Dragons Flame Mac Dragon bx1 in Updated RDWC System

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SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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Quick update before I go to work-

Ph has been fairly steady with a very slow creep upward. Yesterday I added 1 ml of ph down was all that was needed to keep it at that 5.8 target.

I noticed roots are starting to come out of the bottom of the net pot already, things up top have not changed much and I will get a few more photos when I have time. I need to carefully get in there and cut a hole in the bottom of that net pot (forgot to do that) for that tap root and will try to do that this evening when I get home.

Other than that, progress is good.
 
SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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So far so good with the young Dragons Flame lady, ph is holding steady with ever so slight rise. 1 ml of ph down this morning and still at 5.8 when I got home. Got some nice pearly white roots coming out of the net pot, but there is a slight bit of burn on the very tips of the single leaflet leaves, ppm sitting around 560, a bit up from the PH Down I've been using for the first few days. I set the chiller for 69F but it's not working much as the res temps have been around 67 with the cooler weather we have been having I guess.

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I'm wondering if you cut a hole in that net pot for the tap root? I recall you saying something about that once when growing from seed and I forgot to do that before I put my seedling in my system. Yesterday I did notice I've got some roots coming out of the bottom already. I figure if I am careful I can pull the net pot out and use a pair of dykes to snip out that inner circle on the bottom of the pot. Is this something you recommend?

Not sure if I should do this or not and how would I be able to tell which one of the roots is the tap root? None of the roots showing are coming out of the center section, which I figure is the only part I could cut out without having hydroton falling through. Just curious, things are going well and I hate to tinker with it when it's not needed.
 
Moe.Red

Moe.Red

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So far so good with the young Dragons Flame lady, ph is holding steady with ever so slight rise. 1 ml of ph down this morning and still at 5.8 when I got home. Got some nice pearly white roots coming out of the net pot, but there is a slight bit of burn on the very tips of the single leaflet leaves, ppm sitting around 560, a bit up from the PH Down I've been using for the first few days. I set the chiller for 69F but it's not working much as the res temps have been around 67 with the cooler weather we have been having I guess.

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I'm wondering if you cut a hole in that net pot for the tap root? I recall you saying something about that once when growing from seed and I forgot to do that before I put my seedling in my system. Yesterday I did notice I've got some roots coming out of the bottom already. I figure if I am careful I can pull the net pot out and use a pair of dykes to snip out that inner circle on the bottom of the pot. Is this something you recommend?

Not sure if I should do this or not and how would I be able to tell which one of the roots is the tap root? None of the roots showing are coming out of the center section, which I figure is the only part I could cut out without having hydroton falling through. Just curious, things are going well and I hate to tinker with it when it's not needed.
No man you are good. These little net pots will just get snapped and bent by the roots. They are consumables.

On the bigger net pots we used to use you might have to.

I think you are a bit high on ppm. But not bad. Just top off the res with water only to bring it down in range next time you mess with it.
 
SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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So, today marks the 7th day this seedling has been in the system and I think she is doing great! Ph has been super stable, have not had to adjust for the last 2 days, locked in at 5.8. I did pull out 6 cups of res water and replaced with fresh RO which brought the ppm down to about 535. Since then, the ppm has dropped to about 520 so it seems she is eating. Roots in the water and they are so nice and white! Woohooo!

So I am thinking, and wondering, does that last 7 days count as the first week of veg in the GH feeding chart!? Or do I still consider this a seedling and not go on to week 2 feeding levels yet? If that is the case, when does a seedling graduate to week 1 veg?

If I were to go on to week 2 feeding, or should I say when I go to week 2 feeding, my plan was to do a bit of math to figure out how much of each GH formula to add to the res to get to that next ppm level, and that would be tomorrow if the last 7 days count as week 1 veg. I am imagining, based on Aquaman's method of changing the res only after you have added the total volume back in as top off, that I should not have to change out the res for a good long time. I did end up with about 14.5 gallons total in the system so it will be a while before she drinks that much.

Here are a couple of photos, I think she looks super good.

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Moe.Red

Moe.Red

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Looking great.

For the chart - throw it away and read your plants. This is the fun part. You have perfect conditions, now you get to tune your feed to what this plant wants. They are not all the same. Here is what I see:

New growth looks great. Lighting is perfect at this stage. Keep an eye on the purple starting to form on the largest petioles, not that it is bad but can be a canary in a coal mine for lighting and temp on a plant that would not normally show purple.

