White Widow First Time Ever Hydroponics

[PK]

I just posted a DIY cheap air conditioner (its not a real air conditioner) thread in the problem part of the forum. They're awesome and easy to build...

there not hard ronnie, just need to do some research and create it. You can also take a computer radiator and allow the res water to pass throw the radiator and with the fan on the radiator it would cool the water down.

If he could find a larger container than the one he's using. He puts a hole in both sides of the larger bin then, he could use AC. He could then place his bucket inside.... but this has nothing to do with a fan in the res. Completely different. Your absolutely right. The nute water temps need to lose some weight

Yes, as long as the cold air is with in the resv the water will cool down if it has either agitation or aeration.
if you look at 6-inch Standard Air Cooled Reflector Hoods for halogen lights, they have a 6" inlet and outlet for cold air pass throw which connects to the filter and the sucktion motor.

The same concept needs to be used for water. having cold air pass throw does help allot. Thats how the nature works.
Someone told me thats how the ocean gets cooled

 

[Stltoed]

there not hard ronnie, just need to do some research and create it. You can also take a computer radiator and allow the res water to pass throw the radiator and with the fan on the radiator it would cool the water down.





Yes, as long as the cold air is with in the resv the water will cool down if it has either agitation or aeration.
if you look at 6-inch Standard Air Cooled Reflector Hoods for halogen lights, they have a 6" inlet and outlet for cold air pass throw which connects to the filter and the sucktion motor.

The same concept needs to be used for water. having cold air pass throw does help allot. Thats how the nature works.
Someone told me thats how the ocean gets cooled

The method ive been talking about doesnt need cold air at all. Cold air will help, but it doesn't make that much of a difference. The method is entirely based on evaporation.

 

[peelaf]

@Stltoed @RonnieB2 @PK1 @stoneotter @Rifleman

Hey all,
As always, thank you in advance for taking the time out of your day to help me- for free. It is much appreciated and I find it very cool how willing this forum is to help one another out.

With that being said HERE IS THE LINK to my next grow vid (did not forget it this time!)

Please watch that video and let me know anything and everything. I am a first time grower currently on week 2-3 of flower on my first grow (seen in the video).I am not opposed to anything. I spent and wasted money on a grow box because I was actually clueless, but after dozens of hours of research and reading, I have landed at the set up I currently have. I want to yield a pound or more on my next grow using a 4x4 grow tent. Not being greedy, but hey I started growing for a reason and that was to be self-sustaining when it comes to cannabis...

I have a humidifier coming in the mail, which I forgot to mention in the video. But other than that this is more or less my set up and any recommendations as to what to do will be heavily considered. I spent. a good deal of money with the intent of running hydro, but I can not stop thinking about Coco now because of the simplicity of it and how it is more stealth than hydro... Let me know your thoughts...

The two biggest things above all I want to know is the AC situation and the water temp situation...
And my final thought, if I want big yields so bad, should I 100% be growing photoperiod or is Auto fine to get big yields. I know photo is more but I can still get a pound out of 4 plants in a 4x4, right?

Thanks for the help guys... Cheers

 

[peelaf]

After posting this I realized that the 10 previous comments were all trying to help me regarding my water chiller problem or lack thereof... I guess what I am truly asking is, do I need it? I am not using one right now and things "seem" to be going fine. although i do not want to take chances, espeically for my next grow. I know its a process and I am a "Beginner" but I believe I am relatively intelligent and capable of producing the yields I want? Do you think Coco would help take some of the unwanted and quite frankly unnecessary factors out? (water chiller, air pumps, having to get a new reservoir for each bucket.) should i look into rdwc? sounds like it would make my life alot easier? if so, can you recommend any setup links or how I could make a rdwc using the 5-gallon buckets I already have... Thank you so much for reading this and helping me...

 

[peelaf]

@Stltoed @RonnieB2 @PK1 @stoneotter @Rifleman

and LASTLY (i think)... Should i end up doing the home made chiller like @Stltoed did, my set up would have to be RDWC then, since there would only be one resevoir being cooled... correct me if i am wrong. right now i am running just dwc but would do rdwc if shown how/ it isnt too expensive ... thanks

 

[PK]

read this Phantom’s RDWC Cherry Cookies Grow Journal and see how the phantom makes his own rdwc. If you're handy with tools you can make anything.

