Brainstorming The New Perpetual DWC Growroom!

[MrGreenThumbs420]

Hi all,

The wife and I will be moving into our new house next week and will begin planning a small perpetual DWC grow with photo 8 week strains.

We will have 2 closets available for use that are approximately 2'x4'x8' each in dimension. I am not sure of exact measurements, but I'm sure I can get a 2x4 tent in each.

So, my current thought is 2x4 tent in each closet with one designated as a flowering space and one as a vegetative space. The veg space will house 1-2 mothers and clones vegging for 4 weeks at a time. The flower space will house 2 plants at all times, one at 4 weeks flower and one at 8 weeks flower. Using 8 week flowering strains I should be able to harvest one plant per 4 weeks and keep the wife in nice supply.

I plan to use DWC as that is one of the growing methods I am more familiar with and know I can build the setups myself. However, it's been a while lol. And I used gh notes in the past, but am open to suggestions. Also, my feeding schedule back then was very "fly by the seat of my pants" as I was always growing different strains in different methods. So that is an area I will definitely need assistance or suggestions.

I plan to use LED lighting to reduce costs and heat as opposed to the HIDs I used to use. However, this is new territory for me so some assistance and suggestions could also be used there.

I plan to use seedsman for the seeds currently due to good reviews, nice 8 week strains, and affordability. However, I am open to suggestions on sources as well as strains. Due to the nature of the perpetual system and desired harvest times I do request they be 8 week strains.

I will post more details and perhaps some photos of the spaces next week when we move in, and perhaps log the entire build here unless there is a more suitable space for such a log.

Please! Leave some feedback! Any details still needed will be provided and I love to toss around grow ideas, so let's hear it!

 

[Old Salt]

You might want to take a look at coco/perlite in drain-to-waste. In my opinion it's a lot less work, and will let you leave home for at least a week, provided you install automatic watering.

I switched from General Hydroponics' Flora Trio and supplements to Mega Crop for my current grow. The cost is less than that of Flora Bloom for a grow. It's a one part nutrient system. You can find out more in The Mega Crop Thread.

Welcome back to growing, and the best of luck!

 

[MrGreenThumbs420]

You might want to take a look at coco/perlite in drain-to-waste. In my opinion it's a lot less work, and will let you leave home for at least a week, provided you install automatic watering.

I switched from General Hydroponics' Flora Trio and supplements to Mega Crop for my current grow. The cost is less than that of Flora Bloom for a grow. It's a one part nutrient system. You can find out more in The Mega Crop Thread.

Welcome back to growing, and the best of luck!

That's not a bad idea! I actually have a little experience with perlite drain to waste aka hempy buckets. It is considerably less work, but higher usage of nutes from my recollection.

I will be checking out your thread though to see how the nutes work out! Lower cost is always good news as long as the results don't suffer!

I also have zero experience with coco.... so I don't know how I feel about a new medium on my first come back grow lol.

 

[MrGreenThumbs420]

Any good sources for the mega crop v2? @Old Salt

 

[Old Salt]

Any good sources for the mega crop v2? @Old Salt

The dot com version of Amazon, or the company website greenleafnutrients dot com. Some hydro shops carry it as well. The Grow Op Shop in Dartmouth, NS does. They are also sending out free samples, all you pay is the shipping.

 

[MrGreenThumbs420]

The dot com version of Amazon, or the company website greenleafnutrients dot com. Some hydro shops carry it as well. The Grow Op Shop in Dartmouth, NS does. They are also sending out free samples, all you pay is the shipping.

Maybe you could offer a little assistance with the perlite/coco hempys as well? Do you just do a 50/50 mix?... anything you do special to the coco before using it? Remember, I have ZERO experience with coco.

When I ran the perlite only hempys I drilled the drain about 2 inches above the bottom of a 5 gal which allowed for a small reservoir of nutes at the bottom of the bucket. I assume you wouldn't do that for hempys with perlite/coco?

 

[TurboBucket]

I also run DTW and love it. It's way cheaper to setup than a RDWC and less maintenance than DWC.

 

[Old Salt]

Beware of the cheap coco coir. I use Canna Coco Bricks. They are easy to transport, and a package expands to about 10 US gallons/40l. I use a 70% coco / 30% perlite mix. I expand the coco bricks with pH 6.0 water, let it drain, then water with CALiMAGic at 1ml / US gallon at a pH of 5.8. I re-use the coco/perlite for several grows.

I start my plants in 4" / 10cm nursery pots, and normally up pot into my final containers. I have used DIY fabric pots until this grow. The cages I built for them have their bottoms raised 1" / 2.5cm. I use the egg crate diffusers for florescent lights to raise my containers out of the run off. I have one plant in a patio container in my current grow.

Coco grows need to be fed/watered once a day until they are about half way through veg, then it's two or three times per day. My pots are 3.8 US gal / 11l. I move to an extra watering per day whenever I get less than 10% run off with a 3 cup (750ml) watering.

