My First Grow: DWC (open thread)

[stewey469]

I pretty much copied neversummer28 with this grow. His just turned out so well i thought i could imitate it. My budget was 500 and i stayed right at that.

Box Setup:
4'x2'x5' tent
175 watt metal halide lamp
150 watt high pressure sodium lamp

DWC Setup:
27 qt container
60 gallon air pump
2 10" air stones
2 3" net pots with hydroton
General hydro flora nuts

Plants:
2 Herojuana Super Silver Haze clones

 

[BigBowls09]

that light can be 9" from the top of the plant, you do want to get your moneys worth

 

[stewey469]

that light can be 9" from the top of the plant, you do want to get your moneys worth

yea i moved it to 12" after the pics, i was just excited and started taking pics as soon as i got em

 

[neversummer28]

Looks good man. I'm honored that you're following my model. Looks like your girls have a really happy home, looking forward to watching them grow.

 

[stewey469]

So after getting the clones from the club and putting them into the dwc, they started to droop all the way to box. Figured its just from the move and i was right. Today they are back up and already growing! Im shocked! Its amazing how you can truly see progress after 24 hours.

The temp has settled at 78.5 and the humidity dropped to 40%.

pH is around 5.5, its been 2 days and im already sick of testing it with a test tube and pH solution. So i made the impulse decision to buy a digital ph pen off ebay for $25. Im lazy i know.

I have about 2.5 gallons of distilled water in the dwc and i used a little less than a tsp of all 3 nuts. Should be about right.

Last thing are names, i think of some soon hopefully. suggestions welcome.

 

[stewey469]

Not to much to update. Slight growth, but roots are finally coming through the net pots!

pH staying at 6

I bought a 10 dollar humidifier today, not sure if they are smart to use or not, but it put the humidity at 55% (any comments?)

Temp steady at 78.5

Everything seems good for now, prolly wont update for a day or two since nothing new will happen.

Still thinking of names!

 

[neversummer28]

looking good. i wish i had the problem of needing humidity. the girls are looking strong.

 

[stewey469]

So im not sure about everyone else who is doing a dwc but today after about 4 1/2 days my pH was finally at 6.5-7. I decided to change the whole res and add more nuts.

I changed the nuts to the veg cycle per GH's formula 3-2-1.

Temps are still at 79 and the humidity changes from 40-60 depending on how long and when i run the humidifier.

The roots are coming in really nice and i think i want to start LST today. Since this is my first grow im pretty nervous maybe someone can give me some input on whether or not its a good time to start?

 

[stewey469]

I started the lst last night! There is already a lot of new growth to both plants so im not to worried anymore.

The temps and pH are perfect also.

So i have a question for anyone who can help! I found a 5 lb co2 bottle in a broken down keggorator. I got the tank filled and have been looking into the adapters. Possibly might be trying co2 enrichment. I have been opening the bottle at like 1 psi every once in a while cuz i figure a little co2 cant hurt. Ill be doing more research on it before i really follow through. Any input would be nice tho.

Here are some pics

 

[jigfresh]

what up stewey... I was going to say don't worry about the LST... but I guess you're not anymore, so good.

You probably won't mess anything up with the co2, but you will probably just be wasting it unless you get a regulator and do some calculations on how much you need to run for how long. I don't know all that stuff, just know you have to know it, haha. Also, I've heard that even with the right levels, co2 doesn't work well until the temps are up near 85 F and above.

Keep it up bro.

 

[stewey469]

Thanks jig,

I actually was looking at regulators on ebay and most of them range from 69-150. Kinda outa range for me right now anyway.

I did do the calculations tho

Grow room area: 40 cubic feet
Amount of CO2 required: 0.048 cubic feet
On time: 2.88 minutes @ Flow meter setting in CFH (Cubic Feet per Hour) = 1

At this flow rate:
If you are using a 20 pound CO2 bottle with a regulator, it will last 174.8 hours.

I have a 5 lbs bottle so im guessing it would last around 43 hours.

I dunno still seems like quite a bit of money to spend for something that might not be necessary for two plants.

 

[jigfresh]

Thanks jig,

I actually was looking at regulators on ebay and most of them range from 69-150. Kinda outa range for me right now anyway.

