Greenthumb J's BCNL Producer Grow - 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

[Radogast]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Live or Sterile? Why I choose Live
A link where TheCapn might talk water issues

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

i've read the article a few times. i do usually leave water in, and just top off, like i have all throughout flowering, with no issues. My problem was i was running NO beneficials in the original hydro tub, and ran into root issues. This time around i plan to use my heisenberg tea as well as all other bennies i pick up along the way.

I'm going to run max 4 clones in the grow box, and do max 2 plants in the new Flower Room. The Roommate is moving out in a week, and i am turning that bedroom into another Flower Room.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Little late or just in time?

 

[TheCapn]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Ay Ya! So my GF sent me a picture while i was at work of a notice of a power outage going to happen in my apartment building on July 19. Its during my dark period so i'm not worried about the lights or anything. I just have to get a couple battery powered air pumps from the Pet store for like $14 each i think? One or two for the plants in flower, if they are still up then.

or a battery backup: Back up power supplies: Read this before you buy

 

[TheCapn]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

i've read the article a few times. i do usually leave water in, and just top off, like i have all throughout flowering, with no issues. My problem was i was running NO beneficials in the original hydro tub, and ran into root issues. This time around i plan to use my heisenberg tea as well as all other bennies i pick up along the way.

I'm going to run max 4 clones in the grow box, and do max 2 plants in the new Flower Room. The Roommate is moving out in a week, and i am turning that bedroom into another Flower Room.

Sounds like a good plan. I know you know this, but this topic sparks things I want to clarify for other readers, in regards to DWC...

The key here is that the beneficial bacteria live on the roots, and protect them, forming a barrier against pythium and other root disease. If the beneficial bacteria don't get enough oxygen, due to not enough air in the water, or the water too warm. When this happens, the bad aerobic bacteria, which thrives in lower oxygen levels, takes over, and starts eating roots within hours. (warm water, 72F or higher, can't hold enough dissolved oxygen in it to support beneficial bacteria, no matter how much air or circulation you give it)

When you add your beneficials, the goal is to add them at the base of the stalk, so most of them will get a good chance to "stick" to the root mass. Some will float around in the water until they eventually land on roots, or the insides of your growing vessels. So, after 24 hours, MOST of the bacteria should be on the roots, not floating around in the water. In theory, you can change all of the water and not hurt your microbe colonies. However, you MUST USE RO or distilled water. Water with chlorine / chloramines will kill the beneficial microbes.

>>>My problem was i was running NO beneficials in the original hydro tub, and ran into root issues.

+1. Some guys have no idea what "live or sterile" is at all. They stick an air stone in a bucket and are wildly successful by accident. But if you've done DWC for any length of time, you've probably experienced root rot, which is next to impossible to remedy. To be successful in DWC, we MUST start with two things that make a high dissolved oxygen environment:

1. Cool water, (below 72F)
AND
2. lots of air and water circulation
AND Then we choose live or sterile:
1. beneficial bacteria
or
2. a sterile environment (that kills ALL bacteria, good and bad) we can do this with "zone" or H2O2.

And even when we do all these, sometimes we still get bitten. It is important to note here that it is nearly impossible to keep a true sterile grow vessel. I'll always choose beneficial bacteria over sterile. I've seen first hand, the heisenberg tea bring back roots from the dead in a matter of 5 days, when everything else (zone, h2o2) failed.

Sorry GT this is one of my favorite subjects so I had to chime in. I didn't want to derail your journal but I thought it was worth mentioning since we are on the topic. I enjoy a little DWC myself from time to time, and I've experienced root rot like... so bad I thought it was taking over my house.

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Little late or just in time?

Nah, you made it just in time Dusty. I started my flush this afternoon, and i predict i will be chopping in 10 days. You're just in time for the show! My buds are really starting to stack up.. All the trichomes are cloudy, seen a couple amber trichomes, so flush time has started!!

or a battery backup: Back up power supplies: Read this before you buy

Very interesting read. Pretty sure after doing some research about our building, theres backup emergency generators that kick on in the event of a power outage, cause of the businesses (like 2 major banks and a major grocery store) requiring power. The power outage that is taking place is i believe to do maintenance on the village's sub-power station (theres 3 highrises as well as 4 lower residential buildings in the "village" i live in.) as well as my particular buildings electrical transformer. Emergency generators will be powering one elevator, and other required electrical things like key FOB readers so we can get into the building and such. However, there will be ZERO power to all residential suites between 11:30pm and 5:00am. My grow box will probably be harvested by this point and i will be using the grow box for a few days as a dryer since it has great airflow, decent humidity as well as the carbon filter attached to the exhaust fan.

