Nirvana - Wonder Woman - Indoor Deep Water Culture - DWC Grow Journal - 2016

D

DankyDuck

New Member


This is my first grow so I figured if I keep a Journal here then I have the best chance of getting all the advice I need. Thank you in advance for your suggestions and tips.

Strain: Wonder Woman 50/50 Hybrid
Stage: Seedling/Beginning Veg indoor in Hydro
Light: 4 X 55w (220w) High Output T5 Grow Light (Able to run 2 at a time for 110w each)
Cooling: Portable A/C unit through 6" flex duct (Seen routed to middle of tent in photo)
Indoor: 2’ X 4’ X 3’ Grow tent.
Reservoir: 12 Gallon storage tote
Venting: 6 inch exhaust fan in top of tent for air removal
Room Temp: average 77°f / 25°c
PH: Average 6.0
Nutrient: Dyna Gro Foliage Pro 9-3-7

12/18 -
Put seeds in to soak ( 5 - Nirvana - "Wonder Woman" - Fem )

12/19 -
Put 2 seeds into Rockwool cubes. One had a nub sticking out and the other had a root measuring about 1/2"

12/20 -
Seeds 3 , 4 and 5 into Rockwool

12/21 -
PH: 5.3
Temp: 76F
sprouts 1 and 2 are poking through and are looking great. Tiny regular leaves are sprouting.


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12/23 -
PPM: 410
PH: 5.5
Fresh Reservoir 10 gal. RO water from a dispenser
20ml Dyna-Grow Foliage Pro 9-3-6 = Reservoir PPM 250
20ml Cal Mag = upped the Reservoir PPM to 410ppm
20ml Hydro-Guard = No PPM change

PH. Was already at 5.5 after adding everything so I left it alone


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12/24 –
Temp: 70
PPM: 420 <-- I think i will keep it here :p
PH: 5.7


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12/25 -
#3 looks dead leaves are dry and curled upward. #1 looks like it is wilting. Rockwool is dry but roots look healthy. (sorry, No pictures)

12/26 -
#3 and #1 transplanted to dirt. #3 is not going to make it. #1 is iffy but not looking good.

#2 has roots out of the 4” net pot and is starting to grow

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12/28 -
Today I fixed the AC and put the thermostat into the tent. The tent will now stay at an even temperature
#4 is showing roots close to dropping

12/30 -
Temp: 75
PPM: 450
PH: 6.0

All roots are down on surviving plants. #5 roots dropped out of nowhere


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Plant #5 Roots:


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12/31 -
Temp: 74
PPM 410
PH: 6.1 (now)

I had not calibrated my PH meter so it was giving me a reading almost a full point off ! I Ph. Upped it back to 6.1

#4 leaves have been pointing 45 degrees upward toward the light since it hatched but now the leaves are cupping very slightly and the part of the leaf closest to the stem is wrinkling up.


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#2 is showing the same anomaly but much less sever.


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I don’t think it is heat because the temperature (at the leaves) remains within a few degreed of 77°f due to portable A/C unit cooling the tent.
I think it may be too much light. I had lights 1 inch above leaves on full blast. I had my lights off between noon and 6pm. I wanted to switch them to between midnight and 6 am but something didn’t work and the lights have been running 24hrs for two days.


#2 Roots are looking nice though.


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1/1 -
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Well, not for #4. Leaf is getting worse. Anyone have any suggestions?


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My guess would be a pH problem. If you aren't using a pH buffering nutrient, you should aim for 5.8 It will drift up during veg and that is normal and desired. Once it gets around 6.2 adjust back down to 5.7 That way your plants get a chance to uptake each thing it needs at that certain pH. But 5.8 is optimum. It drove me mad trying to keep pens in calibration, constantly checking, adjsusting, checking. :loopy: I decided to trust the nutrient's perfect pH claim several weeks ago, so far so good. Worth the investment for me.



 
Thanks Rifleman. I am so glad you posted the picture chart for comparison. I will PH. down to 5.8.

Is it common for such a sever reaction to occur due to the PH being so slightly off?

Why would the pH affect one plant and not the other (Both being the same strain)?

