Bassman59's 1st Grow - DWC/LED - Pray For Me!

[Bassman59]

Thanks MB,

I feel like a nublet of course, but at the same time I feel like I'm learning and even starting to think correctly about this stuff.

 

[Bassman59]

thanks 12/12

 

[SteveHman]

That girl is looking good. Do you plan on topping her? If you are, it looks like she's ready.

 

[Bassman59]

That girl is looking good. Do you plan on topping her? If you are, it looks like she's ready.

Fim'd her last nite just before last pic.

 

[Bassman59]

Small update before big move.

Friday (3 days ago) I did another drain-clean-replenish. I also removed the water pump for the weekend at least. I've used small amounts of H202 all weekend. I also poured some through the netpot in a strong dilution after I pulled the white cover and saw a lil bit of grey-white spotting in the rock wool. This was probably the cause of the foamy water I was seeing and the massive ph swings. Since then PH has been stable with more gradual movements.

I also moved the seedling tray from under the cfl's to on top of my tub in the tent and under the GrowStealth LED 600W Pro-Bloom LED Grow Light | Grow Stealth LED | 3W LED Grow Lights . This provided better light and humidity for the weekend as evidenced by the photos below.

I've cleaned tub two completely, ending in iso alcohol wipedown. I soaked all washcloths in water with H202. I also hand washed the pump filter bags in plain tap water and soaked them in H202 water for a good hour then hung to dry. I also again cleaned the hydroton and soaked them in H202 bath also in preparation for seedlings transplant to tubs.

In preparation to transplant I replaced all feeder tubes with black tubes. I also soaked the hubs in H202 water. I'll run some isopropyl alcohol through the hubs before I finish as well.

I was away for 24+ hrs unfortunately (Sat-Sun). When I returned I was a bit worried about the seedlings. While the root riot cubes were dry (as well as the tray) the didnt look bad at all. In fact, they made good progress under the LED. I watered them liberally and gave them a little spray. Some 12 odd hours later they look great as you will see below, and are ready for transplant to netpots and tubs.

So here's pre transplant pics. I'll post more after I get both tubs installed and all seedlings transplanted and room & light adjusted.

 

[SteveHman]

I like those root riot plugs, I think as long as you have good seeds you'll get 100% germination rate out of them.

 

[Bassman59]

Well the new seedlings are transplanted and fed at 1/4 nutes.

I was extra careful on all the cleanings and what not. For this 1st grow I'm running one less plant than I wanted but if all goes well and I've learned a lot the last two weeks I should end up a happy camper.

As you can see in the photos, the tent has plenty of room atm for these 7 plants. On the floor on the right are two humdifiers and 1 fan blowing up towards the plants in the middle. After a few days I'll probably add another fan and arrange 1 per tub.

The back tub is on GH Micro/Bloom at 1/4 strength. Front tub is on SH powdered Micro/Bloom at 1/4 strength. If all goes well I'll bump to 1/2 strength in about a week.

Light is set at 26" for the moment. I'll probably drop it to about 22" tomorrow or so and 18-20 by Sunday depending on stretch, and how they look.

Both tubs are in cooling water baths as you can see. Two 1 gal jugs of solid ice for each bath, rotated as needed. The front tub is at 68.5f res water temp, so we have that handled and this should be nice.

 

[Magic beans]

Looking great bassman. I like your rez cooling idea! Keep her up and the best of luck to those little gals.

 

[YardDog35]

Plus rep Bass You're dominating the learning curve my friend. Great job on the thorough cleaning and upgrades. My only concern now is your girls are going to get too big! But that is a good thing

Keep up the great work!

 

[Bassman59]

Plus rep Bass You're dominating the learning curve my friend. Great job on the thorough cleaning and upgrades. My only concern now is your girls are going to get too big! But that is a good thing

Keep up the great work!

I wouldnt cry about that problem. I have 1 more empty tub if it gets too crowded and 6'7" of total height in tent.

And many thanks to you and all the others that have taken a moment to guide me.

 

[Bassman59]

Looking great bassman. I like your rez cooling idea! Keep her up and the best of luck to those little gals.

Thanks a bunch MB

 

[Bassman59]

Update:

Well it looks like my fim went well on the main plant!

The transplant went well also. Temps have been fairly stable. But I have a ton of 1 gal jugs in the freezer! PH has been swingy with ro water but not like it was before. I test it 3-4 times per day so I've really gotten the hang of it on whats needed.

Tub #1 (with the bigger plant) is on SH dry nutes still about 1/4 strength (330ppm) until the seedlings that have joined it grow a bit more. Then I'll go 1/2 nutes or so, maybe 2/3rds. I am spraying them 1-2 times daily also. Today I added a small amount of h202 as a preventative but I'm going to keep this down to once per week, mid week of res changes. Unless something crops up of course.

