Hey @JoeCrowe, for the backup you can use a separate low power air pump that has 1 small air stone in each bucket. It runs with the other air stones but the pump is plugged into the UPS. So when the power goes out the UPS powers your 15 watt LED and a low watt air pump and if you are super keen you can fit a 200mm PC case fan to one of the tent outlets and power that from the UPS to to prevent humidity build up from the buckets while the main fan is out. This is all stuff I am intending to do once I have finished sorting out everything else.
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I can rig a setup like that, with 15 watts there shouldn’t be too much resource drain on the buckets, in terms of dissolved oxygen. Probably only need oxygen every hour if it doesn’t deplete fast.
You do have long blackouts which you will need to take into account. UPS’s use power just by being on when the power is out. So even with a small power draw they will be limited for how long they last for. Just something you will need to take into account if you are thinking of building a system that can outlast the 36 hours like you mentioned above if you dont want to use your generator. There is a little modding required around your timer as you need the UPS to be on at all times and powering the small air pump and fan but you need a circuit added to your timer (extra pole on a timers breaker or something like that) which the UPS then feeds through and to the 15 watt light. That timer then also needs to be powered by the UPS. So the UPS powered timer has separate poles to switch the UPS power and the mains power. Mains power to your main lights and UPS power to the small light. I bought a nice big industrial timer that looks big enough for me to open up and add a bigger breaker inside to add additional poles for this purpose. With this setup your timer does not go out of whack when the power goes out and you do not ever have the UPS powered light coming on when the plants are meant to be asleep.
The same could be achieved by building a contactor box and have your existing timer power the contactor box and have the switching done in that.
yah I might have to construct a minor fail-over system with a ups and digital timer, just something small I got everything I need already except the led light heh heh.
ok! here are some photos… lights are out in bloom still, thanks to ye ol time shift.
goddamned seedlings are doing something… looks like a fist bump or high five.
blooms, are blooming! yum!
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ok I upped the EC in the seedlings to .6! They looked like they could use a tad more.
10ml boost, 5ml veg brings it up by .2 per dose. ish.
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They’re making a blood oath!
heh heh…probably! Ok, I’ve got more photos! The seedlings are bulking up nicely now, I’m never sure how much to add right away to new plants. Gotta test them out and see what happens! They’re taking EC .6 pretty good, in a few days I’ll probably go up to EC .8 then…1.0.
Hopefully, like the meat breath I don’t have to fuck around much to find their “zone”
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ok we got meat breath! I got this feeling I should test EC today and see on all plants how it’s going.
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last but not least…these ladies definitely need to have their EC tested, I can sense it’s getting low.
In the olden days I’d just slam more nutrient in there, but for everyone else’s sake I test and report it as well
so you can get a feel for what I’m doing. It never helps when someone asks what the EC is and I said “hey… EC is lookin’ good!” Because I’m using my eyes, instead of quantitative systems.
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SIGH! The EC is only down to about 1.4, I’m going to have to keep my eye on those plants. They look good I suppose for the most part, there’s no leaf signs of deficiency. I’ll go down there tomorrow and wrestle them apart, perhaps there’s just some dead leaf material in the core I gotta get rid of. I am thirsting to dose them again and add the pk boost. I’ll also examine the root balls for any damage. Has been 48 hours of power outages this month alone. oo I forgot I should also get the clone chambers ready for another big batch of clones! I am going to try and keep them out of the veg-flower zone this time. Also, I am going to hang the other light for hps, and take down the old school ballast one.
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hah hah damned bastard is getting all these tasks lined up it’ll take a bit realistically
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I am actually considering a bucket change on those blooming plants. I’m growing concerned with the look of the plants, but not all of them, just the large one. Perhaps I am not giving it the conductivity it needs. Or something has happened to it. I am going to give it an exam today, see what’s up. It should be easy sailing mode, not concern for the welfare of the plant!!! shiiiiiiit. Here’s how I do it. I get an empty bucket and I put the plant in there. Then I toss out all the solution in the bucket the plant was in. Then I prep a new batch right in that same bucket and toss the plant in there. I suppose it helps to be he-man to move that large plant. Anyways, I usually never have to do something like that. yikes! I will jack the EC as well. JACK IT!
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Oh, I jacked it to EC 2.8 with PK boost. Also I took the T off the end and unleashed more oxygen. Of course, I also changed the solution. It looked just like regular water. I guess it wasn’t far off. Anyways, I expect a new surge of growth! Also a re-greening of the top leaf. Funky shit was going down! The rest of the plants look fine, I re-tied them with more strings. I’ll take some photos later! Also, tomorrow is when the camera will be here in my hands. It’s waiting in town… but I’m not going in there to get it. I have to get someone else to get it for me, joy! Oh forgot the ph of my solution is 6.0.
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ok here’s a photo! Big plant accepted the jacked-up EC levels.
I don’t notice any claw-formation on the leaf indicating high EC. Leaf looks nice and relaxed. Also the air bubbles are making the plant move around it’s so vigorous. Big plant on the right side, it was the one with a single yellowing leaf on top.
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I pumped the EC on the seedlings up to 1.0, they also looked like they needed some more juice.
The roots were threadlike and there was a spot on the leaf, a sure sign of micro nutrient deficiency. They should be good with EC 1 for a couple of weeks. We’ll see how it goes.
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Also uses less water when done properly.
ok! I have an photo of an actual deficiency!
Micro nutrient deficiency which I took care of by raising EC to 1.0 Judging by the plants I can probably go even higher. But I won’t yet! Don’t want to trade one problem for another heh heh.
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I bumped up the two larger plants in the veg room, one big bud and one king tut. I’ve got a few plants left to juice up, like 6 or 7 of them. You notice how each plant is in their own bucket? Well… I find it easier to customize the dose per plant that way. Also, if one plant dies, the rest of them are safe. Even though that scenario hasn’t happened in a long time. hmm lets see… last ones died in the flood. OK that was 4 years ago I think. Great haven’t lost any good plants in 4 years! Looking back, it would have been so easy to save all the plants by raising the light and putting them on a table, away from death. Hindsight is always 20/20 at the time I didn’t know what was going to happen. Of course now with generators and flood mitigation, that scenario can never unfold.
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