cardgenius’ 2 in 1 LED Grow Tent

[Lesso]

I have its bigger brother in my 5x5.

 

[cardgenius]

Looks like you've got most of your supplies all set (yup get an exhaust fan!).
I'll add that you should skip the dirty fish tank water at least for know. It's a big unknown, and for a first run, you are best to stick with predictable fertilizers.
If you have to use RO water, you need CalMagPlus to bring your base EC to around 100 before adding ferts. This is to return "good" minerals to the water, especially calcium, that the plants really need.

Hey thanks!

My plan for the fish water is to use it regularly here in a few weeks once the plants get bigger and use the bottled nutrients sparingly. I’ve done this with my outdoor plants and veggies I grow in the summer time and have had good success with it. Ive been using the RO water to mix in the bottled nutrients when I use them but for no special reason other than I have the filter and use it for my fish tank. Maybe I’ll start using tap water instead.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

You're going to have to decide if you want to do organic or not--you cannot do both. Chemical fertilizers like Fox Farm Grow Big and Tiger bloom are not organic and will kill any good microbes in your soil.

I would recommend getting your water tested before you decide to use it. While water can have good things in it, it can also have a lot of nasties or too much of one thing, which can cause problems with nutrient uptake of other elements.

I don't believe that the fish water will supply the right nutrients in the right amounts to be the sole nutrient for your plants, especially during flowering--cannabis does not do well in an aquaponics system. And if you want an organic grow, you are not going to be able to use the Fox Farm products. You might want to investigate making organic nutrient teas for your plants.

 

[stinkyattic]

I assume you have a way to check for chloramine since you have fishies... the only real reasons to go RO would be excessive chlorination residuals, or really hard or brackish tap water. Tap water is safe for plants more often than not, so just check it n see how crazy you have to get

 

[stinkyattic]

As someone who worked at an aquaponic basil+tilapia facility back in the day, I second HG's sentiment re: fish water.
Incidentally... it's out of business now. It was a nice thought, but fish and plants don't enjoy the same water in an artificial environment.

 

[cardgenius]

I assume you have a way to check for chloramine since you have fishies... the only real reasons to go RO would be excessive chlorination residuals, or really hard or brackish tap water. Tap water is safe for plants more often than not, so just check it n see how crazy you have to get

I don’t actually. I don’t use tap water in my aquariums because I don’t like adding water conditions to deal with the chlorine and it’s a planted tank with live plants. Because of the live plants I have to add fertilizers each week and when you use tap water with the added ferts it can be a recipe for some kind of nasty algae to start growing.

I always have a bucket of RO water on hand for a water change so that’s really the only reason I use it but I see what your saying. No need to use the RO water if I’m having to add back some of the basic elements I’m stripping out when tap water would be just fine.

 

[cardgenius]

You're going to have to decide if you want to do organic or not--you cannot do both. Chemical fertilizers like Fox Farm Grow Big and Tiger bloom are not organic and will kill any good microbes in your soil.

I would recommend getting your water tested before you decide to use it. While water can have good things in it, it can also have a lot of nasties or too much of one thing, which can cause problems with nutrient uptake of other elements.

I don't believe that the fish water will supply the right nutrients in the right amounts to be the sole nutrient for your plants, especially during flowering--cannabis does not do well in an aquaponics system. And if you want an organic grow, you are not going to be able to use the Fox Farm products. You might want to investigate making organic nutrient teas for your plants.

Hey thanks for the post, I had never thought about mixing organic with non-organic! In fact I thought I was buying all organic ferts with the Fox Farm stuff but I now see that only the Big Bloom is organic. I would definitely like to go organic if I can. Have a link that could point me in the right direction for making the tea?

I’ve done a little research on aquaponics for growing veggies and whatnot and have seen the benefits but I didn’t find any real info on it when used with Cannabis. Thought I’d give it a go and see how it turned out. Maybe I’ll water one plant with fish water and one plant with tap water + ferts and see which does better.

 

[cardgenius]

Decided I’m gonna roll the dice and go with my random bag seeds for now. I haven’t had any troubles with the 7 plants I’ve grown so far with these seeds so I’d rather build up my skills a bit before ordering some expensive seeds online. I’m also too impatient to keep the waiting going! haha

Ive germinated the seeds for the last 2 grows I did on my back deck as I’ve had problems with them sprouting in the past, so I picked out 3 seeds from the bag O mystery and have them soaking.

