Started A Cmh Grow With 12 27 Gal Sites.

[JMcG]

Looking real good!
That waterfall set up looks like it is rockin it. One thing I notice in the last pics is how the stream of water ( which looks like is under a fair bit of pressure) is pointed at the base of the net pot and the rootball , and it seems like the ball is hollowed out where that stream wants to hit it. Maybe keeping that stream from blasting the ball would let it fill out more...?
My .02 anyway.... roots look happy!

 

[Aktommy]

Looking real good!
That waterfall set up looks like it is rockin it. One thing I notice in the last pics is how the stream of water ( which looks like is under a fair bit of pressure) is pointed at the base of the net pot and the rootball , and it seems like the ball is hollowed out where that stream wants to hit it. Maybe keeping that stream from blasting the ball would let it fill out more...?
My .02 anyway.... roots look happy!

I think designing the jets to come around the pots using 45 degree fittings and using slightly larger holes for more flow and less pressure would be the next improvement.

 

[JMcG]

Yeah. You know, I bet even just one good waterfall just inside the bucket that doesn't blast the rootball would provide plenty of DO. That fluming action really gets it done. Maybe as the rootball get larger it would decrease the amount of flume tho..
After following FooDoos experiment with no air stones I ditched all forms of air/ agitation in my pods and just have one waterfall and one stone in my epicenter. So far the girls look super happy, great roots.

 

[Aktommy]

Black Mambas loving the CMH 315s with waterfalls. No issues at day 6 of flower, just super healthy plants.

 

[Aktommy]

6 days of growth with the CMHs

 

[Aktommy]

6 days in flower

 

[Aktommy]

Time for an update:

Took a week to go to Seattle and left everything on auto pilot. Worked out pretty good except for some unforeseen stretching, which seems to be about 25 percent more with the CMHs.

Girls look really well and I'm pleased with the flower development at day 18.

Pics of day 18 under the CMH 315s and RDWC with no airstones:

 

[Aktommy]

Same plant 7 days apart

 

[Aktommy]

Root balls looking huge and healthy today, no airstones just waterfalls.

 

[Aktommy]

Had a float valve thumb screw come loose and flooded the reservoirs last night... not good. One plant is showing severe signs of oxygen deprivation now and not sure if she will recover. Amazing how fast shit can go bad, literally in one day.

Was up till 4:00 am draining the system and now the water level is sitting one inch below the net pots. Hope this plant makes a recovery and doesn't go toxic on the system.

 

[Aktommy]

4 hour comparison since I adjusted the water level. No change

 

[treeratt59]

4 hour comparison since I adjusted the water level. No change

I still like not having the air pump, but maybe sometimes what we want and what we need are different. Redundancy is good. I think I'll stick with the air pump. But on the other hand I am certainly sold on CMH's, your shit is looking mighty fine. Thanks for keeping everyone updated, you're an inspiration.

 

[gimp73]

You and I think alike. I too was coming across waterfall grows that werent using stones or chillers(so higher water temp) with amazing results. i wanted to apply that to my undercurrent because its so compact and small compared to the up scaling thats done with the more common and popular waterfall setups on the internet right now. like my little recirculating pump compared to that behemoth.

if you saw in my no air stones thread i wasnt too worried about removing all my airstones but was a bit scared to remove the last air pump and diffuser disc from the epicenter. once i did tho i never looked back and the results were fantastic.

then i put fear aside and started to edge my water temp up just like you are considering. i did a baby jump from 68 to 69. few days im like "69 is basically 70" so went up again to 70. then i jumped to 72 after a few more days because i didnt see any negative results. once i hit 72 i was pretty satisfied but figured id set it to 73 so the two degree chilling effect would keep me at 71/72-73.

during ALL that, i also switched from RO water to municipal tap during week 5 bloom which that could have killed my entire grow had it not worked out.

fear would have kept me from accomplishing so much in so little time and honestly all those things have completely been a game changer. ive learned more in the last 3 months by doing whats not recommended than i have in the last 10 years of following copy/paste hearsay of what i should do

I ran a 2hp chiller for my first run then stopped using it due to the extra noise and electric usage. 7 years later and have never had root rot. In veg my temps can get up to 78 then slowly start dropping when I go into flower. I hit 73 at the end of week 1 of flower. By week 3 or 4 I am around 68 to 70. I just use pool shock every 3 to 4 days and all is good.

 

[gimp73]

Are you still liking the cmh lights?

 

[Tonydizz]

That sucks dude. Hope they recover

My float valve makes me nervous too. What happened to it? Was it human error or mechanical failure?

I think if you had air pumps the plants might have taken the flooding a lot better.

 

[Aktommy]

That sucks dude. Hope they recover

My float valve makes me nervous too. What happened to it? Was it human error or mechanical failure?

I think if you had air pumps the plants might have taken the flooding a lot better.

Human error, the thumbscrew came loose on the float adjustment. I lost one plant from that mistake.

 

[Aktommy]

Ok update at day 29 in flower. Plants are looking amazing with the CMH 315s and waterfalls. Only mishap has been to my own mistake of not tightening down the float valve adjustment screw... cost me one plant.

 

[Tonydizz]

Looking fire. I have 5 elmers glue finishing up in a UC ... so big they are falling over lol

 

[Aktommy]

Girls are starting to stack up. The natural coloring with the CMHs are amazing.

 

[JMcG]

Yeah, I am getting some great purple hues on plants that never did under my 600w hps.
Bummer in losing that plant.