I'm completely out of my element here bro and still very much learning about growing in soil, so I don't want to mislead you with bad advice.
Bad enough when I kill my own plants.
Hoping someone with hydro skillz can help you out.
regards,
SS
My first DWC bucket grow
- Thread starter Li Siu Loong
- Start date
I'm completely out of my element here bro and still very much learning about growing in soil, so I don't want to mislead you with bad advice.
Bad enough when I kill my own plants.
Hoping someone with hydro skillz can help you out.
regards,
SS
yo dude. yes it is VERY easy to overwater. consider that ur plants are constantly submerged. cannabis plants hate that. If your temps are high, then your DO levels will be low. Also, consider your altitude. Due to lower levels of pressue at higher altitude, you wil get less gas solubility. But i wouldn't worry.
High humidity can kill plants very quickly. Not mention bud rot and shitload of other diseases. When my pumps go bad or my airstones start getting clogged my plants start to droop. Sometimes I have to chnage airstones more than once during a single grow! (sometimes iron clogs it up as it reacts with the oxygen to create rust on your airstone)
Also, make sure you look out for small fruitfly looking like things. These are fungus gnats. They will plant larvae in your roots and really cause trouble. Kill them with ur fingers or pesticide if you can. Left alone, they will go crazy.
What other problems are you having? A lot of the time, it is an overdose or pH problem. from my experience. A lot of the times the plant looks deficient, and the first thing is to add more nutes, but a lot of the time, IMO, lowering the concentration really helps out the plant.
Try to use a somewhat fine airstone. A coarse airstone will just produce large bubbles that float to he top and do not dissolve. stones at hydro stores are the right ones, make sure you run it 24/7. NOnstop!
Please please check pH constantly. If your pH fluctuates a lot, that means you have an unhealthy plant, ad your concentration is too high usually but sometimes too low. Try to keep temps about 77 and below. Anything above will cause root problems, guaranteed, especially if you aren't rnning any enzymes or beneficial bacteria. Trust me, i know. check out my grow, and you can ask me any questions.
Oh yeah CaliGrown's 2nd grow Casey Jones and Bubble Gum from Oaksterdam! DWC!
High humidity can kill plants very quickly. Not mention bud rot and shitload of other diseases. When my pumps go bad or my airstones start getting clogged my plants start to droop. Sometimes I have to chnage airstones more than once during a single grow! (sometimes iron clogs it up as it reacts with the oxygen to create rust on your airstone)
Also, make sure you look out for small fruitfly looking like things. These are fungus gnats. They will plant larvae in your roots and really cause trouble. Kill them with ur fingers or pesticide if you can. Left alone, they will go crazy.
What other problems are you having? A lot of the time, it is an overdose or pH problem. from my experience. A lot of the times the plant looks deficient, and the first thing is to add more nutes, but a lot of the time, IMO, lowering the concentration really helps out the plant.
Try to use a somewhat fine airstone. A coarse airstone will just produce large bubbles that float to he top and do not dissolve. stones at hydro stores are the right ones, make sure you run it 24/7. NOnstop!
Please please check pH constantly. If your pH fluctuates a lot, that means you have an unhealthy plant, ad your concentration is too high usually but sometimes too low. Try to keep temps about 77 and below. Anything above will cause root problems, guaranteed, especially if you aren't rnning any enzymes or beneficial bacteria. Trust me, i know. check out my grow, and you can ask me any questions.
Oh yeah CaliGrown's 2nd grow Casey Jones and Bubble Gum from Oaksterdam! DWC!
Personally, if you can't control temps very well, hydro is NOT the way to go. Temps are so crucial in hydro as crap builds up in your reservoir very quickly, not to mention that no matter how much air you pump into the water, if the temps are too high, they won't retain the oxygen. Keep your water level about an inch from the net pot. Don't worry about air gap, the misting will take care of that. Oh also, high salinity causes lower DO levels, so try to lower concentration.
