Do you have 30 seconds to help a DWC noob?

Howdy everyone:

I will try to be brief, I'm new to hydro, and will be continuing to add to my ever growing cut-and-paste from RIU collection-slash-instruction-manual -- in the meantime, I'm betting you guys can probably answer a couple of my quick questions just by looking at the attached pictures.

ONE FACTOR that may be contributing is, I didn't soak the Super Starter Plugs that the seeds are in -- they cracked early on me, and I didn't know plugs needed to be soaked -- I doused them regularly with H2O during their first few days, but not since moving them to the bubbler rez. I mist a couple times a day, should I be soaking the plugs continuously with a dropperful of RO water regularly?

My overall questions are:

1) Are these still tiny for 7 days from seed? They grew to this height within 3-4 days, and seem to have stalled (to me) -- 2 are ICE, 2 are WW

2) 2 of my original 6 seeds (germinated in a cup, and sank like all the others, so should be viable) have done NOTHING ("Top44" strain from Nirvana) -- any quick tips to give them a "boost" before I declare them DOA? Is 7 days without sprouting too early to say they're no good?

3) Can someone describe to me how much bubbling my airstones should be doing? The pics below are hard to tell, I worry my airstones are underpowered -- should there be, say 100 bubbles breaking at the surface each second (like what I have), or should it be an absolute roiling, frothy sea of turbulence in there?

If you need specifics of my setup to tell me more, here they are (otherwise jsut common-sense feedback is much appreciated!). Each baby has one 26w (100w equiv) Daylight CFL 6500 K. The clear cups over the plants keep humidity higher, they stay around 75-80 F on a 24-hour light schedule. The water in the bubbler (and what I mist with now, and drenched with earlier) is RO water pH'ed to between 5.5-6.0, with 2 drops of superthrive per gallon. The water level in the tub is about 1/2" ABOVE the bottom of the pots, which have 1 layer of hydroton and then the starter cube (taproots are about 1-1.5" each, but aren't visible). Water temps 63-65 F, plant temps 73-78 F. If you need more info for a response, just say the word.

TIA!

I would get a second airpump pumping that 2nd airstone...the more bubbly the better. When you tee off of one air pump it kinda kills the intesity of the airstone bubble action a bit.

Need to see pics of the roots if thats possible please....how do they look?

Other than that, put your lights you say your using cfl's right? Get your cfl's like with 2 inches of your plants.....

Good luck and Peace!

Thankee, grover, er, I mean bullethead. I don't have a closed environment for the plants yet -- should I get rid of the clear cups to get the lights that close (sacrificing humidity, room is probably 55% at best)?

If not, perhaps i will step-up their transfer to my decommissioned refrigerator (I'm busy running ducting for my cooltube, currently)

55% humid aint bad.....getting rid of the cups sounds better I think.

Me personally... I wouldn't T-bone your lines from the one pump outlet to two airstones. I've literally saw my plants THRIVE like a motherfucker using 1 airpump that had 2 outlets, and each one controlled its own airstone. I had 2 airstones in one resevoir just like you. I got my dual air outlet airpump from Walmart and it works extremely well and bubbles a shitload, slightly vigorous but not too overpowering.

From the looks of yours, I'd want it to bubble more!

Thank you guys, I bought a monster 2-outlet pump today, and have done away with the cups for the sake of geting my CFLs closer. Will soon to be to 2 CFLs per plant, hopefully they'll take off!

If you have a second, can you re-read and gimme a guess for my first 2 questions (are these small for 7 days, and any tips to give my non-sprouting seeds a good "kick?")

Subscribed bro!

Whats ur water level?

Your plants look normal for thier age. You cant really tell at 7 days..some plants take off leter as they mature, others grow fast early on....yours are too early, they look fine, dont over nuture them......you shouldnt be given them any nuts until roots touch water, then ease into 1/4 strength nuts...nothing but ph'd perfect water should be all they getting for now, that and all the oxygen from the bubbly water!

On the seeds that havnt shown up yet, you need to check on them. Did you crack them BEFORE putting them into the cups to make sure they were any good in the first place?

For 7 days, looks like healthy growth

Bullethead21 said:

On the seeds that havnt shown up yet, you need to check on them. Did you crack them BEFORE putting them into the cups to make sure they were any good in the first place?

Click to expand...

I did not crack them -- this is my first grow, so I just soaked them in a cup of RO water (each strain in its own). They all sunk 12-14 hours later, and 4/6 took off immediately, the last 2 looked identical -- tiny hole on the top (opposite the point/taproot) looked a little white and open...

In any case, can I perhaps do the nail-file trick along the edges to help them along? Is there another easy trick?

Truth be told, I don't have room for 6 plants -- I'll be growing ScrOG in a modified fridge (it's pretty sick, I'll post plans in a journal in the near future). But Sarah Palin hates to see 2 babies go to waste...

onthedl0008 said:

Subscribed bro!

Whats ur water level?

Click to expand...

I cut a tub in half, horizontally, which is pretty slick. The bottom holds the water (only 6" tall or so, prolly 3" of space under the pots), the top and lid fit down over the bottom, so I have a nice big tank, but don't have to use 10 gallons every time I fill it. Once the roots outgrow this tub, I have an un-cut full size one so I can just transfer the lid w/the netpots intact.

As for the water level, I currently have it a little less than an 1" ABOVE the bottom of the netpots -- in cross-section, I imagine the water level is just touching the bottom of the starter plugs, so likely the roots are submerged at this point. Advice? Lower the level? Raise the level?

I have a 10 gallon tank also that holds both water and the lid on top like DWC but with a pump inside the tank feeding tube going to each net pot and I use 3 6 inch airstones all with thier own air pumps.

I use 6 gallons of water and that seems about perfect. Puts water about just a couple inches from bottom of net pots, but roots are in the water anyhow so as long as you got good bubbly action you should be cool. The more airstones and pumps the better! You should have planty of room for roots, with six it will get really tight!

You can gently put those seeds back in maybe new cubes if old ones are really soaked and collapes if you say they did indeed crack. SOme seeds are just slower than others, but if it cracked , it should be ok. I would put back gently and not very deep at all in the cube this time and give it another week maybe.


Godd luck!

awesome, thanks again bullethead... I have a small submersible pump, is it worthwhile to hook it up to constantly be squirting a little water down on the hydroton? I figured with the light exposure and the fact the roots have the misty air/tub water to use, that would be overkill.

Does it perhaps save you the trouble of misting/re-wetting? I'll read up on it later, as well, if you're getting sick of holding my hand Thanks again!

Not a problem. Mine is a Bubbleponics system. Basically its deep water culture with a bonus. You got a 10 gallon tank with 6 gallon of nutes/water. You got your airstones at the bottom, the more the better, you want it bubbling like crazy in there to where it splashes a little.

Then there is a small pump in the tank also with 6 "feeder" tubes that pump the oxygen filled water in the tank up to each net cup in the system which its a 6 cup/plant system. You can daisy chain these things togehter to if you want more than 6. Thats easy to do as well.

Thats about it...these sysem seem to work very well with or without the pump pumping the oxygen filled water to each net cup.....its good either way. I just like the extra pump being there pumping that water to the net cups holding the hydroton rocks and RW cubes....it provides a trickle of water constantly over the roots that hanging down beneath the net cups.....to my logic mind, they helpd to promote fast growth and healthy plants.