First Hydro Grow - Sun System 8, Feliz 200w, DWC & Fogger

[fumarmota]

Hello All. I have only grown once before and that was with an old school PhotoTron back in '90-91. After doing some reading and YouTubing I have decided to try my first grow in almost 20 years using a home made stealth grow box, a 200 watt Fluorescent Grow Lamp, the DWC method and a Fogger. The following is my shopping list:

Lighting:

$99.99 Sun System 8 Fluorescent Grow Lamp Fixture

$9.95 Sun Lift Adjustable Hangers

$79.99 Feliz 200 Watt Compact Fluorescent Bulb 6500K (veg)
$79.99 Feliz 200 Watt Compact Fluorescent Bulb 2700K (flower)



Grow Box:

$39.95 Sterilite 2-Shelf Storage Cabinet from Walmart
- (25-3/4" W x 19" D x 35-3/4" H)

$18.00 2 x Jumbo Windshield Reflectors

$28.95 Bathroom Ceiling Exhaust Fan

$33.00 Cooltron Fan w/ Wall Plug

$7.00 Metallic Duct Tape

$10.00 2 x Appliance Timers (one for light, one for DWC fogger)


DWC Setup:

$5.00 Plastic Storage Container

$10.00 2 x Top Fin 5" Round Air Stones

$49.95 Exo Terra Fogger

$28.95 Tetra Whisper 60 Dual Air Pump

$5.95 Top Fin Silicon Airline Tubing

$6.95 4x 3" Net Pots and Hydroton




I will show the completed build in my next post. I could not find any posts anywhere that referenced the Feliz grow lights with the Sun System 8 reflector fixture so I just had to include it in this grow! We'll all see together whether it works well or not Wish me luck!

 

[fumarmota]

Q: What strain is it?
A: general bag seed

Q: Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages?
A: Not sure, hope others can help me determine this

Q: Is it in Veg or Flower stage?
A: Veg

Q: If in Veg... For how long?
A: Since Week of Thanksgiving 2009

Q: Indoor or outdoor?
A: Indoor

Q: Soil or Hydro?
A: 3" Net pots, Hydro DWC w/ Fogger

Q: Size of light?
A: Feliz 200 watt Flourescent

Q: Is it aircooled?
A: Lamp is not but cabinet is

Q: Temp of Room/cab?
A: 75-80f

Q: Humidity of Room/Cab?
A: Meter at top of cabinet shows 20% but I am using a fogger so maybe more at the roots and leaves

Q: RH of Room/cab?
A: Not sure

Q: PH of media or res?
A: Not sure

Q: Any Pests ?
A: None so far

Q: How often are you watering?
A: 24/7 DWC, fogger runs 4 times daily for 2 hour periods each time

Q: Type and strength of ferts used?
A: Botanicare CNS17 Grow (3-2-4) for veg and CNS17 Bloom (2-2-5) for flower, unless others suggest something better



So I am just using some typical bag seed of two varieties, so who knows what we will end up with. Hopefully after a look at the plants, some of the other experienced members can help me determine better what I have here.

As stated above I am using a DWC setup with a fogger. I started to use Botanicare's CNS17 Grow (15ml nuts - 4l water) early on but I noticed some burning (brown spots) on the leaves so I backed off and introduced clear water only. That seemed to have fixed the issue for now.


Botanicare CNS17 Grow (3-2-4) and Bloom (2-2-5)

I germinated my seeds the week before Thanksgiving and got the first two plants in the net pots the Sunday (11/22) before Turkey Day. I originally started my grow cabinet with a light setup using a power strip holding 2 x 24w 6500k CFL bulbs and a 27w 5000k bulb in the middle. After starting the seedlings I decided to move on to the Sun System 8 and the Feliz 200 watt bulb with adjustable hangers.

These pics were taken the Day after Thanksgiving (11/27)

I had 2 plants at this time in net pots but for some reason only took picks of one?!?

 

[fumarmota]

These pictures were taken on December 4th after adding the Sun System 8 & Feliz 200 watt 6500k (blue) CFL, This CFL is HUGE!!! I also decided to use a dremel tool to cut a large rectangular hole in the shelf on the bottom of the cabinet. Once the hole was cut I positioned a new larger clear bin (22 quarts I think) so that it was surface mounted to the shelf for the DWC setup. The new larger bin allowed me to put in a second air stone giving me much more oxygen to the roots. I also have added two more plants to the mix. So, plants #1 (left) and #2 (right) are the two front ones and are of the same strain. Plants #3 (left) and #4 (right) in the back are a second much stonier strain and were introduced to the cabinet on December 2. I am using a 24/0 light cycle right now.

