DWC / Grow Box ?

Hello People... been reading these forums for quite a while now and finally got the cash to take the plunge in growing my own.

I decided to do DWC instead of soil because I live in an apartment and I honestly thing the DWC will be easier and cleaner for me in the long run.

Anyways, I ordered the Stealth Hydro DWC with the 4 4" pots. I'm going to be growing Snow White, decent price for the seeds and seems hydro/newb friendly. My main question is, has anyone done a stealth box similar to jethro's with a smaller DWC kit inside of it? I'm thinking of doing this but instead of 2 totes I will be using 3 just to be sure I have enough head room for the plants.

I'm going to home depot in a few minutes to go snag a ton of stuff since I have the weekend off. I want to get most of the box complete in the next 3 days.

All that said, I plan on putting together a nice log with lots of pics to detail my first grow. Any input though on the DWC/Box combo would be much appreciated!

Also, I'm going with CFL's since heat and weight are obviously an issue. I'm going to try and get huge totes so I can line the inside walls with fluorescents to hit the sides of the plants.

These are the Rubbermaid totes I picked up today. $15 bucks a piece. My Nokia n75 has a 2megapixel camera but you couldn't tell it from these dog shit looking pictures.

35 Inches of depth... You guys think that I should pick up another to stack or just crop the plants according to space?

*edit* I'm guessing for maximum avoidance of light leakage I should just go with some mylar? The PC case fans are looking pretty tempting because of the cost but do they move enough air for 4 plants that will be nearly 3 ft tall? I REALLY don't want to spend the money on an inline fan but I'll do whatever some of you vets think is best.

So far I have Red/Blue Spectrum Compact fluorescents that are roughly 6800 Lumen. And two white CF's that are 4400 Lumens combined. So, roughly 11000 Lumens. Any thoughts? I haven't yet purchased any smaller satellite fluorescent tubes but I want to do at least 4 around the walls of the DWC to hit the lower parts of the plants. Any suggestions on what ballasts/bulbs are good?

i ve done this. only sog and much smaller. you are going to want some more lights whenever you can get them. maybe look into getting a $35 4ft shop light and take the ballast and starter out, connect it all and put some of those in there?
i cut the back out of a 9" house fan.....as in the guard and motor attached and put it in my box for an intake. works wonders, leaves no need for exhaust and cuts down on smell LOTS.

i was going to make a tutorial on this but i didn't have time. My plan was for the res tote(the bottom one that will hold the roots and nutes) to use a smaller one like in your case if ur using a 4inch netpot you can go with a 18gal tote box. For the top go for a bigger one like a 30 gal(thats about 1 size up) then cut at the bottom of the 30gal tote so that it can sit directly on top of the 18 gal and have your plants inside that 30 tote chamber, then you can aluminum foil the inside of the 30 gal.

On another note if u want to do this you cannot start with seeds, if you do the seeded plant will grow too bushy and will cause you alot of problem inside that chamer. Best thing to do is to grow a small mother plant and go sog style in that dwc.

For a layout check out my gal theres a 30 gal tote box i did myseld that hold 6 6inch netpot, one of them was sog'ed and the other one wasn't soged and was really bushy check it out.

Waffle- My plan was to start this out veryyy slowly and then work it into a pretty nice sog operation. I bought the 56 gallons totes and 2 of my 4 pot DWC reservoirs will fit in there. I'm even able to build a divider in the 56gallon tote so I can have 2 separate operations going on in them. The only thing I haven't figured out is what I'm going to do about the mother and keeping her in veg. Ultimately that part of what I want may have to wait for a bit because I can't afford a metal halide bulb or any other small kits to grow stuff with for a bit... I just dropped a couple hundred on this setup.

Or, perhaps put the mother on one side of the 56 and just keep running a small sog on the other? I just dont' know how well the clones would do on the side with the mother... perhaps I could just buy a tiny tray and dome for the clones while rooting them.

Today I'm going to radio shack to pick up some 120mm fans and an ac adapter. Probably going to do 2 120mm exhaust fans and a passive intake with 2-4 80mm fans around the base of the DWC angled up to the underside of the plants. I figured out the cubic ft of the totes and that should move plenty of air for it. Roughly 160cfm.