I also like your pH chart better. It is easier for me to read. I was going by the GH-pH (General Hydroponics pH Chart):

 
1-1
rez temp: 75f/25c
PPM: 410
pH 5.7

#4 leaf browning has moved to the other lower leaf. The other 2 Wonder Woman plants in the same rez are doing fine. Im not sure whats going on. There is no sign of bugs or mold or anything else visibal that would be causing the browning. I also raised the light up to around 18 inchs to try to give it a break from the intensity of the light. (4 X 55w (220w) High Output T5 Grow Light (Able to run 2 at a time for 110w each)

Added 1 ml Silicon supplement to the rez.
pH the water to 5.7.
15 ml hydraguard added

I'm going to check back in 12 hours and see if that corrected the issue.

If it has not been corrected I am going to flush and clean everything and start with a fresh Res.

4 images 0f browning leaves:

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I see these issues when led fixtures are placed too close to plants, but since you're not using leds it must be something else. keep in mind that if you use tap water it has buffers in it which will cause the pH to drift in the reservoir even after adjusting your mix. ideally you want your pH to be in the range of 5.5-6.0 without having to use pH up or down. if you use tap water I suggest filtering it through a charcoal filter before mixing.
 
Thank You for the advice b.real.
I am not using LED lighting but I did have my T5 1" above the plants on full intensity. I have seriously reduced the light situation. I am now only running 2 of the 4 T5 bulbs in my grow light and I moved it up to 18". I am just worried about stretching the ones that are doing good. I'm tossing around the Idea of moving that plant to a 3 gallon bucket with a 6" basket so I can adjust its environment separate from the others.

I am using RO water from my local grow shop dispenser. It is 7.0 pH with 0 PPM to start. I have noticed the pH drift though. In a fresh Reservoir after I add my Nutrient ny pH is about 5.5 without up or down being added. Since I am getting a range of pH suggestions and all of them seem to be in the 5.3 to 6.0 stretch, I think I will start pH at 5.4 and let it drift and watch for trouble.

It's time for a Reservoir change anyway. I will adjust things and see what happens. I also noticed that i had the A/C duct blowing right up the side of the Reservoir where that plant was. I'm not sure what that might have done.

I am using:

Room temp at plant leaf: 77F - 81F

Strain: Wonder Woman 50/50 Hybrid
Stage: Seedling/Beginning Veg indoor in Hydro
Light: 4 X 55w (220w) High Output T5 Grow Light (Able to run 2 at a time for 110w each)
Cooling: Portable A/C unit through 6" flex duct (Seen routed to middle of tent in photo)
Indoor: 2’ X 4’ X 3’ Grow tent.
Reservoir: 12 Gallon storage tote
Venting: 6 inch exhaust fan in top of tent for air removal
Room Temp: average 77°f / 25°c
PH: Average 6.0
Nutrient: Dyna Gro Foliage Pro 9-3-7 , CalMag, Hydroguard with RO dispenser water.

Top drip runs a flow of res water into the pot for 15 min every day.
 
Something I didn't think about with the light being so close and using the reflective surface of aluminum foil to cover my reservoir lid I may have caused lighting "hot Spots" and cooked the leaves! that is why the second leaf turned brown today. I turned the plant yesterday and put that healthy leaf in the "Hot Spot" the burned leaf was in the day before.Looking at my setup I think that is exactly what happened.

 
I would mix and not add any pH up or down then test the pH after an hour or so. if it's in the range I would leave it alone and run it. remember to keep it aerated. are you nutrients expired? what is hydroguard? I run a 150 watt fixture about 12" away from sprouts.

edit: yeah 1" is very close. hopefully it's figured out.
 
Also, I have 2 other Wonder Woman from the same order and a Nirvana mystery seed growing side by side with the injured plant and they are doing great. The Plant right next to it is a Wonder Woman too and it is thriving. I am afraid to change the environment too much for fear of shifting it out of sync with the healthy plants. On the other hand, if I do not change it the other plants might catch on and start getting cranky.

 
No. The top of the rockwool cubes is bone dry. I have the drip stream going into the rocks. I also left the plastic cover on the rockwool cubes to help avoid water trickling into the sides as it drips down the rocks. I nursed them until the roots could get to the drip.
 
I started a thread about the burnt leaves on Nirvanas Blog sight and got some good feedback if anyone is interested: What causes browning of leaves on young veg plants? - Weedportal Experts

I just redid my entire Deep Water Culture (DWC) Reservoir and set up. I was having heat problems in the Reservoir and I had Aluminum Foil covering the Reservoir. That caused focused light spots on my leaves and burned them. It is now cooled by a portable A/C unit and I replaced the Aluminum Foil with Duct Tape. I also followed the advice provided.

