Ebb and Flow HydroPonic Grow Log

[SalviaPonics]

Hi everyone. I received my first Salvia plants 5 day ago. They were sent to me in perlite and I'm deciding to go the hydroponic way. I've spent most of day hunting down supplies and I just finished my Ebb and Flow system! I'm waiting till tomorrow to transplant and there are a few things I wanted to clear up before I take the plunge.

First: If I set a timer to turn on and off 4 times a day, is it 24HRS divided four ways or only run it for the time when she receives light?
Second: Is 42Watts enough light? (There are two plants sitting side by side in the system.)
Third: Should the roots soak for 30 minutes at a time? It takes about 7 minutes to fill my tote, so should I set the timer for about 40 min intervals?
Fourth:Has anyone used Flora Nova Grow for hydroponics? It was recommended to me by my local hydroponics store.
Fifth: How do I post photos? This is my first forum post...EVER.

Strain: Blosser
Lighting: 42 Watt CFL @ 12HRS/Day
Grow Media/Soil Mix: Expanded Clay Pellets
Fertilizer: Flora Nova Grow 1/2TSP/gallon
Temperature Range: 60-70 F
Humidity: Low
Started From: Clone
Start Date: 11/04/2007

Other Details/Images:
Ebb and Flow Hydroponics System

I'm really excited of raising these babies. Also, this site is awesome and I'm glad to be a part of it.

[Arcygenical]

First: If I set a timer to turn on and off 4 times a day, is it 24HRS divided four ways or only run it for the time when she receives light?
Second: Is 42Watts enough light? (There are two plants sitting side by side in the system.)
Third: Should the roots soak for 30 minutes at a time? It takes about 7 minutes to fill my tote, so should I set the timer for about 40 min intervals?
Fourth:Has anyone used Flora Nova Grow for hydroponics? It was recommended to me by my local hydroponics store.
Fifth: How do I post photos? This is my first forum post...EVER

1) Nutrient bath cycles don't really matter all that much... As long as there are 4-5 every day. More, shorter cycles (I've heard) help quite a bit. I'd space them evenly through the day, not just during her photoperiod.

2) 42W should be enough provided it's a bar style light. If you have one of those twisted CFL screw-in bulbs, you should get another one... Simply because of how compact this light source is. 42W is more than enough, but it's so concentrated I'd be wary of using it as your only source (the plants will grow towards eachother, and eventually compete for light).

3) That sounds  about right.

4) Flora nova is a great "cheap" all in 1 product for mixing up your nutrients. What you buy really doesn't matter as long as it conains all the major and minor elements

5) To post photos, you can either upload them to the gallery... or, get a photobucket account. I like using photobucket as it can store hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures online. Then, you just enclose the image URL in IMG tags... like the following:
[IM G]www.photobucket.com/myimagewhatever.jpg[/ IMG] *of course, without the spaces

Welcome! Salvias LOVE hydro setups, so I'm quite excited to see how fast she grows... You can expect about 2-3" every week at least.

[SalviaPonics]

Thanks Arcygenical! I'm also very excited to see how these plants will do in the new hydro setup. I hope you're right about the 2"-3" per week. That would be kick ass. Here are some photos:


Right after unpacking.They're a little wilted.


Closer shot of the wilting.


New ebb and flow setup. I travel often for 3-7 days at a time, hopefully this new setup will let me worry less about my beauties while I'm gone. Just set the timers and go!


Expanded clay pellets just look really cool. Also, i should mention that I'm starting out with a nutrient mixture of 1/2 TSP Flora Nova/Gallon of water. Hopefully this will be sufficient enough until they get more comfortable.

[Paradoxic]

Yeah 42W should be enough light for now, but when your plant gets bigger you will probably want more wattage. Also get that light close to the plant, fluorescents can get as close as 4 inches from the top.

Your setup looks great. I'm also anxious to see how well they grow.

Welcome to Salvia Source!