Last night I installed 2 of the lights with eye hooks on the lid of the top tote. I wanted to do an entire 3-4 socket lighting unit but I was kind of unsure how I'd easily manipulate the lighting if I need to with that. So I opted to use the eye hooks and small 65 watt single sockets that will each have 2 2200 lumen CFL's in them.

So, I'm off to get the fans and some more lights! Hopefully tonight I can put up some decent pics for you all to peruse. Won't get my mylar for a few days as I ordered it from HTG yesterday since no places around here sell it.

honestly i dont really see any solution of having a mother in those things. The problem with having a mother isn't keeping her in veg, but keeping them small. You'll have to find a seperate room for your mother plant. If you can't do that then i think the best way to go is to grow it outdoor somewhere. Don't go gurrilla with it you can just keep it and go there to take clones from it.

wafflehouselover said:

honestly i dont really see any solution of having a mother in those things. The problem with having a mother isn't keeping her in veg, but keeping them small. You'll have to find a seperate room for your mother plant. If you can't do that then i think the best way to go is to grow it outdoor somewhere. Don't go gurrilla with it you can just keep it and go there to take clones from it.

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you can keep mothers in there. top a plant at every node and the clones you get from it will be small but will work just as fine (i believe they root faster). it will be smaller but have twice as many tips everythime you top it. chances are you will get lots more clones than you need though. you can keep a mother forever in veg if you keep her cut back.

kochab said:

you can keep mothers in there. top a plant at every node and the clones you get from it will be small but will work just as fine (i believe they root faster). it will be smaller but have twice as many tips everythime you top it. chances are you will get lots more clones than you need though. you can keep a mother forever in veg if you keep her cut back.

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Awesome info man! I'm thinking after this first batch I'll do this. Since I'm space limited you think I can just rig up a 5 gallon DWC for the mother?

edit** Radio shack wanted like $24 for some shitty sleeve 120mm fan. You can get like 80cfm fans for like $9 at newegg.com

yeah and fairly easy. walmart in my lil ass town had a livewell kit in the hunting and fishing section. hada good sized submersable bilge pump on it with a 6" airstone attached to the bottom. I think it was $25. Im gonna go pick one up to start a mother plant on myself. ill let you know how it goes.

do a mother in soil it will be better for you, dwc will accelerate the growth way too fast then you'll have no room for it. For soil you can keep the plants small by root bounding it.

wafflehouselover said:

do a mother in soil it will be better for you, dwc will accelerate the growth way too fast then you'll have no room for it. For soil you can keep the plants small by root bounding it.

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just keep the plants roots cut back. the vegatative growth on the plant will never reach a point where the roots cannot sustain it. keep the root ball small and bushy and the canopy to the plant will do the same.

either way, by cutting it back or making it grow slower, it WOULD have to be slowed down quite a bit.

Yea, I ordered the fans and I got my DWC kit. I put it in the totes to see how much room I have and there is plenty. Granted, I'm leaving extra for foliage and what not since I'm still new to this and have no real idea how big these will get while flowering. I'm thinking for cost effectiveness perhaps the soil will be the best way to go since I won't need another air pump and thats always good. We'll see how the germination goes too when I start that up in a few days. If enough pop I can get a mother ready to go right away otherwise I'm going to have to take a clone to be a mother because I bought feminized to maximize my space and didn't get many.

Thanks a ton for the insight fellas! I should be getting my mylar tomorrow I hope and then I can start putting it all together for real, and I'll post up the pics when ASAP!

kochab said:

just keep the plants roots cut back. the vegatative growth on the plant will never reach a point where the roots cannot sustain it. keep the root ball small and bushy and the canopy to the plant will do the same.

either way, by cutting it back or making it grow slower, it WOULD have to be slowed down quite a bit.