Only thing i have to worry about is whatever i have growing that isn't in the grow box. So most likely any clones that i have, as well as the 2 plants waiting to go into the new Flowering Room

Sounds like a good plan. I know you know this, but this topic sparks things I want to clarify for other readers, in regards to DWC...

The key here is that the beneficial bacteria live on the roots, and protect them, forming a barrier against pythium and other root disease. If the beneficial bacteria don't get enough oxygen, due to not enough air in the water, or the water too warm. When this happens, the bad aerobic bacteria, which thrives in lower oxygen levels, takes over, and starts eating roots within hours. (warm water, 72F or higher, can't hold enough dissolved oxygen in it to support beneficial bacteria, no matter how much air or circulation you give it)

When you add your beneficials, the goal is to add them at the base of the stalk, so most of them will get a good chance to "stick" to the root mass. Some will float around in the water until they eventually land on roots, or the insides of your growing vessels. So, after 24 hours, MOST of the bacteria should be on the roots, not floating around in the water. In theory, you can change all of the water and not hurt your microbe colonies. However, you MUST USE RO or distilled water. Water with chlorine / chloramines will kill the beneficial microbes.

>>>My problem was i was running NO beneficials in the original hydro tub, and ran into root issues.

+1. Some guys have no idea what "live or sterile" is at all. They stick an air stone in a bucket and are wildly successful by accident. But if you've done DWC for any length of time, you've probably experienced root rot, which is next to impossible to remedy. To be successful in DWC, we MUST start with two things that make a high dissolved oxygen environment:

1. Cool water, (below 72F)
AND
2. lots of air and water circulation
AND Then we choose live or sterile:
1. beneficial bacteria
or
2. a sterile environment (that kills ALL bacteria, good and bad) we can do this with "zone" or H2O2.

And even when we do all these, sometimes we still get bitten. It is important to note here that it is nearly impossible to keep a true sterile grow vessel. I'll always choose beneficial bacteria over sterile. I've seen first hand, the heisenberg tea bring back roots from the dead in a matter of 5 days, when everything else (zone, h2o2) failed.

Sorry GT this is one of my favorite subjects so I had to chime in. I didn't want to derail your journal but I thought it was worth mentioning since we are on the topic. I enjoy a little DWC myself from time to time, and I've experienced root rot like... so bad I thought it was taking over my house.

You know what Capn, I've seen just Aquashield alone bring back roots from the dead. That stuff is just amazing. When I ran into my root issues with the original hydro tub i got with my grow box, I was shitting my pants cause i thought i was about to lose all my seedlings that i paid a hell of a lot of money on the seeds for. I did a little research on some weed grow easy page (hope you see what i did there, and figure out the site i'm talking about, not sure if the site would let me post the actual webpage.) I read up about Aquashield. But the way it was written, it seemed like one of those fake articles that are really just trying to sell a product. But i read another testimonial about AquaShield and it was off to the hydro store for me. I have yet to pick up my 1Gal jug, but i will! keep getting the 1qt jug.

Anyways, it saved all the plants that i have today, minus a couple sativas that turned out to be males. I will ALWAYS use AquaShield from now on, forever. No exceptions.

>>>>>>However, you MUST USE RO or distilled water. Water with chlorine / chloramines will kill the beneficial microbes.

I dont use RO or distilled water. I'm blessed to have TAP WATER with a ppm of 5 and zero chlorine in our water supply. I drink from a glacier fed water supply. My plants were doing great once i started with the Aquashield, but once i started using the Botanicare Pure Blend Compost Tea, Gen Hydro's Rapid Start as well as Gen Hydro's Subculture-M for my mycorrhizae, the plants showed so much more vigor. I bought some molasses, cause i planned to do the Heisenberg tea until i found out that Gen Hydro's Ancient Forest isnt available in Canada, nor Is Great White. So i have just been adding my beneficials to my weekly water changes and its been amazing results. Sure its my first grow, but i noticed a significant difference in the plants growth once these were added.

Guess the point i'm making is, unless your tap water has zero Chlorine (which is pretty much unheard of anywhere) then you will HAVE TO use RO or distilled water in order not to kill your microbes on a full res change. I am very happy about our water supply in British Columbia. Probably why we sell our water to everywhere in the world. Also because i dont have to buy an expensive RO system.

