DWC Hydro grow with Godfather OG

[Brother_Antioch]

Hey, fellow enthusiasts!

Okay, I finally received all the new equipment I ordered and got everything set up and running. I had to wait almost a month for the last components as I didn't realize (meaning I didn't bother reading that part...) that 2 of the items were "pre-order" from Spider Farmer. But, after much pacing, cursing, and shaking my fist at the ceiling in frustration, they all arrived in perfect order. I am currently germinating 2 Godfather OG feminized photo seeds in rockwool cubes in a starter tray in my tent. I've dialed in the environment to get about 215 ppfd at the top of the humidity dome and a temperature of 78F with RH at 80% for germination. This is giving me a VPD of 0.65 kPa. From what I've read, this is perfect for the germination stage into seedling stage.

Here's a breakdown of my setup:

2x4 tent
Spider Farmer SE4500 using the Samsung 301H EVO diodes as my main light
Spider Farmer SF1000 using the Samsung 301H EVO diodes as a side light
2- Spider Farmer 7 gallon DWC system with 2 air stones in each (one the stock round stone and the other is a 2"x4" cylindrical stone) and the stock 8W air pump that came with the system pushing just under 130 GPH of air into each bucket with the 2 stones. I will probably end up upgrading the pump and keeping that one as an additional back up.
AC Infinity Thermoforge T3 heater
Vivosun aerostream h05 humidifier using distilled water
Vivosun oscillating fan (newest model)
8" Honeywell stationary fan as a floor fan
4" USB powered Honeywell fan as an intake fan
4" generic inline exhaust fan with speed controller and 10" carbon filter
Spider Farmer GGS controller
Spider Farmer AC10 PS
GH Flora Trio nutrients
CaliMagic (although I've decided to go with our really really good tap water instead of distilled, so it's not really necessary as far as I know but bought it when I was thinking of using distilled water only)
Armour Si
Hydroguard


I have it set up so the lights are dialed in for 18 hours of light and an additional 30 minutes each of "sunrise and sunset". The heater and humidifier are both set to be run by the AC10 and the GGS controller so they come on and off as needed, triggered by the sensors attached to the AC10 and utilizing the environmental parameters in the GGS controller. My only other indoor grow was last winter using Promix HP and I've learned a ton from that experience. I've spent the last several months researching as much as I could about making the switch to a hydro grow this time, and I've basically built my system around Spider Farmer's gear. I will (eventually) be swapping out the off-brand equipment (although I might just keep the AC Infinity heater as it's a much better product from all the reviews I've read) so I can automate the entire system to work together...but if I do that this year, the g/f will be showing me the door!

I'm sure I'll have an absolute ton of questions about this grow, but I'll try to not ask without first searching the forum for previous topics dealing with the same issues. Last year's grow would have been not possible without the help of the community here, (and thanks again for all your help!!!) so I'm sure I am once again in the right place for the information I need, when I need it. I will be attempting a full manifold on both plants (live life on the edge, right?) and scrogging them both. I won't flip them to flower until I've got a well established plant, trained to get maximum light and air flow through the entire plant. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a good quantity of great quality (rather than a great quantity of good quality...) out of these two plants. I'd really like to get into making the bubble hash once I've harvested them, and also get into making my own edibles. Luckily, I've a decent job (custom tile setter) so it's not too hard to purchase the various pieces of equipment to make things happen without leaving myself short.

Strangely enough, the hardest part (so far...) was getting the (not so) "smart" system up and running! Turns out, they all connect only to a 2.4GHz wifi signal, and my modem only had a single SSID for 5GHz. Apparently, the devices are supposed to automatically connect to the 2.4GHz, but they were constantly dropping the signal and sending my environment WAY out of whack! So, a call to my ISP and they sent me a new modem that separates the two bands and viola! Problem solved. I've just finished re-wiring the entire set up and getting the tent all dialed in, so let the adventure begin!!!

Here's a few shots of the tent and set up:

I'm running the exhaust fan outside the tent as it's only 60" tall and don't want to run into issues down the road. The tape you see on the hose is just to keep it "crinkled together" so to speak and stop the godawful sag in the 4" hose. Straighter lines mean better air flow, after all.