Make sure you don't have ANY light leaks as this causes major problems with algae, especially with high temps. If your roots ar dark brown, you are in trouble . IN that case, pick up some rhizotonic and flush with rhizo and very light nutes, and this should solve the problem. A plant is only as good as its roots, which are very susceptible to damage in a hydro system.
Oh and DO NOT let ur water touch your net pot. Why? Well, the higher the level, it is more susceptible to light, not to mention that when the water levels rise and fall, the hydroton will absorb and hold some salts. What does that mean? When your roots touch those rocks and are rewetted, the concentration right there could very high and burn your roots, which causes root rot. I don't know which bozo puts his net pots in the water, as you waste nutrients there ANYWAY. your roots will grow out. The cool thing is, until your root touch the water, it is so rt of like aeroponics as fine mist waters your plants, and thus doing the NFT. During this period, your plant grows very fast.
Make sure you don't have ANY light leaks as this causes major problems with algae, especially with high temps. If your roots ar dark brown, you are in trouble . IN that case, pick up some rhizotonic and flush with rhizo and very light nutes, and this should solve the problem. A plant is only as good as its roots, which are very susceptible to damage in a hydro system.
Oh and DO NOT let ur water touch your net pot. Why? Well, the higher the level, it is more susceptible to light, not to mention that when the water levels rise and fall, the hydroton will absorb and hold some salts. What does that mean? When your roots touch those rocks and are rewetted, the concentration right there could very high and burn your roots, which causes root rot. I don't know which bozo puts his net pots in the water, as you waste nutrients there ANYWAY. your roots will grow out. The cool thing is, until your root touch the water, it is so rt of like aeroponics as fine mist waters your plants, and thus doing the NFT. During this period, your plant grows very fast.
- Thread starter
- #24
Li Siu Loong
New Member
Wow ! You're like an encyclopedia when it comes to hydroponics. I really appreciate all your words of wisdom. Last night I washed my 5 gal. bucket out very well and added 3 gal. of water with only 1/2 strength grow nutes. Thanks to you I now know I need to let some of that water out to about an inch under the bottom of the net pot (thank you). I also lowered the ph level to 5.75 and this morning she's standing tall and there's no signs of drooping.
I have 3 small fine air stones on order already and they should be here by the end of the week. I also am getting ready to order a couple of submersible heaters to maintain a good water temp. Maybe I should look into a de-humidifyer as well since the humidity here is ofter well above 70% in my cab (like today it's around 90% outside). Also when I can afford it I am getting a Co2Boost Bucket & Pump system.
Believe me my friend, I am very serious about growing hydroponically and growing a lot of bud at that.
I have my reasons that I don't want to go into in such a public forum.Your advice has given me a lot to work with, and rest assured I will be bugging you in the future.
Peace, harmony, and big buds to you my friends...
- Thread starter
- #25
Li Siu Loong
New Member
I am learning as well my friend. It's all one big journey of self discovery as a grower.
Take care...peace and buds to ya !
- Thread starter
- #26
Li Siu Loong
New Member
Oh yea...I saw some what I believe to be spidermites. At least I saw some timy white and red crawling creatures. Do you think HOT PEPPER WAX would be a good idea ?
Peace and buds to ya !
Peace and buds to ya !
Mr Bozo here.......dude, alll your info is pretty much on point and I will only say that my grows work. You dont know me Im sure which is cool but "Bozo" is a lil stront dont ya think? Im sure if you ask around bout me and my grows you will get some similar opinions. Im only saying that there are many ways to do things...I have tried some CRAZY stuff and gotten lemonade from moldy lemons.
Li.....glad to see you on board, Ive been down a bit and my account was screwy....hence the low post count but high rep count...
PM me if you need anything
- Thread starter
- #28
Li Siu Loong
New Member
Thank you Pit. Good to hear from you. I was down for a bit myself dealing with some serious family issues. Good thing is that my lady is getting some decent growth and besides a few minor problems, she's still standing strong. Again, nice to hear from you.
