Dicken's Village - 400 W DWC (PICS)

I've been away from the city for too long.....time to try something new. I've got two outdoor grows under my belt, but I've never put the time or funds into an indoor grow done right.

Figured I'd do it right this time........so I went to the hydro store and found EVERYTHING I could possibly need. Pickin up a 400 w HPS next week sometime. I'll be cooling that with 180 cfm squirrel cage fan.

I'm gonna try hydro because it just seems to go SOOO much faster. I cut 3 holes in a rubbermaid tub, fitted for some net pots i picked up. Got some bubbles with a nice air pump and airstones. I'll be starting them in rockwool then moving them to the hydroton when they're ready.

I've still got some more stuff to pick up (GH Nutes, phUP/DOWN, ph/TDS meter, and of course the light and fan) so I can't get started quite yet, sorry to diappoint. Yeah, so basically all I've done is built the bucket. I'm just so excited I had to start a journal.

 

Planted seeds in rockwool on 2/26. Took some pictures of the general setup. The cfls are giving these little seedlings some nice light. HPS to come...

 

My friend that's a girl (but definately not my girlfriend) is making me also post a picture of her stupid kitten.

 

The babies are starting to take off, and they seem to be doing nicely. The water level is about halfway up the net pots. I've also been spraying them down a few times a day to keep the medium moist until the roots show.

My only concern is the temperature of the water (78 degF). The room stays at about 80 with the CFLs on and just an oscillating fan blowing. I'm afraid it'll get even hotter once I get the HPS. I'll be venting it with a squirrel cage fan but I'm sure it will still put off some heat.

I've heard the max water temp is 70, but I don't see any way to get it that low. I don't want to shell out 200 bucks for an aquarium chiller. I'll be using h202 soon b/c I've heard that helps with high temps. Anyone have experience growing with higher than suggested temps? I'm sure its been done.

Oh and more of the kitties....

 

Picked up ph and tds meter. Plants are still looking good, stopped spraying them b/c they all have roots barely reaching the water. Thinking about adding like 1 cup of 3% h202 to my 25 gallon tub. Does that sound about right?

Got the water temp under control for now, its at 71 F. When I get the HPS I'm sure I'll have to tackle that obstacle again.

pH is at 5.7

PPM at 300, i know thats a little high and i probably shouldn't have added nutes, but I did, and I think they're gonna be OK. If thats definitely gonna burn them let me know and I'll change the water. They seem to be OK so far so I'm gonna leave it alone unless advised otherwise.

 

New Pictures:

 

Got another update for you all:

After taking the last pics I had to leave town for a few days, so the girls spent some time on their own for the first time (5 days). Before leaving, we diluted the solution with 5.5 tap water because I was scared they were getting a little burnt. Then we prayed that nothign bad happened while we were gone. Remmeber this is my first time trying hydro.

Just had the fake g/f check on them a few minutes ago and she says they're huge. She had to adjust the lights a little - we'll be putting the HPS in sometimte next week when I'm back in town.

Check back later tonight for some pics.

 

I've got both. Very handy except I think I wanna trade out for a nicer waterproof set. I'm scared I'll drop them in the tub.

 

I can't believe the quick growth of hydro. The last pics were taken only 5 days ago and the difference is amazing.

I was thinking about changing the water in about a week. Should I up the nutrient levels at that point? They are at about 280 ppm right now. The tap water starts about about 50 ppm.

Also, do I need to change the water yet? I'm not seeing any growth in the tub (algae) and the plants seem to be doing fine. How long can I go without a water change?

 

I noticed they were a little droopy, but I was just so ecstatic that they were still alive......I haven't seen them in 5 days and I was worried.

Thanks for the good advice though K+........I am actually a little low on air - I didn't know that lack of oxygen = overwatering. I just bought an extra air pump which will double the oxygen once I get it hooked up with some tubing and air stones.

you got a link to your grow?

 

UPDATE:

Let me know what you think. I think they look a little less droopy now with the added air pump.

 

UPDATE:

Ran into some problems a week ago, they started getting brown and crispy on the tips of the leaves. I watered down the solution a bit and they are getting better. One of them (the one on the left) is still having some issues but the other two look perfect. I tried to get a closeup of the problem plant, I'll get some better ones later when my photographer is here. Anyone know what's going on with that one plant?

Still just stickin with CFL's right now - I think I'm gonna flower with them cuz I'm short on funds and I don't know if I'll be able to vent out the heat of the HPS. Plus I just bought another 160 watts of red spectrum CFL's.



PPM 700
pH 5.7