Newbie thinkin about a DWC Bucket Grow

[TokinBluntz]

I've been lurkin around in the threads for a little while and I came across this thread and I think I'm gonna give it a shot.

I got the gist of everything from reading through the thread but I still have a few questions, not to mention I'm trying to stay on a Budget.

Q-What light would be good for, let's say, a 2-3*3ft closet?
Could I use a 250w MH light from Home Depot for Veg and a 250-400w HPS for flowering?

Q-What would be the best way to cover, completely hide, the smell?
I've seen a couple threads about the Carbon Air Filters, tell me more.

Q-If I'm starting from a seed, how long do I keep it in the soil until I transplant it to my bucket?

Q-What should the moisture or PH be in the soil?

Sorry for all the newb questions but I'm just gettin my feet wet and don't want to screw it up. Thanks!

 

[sedate]

Um. Wow.

I've seen a couple threads about the Carbon Air Filters, tell me more.

Peepz can't really write an entire grow book for you - and if you are asking questions like these a DWC bucket isn't really the place for you to start -

stay on a budget

You want to "stay on a budget" - but you'll need a pH meter and a TDS meter to run in DWC - figure at least $250 for those meters - as well as at least $75-ish worth of nutes if you only buy little quarts. You'll also need an RO filter (and a place to install it) or you'll spend like $150 on distilled water before you finish your grow.

If I'm starting from a seed, how long do I keep it in the soil until I transplant it to my bucket?

You don't put soil plants into DWC buckets. You put a rooted out rockwool clone.

What light would be good for, let's say, a 2-3*3ft closet?
Could I use a 250w MH light from Home Depot for Veg and a 250-400w HPS for flowering?

I don't know why you would buy an item like that from Home Depot.

Q-What should the moisture or PH be in the soil?

Oh boy.

Again - you are pretty hazy on some pretty basic information.

You need to spend some more time reading grow journals and start - and complete - a successful soil grow before you jump into hydrobuckets.

 

[K11NG]

Yeah sounds like you need to do a good amount of more research or else your gonna fail. Trust me I know your probably gun hoe but you deff need to put more time into learning before hands on

 

[kicker]

You really need to stepup and learn the right stuff, follow along with me in my grow.
Click the link in my sig to follow along, in order to grow you need to have some spending money. I just spent over $1000.

 

[TokinBluntz]

What I meant buy staying on a budget was just that I'm not growing a ton of plants and I'm not going to spend thousands of dollars on lights, ventalation etc.

I'm trying one plant in a small closet space so I'm not understanding why a single 400w Metal Halide wouldn't work for Veg and a 400w HPS for Flowering, people use them all the time.

I know I need a ph tester and I'm not using a filter, buying water and nutes isn't a big deal.


I need some more input on the soil thing.
Why couldn't I put a germinated seed into a Rockwool, let it grow about 6-8 inches and then rinse the soil off with ph'd water and then transplant?
I don't understand why it has to be a clone. You put the clones, in rockwool, in the soil and once they have established a good root system you transplant them so why can't you do this with a seed?

Just tryin to understand everything. I don't have much time to research so that's why I'm asking questions.

 

[EastCoastGrow]

go to my thread im a n00b but i know what you want because i have it all, look at my one thread. tell me how right i am later:cool0041:

you use rockwoll, put seed in wet paper town and then in plastic bag, put in drawer let sit in dark for 3 days then put root down into rock wool. get t5 flour cents to flower later.

rockwool*

oopppsss didnt see the bottom of your post, you can use seeds in rockwool and do exactly what your saying just get hydrorten balls aka heated up clay balls then put rockwool with seed in the middle of that.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Buy coir,look at the chow grows. While you are doing this read a lot more. Very few who use dwc their first grow get to smoke anything to talk about. JK

 

[Tokenblack]

For the size of the closet you are growing in you should ALWAYS use a 600W HPS for flowering, but the kicker is for about 162 bucks you can find complete setups that come with 600W HPS AND Metal Halide bulbs, the reflector and the ballast....

