5 Gallon DWC - 1st Attempt

[LEDBud]

I like your DWC hydrostone plan/ grow , cool.

I think its a great idea , it will allow the nutrient reserve to be smaller plus the stone will hold moisture / nutrients for the roots on the drain cycle.


Subbed to watch


I want to try buckets 3/4 full of the hydro stone ..

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(I use the dollar store camping dish wash pans under my pots as trip trays)

 

[Rifleman]

Being a dwc guy myself, I think I'll tag along if you don't mind.

 

[Lazarus13]

Riflemans here, Faint. You're golden now. lol

 

[Rifleman]

Riflemans here, Faint. You're golden now. lol

You're going to embarrass me Lazarus. In spite of any success I've achieved, I'm still luckier than I am good.

 

[OlderGrower]

You're going to embarrass me Lazarus. In spite of any success I've achieved, I'm still luckier than I am good.

Then you are one VERY LUCKY SOB cuz you are very good at growing DWC

 

[Lazarus13]

Lucky and modest. Good combo.

 

[Faint05]

Hey Rifleman! LAZ! LEDBud! Hope you all had a lovely weekend. I've been reading all of the DWC journals I can so please chime in whenever you can. I haven't had to bug my buddy at all for advise since joining this forum, a lot of the questions can be answered in someones journal. Laz I'm glad Rifleman is here I have gotten the opportunity to read some of his posts.

My seedlings are coming along. Since I put the lights closer I noticed the stems weren't "stretching" as much.
I returned the hot air blowing humidifier and ordered a mini cool mist humidifier that you can screw a bottle water on. Should be here Wednesday.

Since removing the hot air humidifier. Tent temp is still 70-75. Humidity dropped mid to lower 60's

My lovely wife has been such a trooper. I found some decoration totes and decided to use those. I didn't get in trouble =) But this morning she found out I used the icepacks we use for the lunch boxes to cool the tote water. Yes I got yelled at, So I have two 2 liters being frozen while I'm at work.

Happy Monday folks! and to all the retired members take it easy!

 

[Faint05]

 

[Rifleman]

Greetings Faint, I'm one of those retired members you speak of. It's great too, everyone should try it. I notice you state your room temp is mid 70s, how warm are your buckets? Mine run around 70-72 all the time. It used to worry me, and honestly it is on the edge of what is safe, but I keep my air pump running on high and I dose heavily with beneficials such as Hydroguard or Sensyime....Everytime water is added, it is treated prior to going in. YMMV but it is working for me.

Speaking of adding water please do not let your reservoir drain down to 10% level like someone stated previous. If you have any amount of nutrients they will become so concentrated as to harm your plant. Ahhhh, nutrients. What to say. If you like dwc and want to stay with it I can't recommend pH buffered nutrients highly enough. Without them you must check pH and adjust. It is a steep hill to climb the first time. The plant grows and grows and pH rises and rises, then one day it stops rising and drops...unexpectedly. WTH, so you go get pH up (didn't have any on hand my first time). That is about the time your First pH pen is going to die on you...notice I said, first. Seriously whether it's Advanced Nutrients or some other, pH buffered nutrients will make your life so much easier.

I'll quit rambling now and sit back over in the corner with my ham biscuit. The morning Bubble Kush hit has got my gut thinking my throat has been slit.

 

[Vestrimatrik]

Don't know how much input I can give what with my inexperience and all but I'll definitely watch!

 

[Faint05]

Rifleman your the second person who suggested PH buff nutes. I haven't opened any of my fox farm nutes, I'm sure I could sale them to someone. Is this what you fellas suggest for dwc?

To answer your question my reservoir temp was at 73! after the totes and frozen water bottles I'm down to 68 degrees. Maybe I'll add a couple more bottles during veg. Somewhere down the line recirculating and a little further water cooler.

Does anybody use epsom salt in their reservoir? Forgive me if I have missed this on serveral other journals. But today I heard it was a great source of magnesium between feeds.

First water change today. I should have rinsed out the clay pebbles, a lot of that resedue in the water! I had a new bucket on the side so I decided to use that one while I clean out the other. After tonights update photo, I'll wait untill the weekend to post another photo so we can see some real growth. I get in a lovely state of mind after work and stare at them too much, they still looked like they just popped out the seed to me!

 

[Faint05]

Seedling 1

Seedling 2

 

[Faint05]

Finished reading some more journals think I answered my own question just need a little insight? To keep myself out of fluctuating PH levels I should purchase these nutes?

Amazon: Advanced Nutrients Hobbyist Bundle - 25mL : Soil And Soil Amendments

 

[Lazarus13]

I use AN ph perfect trio and some of the additives(ignitor, big bud, overdrive, rhino, voodoo) and my fluctuations stay between 5.8 and 6.1 so far. I switched from GH 3 weeks ago and so far im very happy with the switch.

 

[Rifleman]

AN pH Perfect mgb is my choice. I don't even check pH and haven't in months.

 

[LEDBud]

Do you change the reserve once a week as AN suggests ?

AN pH Perfect mgb is my choice. I don't even check pH and haven't in months.

 

[Rifleman]

Do you change the reserve once a week as AN suggests ?

I do in my five gallon buckets but haven't in the giant reservoir since the flip about 30 days ago.

 

[Lazarus13]

Hey Faint, didnt see your name in the thread for the free seeds comp by Gorilla Seeds. I won my first "real" seeds from them my first week being a member here so you should definitely check it out. Who doesnt like free? And their selection and stealth is great. All 3 times ive gotten seeds from them it has taken less than 2 weeks.

 

[Faint05]

Hey Laz thanks for the heads UP! I will get on that Gorilla Seeds asap. Also thanks for the feedback on the nutes gentlemen. So I got my PPM meter in the mail and my cool mist humidifier. Still deciding if I want to go with the Mars II or Mars reflector series! Have to make my decision soon before I see roots coming out of the bottom of the netpot. I'm telling you the journal is the best way to monitor progress. I've been feeling like she is at a standstill. But from the last photo I posted there is def some progress.

Not going to go crazy posting pics of my seedlings LOL, I will def post a picture tomorrow. I'm also thinking about trying EPSOM salt instead of Cal Mag. The more I research on the benefits of using Epsom salt to balance between feedings, the more I'm tempted to trying.

 

[Lazarus13]

If you go led you will definitely need Ca but epsom is good stuff. I use it as a Mg boost during flower and the girls seem to really love it. Cant wait to see what lights you pick. I have old style mars 300s and i love em but i would definitely love to upgrade when $ permits. Looking forward to seeing your update pics bro.