GJ#7 - First time top-fed DWC / Custom Grow Cabinet / Berry Bomb

[Madman960]

Nice!! Thanks for the info.

[JohnC]

Good morning, fellow growers! It's day 83 and time for an update.

As you can see from the pics, "Bubbles" has spread out to the point that fan leaves from all eight mains are brushing the sides of my 2.5 x 2.5 foot cabinet. In the top-down pic, I've indicated the eight tops.

At this point, I need to start thinking about when I want to flip to flowering mode. In my experience, my plants have grown another 50% to 75% in height during the initial flowering stretch. As you can see from the straight-on cabinet pic, the plant is reaching higher & higher each day. My plans are to make the switch once the tops have grown another 4 or 5 inches in height. The red lines indicate the lowest point of the plant (basically, the lid of the reservoir) as well as the highest point that I can hang my lights at. That gives me the overall height I have to work with. The yellow line indicates the approximate height I want the tops to get to before I make the switch to flowering mode.

Since this is my first DWC grow, I've scoured the internet looking for tips, tricks, and discussions surrounding DWC. One of the things I was expecting to see was my PH to drift up as the plant drinks water / consumes nutrients between reservoir changes. So far, I've been finding the opposite to be happening; my PH drops every single day and I have to use PH-Up to bring the PH back up into the 6.0 range. In fact, in the past 24 hours, my PH went from 6.3 to 5.5. She is currently drinking about a 1/2 gallon each day and based on what I've been able to find on the 'net, if PH drops while water level drops, that's usually an indication that the plant is drinking more water while consuming less nutrients. Up until now, I've been feeding nutrients at 2/3 strength (based on GH's online feed schedule calculator). When I do the reservoir change this coming Sunday, I'll reduce my nutrients to about 1/2 strength and see if the PH remains a bit more stable.

I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks for watching.

[JohnC]

Good morning, folks.

Day 91 - FLIP TO FLOWER!

Big day today. Flipped the grow light to 12/12. Changed out the reservoir, transitioning my nutrients from veg to bloom.

I rearranged my lights a little bit, moving the full-spectrum light to the front of the cabinet where I have a little more height to work with. Also hung the UFO red-spectrum LED light but will not plug it in until next weekend after the plant has adjusted a bit to the new environment.

My only concerns at this point:

(1) I don't have a great deal of free space left in the cabinet. I'm worried that the flowering stretch might be a bit much. If I find my tops getting too close to the lights, I plan to employ a little bit of "back-building" to the buds. You can google it, but essentially what you do is snip off a little bit of the very top of the bud. This will stop / slow-down the upward growth. In turn, this will cause the buds to fatten / swell more. At least that's the theory behind it. Having never done it before, I'll just have to wait an see what happens.

(2) Throughout my veg cycle, I found that I needed to add PH-Up on an almost daily basis (1ml to 2ml a day). Based on my own research, I found this to generally mean one of two things: either I have a root-rot issue or the plant is drinking more water than consuming nutrients. Since I do not appear to have root-rot, I'm assuming I've been feeding too much nutrients (2/3 strength strength based on GH recommendations). So I cut back my nutrients this week to 1/3 strength. My concern here is that plants become very temperamental during flowering as far as nutrients go. I'm worried that I'll run into problems if I don't get these nutrient levels dialed in so I'm not using so much PH-Up. I guess all I can do is continue checking PH twice daily, adjusting as needed.

I think I'm gonna hit the hydro store today and peruse their tents. I think I need to go to a larger growing space going forward. Maybe I'll get a nice new grow tent for Christmas!

[tvbfe]

Lookin good

[Paracelsus]

Inquisitive minds want to know? Wha Happened?

[JohnC]

Paracelsus - Well, since no one ever subscribed to this thread (at least that I could see), I figured no one was watching so I stopped updating it. But since you inquired, here we go.

11/05/2017 - Flip day. Lights were set to 12-hours on, 12-hours off. However, I was still dealing with a significant PH problem. Without fail, my PH would drop 1 to 2 full points on an almost daily basis. Not knowing what was causing the problem, all I could do was add PH-Up to the reservoir daily to get my PH back up into the correct range.