Each method of growing has its own fun challanges and results.

 

[PK]

@Stltoed @RonnieB2 @PK1 @stoneotter @Rifleman

With that being said HERE IS THE LINK to my next grow vid (did not forget it this time!)

i watched your video Peelaf. I think you are confused on what you want to do and you keep talking about hydro setup but you are open to other growing methods. Make a decition on how do you like to grow?

Hydroponic style, RDWC/DWC or CoCo or soil?
To me it seems like you want to do hydroponic style since you've bought some gears for it?

about your window:
On the left and right you have the glass of the window, what is in the middle?? if they can be opened than get the measurements of that section and you can go to homedepot or rona and purchase vent doors. plastic or aluminum your choice. Than you install that behind the window in the room you are in and now you have access to allow the air out or in.

 

[peelaf]

Thank you for the information... I am a little confused. I bought a grow box for hydro (an all in one package) from dealzer.com , it was a rip off. in that, you just cant grow plants in there, just not enough room... And the quality sucked etc. So I bought a 4x4 tent and a ventilation system but now that I have the room, I am considering a diffrent groing medium, maybe a little more beginner-friendly (not that it is overwhelmingly hard) and cut down on electricity usage in general... So maybe for my third grow I can try coco or even soil but I will try hydro again for my next (second) grow. I think my set up is solid just minus the temp aspect... IDK just tryna grow some flower and enjoy the process and not have to worry about water chillers and stuff. I am just lost though, I have seen countless vidoes on youtube of people using my exact set up (DWC) and I am assuming they do not have four water chillers, one for each bucket. So, if they can grow without a chiller, I feel like I sould be able to.

But thank you I will check out that guys RDWC... Hell, if I can get down to one reservoir maybe Ill just buy the chiller LOL
. I will look into what you said about the window and going to home depot for sure, really just ruins my anonymity though, I am trying to be as lowkey as possible...
@PK1

 

[PK]

@peelaf i totally understand where you are coming from. First time growing you can see how my hydro setup went. The plant died at the end. Not becasue of the hydro system i was using but the advance knowldage and equipment requirments.

I think on your next grow you should give coco or maybe even soil a try. Get to enjoy the process, learn the plant aspects and deffecincies.
That doesn't mean you will stop doing hydro down the line, but for a begginer like your self and me, I think thats a better route. Knowdladge is key and there is allot of it here, but sometimes you just have to sacrifice something for something else.

 

[PK]

lol by the way, the videos you watch on youtube are edited and dosnt neccessary show the full depth detail of the process. Just that i am doing this, using this and growing like this.

I started growing because i smoke like a chimney
also, i rather smoke what i grow vs buying something called hazzel bazzel. A name that someone made up while being high probebly. The process is what makes me enjoy this whole thing

 

[peelaf]

@PK1 I totally feel that... Maybe I will try coco or soil for the next one. I really like the idea of hydro, but not having a RDWC setup and therefore needing four chillers (i think) is just unreasonable. I have everything else though and the plant seems to be doing okay, that is why I am trying to understand if I even need to change anything. Maybe hook some AC up but even that is a little of a stretch I feel. My fan isnt even on full blast right now, I should turn that up and see how low I can get my temps and humidity that way. Dont know or think it is necessary to put a dehumidifier inside my tent, once again I feel like I have seen good grows on youtube without it. IDK ill figure it out, curious for everyone elses' input...

I smoke alot my self and so does my brother that is why we started grow too... Once again not trying to sound greedy or even immature, but man all I want is a nice looking heavy yield in a few months. I think that is fair to say on this forum haha

 

[Stltoed]

@Stltoed @RonnieB2 @PK1 @stoneotter @Rifleman

Hey all,
As always, thank you in advance for taking the time out of your day to help me- for free. It is much appreciated and I find it very cool how willing this forum is to help one another out.

With that being said HERE IS THE LINK to my next grow vid (did not forget it this time!)

