1st Grow - Master Kush, White Widow, Ak48 Dwc

[ArmedGeek]

Feel free to follow along, provide advice/comments spark up and join me in my very first grow.

Why am i doing this?
I had surgery on my neck when i was in my late teens. During the process, a surgeon severed the long accessory nerve in my neck. This left me with a winging scapula. Over the years, i got hooked on opiates dealing with pain (originally prescribed) and failed at life miserably. I have now been clean since March of 2014 and have cannabis to thank for providing an overall well being for me. The time has come to control my own meds :happy:

Grow Accessories
DuoLux 600 from top shelf lights. LED 600w 1200w HID equivalent
Vivosun 48" x 48" x 80" grow tent
Vivosun 6" 440 CFM inline fan with speed controller
Vivosun 6" carbon filter
6 DWC hydroponic buckets
Actice aqua AS4RD 4" round air stones
Ph TDS meter
EcoPlus commercial Air pump (with backup)

Advanced Nutrients
Connoisseur Grow A&B
Connoisseur Bloom A&B
Piranha
Rhino Skin
Big Bud
Bug Candy
Flawless Finish
Botanicare Cal-Mag (RO water)
General Hydroponics PH up/down

 

[ArmedGeek]

After setting up my tent, i realized it wasn't going to hold a 30lb LED. After reaching out, i learned using 2x4s was my best option. Each side has an over hang of 7" to help with weight distribution.

Currently using backup chains to hold the light until my rope ratchets come in

 

[ArmedGeek]

My biggest challenge so far was installing the RO water filtration system. I literally had water everywhere. After much frustration, it's installed, leak free and i'm proud to say to the GF i didn't need a plumber.

 

[ArmedGeek]

I ordered feminized Master Kush, White Widow and AK48 from Nirvana seeds. Shipping to the south took 8 days. I hear about others getting freebie seeds, but i didn't receive any.

I'll be growing 6 plants, 2 of each strain inside the 4x4 tent.

Germination
I dropped 6 seeds in water for 18 hours. A few had cracked so i then placed them in a paper towl and sat them in the garage since it's warm, dark and humid. I had 100% germination after 36 hours and each root was around a 1/2".

I soaked 2x2" rockwell cubes in RO water PH'd at 5.6 for a few hours and placed my seeds inside. I then placed them in a humidity dome and put them under light

Day 1:
The light is sitting 1 foot 11" (23" total) from the top of the dome. I'm not sure how far the light should be from the actual dome it's self. I don't have any other light to use for veg.

I'm currently waiting for the girls to pop through the rock wool. Light is on 18/6 currently. Once they get their leaves, i'll transplant into DWC.

Humidity 52%
Temp 72f

 

[ArmedGeek]

Received the timer for my light in the mail. Apparently i ordered a 2 prong instead of a three....

Looks like i'll have to manually turn off/on the light until i get a new one. Most of the reviews i have read on amazon seem to be hit or miss as far as a quality timer. Any advice on which to purchase?

 

[rmoltis]

Received the timer for my light in the mail. Apparently i ordered a 2 prong instead of a three....Looks like i'll have to manually turn off/on the light until i get a new one. Most of the reviews i have read on amazon seem to be hit or miss as far as a quality timer. Any advice on which to purchase?

Titan controls Apollo 8 (mechanical)



Or the Apollo 9 (digital)



You can find either one on ebay for under $20

Apollo 8 $12.50


Apollo 9 $15

 

[ArmedGeek]

Thanks man, i ordered the Apollo 8. Found it on Amazon for a couple dollars more but it has 2 day shipping.

 

[Juicebox]

Feel free to follow along, provide advice/comments spark up and join me in my very first grow.

Why am i doing this?
I had surgery on my neck when i was in my late teens. During the process, a surgeon severed the long accessory nerve in my neck. This left me with a winging scapula. Over the years, i got hooked on opiates dealing with pain (originally prescribed) and failed at life miserably. I have now been clean since March of 2014 and have cannabis to thank for providing an overall well being for me. The time has come to control my own meds :happy:

Grow Accessories
DuoLux 600 from top shelf lights. LED 600w 1200w HID equivalent
Vivosun 48" x 48" x 80" grow tent
Vivosun 6" 440 CFM inline fan with speed controller
Vivosun 6" carbon filter
6 DWC hydroponic buckets
Actice aqua AS4RD 4" round air stones
Ph TDS meter
EcoPlus commercial Air pump (with backup)

Advanced Nutrients
Connoisseur Grow A&B
Connoisseur Bloom A&B
Piranha
Rhino Skin
Big Bud
Bug Candy
Flawless Finish
Botanicare Cal-Mag (RO water)
General Hydroponics PH up/down

Ok im confused here so your saying a 600w led is equivalent to a 1200w hps?