Anyhow, thanks to all who stop by, and please feel free to chime in on any and all aspects of my adventure. If any of you see something I've missed, done wrong or installed incorrectly, please let me know. I'm here to learn and progress, not to be offended by advice freely given. I'll be updating this grow diary once a week (so expect nothing but boredom for the first week or two...) and if I have any specific questions, I'll post a separate thread with them in it so as not to mess this one up with side tangents all over the place.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Hoping her sister wakes up any time now. This one has a tap root about 2" long, but the second seed looks like it's just about ready to pop. Seeing the tiniest speck of white right at the bottom tip of the seed where it should emerge. Let the adventure begin!

Wish me luck.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Hi, folks. Update time.

So, following the advice I got here, I've transferred my seedling over to the DWC system. Roots on her were approx. 4" long and had several side hairs coming off. Nice healthy seedling so far! After leaving the tap water in a bucket in the tent for 24 hours with multiple air stones in it, I added the following to the (approx.) 5 gal. of water:

12.5 ml CaliMagic
6 ml GH Flora Micro
6 ml GH Flora Gro
6 ml GH Flora Bloom
12 ml H2O2 (3%)

My ppm was 150 to start, and after adding everything I ended up with a ppm of 625, so the nutrient mix gave me around 475ppm (which gives me an EC of around 0.6)

I let the solution rest for an hour afterwards and adjusted the pH to 5.81 I'll be checking it again in a few more hours to ensure it's fully stabilized, and adjusting as needed. I'll be doing daily checks on the pH and EC just to keep everything in the Goldilocks Zone. I've got the tent dialed in so it's maintaining a temperature of around 76F and a humidity of around 79% which gives me a VPD of 0.65kPa. The water temperature seems to be holding at a steady 71F, which is nearing the higher end of acceptable limits. If it goes any higher, I have a couple of small drink bottles of water in the freezer to lower the temps as needed.

The green wires you see around the 4 sides of the lid in the pictures below are tie down "bars", I suppose you'd call them, for when I start doing the manifold training on it. I figured I'd put that in now so when the time comes I just have to bend, wrap and hook into them, rather than messing around trying to make holes, screw in eyelets, or whatever. "Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance", right?

Here's how it's looking so far:

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Hi, folks. Okay, update time again.

It's now been 4 days since I transferred my seedling to the DWC system. Took me about a day to get the system dialed in perfectly, partly due to the added humidity, partly due to my incredible stupidity! I was having one hell of a time maintaining my reservoir temperature in that 67-69F range (aiming for 68F). My aquarium thermometer was telling me it was creeping up above 75F even as high as 78F. Ice bottles galore, and it still didn't seem to be bringing it down. Well, turns out that "high quality" aquarium thermometer is an absolute piece of junk. Using my testing pen (which is legitimately a quality tester) I was at 70.8F, not 75F. This was a direct result of my previously mentioned incredible stupidity...I had the hose from my AC Infinity T3 heater aimed directly at the base of the reservoir... So, tossed the crappy thermometer, moved the heater hose, and I'm maintaining a nice 68.6F now, no ice needed!

The roots on my little girl are now multiple, and around 6" long, and just about ready to poke through the bottom of the net pot. I've got the drip ring that was part of the system buried to about 1" off the bottom of the net pot, and reduced the air flow from the pump to around 75% using the shut-off valve on that particular air line so it's a small burst each time instead of blasting water throughout the hydroton like it does at 100% open. Seems to be working, as it's healthy and the roots are definitely growing robustly.

When I mixed the original solution, I used the amounts mentioned in the above post. The only thing I've done since then is to check (and adjust if necessary) the pH of the solution, and I've added another 12ml of 3% H2O2 yesterday. I'll be doing that every 3 days throughout the grow to maintain a sterile environment. PPFD is at 225 and it's giving me a DLI of 18.5 over the 18 hours plus the 1/2 hour prior to and after for the "sunrise/sunset" period. Initially I was going to be using my SF1000 as a side light, but have since changed my mind. I think it'll add too much heat to the tent, and it's only going to be lighting up from one side anyway. Instead, I'm going to order the SF Glo30 4-bar light system. It's only 32W instead of 100W, so 1/3 of the power giving off much less heat. It also will offer the benefit of all around under canopy/side lighting rather than a single direction.

