First Solo Grow - DWC Kosher Kush

[Xlr8]

Agree, don't give up on them. You can fix 'em. I'd not advise defoliating anything until they are healthy and perky again. Defoliation is a technique for healthy plants only - don't further weaken them right now.

You look like you are on a great track and have taken the right steps. Zone would be good now, and help get them fully up to speed again. Exercise patience, and they'll snap back for you. You are doing the right things, asking the right questions and getting a great education for the future from the school of hard-knocks (whether you wanted it is another story!).

Consider this - perhaps lower the water level just a little. The roots grew abundantly for you and are filling the bottom of the netpot, and the splashing water may be getting trapped and stagnant in the netpots somewhat. What if you lowered the water level a half inch to an inch? They don't need much, and they'll find reach down for it as needed. I had a similar root situation to yours once in DWC, and lowering the nutrient level slightly seemed to help some. Food for thought!

Great job so far, despite and because of the issues and how you've addressed them. You'll get this beaten.

 

[AlphaPrime]

Sorry for not having posted an update for such a long time !

The plants are (i think at least!) looking great !

However, due to the previously mentioned concerns regarding my store bought hydro system I decided to bin it and built my own !

It is very similar to BassMan's 4 plant setup but I had to make some size adjustments for my slightly smaller tent!

Anyway - heres a teaser before i post a photo filled update in a couple of hours !

Edit to add

One of my air pumps got water inside of it and burnt out - i cant buy another one for 8 hours.... Will they be ok as long as i switch between the 4 pots every couple hours ? (I can only have 2 airstones running at the mom.....)

 

[oldman60]

Looks like you used those grey electrical pvc fittings on your buckets. Are they holding ok on those round buckets?
Did you use some sort of gasket or glue them in?

 

[CronicHempHog]

make sure to keep your pumps above water level in case it shuts down the water wont back up on it
or at least make a longer length of hose so you can put it up at least a foot over the water lvl so the water doesnt back into the pump if it accidentally shuts off for some reason

 

[AlphaPrime]

Looks like you used those grey electrical pvc fittings on your buckets. Are they holding ok on those round buckets?
Did you use some sort of gasket or glue them in?

Hi Oldman,

I used 1.5inch tank connectors / bulkhead fittings. The fit on the round buckets is -knock on wood- water tight !

The wet side of the fitting has a screw on connctor applying pressure to seal it with the outer half. On the inside i used aquarium grade silicone. On the outside i applied "pvc glue" which bonded the two outer surfaces. Being a bit OCD, I then also applied silicone on top of this and let everything cure for 12 hours. Then washed the buckets thoroughly before hooking up my system!

The only leak that made itself apparent was in the T section and the 90 degree elbows ! I purchased the compression type (twist/screw to close) which, in hindsight, was a bit of a mistake! The rubber seals were a bit flimsy and prone to dislodge when tightening.... I returned them to the hardware store and got the non compression type fittings. I managed to make the T section leak proof by messing aroudn with it a bit - i didnt want to re frabricate my 1.5inch --> Hose pipe fitting as it would have meant leaving my plants roots exposed for 6 hours whilst parts cured....

But all in all im much happier with this new system. I guess it is vaguely modelled on an udnercurrent type setup, I have no idea if it actually achieves this but to be honest I was mroe concerned with the recirc potential. I now have a 750L/hour pump hooked up and seeing i only use around 75L total it recircs my system 10x per hour.

The 1.5 inch tubing is much better at providing proper levelling and kick ass circulation, I wish i had built my own system from the get go as it was actually quite fun and felt like an accomplishment once everythign was put together ! Havign said that I am lucky that it fit into my tent - 1 inch more and it wouldnt have fit lol ! Anyway will post a few more pics in a moment !

 

[AlphaPrime]

make sure to keep your pumps above water level in case it shuts down the water wont back up on it
or at least make a longer length of hose so you can put it up at least a foot over the water lvl so the water doesnt back into the pump if it accidentally shuts off for some reason

Thanks for looking out for me dude ! Appreciate it !

I havent got the pump above water level, but the pumnp connects straiht to my chiller which sits several inches above water level outside of my grow tent! I think (just smoked a bowl lol!) that either way I should be good even if the pump stops working - the system is 100% sealed and the only thing I would lose if the pump woud die on me would be several hours of circulation / chiller operation.

Ive got a spare identical pump and a slightly less potent one on standby but all in all I think the system seems pretty safe, at least in terms of leak potential.

Let me know if i misinterpreted ur comment, having smoekd a bowl Im now paranoid that Ive done something wrong in my sestup haha ! Either way, thanks for looking out for me man - i love the community in this forum and the constructive feedback people give around here!

+Reps to you all!

 

[AlphaPrime]

Pics as promised - let me know what you guys think =)

PS - i heard minimal internodal spacing was good, but lookign at the top section of this plant there appears to be 0 internodal space - literally like 3 nodes in no space at all lol ! Is this normal ?

 

[AlphaPrime]

Also - after fighting with muddy roots and planning and building my new DIY bucket system Ive realisedthat I have been slacking on the training front ! Any suggestions as what to do at this stage ? Being my first own grow im way too hesitant on supercropping as the thought of snapping a stem is hurting me lol !!

Was thinking of putting in a scrog and doing some defol in the next coming days - any advice / opinion on this ? Thanks all !