11/17/2017 - After dealing with daily PH drops, I said enough was enough and decided to try a different brand of nutrients. I decided to try PH Perfect Connosoir Bloom from Advanced Nutrients. Their claim to fame is that I should not have to use any PH adjustment fluids (as long as I followed their directions). Within two days after changing my reservoir, my PH dropped from 6.5 to 4.6. Totally frustrated, I called the help line at Advanced Nutrients. After talking with the tech and going over all the particulars, he INSISTED that I had to have a bacterial infection of some kind in the water as there seemed to be no other explanation explaining why my PH could drop so much so quickly. His suggestion was to drain and refill the reservoir, this time using tap water along with 750ml of 3% Hydrogen-Peroxide. I was told to flush for at least 12 hours and then drain / refill the reservoir again using RO water and my AN bloom nutrients at 70% strength.

Another big change this week was I decided to purchase a grow tent. The volume of the cabinet had become too constricting for the plant. She had become too bushy and I thought air flow in and around the plant was suffering. It was an investment I had planned to make after this grow was finished but after dealing with this PH problem, I didn't want to also be battling problems with adequate space, air circulation, etc.

11/20/2017 - Lo and behold, it appears I must have had a bacterial problem all along. After the hydrogen-peroxide flush of several days ago, I drained / refilled the reservoir with RO water and AN nutrients at 70% strength (750 ppm / 1.4 ec). My PH remained stable for a couple of days and then started slowly rising. My PH got to 6.4 and then stabilized for the remainder of this week. Even though I was entering the third week of flowering, there was little bud growth. I attributed this issue to the bacterial infection that I apparently had throughout most of the grow, the wildly swinging PH, and then the hydrogen-peroxide flush of last week. I'm sure my plant was not a happy camper!

12/03/2017 - With the PH problems of the past now seemingly resolved, my baby was stretching and getting her second wind! All of the leaves looked green and healthy. In fact, I had to do a little defoliation where I had too much leaf-stacking and liquid water was condensing between the leaves. And for the first time, I also had to deal with a nutrient-burn issue; Many of the leaves started showing burnt tips. So with this reservoir change, I cut back to a nutrient strength of ~40% (~580 ppm / 1.2 ec). My PH is behaving as it should and I have not had to use any PH-Up or PH-Down since switching to AN nutrients.

12/10/2017 - All growth continues to look healthy. In fact, there seems to be a whole lot of new root growth in the reservoir. The roots have become so thick, I am using two large air stones in the reservoir and I can no longer see the bubbles from one of the stones coming up through the water! As far as my buds are concerned, alas, I am not going to see the huge yield I had hoped for with this grow. Although I have eight healthy tops, each top only has buds forming on the top 4 or 5 inches of each main. But they sure are STICKY and STINKY.

So I guess from here on out, it's steady as she goes. I estimate another three or four weeks until she is ready to be harvested.

This was my first time going with hydroponics / DWC and I knew going in that this would be a learning experience, and it certainly has been. I'm looking forward to harvesting this plant so that I can start another one. I already have a number of changes I'll be making in my regimen that I hope will improve the next grow.

I've attached a few pics so you all can see where I'm at today.

[Locrian99]

Sounds like quite the experience

[Paracelsus]

Thanks for bringing me up to speed. This sure was a learning experience for you and thanks to your Journal, one for me as well. Any clue as to what may have caused the bacterial infection?

[JohnC]

Paracelsus - I'm not sure how or when I could have gotten the infection. The tech at Advanced Nutrients suggested I probably had Pythium. But I've posted pictures here in this thread showing the root mass and the roots have never really exhibited the brown slime or bad smell I've read so much about. Maybe I had some root root in there I just couldn't see. You can bet when I harvest this baby I'm gonna take the roots apart looking closely for any abnormalities.

One of the changes I'm going to make in my next grow is I'm getting rid of the Hydroguard and will be using SM-90 instead. SM-90 helps to prevent and treat root rot, as well as help with overall root health. It's made up of a few different types of oils that happen to kill many pathogens.

[Paracelsus]

Paracelsus - One of the changes I'm going to make in my next grow is I'm getting rid of the Hydroguard and will be using SM-90 instead. SM-90 helps to prevent and treat root rot, as well as help with overall root health. It's made up of a few different types of oils that happen to kill many pathogens.

THIS IS INTERESTING because of all the different nutes and supplements I've seen used (in reading others journals) Hydro Guard and Cal Mag have been the constant ingredient to the soup. I am glad you have decided to persevere and have learned another tool to use to create the proper environment. The Buds look like they have made a decent comeback and your grow space looks ready, willing, and able for your next run. maybe it will become your veg area,

[JohnC]

Merry Christmas Eve to all my fellow growers / cannabis warriors,

It's day 49 of flower and time for another update.

