LaynexSiren's DWC White Widow Fem Photo Grow, 2021

[Tokin Roll]

How's it going @Laynexsiren

I believe your problem is poor circulation.
Get a couple fans for inside your tent one high and one low; also can you turn your exhaust fan up higher?

edit: Sorry look again and seen the fans. Do you run your fans 24/7?

 

[Laynexsiren]

I'm running 3 internal fans currently, one high, one mid, and an oscillating at plant level. I'm not currently running the exhaust fan at all because I don't want to lose the co². Wish that was the fix!

 

[Rexer]

I wouldn't worry too much about the C02. You need to be in higher temps, and using some big lights to be taking full advantage.
It's a nice to have, but plant health and safety comes first. And unless you can squeeze a dehumidifier in there, and keep the temps under control- turn the exhaust on.
Don't feel bad, I bought c02 supplement for my first grow, haven't since.
The simple truth is, you can get wicked results with the c02 that's already in the rooms air naturally, the constant air going into the tent from the fan, will keep it fully supplied.

 

[Laynexsiren]

Alrighty folks, update time!

So turning the vent fan on totally eliminated my humidity problems. I'm actually having issues keeping the humidity above 45% with the humidifier running full blast now.

The plants are banging, I'm defoliating weekly and adjusting the LST and they're looking great. Probably ready to flip into flower soon.

I have 2 major concerns though, and could use some help:
1. Smell. Holy hell. I have a dimmer on my fan and it's at about 60%, exhausting into a basement storage room. I have no way to exhaust outside, unless I figure out how to run ducting to the furnace chimney and exhaust straight up. My current fan and filter are the "upgraded" 4" set from HTG Supply, and I have a feeling the carbon filter was either crap when I got it, or it died when my humidity was near 90% for a while. I've ordered a filter and silencer from AC Infinity to put in the tent and I'm going to put my current filter at the exhaust pipe exit point to try to further muffle smells.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for smell? I ran a large negative ion generator in my grow years ago and it did wonderfully, but I'm reading now that it can be bad for the plants. I'm open to options!

2. My work makes me travel occasionally. Going to be out for 2 weeks in the latter half of January, and I suspect I'll be in flower by then. Going to scrog with a custom built pvc and fishing line scrog frame, but I know there's not going to be enough water to last 2 weeks in the buckets. They're drinking probably 1-1.5L per day currently, and that'll increase.

One of the eventual benefactors of my end results is a relative and he lives close by but has no clue how to grow. Do you think I could premix some nutes and water and have him just add fluids and verify pH? I'd do a full bucket change right before I leave and another when I return, but mid- trip is my worry. How can I make this as easy as possible for him?

Added some photos of the babies at present and my current exhaust situation. Thanks!

 

[nivek]

try clipping one of them dryer fabric softener sheets in the exhaust somewhere,, and change often,, it hides the smell a bit,, tho smells like dryer sheets,, duh

2 weeks is a long time,, if you can get a friend to just 'keep them alive',, you will have done well

 

[Bill284]

Alrighty folks, update time!

So turning the vent fan on totally eliminated my humidity problems. I'm actually having issues keeping the humidity above 45% with the humidifier running full blast now.

The plants are banging, I'm defoliating weekly and adjusting the LST and they're looking great. Probably ready to flip into flower soon.

I have 2 major concerns though, and could use some help:
1. Smell. Holy hell. I have a dimmer on my fan and it's at about 60%, exhausting into a basement storage room. I have no way to exhaust outside, unless I figure out how to run ducting to the furnace chimney and exhaust straight up. My current fan and filter are the "upgraded" 4" set from HTG Supply, and I have a feeling the carbon filter was either crap when I got it, or it died when my humidity was near 90% for a while. I've ordered a filter and silencer from AC Infinity to put in the tent and I'm going to put my current filter at the exhaust pipe exit point to try to further muffle smells.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for smell? I ran a large negative ion generator in my grow years ago and it did wonderfully, but I'm reading now that it can be bad for the plants. I'm open to options!

2. My work makes me travel occasionally. Going to be out for 2 weeks in the latter half of January, and I suspect I'll be in flower by then. Going to scrog with a custom built pvc and fishing line scrog frame, but I know there's not going to be enough water to last 2 weeks in the buckets. They're drinking probably 1-1.5L per day currently, and that'll increase.

