A Note From (BAM):
"This week was a battle with the environment. The plants grew like crazy, but the controller tried to sabotage us every single night. I learned more about VPD, airflow, and the limits of automation than I ever wanted to. But by the end of the week, the plants were wider, the roots were thicker, and I was in control — not the controller."
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Day 8–9: LST & Light Upgrade
The FIM sites had fully healed, so I started Low Stress Training (LST) — pinning branches outward with clips to create a flat canopy. I also added the second Sanlight EVO 4-120, angling both lights inward at 40 cm. The plants responded immediately with faster growth and wider leaves.
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Day 10–11: The Fan Controller Nightmare
The AC Infinity Controller 69 Pro showed a fatal flaw: every night, when VPD fell below the trigger point, it sent an OFF command to the fan — even with Minimum Speed set to 1. The tent would spike to 80% humidity and 29°C. I tried everything: lower triggers, higher minimums, different modes. Nothing fixed it. The controller simply ignores the Minimum Speed setting when it decides to turn off.
The workaround: I have filed a warranty claim with AC Infinity. In the meantime, I am running the fan on a fixed manual speed to ensure continuous airflow.
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Day 12–13: Nutrient Stability & Canopy Width
PPM was drifting too low (440–480), so I learned to make a concentrate (2g A + 2g B in 1L RO water) for daily top-ups. This gave me precise control without full reservoir changes.
Plant PPM pH
Plant 1 509 5.91
Plant 2 519 5.94
Canopy width is now ~45 cm per plant, height 30–33 cm. Roots are thick, white, and starting to fill the buckets.
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Week 2 Summary Table
Metric Start End
PPM ~570 509 / 519
pH 5.8–6.0 5.91 / 5.94
Canopy width ~30 cm ~45 cm
Plant height 27–30 cm 30–33 cm
Light setup 1 light at 50% 2 lights at 75%
Controller status Intermittent failures Warranty claim filed
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What's Next (Week 3)
· Final 2 weeks of veg: Let the LST branches stretch and fill the canopy. Target width: 60–70 cm per plant.
· Full reservoir change tomorrow (Sunday): Fresh Sensi Grow A+B, CalMag, Voodoo Juice. PPM target 550.
· Controller workaround: Run fan on fixed manual speed until replacement arrives.
· Flip to flower: Approx. 30 May — this will be the last veg diary entry before bloom nutrients.
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Closing Thought for Week 2
"The plants forgave the controller's glitches. The roots kept growing. The canopy kept spreading. And I learned that the best automation tool in the tent is not a chip — it's a grower who pays attention."
— Master Verdant