First Time DWC/Coco/LED Tent Grow - Hawaiian Headband

calikevin87 · Apr 24, 2018

Hey, whats up blades, I've been here a long time but generally as a smoker, some of the time lurking and learning some of the good inside growers' secrets

This journal is possible thanks to the following threads and members-

Mick's Coco- K.I.S.S. - Scrog Method
Ironhead's Method for Sucess
Advice from members in my own shopping cart thread.

Setup Details-
Gorilla Shorty 3x3 - $292.99
Photon Fantom WaVy Board 240 x4 - $200
Woods 50015WD Digital Timer - $23.27
Hanna Instruments HI 981504 pH, TDS & Temperature Monitor - $195.95
Autopilot Desktop Co2 Monitor Data Logger - $79.99
General Hydroponics Eco Complete Power Grower GH4830 - $95.60
General Hydroponics Rapid Rooter Plugs - $14.14
Canna Expandable Coco Coir Brick 40L - $24.92
General Hydroponics Ph Control Kit - $11.54
General Hydroponics Flora Series Performance Pack - $42.48
Exhale CO2 Bag - $29.29
House & Garden Roots Excelurator Root Stimulator - $28.97
House & Garden Drip Clean 250mL - $16.50
Phresh Intake Air Filter 6" x 12" - $74.99
VIVOSUN 6 Inch 390 CFM Inline Duct Fan With Variable Speed Controller x2 - $102.68
Apollo Horticulture 6" Premium Carbon Charcoal Air Filter - $59.09
12pcs Adjustable Yoyo Hanger - $24.94
Total: $1,317.34

I germinated a seed from some really good Hawaiian Headband and started with that. I pre-charged the coco per Mick's method, using a slightly modified version of Ironhead's nutrient recommendations. I started out with the lights at 18" away from the top of the pot, and as of day 23, the light is about 13" away from the plant. The lights were also running at about 60% capacity for the first week due to wiring issues, but the lights are now outputting about 258W according to my multimeter. pH is right around 6.0 and water temp is about 26C. Only thing I'm not certain about is the ppm, last time I added water to the reservoir it was around 1600ppm, but I'll try and get a new reading tomorrow.

As mentioned, it is Day 23, or 3 weeks 2 days. Been running a 6/2 light schedule since it germinated (6 hours on, 2 hours off, etc). Overall I feel like the plant is doing very well, but over the last week I've started noticing a few little things that i could use a little advice on, and those will be mentioned a little bit later.

Now, for the pictures! I will try to update this at least once a week with pictures and other updates as well. Here's what I have so far-

EDIT: Photobucket is GARBAGE so I have finally uploaded most of the pictures to the actual journal.

Tent Space-

Inside-

Bottom Half(intake)-

Top half(exhaust)-

Environment-

Day 1-

Day 2-

Day 3-

Day 4-

Day 5-

Day 6-

Day 7-

Multi part post, lots of pictures so hang tight

calikevin87 · Apr 24, 2018

Day 8-

Day 9-

Day 10-

Day 11-

Day 12-

Day 13-

Day 14 (2 weeks)-

Day 15-

Day 16-

Day 17-

Day 18-

Day 19-

Day 20-

calikevin87 · Apr 24, 2018

Day 21 (3 weeks)-

Day 22-

Day 23 (today)-

Alright, there's the day-by-day. I feel like over all the plant has been pretty happy and growing well, up until the last few days. I've noticed some yellowing and what looks like cuts on some of the leaves, almost looking like something has been eating the leaves, but there are no worms or moths in the tent, the only thing I've ever seen in the tent are some silverfish, I'm assuming from a cardboard box I'm using as a stand. I didn't think they ate fresh plants but does anyone know for certain? And what is the yellowing/drying out about, is that a nutrient burn? Here's a few closer shots-

I also have this going on at the base of the plant, should I add some fresh coir to the top of the pot to cover this up or is it fine?

I also seem to have some green color forming on the top of some of the coco coir, I'm assuming algae from over watering/not draining fast enough? Should I mix up the coco or add more, or should I make a mix of coco that has more perlite in it so it drains better?