One of the eventual benefactors of my end results is a relative and he lives close by but has no clue how to grow. Do you think I could premix some nutes and water and have him just add fluids and verify pH? I'd do a full bucket change right before I leave and another when I return, but mid- trip is my worry. How can I make this as easy as possible for him?

Added some photos of the babies at present and my current exhaust situation. Thanks!

Hello @Laynexsiren hope you are well today.
Garden looks great .
Happy new year my friend.
I had small basement windows I blocked off and put my 6" exhaust through it.
As far as nutrients go pre mixing and setting ph right before feeding will work fine.
I'd make a big batch so he can do more than 1 change, and some extra just incase.
Hope you have a good trip.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Laynexsiren]

I had small basement windows I blocked off and put my 6" exhaust through it.

Thanks, Bill! I actually don't have any windows on this entire half of the basement, and I have a concrete wrap-around porch so I can't install a dryer exhaust either. It's either vent internally, or figure out how to run a 30-foot line to the chimney and tap into that. Kinda sucks, but with the way my basement is laid out, I can't easily move the tent either.

 

[Bill284]

Thanks, Bill! I actually don't have any windows on this entire half of the basement, and I have a concrete wrap-around porch so I can't install a dryer exhaust either. It's either vent internally, or figure out how to run a 30-foot line to the chimney and tap into that. Kinda sucks, but with the way my basement is laid out, I can't easily move the tent either.

I'm a little leery of using the chimney.
Heat co2? Fire? Makes me nervous.
So either some sort of air scrubber, yeiks.
Or punch a hole in the nearest exterior wall,yeiks.
Not great options I'm afraid.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Laynexsiren]

Hey everybody, back with more questions and updates! Day 53 of veg now.

So, regarding the smell: I ended up buying an AC Infinity 4" carbon filter and a silencer. Installed the new filter in the tent, did tight duct taping to seal it all up, and placed my old carbon filter at the vent tube exit point in the rafters of the adjacent room. This has 100% wiped out the smell!

I did a hard defoliation last night, along with my bucket change. I'm really starting to think that the 5-gal size is insufficient for a reservoir size though, as my larger plant is drinking nearly 1 gallon a day. How bad is that going to get in flower?

So now I'm looking at switching my reservoir system to totes, specifically something from the HDX line. I can wrap the lids in aluminum foil or mylar to block light getting in from the top. Here's my concern with a reservoir mod mid-grow though: I'll have to use my existing lids from the 5-gallon HydroBuckets, as I can't put the plants in a dedicated 6" mesh pot with their current root systems. So that limits the size of tote I can use, as I can't go too small to ensure the bucket lids can fit.

I'm seeing a lot of websites saying that using a 17-gallon tote is sufficient for 2 plants. With the depth of the mesh pot inside the tote, I'm guessing they're only getting 10-12 gallons in the tote to ensure the water is below the bottom of the mesh. 12 gallons would mean 8 days' worth of water if I'm using my current depletion rate of roughly 1.5 gallons of water daily between both plants. That's leading me to consider the 27- gallon, meaning probably 20 gallons of water can be stored at a time. My question is this: what do you think of the pros and cons of having 2 separate, smaller reservoirs, 1 per plant, versus having 1 larger reservoir that houses both plants? My tent is only 40"², so 2 totes would likely take up most of the space, but could house more water overall than 1 single tote.

I'm also considering this so I don't have to burden my fiancée with maintenance when I head out for this 2-week work trip at the end of this week. If I can set up a much larger reservoir before I go, she can likely only have to top it off once and be done with it. My cousin, who was my first go-to for assistance while I travelled, is flaking out on me, so I'm trying to make this as idiot-proof as I can.

Here's some more pics of my current status as of this morning. In your opinion, did I defoliate too much here? Still figuring out what the right amount is.

Any tote thoughts or other observations would be much appreciated!

 

[Laynexsiren]

Figured out the solution in the way of a 38 gallon res! 20gal of actual fluid, same nute levels as before, ended at 570ppm. Just a quick update!

 

[Laynexsiren]

Alrighty everybody, my plants survived my two week trip! Thank you to my badass fiancee for keeping them going for me!

In my absence, I didn't mix enough nute water for her, so basically for week 2, the plants got a flush. When I came home there was some light yellowing on the top of the plants, and I figured it was from a combo of deficiency and maybe light burn, as they got much bigger and were probably 12" from my light.