Once the roots hit the water level (about an inch below the net pot) I understand it will suddenly take off, so I'm prepared for that. I figure about a week after that happens I'll do my first reservoir change. EC has remained stable, and pH is fluctuating between 5.8 up to 6.2 at which point I pH down back to 5.8. This seems to be a regular 2-day cycle, so from what I've read, I'm doing something right. The stem is staying strong and straight, leaves are staying a nice green with no wilting whatsoever, and I've dropped my oscillating fan so that it's just waving across the very top of it on the lowest, most gentle manner. It's barely moving the leaf more than just a slight puff every 10 seconds or so. As the plant starts to develop, I'll reposition it so as to gently move the canopy.

Anyway, my novel is over for now. Thanks to anyone that bothered to read my rambling report! Now, on to the pics.

You can see where I've moved the fan to act as a passive cooling system for the reservoir and redirected the heating hose:

Here you can see the stem in all her glorious detail:

and finally, here's a good shot from directly above showing the colour of the leaves:

Thanks for popping by!

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Florida_Mike]

Awesome setup!
Couple things to keep in mind:
Mixing order is important; Silica 1st until well mixed, then calimagic, then flora micro, then the rest
No need to be so worried about res temp, mine is whatever room temp is... up to 90+ with no noticeable ill effects (I'm not advising to do this, just showing it's not as important as it's made out to be, especially in a highly oxygenated setup)
Don't use hydroguard in a sterile setup, it has beneficial microbes in it that the h2o2 will kill. It's one or the other. I use hydroguard and my res stays crystal clear, with no slime buildup. I dump my res and flush with ph water for 1-2hrs every 7 days, then dump that, refill and reset. Probably not as important in your setup, as with rockwool. I would personally do a weekly res change for piece of mind, even in dwc, as you then know exactly what's in there at all times and you're not as likely to have nute problems.
Plants are going to grow bigger and faster than in soil, it will take you a cycle or two to dial in how long to veg


6 clones completely filling my 4x8. Cut 12/31, put into the rockwool buckets on 1/10, flip to 12/12 on 1/23. These have not been topped.

The 2 cali blues on the right side have just been bent over and tucked under the 1st net.

The 4 pbb, okie cman on the left are just growing natural. They have only had one minor de-foil

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Awesome setup!
Couple things to keep in mind:
Mixing order is important; Silica 1st until well mixed, then calimagic, then flora micro, then the rest
No need to be so worried about res temp, mine is whatever room temp is... up to 90+ with no noticeable ill effects (I'm not advising to do this, just showing it's not as important as it's made out to be, especially in a highly oxygenated setup)
Don't use hydroguard in a sterile setup, it has beneficial microbes in it that the h2o2 will kill. It's one or the other. I use hydroguard and my res stays crystal clear, with no slime buildup. I dump my res and flush with ph water for 1-2hrs every 7 days, then dump that, refill and reset. Probably not as important in your setup, as with rockwool. I would personally do a weekly res change for piece of mind, even in dwc, as you then know exactly what's in there at all times and you're not as likely to have nute problems.
Plants are going to grow bigger and faster than in soil, it will take you a cycle or two to dial in how long to veg


6 clones completely filling my 4x8. Cut 12/31, put into the rockwool buckets on 1/10, flip to 12/12 on 1/23. These have not been topped.
View attachment 2599478 The 2 cali blues on the right side have just been bent over and tucked under the 1st net.
View attachment 2599482 The 4 pbb, okie cman on the left are just growing natural. They have only had one minor de-foil
View attachment 2599487

Hi, Mike, and thanks for weighing in. It's my first attempt at hydro, so any and all advice, tips and suggestions are more than welcome!

I still have to pick up some silica but will be doing that in the next week. From what I understand it is incredibly helpful when it comes to training as it makes the stems and branches stronger yet more pliable. I think for this grow I'm going to stick with the H2O2 every few days instead of going with the Hydroguard. No definitive reason for it other than I have a bunch at home already, and from what I've read both will achieve the same result. I had read, as you pointed out, it's one or the other as the H2O2 will kill off any beneficial bacteria.

