DWC first time grow

[Bud-L80]

Okay, so im going to start my first grow in just a couple weeks and im going to do DWC as my method. Ive been reading a lot on this forum and now i just need some feedback to reveal any unforseen problems i may run into. I have a 10x10 room. Its going to be well vented with a 1000+ cfm fan and filter. I have calculated the intake i will need to create a negative pressure in the room. Im going to be doing 8 tubs (3 plants per tub) under 2 1000 watt bulbs. I need some help with proper nutrition and i also wanted to ask about enzymes and H202. Is H202 a good idea or not? Will enzymes keep the tubs clean? Im going to cover the entire tubs and their lids with mylar or equivelient to keep the light out. So...what am i forgetting? What kind of problems am i not seeing? Any helpful words for a neewbie?

 

[WizHigh]

Re: DWC first time grow...

Welcome to 420 Bud!

Sounds like you have everything right so far. Perfect nutes for hydro are Advanced Nutrients are Blue Planet Nutrients. You can check out or sponsers for the BPN nutrients. There only available threw online purchase. Fox Farm is also great for hydro or GH Flora series.

As for the H202 I would use that over any enzymes. It works alot better. And will save you money in the long run. Me personally I use bleach. 8 drops per gallon. Every other day after that I add 2.5ml of bleach to the res. Works just as well.

Also you will need a PH pen. I personally dont check the PH of my res but if your just learning then you might want to pick you up one. Bluelab PH pens are the best on the market.

 

[Bud-L80]

Re: DWC first time grow...

Thanks for the reply!
I'm getting a ph meter (something like $40) and a ppm meter as well. So the guy at the grow shop was trying to sell me on some nutes that were some brand I had never heard of and they said it was from some huge company that is just now getting g into the indoor grow scene. I'll have to look up advanced nutrients and blue planet too. As far as I could tell the prices were comparable from one nutrition line to the next. So I'd rather go with something that's proven (grower tested) even if its a few buck more. BLEACH?!?! No shit?!?! I read somewhere in here about that too and I sounded like it could be harmful but if its been tried and true then why not. You sure as hell can't beat the price! 29% h202is pricey shit ya know?!
Okay, so I have these little thermometers to put in the tubs (by the way, the tubs are 22 gallon and I'm not sure if that's going to make a difference with how much bleach I should add.) and I have a big thermometer for the room itself. I'll have the fan/filter hooked up to a controller that'll kick in when it starts to get too warm. Ya know, I forgot to ask if I set up the fan to turn on every so often even if its not too warm. Those girls need their co2!! I'm trying to decide what size net pots to use as well. 4" - 6"... What do you think?

 

[bobulak]

Re: DWC first time grow...

hey bud

I love dwc. Once you get your system dialed in its pretty easy. For your pot size think about how big you want your plants to get. I use 6 inch on a 5 gallon pail. The pot and lid are all molded from 1 piece of plastic. Good stability. Ive used the 6 inch pots and placed them into cutout holes like your planning. When my plant got to a certain height, they began to tip a bit. I switched to 5 gallon buckets with the 1 piece 6 inch net pot and viola. No more stability issues. In a 10x10 room you could fit quite a few 5 gallon buckets. You might also want to look into rdwc. There are many reasons to upgrade to rdwc but One on the most important imo is making the water change easier. You'll have to change the water in all 8 of your tubs every 7 - 10 days. This can be a real pain in the ass. If you design your rdwc system correctly, you can use a pump to both drain and re-fill your system. You'll also find that as your plants get bigger and especially during flower, they will suck up large amounts of water. Adding water daily to 8 tubs is a pain. Adding water to 1 res that supplies your system makes life easier. Water temp is also important. Have you looked into a chiller? The next time i do dwc it will be rdwc with a chiller to keep my water temps in line. Its good to keep your water temps at 66F or so. Bad things can start growing at higher temps and you can easily incorporate a chiller into an rdwc system.

Id go with BPN. Everybody here has nothing but good things to say about this company. Ive dealt with them and their customer service is excellent. And you can't beat the price of their products. Give them a try.

What strain or strains are you going to grow? Are you going to start from seed or from clones?

Take care

 

[Bud-L80]

Well, I'm not even sure what strain I'm getting for my very first grow. I still haven't gotten answer on that myself but I plan on ordering some seeds and I'm getting white widow x big bud. Sounds like the best of both worlds to me. Besides, this isn't a hobby for me. I really want as much bag for my buck ya know? I've heard all the comments about how most all strains can produce well but I know from my experience outdoors that the strain can make all the difference in the world. Huge differences. But I can't use my dad's outdoor strain for indoors. So I'm going with something I know is best suited for indoor growth.
I'll have to look into rdwc because a lot of folks are talking about it. Maybe that's what I'll do, not for sure just yet though. I have read that changing the water isn't necessary as long as you don't have shit growing in there... Is that true?

 

[bobulak]

Hi Bud

Imo it is very necessary to change the water. You may not have anything bad growing in your res but there is toxic salt buildup. That can be very bad for the ladies.

 

[Cultivator]

Check out my grow journals for dwc mate. I DEFINATELY WOULDNT use h2o2 over enzymes. enzymes will keep res clean and make dead matter available for nutrient uptake. H2O2 is a tool to be used when things go bad or to sterilise equipment or to use as a root wash.

U need a quality ph meter. And of all the base nutrients ive used (ive used many) I find Canna Aqua is the line that best works for DWC. Very user friendly with a high level of chelates. Additives such as voodoo juice, piranha, b-52 are a good idea, also roots excellurator is great too.

Inbox me with what u plan to do exactly and i'll help.

1 last thing, if u are growing multiple plants per container (i wouldnt recomend that) make sure its the same strain.

 

[WizHigh]

Re: DWC first time grow...

I agree with everyone and what was said. H2o2 is pricey but so are the zymes. There all around $40 per Liter. IMO I use hygrozyme only in coco. I used to use it in my res but it never kept it clean to me. I cant speak for other enzymes such as canna or sensi. But I switched over to using bleach and It couldnt be better. Cheap and effective. Only thing is you cant put organic in the res such as beneficial bacteria because the bleach will kill it all. So I just do a every 4 day top feed with great white and other additives.

As for what Cultivator is saying. It will be alot harder to maintain one huge res with multiple plants. Changing the res will suck. Unless you are able to have a second res in handy so your able to just switch them out. But I would definitely go with multiple buckets vs 22gallon res.

As for res changing, I would do so every 2 weeks or pick you up some flora klean so that it will break down salt build up in the res. Enzymes will do this also but I still use flora klean from time to time. You can only get away with not changing out the res during veg.