The plant seems to have a very nice pungent smell coming from it already, the leaves a little bit sticky and have a nice feel to them. If anyone needs a better picture or different angle of something, please let me know and I can provide it. I hope someone out there enjoys this and can maybe learn something from my mistakes, lol. I would greatly appreciate any advice or ideas anyone has to offer, thank you in advance blades!

kittybuns · Apr 25, 2018

Subbed. I dunno but you may wanna look into putting a layer of sand on the top. Ive seen it done with soil but never coco.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app

calikevin87 · Apr 25, 2018

kittybuns said:

Subbed. I dunno but you may wanna look into putting a layer of sand on the top. Ive seen it done with soil but never coco.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Click to expand...

Thanks! Are you recommending the sand to help with the algae?

calikevin87 · Apr 25, 2018

Day 24-

And what's going on with these leaves here, is this some rot from the algae on the coco? should I be stirring up the coco at all to aerate it?

Here's the inside, all the extra stems-

Also forgot to add this to the first post so here it is. I'll add it to the first post too if I can

kittybuns · Apr 25, 2018

calikevin87 said:

Thanks! Are you recommending the sand to help with the algae?
Click to expand...

Yes, Also to keep out the critters. I think your bottom leaves may be like that cause they are coming into contact with your nutrient solution.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app

kittybuns · Apr 25, 2018

calikevin87 said:

Thanks! Are you recommending the sand to help with the algae?
Click to expand...

Or use something like foil or a cover.to block the light from hitting your substrate. that will stop the algea.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app

calikevin87 · Apr 26, 2018

kittybuns said:

Or use something like foil or a cover.to block the light from hitting your substrate. that will stop the algea.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Click to expand...

I have tin foil at the moment so I'll try that first, thanks.

Another question, the lights are currently about 13" away from the top of the plant, is this too close? Is there a certain distance from the plant the light should always be? I don't want it stretching so much as bushing out.

Also, should I top it yet, or at all? And when should I start scrogging, is there a certain time frame or is it basically just when the plant is ready for it?

calikevin87 · Apr 27, 2018

Day 25-

Some light LSTing by feeding upper stem through lower fan leaves-

Nice little purple in the middle of the leaf stem-

Measures 10" high and 12" wide-

R2DStoner · Apr 27, 2018

That is damping off. Courtesy of Google. 'If your soil does not drain fast, damping can occur easier and to prevent damping-off for seedlings/clones, make sure the medium drains well. Keep the temperatures between 70 – 85° F (21 – 29° C) for cannabis plants.' Courtesy of Wikipedia. 'Avoid benomyl fungicide soil drench as it kills beneficial organisms in the soil. You can apply biological things to help such as Pythium oligandrum to the soil. Pythium oligandrum is an oomycete. It is a parasite of many fungi and other oomycetes including Botrytis, Fusarium and Phytophthora. It has been licensed as a biocontrol agent in the form of an oospore soil treatment, which reduces pathogen load and concomitant plant disease. P. oligandrum can grow within the roots of certain plants, including tomato and sugar beet. Production of auxin-like substances stimulate plant growth. Defense responses can be induced in the plant, which primes the plant from further infection by pathogenic fungi, oomycetes or bacteria.' I have not had a plant survive damping off yet. Maybe this stuff can help.

calikevin87 · Apr 27, 2018

R2DStoner said:

View attachment 2437132 View attachment 2437131 That is damping off. Courtesy of Google. 'If your soil does not drain fast, damping can occur easier and to prevent damping-off for seedlings/clones, make sure the medium drains well. Keep the temperatures between 70 – 85° F (21 – 29° C) for cannabis plants.' Courtesy of Wikipedia. 'Avoid benomyl fungicide soil drench as it kills beneficial organisms in the soil. You can apply biological things to help such as Pythium oligandrum to the soil. Pythium oligandrum is an oomycete. It is a parasite of many fungi and other oomycetes including Botrytis, Fusarium and Phytophthora. It has been licensed as a biocontrol agent in the form of an oospore soil treatment, which reduces pathogen load and concomitant plant disease. P. oligandrum can grow within the roots of certain plants, including tomato and sugar beet. Production of auxin-like substances stimulate plant growth. Defense responses can be induced in the plant, which primes the plant from further infection by pathogenic fungi, oomycetes or bacteria.' I have not had a plant survive damping off yet. Maybe this stuff can help.
Click to expand...

The seedling started off in a peat moss plug, which probably does not drain nearly as well as the coco/perlite in the rest of the pot, which may be causing that damping-off. Thanks for the info, I'll look into it more and see what I can do about it.

kittybuns · Apr 27, 2018

calikevin87 said:

I have tin foil at the moment so I'll try that first, thanks.