>>>>>Sorry GT this is one of my favorite subjects so I had to chime in. I didn't want to derail your journal but I thought it was worth mentioning since we are on the topic. I enjoy a little DWC myself from time to time, and I've experienced root rot like... so bad I thought it was taking over my house.

Its all good Capn. No derailing anything here. i look forward to your visits to my journal as you always have some information that is truly invaluable. Not only for me, but for any one who is following this journal. You're like my DWC encyclopedia! I cant wait till the winter, and you do some DWC again!

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

So took a peek at the clones i have going, and i have to say, i'm not liking cloning in rockwool. The damn 1" cubes just fall over with a cutting in it. every time i have gone to mist the clones and put them back on their shelf, a few fall over everytime. its very very annoying to have to take the dam nursery tray and dome out, fix the fallen over clone and put it back without knocking them back over.

I tossed one clone cause it literally looked like hell and was dying compared to the rest I have going, which look like they are perking back up.

I hope i can manage to make this work, otherwise i'm going to have no fun trying to keep strains going while trying to figure out how to clone in rockwool properly

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Hate when you almost got them in place and one little fckr tips over lol. Have you tried a bubbler heres my home made one

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Thats awesome.. I wanted to make my own aero cloner, but i realized that i had no need for clones at the time i went and got a bunch of the stuff to make it. so now im doing it in rockwool to see if i can even get clones to root. I feel if i can clone in rockwool, i can clone any way.

So i have an issue i need some advice on. I want to build this new Flower Room i been talking about.. Thing is. i can get an 8'x8'x6.5' tent for like 250, locally like a 15-20 min drive away at a Home and Garden and hydroponic wholesale company. They also have a 600w ballast, 6" Cooltube reflector, 600w MH and HPS bulbs, 24hr timer and yo-yo's for $199 times that by 2 which is what i want to run.

Sure i could build the box, but i work a full time job in the afteroon to the evening, an i dont have the time to build it! A tent however, i have the time to set it up and get my 2 large plants into flower.

I want this done asap so i can move onto new strains in a few weeks

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Ive built all my closets and will have to tear them apart if I move, of course I built both for around $80.

 

[Stumped]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Its the opposite bro. From expierence rockwool IS the easiest way lol. Bubble cloners, peat pucks and soil require practice to get working correctly. Rock wool is 100x easier. Good chance you'll have clones in no time.

Not sure if u researched the subject or not but if u want rock wool cloning adivce. I can give u some tips that helped me have 100% success rate.

 

[Stumped]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Also building and buying grow tents. I've researched the topic and even drawn up plans. I build aquariums and stands for high end restraints and hotels. I basically just adapted my 500 gallon stand plans and used 2x2 boards instead of 4x4. Original stand measures 8'x 3'x 4'(LWH). And can just extend whatever way u need bigger. Center braces for support definitely strong enough frame to cover with panda film and call it a room.

I usually go to home depot for most projects ready to go with measurements of all the boards I need cut. They do cut on site here for free. So I get everything cut, buy a box of screws. Show up at clients business and put up the frame for the stand in 30 min. Same would apply with building a room. If planed correctly you could put it all together in a hour. And probably cost under 50 bux . with panda film included. Up here panda is 1.25$ a foot. By 10 feet. Or 8 I forget.

I could draw up a plan to assist you. Save u a few bucks and time. I plan on doing the same with the gurage once I clear enough shit out lol. And the size sounds about same as what I want to do.

Cheers

 

[Radogast]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

So took a peek at the clones i have going, and i have to say, i'm not liking cloning in rockwool. The damn 1" cubes just fall over with a cutting in it. every time i have gone to mist the clones and put them back on their shelf, a few fall over everytime. its very very annoying to have to take the dam nursery tray and dome out, fix the fallen over clone and put it back without knocking them back over.

I tossed one clone cause it literally looked like hell and was dying compared to the rest I have going, which look like they are perking back up.

I hope i can manage to make this work, otherwise i'm going to have no fun trying to keep strains going while trying to figure out how to clone in rockwool properly

I put 2 or 3 rockwool cubes per 2"x3" six pack and place in the standard dome & tray.

1 cube falls over. 2 or 3 cubes stay in place.
Crowding doesn't hurt the clones or seeds when that are first starting because they aren't growing leaves until repotting time.