 

[stinkyattic]

Try soaking them between 2 damp paper towels so they get both air and water. I fear drowning them in straight water if theyre in there long enough to sink.

 

[cardgenius]

Try soaking them between 2 damp paper towels so they get both air and water. I fear drowning them in straight water if theyre in there long enough to sink.

Think it’ll get them to sprout faster? I’ve done this before(soak them for a day), then move them to a wet paper towel in the bag until I see some of the tap root but they always seem to take at least a few days to sprout.

 

[stinkyattic]

Oh ok no it's not so much about sprouting speed as oxygen getting to them and reducing chance of rot. As soon as you go to paper towels put them somewhere warmish. If you look at my grow log you'll see my stupid setup which is balancing them on a lamp with a small cfl in it for just a bit of heat. It's dumb but it works- a seedling heat mat is the official way to do it but ... There's more than one way to skin this cat.

 

[cardgenius]

Week 1 Update:

After floating the seeds for a bit I added them to the damp paper towel and stuck them under a vent for some heat(thanks stinkyattic). Woke up the next morning and 2 of the 3 had sprouted! So I stuck them in the dirt and they’ve been doing great. The other seed never sprouted so I tossed it.

I’m doing an 18/6 light cycle with the light about 4” above the plants. The tent is in my basement and with it acting like full on winter here in Colorado, the temps are struggling to stay above 70°. And that’s with the lights on. When off, it drops to 65°. So I’m looking for a small heater to add as it’s only gonna get colder as Winter gets closer.

Humidity is at 30% so I added a couple bowls of water with hopes that it would raise it up but it’s not doing anything as it’s still sitting at 30%.

Is 30% acceptable or should I be adding a humidifier to raise it up?

 

[oldfogey8]

Leaving the light on 24 hours a day would probably be cheaper than running a heater. I veg with the lights on all the time...

 

[cardgenius]

Leaving the light on 24 hours a day would probably be cheaper than running a heater. I veg with the lights on all the time...

Hmmm, that would definitely keep the temps up for the time being but I think I’ll run into the same problem come flower time. Guess I’ll look for something small and low power as I can’t think of any alternatives to adding heat once that time comes.

I will change the lights to 24 hours though. I like the idea of not having to buy anything else right now and not increasing the electricity bill. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Lesso]

Looking great. I think youre going to do well

 

[cardgenius]

Looking great. I think youre going to do well

Thank you, I appreciate it!

 

[cardgenius]

Week 2 Update:

Plants are doing great so far with lots of growth the past week. Temps are staying stable at 74° after switching the light to 24 hours. I added a small humidifier and now the Rh is up around 40.

The roots are starting to poke through the bottom drain holes, is this a good time to transplant them or should I give them more time in the starter pots?

 

[stinkyattic]

Perfect time to transplant, if the roots get too bunched up it is a bear getting them out without trauma. Looking good.
When you do decide to add heat, look at an oil filled portable electric radiator. They are cheap, safe, don't create hot/dry spots in the room like the quartz +fan types, and cycle slowly due to the heat capacity of the oil. It's not " desert wind vs nothing " lol.

 

[cardgenius]

Perfect time to transplant, if the roots get too bunched up it is a bear getting them out without trauma. Looking good.
When you do decide to add heat, look at an oil filled portable electric radiator. They are cheap, safe, don't create hot/dry spots in the room like the quartz +fan types, and cycle slowly due to the heat capacity of the oil. It's not " desert wind vs nothing " lol.

Great, I’ll get them transplanted tonight! I’ll definitely look into the oil radiator, don’t think I’m familiar with one but it sounds perfect.

 

[cardgenius]

Switched the plants over today and was pleasantly surprised by how well the roots look. The few other grows I’ve done never looked this good. I added a little less than 2tbs of the Mycos to each pot.

I unfortunately made the mistake of ordering 1 gallon bags instead of 3 and didn’t notice until I was in the middle of switching them over. Maybe it’ll work out for the best since I’m starting to realize how small my glowing chamber is.