MP's Second Attempt - Indoor Grow - Passive Hydro - White Widow - 2016

[Magnumpeanut]

Good day all,

I'm new BTW so hello all. I am from the Great White North. Smack dab in the middle of the prairies. (Just try and find my RCMP).

My first grow was a mystery grow from 4 seeds I collected over the years. I got to the second week of growth and they all toppled over and died. I have done a ton of research since but clearly know nothing.
I got a 5 pack of feminized White Widow from Crop King (which I love their service and they included a coupon for my next order and a really fancy, colorful catalog. The catalog has lots of info and pretty pictures.) I also looked that there was an instant chat with a sales rep who took her time to make sure I got the right strain for me.

New Grow
White Widow, 60% Indica
Planted in 50/50 vermiculite and perlite.
Planted Monday (Feb 22) after following instructions from Crop King to prep the seeds. Still haven't broke through.
It is an indoor grow. I have 400 watts (2 plants for now) But I also have 8 multi-spectrum LED grow lights on the way, should be here any day.
It is not air-cooled yet. At this stage its not important but I am planning on building a DIY passive system with a DIY carbon scrubber.

Room is slightly above room temp. I don't have a proper thermostat or humility calculator, but again, any day now.

Again PH tester on the way, any day.

I am using a passive hydro setup. It includes and 50 liter tupperware container to which I cut holes in the lid to hold my pots. I am using 750 ML yogurt containers with lots of holes and such drilled in them so they get enough O2, I hope. Also if it was a fungal problem last time around I am hoping the extra holes may drain any stale water and not grow fungus (which I think killed my last batch) The water and nutes slowly climb the wick and give a steady supply of nuts and water. The water is agitated with a simple water pump for an aquarium. This is what I am using, if you have any suggestions on who to improve it to avoid complications or whatever let me know.

I am going to use a combo of Foxtail grow big and foxtail big bloom. During the final flowing stages I will use Tiger bloom.

This info will make it much easier for accurate help to be given when needed and keep the members interested in your grow.

Here are some pics of the cabinet I built. Its dimensions are 61cmX61cmX155cm.
Now after building it and doing some research I need to make a couple improvements. I am going to remove the tinfoil and replace it with black/white poly or wait till after this grow and paint it bright white. (which was my first plan, second guessed myself) Plus I will be adding a passive cooling system with a DIY carbon scrubber. Like I mentioned before, there are a bunch of LED's to install once they show.

Any comments, suggestions or warning are welcome and will be well received.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

Newborns broke dirt this morning. Really need the rest of my stuff to show, thought it would all be here long ago.

 

[Emilya Green]

wow... this is going to be difficult, so good luck at the start! I strongly suggest that you study FoxFarm's feeding charts for hydro, and carefully follow their exact instructions. pH is very important in a hydro system, so I also hope that you can somehow maintain 5.8 until your meter arrives.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

wow... this is going to be difficult, so good luck at the start! I strongly suggest that you study FoxFarm's feeding charts for hydro, and carefully follow their exact instructions. pH is very important in a hydro system, so I also hope that you can somehow maintain 5.8 until your meter arrives.

I have the foxfarm manual just not sure if its too much. Going to do more research. I am going to pickup PH strips just for now. I can test it later and update.

That said, it makes me nervous when an experienced grower tells me its going to be hard. What would simplify things?

 

[Emilya Green]

a plan...

 

[Emilya Green]

sorry, had a quick meeting to go to and had to be quick.

By hard I mean that you are trying two things that are considered advanced techniques, wicking and soilless. To go soilless you have to have things dialed in pretty well, the plants count on you for everything. Soil leaves you a bit of a buffer, you can let your plants go for days without having to do anything, and pH only has to be adjusted every time you water, instead of every day, sometimes many times a day. In soil you can concentrate your learning curve on learning the plants, in hydro you have 50 things you are going to need to learn to do, consistently, cleanly and precisely.... ok, maybe not 50, but it is way more complicated to maintain and keep going than a soil grow. And if you go to the ultimate extreme that soil allows, going totally organic, pH and external nutrients no longer are a bother to you either... you simply water to keep the microlife alive, and the microherd takes care of your plants for you... talk about hands off! I am finding organic living soil to be the easiest growing method I have found to date, and by most reports, it is the best way to go for quality, potency and taste... you might be able to get more production out of a hydro grow, throwing nutrients at the plants 24/7... but I will argue that it is not the best way to go, especially when you are starting out... and of course I say all this as simply my humble opinion... I know there are others who would disagree and who are way better at hydro than I ever was. Anyway... what you need now... real quick, is a plan.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

I transitioned everything to soil carefully. I am seeing some great results, others not so great. I will post with pics in the AM for some advice.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

no shit eh

 

[Magnumpeanut]

Here are some updates. The first plant from the failed hydro grow is recovering nicely and went into a 8 liter pot yesterday. I mixed miricle grow with a little vermeculite, and perilite. Made sure all my water and nutes are sitting as close as possible to 6.5 Ph.