As for the res changes, I was planning on every 10 days, but realistically every 7 will probably be easier as it just becomes a daily routine every Sunday afternoon sort of thing. I'm going to attempt the manifold to give me 8 cola sites, so 3 toppings. That will definitely affect when I flip to a 12/12 schedule. You can be sure I'll be asking everyone here for advice when that times comes close. Ideally, I'd like to keep the canopy below 36" as the tent is only 60" high. Even with the exhaust fan system outside the tent, I'm still quite limited in my headroom with the light . But, with proper scrogging I think that shouldn't be too much of a problem. My plant from last year, grown in Promix HP, I managed to keep it at a controllable height. But as you say, it's going to take a few cycles to really nail down all the various stages and processes to make it a pain-free experience.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll be posting updates here on a weekly basis at the least. If you happen to see anything that raises a red flag, please let me know! I learned in my last grow that relying on the knowledge and community spirit here saved me a lot of headaches and potential failures. Hydro is even more unforgiving, but it's an adventure I'm really looking forward to.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Florida_Mike]

Hi, Mike, and thanks for weighing in. It's my first attempt at hydro, so any and all advice, tips and suggestions are more than welcome!

I still have to pick up some silica but will be doing that in the next week. From what I understand it is incredibly helpful when it comes to training as it makes the stems and branches stronger yet more pliable. I think for this grow I'm going to stick with the H2O2 every few days instead of going with the Hydroguard. No definitive reason for it other than I have a bunch at home already, and from what I've read both will achieve the same result. I had read, as you pointed out, it's one or the other as the H2O2 will kill off any beneficial bacteria.

As for the res changes, I was planning on every 10 days, but realistically every 7 will probably be easier as it just becomes a daily routine every Sunday afternoon sort of thing. I'm going to attempt the manifold to give me 8 cola sites, so 3 toppings. That will definitely affect when I flip to a 12/12 schedule. You can be sure I'll be asking everyone here for advice when that times comes close. Ideally, I'd like to keep the canopy below 36" as the tent is only 60" high. Even with the exhaust fan system outside the tent, I'm still quite limited in my headroom with the light . But, with proper scrogging I think that shouldn't be too much of a problem. My plant from last year, grown in Promix HP, I managed to keep it at a controllable height. But as you say, it's going to take a few cycles to really nail down all the various stages and processes to make it a pain-free experience.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll be posting updates here on a weekly basis at the least. If you happen to see anything that raises a red flag, please let me know! I learned in my last grow that relying on the knowledge and community spirit here saved me a lot of headaches and potential failures. Hydro is even more unforgiving, but it's an adventure I'm really looking forward to.

Cheers,

BA.

It's a myth that hydro is more unforgiving. Imo it's just the opposite. This is bc at the 1st sign of trouble, you can always dump, flush and reset; and it's just like starting brand new. If you follow close to the feed schedule, the plants will always have exactly what they need to thrive, with no guessing. Also, in dwc, there is no such thing as over or under watering; which gives a lot of new growers problems.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

It's a myth that hydro is more unforgiving. Imo it's just the opposite. This is bc at the 1st sign of trouble, you can always dump, flush and reset; and it's just like starting brand new. If you follow close to the feed schedule, the plants will always have exactly what they need to thrive, with no guessing. Also, in dwc, there is no such thing as over or under watering; which gives a lot of new growers problems.

True enough. I suppose the only time it would be unforgiving, for me, would be summer growing. We go to our trailer every Friday afternoon and don't come back until Sunday evening, without fail. ($2700 a year in lot fees and around 27 weekends, so it's a $100 bill wasted if we don't, in theory) I can see something going south about 5 minutes after pulling out of the driveway, and coming home on Sunday to a shriveled mass that isn't fit for seasoning a salad anymore. That being said, I don't grow indoors during the summer (way too hot, we don't have A/C in the house). I am considering growing 4 plants from clones this year at the trailer, though! We'll see how that goes.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Florida_Mike]

True enough. I suppose the only time it would be unforgiving, for me, would be summer growing. We go to our trailer every Friday afternoon and don't come back until Sunday evening, without fail. ($2700 a year in lot fees and around 27 weekends, so it's a $100 bill wasted if we don't, in theory) I can see something going south about 5 minutes after pulling out of the driveway, and coming home on Sunday to a shriveled mass that isn't fit for seasoning a salad anymore. That being said, I don't grow indoors during the summer (way too hot, we don't have A/C in the house). I am considering growing 4 plants from clones this year at the trailer, though! We'll see how that goes.

Cheers,

BA.

