My 1st basement grow 12 bucket dwc

[plumpm0nkey]

lets see,. i got the rest of the clones in and lights hung, so im finally done! ( with the setup , for now) i have the water just barely touching the nets, the roots are growing like crazy. added some more root 66 / flora grow.

so pretty much the rez is for water filling convienance. i will hook it back up later when i install the 2k lights.

 

[kovenant]

yep, the main res is to keep the system at the water level you want (where ever you have your float valve fitted) so your roots will stay in it

lets see pics of the ladies and the entire setup since you've got it compete!

 

[plumpm0nkey]

hey hey ! your back. well it seems like ive been caught up with life and how it seems like it moves in fast forward. its August already? wtf ?

The roots are growing so fast about a foot long already on some?
Im having spider mite problems and the neem is helping but im concerned how it effects the leaves , maybe im over saturating. im really disappointed int he air diffusers by sun leaves, the slim is plugn the holes. I need to get my ass down to the shop and see if he will let me return the air pump and upgrade it bc its barely pushn good bubbles. I am still trying to get a descent meter at a good price on ebayy. was so close to a 98129 for 50$ but some ebay tool snuck in at 5 secs to go. grrr. So at the moment im doing this completely blind. I dont know my water temp or ph, ppm . The water feels cold to touch. i throw in a big frozen water bottle in the controller and the water cooler is sucking balls to cool the water down, i would rather toss in frozen bottles then go drop coin on a chiller. Im a cheap skate i close all the windows and open them for a short time when i go in, plants like humidity right? i know i need to get a meter, ., shit there is never a end with this hobby of shit you need But yes the roots are lookn very healthy and white on some there is some slime droplets on them. i will get some pics on tonight for sure if my wireless is not actin up.

 

[HILLBILLY 420]

Do you guys know of any thread to build a system like this??? would love to get this set up going!!thanks

 

[plumpm0nkey]

HILL BILLY 420

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26343

Just some advice , keep your eyes peeled for 3/4" hose, not cheap, im thinking maybe i could of built this with pvc and painted black, I guess the best way is to study how it works and why it works and make it your own. i read that thread up and down many times, If you need the word doc i got that aswell still.

hope you join the dwc club

 

[plumpm0nkey]

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Looking good man! I like the light hanger idea but plants of different heights will cause problems with it. Are you planning on switching to HIDs or stick with floros for the whole grow?

 

[willbeHigh]

meter

meter

Give this guy a look for tds and ph meters.Hes cheap on the cost but the meters are made by Hanna and milwaukee.I got the tds-3 and it works great.Sunstoneherbals.com,he's in arizona.I was thinking about the air pump,just get a second pump the same size.,That way if one go out you still have one working,till you get it replaced.Here a trick I use to put the tubing on to the barbed tube fittings,boil some water and than put the tubing in the water for a 1/2 min or so,it will soften it a little so you can put it on.Let cool and it shrinks back to its same state it was {hard}.You can put two air stones in the buckets with y-connectors so if they get slime on them you still have air.Well that's all I can think of now.I still havent finish reading the rest of your post.So if this is any help that's good or if not just pass it by.PEACE

 

[willbeHigh]

Forgot to say

Forgot to say

Oh yes You are doing a great job and it is a clean build too,I like it.I'am sure you will master the hole thing.PEACE
A real nice job

 

[scegy]

hey dude, wet hydroton will probably cause root rot, w.chiller helps you but...don't let that hydroton wet it must be moist but not wet, i suggest lowering your water level to the point that it doesn't touch the water anymore, just let the roots be submerged not the hydroton aswell. ----> saying this because ur root look like in the begining of root rot, else i beg ur pardon

nice clean room dude, good luck and happy grow to ya!

 

[BlindDate]

A couple questions:

1. Why use such huge net pots if the purpose is DWC? Or was your intention to make this a drip/DWC?

2. Why build the elaborate Flouro setup when you can only use it for a week or two? Why not just use your regular HPS lights and keep them high?