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Let me see you keep a mom in a dwc small that fits on one of those 50 gal tubberware.

stack two of em on top of each other and use the lids to keep them separated (cutting holes in one lid and bottom of one container) and that takes care of all the height problems.

i use one like this and keep a "variety smoke" grow going on in my room aside from whatever grow that im devoting most of my time to. they are good for growing clones from several different strains to sample the smoke before you plant an entire crop.

On the subject of mothers, what is a good size to keep them at to be able to get 12 good clones every couple of two months or so.

I got my Thermaltake 120mm Fans... 80cfm each. I'm thinking that I'll just use the two of them for exhaust and just have a small oscillating fan on the shrubbery. That ok?

Also, my fans are ratd for a current of .45 amps and an input of 5.4 watts... what type of amp output should I be looking for in my DC adapter? I remember hearing a while ago that you can have more but not less amperage? I'm no electrician though so if anyone knows for sure that would kick ass.

Quick update! Well, I have seeds marinating in some weak nute water in a sealed container, between a few saturated paper towels. The container is in the middle of a huge folded blanket that was placed on top of a heating pad on low. Only 24 hours later 4 of my 7 seeds are cracked at the side and stuff is trying to emerge! I finished my box by covering the sides in mylar (and the lid) and hanging some eye-hooks for the lights to suspend from. The DWC is set, and I have a few gallons of distilled water to start the younglings out. Can't wait! I'll get pics up when I put the plants in the DWC.

Ok, so I finally got everything and germed a handful of snow whites (feminized). The box I made is nice but I was really unhappy with the lighting. For this first grow I'm only doing 4 plants in DWC but would like to bump it up to 6 for the second. I also wanted the ability of taking clones and keeping my harvests closer together. So, I ordered a 250watt HPS/MH setup and am just going to hang it in a small portion of my spare bedroom closet. Then I'll use the box for cloning. Since I only have so many plants I wanted the most bud from them all, and I just didn't feel that confident in the CFL's and their output. Anyways, the MH/HPS light should be here today and then I'll switch the kids over to that.

Here is a pic of the girls... the one drooped a tad when moving it into the DWC, but she's already perking back up 12 hours later. Its funny because they've been in the DWC like 18 hours and already they're developing their 3rd set of leaves. Can't wait to see how this stuff takes off under the MH.


Edit: Do you guys know of anything I should be using, as far as anti fungals and root protection? I've read a few hyrdo threads talking about additives to the nute water but am unsure of what I need and/or should get. Thanks!

setup looks good but looks like u need to put your light closer your plants r strechting a little....

Serotonin said:

Ok, so I finally got everything and germed a handful of snow whites (feminized). The box I made is nice but I was really unhappy with the lighting. For this first grow I'm only doing 4 plants in DWC but would like to bump it up to 6 for the second. I also wanted the ability of taking clones and keeping my harvests closer together. So, I ordered a 250watt HPS/MH setup and am just going to hang it in a small portion of my spare bedroom closet. Then I'll use the box for cloning. Since I only have so many plants I wanted the most bud from them all, and I just didn't feel that confident in the CFL's and their output. Anyways, the MH/HPS light should be here today and then I'll switch the kids over to that.

Here is a pic of the girls... the one drooped a tad when moving it into the DWC, but she's already perking back up 12 hours later. Its funny because they've been in the DWC like 18 hours and already they're developing their 3rd set of leaves. Can't wait to see how this stuff takes off under the MH.


Edit: Do you guys know of anything I should be using, as far as anti fungals and root protection? I've read a few hyrdo threads talking about additives to the nute water but am unsure of what I need and/or should get. Thanks!

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as far as special products are concerned, they are nice to have but not a nescessity. I test my water once a month for ph since my house is on a stream that i use for my plants. the water is always the same 6.5 - 7.5
. I use basic soil food in my dwc systems. You know like the powdered peters kind? I also add 1 drop of super thrive for every gallon of water if I want to increase root mass, but the superthrive cuts a bit back on canopy growth. this may not be the best way to grow or even the most proper, but it is working fine with great results.
i get @ least a half ounce of of each sog clone that I flower. if i give them close attention it can be closer to an ounce but im too lazy so ill just grow more plants