I'm in the desert. I too can only grow in the cold months, it's way too hot in the summer months here.
As far as long weekends, they can easily be managed now days with tech - from remote cameras, to smart controllers and outlets, auxiliary reservoirs, remote tds/ph probes with auto ph, and or nutrient injection. Personally, I'd just put an auxiliary res with gravity feed into a 1/4" float valve in my main res and just keep it topped up with ph adjusted water for a couple days. eg. If my ph slowly rises over a couple days; I'd set my aux res a little low, like 5.6. Aux res could be as simple as a 48qt cooler sitting on a chair or something.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

I'm in the desert. I too can only grow in the cold months, it's way too hot in the summer months here.
As far as long weekends, they can easily be managed now days with tech - from remote cameras, to smart controllers and outlets, auxiliary reservoirs, remote tds/ph probes with auto ph, and or nutrient injection. Personally, I'd just put an auxiliary res with gravity feed into a 1/4" float valve in my main res and just keep it topped up with ph adjusted water for a couple days. eg. If my ph slowly rises over a couple days; I'd set my aux res a little low, like 5.6. Aux res could be as simple as a 48qt cooler sitting on a chair or something.

Our trailer park doesn't open until May 1st, and shuts down around mid-October. This gives me a perfect time to do my indoor grow once a year, get it harvested, dried and cured in time for the trailer opening again. I'm all about the automation, but to be honest, I don't need to get too far into it as I'm home from work every day by 6pm at the latest.

For the plants I think I'll grow this year at our park, I'm planning on digging a nice big hole (3'x3'x3') and lining it with landscaping fabric. Then, I'll use some really good soil, and a trick I read about somewhere using a 5 gallon pail filled with amended water with a 1/8" hole in the bottom and another in the lid to avoid creating a vacuum. Sit that right beside each plant, and it does a slow drip into the soil around the plant during the week when I'm not there. It should (apparently) provide enough water throughout the week without soaking it. From what I've read, that pail should last for several weeks, and I can make adjustments each weekend as needed. I'll most likely start 4 clones in the beginning of April in my tent to get them ready for a mid-May transplant outside, so long as the temperatures cooperate (something Ontario springs are notorious for NOT doing...)

Several of my friends in the park have been growing from clones each year for the last few years. They just stick them in 5 gallon pails, water them each weekend, and hope for rain during the week. It's worked out so far for them, but the quantity and quality has not been that great, to be perfectly honest. Not sure how it will all turn out, but it's worth a shot and won't cost me more than $100 to set it all up for 4 plants, so even if it's a total disaster, that's basically beer money for a 3 day weekend at the trailer...I'm not too concerned about it.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Hi, folks.

Well, it's update time again. Let's see, in the last half a week, basically not much has happened...lol. The leaves are growing, the colour looks great, the cotyledons are yellowing, but that's expected around this point (roughly 10 days from breaking through the rockwool). Water in the reservoir is maintaining a nice 71F during the day and around 66F during the night. The pH is staying between 5.8 and 6.1 so well within that Goldilocks zone. Humidity is averaging 76% and VPD is hovering right around 0.7-0.8 kPa and my PPFD is right at 230 giving me a DLI of 15.32 which is right in the middle of the 10-20 with good VPD range. Basically, all is good in the world of my tent, environment-wise.

I very...Very...VERY carefully removed some of the hyrdoton pellets 2 days ago and checked the roots coming out of the rockwool cube, as I still haven't seen any coming out the bottom of the net pot yet. It looked like a couple of roots now, lots of "fingers" coming off one of them, and about 6" long (roughly) winding its way down towards the reservoir, so I expect within the next 5 days or so it'll pop on through and hit the nutrient solution. I've got the water level about 1-1/2" below the net pot with the 3 air stones running full blast. It's giving me a good amount of roiling and bubbles at the surface, and when I lift the net pot, the bottom inch or so seems wet, so that's good. I've turned off the drip ring completely now for the last 2 days, and if anything, the leaves seem to be a bit bigger. I don't want to soak out the roots, so I figure there's enough moisture coming up from the bottom of the pot through the air gap that they should be fine. Once those roots hit the nutrient solution, I'll do a reservoir change and go with 1/4 strength to start, then the following week I'll slowly increase until I'm where I need to be re: EC.

Anyway, here's a couple of shots showing how she's looking. You'll definitely notice the yellowing on the cotyledons though.

Here's a straight down view.

