Nirvana GDP - First time RDWC

BigBabu · Jan 18, 2022

Hello all! New to the community here. Just started my GDP seeds from Nirvana. Going to be dropping the best 4 into this Fallponic RDWC system from PA Hydroponics.

I'm running RODI water which I added 1tsp/gal clonex liquid nutrients to - we're running around 140ppm (500 scale) or 0.3 EC. Put about 5 gallons of 7.0 water in initially with an air stone and a water heater (my basement had the temps at 62F). "Charged" rockwool for about an hour - pH had come up to about 5.9 when I pulled them out and gave them each a good four or five shakes to get out excess water and hopefully add some aeration. Inside the dome is about 76F and 90% RH. I'm considering removing the dome to lower the humidity and allow for air exchange--don't want to drown them.

To prep the seeds I had them in a shot glass filled with RODI water for ~48hrs til I saw tap roots from all beans--then stuck them in the pre-charged cubes.

My only concern besides making sure I don't drown them is why is my water constantly rising? I get that pH will go up over a week or so while in the system and as long as it's within 5.5-6.5 to just chill out but it keeps going up and I keep bringing it back down. Last night 5.9 turned into 6.7 this morning. pH downed it again to 5.9 and then it shot up to 6.4 a bit later. Is this thing ever going to stabilize for the short-term?

For lighting, I'm running a Mars Hydro FC-6500 about 2 feet above at around 100-120 PPFD.

I welcome any help as this is a medical grow and not only a hobby so I need to be as successful as possible since this is more of an investment.

Moe.Red · Jan 19, 2022

Welcome to the farm.

Gary at PA Hydro is a good dude and sells good systems. I built my own but bought lots of parts from him and I have been extremely satisfied with the results. One thing I will caution you on is that this system responds quickly to small inputs, it is easy to make a mess over-correcting, so small changes more often when dialing things in will be better in the long run, trust me.

BigBabu said:
My only concern besides making sure I don't drown them is why is my water constantly rising? I get that pH will go up over a week or so while in the system and as long as it's within 5.5-6.5 to just chill out but it keeps going up and I keep bringing it back down. Last night 5.9 turned into 6.7 this morning. pH downed it again to 5.9 and then it shot up to 6.4 a bit later. Is this thing ever going to stabilize for the short-term?

I'm a bit confused here. I am not sure if you are saying that the water level keeps rising, or the PH keeps rising. Or both? You mention drowning them, but I think you don't have them in the system yet and are just trying to stabilize for the transition from seedling to veg, right?

If I am reading you right, and you have water running thru the fallponics system with no plants, and the PH rises significantly every day - we have a problem. Happy to help you figure it out, but can you tell me if I am understanding you correctly?

What exactly is in the water in the RDWC right now? Or is all of this happening in the 10x20 tray?

BigBabu · Jan 19, 2022

Moe.Red said:
Welcome to the farm.

Gary at PA Hydro is a good dude and sells good systems. I built my own but bought lots of parts from him and I have been extremely satisfied with the results. One thing I will caution you on is that this system responds quickly to small inputs, it is easy to make a mess over-correcting, so small changes more often when dialing things in will be better in the long run, trust me.

I'm a bit confused here. I am not sure if you are saying that the water level keeps rising, or the PH keeps rising. Or both? You mention drowning them, but I think you don't have them in the system yet and are just trying to stabilize for the transition from seedling to veg, right?

If I am reading you right, and you have water running thru the fallponics system with no plants, and the PH rises significantly every day - we have a problem. Happy to help you figure it out, but can you tell me if I am understanding you correctly?

What exactly is in the water in the RDWC right now? Or is all of this happening in the 10x20 tray?

Sorry for the confusion! The pH in my 5 gallon bucket kept rising and I had to keep bringing it back down. I do suspect that this is because I mixed it up first then added a water heater to try and get it up to 68F from the 63F it was originally at. I don't have anything in the system yet--still need to leak test.

I was worried that I oversaturated the rockwool cubes with water. Everything is in the tray right now. I removed the dome and got rid of the excess water in order to encourage more oxygen. I believe tent is 72F and 68% RH.

This past time I went to check on them, they felt a bit dry so added a bit more water to the tray--enough just to fill the ridges of the tray but not go above so the cubes aren't sitting directly in it.