Therefore, after you have your DWC setup in your closet, you can keep your vegetative growth going with all the bang for your buck (at 140lumens) and then when your ready to flip your girls over to flowering all you gotta do is change the bulb (remember to change it with a kleenex or papertowel because the oils in your hand will easily bust the bulb as soon as it heats up).

In response to your seed growing:
1.First place your seeds in distilled water in a clean bowl.
2.Cover the bowl with a papertowel and then place the bowl in a dark place.
3.After about 24-36 hours (in complete darkness), check the seeds.

**All seeds that have sunk to the bottom of the bowl and have slightly cracked are ready for germanation.
**The seeds that are still floating (just toss them, they dont have enough of the essential acids and oils to make the long run in beginning their growth.

Next, in either a distilled water, pure water from reverse osmosis at a pH of 5.3-5.5, or (what I do!!) is to soak your rockwool fiber in "Dutchmaster Nutrients" "A.P.S"-its a ready made "mother's milk-primordial ooze" for beginning sprouts for strong growth.

**After you have your soaked rockwool fiber blocks, take a Chopstick and make a round hole in the center of where you will be putting your seed in.
(((The rule of thumb))) The depth at which you place your seeds in rockwool fiber is twice as deep as the width of the seed!! NO MORE, NO LESS!
**Lightly close the holes in which your seeds have been planted and put them in a germination tent if you have one. (Or just take a shallow but wide rubbermaid/tupperware bin) and place it upside down. This way the lid is what you place your rockwool blocks on and cover them over with the bin itself.
**Ensure you have place JUST A FEW holes in the bin for CO2 movement, but remember that you need seedlings (and clones) to be in 95%-100% humidity for initial growth and root production.

*With your pH balance for general watering you want it to be between 5.5-6.5. (But we all know that 6.3 is the BEST for the water within your growth system, but if you dont hit this number exactly DONT worry about it and dont try to fix it with pH up or pH down, just get in the area of the measurements...everything will be a breeze after that.

In getting your nutrient mixes down, look at each of the sites, many of them will have the amount that you need to add per week based off of the total amount of gallon system your using, so that is the easy part.

The hard part is remembering to constantly top off your system with the same level of pH balanced water (or whatever water you decide to use). The reason behind it is because as the plants suck up the water, the nutrients (at least some of them are left behind) so your pH balances will rise because the concentration levels will begin to become to acidic.

*The solution-get yourself a topping off reservoir that is as close to the total amount of gallons contained in your system with a float-valve so you dont need to constantly check your system.

For your smells, you could either get yourself a grow tent that is selfcontained and keeps the smell down pretty good, or you can "ziplock" your closet with a ventilation fan connected to ventilation hoses leading to a carbon filter for your exhaust. For your intake you just need a filter that will keep out dust and bugs etc...

Hope this gets ya started in away....

You got alot of reading ahead of yourself like understanding diseases and growing altogether, here's a list to get you started.

The Cannabis Grow Bible-By Greg Green
The Cannabis Breeders Bible-By Greg Green
The Marijuana Garden Saver-By J.C. Stitch
Green Weed-By Dr. Seymour Kindbud
Marijuana New School: Indoor Cultivation-By Jeff Mowta
Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Growers Handbook

...Hope my info give you a little more confidence in getting started farmin some green, if you need anymore info, dont be scared to ask, ill do the best i can to pass on my info bro....

Keep growin!!

"TokenBlack"

 

[EastCoastGrow]

Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Growers Handbook

the best

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Growers Handbook

the best

One of the worst authors,puts out a lot of myths

 

[Jalisco Kid]

For the size of the closet you are growing in you should ALWAYS use a 600W HPS for flowering, but the kicker is for about 162 bucks you can find complete setups that come with 600W HPS AND Metal Halide bulbs, the reflector and the ballast....