[Arcygenical]

Move that light closer . But other than that, things are looking great. An ebb and flow project is my next venture I believe, I just need to sell some plants before I can afford to drop the 50$ or so

[SalviaPonics]

I wish it was $50 or so. I'm sure you can get things cheaper but everything was around $120. This included:


Water pump 160GPH
2/6" nets


Timer
Air Pump 2800cc/min (Is there such a thing as over oxygenating your water?)
Air Hose
14" Bubbling Stone


42Watt CFL
Utility Light Fixture
10L Expanded Clay Pebbles
Flora Nova Grow Nutrients
Flood and Drain Fittings
Hoses


22.5 Gallon Tote
10 Gallon Tote
5 Gallon Bucket

I'm sure things like the air pump you can get cheaper (i just noticed that this one was rated for 20-60 Gallons). I still have a bunch of Pellets and nutrient solution left. Mainly, I think its worth doing this setup if you travel a lot or you're just forgetful. It was pretty costly but hopefully the rewards will be great.

[SalviaPonics]

Thanks for the welcome Paradoxic. I know that CFLs didn't put out much heat but I surely thought this 42 Watter would give off some. It's minimal and you're right, it can be much closer.

[Arcygenical]

A 42w CFL will put out around 35w of heat (assuming it's 19% efficient, which is a bit of a stretch for the non "daylight deluxe" variant of CFL bulbs) which is roughly as much as your right leg... In jeans

So, uhm, do you go right ahead and put a rooted cutting into the hydro bucket? I've got a few cuttings rooted in the other room, some Perlite, a 2L bottle of coke, and an airpump... I think I might make a simple pop-bottle hydro setup tomorrow.

[SalviaPonics]

So, uhm, do you go right ahead and put a rooted cutting into the hydro bucket?

That's exactly what I did. I submerged the solo cup in room temperature water to disperse the perlite and then added about an 1" layer of ECP, put the plant in the net, and carefully placed the rest of the ECP.


Dispersed perlite in room temp water to remove from original "pot."


1" layer of ECP.


Transplanted plants.

I went ahead and soaked the roots for about 30 minutes right after transplanting. I'm amazed by how much solution the ECP absorbs and retains. I also noticed that with the light directly on the plants they dry out fairly quickly. I might need to make temporary tents as I'm not going to be around all day on the weekdays (the job gets in the way of misting).

I've got a few cuttings rooted in the other room, some Perlite, a 2L bottle of coke, and an airpump... I think I might make a simple pop-bottle hydro setup tomorrow.

I probably should have went that route to test it out. Oh well. Good luck.

[SalviaPonics]

What does it mean if the leaves start to curl?

[Arcygenical]

What does it mean if the leaves start to curl?

It means there's been a change in humidity. Try keeping the girls under pop-bottle humidity tents for the first 2-3 weeks of their life... It's pretty much a requirement if you buy the cuttings online (as online dealers ALWAYS promote high-humidity grows as it allows the salvia to grow more rapidly, but weaker).

Then you can slowly acclimate them to lower humidity by removing them from the tent for an hour or two every day, getting longer each exposure.

[SalviaPonics]

So I know its only day two and there hasn't been any noticeable growth. The good news is that it doesn't look like the transplant has negatively affected them.

What if I pinched the plant without knowing it? Will she grow a new apical meristem eventually?

[MstryShovel]

yeah it would probably, if you had pinched it, also once the plant gets going it will eventualy start sending out laterals, all you should be looking for the first two days -a week is to just make sure they aren't dieing after a week they should be sending out little nubs if your lucky good luck

[SalviaPonics]

I was lucky! I noticed nubs on top of both plants today. There is browning on some of the leave but not too bad considering it had been three days. Most of the original leaves are still curled but there is new growth. There are tiny leaves shooting out everywhere. I think its safe to say that I'm in the clear (as I knock on wood). I increased the flood cycle to 5 today and I added a second 14" bubble stone. Hopefully this will take care of some of the browning. Some new photos:


Many new leaves...I think they were there three days ago, but they have gotten bigger.


New leaves on second plant.


Zip-Lock humidity tents.

[MstryShovel]

nice they look like they are doing great! as ive heard SD loves teh hydropoincs