Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Okei! I have had this grow running for around a month and a half now.

Just to get the story straight:
I am growing this cannabis legally under Spain LAW.

Running a Drip system to four 7 liter buckets with hydroton.
Plan is to go all ScrOG style.

Lights:
1 * ProGrow 400w LED
1 * 400 w HPS

Strain:
California Hash Plant

Fish:
8 * Goldfish, where as four are Comets and two are Black Moor(they looked so hella cool!)
2 * Algea eaters (cant remember the name, small quick bastards)
2 * Algea eaters - Catfish (the bottomfeeders, suckers of glass)


Res: 90liter

PPM is sitting on 500, had some issues with PPM rising to 1200 for a while, had to change lots of water.
Now it seems that the PPM is rising around 20-30 a day, maybe some of you here can give me a hint of why this is, or maybe it is completely normal.

Oh well, I just let some pictures speak for the rest!

Construction: http://imgur.com/a/daajX#0 [url][/url]

The Clone Wars: http://imgur.com/a/bUrcz#0EnY478
- picked up some big Hash Plant clones from a friend

GermiNation: http://imgur.com/a/n4cG2#0
- tested out different germination methods

Over 9000!!: http://imgur.com/a/ko54s#0
- the plants did not enjoy the high PPM

After the Shitstorm: http://imgur.com/a/pbMXp#0
- lower PPM = happy plants
- also did some topping and fimmin on the big ones


That was the start of the grow, and this is where I am at now:

Some of the small Barcelona Bastards - California Hash Plant x unknown-sativa-dominated that we had transplanted in the AP system was removed and "quarantined" on the balcony, they may have been sick and easy target for some bugs, also they were never going to get any light through the scrog canopy that have been steady building up.
Found this little bugger on one of the Hash Plant leafs, underneath, but it tried to run away. It was between 2-3mm long, had wings and was squishy:

http://imgur.com/a/Csf4C

Have been looking at most of the leafs for eggs of sort without any "luck", so hopefully it is not a harmfull bug, but if anyone recognize it, please share!

Narrowed the bugs down to Thrips, some nasty Thrips throwing a party in my grow
Made a home made foilar spray containing:
- Garlic
- Chili
- Lemon
- Baking soda
- Neem oil

Tested it out on a couple of leafs, no bad signs the day after.
Sprayed the whole canopy, both on top and under the leafs.
Also got rid of the leafs with most infection.
The bastards are still flying around in there but I have not seen any crawlers since spraying.

Had some issues with algae in the drip tubes, clogged up the dripper.
Made a two way function protective shield over the pots - keeping the light out, and hopefully keeping the flying bastards out as well. Don't need no more pesty eggs!

pH issues - since hydro-cannabis runs in the 5.5-5.8 region and fish enjoy around 6.5-7.5, keeping a PH of 6.2 have showed great results!
I was lowering the pH from 7.0, this took some time, since the fish react to drastic change of pH, so a .2 drop each day is advised.
This way the plants are happy and the fish are happy.
At this moment my pH is actually at 5.5, added some crushed eggshell to try boost the pH some.
Raised to 5.8 in a day, but went back to 5.5 a two days later.
Will keep watch of the pH, if it stays at 5.5 I would not mind, since the fish seem quite happy, eating well etc.
Going to the hydroponics store to see if I can find some this:
http://www.theaquaponicstore.com/pH-Up-quart-p/awchf011.htm

Funny part is that my Fresh Water drop test says that my pH is around 6.2, but my digital BlueLab Guardian says 5.5.

New water test today, and the score is...
Ammonia: 0.10<
Nitrites: 0.01<
Nitrates: 1<
pH as stated down to 5.5
PPM 470

the poor light makes it seem more orange than it is:
http://imgur.com/p1p2Edt


On a downside, I am seeing some new tops having a bad time at the one in the left back corner, and some more rust buildup on the one in the right back corner, also some yellowing lower leafs on all of them. Dunno if the rust is a Mn issue or a after effect from the Thrips, but I am leaning more to the Mn deficiency since Thrips marks are more like silver veins oh top of the leafs.
This stuff all came tumbling down at the right moment, flip time..
http://imgur.com/uLaI5qL
http://imgur.com/HRte55o


The leafs that have severe "rust" damage, should I simply cut them off ?
Could these leafs still be beneficial to the plant in their condition ?
Would they simply get worse, as it kind of looks like ?


Was thinking of making a mixture containing this, and also adding some boron.
Maybe also adding some aloe and cocowater, what do you guys think ?



