I am new and need some advice from someone experienced. Much Appreciated

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J

justinsloan

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Hey, thanks for responding, so this is what I ordered and I am starting to have second thoughts about it because of the space that the plants have from their regions of initial growth and I am worried that it will cut down yield significantly if I do not put more room between the plants it I want the projected 14 to 18 ounces per plant as the seed is advertised. Here is the link to the first hydroponics kit that I ordered, I really feel like I ordered something inappropriate for the level of growing that is required. But, I am not sure yet. I am growing in a 4x4 tent that has everything you can think of for it, that is 6.55 ft. high. If I use the current setup that I have, I have no choice but to germinate inside the sponges and then transfer them into the hydroponics kit after they have germinated in the sponge and sprouted leaves. I have all of the PH stuff, Flora series hydroponics nutrient supplement, Great White PRPSGW04 100049823 4 oz Mycorrhizae, 4 Ounce, two air purifiers one in and one out that is blowing into the intake fan then one purifier inside along with a good humidifier and measuring systems, 1k watt light that is 3x3feet. My budget is limited at this point I would have to make returns unless it was reasonable, I should have everything that I need other than if I want 14 to 18 ounce yields, I just do not have what I need. Which is unfortunate. you would think it would be able to grow to its potential with the two tanks placed in the center of the room. Let me know what you think.



edit: Would switching to a setup like this with four plants put out more yield than 10 plants in the system that I have? Or was I correct in buying this and I still have a shot at max yield? https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-DWC-Hy...cphy=9029970&hvtargid=pla-1603465801855&psc=1
I found this, https://vionalynn.medium.com/how-many-cannabis-plants-can-you-fit-in-a-4x4-grow-tent-5e31798ffa33 the screen of green method with the fence seems to be a good idea and should work along with topping. It says online that the cannabis plant only requires 6 inches between another plant and I think with a flawless grow I could increase my yield to 10 oz per plant, which would be nice. Of course, I prefer more but at this point I just have to wait and see.
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

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I'm not a fan of sea-of green unless you're running hydro or some other form of auto-feeding/watering. Here's why ... if you're placing plants 6 inches apart, there's no room to work each one properly. What the article you posted failed to say is most people run sea of green with clones and they keep them small. Full plants need space and 6" isn't going to be enough.

If it were my grow and I was using a 4 x 4 tent, I would grow 4 plants and scrog them to fill the space. It's similar to sea of green but you're not going to be playing twister on watering day ... another tip ... place your tent where you can access it on at least 3 sides (4 is better) if you're going to pursue sea of green. That way you can get to all the pots for watering.

Disclaimer: I'm old so playing twister is out for me. I'll leave that to the younger crowd.
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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Hey, thanks for responding, so this is what I ordered and I am starting to have second thoughts about it because of the space that the plants have from their regions of initial growth and I am worried that it will cut down yield significantly if I do not put more room between the plants it I want the projected 14 to 18 ounces per plant as the seed is advertised. Here is the link to the first hydroponics kit that I ordered, I really feel like I ordered something inappropriate for the level of growing that is required. But, I am not sure yet. I am growing in a 4x4 tent that has everything you can think of for it, that is 6.55 ft. high. If I use the current setup that I have, I have no choice but to germinate inside the sponges and then transfer them into the hydroponics kit after they have germinated in the sponge and sprouted leaves. I have all of the PH stuff, Flora series hydroponics nutrient supplement, Great White PRPSGW04 100049823 4 oz Mycorrhizae, 4 Ounce, two air purifiers one in and one out that is blowing into the intake fan then one purifier inside along with a good humidifier and measuring systems, 1k watt light that is 3x3feet. My budget is limited at this point I would have to make returns unless it was reasonable, I should have everything that I need other than if I want 14 to 18 ounce yields, I just do not have what I need. Which is unfortunate. you would think it would be able to grow to its potential with the two tanks placed in the center of the room. Let me know what you think.



edit: Would switching to a setup like this with four plants put out more yield than 10 plants in the system that I have? Or was I correct in buying this and I still have a shot at max yield? https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-DWC-Hy...cphy=9029970&hvtargid=pla-1603465801855&psc=1
Ill can tell you youd be better off building your own RDWC system than trying individual buckets if you want to do hydro

The work load to do water changes later on will have you wanting to say fuck it.

This is from experience and watching others do that many times.

In a 4x4 with 4 plants your goal will easily be met if done right. Are you pretty handy?
 
Moe.Red

Moe.Red

5,044
313
I'm not a fan of sea-of green unless you're running hydro or some other form of auto-feeding/watering. Here's why ... if you're placing plants 6 inches apart, there's no room to work each one properly. What the article you posted failed to say is most people run sea of green with clones and they keep them small. Full plants need space and 6" isn't going to be enough.