Had a bit of a panic this morning as I found my bubbling in the reservoir to be next to none. One large stone was completely "dead" and not producing any bubbles at all. The second stone was producing a small amount. To troubleshoot, I swapped my air lines on the two pump outlets and found that my "dead" stone started producing some bubbles whereas the other stone died. That told me the stones were fine and the EcoAir2 pump was crapping out. Lucky for me, Wal-Mart was open and I picked up an el-cheapo, two-outlet aquarium pump and will use that until harvest about 15-20 days from now.

This afternoon, after becoming well-medicated, I'll open up the EcoAir2 pump to see if I can determine why it failed. I'll have to start researching to see what brand of pump I want to go with for the next grow. I know I want a four-outlet pump but I don't know that I want to go with another EcoAir2. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd appreciate hearing them.

Take a look at the latest pics attached and zoom in on those bud shots. Those trichomes are looking good!

[D.A.A.S.69]

Merry Christmas to you and your family to JohnC, I can't help you with a pump though, I don't know anything about that, but your right about your pictures, they are beautiful. MerryChristmas

[JohnC]

Thanks for the well wishes, D.A.A.S.69.

[Paracelsus]

Merry Christmas JohnC The system I have developed for air pumps is to have two split between two tanks on separate ac lines. If one goes out I have built in redundancy.

Airstones clog up with slime a good wash and soak can help, the other way to go is a waterfall or one of the round oversize aerators.

The other thing I looked at for myself early on was an industrial pump but with Top Fed DWC I would have too many hoses in the room with an 8 , 12, or 16 gang manifold.

But here is a link https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Comme.../dp/B072N2HPWB

Before you pop the seal on your pump I'd send it back for a new one.

Peace on Earth Good Will Towards Men
P

[JohnC]

Yikes, that's a serious piece of hardware you suggested there, Paracelsus! I don't think I could justify such an item. I grow one plant at a time and something like that would be serious overkill. But I appreciate the suggestion.

However, you bring up something that I hadn't thought of before. Right now, I have one pump feeding two air stones. And because the pump failed, I had to hurry out and get a replacement. With my next grow, I plan to use four medium-sized air stones, one in each corner of my tub. I was planning on going with a single 4-outlet pump to feed those four air stones. But maybe I should consider going with two 2-outlet pumps instead. That way if one fails, I still have the second pump running oxygenating the water. Hmmmmmmm.....

[RosettaStoned]

My buddy that gave me his stuff used an activeaqua air pump. He used it for years. I am using it now, well three of them actually. Works perfect still, all eight outlets are being used and all buckets look like a rolling boil. The other two are smaller but still have eight outlets each and kick out some good air as well.

[JohnC]

Thanks, RosettaStoned. I actually have had an Active Aqua Air Pump on my Amazon Wish List for a couple of months now. That just may be what I go with.

[JohnC]

Good morning all. It is day 66 of flower and I thought I'd post some pics and ask for a little guidance.

Everything is proceeding fine with no apparent problems. All eight tops continue to fill out in preparation for harvesting. All pistils have turned brown and shriveled.

But why don't I have any amber trichomes? You can zoom in on the attached pics and take a look. The trichomes appear to be all cloudy. I cannot find any clear trichomes nor can I find any amber.

I'm wondering how much longer I need to let this grow go before starting my 3-day flush prior to harvest.

Can I get some advice?

[JohnC]

Good afternoon, ladies and gents. Its day 74 of flower and SHE IS COMING DOWN!

After a long and treacherous journey into the world of hydroponics, my girl survived my mishaps and inexperience to produce 8 wonderful little colas. Albeit small, they are quite dense and pungent.

After seeing amber trichomes developing last weekend, I decided to begin the final flush using straight RO water this past Tuesday morning. This morning, after 72 hours of no nutrients and 48 hours of darkness, I chopped her down. I was rather surprised when I unzipped the tent this morning and the plant didn't look all the worse for wear. I was expecting to see some yellow leaves but all I really had was some of the lower leaves shriveling up. Although it's hard to tell from the pics due to the florescent lighting, most of the buds exhibited about 5% to 10% amber trichomes, the rest all cloudy. I could find very few clear trichomes anywhere. I converted my old grow cabinet into my drying box and I'll leave them hanging until they are ready for final trimming and jarring (about 4 to 5 days from now). I'll report back with my final entry on this journal then.

Check out those yummy buds!