I flipped over to flowering stage and mixed my first res of flower nutes. Same ratios on everything except now I'm using Cyco Bloom A and Bloom B. I went 3/4 of the recommendation from Cyco for those two, and yet I somehow only wound up at 550 PPM. Is that too low for first week of flower? All new growth is showing yellow signs as well, but I'm not sure if its Mn or Iron deficiency. 2 days later and ppm is down to 490, dropped maybe 2 gal of water as well.

I can provide exactly what I threw in there again if needed, but some experienced eyes on these leaves would be much appreciated!

 

[Bill284]

Alrighty everybody, my plants survived my two week trip! Thank you to my badass fiancee for keeping them going for me!

In my absence, I didn't mix enough nute water for her, so basically for week 2, the plants got a flush. When I came home there was some light yellowing on the top of the plants, and I figured it was from a combo of deficiency and maybe light burn, as they got much bigger and were probably 12" from my light.

I flipped over to flowering stage and mixed my first res of flower nutes. Same ratios on everything except now I'm using Cyco Bloom A and Bloom B. I went 3/4 of the recommendation from Cyco for those two, and yet I somehow only wound up at 550 PPM. Is that too low for first week of flower? All new growth is showing yellow signs as well, but I'm not sure if its Mn or Iron deficiency. 2 days later and ppm is down to 490, dropped maybe 2 gal of water as well.

I can provide exactly what I threw in there again if needed, but some experienced eyes on these leaves would be much appreciated!

Hey @Laynexsiren hope you are well my friend.
Up your ppm to 700, add cal mag first and wait a few minutes.
Your ph?
You should be bang on 5.8
Do you know the ppm of your n,p,k?

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Laynexsiren]

Hey @Laynexsiren hope you are well my friend.
Up your ppm to 700, add cal mag first and wait a few minutes.
Your ph?
You should be bang on 5.8
Do you know the ppm of your n,p,k

Hey Bill! I can definitely up it.

So my water is roughly 120ppm plain, and I've got enough Armor Si and CalMag in there to kick that to 240ppm. Should I add more before supplementing more of the Bloom A and B?

Ph gets set at 5.5 with new res every time and I drop it back down when it hits 6.2. I've read that floating the range allows for better nutrient uptake. Currently 5.9 in there!

I don't explicitly know the ppm of the npk. Bloom A is 3-0-3 and B is 1-5-6 but the total ppm increase from both of those couldn't be more than 310ppm if my math is right. The Orca, Cyco Zyme, and Ryzofuel don't really increase the ppm more than 10 each.

It's a challenge with this new reservoir because I don't have a 20g mixing tub. I'm mixing the nutes in a 15g tub and adding another 5g afterwards, all ph balanced. It means I've lost the ability to accurately measure ppm after introducing each nutrient.

Is it safe to just throw plain water in the res after draining and feed inside the res itself? The plants would be exposed to high pH, but only for a couple minutes.

 

[Bill284]

Hey Bill! I can definitely up it.

So my water is roughly 120ppm plain, and I've got enough Armor Si and CalMag in there to kick that to 240ppm. Should I add more before supplementing more of the Bloom A and B?

Ph gets set at 5.5 with new res every time and I drop it back down when it hits 6.2. I've read that floating the range allows for better nutrient uptake. Currently 5.9 in there!

I don't explicitly know the ppm of the npk. Bloom A is 3-0-3 and B is 1-5-6 but the total ppm increase from both of those couldn't be more than 310ppm if my math is right. The Orca, Cyco Zyme, and Ryzofuel don't really increase the ppm more than 10 each.

It's a challenge with this new reservoir because I don't have a 20g mixing tub. I'm mixing the nutes in a 15g tub and adding another 5g afterwards, all ph balanced. It means I've lost the ability to accurately measure ppm after introducing each nutrient.

Is it safe to just throw plain water in the res after draining and feed inside the res itself? The plants would be exposed to high pH, but only for a couple minutes.

Try and keep it at 5.8 no lower.
Clean water is fine.
What order are you mixing nutes?
You have armor si listed there?
Here is a little list . Not mine, thanks @Rexer
Are you following this order?

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Laynexsiren]

Try and keep it at 5.8 no lower.
Clean water is fine.
What order are you mixing nutes?
You have armor si listed there?
Here is a little list . Not mine, thanks @Rexer
Are you following this order?