If it were my grow and I was using a 4 x 4 tent, I would grow 4 plants and scrog them to fill the space. It's similar to sea of green but you're not going to be playing twister on watering day ... another tip ... place your tent where you can access it on at least 3 sides (4 is better) if you're going to pursue sea of green. That way you can get to all the pots for watering.

Disclaimer: I'm old so playing twister is out for me. I'll leave that to the younger crowd.
Preach brotha. I don't know how these yunguns pack the tents so full.

I run RDWC and other things, and I still struggle to get good access for maintaining, defoliating, training...
 
J

justinsloan

63
18
Ill can tell you youd be better off building your own RDWC system than trying individual buckets if you want to do hydro

The work load to do water changes later on will have you wanting to say fuck it.

This is from experience and watching others do that many times.

In a 4x4 with 4 plants your goal will easily be met if done right. Are you pretty handy?
I am handy. So I did what you said and I went with RDWC and am returning the old set. It is true about the draining thing. But, I am just going to use four slots. I would like more, because the goal is to take cannabis off of the budget. But, I really wanted so much that I would not know what to do with so I could make a bunch of cool THC extract products for some fun. But, it seems it may cover the year. It probably will yield more with just four slots. I am so tempted to do more with the DWC buckets that have four slots per bucket, but it is one of those chess type of things. Greed never serves as a good advisor. One would think that as the six inches answer google gives would be fine, but google also gives some weird answers for other things and is not always right. It would sure be nice to have more than four healthy plants in a 4x4 putting out their max, but you guys seem to think that is not cannabis growing wisdom.
 
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J

justinsloan

63
18
Ill can tell you youd be better off building your own RDWC system than trying individual buckets if you want to do hydro

The work load to do water changes later on will have you wanting to say fuck it.

This is from experience and watching others do that many times.

In a 4x4 with 4 plants your goal will easily be met if done right. Are you pretty handy?
What do you think of this apart from the drain? For the drains it seems like you just have to make a bunch of trips to drain it, I had to get this kind of bucket drain because of my budget, but you only have to drain every 7 weeks or so. It should not be as much of a days task as cleaning the apartment. https://www.ebay.com/itm/273259775625

this is the kind that I got: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Viagrow-Deep-Water-Culture-Hydroponic-4-Plant-System-VDIY-4/304196104
 
J

justinsloan

63
18
What do you think of this apart from the drain? For the drains it seems like you just have to make a bunch of trips to drain it, I had to get this kind of bucket drain because of my budget, but you only have to drain every 7 weeks or so. It should not be as much of a days task as cleaning the apartment. https://www.ebay.com/itm/273259775625

this is the kind that I got: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Viagrow-Deep-Water-Culture-Hydroponic-4-Plant-System-VDIY-4/304196104
Okay, so I see that in some pictures on ilgm.com that one person had three plants in a 4x4 and it nearly filled up the entire space except for one corner because of so many branches. So I probably have just the right amount for the space that I have and I think that I am on a good track as far as I can see.
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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What do you think of this apart from the drain? For the drains it seems like you just have to make a bunch of trips to drain it, I had to get this kind of bucket drain because of my budget, but you only have to drain every 7 weeks or so. It should not be as much of a days task as cleaning the apartment. https://www.ebay.com/itm/273259775625

this is the kind that I got: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Viagrow-Deep-Water-Culture-Hydroponic-4-Plant-System-VDIY-4/304196104
I can tell you now your going to have to like do water changes every 3 days near the end
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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638
How so? How do you know how many water changes to do?
Because if experience… a water change should be done as often as needed to keep balanced ratios of nutrients.

Plants dont take up nutrients in the ratios we give them. So over time the ratios change.

A plant in DWC can take up over 1 gal of water a day if they are a good soze and healthy. Mine did about 1.25 gal a day but thats sealed and co2z

As they grow root displace water so your res size decreases.

Water levels change quickly in a res that only holds a couple gals.

Ec and ph change quickly in a res that only holds a few gals.

Now you wont see this until they get larger.

So in order to keep things nice and healthy closer to the end you will need to top up daily and change the res every 2-3days.

To know when to do water changes you change the res everytime you add back the volume of ACTUAL water it holds. Which is about 3.5 gal to start. And then lower as the roots displace water

In the beginning it will be easy and you may go a 2 weeks before the first change. But by the end you will have a lot if work on your hands.

Im not trying to discourage you but rather prepare you for it.