Therefore, after you have your DWC setup in your closet, you can keep your vegetative growth going with all the bang for your buck (at 140lumens) and then when your ready to flip your girls over to flowering all you gotta do is change the bulb (remember to change it with a kleenex or papertowel because the oils in your hand will easily bust the bulb as soon as it heats up).

In response to your seed growing:
1.First place your seeds in distilled water in a clean bowl.
2.Cover the bowl with a papertowel and then place the bowl in a dark place.
3.After about 24-36 hours (in complete darkness), check the seeds.

**All seeds that have sunk to the bottom of the bowl and have slightly cracked are ready for germanation.
**The seeds that are still floating (just toss them, they dont have enough of the essential acids and oils to make the long run in beginning their growth.

Next, in either a distilled water, pure water from reverse osmosis at a pH of 5.3-5.5, or (what I do!!) is to soak your rockwool fiber in "Dutchmaster Nutrients" "A.P.S"-its a ready made "mother's milk-primordial ooze" for beginning sprouts for strong growth.

**After you have your soaked rockwool fiber blocks, take a Chopstick and make a round hole in the center of where you will be putting your seed in.
(((The rule of thumb))) The depth at which you place your seeds in rockwool fiber is twice as deep as the width of the seed!! NO MORE, NO LESS!
**Lightly close the holes in which your seeds have been planted and put them in a germination tent if you have one. (Or just take a shallow but wide rubbermaid/tupperware bin) and place it upside down. This way the lid is what you place your rockwool blocks on and cover them over with the bin itself.
**Ensure you have place JUST A FEW holes in the bin for CO2 movement, but remember that you need seedlings (and clones) to be in 95%-100% humidity for initial growth and root production.

*With your pH balance for general watering you want it to be between 5.5-6.5. (But we all know that 6.3 is the BEST for the water within your growth system, but if you dont hit this number exactly DONT worry about it and dont try to fix it with pH up or pH down, just get in the area of the measurements...everything will be a breeze after that.

In getting your nutrient mixes down, look at each of the sites, many of them will have the amount that you need to add per week based off of the total amount of gallon system your using, so that is the easy part.

The hard part is remembering to constantly top off your system with the same level of pH balanced water (or whatever water you decide to use). The reason behind it is because as the plants suck up the water, the nutrients (at least some of them are left behind) so your pH balances will rise because the concentration levels will begin to become to acidic.

*The solution-get yourself a topping off reservoir that is as close to the total amount of gallons contained in your system with a float-valve so you dont need to constantly check your system.

For your smells, you could either get yourself a grow tent that is selfcontained and keeps the smell down pretty good, or you can "ziplock" your closet with a ventilation fan connected to ventilation hoses leading to a carbon filter for your exhaust. For your intake you just need a filter that will keep out dust and bugs etc...

Hope this gets ya started in away....

You got alot of reading ahead of yourself like understanding diseases and growing altogether, here's a list to get you started.

The Cannabis Grow Bible-By Greg Green
The Cannabis Breeders Bible-By Greg Green
The Marijuana Garden Saver-By J.C. Stitch
Green Weed-By Dr. Seymour Kindbud
Marijuana New School: Indoor Cultivation-By Jeff Mowta
Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Growers Handbook

...Hope my info give you a little more confidence in getting started farmin some green, if you need anymore info, dont be scared to ask, ill do the best i can to pass on my info bro....

Keep growin!!

"TokenBlack"

Keep your bulbs clean, but oil from your hands will not do shit.They are hid not halogen. If you followed a manufacturer's recommendation for nutes in dwc you will definitely have crap for smoke.

Some seeds shells are do hard you need to scrap them before they will absorb enough water to sink. JK

 

[EastCoastGrow]

just curious what myths are in the book? if anything its overwhelming with stats aand goes way to in depth with lighting and all that stuff, just seems weird that such an established grower would put lies in a book they use at Oaksterdam University

 

[ttystikk]

Buy coir,look at the chow grows. While you are doing this read a lot more. Very few who use dwc their first grow get to smoke anything to talk about. JK

LOL Jalisco Kid, as ever if anything, you've understated the case! I'm not a noob grower, and I managed to kill a couple stages before figuring things out!