I did do the calculations tho

Grow room area: 40 cubic feet
Amount of CO2 required: 0.048 cubic feet
On time: 2.88 minutes @ Flow meter setting in CFH (Cubic Feet per Hour) = 1

At this flow rate:
If you are using a 20 pound CO2 bottle with a regulator, it will last 174.8 hours.

I have a 5 lbs bottle so im guessing it would last around 43 hours.

I dunno still seems like quite a bit of money to spend for something that might not be necessary for two plants.

However... you won't be running it the whole time. Maybe 1-2 hours a day. I'm not trying to talk you into it or anything, but that should last you a month or so maybe, per tank.

Oh, and about ph in dwc. Lots of bubble make the ph rise. It's not a bad thing, just something you have to watch. It's best to keep it in range, sometimes I had to adjust for 3 days after a rez change as it was always wanting to climb higher, to 6.4 and the like.

 

[stewey469]

However... you won't be running it the whole time. Maybe 1-2 hours a day.

Yea from what the co2 calculator said, on average you would run the tank for 2.88 minutes every 3 or 4 hours.

Thats like 15-20 minutes a day.

So 43 hours would last quite some time.

Jig do you believe it would be worth it to do this? I can make the investment in a regulator if it really will yield a lot more.

Also I can easily raise the temps in my tent.

 

[jigfresh]

Not for a grow like this. co2 is like steriods or something. If I took steroids it would for sure make me stronger than I am now... but would it make me a professional weightlifter, know what I mean. So like to relly be a weightlifter I would need to train and get good and strong and all... then I could take steroids to go that extra distance and win a competition. It's like that with co2 (i think)... it probably won't make a noticeable difference UNLESS you have everything else absolutley on point and perfect.

I wouldn't worry about it right now, but I would definitely hang onto that tank, use it in a couple grows from now.

 

[stewey469]

Yea i agree. I probably should just make sure that i get through this first grow, and learn as much as i can before adding more variables that could change the grow.

 

[neversummer28]

The roots are coming in really nice and i think i want to start LST today. Since this is my first grow im pretty nervous maybe someone can give me some input on whether or not its a good time to start?

yo stew, sorry i didn't get back earlier, it's been a really busy week. like jigs said, looks like you did the LST, and it looks good to me.

to answer your question a bit late, the plants are pretty strong, you can actually tug at them quite a bit. as you pull the plants to the side, do it slowly and you will kind of feel when the plant starts resisting, basically telling you that's the furthest she'll go. it looks like you did pretty well.

a suggestion... find some way to wrap those strings eventually. the duct tape will work for now, but you will be amazed by how strong mother nature is... eventually your plants will easily rip the duct tape right up. i used those huge binder clips and clipped them on the lip of the tub.

 

[grobofotwanky]

Nice set-up. Looks super clean. I can't tell from the pic but are you using the mh for veg and hps for flower, or both for the entire cycle?

 

[stewey469]

Nice set-up. Looks super clean. I can't tell from the pic but are you using the mh for veg and hps for flower, or both for the entire cycle?

I am using the metal halide right now. I made another thread about using both lights, and the consensus was that i should use both lights when i switch to 12/12 and start the flowering process.

Do any of you guys have any input on that? Should i use both lights right now? or just the mh?

 

[stewey469]

a suggestion... find some way to wrap those strings eventually. the duct tape will work for now, but you will be amazed by how strong mother nature is... eventually your plants will easily rip the duct tape right up. i used those huge binder clips and clipped them on the lip of the tub.

Yea i know im workin on that, i havnt been able to find anything around the house to use, so ill make a trip to the store and grab some big clips like you have. The duct tape hasnt worked well, and i really am blown away at how strong these plants are. I mean ive had them 7 days and they are growing like crazy. I thought they would be so stressed from the move from the club that i wouldnt even see anything for a week!

 

[grobofotwanky]

I am using the metal halide right now. I made another thread about using both lights, and the consensus was that i should use both lights when i switch to 12/12 and start the flowering process.

Do any of you guys have any input on that? Should i use both lights right now? or just the mh?

You got the right idea. MH now and both for flowering. I've always wanted to try it but I use a hps ballast with a conversion lamp for veg. Let me know how it turns out.