoir with the nutes, and it turns the water kind of milky colored.

[PigSquishy]

http://www.physan.com/

PHYSAN 20™ is a broad range disinfectant, fungicide, virucide, and algaecide which effectively controls a wide variety of pathogens on hard surfaces and plants. Its applications include greenhouses, hard surfaces, lawn and turfgrass, seedlings and cut flowers, decorative fountains, pools and birdbaths, and plants.

They even have the MSDS on the company website I provided the link for above, in the years I've been using it I've never had a complaint besides running out.

[PigSquishy]

Day-19 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- 2
System Water Level- Full
pH- 5.90
PPM's- 138
Water Temp- 77.4
Air Temp - 75.5
RH- 48.5
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

Noticing the leaves are really taking off now that I've switched over to the Magic Green, one leaf on the Higgs Boson Haze (seed) is growing where the one side is causing it to turn off to the side, I know its most likely caused by the heavy nutrient feeding of the leaves at this point, I am guessing it was also caused by the 24-hour period the water had to sit while the water came to temp, then with increased food supply from sitting in Humic Acid and a weaker mix at the end of the week, then adding on the MG foliar spray... yep I see the problem and where I believe it was caused. I'll keep a close eye on it moving forward, but I really feel it best to push the foliar spraying as I prepare to Top the Silver Haze (Clone), and then later the Higgs Boson Haze (Seed).

[PigSquishy]

*** Missed recording two days of data ****

Day-22 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- 5
System Water Level- Full
pH- 5.90
PPM's- 148
Water Temp- 82.8
Air Temp - 80.5
RH- 56.5
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

- Today I found the cause behind the smell which I think of to a car tire when you are changing the tires on the rim, which I had noted previously in saying the water was stinking. It is the Magic Green, I know it says after a couple of days dump out the foliar spray it is no long good anymore... and that is the smell which comes from it. passing that point. Temps here have been up to the high 90's hence the water temp being so high tonight, and the temps are dropping to the mid 60's tonight... so I am hoping to get the water temps back down. The plants have seriously taken off, it's time to cut the Silver Haze Cone and top it and then use its removed section to make another clone. No time tonight, will work on it tomorrow or the next day as time provides.

[PigSquishy]

Day-23 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- 6
System Water Level- 3/4
pH- 5.90
PPM's- 150
Water Temp- 82.8 (Was 83.8 most of the day)
Air Temp - 79.0 (Was up to 83-84 most of the day)
RH- 50.0
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

Planning to do the water change, Top the Silver Haze Clone and get things back on track tomorrow.

[alltatup]

You go, GT!!!!!

[PigSquishy]

Day-24 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- 7
System Water Level- 3/4
pH- 5.90
PPM's- 150
Water Temp- 82.5
Air Temp - 79.5
RH- 50.0
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

Day-25 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- 8
System Water Level- 3/4
pH- 5.90
PPM's- 150
Water Temp- 82.5
Air Temp - 79.5
RH- 50.0
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

***Was working outside and encountered various types of pests, water change was put off because of risks to indoor plants while I handle outside issues before I bring in any hitchhikers during the water dumping on the outside plants.

[PigSquishy]

Day-25 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- 8 / 1
System Water Level- Full
pH- 5.90 / 5.70
PPM's- 150 / 100 (Without Nutes)
Water Temp- 79.8 / 73.3
Air Temp - 79.5 / 80.0
RH- 55.0 / 56.5
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

[PigSquishy]

Day-26 Blue System
Water Changed- Day- (1) Nutes Just Got Added
System Water Level- Full
pH- 6.10
PPM's- 147
Water Temp- 77.3
Air Temp - 81.0
RH- 52.5
CO2- Off
Air Recirculation/Exchange- On 24-7
Veg LED

+ 60ml pH Down (To much... 3.40 pH... removed 5-gallons and trying to balance, now at 5.30 pH)
+90 ml UC Roots
+ 60ml Veg A
+ 60ml Veg B
+ 60ml Cal-Mag
1/4 tsp Kelp
1/8 tsp Yucca Root
1- TBSP Epson Salt

Magic Green:
1-ml to 300ml Water

* Nute solution is noticeably weaker than recommended at we expect 100+ for a heat wave over the next 3 days

** Sprayed the plants with Magic Green again, sprayed the Clones with Clone Start to help try to get them rooted under the T-5

*** Took Clone from Silver Haze (Clone), and am attempting to root two of the leaves from the cutting as well, need some more plants and its the best idea I have at the moment if it doesn't work, oh well, but if it does it gives me an extra couple of plants moving forward. Using "Root Tec" as my cloning gel, have had much better results with it over Clone X surprisingly, but at the end of the day it seems that both are great products depending on what I'm attempting to clone. The clone's water tray has pH'd 6.00 water in it, no aeration at this time.

[alltatup]

Looking good!!! Best of luck with the clones.

[PigSquishy]

Thank You, I'm honestly very confident in the clones taking off believe it or not... I am about to try something new I think, the more I think about it, the more confident in trying spraying them with Magic Green instead of the CX Clone Start, it says I can use it on clones... I just am not sure if they mean newly rooted clones or not... time for a little trial and error.