Mephisto 3 Bears OG Top Feed Recirculating Hydroton Journal

[MumenRyder]

Hello Overgrow!

This is my first journal here. I’m currently experimenting with different methods of hydroponics trying to find the one that I like best… Right now I’m trying a DIY top feed recirculating system using hydroton.

This is my first time with this system so we’ll see how it goes

Strain is 3 Bears OG, an autoflower by Mephisto.

I’m using a 1 gallon pot to try to keep the auto from outgrowing my 2x2 tent.

For lighting I’m using a DIY 2 cob build that pulls 150 watts Max.

Here she is on day 12, sitting on top of a 10 gallon rez. Drip time is currently 1 minute on, 9 minutes off.

Here is my nutrients for veg:

Hoping to get her to finish in under 75 days.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck in your gardens!

[Pedro_Bann]

Nicely thought out setup!

[Mongobongo]

Welcome to the site. Great looking set up. If you can splurge to get the CYCO Ryzofuel. I noticed a nice difference in Veg with it.

[MumenRyder]

Thanks guys! Right now I’m trying to burn through my bottles, but I’ll definitely keep the Ryzofuel in mind!

I have a habit of overfeeding so I’m trying to keep as close to just base nutes as possible. I emailed the guys at Cyco, and they said even with just base nutes the plant shouldn’t have any deficiencies… We’ll see

So far I like the setup because I have easy access to stick in meters and add water (take a small cover off):

There are 2 pumps in the rez, one that circulates and one hooked up to the drip ring.

I’m a little worried about the drain getting clogged… I figure half inch pvc is enough but I’ve noticed growing in small pots that roots will find a way out… I used painters mesh on the inside of the pot covering the drain to keep hydroton (and maybe roots) from getting out.

Anyways, thanks for checking out my journal!

[HaRdRoC]

Nice setup man, best of luck with the grow

[MumenRyder]

Thanks bro!

I’m hoping this one goes better than my last experiment… My last experiment was a single plant ebb and flow system that I DIYed… I didn’t drill big enough holes in the pot so she was drying out and EC was skyrocketing in the root zone.

Here is her poor crispy self at day 80 something… Strawberry nuggets, super crispy nutrient burn style:

She is still going in my other tent. Looks like she will produce an ok yield but she is embarrassingly unhealthy… I am experimenting though so I guess it’s too be expected anyways thanks for stopping by!

[MichiGreen]

Interesting!! Been thinking about doing an RDWC rig for a grow…
I’ll be pulling up my chair and grabbing the popcorn !!

[MumenRyder]

Made some dry ice hash from fresh frozen of my last run of some photoperiods. Going to press it into rosin later this week… Not sure how that will go, but will find out

Smells great…

[HaRdRoC]

That’s a pretty nice haul, right there man

[beacher]

Killer setup! Mephisto genetics are supposed to be awesome this should be good.

I’m curious how holes not being big enough would lead to dryness. I would think the opposite, no?

[MumenRyder]

Long story, but basically the pot was so full of roots that even flooding for 10 minutes wasn’t getting water up very high, so the upper roots dried out. Took me a while to figure out, but eventually I drilled some more holes around the bottom. She clogged that up as well with roots… Got burned again, and so I drilled giant holes all the way up one side of the pot, but she was already really burned up.

Mephisto stuff is pretty legendary, and they detail out their strains really well. They tell you if it’s and F4 or even an F8 and what the previous generations were like.

This girl would have been amazing for sure… She smells like strawberries for real, like not a hint but damn… No question smells like strawberry breakfast cereal. And even though she is burnt to a crisp, she is producing really dense nugs and lots of them. I didn’t do her justice, I’ll probably try her again someday because she really has potential.

The 3 bears og is doing ok though here she is at day 16 from seed:

pH is very stable at 6.0, EC stable at 1.0.
Lux at canopy is only 10k, but she doesn’t like it any higher right now so I’m leaving it pretty dim.

[TheShowMeHomie]

Looking good so far I’m very interested in seeing what 1 auto in a 2x2 will do…what is the height of the tent?

[MumenRyder]

Height of the tent is 67 inches. I own two of these tents and highly recommend the brand. They are from growers house, and it’s their own brand called “Plant House”. Tallest 2x2 tent I could find.

They are the most light proof tent I have owned, and I like the extra height so that I can keep a big rez in the tent. Really solid quality overall…

I might still run into height issues since the rez is so big, and autos can be unpredictable as far as height… But I think I can fit this one in here ok.

[TheShowMeHomie]

I’ve been toying with the idea of buying 4 or 5 2x2 tents instead of one 6x6 so that I can experiment more and do small seed runs…just don’t know if I can justify the cost difference

[MumenRyder]

That’s exactly my philosophy right now with my 2 tents that are 2x2 I’m still trying to find my favorite way of growing… Earlier this year I tore down my larger tent and put up these 2 smaller ones trying to find my place in the universe of cannabis cultivation. With 2 small tents growing autos, I can harvest something new every 6-7 weeks without keeping a mother.

5 2x2s would definitely get up there in price, and managing 5 different systems could be pretty tricky but if you have the time I’m sure it would be rewarding.

[OrganicMids]

Good luck on the new setup! I’m currently on my first run ever with Mephisto, and I have a strawberry nuggets as well. Yours looks like it’ll yield decently for sure. Great username btw, I laughed.

[TheShowMeHomie]

It only takes half as much time and effort I use soil lol I was thinking a 3 gallon pot in one of them I also want to do one with as many Solo cups as I can squeeze in one lol just for fun

[beacher]

Ya that makes sense, although I guess too many roots isn’t the worst problem to have haha. At least she’s still producing and not smelling like grass… strawberry breakfast cereal sounds sweet!

[MumenRyder]

@OrganicMids

Good luck on the new setup! I’m currently on my first run ever with Mephisto, and I have a strawberry nuggets as well. Yours looks like it’ll yield decently for sure. Great username btw, I laughed.

Thanks man! I checked out your plants, and they look awesome… Great grow, was really surprised it was your first, you’ll have quite a harvest

Wasn’t sure anyone would ever get the name joke/reference lol… I enjoy the show and generally am growing autos so it seemed to fit glad you got a laugh!

[MumenRyder]

Day 21 update:

Hit a couple bumps, first being a mag def. Noticed some leaf tacoing and some yellowing between veins. Added some cal mag and dimmed the light a little and she passed it pretty quick.

Second is that I opened the tent in the morning yesterday and she was full of water, and not draining fast enough.

So I decreased frequency of water to once every 30 minutes and she has plenty of time to drain now. Not sure if roots are already filling the bottom of the pot or what, but i was watering very frequently so…

So far not super impressed with cyco base nutes. Going to try something else for flower.

Have a sample box of all the dynagro products on the way and will probably give those a try.

Some “training” going on in the form of leaf tucking so she looks a little weird. It’s strangely an effective way to even out the canopy. Exposing the lower branches to light and air really does get them going, and she has a much more bushy shape. Leaf tucking is what mephisto does to train their plants, and when mine aren’t perfectly healthy it’s a training method I feel safe using. Just tuckin the upper fan leaves under the heads of the lower branches.