Your budget is what you have to work with, nothing wrong with that. But i can assure you this will likely be your only grow in DWC before you switch to RDWC. Because its just a lot of work and thats fine for a first grow and you will learn more i feel starting this way, so it has its benefits. But yeah once you go RDWC you will never and i mean never even consider single site DWC again
 
Moe.Red

Moe.Red

5,044
313
Okay, so I see that in some pictures on ilgm.com that one person had three plants in a 4x4 and it nearly filled up the entire space except for one corner because of so many branches. So I probably have just the right amount for the space that I have and I think that I am on a good track as far as I can see.
This is a little hard to explain so near with me.

For the record my 2 main flower tents are 4x8x8.

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This is a plant I took down yesterday. This is one of 2 in the 4x8. Yes you read that right. I use 4x4 for a single plant.

Looking at those roots what you see is essentially a13 gallon block of root mass. What you get up top is directly proportional to the mass below.

I started with 8 plants in a 2x4. And now I am down to 1/4 the plants in 4x space.

I can go on for hours but the bottom line is for me this is the most efficient and effective setup. I prefer to trim a single 2 foot long fat bud over several small buds. I prefer having room to work. I like a 1:1 relationship between plant and light. I still scrog and get a full canopy.

This RDWC system with some tweaks will out perform most others in grow rates. The thought of 4 plants in a 5 gallon bucket makes me shutter. If everything else is good you will end up with a mangled mess of intertwined plants none of which will be as healthy as their potential.

But don’t sweat it just get some grows under your belt no matter what you have. You will find your sweet spot and your personal best grow style.
 
J

justinsloan

63
18
Because if experience… a water change should be done as often as needed to keep balanced ratios of nutrients.

Plants dont take up nutrients in the ratios we give them. So over time the ratios change.

A plant in DWC can take up over 1 gal of water a day if they are a good soze and healthy. Mine did about 1.25 gal a day but thats sealed and co2z

As they grow root displace water so your res size decreases.

Water levels change quickly in a res that only holds a couple gals.

Ec and ph change quickly in a res that only holds a few gals.

Now you wont see this until they get larger.

So in order to keep things nice and healthy closer to the end you will need to top up daily and change the res every 2-3days.

To know when to do water changes you change the res everytime you add back the volume of ACTUAL water it holds. Which is about 3.5 gal to start. And then lower as the roots displace water

In the beginning it will be easy and you may go a 2 weeks before the first change. But by the end you will have a lot if work on your hands.

Im not trying to discourage you but rather prepare you for it.

Your budget is what you have to work with, nothing wrong with that. But i can assure you this will likely be your only grow in DWC before you switch to RDWC. Because its just a lot of work and thats fine for a first grow and you will learn more i feel starting this way, so it has its benefits. But yeah once you go RDWC you will never and i mean never even consider single site DWC again
Yeah, I just requested cancellation. I hope it goes through. I am going to try and get one with a pipe draining system. And what do you mean by co2z?
 
J

justinsloan

63
18
This is a little hard to explain so near with me.

For the record my 2 main flower tents are 4x8x8.

View attachment 1256717

This is a plant I took down yesterday. This is one of 2 in the 4x8. Yes you read that right. I use 4x4 for a single plant.

Looking at those roots what you see is essentially a13 gallon block of root mass. What you get up top is directly proportional to the mass below.

I started with 8 plants in a 2x4. And now I am down to 1/4 the plants in 4x space.

I can go on for hours but the bottom line is for me this is the most efficient and effective setup. I prefer to trim a single 2 foot long fat bud over several small buds. I prefer having room to work. I like a 1:1 relationship between plant and light. I still scrog and get a full canopy.

This RDWC system with some tweaks will out perform most others in grow rates. The thought of 4 plants in a 5 gallon bucket makes me shutter. If everything else is good you will end up with a mangled mess of intertwined plants none of which will be as healthy as their potential.

But don’t sweat it just get some grows under your belt no matter what you have. You will find your sweet spot and your personal best grow style.
Yeah, that is so the best methodology. This person had three plants only in their small room probably 3x3 or 4x4. Cannabis just branches out so much, screen of green is definitely the way and four plants is definitely the limit for me.
 
J

justinsloan

63
18
Aqua has big ole fat fingers. He meant CO2 injection.
What is a CO2 injection? And what kind of water do you use for hydroponics? Where is a good place to buy water? It sounds like you go through alot of water.
 
Moe.Red

Moe.Red

5,044
313
L
Aqua has big ole fat fingers. He meant CO2 injection.
What is a CO2 injection? And what kind of water do you use for hydroponics? Where is a good place to buy water? It sounds like you go through alot of water.
CO2 is often a limiting factor with indoor growth rates.

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By adding supplemental CO2 from a bottle into a sealed room you can grow monsters. It’s like adding NOS on a car.
 
Moe.Red

Moe.Red

5,044
313
For water I use reverse osmosis and make it right at the res (I don’t carry shit man) but usually tap water is ok. What is your water source?
 
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