Peace, harmony, and big buds to you my friend...
nice work so far Mr. Li
caligrown gave you the hot advice.
the one thing is you said you were going to buy some heaters for your res? did you mean coolers? i hope. temp is one of the three big DWC factors IMHO. temp, PH, and Nutes. you want your res to sit around 68* if you can, which is pretty cold when its 80* outside. you can buy an aquarium chiller, but they are pretty expensive. your res is so small you could def get away with an "ice probe" by coolworks. 100 bucks, its thermoelectric so you just drill a hole in the side of your bucket and screw it in between a rubber grommit. look around on the net and you can find cheap ways to keep your res temp down w/o a chiller. like 2 liter bottles in the freezer then switch them out in your res. etc.
other than that your doin great, check the ph often, feed it lightly, change it every week - 10 days. and DWC can be very rewarding. I built my own DWC system for my first venture into HYDRO.
GL my brother.
amituofo. /\
WOF.
caligrown gave you the hot advice.
the one thing is you said you were going to buy some heaters for your res? did you mean coolers? i hope. temp is one of the three big DWC factors IMHO. temp, PH, and Nutes. you want your res to sit around 68* if you can, which is pretty cold when its 80* outside. you can buy an aquarium chiller, but they are pretty expensive. your res is so small you could def get away with an "ice probe" by coolworks. 100 bucks, its thermoelectric so you just drill a hole in the side of your bucket and screw it in between a rubber grommit. look around on the net and you can find cheap ways to keep your res temp down w/o a chiller. like 2 liter bottles in the freezer then switch them out in your res. etc.
other than that your doin great, check the ph often, feed it lightly, change it every week - 10 days. and DWC can be very rewarding. I built my own DWC system for my first venture into HYDRO.
GL my brother.
amituofo. /\
WOF.
- Thread starter
- #30
Li Siu Loong
New Member
My deepest appreciation for your advice and kind words. Again I may have been misinformed about the water temps. I thought I was supposed to keep the water near 77 degrees, thus the idea for the heater.
I thank you again for stopping by and for your words of inspiration and advice.
Peace, harmony, and big buds to you...
well, in DWC your roots are hanging right in your res.
someone earlier said maybe overwatering? the problem with overwatering plants is that they use up the available oxygen and then they are starved of it. root rot and bad things ensue. in DWC, you have an airstone constantly providing fresh oxygen to your roots keeping them healthy. therefore they cant drown or be over watered. but since they are always in water it is important to have a high oxygen content in the water. The amount of oxygen that can be held in the water is directly related to its temp. there is a forgiving margin in the 60's up to the mid 70's but over 77 probably has very little oxygen in it. 68* ish should be the target where the water holds the most oxygen. anywhere close should be good enough.
what kind of martial arts do you study? I have studied many.
someone earlier said maybe overwatering? the problem with overwatering plants is that they use up the available oxygen and then they are starved of it. root rot and bad things ensue. in DWC, you have an airstone constantly providing fresh oxygen to your roots keeping them healthy. therefore they cant drown or be over watered. but since they are always in water it is important to have a high oxygen content in the water. The amount of oxygen that can be held in the water is directly related to its temp. there is a forgiving margin in the 60's up to the mid 70's but over 77 probably has very little oxygen in it. 68* ish should be the target where the water holds the most oxygen. anywhere close should be good enough.
what kind of martial arts do you study? I have studied many.
- Thread starter
- #32
Li Siu Loong
New Member
Ok...I guess I need to invest in a submersible thermometer. I just turned the lights back on and foliar fed her and adjusted the ph to around 5.5...and the water felt very cool. But I am definatly getting enough oxygen to the roots. And actually she is looking very nice tonight. I will try and get some pix up soon.
The question about my studies has never been asked in this forum. So, this is going to take a minute. When I was 6 both my parents were killed in an automobile accident, and I was formally adopted by my Mother's closest friend. She and her family were from a small village in South Korea called Yong Dong Po. My oldest brother Song Hak was a devout student of Tae Kwon Do and he began instructing me when I was around 7.
