here's my journal, this is my first attempt at DWC, so if anyone sees anything that i do wrong please don't hesitate to correct me, and thank you in advance...

ok so, where to begin? I'll start by stating the obvious, i'm a complete newb to anything having to do w/plants, but this year i planted my first garden ever, w/u know tomatoes, jalepenos, flowers, and stuff... since then i've taken great interest in plants in general, but the whole reason i started the garden was to try and grow sum green (actually had two growing in the garden, but they started getting really big and noticable and i got scared). i had a successful attempt w/a miraclegro organic soil plant (schwag seed) that i took from seed to harvest inside w/sum CFLs.

anyhow, after reading a bunch of posts here at RIU i've decided to try a DWC (deep water culture) grow. not going for anything spectacular, just two ladies hopefully. i acquired a few seeds from sum friends that said they managed to get them from good buds they've had, one guy had been holding onto his seed for years, said it was the best he ever had and if i could grow it he'd let me have it. so i planted it.

as far as supplies go...

i have sum net cups, hydroton, rockwool cubes, fox farm nutrients, ph up & down, and a ph tester (not digital) already...

went to home dePOT and picked up
2 - 1/2" funny fittings
10' of 1/2" vinyl tubing
1 of those lil seed starter things (u'll c in pic)

then off to wally world picked up
1 - 10" airstone
1 - air pump and tubing
2 - of those rubbermaid shoeboxes w/lids (2 just in case i mess one up or wanna make another)
1 - roll of reflective duck tape.

i took the seed starter thing, it has lil pucks in the holes that u put water in and they expand, i took all the lil pucks out of the holes. i inserted 3 - 1" rockwool cubes into 3 of the holes and stuck my seeds in. i did not feel i would need to germinate the seeds prior to planting b/c i got my last seed to sprout and grow in one of these things except i used the dirt puck instead of the rockwool. i added water, put the lid on, and waited. it only took about 3 days and i got 2 lil sprouts (the 3rd still hasn't sprouted but that's ok i only wanted 2)

meanwhile, i took one of the shoeboxes and cut two holes in the lid big enough to hold two 3" net cups. then i drilled two 3/4" holes in the top and bottom side of the box, screwed the funny fittings in, and ran a length of vinyl tubing between them (this is going to serve as sumwhat of a drain/level). had to use sum silicon to try and seal the lower fitting, still waiting for it to dry. i also drilled a lil hole in the side for the air hose to run out to the pump. then i covered the whole box w/the reflective tape.

the plan is, hopefully tomorrow, after the silicon dries and if there are no leaks, to take my babies out of the starter, put them into the net cups w/the rockwool and sum hydroton, and then into the water. i'm going to have them under 2 daylight (blue spectrum) CFLs (i forget the wattage) on 18/6 time at first. i have 2 more of the same CFLs ready and waiting to add, and i have 4 of the cool white (red spectrum) to switch to for flowering. the 4 lights seemed to be enough for my first plant, but i'm not sure since there's going to be 2 this time if i'm going to need more light. since the roots are going to be in the water basically at all times i'm planning on running the airstone 24 hours.

so there's the plan... as things progress when i have time i will post updates. any questions or feedback will be answered and greatly appreciated. the pics for now are just to show the starter they're currently in and the system they will be in. i have noticed upon close inspection of the sprouts that they seem to be kinda crystally already, or they seem fuzzier then my first plant was at this early stage. dunno if it's a good sign or what, but hopefully all will turn out good.

Attached Images

	starter.jpg (39.4 KB, 14 views)
	system.jpg (69.0 KB, 15 views)

DOH! long story short, in the words of Arnie from What's eating Gilbert Grape, "I killed 'em Gilbert..." my dumb ass drowned them... no worries tho, not that anyone's paying attention, but i got new seeds goin, put em in the lil starter monday, i think... and they're starting to sprout today... prolly move them to the net cups day after tomorrow... i kno what i did wrong and y they drowned, and will not be making the same mistake. however, that doesn't make it for sure that the new one's will survive... i can hope tho.

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Speak... I don't get it. Should I redo the fashion or go buy the book? I don't want it, I just want your eyes fixated on me!

so, transplanted the sprouts into the system today... one seems just fine, but the other seems to be having sum trouble adjusting. within 20 mins of being in the system the top leaves started to curl. the other leaves seem to be fine, and the sprout's still standing up, just the curled top leaves... tried to take pic but the camera won't focus...

Attached Images

insyst.jpg (54.1 KB, 8 views)

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Speak... I don't get it. Should I redo the fashion or go buy the book? I don't want it, I just want your eyes fixated on me!

Your making a good start
Keep adding to your knowledge and equipment.
Growing hydro ain't cheap.
but its fun and worth the money.

More than likely your leaf curl is due to the pH being out.

Rockwool is tricky to keep pH adjusted,
so the modern way is with neoprene or coco.

Your gonna want to get some good meters if your serious about hydro.

Getting a American Marine PinPoint pH meter is a good investment($100on ebay)
and a way to measure the TDS is advisable
again a quality meter by PinPoint is the way to go.

Also you need good water to start with
so most growers eventually find it cheaper
to invest in a Reverse Osmosis machine
(again ebay $100-150)

The RO machine will make your grow successful
along with careful control of the pH and the TDS.

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4 inch PVC Aero with Chiller
Aero Space Shuttle
Vicious NothernBerry hempy bucket

thanx for the advice earl.

yes i think my issue may have been the ph as my meter sucks i don't think i was getting a true reading... it seemed like i was pouring half the friggin bottle of minus in and only managed to get the ph to drop from above 7 to right at 6... i guess i should probably hold off on attempting anything until i get a better meter...

they stood up and survived all day, left em over night only to find them dead this morning.

i'm wondering if it's all to do with the ph or if maybe i'm putting them in the system too early. maybe i should let the sprouts grow more root in the lil seed starter for like a week or two before i put em in the water...? maybe then they'd have more of a chance of survival...?

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Speak... I don't get it. Should I redo the fashion or go buy the book? I don't want it, I just want your eyes fixated on me!

It's never too early to put them in the dwc system,
as long as they have roots.

Your problem is pH and water.

Invest in quality american made meters
and you will be able to grow like a pro.
.

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4 inch PVC Aero with Chiller
Aero Space Shuttle
Vicious NothernBerry hempy bucket