I am following that order, but had no idea about waiting the hour for the Si! Yep, Armor Si, first thing.

Here's my order:
Si
Calmag
Orca
Bloom A, B
Cyco Zyme
Ryzo Fuel

 

[Rexer]

HI @Laynexsiren

A few things, if you don't mind my input?

First, you need to block the light more on the lid. Line the entire thing with tin foil if you have to. Those yellow tote lids let a lot of light in, even along the ridges.

Do you have a 2nd spare tote that's a twin? Use that to mix your nutes, then a cheap water pump to refill your res.

And....I truly don't want to disagree with Bill on the PH subject (truth is, you'll be fine using either as a starting point). 5.8 was/is the tried & tested, and commonly is accepted as a ideal ph starting point.
5.5 has recently shown to increase micro (or macro?) Nutrients. So long as your not drifting past 6.3~6.5 your good.

 

[Laynexsiren]

A few things, if you don't mind my input?

First, you need to block the light more on the lid. Line the entire thing with tin foil if you have to. Those yellow tote lids let a lot of light in, even along the ridges.

Do you have a 2nd spare tote that's a twin? Use that to mix your nutes, then a cheap water pump to refill your res.

Hi Rexar,

Always down for input!

I have the top of the lid fully lined with foil, the only places I didn't line were where the yellow lid is in direct contact with the black plastic. Spent a good hour running foil into all those little nooks and crannies in the lid to get it situated and taped it all down well. I haven't seen any indications of algae in the res, so I'm thinking it's solid. We'll find out before long though! Week 3 with this tote currently.

I don't have a spare tote that's 20g or more. I'm using a 17g filled to 15g and a 5g bucket, and am mixing in the tote, then using one of the pumps to input that all into my plant res. It might be worth a few bucks though just to buy something cheap that can hold 20g just for mixing purposes... the 38g res the plants are in was a big jump up in cost from other totes!

 

[Laynexsiren]

Well, I kicked the ppm up to 770 with the addition of 40ml each of Cyco Bloom A and B, and the color of the leaves is already looking better! They ate the nutes up, I'm already down to 700ppm again. I'll top off tomorrow.

When you're adding nutrients mid-week, are you adding a fully mixed batch of everything, including Si, calmag, and other non-primary additions? If so, how do you know the right values to get ppm back to your desired range?

I also installed a SCROG net last night, I'm day 4 in flower now. Do you think it should be lowered, or should I let the plants stretch into it? I've read so many varying guides, suggesting screen install from week 5 of veg to week 3 of flower... I'm just trying to even the canopy and get max yield!

 

[Rexer]

Hi Rexar,

Always down for input!

I have the top of the lid fully lined with foil, the only places I didn't line were where the yellow lid is in direct contact with the black plastic. Spent a good hour running foil into all those little nooks and crannies in the lid to get it situated and taped it all down well. I haven't seen any indications of algae in the res, so I'm thinking it's solid. We'll find out before long though! Week 3 with this tote currently.

I don't have a spare tote that's 20g or more. I'm using a 17g filled to 15g and a 5g bucket, and am mixing in the tote, then using one of the pumps to input that all into my plant res. It might be worth a few bucks though just to buy something cheap that can hold 20g just for mixing purposes... the 38g res the plants are in was a big jump up in cost from other totes!

Yeah I noticed how you had done it, and it is an effort that pays off.
Those ridges are what I was talking about.

Ever look at how light travels in a fiber optic cable? It's a similar concept in how the ridge will actually diffuse, and conduct the light. It will travel through the plastic and bleed out into the reservoir. Not lots, but some.

I'm not trying to argue, or tell you how to run your system, I just want to make sure you understand what I was trying to say.

Heck my current winter system isn't light proof 100%, and I'm paying for that oversight by now battling root rot.

In all honesty- home depot sells the totes on sale every now and then. Worth every penny! I wish you were close, I'd drop a spare one off for you!

 

[Laynexsiren]

Ever look at how light travels in a fiber optic cable? It's a similar concept in how the ridge will actually diffuse, and conduct the light. It will travel through the plastic and bleed out into the reservoir. Not lots, but some.

Fair point. I'll spend some time slapping some more reflective duct tape across the top soon... I'd rather be safe than sorry. Thanks!