Critical Mass Hydro Cube Grow Journal

Tyman

New member
I just finished setting up my hydro cube system from mega watt. I haven"t heard any reviews about this system so i guess this grow will be an experimental grow.
The critical mass was a clone i received from a friend, he said it was the indica dominate pheno, (I hope so because i only have 20" to the center of the system) so i cant afford the stretching.

I will be using 2x600watt electronic ballasts from lumatek which are dimmable from 300watt to super lumes.

PH meter is from blue lab (combo meter,PH,EC,TEMP)

Nutes- from GH flora nova series(Grow,Bloom,Kool Bloom) also OVERDRIVE for the last two weeks of flower.

Here's some info on the hydro cube-Hydro Cube Kit

The Hydro Cube was designed to maximize results while maximizing space. The Hydro Cube can hold 80 - 120 plants in 20 vertical slabs. This recycling water system is ideal for everyone looking to increase their yields while being environmentally conscious. Two lights of your choice are placed inside the glass tube. The vertical placement of these lights allows for 360 degrees lighting enabling complete utilization of your light source. This system uses an 18'' industrial fan to enable proper ventilation.

ProductPictureViewer.aspx

measures: 48" X 48" X 64"

Included:
20 x rockwool 15 x 7.5 x 100 cm slabs
18 inch industrial fan
1 x Plug N Grow IGS-011
1 x Pump 800 GPH
1x 127 liter basin
All fittings and hoses
1 x 1240 mm borocilicate glass tube
2 x 6kv sockets
2 x 15ft 16/3 600v cords
Ranked Best System 2010

NOW ON WITH THE SHOW:D
 
day1

Here it is , more photos tonight when the ladies move in..
 

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And so it begins...i just hope i dont get busted for posting this online:eek:

the clones are a little more yellow than i expected:(.. i was told they were done in an easy cloner, he had a hard time keeping the temps down which caused PH fluctuation...it was corrected and the roots just exploded with growth, but you can tell by the leaves that there was an issue.judging by the size of the clones,im thinking not to veg for too long maybe 3-4 days before the flip to
12-12 to keep the stretching to a minimum.

ill keep you posted
enjoy
 

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switching to flower

I vegged for 4 days and now doing the switch to 12-12, the clones grew on average 2", a little worried about the stretch but if it gets too bad ill start a flower fortifier early.. enjoy

Im starting to get a little paranoid anyone know if they can trace this?
 

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Im starting to get a little paranoid anyone know if they can trace this?

Looks like you are stripping your exif data so that is good. The web is probably the least of your concerns as long as you don't reveal too much about yourself.

VERY creative build Tyman. Bravo.
I am assuming those feeder lines only run on an interval. Am I wrong? Do you run nutes through those slabs non-stop?

Please tell us more about your setup.
 
Thanks Cptn
makes me feel better about posting this journal,still a little uneasy tho.By the way thanks for the comment on the room, it took me 2 day to fully complete everything.Back to your question about the continuous fed or timer fed, I use the iGS-011L precision timer,its a smart timer which can tell the difference between night and day,ill post the link below if anyone is interested.
I soak the slabs every three hours at 10 min intervals, I find that three hours between floods is sufficient and allows for maximum oxygen to penetrate the roots in rockwool. I usually don't do continuous flooding i find that i get more bacteria build up, the slabs tend to smell a bit and the tops have a light brown coating on them.
photos coming soon,

here is the link for the timer
iGS-011L Precision Cycle Timer
 
hi there,
The best way to set timings with rw is, so that on every watering, 10 - 20% of what you put in the top comes out the bottom. Same applies for all passive hydro including coco.. Using this rule, feed times should inrease as the grow progresses.
Fantastic build tho...
Good luck, and don't worry too much, you're not exactly filling a warehouse there...hehee..
Peace
BL
 
They Grow So Fast

Not even finished the second week of flower, I had to purchase some BOOST from canna, I find it actually works. Its slowing vertical growth while producing more bud sites.
Thanks for the info Billy boy ill keep that in mind as the show progresses...

Any pruning tips for this system or a similar one would be greatly appreciated....

enjoy
 

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Not even finished the second week of flower, I had to purchase some BOOST from canna, I find it actually works. Its slowing vertical growth while producing more bud sites.
Thanks for the info Billy boy ill keep that in mind as the show progresses...

Any pruning tips for this system or a similar one would be greatly appreciated....

enjoy

Greetings Ty,

A truely vertical setup, freakin awesome man. I always wanted to try one of these. Looking forward to your array of pictures man. Looking really nice so far, I must say. Be well and I'm excited for this.

Best Regards

sativaXindica
 
Its out of control (DAY 16 FLOWER)

HOLY SHIT this shit is outa control :eek: I had to start pruning it was a freakin jungle in there ...just started to add big bud to start to form those flowers,:D. Here are some before and after pics after I removed about 3 pounds of stem and leaf...enjoy....look at my roots,there crazy with no stimulator ....

