Dunnysparks
Well-Known Member
DWC grow suffered in the beginning due to water splashing on the leaves. Simple mistake that cost two weeks of growth.
Pop's first DWC grow came back to life
- Thread starter Dunnysparks
- Start date
Tell your Dad congratulations on his first DWC, and good luck. Also consider losing the rockwool insulation. You/he can grow the plant in something else, initially, like perlite or even soil. Then rinse it off the roots after the plant has grown a bit and established some decent ones. Then, when you stick it into the DWC setup, they'll be long enough that you don't need to keep the reservoir full to the brim. You should be able to find net pots with a more open grid to make it easier to run the roots through (if you have a plant that already has a decent root system). Or you can do what I do, lol, grab a Solo cup and put (a great many) ¼-inch holes in it. The plant will demolish it well before the end of the flowering period, but <SHRUGS> they come in bags of 100 
.
.- Thread starter
- #3
Dunnysparks
Well-Known Member
Great advice, he just made me a set up like this one. I have some well established plants in Solo's tht I can try this method on. I'm excited to start my first DWC. Do u drain and fill every couple of weeks or do u top off and add? He has been draining and filling every two weeks. Seems like tht would be alot of work for multiple plants but I guess it's easier than watering every 2-3 days.
I liked big reservoirs; supported larger plants, nutrient solution seemed more stable... and extended the time between having to worry about topping off, at least until midway through the flowering phase (by then, it was often a daily thing). I topped off the reservoir as and when needed, allowing a slight pH shift but nothing major; if that occurred from topping off, I'd adjust it. I started out changing the reservoir every week to ten days. Kind of let it slide after a while - when you fill it and then come home from work late that night or walk in early the next morning and hear your aeration devices "rattling" because there's hardly any liquid left, it's more a case of swapping in a clean reservoir than drain and fill, lol. I was often in a hurry and just dumped the nutrient solution in through the "plant hole." On the days when I wasn't, I'd do a swap and clean out the previous one - but there wasn't really a pattern to it.
I used a three-part (base) nutrient set. I started wondering why I was topping off with plain water, and began using EC and pH as indicators, and trying to get a feel for what the plant had actually consumed. Which was never perfect, of course. And neither was the "add back." because I wasn't using individual elemental components. But I got to the point at which I could guestimate the add and it would bring the pH back in line without having to grab a bottle of pH adjuster.
I kept the aeration level as high as I (reasonably) could. This seems to help cannabis - and probably any - plants be more efficient feeders. I didn't see the point of using more nutrients than the plants actually needed, and tried to "read" them to learn what they needed instead of sticking to someone's schedule/recipe. Those are great for getting started, but so are training wheels. There are some useful reference items that have been posted here several times throughout the years. There's a chart listing water usage, pH shift (rising/falling/static), and EC shift (ditto), and what each combination means, and what - if anything - to do about it. There's a thing that looks like a circle with the most common elemental nutrients' names around it, with a bunch of lines connecting various ones. That's called Mulder's Chart. It shows that having too much of one nutrient will cause issues for another, kind of. That can be very helpful - for example, if you see signs of a deficiency of a specific element, but you're pretty sure that you've been feeding the plant a sufficient quantity... and your pH has been kept in range, meaning that element hasn't been locked out... then take a look at the chart to see what element(s) negatively affect the plant's uptake/use of the element it's experiencing issues with. Because, sometimes, a "deficiency" in one element is actually an excess of a different element. And, when that happens, adding more of the first one probably isn't going to help, does not address the actual problem - and could end up causing other issues. So Mulder's Chart is definitely one to download and print out, then stick up on the wall beside the first chart. There are actually two versions of the Mulder's. One has several more elements, but probably isn't really needed, for the most part (it lists elements that one rarely has issues with). And there are threads that explain the signs of nutrient deficiencies & toxicities. Those threads usually have images to further clarify, either drawings or actual pictures of leaves. There are also articles with the same sort of information posted "all over the Internet."
Grab those pieces of reference information, print them up and refer to them often, get a decent pair of meters (I've had good luck with the Milwaukee pH56 pH meter, and it's got pretty high accuracy, two-part semi-automatic calibration, replaceable probe, won't die if you drop it in your reservoir, et cetera), learn proper use and storage practices, and keep them in calibration. Try to learn your chosen nutrient set instead of switching every time. If possible, grow the same strain multiple times (clones from the same mother would be even better) so you can see how making changes to your nutrient ratios / etc. tend to affect the plant. If you can do that stuff, you'll develop a good set of skills and knowledge that will serve you well in the future if/when you grow different strains, try different nutrients, etc.
I'm just rambling (as usual). . . .
