Post Your UC Problems Here!

[Seamaiden]

Dave's got it with the RH that Farmer Jon brought up, 20% is incredibly low (where *are* you in NorCal that the RH is getting that low?). My girls get major stiffies when the room temps are near 80F and RH is around 70%, they are absolutely at their happiest.

Ya actually I went down for the surgery at the VA center in Stanford.. went in for preop and had a nasty staff infection that was giving me golfball sized cysts in my armpits from a spider bite or something..needless to say you have to be healthy to have surgery I guess.. Its my L4 L5 vertebre, the cushsion in the middle is completely pushed out against my spine, I saw my MRI and it was sticking out like a sore thumb. Its weird I can ride my quad, snowboard and shit like that and not been in pain since before I was supposed to have my surgery but ANY type of bending over type of work or leaning.. straight up will put me to the floor in agonizing pain in my sciatic.

The discs between L4 and L5, and L5 and S1 are the ones that I've blown. But I've always worked hard, used to have horses, raised pigs, rode quadrunners (last time I rode a quad I got bitten by that rattler, haven't ridden since, but that was only a year before my injury). I'm afraid to try skiing, but we live 45mins from world class skiing up at Kirkwood, and DAMN it looks like fun!

Lets just say til I cannot walk permanently I probably will keep putting off the surgery.. If I quit being a fatass would probably help too...LOL less stress on my whole system! But man getting older (31) and not loving all the physical shit I did in the Marines keeps me from cutting down bigtime.. I like being fat and happy except I will be fat and dead if I am not careful. Anyways I am active I ride my bicycle and shit like that and go to the gym but ya I dunno they want to remove the entire degraded disc and DID say it may have no effect and would probably need to be fused when I am older.. for now I will just deal with it.. I have just had scary times where like say I all the sudden could not walk for a month.. that sucks balls! LITERALLY crawling on the floor like a dog.. Fucking IRAQ!

My friend, you have a few years to go yet (before you're classified as "older"). Stay as active as you can, if you don't have a TENS unit get one and use it every time you need it. My son bought me a shiatsu massager that gets a lot of workouts, not just on my back but for my hips, too.

I've been there, not being able to even get myself to the toilet without help. I am here now, NO SURGERY, getting myself to the toilet as long as I don't overdo it. My hips are almost more fucked than my back, but I digress, this is a UC FAIL thread.

Mr. Dizzle, you've made some interesting points and I sure do love growing in coco + rice hulls (nix the perlite, man, rice hulls for the win)! How come Jack rarely posts here anymore?

 

[jimmyhoffa59]

I think Jack probably just found that he was getting too many emails or dumb questions.. vacation, I dunno the guy just cut down a few million in bud, would YOU be sitting online? LOL Well I am in Redding CA.. no shame in saying it, I got my script anyways. Ya I dunno like I said in my tent the hygrometer just about always says 20% I have seen 30% at times.. not often.. Dunno why.

 

[yourmomsfav]

jim dont feel bad bro, my first run on my uc 13gal 8xl was a bust.

the straw that broke the camels back on my run was an algae problem that not matter what i did to try to eradicate just couldnt shake it. the culprits: 1. light leaks into the uc 2. water temps.

the first 3 weeks into my run i noticed my water temps were getting close to the 74 degree mark,and i noticed some algae on the sides of my epi which made me scared shitless. so being a little strapped on $ at the time i tried all the bootleg ways to keep the water temps down (ie: frozen water bottles) didnt help much. So i found where my wife kept my credit cards (shes the saver, I'm the spender, LOL) and went out and got a 1/4hp chiller. water temps down to 67, great!

a few weeks later i noticed the algae making a comeback. i thought the chiller and DM zone wouldve handled that but guess not.

so after a few drain and fills, with bleach and h2o2. i noticed my roots were all covered in a light greenish "slime". so on the advice of the guy at the hydro store i ran some hydro fungicide for about a week and noticed it didnt help at all. the roots were all completely covered. ive tried just about everything to save them but it was a loosing battle. so i just took cuts from the best ones and im hoping for round 2 when they root.

after completely draining the system and sterilizing it. i noticed a good amount of light coming through the buckets on the sides right where the "ridge" is halfway up the buckets. so that might have been where some of the light was entering the buckets. so i wrapped all the buckets and now am just waiting for my clones to root.

