2015 hydro balcony grow - Pics of completed outdoor setup on page 2

Hey all,
 
This is my third year growing hot peppers, but my first glog. Last year I've gone overboard and tried taking care of 50 plants, all in coco - which was a bit much for me and the results were not that great (also we've had REALLY cold weather last summer).
 
This year I am trying my hand at a RDWC with only 3 plants grown on my balcony.
 
At the beginning of march I planted 5 varieties in rockwool: 
 
Carolina Reaper (last year's seeds - didn't sprout)
Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion (last year's seeds - did sprout)
Bubblegum 7 pod
Black Naga (which is just hooking right now, after 3 weeks +)
Bhutlah SM
 
Next post I will get some pictures up with the indoors setup.
 
Thanks!

 

[Yellowfin2na]

Sweet. Cant wait for pics!

 

[ebh]

This is my indoor set-up (I am guessing the plants should go outside in may).

I had a 20 plant drip system from 2 years ago of wich I am using 8 drip lines (the rest go back in the bucket). I have it set so it goes on 15 minutes two times a day at 9 (both pm and am) with two drip lines per rockwool cube.
 
At the moment I don't feed them anything. These are the nutrients I have left over from last year that I will be using (at least at first):

 
I also have got (as a gift from previous purchases) a starter kit from bio green (don't know much about the company) which I may be using... 

For light I am using a 85W CFL at the moment. I also have a 250W HPS with hood setup which is waiting for them to grow a bit...
 
I used it last year and it looked like this (I do have a new bulb for this year's grow): 

 

[ebh]

Time for a weekly update...
 

 
Everything is looking good. They are growing fast even though I don't think they are benefiting from the hydro enevironment yet (their roots are too small). 
I use a light cycle of 16/8 hours on/off (more or less, it isn't automted yet - they get that only when I switch them to the HPS).
Only started feeding them a very low dose of GH flora series (the european - made in france - version), but I might swith to the Hesi hydro after the GH grow is all out - I liked the Hesi better, not because how the plants responded to it last year, but because it was easier to use (just one bottle, so no mixing, and it kept the PH in optimum range compared to GH which needed ph down).
 
Updates will not be too exciting for a few weeks untill I start finishing up my outdoor RDWC setup. I will keep just posting the weekly pictures for the for plants on thursdays.
 
Thanks everyone for watching!

 

[Yellowfin2na]

Ebh you ever consider going 24/7 when they are still young like that? I think you would see a larger amount of growth. What do you think your ppms are at that stage? Plants are looking good.

 

[ebh]

Yes, I did try 24/7 some time ago, but didn't notice any improvement. Actually, I have tried in the past, with larger plants, several on/off setups between 18/6 and 14/10 and also the results were similar, so in the end I left it at 15/7 (last year, on the HPS). I think, with lightning, the most important thing is high intensity, more than the on/off time.
 
I'm sure there is some info somewhere regarding optimum light cycle for peppers, as there must be a lot of proffessional growers who use heated green-houses in the cold season, who supplement with artificial lighting during the twilight hours.
 
Yellowfin2na, did you notice improvements with 24/7?
 
I'll give some answer regarding ppm this week-end, when I will change the reservoir. I'm guessing something around 350, max 400 with 200-250ppm water. I use tap water, no RO, distilled or anything fancy.

 

[Trident chilli]

That last photo is superb and would look good on any hydroponic site .... Will be watching with interest

 

[Yellowfin2na]

Yes, I did try 24/7 some time ago, but didn't notice any improvement. Actually, I have tried in the past, with larger plants, several on/off setups between 18/6 and 14/10 and also the results were similar, so in the end I left it at 15/7 (last year, on the HPS). I think, with lightning, the most important thing is high intensity, more than the on/off time.
 
I'm sure there is some info somewhere regarding optimum light cycle for peppers, as there must be a lot of proffessional growers who use heated green-houses in the cold season, who supplement with artificial lighting during the twilight hours.
 
Yellowfin2na, did you notice improvements with 24/7?
 
I'll give some answer regarding ppm this week-end, when I will change the reservoir. I'm guessing something around 350, max 400 with 200-250ppm water. I use tap water, no RO, distilled or anything fancy.

Yes I had good growth with 24/7 on seedlings under florescent light. I also grew two plants all winter long 24/7 under HID. I had no choice but to run 24/7 because of the cold. But I think 24/7 works best for plants when they are younger. All my plants are now outside. I think they are responding a little better to the regular day cycle.
 
Yes Im beginning to learn that lighter ppms are better for hot pepper plants. I was running over 1000 ppm for my flowering plants and was getting alot of flower drop. I have since dropped the ppm to the 400-500 range and noticed better results with pods forming.
 
I use rain water which has a starting ppm of only like 3-10. My tap water has a starting ppm of 300! Thats way too high in my opinion. Im interested to know what the ppm for your tap water is.

 

[ebh]

Just changed nutes yesterday. My water's ppm is 230.
 