Thanks for popping in. Hopefully the next update I can include a pic of the roots coming out the net pot!

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Smokey0418]

Hi, folks. Update time.

So, following the advice I got here, I've transferred my seedling over to the DWC system. Roots on her were approx. 4" long and had several side hairs coming off. Nice healthy seedling so far! After leaving the tap water in a bucket in the tent for 24 hours with multiple air stones in it, I added the following to the (approx.) 5 gal. of water:

12.5 ml CaliMagic
6 ml GH Flora Micro
6 ml GH Flora Gro
6 ml GH Flora Bloom
12 ml H2O2 (3%)

My ppm was 150 to start, and after adding everything I ended up with a ppm of 625, so the nutrient mix gave me around 475ppm (which gives me an EC of around 0.6)

I let the solution rest for an hour afterwards and adjusted the pH to 5.81 I'll be checking it again in a few more hours to ensure it's fully stabilized, and adjusting as needed. I'll be doing daily checks on the pH and EC just to keep everything in the Goldilocks Zone. I've got the tent dialed in so it's maintaining a temperature of around 76F and a humidity of around 79% which gives me a VPD of 0.65kPa. The water temperature seems to be holding at a steady 71F, which is nearing the higher end of acceptable limits. If it goes any higher, I have a couple of small drink bottles of water in the freezer to lower the temps as needed.

The green wires you see around the 4 sides of the lid in the pictures below are tie down "bars", I suppose you'd call them, for when I start doing the manifold training on it. I figured I'd put that in now so when the time comes I just have to bend, wrap and hook into them, rather than messing around trying to make holes, screw in eyelets, or whatever. "Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance", right?

Here's how it's looking so far:

View attachment 2597769

View attachment 2597768

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,

BA

As things develop just keep an eye on your roots.
My understanding was 10 ml per gallon running 3% was killing.
Personally I run live when I do using Hygroben. I love and use botanicare but the water they sell with a teensee weansee bacteria is way over priced.
Enjoy and good luck with your grow.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

As things develop just keep an eye on your roots.
My understanding was 10 ml per gallon running 3% was killing.
Personally I run live when I do using Hygroben. I love and use botanicare but the water they sell with a teensee weansee bacteria is way over priced.
Enjoy and good luck with your grow.

Hi, Smokey.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. That 12ml of H2O2 is in around 5 gallons of water/nutes. It's around 2.5 ml per gallon so well within the safe zone.

Thanks for the well wishes! I'll keep updating here as things happen, or once/twice a week with regular updates. If you ever have any other thoughts, suggestions or notice anything amiss, please don't hesitate to let me know. I check in the forum daily.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Hi, folks.

Just a super fast update. I topped up my humidifier and thought, "what the hell, let's check again" lifted the net pot out of the bucket for quick peek, and saw the taproot has emerged from the net pot. It's about 3/4" beyond the pot now, so I imagine it'll be drinking that nutrient solution by the time I get up in the morning. I think I'll give it a few days, and on Sunday I'll do a res change.

Cheers,

BA!

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Hi, folks. Update time.

Well, it's been 10 days since I put my seedling into the DWC system, and 15 days since she broke out of her shell. Just finished my first reservoir change, and I'll be doing it weekly from this point on. I'm making it a Saturday Night habit so it's much easier for my old and addled brain to remember!

So, here's what's gone into the solution of around 6 gallons:
9 ml CaliMagic
12 ml GH Flora Micro
12 ml GH Flora Gro
6 ml GH Flora Bloom
25 ml 3% H2O2