I upgraded my cabinet with a fresh air intake powered by a 5" in-line duct fan (quite) going to the bottom of the cabinet, and have 3x 120mm 2000rpm fans on a monoprice Wii PSU. Didn't work for the Wii but can spin fans no problem. The fans are low noise and highly recommended. The are coolermaster brand and are $9 at NCIX. You can pay a couple extra and get one with 3 speed controller built in so I got one to try and it's pretty loud at full blast. My next step is to run a bunch of 4" dryer ducting up through the rafters into the chimney on the other side of the room. Even has a nice sized hole for me to throw the ducting in and insulate around. So smell goes up and out, not need for carbon scrubber, yey.

Before I throw and pics up, who knows of a 30-40 PH tester that isn't a POS. My batteries lasted about 5 minutes and cost me $20 to replace and now the display doesn't work properly. Stupid amazon purchase from Hong Kong, shoulda seen it coming. I am using PH strips for now.
On the same subject, is using PH Up/Down for hot tubs ok for plants?

Now some really embarrassing pics, first time grower so I am learning the hard way on a few things.

 

[Emilya Green]

Here are some updates. The first plant from the failed hydro grow is recovering nicely and went into a 8 liter pot yesterday. I mixed miricle grow with a little vermeculite, and perilite. Made sure all my water and nutes are sitting as close as possible to 6.5 Ph.

I upgraded my cabinet with a fresh air intake powered by a 5" in-line duct fan (quite) going to the bottom of the cabinet, and have 3x 120mm 2000rpm fans on a monoprice Wii PSU. Didn't work for the Wii but can spin fans no problem. The fans are low noise and highly recommended. The are coolermaster brand and are $9 at NCIX. You can pay a couple extra and get one with 3 speed controller built in so I got one to try and it's pretty loud at full blast. My next step is to run a bunch of 4" dryer ducting up through the rafters into the chimney on the other side of the room. Even has a nice sized hole for me to throw the ducting in and insulate around. So smell goes up and out, not need for carbon scrubber, yey.

Before I throw and pics up, who knows of a 30-40 PH tester that isn't a POS. My batteries lasted about 5 minutes and cost me $20 to replace and now the display doesn't work properly. Stupid amazon purchase from Hong Kong, shoulda seen it coming. I am using PH strips for now.
On the same subject, is using PH Up/Down for hot tubs ok for plants?

Now some really embarrassing pics, first time grower so I am learning the hard way on a few things.

I think the hot tub stuff is salt based... be sure to check.

what are the 3 LED lights?

you have me still intrigued

 

[Magnumpeanut]

Leds are cheap chinese ones from Amazon.

I don't know if I can post a link to amazon here. I can't PM yet either.

And ya, sodium carbonate...what else can I do to bump my PH.

 

[OttawaGreen]

Looking good so far. Remember not to overwater, that is primary
Cause of new grower problems. Only water when it gets dry first.

Good luck!

 

[Emilya Green]

Leds are cheap chinese ones from Amazon.

I don't know if I can post a link to amazon here. I can't PM yet either.

And ya, sodium carbonate...what else can I do to bump my PH.

from the grocery store... pickling lime makes a very strong ph up... vinegar a pretty good ph down.
if you want to get more efficient and even cheaper...

lye for ph up(be very careful, it is quite strong) also, do not store solution in plastic... glass only.
battery acid for ph down... take a gallon of distilled water, remove one cup and replace with 1 cup of battery acid. -- very good ph down and for about $6 you can make a 2 year supply.

 

[David Bowman]

Hope all is well in your world.

Is this grow still alive?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read our Photo Gallery Tutorial.

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

Hope all is well in your world.

Is this grow still alive?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read our Photo Gallery Tutorial.

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.

I am about 3 weeks from harvest. I have 4 healthy plants. I will post some pics today. I have been busy losing my job and getting ready to move, taking all my time.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

So I have some pics ready. I moved the plants outside and retrofitted the garden shed to hold my cabinet. Nice thing is no smell in the house and its a pretty private yard, and its locked. It warmed up so I thought it best to get them outside. In good weather I will work outside and open up the cabinet so it gets some rays. The natural smell of the pine trees and the stinky hedge beside it mask it surprisingly well.

 

[OttawaGreen]

I have never seen tape be used as a light fixture before ;-)

Plants look healthy. Good stealth shed.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

I have never seen tape be used as a light fixture before ;-)

I used the tape roll to balance the light. Stoner engineering.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

New pic from Mar 3. Stumpy on the front right is looking ill. PH acidic? Over watering most likely. Same with Ivy beside for on the left. The droopy leaves look like over-watering. I over-though this project. If I do another I know how to dumb it down.

Need some close ups, I will get them soon.

 

[David Bowman]

Hope all is well in your world.

Is this grow still alive?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read our Photo Gallery Tutorial.

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.