New Guy Needs Advice

[Disco Duck]

The bottled RO water is the most expensive part of doing this. I can't go cutting into the plumbing in my apartment. Is their an RO filter that works off the faucet?

 

[TrichromeFan]

I'm sure that you could finagle an adaptor onto a faucet. An ro needs a drain as well. You could use a hydrologic small boy 2 stage filter, with a kdf85 cartridge. That is much less $, is smaller, and does not waste a bunch of water through the drain.

 

[Disco Duck]

They actually make "countertop" models, if I knew that I would have made it part of the original stuff I bought. I thought RO had to be built into your plumbing, buying 15-20 bottles of RO water every 2 weeks is more expensive than the electricity.

I have to fix my jeep first, but I'm going to get a countertop RO water filter after that. This is the best one I have found so far ("best" defined as quality combined with low price). I am hoping to find a cheaper one that isn't... cheap:-)

http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/ro-counter-detail.htm

I have a couple weeks to look before I can afford it anyway. If anyone knows of a good, inexpensive "countertop" (is what they call them) RO water filter please post a link here.

 

[Disco Duck]

Today is the 1st day of the 4th week of flowering. I am back to the problem of the plants getting too big. They slowed growing at the end of week 2, but have continued to grow. The tallest branch, the middle one in the last picture, that is centered under the light is now only 16 inches away from the glass. The plants are still getting about 1/2" taller every day.

Do they really stop growing eventually, or will they continue to get taller the whole time? I have a net in here, but I think I would need to supercrop branches to bend them down to the net, is it too late for that? I think the tallest branch will start burning from the light soon at 16", what is the best thing to do here?

 

[Disco Duck]

Today is the 4th day of the 4th week of flowering and the first crystals are appearing on the buds and leafs that come out of them. It's really great to see little crystals forming.

 

[Disco Duck]

So... the tallest branch is only 14" from the light now. Will the plants really stop growing eventually, or will they always continue to get taller every day until I cut them down?

The GH scedule I am using has a "Bloom" formula and an "Aggressive Bloom" formula. The difference is one is 1:2:3 the other is 0:2:4 on the base nutes. Should I switch to the later "Agressive" forumla that takes out the N "grow" bottle, or will the plants develope an N defficiency if I do that early. I am in week 4 and they take 9-11 weeks.

I'm going to have to start bending branches and tieing them down to the net if they don't stop growing 1/2-3/4" per day and I'd rather not do that if I don't have too.

 

[motherlode]

phosphaload is your answer, just a small amount though, nothing like the bottle says...

1 ml per gallon will stop your stretch and make them grow more budsites.

 

[Disco Duck]

Here are pictures from today, the first day of week 5 of flowering. I might have to start tying them down soon, they the closest is only about 14" from the light.

Two days ago the power in my apartment flickered on and off a few times. This blew my $120 Hortilux Super HPS bulb. The plants went one 12 hour cycle in the dim glow of a burnt out light because I run the lights at night and had to wait for the next day to get another bulb. This is actually fairly common in my apatment, so I think I need to spend $100 on a 600w battery backup for the light so it has uniterupted power when the power flickers. $120 everytime the power flickers will get expensive very fast, the APC battery backup will be worth it if it saves a single bulb.

 

[RMCG]

If you bought the bulb locally(which @ 120$ sounds like it is) and its dated, return it and get a replacement.

 

[Disco Duck]

It's been a long time since I updated this thread. The plant have just been chugging along. There have only been two incidents worth mentioning since the light bulb fried when the power flickered back when I stopped posting.

The first was that I have 2 clip on fans, one on each side of the tent. One of them fell off the 2x2 it is clipped too. It broke the top off of 1 plant, and also broke a branch but that branch healed. So I have 1 topless plant. The fans now have their power cords zip tied so if they come off they will hang from the 2x2 and not fall into the plants.

The second "incident" is that I was told the plants were "9-11 weeks". So I worked on the idea that they would take 10 weeks of flowering. Being a newb I started counting from the day I flipped the lights. Bud sites didn't start to form until the end of week 1, so I shouldn't have counted that week. So between those 2 things I was a full 2 weeks off on my guess as to when they would finish. I gave them the dry koolbloom ripen forumla for weeks 8 & 9, thinking 10 would be the flush. But that was really weeks 7 & 8 because I counted the first week. I let the dry mix formula go for a third week (week 10, or 9) but then worried that running them too long on the powerful dry mix would leave a bad taste in them, so beginning week 11 (10, actually) I went back to the liquid koolbloom "aggressive bloom" mix meant for finishing if you are not using the dry powder.

These picutres are from tonight, day 2 of week 11 (10 since first bud sites formed). There had been a few red hairs, but overnight tonight many more turned red. They went from about 5% red hairs for the last 2 weeks or so to about 10% literally overnight... so I think they are actually finishing now. I am thinking that next monday I can begin a 7 day flush for week 11 (12 since light flip) and they will be ready to cut down. Does that look about right from these pictures?

 

[SoCaler]

Hey Disco Duck
Flower time starts the day you switch to 12/12.
If your figuring a 10 week flower, you should start flushing at week 8, just in case their ripe at week 9.
Also if you haven't goten an RO system, check out Hydrologic,s Stealth RO 100 you should be able to one for under $200.
Good Luck
:rock

 

[Disco Duck]

The end is in sight...

The end is finally in sight on the never ending grow. Pictures, from my cheap camera that can't take a non-blurry picture, of day 1 of week 12 of this allegedly "9-11 week" Lambsbread x Skunk#1. I'm guessing I will switch to a 7-9 day flush sometime late this week.

 

[motherlode]

lol hard to see really - but that bud has that chunky skunk #1 look for sure

what she smell like?

 

[Disco Duck]

lol hard to see really - but that bud has that chunky skunk #1 look for sure

what she smell like?

The smell is odd. It smells kind of like bad breath just sitting there, but if you touch a bud or brush up against one then you smell a medium-strength skunk smell. I try not to touch the buds, but was surprised when I finally squeezed one about a week ago. I expected it to be soft and spungy but it was solid like a rock. I am hoping that means I will have dense buds when it dries.

 

[Disco Duck]

Day 2, Week 14... no end in sight.

Well, it's week 14 of my "9-11 week" Lambsbread x Skunk #1. Still only about 30% red hairs, if any trichs are cloudy then I can't tell the difference... but after looking, and looking I really think they are all clear and sometimes some just look white becuase the way the light is hitting them. I've read recently that this strain is almost 100% sativa, which has me worried I could be on my way to week 20. But at this point, starting over with something else would be stupid and these buds look, feel and smell soooo nice.

So I am going to keep going as long as it takes. The plants have been on Dry Koolbloom for 2 weeks twice now, with a week break in between, and I am just worried about using any more of the powerful dry mix. But if you step back to the "aggressive bloom" formula new growth occurs. So Starting last night they are running on a new "Ripen" mix but using 10ml per gal of liquid KB instead of the dry. So it's the dry mix formula but with the liquid KB. I've read so many warnings of how powerful the dry mix is that I don't want to use it anymore after 2 seperate 2 week periods on it. If I get to week 18 and they are still going I maybe I'll use the dry mix again, haha.

I really wish I had gone with an 8 week strain now. "9-11" wouldn't have been bad, but I am at 14 with no end in sight. I think I have at least another 2 weeks before even starting a 1 week flush... but I've thought that for about a month now already. My next strain will definately be some type of 8 week indica, hahaha.