On the GH Flora label it said to use a dosage of 7-7-7ml/10l of grow/micro/bloom and I tried using 5-5-5, but still the ppm went all the way to 560. So I diluted it down to 450 (ph- included). Still a bit high, maybe, but we'll see...
Next water change I'll go with a ratio of 3-2-1 grow/micro/bloom while stil keeping the ppms under 500, to get the green going strong. I'll stick to this untill I finish my grow bottle and then the switch will be made to Hesi Hydro, as I find it easier to work with, as I stated in a previous post.
 
For mature plants (with pods), I used to use about 800-900 ppm I think and it worked ok (with the same tap water, that is). Once I got it a bit wrong with mixing and I got 1300, but the plant didn't seamed to mind.
 
I didn't bother to change the units to imperial as I don't think the exact dosage is that important. What is relevant is the ratio of nutes when using 2 or 3 part products (ie GH Flora) and the final ppm.

 

[ebh]

Hey all!
 
It's thursday again, so that means it's time for my weekly update
 
Plants are doing very well, really starting to take advantage of the hydro system and the roots are beggining to show through the bottom of the rockwool cubes, so get ready for a bunch of pictures...
 
 
 

 
twin bubblegum 7 pods:
 

 
Jay's peach Ghost Scorpion:
 

 
black naga(s):
 

 
buhtlah:
 

 
and all of them: 
 

At the end of the week they will be getting a reservoir change and an upgrade to the hps. At the same time, I will most likely start using 4 drippers per plant (so that means doubling the water per cycle).
 
Also during the weekend, as we are expected to get sunny weather, I plan to get the balcony cleaned and spray-paint the plastic containers I will be using for the RDWC as they are a semi-transparent white at the moment. Planing to get a black primer at first and then a white gloss paint for optimum reflection. We'll see how it goes....
 
Thanks!

 

[ebh]

Small update...
 
Got the rockwool cubes fitted with 4 dripers now and the plants under the HPS.
 

 
The tray is starting to get a bit tight, though... I will have to get another one to split the plants for more room.

Also, this week-end I got the time to start preparing the balcony, cleaning up last year's grow and started to paint the buckets/barrers (don't know how to call them).
 
Unfortunately, I've run out of white paint and all the hardware stores were closed because it was easter weekend.
 

Spray painting results...
 

 
Only need one more coat of white, now.

 

[Noah Yates]

Wow.... those are some gigantic pictures.  Looking good!

 

[ebh]

Small update... Sorry for the crappy pictures, but my iphone doesn't get along with HPS lighting. Maybe I'll take some better pictures after I move two plants to another tray, as they are getting tight. Will also post pictures of the roots then.
 
All the best!
 

 

[ebh]

Finally got the time to get bigger trays - got these for just over a dollar:
 

 
Also got the plants out for some sun. The weather will be crappy for the next two weeks so I'm not in a big hurry to finish the RDWC system...
 

Then back inside under the HPS, with the expanded real-estate.
 

I've also upped the ppm to 600.

 

[ebh]

I'm starting to get some algae growth on top of the rockwool cubes. Does anyone have an idea on how I could mask the light on top of the surface with my setup? I have no clue on how to do it with all the tubes and plastic stakes that are stuck in them...
 
Thanks!

 

[Yellowfin2na]

I'm starting to get some algae growth on top of the rockwool cubes. Does anyone have an idea on how I could mask the light on top of the surface with my setup? I have no clue on how to do it with all the tubes and plastic stakes that are stuck in them...
 
Thanks!

 I use black trash bags and cut holes where ever needed. Its great for blocking the light.

 

[ebh]

Hi again,
 
Sorry for the long time away, but I didn't get the chance to get some good pictures because I got a new job and I sleep the whole time the HPS is off.
 
Anyway.. for short, the plants have just started to get flowers and I wanted to begin AND finish the outside build this week end. Unfortunately, I still seem to be missing some parts, as I decided along the way to switch it from 3 to 4 plants system (as I felt sorry for the smallest one). I hope to get some more done tommorow, but the shop that sells white "thick" pipes is closed - I can only get gray ones and I just need one .5m piece and an elbow.
 
Maybe I will build the system with ONE gray pipe, but it will be just for testing for leaks, as I want the air tubes through the water pipes. This means I can only get the air stones in once the whole water circulation part is finished.
 
Some pictures of how things are going along so far:
 

 
 
 
And some pictures of the plants... but, again, I'm sorry for the quality as my iphone's camera doesn't really like hps flickering. They are hi-res, so you can zoom in and get in on the details.
 

 

[ebh]

The system is almost complete. I had some big issues with leakage, but I finally managed to solve them.
Decided against tidiness regarding the air tubes and didn't hid them in the water pipes. It would have looked better, but in case of problems it would have been more difficult to fix.
 
I will post pictures later this week...
 
Thanks!

edit: If I could get two more posts here it would be great, as this page is getting rather huge and I'd like to use the next one for the completed build's pictures.

 

[az1000]

Looking good. Can wait for the pics

 

[Yellowfin2na]

Sweet system. How do you get the water to flow through all the pipes? Is it one pump that pushes it through?