Please watch that video and let me know anything and everything. I am a first time grower currently on week 2-3 of flower on my first grow (seen in the video).I am not opposed to anything. I spent and wasted money on a grow box because I was actually clueless, but after dozens of hours of research and reading, I have landed at the set up I currently have. I want to yield a pound or more on my next grow using a 4x4 grow tent. Not being greedy, but hey I started growing for a reason and that was to be self-sustaining when it comes to cannabis...

I have a humidifier coming in the mail, which I forgot to mention in the video. But other than that this is more or less my set up and any recommendations as to what to do will be heavily considered. I spent. a good deal of money with the intent of running hydro, but I can not stop thinking about Coco now because of the simplicity of it and how it is more stealth than hydro... Let me know your thoughts...

The two biggest things above all I want to know is the AC situation and the water temp situation...
And my final thought, if I want big yields so bad, should I 100% be growing photoperiod or is Auto fine to get big yields. I know photo is more but I can still get a pound out of 4 plants in a 4x4, right?

Thanks for the help guys... Cheers

A dehumidifier is kind of a flower thing. You REALLY don't want be 6 weeks in flower with nice big buds and wind up with botrytis (spelling?). The humidity in flower is important... rule of thumb is keep it below 40RH. Fluctuations will occur, but we gotta try to do our best so we haven't wasted 3.5 months.
You may not necessarily AC. If your temps stay under 78-80 you will be fine. There are additives you can use to help the plant with heat or cold, like Silica. Silica can be a bitch to work with due to pH issues. Gen Hydro sells one that starts out at 11. The issues you would have stems from the lack of water volume in your rig. Youve done nothing wrong, pH issues are much much worse in 20 gallon than 50 gallon.

You NEED to get your water between 64 and 72. Water much colder will put your plants to sleep, warmer will be a nursery for bad microbes.

Your plants are thick. I would spend some quality time thinning them out, clean up the bottom 6 or 8 inches for sure. Im a defoliator, which can be a hot topic of conversation. Some think its a bad idea, but they don't normally grow hydro. Then, I would start pulling the branches away from center open up the middle

I dont know coco. I will say ive never seen huge plants in coco, but ive never looked for them. Im sure it happens.

You absolutely should go with RDWC. The benefits in feeding are huge. You won't need to crawl under your plant to add anything. You can use a mounted pH/PPM meter at take measurements from your resevoir. You will add volume to your water which will make your pH much easier to deal with. With an autofill valve you can walk away for a while as your system does its thing. Ive left for a week with no real issues. If you jave a moment take a look at the thread titled My RDWC in my sig. Some things have changed since that video, but they always do.

 

[Stltoed]

After posting this I realized that the 10 previous comments were all trying to help me regarding my water chiller problem or lack thereof... I guess what I am truly asking is, do I need it? I am not using one right now and things "seem" to be going fine. although i do not want to take chances, espeically for my next grow. I know its a process and I am a "Beginner" but I believe I am relatively intelligent and capable of producing the yields I want? Do you think Coco would help take some of the unwanted and quite frankly unnecessary factors out? (water chiller, air pumps, having to get a new reservoir for each bucket.) should i look into rdwc? sounds like it would make my life alot easier? if so, can you recommend any setup links or how I could make a rdwc using the 5-gallon buckets I already have... Thank you so much for reading this and helping me...

You've done a great job. You have answered many questions on your own... clearly you've done your homework. If your water temps will stay between 64 and 72 without mechanical help you will be just fine. Penny will say that he runs his much hotter, and there isn't an issue, im just trying to keep it in a zone that won't be a problem. If you run at 80 you might get away with it, but I can't recommend that.

 

[Stltoed]

Thank you for the information... I am a little confused. I bought a grow box for hydro (an all in one package) from dealzer.com , it was a rip off. in that, you just cant grow plants in there, just not enough room... And the quality sucked etc. So I bought a 4x4 tent and a ventilation system but now that I have the room, I am considering a diffrent groing medium, maybe a little more beginner-friendly (not that it is overwhelmingly hard) and cut down on electricity usage in general... So maybe for my third grow I can try coco or even soil but I will try hydro again for my next (second) grow. I think my set up is solid just minus the temp aspect... IDK just tryna grow some flower and enjoy the process and not have to worry about water chillers and stuff. I am just lost though, I have seen countless vidoes on youtube of people using my exact set up (DWC) and I am assuming they do not have four water chillers, one for each bucket. So, if they can grow without a chiller, I feel like I sould be able to.