BigBabu · Jan 23, 2022

I got 4 sprouts so far! PPFD is between 100-120. Trying to keep everything moist without it being dripping wet so there's enough water and oxygen.

BigBabu · Jan 24, 2022

Temp: 73F
RH: 65%
PPFD: 200-210 (increased it a bit today from 150-160)

They looked like they are stretching a bit so I bumped up the intensity a little

So far I have four doing pretty well, one on its way out, and one about to break out of the surface
Been using the same low nutrient (180ppm @ .500) solution to water and keep everything saturated.

BigBabu · Jan 26, 2022

Temp: 73F
RH: 49%
PPFD: 200-210 (will lower the light a bit more soon to increase intensity - currently ~24in)
VPD: 1.44kPa

I've been alternating between plain RODI water and the light nutrient mix (currently 190ppm @ .500 in my mixing bucket)

SweetLeafGrow · Jan 27, 2022

Following along. I just bought the same system but for the 3x3 tent. I have never grown hydro so hope to learn from your experience. Good luck with your medicine!

BigBabu · Jan 27, 2022

SweetLeafGrow said:
Following along. I just bought the same system but for the 3x3 tent. I have never grown hydro so hope to learn from your experience. Good luck with your medicine!

Thanks - appreciate it! Definitely feels like diving into the deep end with this kind of setup but I really want to learn and get proficient

Have you decided on what cultivar you want to grow?

BorealCuring · Jan 27, 2022

You didn't answer @Moe.Red

Did you fix the PH swing?

BigBabu · Jan 27, 2022

BorealCuring said:
You didn't answer @Moe.Red

Did you fix the PH swing?

Oh damn - thought I did *smacks head*

The pH still swings up. The guy at the local hydro store said it's because the GH pH up/down isn't "strong enough". He recommended Advanced Nutrients pH down. I'm skeptical of AN based on what I've personally seen others say but wanted to give it a try to see what all the hype is about. Also picked up some PowerSi online to start later in the regimen.

I think part of my issue is trying to keep the 5 gallons at 68F. I have an aquarium heater in the bucket - not sure how much a role that will play especially since the basement is very cold and everything is on cold concrete floor. Water doesn't get above 62F even with all this going.

BigBabu · Jan 27, 2022

Does anyone recommend starting with something other than GH Flora Trio and CaliMagic? I was thinking to start simple first before going for something fancy like Advanced Nutrients or Athena.

I don't want to buy into marketing gimmicks like "pH perfect technology" - at the same time, I'd switch if people can legitimately vouch for these products. Apologies if I come off uninformed, just haven't gotten around to doing much research.

Moe.Red · Jan 27, 2022

BigBabu said:
Does anyone recommend starting with something other than GH Flora Trio and CaliMagic? I was thinking to start simple first before going for something fancy like Advanced Nutrients or Athena.

I don't want to buy into marketing gimmicks like "pH perfect technology" - at the same time, I'd switch if people can legitimately vouch for these products. Apologies if I come off uninformed, just haven't gotten around to doing much research.

No reason. GH is chelated properly and has helped me grow many many trees with great success.

PH up and down too weak? Nah.

People selling bottles of stuff will always try to sell you more bottles of stuff.

Moe.Red · Jan 27, 2022

BigBabu said:
Oh damn - thought I did *smacks head*

The pH still swings up. The guy at the local hydro store said it's because the GH pH up/down isn't "strong enough". He recommended Advanced Nutrients pH down. I'm skeptical of AN based on what I've personally seen others say but wanted to give it a try to see what all the hype is about. Also picked up some PowerSi online to start later in the regimen.

I think part of my issue is trying to keep the 5 gallons at 68F. I have an aquarium heater in the bucket - not sure how much a role that will play especially since the basement is very cold and everything is on cold concrete floor. Water doesn't get above 62F even with all this going.

I don't recall if you are running sterile, but if not 62 is pretty cold to develop colonies in the time frames we need them. 72 is the sweet spot for bacteria and O2 sats.

SweetLeafGrow · Jan 27, 2022

BigBabu said:
Thanks - appreciate it! Definitely feels like diving into the deep end with this kind of setup but I really want to learn and get proficient

Have you decided on what cultivar you want to grow?

