First Indoor Dwc System

pattykakes · May 31, 2011

Hey all, this is my first attempt to a indoor DWC system. I am aware that I have alot of space for 4 plants, well I only went with 20gal reservoir so any more and I would be trying to keep up I think. Plus with only 4 I have plenty of room to make them short and fat which is what I prefer. I may have made a rookie mistake though, I added nutes a few days ago only at 50% but it doesn't seem to be affecting them, they seem to be growing kinda slow though. Throw me some thoughts, they are 9 days old.

defcomexperiment · Jun 1, 2011

if you notice your temps are hard to control, i would suggest going with a cooler for your res. also, preemptively i would fill maybe a couple two liters 3/4 full and freeze them. if you do not have a little digital aquarium temp, get one, it will save you time. they are like $2 on ebay. check your water daily, dont overnute. even in flower i do not go over 1.5 ec, i have yet to come across anything that i had to go any higher than that for. make sure your lid is lightproof, it does not look like it is at all. you can use foil to lightproof things, metal tape, panda film, w/e, but the one thing you want to do is make sure it is lightproof. keep those temps under 68F. i like to make sure i keep my temps right around 65F. if you dont have meters, get some. i would suggest getting the extech exstik ph110 refillable ph meter, because instead of having to replace electrodes, you just refill the thing with some solution that costs $10. ive yet to have to refill mine. its like $100, and has interchangeable tips, so you can get the ec one as well... best fuckin meter hands down. good luck with the grow!

Mineralz · Jun 1, 2011

Looks like a clean setup

I think you're gonna be surprised around Week 3/4 of Veg tho when they fluff out. Ur prolly gonna see some crowding at each end of your rez. You ever considered a SCROG? Btw..which strains did you choose for this grow? Good luck and happy growing

BendBrewer · Jun 1, 2011

9 days from germination? I don't know if I would be giving them any nutes yet. Maybe some B1 but easy on the nutes. They are stilll babies.

Looks nice and compact. It's going to get crowded. That res is going to be full of roots! Enjoy.

pattykakes · Jun 1, 2011

defcomexperiment said:
if you notice your temps are hard to control, i would suggest going with a cooler for your res. also, preemptively i would fill maybe a couple two liters 3/4 full and freeze them. if you do not have a little digital aquarium temp, get one, it will save you time. they are like $2 on ebay. check your water daily, dont overnute. even in flower i do not go over 1.5 ec, i have yet to come across anything that i had to go any higher than that for. make sure your lid is lightproof, it does not look like it is at all. you can use foil to lightproof things, metal tape, panda film, w/e, but the one thing you want to do is make sure it is lightproof. keep those temps under 68F. i like to make sure i keep my temps right around 65F. if you dont have meters, get some. i would suggest getting the extech exstik ph110 refillable ph meter, because instead of having to replace electrodes, you just refill the thing with some solution that costs $10. ive yet to have to refill mine. its like $100, and has interchangeable tips, so you can get the ec one as well... best fuckin meter hands down. good luck with the grow!

Yea my temps are a concern considering I live in a very hot climate and im running a 1000w bulb. I am freezing bottles though and putting them in the rez and it seems to be keeping it down to around mid 70's. I'm having a hard time keeping the air temp down too. I have the a/c cranked and a fan pulling air in from the air conditioned room but when that light is on, damn does it heat up in there. it doesn't get above 90 though so I think I'm cool. The lid is light proof it was a thick yellow lid and I put like 5 coats of a flat white paint on it, but yea it does look a bit weird in the pictures. Also I am using GH ph up/down and tester, how do I check the ppm of my nutes though. I've seen meters at the local store but all of which are expensive, I've already gone over budget so I'm trying to keep the odds and ends cheap. The nutes I'm using are botanicare pure blend grow, supposedly organic, but keeping them on the low end I don't want to overdo anything.

pattykakes · Jun 1, 2011

Mineralz said:
Looks like a clean setup I think you're gonna be surprised around Week 3/4 of Veg tho when they fluff out. Ur prolly gonna see some crowding at each end of your rez. You ever considered a SCROG? Btw..which strains did you choose for this grow? Good luck and happy growing

I'm trying to keep everything clean and organized and not too overcrowded. I went with feminized white widow, big bud and northern lights.

pattykakes · Jun 1, 2011

Mineralz said:
Looks like a clean setup I think you're gonna be surprised around Week 3/4 of Veg tho when they fluff out. Ur prolly gonna see some crowding at each end of your rez. You ever considered a SCROG? Btw..which strains did you choose for this grow? Good luck and happy growing

Just looked into this SCROG thing, looks very interesting. What do you think, should I give it a try? I think I would have enough space to do so, and I've been trying to think of a way to use the 1000w to its full potential. I couldn't imagine the screen setup being more than $20.

Alex Kelly · Jun 1, 2011

Yes IMO you should do a ScrOG. Throw a screen up there and get a buncha nice fat delicious colas. Make you sure you do your research and get help along the way. There are many good ScrOG journals here. You will need to train, top, and maybe fim your plants through the screen especialy since you have different strains going but your setup is pretty perfect for a ScrOG. Just my opinion, good luck with which ever method you choose.

pattykakes · Jun 3, 2011

12 days old. They seem to be flourishing, I lowered the water level to an inch under the baskets, I hear root rot is notorious in DWC. The NL doesn't seem to be growing to fast, not quite sure why but I'm just going to let it do its thing, for the most part it looks healthy except for the yellowing of the cotyledons. One major problem I do need some advice on, I cant get the temp under 95. I have a cool tube system as you see three fans, one being a high velocity pulling air in at 75 - 80, 400cfm fan pulling air out and out a window. One thought I have is my 1000w is just too much for the amount of space I have. Can I use a 600w bulb in my digital 1000w ballast to try and save on heat or will I be fine with this temp? Not sure what to do, and I really can't get a separate ac unit due to power consumption.

Mineralz · Jun 5, 2011

Haiz Kakes

I read somewhere that you can run LOWER wattage bulbs in a HIGHER wattage ballast, but I've never done/tried it. I dont see why you couldnt try to run a 600w bulb in a 1000w ballast. Most ballasts these days are dimmable anywayz, which is EXACTLY the same thing as running a lower wattage bulb in a bigger ballast. Do some research and keep us posted

pattykakes · Jun 5, 2011

Mineralz said:
Haiz Kakes I read somewhere that you can run LOWER wattage bulbs in a HIGHER wattage ballast, but I've never done/tried it. I dont see why you couldnt try to run a 600w bulb in a 1000w ballast. Most ballasts these days are dimmable anywayz, which is EXACTLY the same thing as running a lower wattage bulb in a bigger ballast. Do some research and keep us posted

I ended up doing quite a bit of research on the matter and yes it is possible but not smart. The bulb will be running a higher voltage if it is a lower watt bulb for the ballast and could easily blow up probably causing fire or injury. I don't think its worth it just for some bud. I'm going to stick with the 1000w and just try and keep my water temp down around 70. I have the temp in the tent with the light on at about 95 so I think it should be ok, hopefully.

pattykakes · Jun 5, 2011

updated pictures, added a fan muffler and sound proofed the fan as well, cant even hear the thing. If anyone wants instructions on how to make a muffler for about 20 bucks let me know. Also I am changing my DWC into an aeroponics system today, mostly to help keep water temp down, all my stuff is mostly diy.

First Indoor Dwc System

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