But thank you I will check out that guys RDWC... Hell, if I can get down to one reservoir maybe Ill just buy the chiller LOL
. I will look into what you said about the window and going to home depot for sure, really just ruins my anonymity though, I am trying to be as lowkey as possible...
@PK1

You won't be running multiple chillers, just one that is able to handle the volume of water in your rig. Mine was a quarter horse power for 50 gallons (with a little headroom). The chiller will reside at your reservoir (only one of those too). It should go.... res. grow pot, grow pot, grow pot, and then a line that leads back to the res. I use 2 inch lines between each pot so there is little chance of roots plugging anything up, but i also run my return line through the 2 inch line so its not in the way outside my rig. Yeah, running a chiller per pot would put a big ass dent in your E bill

 

[Stltoed]

@PK1 I totally feel that... Maybe I will try coco or soil for the next one. I really like the idea of hydro, but not having a RDWC setup and therefore needing four chillers (i think) is just unreasonable. I have everything else though and the plant seems to be doing okay, that is why I am trying to understand if I even need to change anything. Maybe hook some AC up but even that is a little of a stretch I feel. My fan isnt even on full blast right now, I should turn that up and see how low I can get my temps and humidity that way. Dont know or think it is necessary to put a dehumidifier inside my tent, once again I feel like I have seen good grows on youtube without it. IDK ill figure it out, curious for everyone elses' input...

I smoke alot my self and so does my brother that is why we started grow too... Once again not trying to sound greedy or even immature, but man all I want is a nice looking heavy yield in a few months. I think that is fair to say on this forum haha

Please don't get discouraged. There IS a lot to take in. But once you can read your plants, and understand what your measurements mean this is one of the easiest (in my opinion) ways to do it. NOW... its also the most unforgiving. If you lose an air pump and don't catch it/fix it quickly your plants are dead. If something breaks and your water drains out your plants are dead, there are issues that can affect your water that will allow you to watch as your plants die slowly (that one is super fun). Plus all the issues that affect any other style of growing. I also grow in soil, at least 1 plant usually the same strain as in hydro, and theres a ton of stuff to learn there to. Building a soil, compost, the fungi, macro and microorganisms that allow the plant to feed. Or you could buy a bag of Fox Farm, I guess haha.

Your doing fine man. All the questions will be answered in time

 

[Stltoed]

@peelaf i totally understand where you are coming from. First time growing you can see how my hydro setup went. The plant died at the end. Not becasue of the hydro system i was using but the advance knowldage and equipment requirments.

I think on your next grow you should give coco or maybe even soil a try. Get to enjoy the process, learn the plant aspects and deffecincies.
That doesn't mean you will stop doing hydro down the line, but for a begginer like your self and me, I think thats a better route. Knowdladge is key and there is allot of it here, but sometimes you just have to sacrifice something for something else.

Now, coco isn't exactly easy as I understand it. PH issues still abound. Nothing is free.

 

[Stormblessed]

Hello and nice grow so far, I am currently doing my firstish grow and I’m using dwc,, I had my closest at about 75-80 but had to start leaving the door open a crack because that was the only/easiest/cheapest way to get my water temps down

 

[Stormblessed]

Like u I am using 5gal buckets so to get a chiller i would also have to get a rdwc going, or run all kinds of lines to and from all the buckets, so lowering room temp was the best way for me

 

[Stltoed]

Hello and nice grow so far, I am currently doing my firstish grow and I’m using dwc,, I had my closest at about 75-80 but had to start leaving the door open a crack because that was the only/easiest/cheapest way to get my water temps down

If you have or can add a reservoir I can show you a cheap way to get your temps down. Ive kind of gone through it in this thread, but I can do it again on your thread

 

[Stormblessed]

They r under control for now, they stay at 70-71 and the closet stays around 73-75, I just keep the air pump outside the closet, but thank you though, my issue is I rent and I feel like adding a reservoir would add a lot of failure points that I would rather not risk it right now lol