1) I am using Day and Night CO2 Monitor and Controller inside tent that is set within range 1350 - 1500. Besides that I have a PAR meter to compare it. CO2 is only activating during lights on.
As a air circulation I am using 2 clip on fans(6 inch). To protect from overheating I have a Cloudline Inline Duct Fan that is activating only when temp reach 85.
Tent - I have a 1 vent that is slightly open, very minimal. I can tell that tent is completely sealed. I will post pics from my tent setup later this weekend.
2) Yes I was giving nutrients every time I was watering. I see that was too much. I will cut nutrients to 1 feed per week only. I believe I do have a pretty accurate PH meter and Ill continue adjusting PH to 6.5.
As a nutrients build up in soil I didn't know that. Like I mentioned I am beginner grower. It looks like I focused more on tents setup than the plant itself. Well thats a learning curve :)
3) I start feeding them after 2 weeks. I knew the Fox soil is rich in nutrients but I wasn't sure for how long they least. I did some research online and that what some people recommended
4) I didn't have complete list of nutrients at the beginning.
Week 1-4/5 : (3 base) big bloom, grow big, tiger bloom and
Calmag
Week 5-6: complete whole line list plus
Calmag and I added molasses 2 times. I have use Kangaroots twice. Microbe Brew was never used.
While mixing nutrient I did everything per 2 gallons, so potency was mostly between 50-70%
I will do the flush again. Since Monday should I start feeding them from week 7 on fox chart? Like you mentioned I cut Grow Big.
Ok, so I think keeping this numbered is a good way to keep things straight.
1)Aim to have your CO2 PPM closer to 1000, 1500 is too high; yes I know that is what a lot of people will recommend, but over the years I have seen people have better success at 1000 so that is always my recommendation. Its good you have a controller, a lot of people forget that piece of equipment early on. As for your PAR meter PAR stands for Photosynthetically Active Radiation, so it has nothing to do with your CO2. PAR is a reading of how much usable light you have available in your space.
Since you are running CO2 you will need to keep the air exchange to a minimum in your space, but you will still need to do some exchange. I would set the exhaust fan to run for 10 min once every 2 hours. This will pull out any excess gasses and will allow the new CO2 you are pumping in to fill that space. Exhausting this air will also pull excess humidity out of the tent. Once your plants are filling the tent humidity will rise quickly and become problematic. And then there is the night time, if you are not exhausting old air and bringing in fresh air your plants are suffocating when the lights are off. Plants are using the CO2 when lights are on because they are performing photosynthesis, this process is not going on at night which does mean that levels of O2 must be higher during the night than in relation to the day time. Again, if you have no air coming in to your space at night the plants are suffering.
Ultimately you tried to set your tent up like a room rather than a tent; they are not the same kind of environment. Personally in my tent I have my exhaust running 24/7. I do also have a small intake fan that runs also, but I could also have a passive intake if I snaked a run of 4" ducting through the same port I have the intake fan in; the exhaust fan would suck the air in passively through the ducting. I use no additional CO2 in this scenario.
2)The accuracy of your meter is irrelevant; if the molecules do not have a charge the meter you have will not read it accurately. I don't care if you spend $500 on a meter it will not read it accurately. You do not have to take my word on this, do your own test, give some plants food that you have checked the pH and balance it accordingly and then give others un checked food, see if there is any difference in how your plants turn out.
To me it feels completely obvious that nutrients will build up in soil, that is how soil is built and sustained in nature. So overlooking that is highly problematic. With
Fox Farm nutrients you are applying both immediately available nutrients as well as organic inputs that enhance the soil and takes time to break down. So what you are applying is meant to get into and become part of the soil. Also at the top of the feed chart it does say to feed twice a week. Look into cation exchange capacity (CEC), this is how soil absorbs and releases nutrients and is important to have a cursory understanding of this when working in soil.
3) Waiting until 2 weeks after planting was the correct move, particularly when using Ocean Forest. Ocean Forest has a considerable amount of nutrients contained within the soil. If using Ocean Forest I prefer using it on plants that have a well established root zone, these are going to be plants that are going into flower or are becoming mothers. I am a bigger fan of
Happy Frog as it does not have as much built in nutrition; I find it easier for young plants to root into without problems and for older plants the lower amount of organic inputs allows for me to apply what I need when I feel I need it rather than relying on the soil to already contain what I need. But this is just my preference on the matter, not any absolute.
4)If you have the Microbe Brew give a the plants some, the beneficial microbes it will provide will help put your soil back into balance. You should be using the Microbe Brew and/or Kangaroots once a week from week 1 right up to the flush. It can be applied separately from the other food, so on a "plain water" day. Personally I would be using the Microbe Brew as the first feeding rather than waiting for week 3 to apply it. We want beneficial microbes doing their job in the soil right from the start; they will help give your plants a proper environment to thrive in.
For now I would say skip ahead to week 10 of the chart plus the Kelp me Kelp You from week 8 if you have it. I also would say you are only going to do 2, max 3 more applications of nutrients. Your plants are at least half way through their bloom cycle and I personally recommend a 2 week flush to finish out the plants life. We want the plants to use up their stored nutrients plus anything else that is bound into the soil. 2 weeks of no additional input will help us achieve this goal.
I have a lot of issues with the
Fox Farm feed chart, a lot of it doesn't make a lot of sense to me when they apply certain things. If using their nutrients I would make some adjustments to that feed chart, but that also comes from an understanding of what is being applied to the soil and what the function of those inputs are. Anyone can follow a recipe but that does not make that person a chef; the same is true for growing, you can follow a feed chart but those charts rarely if ever offer a greater understanding of why you are applying the things you are. If you understand what you are using and what its functions are you will be able to do a lot more with the ingredients you are using.
Do a lot more reading (not on Cannabis forums or Cannabis specific articles) on the subject of soil biology and what plants require and you will get a lot further with your grows.
