So close but still have questions

[doc4801]

Hi everyone! This is my first post. This site is amazing for information. I have learned so much reading posts. I have read through a bunch but I still have some questions. ( I get distracted easy when reading on the computer so these questions may have been asked already, sorry if they have)

A bit about my situation.

This will be my first grow. I am planning on going the DWC route. I do have plenty of time in the day to dedicate to a healthy grow. My room is 18x22. I am only gonna use a portion of it though. Probably 1-2 1000watt HP Sodiums. Or if costs permit the equivalent in 600 watt HPS's. going with 6x6 room per 1000watt. I am building the walls myself. Going with Mylar on the walls. and thinking 5 gallon buckets or 3-5 gallon totes. It is winter here and my floor is concrete, 1 of the walls is concrete and another is half concrete. I can adjust ceiling hieght as needed but it is about 8-10 ft ( i think...what ever the norm is in houses.)

OK i think that is good background to start asking questions...


1. Do i need a reservoir? I have heard not. If not do I just remove the lid with the plant and put it on a different bucket with a mix all ready inside?

2. Does removing the plant from the water expose roots to lights in a negative way?

3. will having a drip line on top cause the part of the root not submerged to get rot or anything else bad like that? or suffocate it?

4. when in veg should i go a certain length of time or certain height of plant before switching to flower?

5. I keep hearing keep the water below 69 deg F, but how cold is too cold? (its winter now and my room has concrete floors and 1 concrete wall and another half concrete wall)

6. I hear that recirculation gives the plants uneven nute uptake. is this true? Is there a way around this like an individual line to each bucket and a come back line from each bucket to the res.


Thank you for any information. I'm sure Ill have more questions once these get answered. I am hoping to get my room up and running by mid next month or the mid of Dec. Thank you again in advance for any and all answers.

 

[Bassman59]

I'm really tired right now, so I'm not going to address everything.

One thing for sure however, is #6. TOTALLY untrue. All of my grows use recirculation technique. No issues whatsoever with nutrient uptake.

ok time for a nap.

 

[doc4801]

Ty Bassman i appreciate the reassurance. thats 1 down and 5 more to go lol. I hate when i get little technical questions that my brain needs answered or it wont let go and starts to worry like #2.

 

[Richard Richardson]

Hello Doc

I can't answer your questions, but be patient, there are many here who can.
I would like to welcome you to and present you with some links

How vegetative growth time exponentially affects yield

Live or sterile?

 

[Bassman59]

Awake, cup o' joe in hand....

1. Reservoirs are used more for the grower that uses a recirculating system like those in my journal(s). For those of us with water temp issues we also have a chiller within the system holding temps at a proper 68f. Recirculating systems require a pump and linking all the buckets, and an in-line water pump. If not connecting the buckets and using recirculating your method will do wonderfully simply changing out pre-mixed buckets.

2. The short period involved will not hurt the roots. In fact, it's a nice little blast of oxygen. I have pulled girls out, placed them onto empty 5 gal buckets while draining/cleaning and replenishing my system. Easily leaving the girls out of water for 45 mins plus. The roots haven't been exposed to direct light for more than 5-10 mins however. I'm not sure what is safe for the light part of the question. But I do know 10 mins didnt hurt them.

3. No. But you'll need to have a way to recirculate or your buckets will overflow. Once you change to RDWC there's no need for drip. Drip would generally only be needed in the earliest veg while waiting for the roots to get to the water below. I don't use drip anymore, though I have. I plant clones with long ass roots, or set germinated seed low enough in the buckets and fill high enough with water that they get moist enough and the roots seek out the water below quickly.

4. The important things to keep in mind for veg period length are: 1) How deep does the light reach?How far of a distance? and: 2.) how tall is the room? You grow to what your room/lights can handle. Example: Buckets 13" tall, Light 9" deep. We now have 22" less than head room. Minus 7-10" for tops of plants to be away from light if you use good blowers to cool the lights. Say we have a 1k hps. The lights limitations for optimal penetration for growth is 36". So we also know the first few inches of the plants will be stalk and likely not produce much of anything and likely shouldnt be considered part of the range of light. Then we have to know the strain. Does it stretch 2x or 3x or more once flipped to flower? Search the internet for an idea on your strains. In the end, you can see the real production zone is limited to the light, say 36" on a 1k hps when used overhead. So we grow in veg to flip knowing the stretch to stay within the best zone or we super crop (bend) the hell out of them during that period to stay within the height limitations. **sry long answer.

5. I don't know for sure what is too cold. But I'd say anything in the 50's is getting there. I haven't had to deal with too cold. So I don't know.

Hope this answers all your questions.

 

[doc4801]

Ty Rico i checked out those links they were good and gave me a few more answers to random questions...i always have random questions backed up wanting to get answered.

 

[doc4801]

Hey Bassman Thank you so much for those answers they were exactly what i was hoping for information wise. I actually was gonna message you direct cause i had read some of your other posts but I haven't posted enough yet.

A couple things I was wondering though.

When you change nutes why do you put your plant in an empty bucket instead of one that all ready has a mixture in it?

I understand a drip line isn't needed after veg but would it help? I was thinking of running the line from the same bucket to prevent a need for a res. My thinking is getting more nutrient rich water to more root area. Or is that just overkill with no benefit.

 

[Bassman59]

Doc, I run RDWC, Recirculating Deep Water Culture. Or Undercurrent some will call it. Take a looke at my current journal and you'll see a pic of the system. With this setup, I have 1.5" diameter PVC connecting 4 grow buckets and a main reservoir. The entire system is recirculating through a 306 Gallon Per Hour pump and a water chiller, feeding back into the main reservoir. Since we cannot insert the pvc into the absolute bottoms of the buckets and seal them tight, we have to use special seals called "Uni-seals". This means the lowest part of the pvc is about 1-1/4" above the bottom. So when pumping out the nutrient, each bucket will still have a substantial amount of water left in when the pump runs dry. If I want to completely drain and replenish I have to take a plant out of the bucket with it's netpot lid and soak up the remaining gallon or more of water in each bucket. I usually wipe them down then too. Nothing major and no cleaning additives.

So when I pull the plant to clean up it's bucket I just place the netpot lid onto an empty 5 gal bucket. Doesnt take long and the extra oxygen is good for the plants anyways.

I also dont use drip lines. But that's because I root them longer in a cloning tray and have long ass roots to start that I snake through the netpot lid and into the nutrient when I transplant into the big buckets to begin their veg season.

I hope that explains it.