Krusty Bucket with lava hydro.

Here is a brief update on the SC at 45 days in veg. She is now 33" tall and has been fed at 1/3 of the Lucas formula because she was growing to fast on 1/2 Lucas formula even with the hurd cracking. I didn't have room for her in the bloom room and she was taking over the veg room. She is much beefier this time as far as the main stem and side branching. My friends who have grown her out think she rocks as far as smoke, but a pain in the ass during bloom due to the need for supporting of all branches as she tends to grow like C99.

She was put back on full strength Lucas Formula yesterday as she will be put into bloom in eight days.
 
Nice grow!

pikespeak69 also grows KBS, he has an impressive room!

keep up the good work!

bub.
 
Very Appropoe that you would use the Krusty buckets...Krusty buckets for a Krusty old fart....Looks really good there Krusty... she should be a nice Bush to play with....
 
Kushyman thanks for the compliment. If you look at Pic#2 on page one you will see that I fill from the bottom and there is a return circulation line with a vortex breaker about three quarters of the way up that is adjustable for your fill level in each bucket. But this is a flood and drain so it only circulates for one half hour, twice each day. Once the pump shuts off the nutrients drain back to the main reservoir. I know some people have said they experience a lot of pH drift with the lava and finally give up. Used in a flood and drain system after thirty days the nutrient packages pH becomes stable.

OG this is the first time I have seriously worked with the lava. I have done little experimental runs with it in the past, but the pH fluxuations always vexed me. As a flood and drain it works great. I have added 4" of red lava rock to the lower container for the FC hydro bucket and my pH is much more stable as the FC will drop the pH fast in bloom.

Gonejah I certainly hope you are right, I could use another beast in the house.

Bogey I think I will be going to lava rock in all future grows. The plants really like it. My friend Skeeter once told me he had a Krusty girlfriend. Oral sex was like peel and eat!
 
anyone seen or heard from krusty ?? nice thread btw....elk...
 
Kushy as often as N2 has kicked my ass this year Krusty can just fire away. It will probably bother me just as much. I found with the half hour flood and drain that the pH is pretty stable starting out at 7.0 and now it is very slowly swinging down and is at 6.2. So I will let her drift for another week.

Joe you know Skeeter! He ain't turned down none of that stuff.

Thanks Elk. My brother just got back with a cow elk from your neck of the woods yesterday. I can taste that barbecued back strap already. Haven't seen Krusty in a while. Too bad as he always has something to contribute to our little hobby.
 
Hey Marigyp,

Love the setup. I've always been a sucker for hydro and I'm snappin' some clones later on today and might set something up like you've got going there. Looks good to me. Got the ingredients ready, just need to get going on the job. Looks sweet and simple. Nice!

PeacE...:chico:
 
Hi Marigyp

I have read all sorts of things concerning lava rock and pH and have used lava rock myself for several years in various organic grow systems.

I do not have the link for the paper but there was published data on lava rock needing to be weathered before use in systems. And when the product you get isn't weathered, you get the pH climbing instead of what should be happening in systems with a large potential for beneficial bacteria like this, a slow drift down or even buffered to sit still.

Weathered - 12 months in the sun and the rain. A good wash, it seems, is not enough at times, if your product went straight from the quarry to the bag. It needs to sit outdoors and get some air etc.

Then it goes approx pH 7.0 and stays neutral.

The bacteria living in the rocks, especially as the grow progresses, should be processing nutes and releasing CO2 which is good for the plant, and part of why the pH drops in hydro systems using high biological counts if the lava rock is neutral.

Bacteria processing nutes... well, it takes nutes! This is why lava rock plants seem hungrier in new grows. It's the bacteria establishing in the rocks having a meal. Then bacterial grazers arrive and their wastes are plant food. So you've not really lost the nutes, they're redistributed.

I have read of differing colours having different pH properties but have only worked with black and red mixes and find the above info on weathering lava rock fits. It also goes by the name scoria, which could find links for you that lava rock doesn't.

It also degasses nitrous oxide and sulphides, this too is specific bacterial action taking place.

Of course, your nutrients may kill off much of the biology depending on if they are refined or organic, but thought you'd like what little info I have on lava rocks anyway.

Either way, organic or not, if the lava rock is weathered, it'll give you a lot less grief.

It should behave better each grow.
 
Mr. Shifta thanks for the most excellent input. Been busy most of the summer and fall and just now my work load has finally allowed me some more time to follow up on the internet.

My experience has been the best lava rock is used lava rock! I keep it in the sun on the patio deck when not in use. As many of you know I live on the desert and the summer sun gets the rock too hot to handle. Just before I use the lava rock from the pile it is placed into a five gallon bucket and covered with a strained fermented solution of alfalfa, molasses, and bat guano. The aired fermentation occurs in the bucket for 48 hours. GH subculture is added as well. Figure that should give me a sufficient beneficial bacteria colony to promote good growth. Works well for me.

One thing I have noticed in using the lava rock in the bottoms of my soiless mix containers is the amount of breakdown of the lava rock. Very surprising to find that a very significant amount of the lava rock is dissolved into a red mush in the bottom of the containers. It would take some serious bacterial action for this to occur. Lava rock will not dissolve in plain water!

Best-O-Luck to you all in your grow endeavors. May you grow something you smoke that makes you say out loud,"Now that is the shite!"
 
NICE LIL PROJECT YA GOT!!!!!

..... hey now marigyp you doin' nice werk. but like guest said it ain't true kbs, but plenty close nuff. lava is the bomb. some peep like pp69 have had neg issues w/it but i sorry cuz i did great for yrs. i just joined n got a thread of some old pix, not everything i used to have, lost thiose when OG n PG went bye bye, n i trying to get a program like the feds have that traces all key strokes for a roached hp pc i still have to get allm e old pix.
..... try looking at plastic outlet for grey buckets they light tight from goit go so no painting needed. n try use soaker hose w/BIG PUMP A LA THOMAS to really get air to roots. like pop bottle as spacer though.
..... AND,....., ....., ....., MOST IMPORTANT. LOSE THOSE GAWDS DAMNED HORIZONTAL SHADES ESE, waaaaaay mo betta vertically hung bare bulbs. i have diagrams of true krusty lay out and lighting etc etc. i gonna post them any day now once i fix brightness n contrast. they give ya insight as to why krusty system werked sooooooo feckin' good 4 soooo many fecvkin' peep. :juggle:
..... alla best to u n yours. keep up yer project, you'll fig're it out. all good things cum to those who deserve and wait and learn for them.
..... peace
..... HGC
 
Thought i would add some more content to this thread, all of these pic are from krusty back on OG.
 
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