1st Cabinet Scrog Grow, Please Critique

[tucker99]

I've been reading so much I have info overload. So I thought I would just put the grow out to the board "elders" for some newb advice.

1) Cabinet grow for personal use: Standard metal office storage cabinet: 72"H X 36"W X 18" Deep (need stealth)
2) Method: DWC, 1-plant, SCROG screen. Seems to yield the most product with 1-plant in confined space. species: C99 Cindy, LST, or Papaya. From research, open to other suggestions
3) Lighting: Mars Reflector Series 98 X 3
4) Ventilation: 4" vortex style fan with scrubber (from ebay) ventilated outdoors via unused dryer vent. Using speed controller as required. 2-4" passive cut outs in bottom rear of cabinet for intake.

The cabinet will be down my basement so high temps shouldn't be an issue. It will be located next to my sump pump so water changes will not be a problem. Reading how DWC with a scrog is PIA in terms of maintenance (water changes). This location should make it easier. I'm still confused on some basic things and can't help thinking I'm just looking in the wrong places:

1) Make up water: I know it should be PH adjusted but what about nutes, should I just let the TDS meter tell me if I need to add?
2) Weekly water changes. PH adjusted and adjust TDS to level of discarded water?
2) Net pot coverups: Notice in the journals some guys cover their clay with plastic bowls, saran wrap, etc. Is this to keep humidify in check?
3) The forum elders tell me for best results used feminized seeds from a seed bank. Makes sense and takes the guess work out of sexing. Several ways to germinate. Really like just putting a presoaked seed in a rock wool cube and nesting it in the hydoton. A stupid question: How do you position the seed to insure it sprouts up not down?
4) Should I begin 24hr light schedule immediately after inserting the seed?
5) DWC tote: Where is the best place to cut hole for air line and power cord for aquarium heater (during winter use)
6) Been reading about 'wind burn". Is this a real concern with just a small clip fan?
7) Nutes and supplements: Good grief there are so many mention on the fourm, I was going to just search the popular names as see how many hits come up for each. The one with the most hits seems to be the logical choice.
a) Supplements, Aquashield and Z7 for root rot, Mag/Cal supplement for the LED's, NPK Mighty Wash for mites, Botanicare Hydroguard for high rez temps. On & on, should I buy this stuff and keep in on hand just in case? Or, practice good maintenance and not see these problems?

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[5chord]

Hey Tucker,

I'm not a guru, just somebody a few steps ahead of you. I feel your pain as I spent many many hours (and still do) scouring 420 and the internet for answers to my many questions. I'm not going to even try and answer everything you've thrown out there but I'll give you some insight from my experience.

1st off if you can keep the res temps below 80F you are golden....But if you can't you're going to have to do a few things:

1. Oxygenate the crap out of the water with air stones/diffusers (Actually do this anyway)
2. change out your res once a week and throw a cap full of bleach in when you re-fill it. Yes bleach.
3. If you get slime and/or poopy roots (and you will) scrub out the res and air stones (while suspending the plant over a bucket or sink) with dish soap and bleach. The plants do not mind bleach in small amounts. It's probably the most important thing I've learned
4. Supplements like Z7 and Hygrozyme (I-Grow-Slime) might work, (and I've had mixed results with them) but IMHO there is no substitute (or cheaper fix than) bleach.

A few other things......

Don't over-nute! This will cause an incredible amount of issues including but not limited to plant toxicity and out-of-control mold/mildew/slime situations. Less is more. Don't buy into ridiculous claims of huge yields. Pick a reputable company and stick withe their recipe

Adjust your TDS to what your chosen nute/supplement regime says it should read. I use Technaflora's Boost, Grow, Bloom.....For veg the TDS should be 1550 and bloom no higher than 2200.....I now cut those figures by 25%. Again less is more.

Yeah, scrog will be a giant PIA with res changes. Try LST instead. I use paper clips.

You sound like you are on the right track, so just do it! Don't hesitate to ask as I'm more than happy to help.......But I'm a noob too!

 

[tucker99]

Thanks for the reply chord. Those are some very high TDS values. So as a rule you are now using 25% of what is recommended on the bottle correct? Is this from trial and error? Yea, I have 2-6" air stones coming with a 60-gal dual outlet pump. It escapes me the problems guys have with the res bucket. I see some guy's roots that are a beautiful white and others that are brown slim. Yea, I'm bagging the scrog for my first time grow. Maybe after some experience under my belt. So the LST method creates a SOG correct? Trying to develop a method of attaching my tie down strings to he tote. When removing you plant to wash you bucket how do deal with all your tie down devices?

 

[SenorVerde23]

Sounds like you got a great start. I'm doing my first hydro grow. I had the same questions. I still haven't even out my ScrOg because I am not a good 100% sure how to do it. Plus I would like my plant taller before I ScrOg. I have a 6 in air disc that works wonders. It keeps my solution aerated to the max. Post pics when u can I just oils love to see your set up. Check mine out when u get a chance.

 

[tucker99]

Yea, I'm still mulling the scrog screen over. I'm researching the LST and it seems as much a PIA as the scrog. The problem is with the res changes and how to handle the res lid with the net pot in it and the scrog screen. BUT I have an idea. Instead of washing the res tub, I think I'm just going to buy 2 res totes exactly the same. It will be a 2-person operation but seems do-able. 1-guy lifts up res lid with the scrog screen; another guy removes the emptied res tub and slides in the clean one. Just ordered my light, blower w/scrubber, and seeds (Nirvana Chrystal) so I need to get things in gear! That bleach wash chord talks about scares the shit out of me!

 

[5chord]

Hey Tucker,

I use paperclips (and rubberbands at first) to secure the branches to the lid

This way I can easily (NOT always) remove the lid and rest over a bucket or sink while I clean. Don't be afraid to leave the roots out of the water for 10-15 minutes. They actually seem to like it.

Bleach is your friend When you smell mildew it's too late (not really)

 

[tucker99]

Thanks chord. Great idea with rubber bands. Nice gentle stretch. Assuming you have several air stones in your res, how does it vent? Through the hydroton balls? What is creating the mildew?

 

[5chord]

I get rid of the rubber bands after a day or two and bend them further using just the clips. You can bend them quite a bit, but they will break too if you're not careful.

A combination of a hot res, over-nuting and excessive light entering the tank will create an out of control mold/mildew/slime situation in a hurry, but any one of those factors left unchecked will get you into trouble.

Keep the area as clean (bleach lol) and dry as possible. Mildew/mold love humid, dark areas. Keep as much light out of the tank as possible as it will cause algae to grow. Over-nuting and high res temps just makes everything happen much faster and a lot worse. Don't waste time and money with h202 when you notice something going south. Scrub the tank and stones as soon as you notice any of the above. If you notice a mildew smell you need to act fast.

Organic (brown) nutes and ferts will stain your roots and make it difficult to notice root issues. I chose to go sterile this grow. Mostly anyway.

I keep 4 large airstones in each of my 3 tanks. I have 2-10gal and 1-14 gal res'.. They vent through the hydroton filled netpots.

This WW should be ready in early August