Indeed, diving into the deep end is how we roll

I have not decided yet what strain I will try once I get the hydro all set up and running. I am currently growing in soil some strains from Ethos, who so far I really like, and I have some seeds from Ethos still, However, I have recently learned how terpenes affect the medicine and so I am doing the research to find some strains that are high in some anticancer terpenes I am looking for, caryophyllene, limonene, and humulene. I want high THC as well but the terpenes are almost as important from what I am learning and experiencing. I have some Ethos seeds of a strain called Lemon Berry Candy OG and I am considering these. Not sure what the terpene profile for this strain might look like but generally, what I understand is that any strain that smells lemony will have high levels of limonene. Eventually, I would like to find 4 or 5 different strains with various anticancer qualities to make medicine that produces what they call the "entourage effect" by combining strains with varying medicinal qualities.

Looking forward to your GDP grow and here's to some excellent medicine!

smokedareefer · Jan 27, 2022

BigBabu said:
Does anyone recommend starting with something other than GH Flora Trio and CaliMagic? I was thinking to start simple first before going for something fancy like Advanced Nutrients or Athena.

I don't want to buy into marketing gimmicks like "pH perfect technology" - at the same time, I'd switch if people can legitimately vouch for these products. Apologies if I come off uninformed, just haven't gotten around to doing much research.

I've been running nothing but gh 3part and calmag for 8 years. I too started my rdwc journey thinking "keep it simple", I've mastered the simple part.

HippiHemuli · Jan 27, 2022

BigBabu said:
Does anyone recommend starting with something other than GH Flora Trio and CaliMagic? I was thinking to start simple first before going for something fancy like Advanced Nutrients or Athena.

I don't want to buy into marketing gimmicks like "pH perfect technology" - at the same time, I'd switch if people can legitimately vouch for these products. Apologies if I come off uninformed, just haven't gotten around to doing much research.

Canna Aqua line working good in NFT systems i think DWC too. i havent need use calmag because its in base nutrients.

Oldmustang · Jan 27, 2022

I've got the same 4 bucket PA Hydroponics system and I think you're over thinking things. I grew 10+ years before I jumped into RDWC
and shit it's easy. I'm using the GH 3 part, tap water at about 600 ppm, just let is set a day or 2 to dechlorinate. Even with plants in buckets there's
plenty of time to adjust the ph, it usually takes me a day or two to get it down 5.6-5.8 . Always use hydroguard and got nice white roots. It's just a weed,
let it grow but don't kill it with too much attention.

brotherfrombelgium · Jan 27, 2022

Oldmustang said:
I've got the same 4 bucket PA Hydroponics system and I think you're over thinking things. I grew 10+ years before I jumped into RDWC
and shit it's easy. I'm using the GH 3 part, tap water at about 600 ppm, just let is set a day or 2 to dechlorinate. Even with plants in buckets there's
plenty of time to adjust the ph, it usually takes me a day or two to get it down 5.6-5.8 . Always use hydroguard and got nice white roots. It's just a weed,
let it grow but don't kill it with too much attention.

Agreed, I hardly have to do anything to mine it just goes full steam ahead whilst Ph and ppm remain steady and consistent.

Not sure if the OP mentioned whether he/she has a top off tank, but a top off tank will change your world.

BigBabu · Jan 28, 2022

Moe.Red said:
I don't recall if you are running sterile, but if not 62 is pretty cold to develop colonies in the time frames we need them. 72 is the sweet spot for bacteria and O2 sats.

Not running anything at the minute just yet but I was going to run with hydroguard as my beneficial bacteria. Hoping once I get going, turning the light up will heat the tent enough to get water temps up. At 15% dimmer with no extractor fan, the ambient temp tops out at ~74F. Outside the tent is where my reservoir is and it's in the low 60's.

BigBabu · Jan 28, 2022

brotherfrombelgium said:
Agreed, I hardly have to do anything to mine it just goes full steam ahead whilst Ph and ppm remain steady and consistent.

Not sure if the OP mentioned whether he/she has a top off tank, but a top off tank will change your world.

I don't have a top-off res. I'm open to it in the future but the setup is currently taking up a lot of my basement.

Nirvana GDP - First time RDWC

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