i was running dm gold a/b and zone from the start (was trying to kiss method)
got a chiller about a month into the run (shouldve started with it from day 1)
light leaks (although may not seem like much, still did damage)
Ph and nutes were in order.

sorry for the long post, but if this helps anybody in anyway at all then mission accomplished.

lets hope for a stellar 2nd run! Lifes all about learning from your mistakes,

 

[jimmyhoffa59]

move your air pump outside the room too if you can and its cooler air outside the tent.

earlier you mentioned water level was at 1" below lids? too much water. you want to fill about 80% of the bucket for veg and 50% for flower. 8 gallon bucket? = 6 gallons (about 2-2.5" below lid), this is also where the bottom of your clone roots should be planted at the water line. you fill net pots with medium to water line, add clone and fill with medium.

add a humidifier if needed or a bucket of water with a fan blowing over it.

bring that humidity up to 70% (for clones and young plants) if you can and see if they bounce back, they may be getting sucked bone dry if its too dry in there. just till they are healthy, then adjust it to normal levels (45-55%).

i would consider cutting down to 1 light too for now, in case they are getting that stressed from too much light.


just occurred to me too, CO2 and air pump in tent? pumps co2 into water...not good unless you are growing seaweed.

My air pump always been outside the tent. Never inside.

 

[Seamaiden]

If algal blooms are such a problem for hydro peeps, why don't more know about how to control it/them? Microalgae, as long as you're not talking about cyanobacteria (many people mistake these for an algal bloom) is relatively easily controlled. It will use ANYTHING available to grow as long as it has the two basics--water and light. What is there in abundance in a grow room if not water and light? Block the light falling onto the places where you want to disallow the microalgae and the problem should be solved.

If it's cyanobacteria then an antibiotic is what's required to be rid of it.

BTW, seaweed doesn't always grow better in areas of high CO2 saturation, but true aquatic plants do.

 

[jimmyhoffa59]

Well my buckets been wrapped from day one my friends. And no one else was having issues with algae in their big runs like Jack, his top holes were wide open and buckets NOT wrapped and more light then probably anyone on these forums.. No issues.. SO fuck it.. when they finish dying ill try again with RO and UV sterilizer.. reservoir and some other ideas.. FML!!

 

[Mr.GoodCat]

I just got an undercurrent system and have been doing a ton of research as of late with all the problems that I have been hearing about RDWC. I have experimented in the past with DWC and never had a single problem.

It is obvious that almost all the problems that I have read about happen in the root zone. I see many people using zone, or sm-90 to help prevent harmful bacteria from colonizing.

It is very common for bacteria to be present in tap water and well water, there is even bacteria in some bottled drinking water. Although some bacteria may not be harmful to us there are certain strains that colonize and wreck havock on a plants root system. My question is why the fuck doesn't anyone (I shouldn't say anyone, most people) use a UV sterilizer for their water????? In my opinion a UV sterilizer would be well worth it. Merlin makes a UV sterilizer that hooks up to the garden pro for like 100 bucks! An RO system is good but doesnt sterilize the water. There are even units you can by that doesnt need an RO system to operate.

When I set up my new UCE12XL I know one thing, it will be paired with a merlin garden pro, tall blue pre-filters, and the merlin sterilizer. In my nutrient solution I will run zone and sub-culture m&b. My 1/2 hp chiller should keep my solution down around 66. I think these are great systems once we understand them a little better.

 

[Farmer Jon]

I just got an undercurrent system and have been doing a ton of research as of late with all the problems that I have been hearing about RDWC. I have experimented in the past with DWC and never had a single problem.

It is obvious that almost all the problems that I have read about happen in the root zone. I see many people using zone, or sm-90 to help prevent harmful bacteria from colonizing.

It is very common for bacteria to be present in tap water and well water, there is even bacteria in some bottled drinking water. Although some bacteria may not be harmful to us there are certain strains that colonize and wreck havock on a plants root system. My question is why the fuck doesn't anyone (I shouldn't say anyone, most people) use a UV sterilizer for their water????? In my opinion a UV sterilizer would be well worth it. Merlin makes a UV sterilizer that hooks up to the garden pro for like 100 bucks! An RO system is good but doesnt sterilize the water. There are even units you can by that doesnt need an RO system to operate.