I was formally introduced into the religion of Buddhism at an early age. My parents stressed many things...honesty, loyalty, education, and belief in one's self. I took many trips to Korea with my family, and when I was 17, I decided to go there to live. I stayed in Korea (mostly Seoul) for about 10 years. While I was there I trained my mind, body, and spirit in various Martial Art systems including Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Yong Do Sul. And around the age of 28, I moved to Hong Kong where I lived and studied for about 7 years studying Wing Chun Gung Fu.
I came back to America when I was 35 and began teaching Martial Art. This lasted for about 2 years and my inquisitive nature and thirst for knowledge once again took over, and I headed off to the Surin province in Thailand. I stayed there and studied Muay Boran for close to 6 years before returning here to America once again. While in Thailand I continued my religious use of cannabis which to this day plays a large part in my meditation and my daily life.
Kind of went on a rant there...sorry. I often get carried away when discussing Martial Art. What I teach now is more eclectic...no one system. Each must flow one into the other. A lot like Jeet Kune Do. What have you studied my friend ?
Peace, harmony, and big buds to you my friend...
tae kwon do in high school, but not like in korea. lol. My first experience was a good one too! I didn't have much money, and went to a pretty tough school in an inner city in the north east. I told my teacher that i couldn't pay, an he had me come in every day and take out the garbage and clean the mirrors and do other chores around the school. in exchange, I could take classes. loved it.
later in life, I dated a korean girl and had a chance to train with her adopted father. a real master. was a martial arts instructor for korean special forces during the war. but he would only teach me if i could run 5 miles with him on saturday mornings and then train after that. if i couldn't do that, he said i wasn't in good enough shap to train with him. he was in his 60's and could run 5 miles in less than 40 min. he never taught me anything. lol.
I lived in NYC and was fortunate enough to train in the shaolin temple. 3 years, 6-8 hours a day, 6 days a week. I was good, ripped my hip flexor on a cold morning throwing a side kick without warming up or stretching. dumb. ended my kung fu. moved out of the city back to my hometown.
Been Boxing since i got back (3 years or so). it has the best teachers in my area. Brutal sport, very tough. but fun to really get in there and get to work. learning a lot.
I take my nephew to tkd, when he gets older i might go back to it. i want to take jiu jitsu. or learn the way of the sword. become samurai.
anyways, off topic but cool my brother.
i studied buddism (lol) from the monks as well. (part of my agreement as my sifu's disciple)
later in life, I dated a korean girl and had a chance to train with her adopted father. a real master. was a martial arts instructor for korean special forces during the war. but he would only teach me if i could run 5 miles with him on saturday mornings and then train after that. if i couldn't do that, he said i wasn't in good enough shap to train with him. he was in his 60's and could run 5 miles in less than 40 min. he never taught me anything. lol.
I lived in NYC and was fortunate enough to train in the shaolin temple. 3 years, 6-8 hours a day, 6 days a week. I was good, ripped my hip flexor on a cold morning throwing a side kick without warming up or stretching. dumb. ended my kung fu. moved out of the city back to my hometown.
Been Boxing since i got back (3 years or so). it has the best teachers in my area. Brutal sport, very tough. but fun to really get in there and get to work. learning a lot.
I take my nephew to tkd, when he gets older i might go back to it. i want to take jiu jitsu. or learn the way of the sword. become samurai.
anyways, off topic but cool my brother.
i studied buddism (lol) from the monks as well. (part of my agreement as my sifu's disciple)
- Thread starter
- #34
Li Siu Loong
New Member
I have heard of an Shaolin Monk who intructs in NYC...can't think of his name right now. It sounds as if you have had a good journey thus far. And I know what you mean by training with the old school Masters. I can remember this huge hill in Seoul, VERY steep, that we were made to run up and down daily rain or shine. Damn I hated that. But the conditioning was unbelievable. Now, I'm an old man...least I feel like it.
Jiu Jitsu is a fine combative art, very applicable in real life situations. Overall I think the Gracie system is the most combat proven. I wish you well.