I used a three-part (base) nutrient set. I started wondering why I was topping off with plain water, and began using EC and pH as indicators, and trying to get a feel for what the plant had actually consumed. Which was never perfect, of course. And neither was the "add back." because I wasn't using individual elemental components. But I got to the point at which I could guestimate the add and it would bring the pH back in line without having to grab a bottle of pH adjuster.
I kept the aeration level as high as I (reasonably) could. This seems to help cannabis - and probably any - plants be more efficient feeders. I didn't see the point of using more nutrients than the plants actually needed, and tried to "read" them to learn what they needed instead of sticking to someone's schedule/recipe. Those are great for getting started, but so are training wheels
. There are some useful reference items that have been posted here several times throughout the years. There's a chart listing water usage, pH shift (rising/falling/static), and EC shift (ditto), and what each combination means, and what - if anything - to do about it. There's a thing that looks like a circle with the most common elemental nutrients' names around it, with a bunch of lines connecting various ones. That's called Mulder's Chart. It shows that having too much of one nutrient will cause issues for another, kind of. That can be very helpful - for example, if you see signs of a deficiency of a specific element, but you're pretty sure that you've been feeding the plant a sufficient quantity... and your pH has been kept in range, meaning that element hasn't been locked out... then take a look at the chart to see what element(s) negatively affect the plant's uptake/use of the element it's experiencing issues with. Because, sometimes, a "deficiency" in one element is actually an excess of a different element. And, when that happens, adding more of the first one probably isn't going to help, does not address the actual problem - and could end up causing other issues. So Mulder's Chart is definitely one to download and print out, then stick up on the wall beside the first chart. There are actually two versions of the Mulder's. One has several more elements, but probably isn't really needed, for the most part (it lists elements that one rarely has issues with). And there are threads that explain the signs of nutrient deficiencies & toxicities. Those threads usually have images to further clarify, either drawings or actual pictures of leaves. There are also articles with the same sort of information posted "all over the Internet."Grab those pieces of reference information, print them up and refer to them often, get a decent pair of meters (I've had good luck with the Milwaukee pH56 pH meter, and it's got pretty high accuracy, two-part semi-automatic calibration, replaceable probe, won't die if you drop it in your reservoir, et cetera), learn proper use and storage practices, and keep them in calibration. Try to learn your chosen nutrient set instead of switching every time. If possible, grow the same strain multiple times (clones from the same mother would be even better) so you can see how making changes to your nutrient ratios / etc. tend to affect the plant. If you can do that stuff, you'll develop a good set of skills and knowledge that will serve you well in the future if/when you grow different strains, try different nutrients, etc.
I'm just rambling (as usual). . . .
- Thread starter
- #5
Dunnysparks
Well-Known Member
Good info I'm going to print off those charts and go at it. I think I'm going to put a photoperiod in there. This is just a test run Im new to growing
I had a successful first grow with quality bud but a small yield. My second grow is about 6 weeks in flower. The quality is there but the yield doesn't look good at this point. The first grow I barely gave them any nutes so I thought tht was the problem. This grow I've been feeding nutes once a week and still no improvement on the size of the buds. Also, I put them under a 600w hps this time, the first grow I had them under a mars hydro 600ts which obviously wasn't enough light for 3 plants in 3×3. I added a mars 1000ts about two weeks before harvesting. You are right though I need to stick to one strain and stick to it to learn what they like. This grow I learned alot, I lost a plant to a horrible spider mite infestation and they got to my other two but I was able to get rid of the mites on those two. I probably could have saved the one but I panicked and decided I rather lose one than all 3. Do u grow in soil at all and if so wht do u feed your plants in flower?
I had a successful first grow with quality bud but a small yield. My second grow is about 6 weeks in flower. The quality is there but the yield doesn't look good at this point. The first grow I barely gave them any nutes so I thought tht was the problem. This grow I've been feeding nutes once a week and still no improvement on the size of the buds. Also, I put them under a 600w hps this time, the first grow I had them under a mars hydro 600ts which obviously wasn't enough light for 3 plants in 3×3. I added a mars 1000ts about two weeks before harvesting. You are right though I need to stick to one strain and stick to it to learn what they like. This grow I learned alot, I lost a plant to a horrible spider mite infestation and they got to my other two but I was able to get rid of the mites on those two. I probably could have saved the one but I panicked and decided I rather lose one than all 3. Do u grow in soil at all and if so wht do u feed your plants in flower?
Not currently growing (had a sprout Monday, but it got consumed 
). I've used a number of brands; they all work if used correctly. Most recently, I used Fox Farms base trio (Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger Bloom) and Osmocote Plus time-released prills (on separate plants), each with some supplements.
). I've used a number of brands; they all work if used correctly. Most recently, I used Fox Farms base trio (Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger Bloom) and Osmocote Plus time-released prills (on separate plants), each with some supplements.