Basics, like do not go cheap or skip pH tester, TDS tester, thermometer. You will kill your plants in DWC if you can't maintain total control over nutrient strength, pH AND temps, so get a chiller. Do yourself a favor and do NOT run nute water thru said chiller, do a separate circuit, or you'll be wondering why it doesn't work in a coupl of weeks- while inside, your chiller's water passages will be clogged with nutrient salts!

Learn thine enemies, and be prepared; spider mites and powdery mildew above the waterline, and pythium below. Be prepared and ready for these, or they'll eat your girls before you get the chance.

 

[EastCoastGrow]

my first time growing and im using a dwc bucket with basic ph testing kit with the little vile and green tester and it is growing like a monster and ive had no problems

 

[iscrog4food]

Buy coir,look at the chow grows. While you are doing this read a lot more. Very few who use dwc their first grow get to smoke anything to talk about. JK

THIS! I would highly advise starting in something like COCO that is a bit forgiving. RDWC is also an acronym for "Recurring Death WIthout cause". Try a drain to waste chow mix or coco perlite run to get the feel for it. That will give you a chance to dial in your temps and humidity and do some more research. Also as JK mentioned you will be much more likely in coco to produce something you will be proud of.

 

[datDANK]

the very first entry level for any young grower is

A BAG OF FOX FARM
A BOTTLE OF THEIR VEG
AND THEIR TIGER BLOOM

HAND WATER


BOOM... DANK SHIT 1ST RUN... ograskal style

 

[Jalisco Kid]

my first time growing and im using a dwc bucket with basic ph testing kit with the little vile and green tester and it is growing like a monster and ive had no problems

I would not put myths in the lie catagory. Ed did just what jorge did and that was go around and talk with growers. repeated what they said. Everyone knows I am a hack grower but 2 famous growers(you guys should pm me sometime) paid me 10 grand to arrive at an airport to talk with them.Since they were considered the best, it shocked me what they knew. People are not what some people perceive.

I have a saying that everyone is a killer grower till shit hits the fan. Do not get too proud because plants have a way too humble your ass. JK

 

[Jalisco Kid]

LOL Jalisco Kid, as ever if anything, you've understated the case! I'm not a noob grower, and I managed to kill a couple stages before figuring things out!

Basics, like do not go cheap or skip pH tester, TDS tester, thermometer. You will kill your plants in DWC if you can't maintain total control over nutrient strength, pH AND temps, so get a chiller. Do yourself a favor and do NOT run nute water thru said chiller, do a separate circuit, or you'll be wondering why it doesn't work in a coupl of weeks- while inside, your chiller's water passages will be clogged with nutrient salts!

Learn thine enemies, and be prepared; spider mites and powdery mildew above the waterline, and pythium below. Be prepared and ready for these, or they'll eat your girls before you get the chance.

do NOT run nute water thru said chiller, do a separate circuit, or you'll be wondering why it doesn't work in a coupl of weeks- while inside, your chiller's water passages will be clogged with nutrient salts!

I have been running nutes thru these chillers for over 4 years. SS coils are nice but lower heat transfer. JK

 

[alligator]

Listen to others and get a couple of dirt or coco grows under your belt before going to dwc. Don't be so enchanted by the big yields of dwc. You can get similar numbers from dirt & coco, just top/supercrop and give them an extra week or 3 of veg time.
From reading your posts- you really need to do alot more reading & research. If you don't have time to do that, don't bother growing, especially hydro. I don't think you know what your getting your self into. Take the good advice from those who know what they're talking about and go with dirt or coco. Cause the ONLY thing 'budget' about dwc is the buckets. Once heat rears it's ugly head, 'budget' goes out the window and you'll break the bank on inline fans, chillers, ac, dehui's, nutes, additives, pest control, meters, etc. Just get some 3gal smart pots, coco and a 250w grow light and start from there. You'll be glad you did.