Tub #2 is on GH lucas formula at about 1/2 strength for seedling and 220 ppm roughly. These seedlings all look pretty good. One is a bit shorter and slower in growth but it's still early.

I'll be doing res changes Sun or Mon. I have one extra res, so the idea is to drop it in after draining a tub and making ph correct nutrient water and give the plants a 10-15 min air bath. This allows me to completely clean each tub on rotation and they'll be left out for shorter durations. Hopefully by the end of next week I can turn water pumps and only use them to drain. All depends on roots to water level.

Officially the main plant is on day 16 of veg. Seedlings are 13 days behind. So the main plant will have 2 weeks extra veg. Not all bad. Later harvest than planned, but a lil bit more weight too.

 

[Jozo-sha]

Simply beautiful, Bass!


- JZ

 

[YardDog35]

Great job Bass! The main plant looks great as do the seedlings. Good to hear temps are under control. Once you are able to remove the pumps that should help a bit with water temp as well.

Having a spare res on hand is SO key when it comes to cleaning, you're nailing it my friend

Funny, I've been so nostalgic about you growing AK from Nirvana in dwc I totally overlooked that bad ass LED light you are using. I checked out the website and it looks like they have amazing products. I'm interested in the 300w bloom LED they sell, that would be perfect for my space. How is the heat production? I know they say it is minimal. Cooling has always been an issue with my small tent. I see the cost is rather high but obviously there would be an offset of power used by my fans, ballast, and 250w hps...oh and the A/C running during hot days.

Keep up the great work and keep the updates coming!

 

[Bassman59]

Thanks dog!

As you know, I'm a newby grower. But I'm happy with the light. I can't tell you much about the energy cost just yet as I'm waiting for the monthly bill. But overall I expect it to not be too bad.

The heat is minimal imo. I can place the back of my hand against the glass cover. It's warm of course, but not terribly. I live in the Nev desert. I use household ac obviously. The room my tent is in get the morning and high noon to 3pm sun. My tent if you look at the pics and review my equipment has one 250cfm duct fan from lowes/home depot. Cost is about $25. I found cracking a side door, leaving both side screen vents cracked 1/2 way, with the one fan inside you see in my room pics, temps range between 81-88f. Normally around 84f in daytime or around AC cycles.

The tent does "suck up" a few inches with the exhaust duct fan (placed high in tent). If this were really an issue or I needed more cooling I could just as easily add another 250cfm duct fan as intake. It would blow even cooler air because it's position would be almost right below the AC duct in the room. I also have 1 more fan available if I need, but was planning on using it in an ONA bucket when the girls start stinking up the place.

I am renting so doing any sort of indoor construction is out of the question.

As far as the light goes, I did a bit of research and it basically came down to GrowStealth and Advanced. Both sponsors here. Both brands appear to have the light spectrums we need. In the end, I went with GrowStealth for a couple reasons. One was delivery time. Grow stealth was able to ship right away while Advanced was at least 1 week out on their new lights. Both companies were willing to talk a fair amount to educate me and answer my questions. I must say though, I was not prepared to spend $1k plus on a light. I was fortunate to have been offered a "test unit" at a reasonable discount. I also felt comfortable that GrowStealth was willing to keep open communications and would follow my grow journal here. I of course am obligated to have a fairly well detailed journal. It's only fair.

I'm really glad I went 600w. I dont think 300w would have covered the area needed. If all goes well, my plan for the next grow is four tubs with a truly recirculating res placed outside the tent with a chiller and TWO 600w Pro-Blooms from GrowStealthLED 600W Pro-Bloom LED Grow Light | Grow Stealth LED | 3W LED Grow Lights .

Overall, I think you would be very happy for your grow space with the 300w. The Pro Bloom models do have an added red spectrum for blooming.

Feel free to PM me if you decide to invest in LED from GrowStealth in the future.

And as always, thanks a ton for your guidance too!

 

[Jozo-sha]

You're on your way to being a NOT newb grower!


- JZ

 

[Bassman59]

Thanks Jozo!

So, tell me guys n gals, I know my phots aint the best, but does this fim look like a 4 point buck?

Also the seedlings look pretty nice so far. But roots havent made it to the water yet.

 

[Bassman59]

I suppose I should really be saying four point Doe

 

[Mr. Krip]

Looking great, Bass! Congrat's on the new lights!

 

[YardDog35]

I think you nailed that FIM! The younger ones are growing nicely I see.

Its great that Grow Stealth worked with you on this project. Really gives a hands on example for them while providing a quality product for you. Great for the industry!

I will be sure to contact you Bass if/when I go LED.