So here is where we're at, let me know what you guys think.
http://imgur.com/a/cDw5N#0
Also, I am quite familiar with doubters of cannabis in aquaponic system, so I just gonna leave this here.. (from a friends AP setup)
Keep in mind that this is one plant..

[media=youtube]eV2JHO9ucqI[/media]

End result:

Thats not a bad result.
i must ask though, if it is a legal grow, why would you gor indoors and not out in the great spanish sun?
There is no way lights can produce as well as the sun, no matter the plant type.

Maybe security concerns - people stealing ya stash!

1. Less chance of pest attack.
2. Less chance of weather, storms, hail, frost, cold, wind etc damaging your plants.
3. Less chance of thieving types stealing your plants, as Matty said.
4. Most importantly, you can control when the plant starts flowering, not the seasons.

...and lights definitely can produce as well as the sun.

A FIFO setup eh, float in float out, nice

Yea 4. is pretty important i guess.
Ive never seen light grown stuff anywhere near as good as naturally grown, personally.

Trick is if you want lights to produce as well as the sun, ya gonna pay for it, takes a lot of light to get close. Problem for most people is they want to grow under lights for whatever reason but they are unwilling to pay the price for the good equipment or the electricity and it shows.

There was a program on TV the other day about 'mothers on weed' and it was very strange. It was a US mothers group that had seperated from partners and were suffering for whatever reasons so they all get togethere and smoke 'medicinal cannabis' to ease the pain. What was disturbing is their kids and babies were with them during sessions.

le sigh... we can't even grow the non-active variety for uses other than smoking. No worries about alcohol though - can buy and sell any potency while we spend billions trying to tell everyone to lay off and broken homes and assaults and streets not safe to walk on... but cannabis has to somehow prove it is safe to use and even then they will not change laws.

Maybe that's how the politicians make their money?

Almost every time I mention my greenhouse to people I get the 'growing dope' reaction from them. Be nice to be able to do it legally - could even be a cash crop selling to pharmacies etc. - much easier to quality control in an AP environment and would be high-value per m^2.

If you're going to do the indoor with lights and DO pay the higher costs, you have to be careful; not sure if they still do it but a decade or so back power companies would report sudden high and ongoing usage of power to the cops and you'd get a visit.

when i told a friend about my AP system and told them it was like hydroponics, they thought i was growing.
like im going to grow weed on my roof in the middle of suburbia. :rolleyes:

Since I am living in the city, and do not have a rooftop the only option I have is a indoor grow.
I am currently looking on moving to a big house with a huge garden, and when that happens I am certainly going to grow some outdoor plants. Perhaps even in AP.

Spain law says that every person in Spain can grow up to three plant for recreational use.
Just sent a mail to my cannabis lawyer for more info on quantity.

There is a greysone in Spain when selling / buying cannabis.
This is illegal, but you can join a Cannabis Association, write a contract with the club saying that you "give" your monthly cannabis quota to them to grow, and then you buy from them.

This is kind of legal, a greysone if you will.

The kicker, tho:
It is "legal" to buy it on the Association.
It is "legal" to smoke it on the Association.
It is "legal" to smoke it in your house.
But it is illegal to transport it back to your house after purchase..

Cannabis associations have even got their cannabis back from the police after court ruling in favor of medicinal use.







New documentary from Dr. Gupka on CNN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-bYi-LkDTo

Should also check out this article, sums up all the "recent" studies on THC and CBD treatment:
http://www.endalldisease.com/spain-study-confirms-hemp-oil-cures-cancer-without-side-effects/




Yeah, the ban on cannabis is just silly. Greed and power, nothing more.
Chemo has a 97% failure rate, and the cost is abnormal.
Do you really think Big Pharma wants to cure people ? Hellz no, they want to sell as much as humanly possible.


Hail Rick Simpson!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGjC4HReFL0

I am a huge fan LED grow lights.
Their target is pushing the 1000w HID out of the way, and the top companies are very close.
In sense of umol they have already more, with over 600 watt less used. But then comes the light coverage.. This is not far behind the HID, I recon a year or two more with tinkering and it will crush it.

Some of the best LED out there atm cost around 1500-2500$ - 50,000 hours warranty.

I have seen plenty of side by side grows that yield more under LED than HID, even with less wattage.

At least you are not getting all those chemicals that the hydro growers are using.

What chemicals would they be?

Check out this organic outdoor garden, gets me moist!
http://bubbleponics.com/forum/showthread.php?11369-Reefmon-s-quot-Zen-Garden-quot-with-greens