Nice to talk with you about this...we will speak of it again I am sure.
Peace, harmony, and big buds to you my brother...
Jiu Jitsu is a fine combative art, very applicable in real life situations. Overall I think the Gracie system is the most combat proven. I wish you well.
Nice to talk with you about this...we will speak of it again I am sure.
Peace, harmony, and big buds to you my brother...
- Thread starter
- #35
Li Siu Loong
New Member
Well, once again I have no camera so I have no pix. But I am watching her progress daily and I can tell you she's a little over 12" tall and about 15" wide today. And the drooping, a thing off the past. I am actually considering forcing her to flower pretty soon. I need to free up some grow space for my next project......and my mind, body, and spirit are really ready for my meds. 
I hope everyone out there is doing well, staying safe, and finding harmony and peace in thier own special ways...
...and my mind, body, and spirit are really ready for my meds. I hope everyone out there is doing well, staying safe, and finding harmony and peace in thier own special ways...
Glad she's doing well!
Do you think it was having the water level up too high that caused the drooping?
regards,
SS
Do you think it was having the water level up too high that caused the drooping?
regards,
SS
- Thread starter
- #37
Li Siu Loong
New Member
Not really sure at this point. The water level has dropped, but also I have adjusted the ph to 5.5 - 5.75 and I am using only half strength nutes. I also added another bubbler to the res. At any rate, she looks as if she is going to provide some nice fat medicinal budage...and I need it brother.
Thanks for stopping by, hope all is well.
Peace, harmony, and big buds to you...
Yo dude. You really need a ppm pen. I have had my water drop, and sometimes the ppm didn't rise at all. This kinda means its undernuted, and should be added nutrients. The general idea is to just top off with water, and in this case this wil l really hurt your plants.
Usually tho, when the water level drops, ppm raises by about 100-150, when about 3/4 of a gallon is missing. I usually add some water and tiny bit of acid to adjust. It's really important to keep your ppms controlled. My bubblegum, that thing is super picky. I would have killed it without my pen. That thing, say if you are supposed to be at 850, at 910 they will burn or at 790 they will be deficient. You will get much higher yield and bud quality, not to mention that if your plants are over ferted, a week flush may still leave nutes in there. I don't know, thats just my opinion. For 20 bucks shipped on ebay, I don't think its a bad investment at all. Not to mention you can test your tap water. Mine is about 430 ppm WAY TOO HIGH. so yeah. i run RO water. Numerous uses.
OH! and if your water level drops fast, thats good. If your plants are healthy and they drink solution, that's really good. I notice that when my plants are in top shape, during flowering they can drink up to 1/2 a gallon or more a day. (per plant so thats over 2 gallons sometimes). I think when ur plants are drinking a lot of solution, thats a good thing. It means they need food cuz they grow so fast!! (the solution doesn't just disappear you know)
I think that would be your primary investment. A camera would be nice too.
OH and p.s. I also did Kendo beginning when I was younger. Also, Tae Kwon Do when I was even younger than that. Truly this hobby is a hobby of patience. Love and understanding of your plants produces much love and happiness for you later. I think that is an awesome tradeoff.
A good submersible thermometer on ebay for about 6 bucks shipped. I use that its accurate. Goes from C to F and is digital, and has a probe that is waterproof. You can also turn it off if you want. lasts a real long time always on.
Usually tho, when the water level drops, ppm raises by about 100-150, when about 3/4 of a gallon is missing. I usually add some water and tiny bit of acid to adjust. It's really important to keep your ppms controlled. My bubblegum, that thing is super picky. I would have killed it without my pen. That thing, say if you are supposed to be at 850, at 910 they will burn or at 790 they will be deficient. You will get much higher yield and bud quality, not to mention that if your plants are over ferted, a week flush may still leave nutes in there. I don't know, thats just my opinion. For 20 bucks shipped on ebay, I don't think its a bad investment at all. Not to mention you can test your tap water. Mine is about 430 ppm WAY TOO HIGH. so yeah. i run RO water. Numerous uses.