 

[MrGreenThumbs420]

Beware of the cheap coco coir. I use Canna Coco Bricks. They are easy to transport, and a package expands to about 10 US gallons/40l. I use a 70% coco / 30% perlite mix. I expand the coco bricks with pH 6.0 water, let it drain, then water with CALiMAGic at 1ml / US gallon at a pH of 5.8. I re-use the coco/perlite for several grows.

I start my plants in 4" / 10cm nursery pots, and normally up pot into my final containers. I have used DIY fabric pots until this grow. The cages I built for them have their bottoms raised 1" / 2.5cm. I use the egg crate diffusers for florescent lights to raise my containers out of the run off. I have one plant in a patio container in my current grow.

Coco grows need to be fed/watered once a day until they are about half way through veg, then it's two or three times per day. My pots are 3.8 US gal / 11l. I move to an extra watering per day whenever I get less than 10% run off with a 3 cup (750ml) watering.

Ok cool. Let's call that settled then.... I'll go with the coco/perlite hempys and mc v2... sounds pretty sweet anyways. Might have to lean on you pretty heavy for a feeding schedule however, as this will all be fairly new territory for me.

What would be your best advice on holding a mother in one of those setups? I always just kept them slightly rootbound and underfed. And with consistent pruning when taking clones I kept them manageable. Is it basically the same with this system?

Also, anybody have any suggestions for the lights in these spaces? I've read good things about the Mars sp250. I had considered it for the flowering tent. Any other suggestions? And also need suggestions for the veg side.

 

[Old Salt]

For lights, Mars Hydro TS series, whichever suites your space.

Due to the plant count restrictions here in Canada, I don't keep mothers. I'm reversing the sex of a branch from my female plants, and use the pollen to grow more seeds. I self pollinate, and cross with other plants of the same strain. Seed is also easier to store, and look after. I haven't done it yet, but when I find an outstanding phenotype, I'll re-veg her to produce seed.

 

[MrGreenThumbs420]

For lights, Mars Hydro TS series, whichever suites your space.

Due to the plant count restrictions here in Canada, I don't keep mothers. I'm reversing the sex of a branch from my female plants, and use the pollen to grow more seeds. I self pollinate, and cross with other plants of the same strain. Seed is also easier to store, and look after. I haven't done it yet, but when I find an outstanding phenotype, I'll re-veg her to produce seed.

So how about a mars tsl 2000 for the flower tent and 2 mars ts 600's for the veg? Or you think that'll be more than needed in the veg? The veg tent will only ever hold (maximum) 2 mothers and a few clones for 4 weeks. Most of the time probably only one mother and a couple clones vegging for 4 weeks.

 

[Old Salt]

So how about a mars tsl 2000 for the flower tent and 2 mars ts 600's for the veg? Or you think that'll be more than needed in the veg? The veg tent will only ever hold (maximum) 2 mothers and a few clones for 4 weeks. Most of the time probably only one mother and a couple clones vegging for 4 weeks.

I'm not a fan of the Mars Hydro TS-600s because their intensity is not adjustable. I use intensity controls, rather than raising the light to reduce the intensity at the canopy. If you are content without the intensity control, they would be a great choice.

The TSL-2000 is a very good light. I use it in my veg tent. Many here love it for flowering as well. I can't really comment on it in flowering as I crippled my first grow under it to produce seeds. I have a single plant under the TSW-2000 this grow to see what it is capable of. I like the wider boards the LEDs are mounted on in the TS series of lights, as the light is spread more evenly in the tent. The TSW-2000 and TSL-2000 use the same boards and drivers. The boards are arranged side by side for the TSW, and end to end for the TSL.

 

[Old Salt]

Here's the comments an award winning member posted regarding the Mars Hydro TS lights.

 

[MrGreenThumbs420]

After some reading and thought. I might still use DWC. I WILL use the MC v2 though. I've seen others have some pretty undeniable success with it in DWC. Also, the idea of an unfamiliar growing style with the coco/perlite hempys scares me a bit.

So, on that note, anyone using MC in a DWC system?

 

[West Hippie]

After some reading and thought. I might still use DWC. I WILL use the MC v2 though. I've seen others have some pretty undeniable success with it in DWC. Also, the idea of an unfamiliar growing style with the coco/perlite hempys scares me a bit.

So, on that note, anyone using MC in a DWC system?

Here’s the MegaCrop thread

The Mega Crop Thread

Something else I noticed, is that I've got algae growing in my nutrient pails. I didn't get that with the General Hydroponics' Flora Trio and supplements. I'm sterilizing them with bleach, and will keep an eye on it. it's "vegan".... which means organics can feed off it. sort of the...

www.420magazine.com

Check it out !

 

[MrGreenThumbs420]

Here’s the MegaCrop thread

The Mega Crop Thread

Something else I noticed, is that I've got algae growing in my nutrient pails. I didn't get that with the General Hydroponics' Flora Trio and supplements. I'm sterilizing them with bleach, and will keep an eye on it. it's "vegan".... which means organics can feed off it. sort of the...

www.420magazine.com

Check it out !

Thanks Hippie!! More reading... lol