First Time Grow DWC System, Viparspectra 600w LED

[maner]

Hello all,

First of all im growing for first time (Top fed DWC system) with the infromation that i have learnt from this site thats why i want to thank you all before i start and i want to make a journal about this in here.

Equipments and Nutrients:

• 600w Viparspectra LED light (model: v600)
• 120x60x180 grow tent
• 50 Lt reservoir
• 80mm netpots x2
• Rockwool
• Hydroton
• Airpump: SOBO SB8806
• Waterpump: SOBO WP1000f
• JBL Aeras micro 27cm airstone x2
• General Hydroponics Flora trio series
• Great White Premium Mycorrhizae
• Adwa ad12 pH & Adwa ad31 EC meters

So, i started to germinate seeds on 18th of january, i soaked 2 seeds ( Kilimanjaro and Big Budha Silver Cheese) on 5.8pH water for 45 minutes then i took them to 3 layer bottom paper towel wetten it with the same water i soaked and put 3 layer paper towel top and covered it with stretch film, spiked it with toothpick and waited for days. 2 of the seeds were successfully germinated.

Soaked rockwool cubes in 5.3pH water for 2 hours, drilled them with chopstick 4cm, gently put germinated seeds in them and put them in netpots, connected water pump’s tubes under rockwools and filled net pots with pre wettened hydrotons.

-20 lt purified tap water added to reservoir but it’s ppm was high as base so added 10lt bottled water and mix them so established 455ppm 7.45pH base water
- 10ml (2 tsp) flora trio series added (micro-gro-bloom)
- ½ tsp great white added
- 30ml pH down added
Final rates of res water: 30Lt water solution with 5.95pH , 677ppm (NaCl)
23.6 Celcius, Humidity: 58%

heat and fluctuations are between 22-25 celcius and 30-55% humidity.

I couldnt figure out why humidity range is so wide, even in our city humidity is between 75-95 on these days when i open the tent for fresh air it drops drastically.

 

[SirSmksAlot]

Your base ppm still seems a bit high. You might want to consider ro water or perhaps a mix of ro and tap water. JMO

 

[alltatup]

maner Sounds like you are off to a good start, but why is your pH so high? 7.5 is not good for hydroponics--or any other form of growing Cannabis. This might help you: https://www.growweedeasy.com/ph

 

[maner]

those are my base water levels before adding nutrients and ph down, last reservoir levels are 5.95pH and 677ppm (NaCl) which i mentioned already but thanks for warning=)

 

[alltatup]

Sorry, didn't read carefully enuf!!!

 

[maner]

Week 2 (28.01.2019)

I bought same box that im using already and prepared water solution in it so it was easier to change the water for now but im not sure how hard it will be when plants are bigger and has more weight.

water solution:
20ml Flora trio (micro-gro-bloom)
5ml Great White Mic.
17,5ml pH down

Final rates (30L):
6.06pH 706ppm (NaCl)


-LED disctance: 97cm - 38.1" (28.01.2019)

-Today i changed the LED distance to 91cm - 35.8" (LED company's recommended distance is 90-100cm)

- Cooling fan added, this week which works for 15 min of every 1 hour daily.
- Cool mist humidifier added, which i turn on when humidity drops below 40%

 

[BlueBudz]

Hey maner looks like your off to a good start. like SirSmksAlot I also think PPM is to high for this stage. Especially if your not sure what the base 450pp actually contains. I generally don’t add nutrients to the solution until they have established a bit. Just my opinion, hope I can help.

 

[maner]

guys i came home and checked the ppm and pH of the reservoir, ppm is nearly the same but pH is 8.1! does it change that much? it was 5.95 before i set the new reservoir to its place.
what should i do now? please help asap

 

[SirSmksAlot]

Do you have ph up and down? If not you'll need to grab some. Start by adding a ml or 2 of ph down and check where you're at.

 

[SirSmksAlot]

Depending on the additives and nutes you're using, it's common to see fluctuations like that. That's why it's important to check every day. I find after 3 days of changing nutes the ph stabilizes

 

[maner]

i only have ph down for now, i have taken notes calculations of how much (ml) should i add to reach desired levels. i should stop the water pump and take reservoir away before doing that i guess. thanks for your quick reply, now i will arrange the pH and get back here.

 

[maner]

pH taken back to 5.55 level

but when i opened the lid of the reservoir there were some brown residue which i dont understand what it is, there were also same residue when i was changing the reservoir on monday, only brown thing that i use is great white but i only pour 5ml and residue seems much more. (you can see it on the picture that i take)

i told that i know how much should i add pH down, but when i added the pH down (10ml) it dropped from it dropped from 8.1 to 5.2 i coulndt figure it out why but i stired the water and that brown residue mixed to the solution back, could only stirring it affect to take pH down?

-roots of kilimanjaro are developing well (7-10cm - 4") but BBSC has no roots yet (day 8), is it normal?

 

[SirSmksAlot]

What are your water Temps like?

 

[maner]

22-23 celcius?

 

[SirSmksAlot]

Ya that's about where mine is at too. A slightly lower temp would be ideal. I have the same issue with the brown stuff. I use an enzyme with my feedings and that helps. I'm pretty sure it's just used nutrients that cause the build up. As long as your roots aren't getting covered in it, I don't believe it's much of an issue. At least it hasn't been for me anyway

 

[maner]

should i stir it and let that stuff mixed to the solution or leave it at the bottom till the reservoir change? and its only the second day of the new reservoir can it really be used nutrients?

after using enzyme did it dissapear and what was the enzyme you used?

 

[SirSmksAlot]

It hasn't disappeared completely but it's helped. I use sensizyme from advanced nutrients. Cooler water helps too. I use frozen water bottles in the resivior a few times a day. Pain in the ass but it's cheaper that a chiller. Do you have air stones in your resivior?

 

[SirSmksAlot]

Never mind I just looked at your picture again. Some people use h2o2 in their water changes as well. I'm not the biggest fan of that idea simply because I spend money putting benificial bacteria and enzymes into it. It seems silly to kill them all off. But if your plants are healthy I wouldn't be that concerned with it.

 

[RagWeedDWC]

I grow dwc also, have never seen it quite like that, usually it is just a sheen, like a rust. If your pump is in the res, make sure to watch the temp, those little suckers can put out some heat.
I agree that the PPM is to high, I normally do not have it reaching that level until roots start touching the top of the water and then start my grow cycle. In general I believe the recommended guidelines for nutrients are only a recommendation.
I would look at using Hydroguard, the smell and brown should start going away. I use 10ml in my tubs (6gal) I usually have good healthy roots (Pics in my journal)
Water is a fickle wench, add nutrients and it becomes a demon. Initially in my grow I had the same problem, but I took the easy way and moved to nutrients that controlled the PH. Even at that I still have a quart of GH Up and Down.
You have a awesome setup, look forward to the grow.

 

[maner]

im using great white to protect and faster developement of roots, do you think that i still need enzymes?