 

[Hiker]

That top looks fine to me. Looks very healthy and not stretching for light. It will spread out more as it ages.

Either setup that scrog or do some sort of training such as bending or topping. Do you have enough space to raise the light if you flowered now? I can't tell from the pics.

If it was me, I'd probably bend it, but if you're afraid to break it, try topping it. That will make it bush out as well, but you'll end up with 2 main branches again. Then you'll need to bend those, so you might as well start bending now. Top them, then start making the branches grow out instead of up.

 

[Hozona]

That top looks fine to me. Looks very healthy and not stretching for light. It will spread out more as it ages.

Either setup that scrog or do some sort of training such as bending or topping. Do you have enough space to raise the light if you flowered now? I can't tell from the pics.

If it was me, I'd probably bend it, but if you're afraid to break it, try topping it. That will make it bush out as well, but you'll end up with 2 main branches again. Then you'll need to bend those, so you might as well start bending now. Top them, then start making the branches grow out instead of up.

What Hiker said, I do all I can to make 'em grow low and squatty by topping, LST/Supercropping, and doing so AFTER the plant has put on four sets of leaves. As branches grow out, every two until I have a nice squatty bush. Outdoors they look like hedges I try to keep them under 4' outdoors, so low and squatty works well for MORE bud sites. GL my friend.

 

[CronicHempHog]

Thanks for looking out for me dude ! Appreciate it !

I havent got the pump above water level, but the pumnp connects straiht to my chiller which sits several inches above water level outside of my grow tent! I think (just smoked a bowl lol!) that either way I should be good even if the pump stops working - the system is 100% sealed and the only thing I would lose if the pump woud die on me would be several hours of circulation / chiller operation.

Ive got a spare identical pump and a slightly less potent one on standby but all in all I think the system seems pretty safe, at least in terms of leak potential.

Let me know if i misinterpreted ur comment, having smoekd a bowl Im now paranoid that Ive done something wrong in my sestup haha ! Either way, thanks for looking out for me man - i love the community in this forum and the constructive feedback people give around here!

+Reps to you all!

i meant your air pump not the water pump
i think thats what you was talking about that died?

 

[CronicHempHog]

yea like i notice in your pic the airpump is on the floor lengthen that hose and put it above the water line and if the power ever goes out the water wont back into your airpump killing it

 

[AlphaPrime]

yea like i notice in your pic the airpump is on the floor lengthen that hose and put it above the water line and if the power ever goes out the water wont back into your airpump killing it

Im with you now - way too stoned earlier - but already have air hoses above the water line ^^

 

[Hiker]

Im with you now - way too stoned earlier - but already have air hoses above the water line ^^

In the picture, your air pump is on the floor. That's a no no.

 

[AlphaPrime]

So its been about a week since my last update and im thinking of flipping to 12/12 soon - still debating whether or not to induce 36 hour dark period or just flip to 12/12.... All plants are now displaying female presex - as i expected from my feminised reserva privada seeds...

I also finally managed to build+fit a SCROG screen tonight using pvc pipe, elbow joints and some speaker wire. I also hung it from the top of my tent and provided counterweight by tying scrog to buckets as well as ceiling. I also done a bit of defol and attempted to supercrop - hope that I bent them enough to remain under SCOG to let the other branches get a bit of catch up time..


--- New System....
Gotta say im hella happy with the new bucket system using 1.5inch pvc throughout. Nutrient solution is circulating around the system with great efficiency and my root growth has exploded over the last week. I hope that the addition of SCROG today will turn out not to mess with my girls - but at least wanted to try it out in my first grow to see the results.

As always - looking forward to any input into my novice grow

 

[AlphaPrime]

Just realised that all the previous pics were in no particular order... Here is 3 of what they look like after the procedure

Edit to add:

At the moment the girls are tied down at a height of 14inches. Ive got enough headroom to raise the lights a further 45inches. I could push a little further and maybe get a total plaent height of 5.5ft if need be. Will try to keep them a bit shorter but think that flowering stretch shouldnt be too much to worry about !

 

[Sky Rocket]

Don't flip the to 12/12 yet. It would defeat the purpose of your scrog. Let all your lower branches of your plants to reach the net. But make sure you are tucking all the other beaches and leaves under the net. Then you should flip to 12/12. About two weeks into your flower start to let your colas peak through your net.

 

[Hozona]

Just realised that all the previous pics were in no particular order... Here is 3 of what they look like after the procedure
At the moment the girls are tied down at a height of 14inches. Ive got enough headroom to raise the lights a further 45inches. I could push a little further and maybe get a total plaent height of 5.5ft if need be. Will try to keep them a bit shorter but think that flowering stretch shouldnt be too much to worry about !

Start pointing the branches through the holes where you want them to go...a budding node through each hole is ideal...I think I'd veg a little longer before flipping....gives you a little more to train the branches...

 

[CronicHempHog]

also be aware itll still stretch 2-3 times its size when flowering so make consideration for room you have
then decide if you want to veg it longer or flip it now to 12/12

 

[Hiker]

Veg a little longer. You don't need to supercrop with a scrog, just tuck them under the net. When that screen seems about 75% full, it's time to flip. Assume they will at least double in size after flip. Don't focus on height. With a light, you can never get good penetration beyond a couple feet, so the goal is width. Get the screen nearly full, then flip. I love scrogs. There's no tieing of the plants up or down!