 

[Radogast]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Remember stumped, i am also a fellow canadian! The hydro store i go to has black and white poly for $1.00 a foot. Home depot does do wood cutting for free, but only straight cuts, nothing custom. So if i wanted a door cut into my plywood on the long side of the box, i need to have my own saw to do that. which i dont! i have had no reason to buy any sort of tools as i've lived in rented apartments since i've moved out of the house a decade ago. When i buy/rent a house and have space to actually build shit, then i will invest in tools where i have a shed/garage/shop to store them. Theres no where in my apartment to store tools, let alone space and ventilation to run a power saw in here to make all the rest of my cuts i.e the holes for intake and exhaust, my door etc.

Plus i'm very skeptical that all my materials will cost me under $50. Maybe on the East Coast of Canada, but here in BC everything is a premium.. even our damn lumber! It cost me almost $50 just to make my light stand for the MH in my bathroom for mothers/vegetative.

Plus with the wooden room, i actually need to allow more space to let it live in the dining room so i can open the door, have the electrical running to an organized place and shit like that.

So unfortunately i think i am going to go with the Tent. I will have it up and running sooner than if i build the box. I still need to finalize my blueprints and take all finalized measurements before i can come up with how many pieces of 2x4 i need to build the frame, how much plywood i need to cover it, etc. And i also have to take this up to my apartment in the elevator. I can only imagine the looks from people i would get, not to mention i would have to reserve the elevator just to get all my supplies upstairs. the tent can just be carted in inside the box it comes in.

This is why i'm considering getting a tent, plus its much easier to take down if i decide to move at the end of the year. rather than having to take down a huge wooden box thats all screwed together. Plus this hydroponic wholesaler can probably give me a sweet deal if i buy the 2 light packages and the tent together. Once i have that set up going full force, the GF says i can stop working to tend to our garden which i plan to have a plant come down every 3 weeks, so i will be constantly busy with the multiple grows going at once. At this point i think i will go ahead and build my Super Flower Room which i have been dreaming up now for a couple weeks

Let me tell you, things that should take me an hour around the home, usually takes me double. I end up getting sidetracked finding things that need to be done. As well as getting extremely sidetracked after hitting the bong or vaporizer..

Not to mention how sidetracked i get when i sit down on the laptop with open up on the browser haha

Also, my clones are looking better. I'm not saying its hard to clone in rockwool, i'm saying its just an annoying pain in my ass when the cuttings fall over in the dome when i'm trying to put it back in its place. I need a nursery tray that holds rockwool cubes in place so they dont fall over all the time on me!

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Hey Rado. I got 11 clones in my standard nursery tray. Im aware they aren't growing new growth yet and that crowding is okay, just when i bump the dome, most the clones fall over. my personality cant just leave them laid on their side hahaha

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Happy Sunday All! I'm going to do a decent sized photo update today in a bit!!

We are almost 8 weeks into flower today, and i can tell ya those buds in there are really starting to stack up. Theres one Cola in there that i swear is the size of a 500ml water bottle. The Chop should take place sometime next weekend. I wanted to do it next sunday, but the GF has to work a morning shift. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to wait till the Afternoon for her to get home from work. She really wants to learn to trim our harvests with me, since this is a joined endeavor for us. Once i have a new area to flower, i'm going to let her grow a plant in the box (meaning i will probably end up taking care of it!! ) So she can feel like she does more than get jealous that i spend so much time taking care of the plants, and doing research so that i do this right and dont screw it up.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Nice I tought my wife and wow she's good, almost to good. Lol

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Thats awesome to hear. She is really looking forward to the harvest cause thats the fun part she says. I disagree. its all fun! Its clearly more fun when you see the fruits of your labours, but running into problems and fixing them and seeing your course of actions be the remedy of your problems is a very satisfying feeling, and almost just as fun!

Here comes the Picture update! its a decent one!

 

[Greenthumb J]

Re: Greenthumb J's BCNL "Producer" Grow. 800w DWC - First Grow Ever! Multi-Strain

Everyone here at who is following along with this journal!

I have a nice update here on this lovely Skunkday (Independence day Weekend for my fellow American grower friends!)

I took you know a few pictures of whats going on over here in Greenthumb J's Apartment about 4 months into my first grow. So lets get to it!