I've added them in that order, stirred well between ingredients, and had an air stone bubbling in it the entire time. Once it had sat for about an hour I pH'd it to 5.8. I have left an air gap of 1-1/2" below the net pot. I'm using my local tap water, which has an EC of 0.33 (164 ppm). I ended up with a final of 1.3 EC / 667 ppm, so my nutrient solution is at around 500 ppm or 1.0 EC. My reservoir is sitting at 67.8F and isn't reaching anything warmer than about 70.5F. Environment inside my 2'x4' tent is averaging at 76F (min. 74.7, max. 77.9) according to the sensor logs. Humidity is averaging 76% with a max. of 78% and the VPD is staying right around 0.8 kPa. The tap root only extended out a few days ago (3/4" 3 days ago) but is already around 8" long and showing a ton of hairs on it. It's a nice, white and healthy looking root, and I've noticed quite a bit of growth in the plant over the last day or so. I'll be checking the pH of the new solution tonight before heading to bed, and again in the morning and will make any adjustments as needed. H2O2 is going to be added every 3 days with around 15 ml per dose. I'm not running any Hydroguard on this run, just keeping a sterile environment, as I have lots of H2O2 around. My testing meter is a Vivosun 5-in-1 and I calibrate it weekly and it has the storage solution inside the cap to keep it "fresh", so to speak. My oscillating fan is aimed slightly above the canopy and set at 3/10, and it is just moving the leaves as it passes over it. Very minimal air flow directly on the seedling itself, but lots of air movement around the tent between that and the 8" floor fan aimed at the reservoir. My SE4500 is currently on at 40% hanging about 22" above the plant, with a PPFD of 332 on an 18/6 cycle with an extra half hour at each end using the "sunrise/sunset" settings. This gives me a DLI of around 22.11 mol/m²/day.

I think that's all the data and information, so on to the pics.

The stem seems nice and straight.

The leaves are coming in quite healthy by the looks of it so far.

The tap root is really growing quickly, considering it was not even 1" long on Wednesday evening!

Thanks to all who dropped in to see my latest update. I'll keep up on it at least weekly, more often as changes occur more quickly. If anyone sees anything wrong, or has any suggestions, please don't hesitate to mention them to me. This is only my second indoor grow and my first using hydroponics, so it's a definite learning experience for me (hence me just growing the one plant this cycle). I appreciate all advice and help.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Quick update.

Since doing the res change yesterday evening, I checked the pH before bed. It had risen from 5.8 to 6.5 so I pHd it back down to 5.8 This morning I checked it again, and still right at 5.83 and ppm's are staying in the 665 range, so no difference from when I put it in yesterday. I'll check again later this afternoon and keep an eye out for changes on the leaves, but so far it's looking like I've nailed the change as far as stability goes. Here's how she's looking this morning:

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Hey, folks! Bi-weekly update time, it seems.

Seen some explosive growth in the roots over the last few days! It's showing above the roots, as well. Not quite 3 weeks in since a little sprout, and my girl is starting to look good! I've bumped the PPFD to about 430, my PPMs are bouncing between 770 and 780 ppm with a baseline tap water of 167 ppm, so at the high end of the scale, but she seems to be responding well. pH crept up to almost 6.3 over the last 36 hours from 5.8 so pH'd down to 5.75. I'm sure it'll be back to 5.9/6.0 by tomorrow. Temps are perfect in the tent at 78F and 72% humidity, so I've got a VPD of 1.0 kPa. Leaves are looking great, and are praying at that beautiful angle! And did I mention the root growth? Okay, yeah I did, but for a first time hydro experiment, I'm blown away by it.

So the one problem I've had is high res temperatures. I was consistently in the mid 70's. Got some Reflexit foil bubble insulation today and wrapped the entire reservoir with a layer, and the lid with a double layer. All taped down with foil duct tape to seal it to the lid and keep IR heat from warming the black bucket. So far, it's dropped the temps in the bucket to just shy of 72F. I'm adding an ice pack to it in the mornings, starting tomorrow (already had one in today) and hope to maintain that "Goldilocks" zone of 68F. If I really REALLY have to, I'll buy a chiller, but DAMN those things aren't cheap!

So far, it seems my adventure into a hydroponic grow is going well. As usual, if anyone sees anything amiss, please, let me know right away!

And now, on to the pics!

The root system is really taking off!

The leaves are praying nicely.

The colour of the leaves are looking great, and if you look closely, you can see secondary leaves starting at the nodes.

As usual, thanks for all for stopping by and experiencing my adventure with me.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Hi, folks and happy Saturday!

So, time for the bi-weekly update. Just finished doing my reservoir change. Had 5.5 gallons of tap water sitting in the tent in the second 7-gallon SF bucket with an air stone running in it for about 36 hours prior to adding anything so it could properly off-gas. Brought the temperature down to 65F to match the current reservoir. Then, I added, in order:

11 ml Botanicare Silica Blast - stirred well and let sit for almost an hour.
11 ml CaliMagic - stirred well and let sit for about 20 minutes.
27.5 ml GH Flora Micro - stirred well and let sit for 5 minutes.
27.5 ml GH Flora Gro - stirred well and let sit for 5 minutes.
13.8 ml Flora Bloom - stirred well and let sit for 5 minutes.
16.5 ml 3% H2O2 - stirred well and let sit for approx. 1 hour.

