Going to be starting my first DWC grow, still confused about Nutrients and lights.

Once I get my license, I will begin my first grow. I am going to be starting with one single plant. As I become more experienced I will move on from there. However, after many months of reading, I am still a bit confused about a couple things. Here is my plan so far

1. 2' X 2' X 4.7' tent

2. 250 watt HPS light/ballast/reflector combo

3. two black buckets

4. Two lids with Netty Pots

5. Hydroton, pump, airline, two airstones.

6. Rockwool

7. Possibly propagation tray with dome.

8. seeds

9 . Nutrients.

10. PH strips or meter, depending on money left, eventually something to read PPM.

My main problem is, I have NO idea what Nutrients to start off with. Some things I read people buy 15 different ones. Others, people buy four. So I have no idea what to buy for my first grow. So here are my questions

* Can anyone give me a list of Nutrients to go out and pick up for a first time grow. I will obviously add on in the future. However I am looking for a list that can get me through a grow, get my feet wet, and allow the plant to be healthy.

* I know an HPS can be used as the only light source for a full grow? However would it still turn out fairly decent without swapping out for something else during veg? I read about people using one single HPS and nothing else. Others say to switch an HPS and MH depending on the stage (HPS for BLOOM, MH for veg). I would very much prefer using only one light. So is an HPS sufficient?

* Is 250 watt enough light for a single plant? Alternatively, would 150watt HPS be fine for a single plant?

* I understand how to germinate the seed. What I am unclear on is the best method from there. Should I place it into Rock-wool, then right into the DWC bucket? Or should I place it in a propagation chamber and make it sprout and grow some leaves before placing it in the DWC bucket.


I appreciate any help, or links to information.

Edited by KidKid, 25 April 2012 - 05:30 PM.

There's no need for 15 different nutrients. Plants only eat 6 main things, and about 6 other micro nutrients. Everything lists NPK of course, next most important is Calcium, magnesium and sulfur. Problem is that in undiluted form they can't mix calcium magnesium and sulfur because they will lock eachother out in strong form. Three part systems are easy to work with and have everything in them that you need, and you just use some of each whenever mixing food, changing proportions based on what stage your plant is in. They come in "Grow" "Bloom" and "Micro". Conveniently Advanced Nutrients and General Hydroponics is in a big price battle, and Advanced Nutrient's "Jungle Juice" is a very affordable product with the EXACT recipe GH and many other nutrient companies use. It has a simple table on the back of each bottle for general ratios and then you can change it up how you like it. The nicest thing is that it's like $7-$10 per quart. I bought a set the Micro cost me $10 and the Grow and Bloom were $7 apiece, so I got a full set of nutes for $24, which is usually the cost of one quart of anything. The 3 or 5 gallons were only like $70 or something amazingly cheap. I'm doing DWC as well only with 35 gallon totes so I go through a LOT of food, and you will be too, and after spending a lot of money and doing a lot of research I realized this is by far the best deal. I do a LOT of reading and tons of research, and then also have quite a bit of experience. My number of posts on this site may not show any of that, but if you ever have any questions regarding anything you can message me anytime. But if you've learned anything from my rant, it's that there's only so many things plants eat, and no matter how many brands of food you buy, it all has the same shit in it, just different ratios of it. Don't feed into their nonsense.

Oh and don't underestimate the importance of an EC meter. pH test kit or litmus paper is alright to start because you can tell if it's within the 5.5 to 6.5 range, and your pH needs to fluctuate because different nutrients are absorbed better at different pH's. But whatever a food label says on it, you'll still have no idea what your ppm is reading and it really is very, very important. On the other hand, if you take my advice with the Jungle Juice, and can't afford an EC/PPM meter, I can always give you food measurements per gallon or whatever you're working with to get a desired PPM for the meantime to help you out. A 250 watt light will do fine for just one plant, if you can have six or something legally why just do one? Have better chances for success at least stick two or three in there. I wouldn't go below a 250 watter though, and the HPS tends to stretch stems a bit more, but only by about 10%, and it's better to use an HPS all the way through than a MH all the way through, so you have the right idea. As for germinating that seed. You're going to have to germinate and plant in the rockwool or rapid root cubes. I prefer the rapid root cubes. But they have to root in the rockwool or root cubes because you can't get the roots in there otherwise. Once the roots are coming out good you want to stick the root cube into hydroton in your net pot. The mist from the airstone should keep it wet enough to make the roots chase the water, you might have to water a couple times before the roots reach the water, but not too much. And at least to start, that JJ is all you need. It's all I use all the time. Send me a private message about where in the country you are and shit and we'll talk about lighting. I build 400w light setups that are GREAT for grow tents. I have 4 of them in a 4 foot by 4 foot by 7 foot tent. They're cooler than the bigger ones so I can put in more and have more points of light, and one 400 in your tent would be KILLER. The more light, the more bud. They say 1-2 grams dried per watt of light. Whether that's accurate or not, the point is the more light, the faster the grow, and the bigger the yield. Don't skimp on lights, they're the MOST important and when everything else is ideal, they're the only thing that restricts growth. You can NEVER have too much light.

And you need to think about clones if you don't know anyone locally that's another reason I'm wondering where you're located. Because if you plan to grow seeds and only ONE plant, you already are giving yourself a 50% chance of failure and wasting a month or so before you can even accurately check the sex of your plant, that's the beauty of clones. But it'd be a bummer to go through all that work and time and effort just to end up with one male plant.

I appreciate the feedback man. I am going to shoot you a PM.

If anyone else has tips or wants to add in, that would be awesome also.

try bio bizz allmix bio bizz root juice bio grow bio bloom bio top max cost you 50 quid but thats about the price for soil an nutrients or try advanced nutrients bud blood big bud powder b52 and final phase but for first time in dwc go for canna a an b veg an bloom good luck

If ur doing a dwc system the most effective nutrients are vitalink canna nutes are for drip irrigation systems