My friend snagged it for me when he was at the dump. its a maytag

I once had a good friend at the dump. Little Billy was a gimp with a good heart.

 

[Guest]

i use to have a flouro light system like yours, i ditched it for a 400w mh. works out so much easier. plus the plants like it more.

 

[plumpm0nkey]

Alright, once again thanks for showin the love and concern to my babies.

Well constructing the florescent hangers was cheaper then buying another 2 ballasts for that 7x 5 area. its only temporary , the plants are all growing the same speed except 2 but its not a problem, WHy could you only use the lights for a week or 2? the lights are super close and running 24 hours. You got some ballasts you wana donate to a great cause BUt once again my plan is to use 2 1000w , or is that to much/.? then that means adding ac and ducting. and try to add a water chiller if i find a great deal. the diy watercooler sucks ass or the cooler sucks ass, hmmmm i will look more into that.

I was warned by my grow shop guy that flora nova leaves a taint on the roots. since its a highly concentrated thick nute. the water sits right under the pots, it just rises when i add a 2 gal frozen jug.


Um whats wrong with 8" pots? the rocks are fulled to the top to cover the holes so no light hits the water.

I have been hitting the plants with neem everyday.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

The FN taint just means its working and usually the tint only lasts a few days while the res mixes up. If your water temps are good and/or your water treated properly the roots should be white afterward. Liquid Karma stains roots a lot more than FN does IME.

 

[scegy]

plump:those roots really have a rotten look not a stained one, the way they grow shows you that, horizontal roots don't grow and they'r slimey a lil bit....a long shot from here would be that your system doesn't circulate enough...it all comes down to fittings being big enough and the pump itself
also, if the flow is adequate, the temps will drop....p.s. a fan blowing on the res's surface will also drop your temps in great deal(~5°)


you know where i'm going?


hitting them with neem also means you'r applying a lot of sesamy oil on them, therefore blocking their leafe pores.....when using neem you also have to wash the plants with plain water after a day or two after applying it
you can use it once on 4 days and u'll get the same effect, wash them down in between, read the lable

p.s. having your tubs and hoses black means they suck on the light they get and absorb the heat and conduct it to water beneath....wraping your system in some sort of reflection foil will also help on fighting the temps

 

[plumpm0nkey]

YEah your right, i think im getting root rot, , !!SHIT.. i need to figure out how i can cool the water better, maybe flush out the system with new water? i didnt know it clogged the leafs pours .. i need to do some thinking and figure out how i can fix this,

 

[Guest]

cold water bottles do wonders

 

[Guest]

This is truly an amazing thread I stumbled on.

I was running a single DWC bucket and using the DIY cooler method, worked like a champ. I setup one of these recirc methods, mind you for only a single bucket still, and now my water temps are nuts, sitting at 79.5 for most of the day and the cooler just kick'n.

Shocked me cause I expected having 10gals of water instead of 5 would keep the temps in check.

However I think Scegy hit on something...increasing the water flow. I am going to modify mine, since it's a single bucket, to increase the feed line from 1/4 to 1/2 standard funny pipe. I wanna see if the movement will help get those temps back in line.

Plus, it would also help with stabilizing the water. Lord knows if I add nutes to the controller, it will take a good few hours for it to slowly mix with the other bucket.

I'll let ya know if that helps with the rez temp situation - maybe save ya some cash.

 

[plumpm0nkey]

im thinking that maybe the cooler they tossed to the dump was it didnt get so cold, hmm i guess ill find another and hope it will do instead of a chiller. ive been putting in frozen bottles

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Im surprised your temps are that high running just floro tubes while still swapping frozen bottles (2 liter or bigger I hope). You might want to look at a portable AC for your room instead of a chiller since the future HIDs will heat the room up much more. In other words, think for the long term instead of the short term.