P.S,,Thanks for the positive feedback sativaXindica, it keeps me motivated to finish what I started...take care
 

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hahaa,
Sorry shouldn't laugh... But just goes to show how effective hydro is.. And verts..
The lesson for next time is reduce veg, or use a pheno with less stretch? Over vegging is a very common thing.
Out of interest have you ran this clone before?
Hope for a great harvey.
Peace
BL
 
hahaa,
Sorry shouldn't laugh... But just goes to show how effective hydro is.. And verts..
The lesson for next time is reduce veg, or use a pheno with less stretch? Over vegging is a very common thing.
Out of interest have you ran this clone before?
Hope for a great harvey.
Peace
BL

Billy,
Assuming you're being facetious there ... but unpack that, are you saying hydro is too effective? Or isn't? And vert growing is not? Or some other? Confused?

I swear by hydro farming, but I tried a true vertical grow earlier this year and it was a wreck ... glad I didn't post it! .... but I'm not surprised he's got some 'kinks' to iron out.

I just don't see enough space in that 'shower room' for anything other than a SOG type indica grow ...

best,
rabbit
 
Billy,
Assuming you're being facetious there ... but unpack that, are you saying hydro is too effective? Or isn't? And vert growing is not? Or some other? Confused?

I swear by hydro farming, but I tried a true vertical grow earlier this year and it was a wreck ... glad I didn't post it! .... but I'm not surprised he's got some 'kinks' to iron out.

I just don't see enough space in that 'shower room' for anything other than a SOG type indica grow ...

best,
rabbit
Hey BR, I'm just saying how good hydro and verts can be, sometimes takes you by surprise and overgrows the setup.. wasn't being in any way nasty, I was just shocked myself at the difference between the first pics and the ones with all the trimming.
I agree that they are more suited to a indica sog grow too.. thats why I asked if the clone had been run before..
peace
BL
 
Hey BR, I'm just saying how good hydro and verts can be, sometimes takes you by surprise and overgrows the setup.. wasn't being in any way nasty, I was just shocked myself at the difference between the first pics and the ones with all the trimming.
I agree that they are more suited to a indica sog grow too.. thats why I asked if the clone had been run before..
peace
BL

Yeh, didn't think you were being nasty Billy, I was just confused on the point. I agree on all accounts .... the vert thing makes a lot of sense, I have to work at it a bit though, I found it to be more challenging than I expected. The OP's rig looks very cool, but you definitely better have a grow plan that'll fit.
best,
rabbit
 
Starting week 3 in flower

The ladies look so beautiful.. already starting to push out the resin...they smell so great...little buds everywhere...I cant wait:D.

Going back to the conversation between Billy Boy and Badrabbit...I do agree about having a grow plan,,,well I thought I did..If you read back to one of my first posts I was under the impression that the strain was the Indica Pheno...I even went out and bought some Canna BOOST to stop the stretching...Anyways Badrabbit do you mind me asking what happened to your vertical grow?

enjoy
 

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Hi Tyman,

Nice progress there, I'm sure you'll learn a bunch from this one, and get a lot of good bud in the process .... I love the way the system uses RW blocks; I'm all RW, all the time.

My vertical grow was launched using a new CAP ebb and grow system ... kind of hydro in buckets. I had several issues figuring out how to use that system properly and that caused a few 'fails', but that wasn't anything to do with the vert set up per se, but it contributed to the outcome.

I built a 5 ft. round screen that circled the light .... I didn't really have a good enough plan for how I was going to get to the growth inside the lower circle and trim it properly.

I used some plants that I was still in the learning phase with and also didn't plan well enough for the stretch.

As a result, I over grew the plants for the single 600w bulb I used .... a 6 ft vertical stretch was too much for the light ... two lights, hanging in sequence would have performed much better.

All in all ... it worked, it taught me some things but the results weren't great .... I produced about half of what I would normally kick out of my usual flat ebb and flow tables with traditional overhead light. Part of that was the first run with the new Ebb and Grow buckets for sure.

I'll take another run at it in the near future .... but my quest right now is really to find a new set of keepers for regular production, so I'll get back to working on a supercrop plan after I get that settled down.

best,
rabbit
 
Week 4 flower

WOW... I cant believe how good this type of system works...Buds are starting to swell and there's so much resin,, I was told this strain wasn't a resinous one but just look at the pics...I love it...:D... Also don't let the breeder info fool you on this strain IT STINKS (IN A GOOD WAY OBVIOUSLY- sweet fruity hash skunk smell-very nice).Definitely grab some sort of filter if your gonna run it.

Sorry to hear about your grow badrabbit... but keep me posted on your quest to find your keeper strain for regular production...But for right now Im very happy with the critical Mass.

enjoy the pics.....sorry for the green haze I had the green light on in the background.
 

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That is quite the machine. Quick calculation gives me roughly 80?!? square feet of growth space. Jeez.

How many cuts did you start?
 
WOW... I cant believe how good this type of system works...Buds are starting to swell and there's so much resin,, I was told this strain wasn't a resinous one but just look at the pics...I love it...:D... Also don't let the breeder info fool you on this strain IT STINKS (IN A GOOD WAY OBVIOUSLY- sweet fruity hash skunk smell-very nice).Definitely grab some sort of filter if your gonna run it.

Sorry to hear about your grow badrabbit... but keep me posted on your quest to find your keeper strain for regular production...But for right now Im very happy with the critical Mass.

enjoy the pics.....sorry for the green haze I had the green light on in the background.

great progress Ty, glad to see it's coming together well ... just imagine when you get that bitch all dialed in on the next few grows ... woosh you're gonna have some yield with the right plant. Keep us posted pls and thanks!
rabbit
 
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