newbie pics

[Tom]

I'm still a bit confused about adding nutrients during budding (should I or shouldn't I) and this whole concept of "flushing". What does that entail?

 

You will need to change over to flowering nutrients when you go 12/12, these are used until it is time to flush.

 

Flushing is merely giving the plants nutrient free water for the last 5 - 14 days (I go 14) to clear the chemicals from them, unflushed hydro will leave you with a splitting headache. I then give the plants 48 hours of dark before I harvest them, this smooths the smoke and prevents you coughing your lungs out after a bong.

 

http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/ruinkai/coolgleamA.gif http://64.207.13.28/mysmilies/otn/glasses/smokin.gif

[fishee]

Here's some better pics...

 

http://www.twofishmedia.com/tanklong1.jpg

 

http://www.twofishmedia.com/rootsgood.jpg

 

http://www.twofishmedia.com/bulkhead.jpg

 

http://www.twofishmedia.com/bulkhead2.jpg

 

http://www.twofishmedia.com/generic.jpg

Edited January 4, 2003 by fishee

[fishee]

Thanks Tom, nothing worse than a splitting haddock when you toke, hehehe

 

Do you keep the 12/12 cycle during this flushing period? And, since my water is easily changed, if I flush my entire system and refill with "pure" water, will this decrease the time it takes to flush the plants, if I repeat the process daily?

 

-fishee

[pipeman]

hey fishee, I'd be interested in a basic guideline on how to "skim" rather than bubble.

[fishee]

Surface "skimming" is a very simple thing. Think about water as it goes over a dam, everything floating on the water (like sticks, leaves, dead bugs, kayak-ers) get tossed over the side of the dam, but the stuff "in" the water (fish, non-floating objects, etc) stay on the water-retaining side of the dam.

 

A bulkhead overflow works in a similar fashion. You don't want to place the bulkhead completely below the surface of the water, as then the surface would remain stagnant, even though you're moving water through the bulkhead. Positioning the bulkhead halfway underwater and halfway above the waterline allows the surface of the water to be spilled into the sump, along with the 1/2" or so of water directly under the surface. This way a surface "film" (proteinous layer at the air/water interface) never has a chance to develop and block oxygen from entering.

 

You don't need to use bulkhead fittings (they just make life easier), you can use pvc pipe, plastic containers (with bottoms/tops removed)...just about anything that will let the water pass from the main tank to the resevoir. If you only have small diameter stuff, you can make multiple small holes at the same level to achieve the same effect as a single larger hole; IE: (4) - 1/2" holes would be the same as a single large 2" hole. Your choice.

 

Want to see where "dead zones" are in your water? Sprinkle a little talcum/baby powder on the surface, very lightly, enough to cover everything. Then watch where it goes. Areas with good flow (where the powder does not stay) are the areas helping oxygenate the water below. Areas where the powder doesn't move are stagnant and counter-productive. You'll notice the powder will move away from areas with bubbling/agitation, and congregate where there is none. Add an overflow to your syste, and watch all the powder go out the overflow and into your sump. Hmmm.... maybe I'll set this little experiment up and post a pic....

 

Hope this helps!

 

-fishee

Edited January 4, 2003 by fishee

[pipeman]

Thanks fishee!

 

But that sounds like a lot of trouble just to inclrease O2 saturation from 6ppm to 7ppm.

[fishee]

Actually, 6ppm is about as high as you can get with an airstone (heavy, fine mist bubbles), the average is closer to 4ppm.

 

Water I know. Horticulture I'm clueless. I don't know what dissolved ox levels are tolerated by the plant roots; I'm assuming that since the plant derives some of it ox requirements from above the surface, it's probably fairly low and a bubbler is obviously effective (since everyone seems to be using that method) for a hydroponics situation. For a reef tank, it's far from adequate. It's also quite possible that raising the dissolve oxygen level in the water from a tolerable level to a higher level may not have any impact on the plant at all.

 

Anyways, I already had this tank (and several others) built so it was no big deal to use it for hydro. Just sharing what little I know with others who might be buzzed enough to try something new

 

What kind of system are you running, pipeman? Any pics I could view? (for some reason Mozilla doesn't like the search engine here).

 

Peace!

Edited January 4, 2003 by fishee

[pipeman]

hey fishee (love that name!)

 

I'm on my first grow, and am doing it in a very basic soil setup. At the moment my plants aren't doing so well.

 

I've got a diary type thread going under "pipeman's first grow" in the General Growing Information forum where I've just posted a few pics.

[Ferre]

fishee,..I'm getting more impressed, and more convinced of your metod too! from where I see it, there's only (maybe) a few, easy to handle adjustements needed along the way.

http://www.clubs.nl/ClubsData/67948/incoming/fish11.gifhttp://www.clubs.nl/ClubsData/67948/incoming/fish1.gif

[fishee]

thanks for the kudos tboat...but the real test is at harvest time. I've made a bunch of non-lethal mistakes along the way (ok, so y'all were right about the halogens, ), but thanks to some great advice I've gotten here I think I'm on the right track now

 

Hey pipeman, I was reading your stuff in the general forum...dolomite is crushed coral. It will help to buffer pH if it is already somewhat stable (around 7.0 or even up to about 8.2), but will do little to raise pH if pH is already acidic (below 7.0) Buffering means that the pH will stay stable longer and does not impact harsh changes in pH. Just a little FYI from the fishguy

 

I went hydro because there's something about not being able to see the roots that bugs me. I guess I'm scared of dirt, ! I can only hope my next crop looks as good as yours does

 

-fishee