Thank you Hempy for the following Suggestions:

Reservoir temp should be a bit lower to allow for oxygen to hold: Reservoir temp 71°f/21.6°c

pH should definitely be lower staying at around 5.5' - (was 5.7/6.0): pH 5.3 (hoping for slight drift up) also, no pH Up or Down was used. After I mixed the Nutrient up well and let it sit for an hour, the pH was 5.3 so I left it alone.

With a 10 gal res I would also be adding more Cal Mag like 30ml or even a tad more: I added more CalMag to my mix but I only added 15ml. I will add more when I see how they react to the Nutrient mix. Since CalMag has Nitrogen and Magnesium in it I did not want to add much more and take the chance of ampping up (N) and (Mg) levels already provided by the Dyna-Gro Foliage-Pro 9-3-6.


Thank you HomeBrew for the following Suggestions:

Flush and thoroughly clean the reservoir: Done

Get your temps down. Your water should be 65-70 degrees tops as you can get root rot. :

Reservoir Temp down to 70°f I also use Hydroguard. I think it helps fight root rot at higher Reservior temps.

Get PH down to 5.5: pH at 5.3 and hoping for a drift upward.

The nutrients at that age should also be around 250 - 300PPM: PPM 240 for this mix

You are also using 3 times the amount of hydroguard it needs at this age. It should be at 5ml per gallon until the plant is bigger and should not be used every feeding:

20ml Hydroguard added to this mix. That's only 2ml/gal. I'll keep this in mind.

Here are a couple of before and after the modifications.





Also The girls seem to be happy enough.:




I set the 15 gal Reservoir inside a 27gal toat and am pumping the A/C air around the 15 gal Reservoir before being expeled into the grow tent via the "vents" onr the other side of the 15 gal Reservoir . From there it blows directly up into the T5 lighting fixture and is despersed over the plants.
 
I noticed the leaves curling slightly on the edges so I peeked under the covers at the roots and saw that they had developed some discoloration over the night. I checked the pH and it was 6.95. I have no idea what might have went wrong. I'm thinking I may have been tired and misread the pH meter last night. anyway. I pHed the reservoir back down to 5.5 but I am concerned about the root discoloration.

The roots are hard and strong.

The water temp is 71 °f

PPM 280

pH was 6.95. I pH downed it to 5.5 when I noticed the issue during inspection.


I redirected my A/C air to flow around my res and exhaust into my tent from the other side of my res. Some of the cold A/C are is also pushing up under my reservoir lid and circulating through my res. I can feel it comming out of the empty netpot spots. (65°f A/C air )

 
I think you did what's necessary. I wouldn't use the hydroguard when they're young, but that's just me. I think it would be more beneficial when the roots are established and crowded. right now it might be hurting the developing roots. you could add some h2o2 into your res to battle microbes since you're noticing root discoloration and a mild slime. remember that aeration is key.
 
I will definitely go the H2O2 route right now.
I'm considering a water chiller. I have heard mixed feelings about them so I steered clear then.

Right before this Wonder Woman grow I had a bunch of bag seeds I was experimenting and learning on. All got root rot but the res temp was 78°f and the only thing I had in the water was Nutrient. Anyway, I have heard people running their reservoirs at high temps and using microbes to fight the root rot. That's what I was trying to use the Hydroguard for but it turns out that Hydroguard isn't even for that. That seems like so much trouble if you can just hook up a water chiller and forget about it.

Did you notice anything wrong with my aeration? I did fill the res up all the way to the bottom of the net pots. Should I maybe drop the water level an inch or two si the root tops can get some air? Will that help prevent root rot?
 
no I don't notice anything wrong with your aeration I'm just saying that oxygen is key in preventing root rot along with cool temperatures. I don't like the hydroguard because I don't like the thought of any microbes in a hydro grow.
 
Since the subject of ROOT ROT has come up I have searched around and researched it a little. I thought this post "Root Root: How to fix/prevent" it by "Original Past" (have to google that) was informative and helpful. I did not know that more air stones did not help that much.


I think I am good on O² though. I have 1/2" clearance between net pot bottoms and water where the roots are exposed. The rest of the roots are in the water.

My air pump:


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My BUBBLES!:

 
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