Lets watch the lower leaves that were slightly burned. Eventually they will be food for higher growth, but for now you need the solar panels. This burn should not progress, and the coloring of the leaves should stay the same. Watch for color changes especially in the veins.

Roots look great, now would be a good time to give them a dose of bennies.

With the next node, probably turn the light up a bit. As you do, higher PPM in the res may cause more burning. Hovering around 600 at this stage is too high for a fast growing plant. The charts don't take into effect how fast this plant will grow in these conditions.

You are going to feel like a master at the end of this grow.
 
SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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Looking great.

For the chart - throw it away and read your plants. This is the fun part. You have perfect conditions, now you get to tune your feed to what this plant wants. They are not all the same. Here is what I see:

New growth looks great. Lighting is perfect at this stage. Keep an eye on the purple starting to form on the largest petioles, not that it is bad but can be a canary in a coal mine for lighting and temp on a plant that would not normally show purple.

Lets watch the lower leaves that were slightly burned. Eventually they will be food for higher growth, but for now you need the solar panels. This burn should not progress, and the coloring of the leaves should stay the same. Watch for color changes especially in the veins.

Roots look great, now would be a good time to give them a dose of bennies.

With the next node, probably turn the light up a bit. As you do, higher PPM in the res may cause more burning. Hovering around 600 at this stage is too high for a fast growing plant. The charts don't take into effect how fast this plant will grow in these conditions.

You are going to feel like a master at the end of this grow.

Thanks Moe, will keep a sharp eye on the things you mentioned and report back if I see anything going south.

Forgive my ignorance in terminology, but by bennies, do you mean add some more hydroguard? I know I need some more additives and things you have suggested and I plan to get the ones you have recommended in the past soon. I will go back and find that post of yours where you show your products and see about getting them ordered. Hydroguard is all I have now and I did use that initially.
 
SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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For the chart - throw it away and read your plants. This is the fun part. You have perfect conditions, now you get to tune your feed to what this plant wants. They are not all the same. Here is what I see:

New growth looks great. Lighting is perfect at this stage. Keep an eye on the purple starting to form on the largest petioles, not that it is bad but can be a canary in a coal mine for lighting and temp on a plant that would not normally show purple.
Ok, I tossed the chart (not really, lol) and going to learn to read these plants, my biggest weakness I believe. My comfort zone is a step by step, easy to follow, guide and I do well with these types of "recipes" to follow. Below are a couple of photos from this morning. PH has been a constant 5.8 without any adjustments for the past 3 days or better. PPM sitting around 530, res temps @ 78F. Temps in the tent have been ~72F, RH 40%.

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My read on this plant today says she is happy and doing well, with no adjustments needed at this time. I see no more burn on that first set of true leaves and honestly, I think I did that when they were still in the nursery with the light. I think that was a bit of light burn from that. I have 4 other seedlings going at the same time and they all suffered a bit of the same thing at the same time.

That 2nd set of leaves looks very good to my eye, no progression of the purple color on the petioles. I see no nute burn and she seems to be praying slightly. Loving the fat Indica structure of the leaves so far. I think the roots look great, very much pearly white that doesn't really show in that photo, but you can see just a tiny bit of brown near where the roots are coming out of the net pot. I have not top fed and am a bit paranoid to do that after watching the trouble another member had with his grow and perhaps too much top feeding? Not sure how important that is do do or how often but I have not done it yet. I did add 2 ml per gallon of additional Hydroguard the other day at your suggestion Moe and I imagine the bacteria colony is starting to get established at this time
With the next node, probably turn the light up a bit. As you do, higher PPM in the res may cause more burning. Hovering around 600 at this stage is too high for a fast growing plant. The charts don't take into effect how fast this plant will grow in these conditions.
I have not turned the light up yet either but that next node still has a ways to go so leaving it at about 25% for the time being.

Right or wrong, that is my untrained read on this plant as of today. 👨‍🎓
.
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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Think your reading it right brother… if you too feed around once a week now. Just to keep the hydroton inoculated and rinse any salt buildup
 
Moe.Red

Moe.Red

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I see a tiny bit of nute burn on the tip of the largest leaf in the front of the pic that did not appear to be there in the last photo. If so, I'd back down on PPM by leaving off a little of the pink stuff. But that's just me. Clearly not deficient!

What I try to go for at this stage is kick in higher respiration. Brining that up tho means more nutes to the leaves. Faster typically means lower PPM but higher water use overall.
 
SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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I see a tiny bit of nute burn on the tip of the largest leaf in the front of the pic that did not appear to be there in the last photo. If so, I'd back down on PPM by leaving off a little of the pink stuff. But that's just me. Clearly not deficient!
Ok, I do see what you are talking about Moe on the tip of the 2nd set of leaves. The other side is very similar, I did see this before and it does appear that it got a tiny bit worse. I have not added anything since the initial nutrient set up except the extra dose of Hydroguard so I guess my question would be, since I am not adding anything ATM, do you recommend pulling out more res water and replacing it with fresh RO to get that ppm down? I have not noticed any substantial drops in the water level and I'm sitting about 1" below the bottom of the net pot so adding more RO water, IMO, is not an option at this time.

What I try to go for at this stage is kick in higher respiration. Brining that up tho means more nutes to the leaves. Faster typically means lower PPM but higher water use overall.

By increasing the respiration, I am assuming this means to bring light intensity and tent temperatures up? And based on what you stated, I want my ppm's lower if I am going to increase respiration because the higher rate of respiration will bring even more nutes to the leaves that we probably don't want at this time?
 
Moe.Red

Moe.Red

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I think you are probably out of balance a bit at this stage. If you follow the GH recommendation, you are 1:1:1 this stage. I prefer a 1:.5:1 ratio with the pink being .5. That will change pretty quick as you add mass, but for right now it's the "flower" salts that will most likely cause burning in young leaves.

This is something to make a mental note on for next time - PPM near 600 with full P&K burns babies. If you want to futz with it, it won't hurt but those spots will not recover.

Spot on with the last part.
 
SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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I think you are probably out of balance a bit at this stage. If you follow the GH recommendation, you are 1:1:1 this stage. I prefer a 1:.5:1 ratio with the pink being .5. That will change pretty quick as you add mass, but for right now it's the "flower" salts that will most likely cause burning in young leaves.

This is something to make a mental note on for next time - PPM near 600 with full P&K burns babies. If you want to futz with it, it won't hurt but those spots will not recover.

Spot on with the last part.

OK, so I pulled 10 more cups of res water out and added back fresh RO which brought the ppm down to 515, ph is locked in at 5.8. I raised the light a bit because I see a bit of upward curl on those 2nd set of leaves. Room temps between 72-75F, RH around 40%, res temp 68F.

Yea, I mixed 1:1:1 for that res, next time will do the 1:.5:1 and bring the pink down by half. For now it is what it is and I don't want to push her too hard with that ratio being out of balance. You say it will change pretty quick so for now, I think it best to let her ride and watch.

Roots look really good but I do see a bit of brown still just below the net pot, not sure if this is normal staining or something I need to be concerned about. Will keep a good eye on it.


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One thing I did notice on that bleeder I installed on the last grow, there was a bit of gunk in there when I looked earlier. I sucked a bit of water into the tube and it all washed away, didn't get a pic but there is still a slight bit of the gunk still on the tubing. SMH, not sure what to think of that.



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SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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Short update for today, cruising along without much to report. After raising the light, the leaf curl seemed to stop and those big ole solar panels seem to be doing their job, growth up top is beginning to pick up and the roots look great. Still not drinking a noticeable amount of water and ppms are slowly dropping. I don't see any signs of over feeding and think things are still good in the res. Ph has been super stable, not had to adjust it since adding back in the 10 cups of RO water on Monday. This is the best looking seedling I have ever grown!

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SweetLeafGrow

SweetLeafGrow

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Two days growth since my last update and wow, amazing how fast things move in hydro.....still tripping hard at that.

I pulled 6 more cups of water out of the res and replaced it with RO water, ppms are sitting at 500 now and still a bit high from what I understand. Seems to me she is handling it well but I have not pushed temps up yet, still hovering around 72F. I raised the light up a bit more as I was starting to see a bit more leaf curl, nothing too bad. I'm not seeing any more signs of nute burn, the roots look really good and she is starting to take off up top.

I'm going to be building a PVC base to serve as anchor points for me to do a lot more training on this plant than the last one. Honestly, I tried to do some training on the last grow but pretty much failed to get to the level I know I am capable. I think the biggest problem for me was the plant got out of control on me because of how fast everything moves, then I didn't know what to do and I tried to get things under control with the net trellis and we've seen how that worked.....lol. This time will be much better!

I did notice a light PH drop to 5.7 before I replaced the last 6 cups of res water, but after adding in fresh RO water, the ph jumped right back to 5.8 where it has stayed since. My plan is to let everything ride, seems to be working what I am doing at this time.

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