I installed the CoolTron fan under the shelf behind the DWC water bin. I then cut two holes in the back corners on the shelf where the plants are to allow air flow from below. The temperature stays at a constant 75-78F degrees. The black cable that you see goes to the fogger in the DWC setup. All other cables and airlines are hidden under the shelf below. In one of the pics below I lifted the lid slightly so you could see some roots and a little fog. The fogger is on a timer that goes on 4 times daily for 2 hour periods each time.

Here are the pics:

Plant #2 (Front Right)

Plant #4 (Back Right)

 

[fumarmota]

Here is a quick pic taken on December 8 of plant #1's progress. In the other photos this one would be the front left. This picture would be 16 days from potting.

 

[fumarmota]

I took these pictures of plant #1 today. She is right at 3 inches tall at day 20. Getting pretty bushy too. I will most likely start a scrog with these plants based on the space I have. Does anyone disagree or have a better suggestion for getting the most volume from these plants in this space?

Plant #1 Taken 12/12/09 (20 days since potted)

 

[fumarmota]

Pictures of plant #2 today. She is right at 2.5 inches tall at day 20. Also getting very bushy. This one has the stalk from hell. It is so thick! The root system on this one is progressing quite nicely as well. Length on the stalk between nodes is is measured in millimeters. Looks to me like the leaves are getting a bit yellow though. Anyone else agree?

 

[gorillagrow]

Great looking set-up, looks like you got a plan, and are into executing it nicely! I'm in flower with my 2nd soil grow and am interested in going hydro I'll be in for the ride on this one, might pop of a few questions if you don't mind? First one being is the fogger being used in the cabinet for humidity, or for the roots in the reserve?

 

[fumarmota]

Picture of Plant #3 at 10 days on December 12th, 2009. This is about 1.25 inches tall. I ran out of hydroton so I had to use packing peanuts for this one

 

[fumarmota]

Plant #4 at 10 days on 12/12/09. About 1.5" tall. Seems to be a good strong plant so far.

 

[fumarmota]

Great looking set-up, looks like you got a plan, and are into executing it nicely! I'm in flower with my 2nd soil grow and am interested in going hydro I'll be in for the ride on this one, might pop of a few questions if you don't mind? First one being is the fogger being used in the cabinet for humidity, or for the roots in the reserve?

Thank you for your comments. The fogger is sitting in the reserve mainly for the roots but it is a fairly strong mist so it permeates through the hydrtron in the pots and gives good coverage of the leaves as well. I am hoping this is helping the humidity levels for the foliage.

 

[fumarmota]

Picture of all the plants on 12/12/09 front row, plants #1 (left) and #2 (right) are at 20 days since potting and are 3" and 2.5". Plants #3 (left) and #4 (right) are at 10 days and are 1.25" and 1.5".

 

[fumarmota]

Plant #1 Taken 12/16/09 @ 24 days. I just trimmed this up up a bit and topped it so it would fill out. So far it seems to be taking it pretty well. However the plants are still growing pretty slow....most likely due to all the trimming I am doing I just started the plants yesterday back on a nut mix of 15ml - 4l water. We will see how it goes.

 

[fumarmota]

Plant #2 on 12/16/09 @ 24 days. This one is getting real bushy after I trimmed off those top shade leaves.

 

[fumarmota]

Plant #3 on 12/16/09 @14 days.

 

[fumarmota]

Plant #4 on 12/16/09 @14 days.

 

[ultrasonic]

Not quite sure how I missed this one, but WOW
Looking nice - that growth looks very unique. young plants/plants in veg absolutely love that cfl light, don't they?

That stem's all like, "move: i've got things to do"

 

[Eagle1]

Killer set-up!

I'm in for this one!

 

[Grooster]

Hey there Fumarmota (love the name). I love your setup! I also dig the detail you are putting into your journal. Very good information and photographs. Keep up the good work. I am a new member of 420magazine and I am doing my first grow. I am trying to absorb as much info as I can from many journals and I will be adding your journal to this list.

Very pretty little plants.

 

[fumarmota]

Not quite sure how I missed this one, but WOW
Looking nice - that growth looks very unique. young plants/plants in veg absolutely love that cfl light, don't they?

That stem's all like, "move: i've got things to do"

Thanks for the props. When I used to grow in my old PhotoTron they told me over and over again to trim trim trim. I guess the theory is that for every trim you get two new growth areas, thereby producing massive volume. I had AWESOME results in the PhotoTron back in the day so I thought I would give it a try on this grow as well. So far the plants seem to be taking it well. It just really slows the vertical growth, but seems to make for some potent weed later from what I experienced in the phototron all those years ago.

 

[fumarmota]

Killer set-up!

I'm in for this one!

Thanks for following along on this journey of mine. Please feel free to make comments, ask questions or give advice.