After an hour, I pH'd it down to 5.8 and let it sit for another hour with the air stone still running in it. I checked it again and pH had crept up to 6.15 so I adjusted it again to bring it back down to just under 5.8 After another hour it had crept up to 5.8 (from 5.76) and seems to have stabilized there. I then took all 4 air stones out, swapped the old reservoir out for the new one and put the 4 air stones back in their corners. I then took the lid with the net pot out of the old reservoir and put it straight into the fresh reservoir.

Here's the data for the tent and reservoir after the change:

Air temp: 77F
Humidity: 78%
VPD: 1.05
PPFD at canopy: 400
pH: 5.8
PPM/EC: 750/1500
Reservoir temperature: 65F (it will slowly climb back up to around 68F over the day and drop back down to 65F over night)

PPM was 150 to start on the plain off-gassed tap water, so it gives me a nutrient solution of 600 ppm or 1.2EC. Since I'm still in the "early to mid veg" stage, that's right in the Goldilocks Zone (or so I'm led to believe). I also calibrated my 5-in1 Vivosun tester before starting any of the new res testing to make sure it's bang-on where it needs to be. Faulty information leads to faulty results, after all. This is my second reservoir change on this grow and I am doing them every Saturday afternoon, to keep it consistent (and so I don't screw up my day count ) and it's the first with the Silica Blast as it just arrived yesterday. To be honest, after doing a bit more research (too little too late?) I kind of wish I'd picked up a quart of monosilicic acid instead. From what I've read, it's directly absorbable by the plant's roots without having to break down, or the risk of it binding with something and "falling out" of the mix. Oh well, next time.

She looks to be growing very nicely so far. She's 3" tall right now and has a circumference of about 6". Internodal spacing seems to be a consistent 1/2" and I've noticed the stem starting to really thicken up, although I'm sure that adding the Silica Blast to the mix will greatly increase both the growth, strength and flexibility of the stalks, which will be perfect when I start the manifold HST technique in a couple of weeks. Root growth over the last half a week has been mind-blowing for me (first time trying a hydro grow, so really it's the first time seeing how much the roots actually grow). There's a touch of beige staining on the older roots from the nutrient solution, but no slimy feel, no odd smell, nothing to indicate anything other than healthy roots.

It's now 23 days since she emerged from her seed, and 17 days since transferring her to the DWC system.

Anyway, enough of the reading, on to the pics!

Here's a nice "general" shot of her:

Here's how she's looking from the top down view:

You can get a good sense of the nodal spacing on this shot:

Here's a close-up shot of the new growth at the nodes themselves:

Here's another close-up shot of the newest growth just emerging (5th node?)

And finally, here's a shot of the root system. You can see all the new growth starting to emerge from the sides and bottom of the net pot:

Well, that's it for now. I'll post again in the middle of the week with new pics, and any changes or fluctuations. As always, thanks for stopping in on my little adventure, and if you see something I've missed then please speak up! So far, things are going well, but as it's my first attempt, there's a good chance someone will see a potential problem long before I see it emerge.

Cheers,

BA.

 

[weed4we]

Is that an airstone in the netpot?
How far in or out is the netpot to the water level?
Why are you using peroxide with hydroguard?

 

[Brother_Antioch]

Is that an airstone in the netpot?

No. It's an air-fed drip ring. I used it for the first week when I put the seedling in the rockwool cube into my net pot. After that, I disconnected the airline to it, but don't want to disturb the hydroton pellets and screw up the roots taking it out.

How far in or out is the netpot to the water level?

The net pot sits about 1-3/4" above the waterline at its bottom. Lots of tiny bubbles at the surface, so it seems to keep the roots growing well.

Why are you using peroxide with hydroguard?

I'm not. I had originally planned on using hydroguard, but I couldn't find it locally or in a small quantity on Amazon, so went with a sterile solution instead. I'm topping it up every other day with 25ml of H2O2 into 5.5 gallons, so just under 5ml / gal.

Any other questions, please feel free to ask. I'd be happy to answer them.

Cheers,

BA.