OH! and if your water level drops fast, thats good. If your plants are healthy and they drink solution, that's really good. I notice that when my plants are in top shape, during flowering they can drink up to 1/2 a gallon or more a day. (per plant so thats over 2 gallons sometimes). I think when ur plants are drinking a lot of solution, thats a good thing. It means they need food cuz they grow so fast!! (the solution doesn't just disappear you know)
I think that would be your primary investment. A camera would be nice too.
OH and p.s. I also did Kendo beginning when I was younger. Also, Tae Kwon Do when I was even younger than that. Truly this hobby is a hobby of patience. Love and understanding of your plants produces much love and happiness for you later. I think that is an awesome tradeoff.
A good submersible thermometer on ebay for about 6 bucks shipped. I use that its accurate. Goes from C to F and is digital, and has a probe that is waterproof. You can also turn it off if you want. lasts a real long time always on.
- Thread starter
- #39
Li Siu Loong
New Member
Yo dude. You really need a ppm pen. I have had my water drop, and sometimes the ppm didn't rise at all. This kinda means its undernuted, and should be added nutrients. The general idea is to just top off with water, and in this case this wil l really hurt your plants.
Usually tho, when the water level drops, ppm raises by about 100-150, when about 3/4 of a gallon is missing. I usually add some water and tiny bit of acid to adjust. It's really important to keep your ppms controlled. My bubblegum, that thing is super picky. I would have killed it without my pen. That thing, say if you are supposed to be at 850, at 910 they will burn or at 790 they will be deficient. You will get much higher yield and bud quality, not to mention that if your plants are over ferted, a week flush may still leave nutes in there. I don't know, thats just my opinion. For 20 bucks shipped on ebay, I don't think its a bad investment at all. Not to mention you can test your tap water. Mine is about 430 ppm WAY TOO HIGH. so yeah. i run RO water. Numerous uses.
OH! and if your water level drops fast, thats good. If your plants are healthy and they drink solution, that's really good. I notice that when my plants are in top shape, during flowering they can drink up to 1/2 a gallon or more a day. (per plant so thats over 2 gallons sometimes). I think when ur plants are drinking a lot of solution, thats a good thing. It means they need food cuz they grow so fast!! (the solution doesn't just disappear you know)
I think that would be your primary investment. A camera would be nice too.
OH and p.s. I also did Kendo beginning when I was younger. Also, Tae Kwon Do when I was even younger than that. Truly this hobby is a hobby of patience. Love and understanding of your plants produces much love and happiness for you later. I think that is an awesome tradeoff.
A good submersible thermometer on ebay for about 6 bucks shipped. I use that its accurate. Goes from C to F and is digital, and has a probe that is waterproof. You can also turn it off if you want. lasts a real long time always on.
Ok...gonna show my ignorance here. But I don't understand what ppm is ? I believe I will research it and learn about it. I know I still have a lot to learn about what I am doing. And I accept ALL advice ! And I agree, a camera, thermometer, de-humidifyer, digital ph tester, more and better lights, damn...the list goes on and on. But I see it all as an investment anyway...and it WILL pay off in the end. Of that I am sure.
Thanks for stopping in.
Peace, harmony, and big buds to you...
lil techincal but I know you will get it.
What is the difference between ppm and EC?
I did my 1st grow w/o one and went fine. If you follow the chart on your nutes it will show the PPM. for example......20 ML per gallon equals 1000 PPM... dont use that as a true number, its just an example. some nutes are more or less concentrated. I DO recomend a PPM pen or monitor though so you can dial it in. as my friend previously stated (hes right) some strains are finicky, some are not.
What is the difference between ppm and EC?
I did my 1st grow w/o one and went fine. If you follow the chart on your nutes it will show the PPM. for example......20 ML per gallon equals 1000 PPM... dont use that as a true number, its just an example. some nutes are more or less concentrated. I DO recomend a PPM pen or monitor though so you can dial it in. as my friend previously stated (hes right) some strains are finicky, some are not.
Similar threads