We will start with whats going on with the 2 plants that i have been vegging since March 20th or so. I originally had 3 going, but due to some frustration i lost my White Rhino plant Too bad too, she looked very promising. I'm left with a White Widow (hybrid) on Left and Malawi Gold (100% sativa) on right. They will hopefully go into flower within 12 days, and i'm hoping since the Sativa that i have in flower stretched like crazy for a solid 35 days at least (pretty sure she's still stretching a bit, but stopped for the most part and is finally stacking up her bud on the one branch that has survived for the most part). Her flowering time is a considerable length, and i'm really hoping that its worth it in the end. The one thats left ( i have no pictures of it as it looks awful) i'm hoping it produces some decent smoke from the branch thats left. It will be the last plant I chop and harvest to allow it to ripen as long as i can before i need to clean to box and get a couple of my clones in there as long as they root!

Picture time:

heres a little shot of where my clone dome is. I have read that the Flouros/CFL is all you need for the clones, so i figure i have them under some indirect MH light which is more intense, yes? is this alright?

And heres my dilemma. i didn't think of how big the carabiners were before buying my eye screws for the Yo-Yo, so now i cant take the carabiner off the eye screw to attach the light shade directly to the eye screws which i want to do. I probably can i just need to get in there with some pliers or something.

Heres aside shot from the bathroom door. Doesn't really give an idea of how wide these plants really are, but heres a little info for you. My light frame i think is 32.5" in width. the sativa has grown up the side of the bathtub wall and the mylar emergency blanket. So to estimate, i would say that Malawi gold is probably around 40" in width. thats pushing 3.5', which will put my 4'x4' scrog in question whether it will be big enough to contain this beast!

Now on to the Clones!
I cut them on 07/02? yea pretty sure thats the day i cut them. Followed TheCapn's method (slightly off because i don't have a rockwool slab like he does to cut custom pieces for clones, and i didn't use and bloom nutes in my water or anything, just Aquashield) I used the 1.5" starter cubes that are dinky and fall over easily making my cloning process frustrating.
A couple of the lower fans that i left on, cause i figured they were high up enough on the cutting to stay on, are turning yellow. Is this normal? for the most part, i think they look very well for only 4 days old. they aren't wilting very much, if at all anymore. humidity is very high, i'm assuming this is what i want. is there a limit that i should not exceed? 100%? haha kidding! no seriously tho, what is everyones thoughts on ideal humidity for your clones? So heres a few snaps:

One of them in the dome:

What they look like 4 days after being cut from their mother:

i think my first attempt will be mostly successful. I'm am hoping for at least 2 healthy clones. but if i get 4 or more, i may just run a SOG in my grow box and keep these widows short before flowering them. These are a different pheno than the ones i have in flower. these clones will grow one main stalk/cola where as the ones in flower had multiple branching at the very beginning stages of veg and all branches have basically grow to a top, without topping or LST. who knows tho!

Now on to the Real Show! Homestretch to Harvest Time!

these babies have been in flower just shy of 8 weeks. I started the flush 3 days ago, and i will continue to give them PH balanced water with some Aquashield in there, since the left DWC has a dead/dying plant with dead root matter in there, so the Aquashield is needed to prevent any other roots being fucked up, until they are ready to be chopped down. By the looks of things, and how i want my trichomes before i chop is going to determine which day it is. Like i sad they are on their flush now. PPM is below 50 (probably lower even since my tap water comes out of the tap with a PH of 7ish, which is close to part with "Pure water" as i've read, please correct me if i'm wrong, and a PPM of.. 01x10x0.5=5ppm, plus whatever Aquashield i add into the water) Thats what my plants are getting right now. No chlorine in my water supply either. Probably why i wanted to vomit when i was brushing my teeth in Vegas. The water there was not drinkable for me. I had to constantly buy bottled water to stay hydrated.

I'm trying to keep the plants organized here, but i took pictures all at random. My next grow/grow journal will be much more organized!

So here we go! Lets start with the White Widow:
Shes bulking up very nicely. The one on the left DWC is runty because of getting the Dehydration. but the one on the right DWC look like it i will pull in more than i expect in dry weight. Guess its my first grow, and i have no expectations really, only that i can make it to harvest and my weed is good and potent!! So here they are, i'm going to try to split them up by left and right side plant:
Left Side:

I think theres a couple more and i may accidentally post them as Right Side DWC, but they basically look the same in trichome production, one plant is just bushier and will produce more than the other. They look the same in stature tho.

Right Side Widow:

Good enought and like i said i probably have more of this particular plant.

White Rhino:

And thats my update for the day everyone! Hope everyone enjoys some of the bud Porn! i sure enjoyed making this update!

have a great and super baked day everyone!