When I set up my new UCE12XL I know one thing, it will be paired with a merlin garden pro, tall blue pre-filters, and the merlin sterilizer. In my nutrient solution I will run zone and sub-culture m&b. My 1/2 hp chiller should keep my solution down around 66. I think these are great systems once we understand them a little better.

Zone will just kill the sub-culture..maybe i'm misunderstanding you but you either go the sterile route (zone) or the living route (sub-culture, great white, enzymes ect)
FJ

 

[MediMary]

It would be nice if the undercurrent modules were a little thicker. Im looking at it right now, seems if you don't wrap um up, choke light would shine in.
Granted jack had great runs does not mean its not a design flaw.

 

[mrdizzle]

I added a UV light to my system when I started getting algae, it had no effect, it only really affects the water that is touching it for the moment then as soon as that water isnt touching the UV light it gets reintroduced to the algae. the only place I can see a UV filter being useful is inline from your water source so that the water going into the system hits the UV before it enters the UC

 

[RMCG]

Agreed Dizzle.

Zone (Chloramine) should be enough to combat it. It's used in municipal water supplies for a reason.

 

[Mr.GoodCat]

yea i am going to use the sterilizer on the water that will be entering the uc (filling). and it was a typo i meant zone or sub m&b not sure if i am gonna try to run a dead system or not yet. more and more though it is looking like a dead rez

 

[mittenmedgrow]

I know some guys can run organics and bennies in hydro but I couldnt get it to work. Tried for almost two yrs. I quit having problems when I dropped the organics and ran sterile res.

 

[motherlode]

Agreed Dizzle.

Zone (Chloramine) should be enough to combat it. It's used in municipal water supplies for a reason.

it SHOULD be enough - but then why do all these people using the high rate still have issues?

 

[Farmer Jon]

yea i am going to use the sterilizer on the water that will be entering the uc (filling). and it was a typo i meant zone or sub m&b not sure if i am gonna try to run a dead system or not yet. more and more though it is looking like a dead rez

I figured as much. Just wanted to make it clear to anyone reading that doesn't know any better.
FJ

 

[FatFreddysKat]

Im just trying to figure out why I had no issues, I never wrapped my buckets or piping, never used a top off rez., dumped my DM One & Zone directly into the epicenter, only used the Zone at half strength, no UV, no RO, and even over nuted them causing no stretch early weeks in flowering, but they remained healthy and were harvested....man I must have just got lucky from what I have been reading lately about all the wrong things I've done!!!
Im getting more ladies ready for you Jimmy.....sorry I dont have any ready right now, I'll call you soon and we'll talk some more!!!

 

[MediMary]

well Freddy, I think different water quality might be it.
If someone has spores in their water, then things light light leaks and such might cause problems. Where someone else has better water so there isnt a problem.

 

[RMCG]

it SHOULD be enough - but then why do all these people using the high rate still have issues?

Zone IS enough to kill nasties in 'healthy' water. The amount municipalities use to keep your drinking water 'safe' is pretty miniscule, but they also don't have buckets full of root mass harboring nasties either.

'Root Rot' is a symptom of something else.

Disease - pythium, fusarium

Low DO - High res temps, algae, blocked (air/water) pumps

Damaged Roots - High PPM, pH swings (nute/acid burn)


From his limp plant pix, it looks like too high of ppms, sucking the turgidity from the leaves. Granted, that could be from already damaged roots no longer able to uptake water now or being 'overwatered' (low DO).

Check the obvious? Blocked pumps, debris in the water?

Maybe just flush and run pH'd water for a day or two to see if they 'perk'.

 

[motherlode]

sorry I specifically meant algae

lots of people using zone and still having algae

 

[RMCG]

sorry I specifically meant algae

lots of people using zone and still having algae

Light and nutrients. Algae will grow damn near anywhere.

In his first post he mentions 'brown algae', but I will bet its 'red' algae.

I would try something like AmQuell (aquarium conditioner) to knock some of the 'organics' (nitrites/nitrates) out of the tap water. Yes, it WILL neutralize Zone (chlorine/chloramine) etc. So redose Zone after a few days. I added Amquell to my top-off res.