 

[ArmedGeek]

I'm not sure in most situations if a 600w LED is always equivalent to a 1200w HPS. Apparently, the site/manual states the following below. It might have to deal with the actual type of LED configuration. You can check the light i'm using at https://www.topshelflight.com/duolux-600-1

Dimension: 22''x22''x3.5''
Weight: 30lbs
Actual Wattage: 585w
HID Equivalent: 1200w
LED Configuration: 4 CREE CXA COB 189 Bridgelux 5W Chip

 

[heisen]

I'll be following your peogress.Walmart sells timers in case you need to run and grab one.

 

[Juicebox]

I'm not sure in most situations if a 600w LED is always equivalent to a 1200w HPS. Apparently, the site/manual states the following below. It might have to deal with the actual type of LED configuration. You can check the light i'm using at https://www.topshelflight.com/duolux-600-1

Dimension: 22''x22''x3.5''
Weight: 30lbs
Actual Wattage: 585w
HID Equivalent: 1200w
LED Configuration: 4 CREE CXA COB 189 Bridgelux 5W Chip

Looks like a nice light but every company in the led buisness has wild claims .....i guess we shall see...good luck with it

 

[ArmedGeek]

Thanks, I agree with you man. I will say the first time I turned it on, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was so bright i actually put on the glasses they sent with the light. I might look like a douche with the cheapos on, but i can work in the tent with out feeling like my eyes are in a tanning bed.

 

[ArmedGeek]

For anyone interested in the duolux 600, i thought I would run a killowatt test for those geeks like me to see how much the light pulls. The main reason I chose LED over HID was simply for "thermal imaging" reasons. If anyone is interested in lumen readings let me know I'll post.

Veg light
117.3 volts
2.3 amps
265 watts
60hz

Bloom only
117.1 volts
2.98 amps
345 watts
60hz

Full spectrum
116.2 volts
5.14 amps
592 watts
60 hz

Not bad for a 4x4 tent, electricity is expensive enough as it is.

 

[ArmedGeek]

Day 2
One master Kush and 1 white widow are starting to pop up through the rock wool. The girls just woke and are ready to start day 2. No extra watering so far.

 

[ArmedGeek]

Today I slightly opened the top of the humidity dome and hours later noticed the leaves drooping and they actually shrank. Prior to this they looked very healthy. The rock wool was fairly dry on top so I added RO water PH'd at 5.5 and closed the dome fully. I wish I wouldn't have used it.

 

[heisen]

I used rockwool but just had to many issues with it.Its great if you want to babysit them but i just had to many problems with germanation and switched to root riots for clones and jiffy pellets to germinate.So far 100 percent and no issues.

 

[EventHorizan]

Today I slightly opened the top of the humidity dome and hours later noticed the leaves drooping and they actually shrank. Prior to this they looked very healthy. The rock wool was fairly dry on top so I added RO water PH'd at 5.5 and closed the dome fully. I wish I wouldn't have used it.
View attachment 700780

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dont over water the rock wool! U should only have a t5 on them and they prob wont need much water for a sec... if you have problems go to rapid rooters... 100%
Also I recommend getting a waterfarm recirculating kit $50 and a 5 gal bucket for the control bucket.
I also recommend you running the same strain in the system.. you could run into several problems if you run multiple..
Plus your new to dwc right?
here is a few pics...
first pic is the kit...
then the build...
Welcome to the farm!

 

[ArmedGeek]

A recirculating res would be nice to use so I could scrog much easier. My only worry running one res is the fact I would be feeding the exact ppm nutes to each strain where some might need higher/lower.

I'm thinking my light is to strong in veg. I really wanted to try it versus getting another light just because it has an actual veg setting. I'm hoping they bounce back.

 

[EventHorizan]

A recirculating res would be nice to use so I could scrog much easier. My only worry running one res is the fact I would be feeding the exact ppm nutes to each strain where some might need higher/lower.

I'm thinking my light is to strong in veg. I really wanted to try it versus getting another light just because it has an actual veg setting. I'm hoping they bounce back.

you should run the same strain in rdwc.... But i recommend running the same strain in your whole flower because of differences in plants needs and growth...
Sorry idk nothing about leds..
Dwc is the best if you do it right...
Does have issues, but growth is phenomenal!

 

[EventHorizan]

of course ive graduated since then.......