Another question, the lights are currently about 13" away from the top of the plant, is this too close? Is there a certain distance from the plant the light should always be? I don't want it stretching so much as bushing out.

Also, should I top it yet, or at all? And when should I start scrogging, is there a certain time frame or is it basically just when the plant is ready for it?

Click to expand...

Ok so i generally keep my lights about 18" away from the top of the canopy, Depending on the type of light you are using and how strong it is. As far as topping goes, If you plan on vegging for a few more weeks i would say go for it. No sense in cutting if your gonna flip to flower soon.SCROG....... in my past grows I would set the screen 12 inches from the top of the pot and slowly train and tuck any branches that pop thru filling the screen about 50% to 70% and then the stretch from flower should allow you to fill in more. If your growing Indica then 70% Sative 50%, Sativas are infamous for insane stretching. On a side note, if you have a height restriction then set the screen a bit lower, mines is at 8" then tuck all the way to the 2nd or 3rd week of flower. The idea is a even canopy for maximum yeild and light distribution.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app

calikevin87 · Apr 28, 2018

Day 26-

Most of the fan leaves are about this size now-

Some strange looking holes on this top leaf-

Underneath view-

Day 27-

Roots!

Did some serious super-cropping today too, some of these chutes are no joke-

Tons of new growth, are these pre-flowers already?

Top view at 27 Days-

Side view-

kittybuns · May 1, 2018

calikevin87 said:

Day 26-

Most of the fan leaves are about this size now-

Some strange looking holes on this top leaf-

Underneath view-

Day 27-

Roots!

Did some serious super-cropping today too, some of these chutes are no joke-

Tons of new growth, are these pre-flowers already?

Top view at 27 Days-

Side view-

Click to expand...

Looking nice and bushy. I like tooppioa

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app

calikevin87 · May 1, 2018

kittybuns said:

Looking nice and bushy. I like tooppioa

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Click to expand...

Que? lol I think you meant "I like topping"

Update after a few days:

Day 28-
So much new growth I started tucking it under the fan leaves to get it ready for LST/super-cropping

Top view-

Side view-

Day 29-
These new chutes are growing so fast they want to just grow straight through the fan leaves

Still some yellowing on the lower leaves too, but the rest of the plant looks super happy-

Top view-

Day 30-
It's like the plant knows it's been a month, there's at least 16 "tops" forming from the main stem, every day or so I'm having to do some super-cropping in a new spot on the brances, it just doesn't want to stay horizonal. Look at all this under-growth!

Some of the gnarly super-cropping-

Side view-

Top view-

Looks like a happy plant to me, what do you think?

@Tbone Shuffle, would you top or fim this, or do you think I'll get my 3x3 bush without any of that?

Tbone Shuffle · May 1, 2018

The plant looks like it's growing great. Nice work. Don't let the slight amount of off color on the bottom discourage you at all. I would avoid increasing the nitrogen. You're not toxic at all but I do see some pretty dark green coloring on the leaves. The plant will continue to increase in feed rate. I wouldn't drop the amount of nitro, just don't increase it for now.

Give it another week or so to grow then do a lollipop from the bottom up to clean up some of the clogged up thick vegetation on the bottom. It's almost time to fully bend that main stem to the side carefully and train some of the other branches away from it. You still mostly have a single large top on the upper portion of the plant. Bending that off to the side will make the lower stuff come up to rival it.

Your main goal at this point is to get the larger tops that are just below that largest upper one to the top of the canopy. You generally have to keep bending down the largest main stem to do that. Just be careful and try not to snap it. Roll it in your fingers to weaken it a little where you want to bend then bend it with the other hand down as you pinch with the opposite hand. If you do it gently you'll get a crease instead of a snap. If you break it a bit of duct tape works to patch it. They do make specific tape for plants but I've never had a problem with duct tape. I always keep it handy if I'm supercropping. I've had some bad breaks. They've all survived. Cannabis is so tough to branches being snapped it's ridiculous. I've never even had one wilt snapped halfway across the stem.

Tbone Shuffle · May 1, 2018

Check out what I did to my GDP a few crops ago. That was second or third stage of the process. I had already bent the main stem down at least twice. Most of the branches I was bending that time were side branches that had already made it to the top.

kittybuns · May 1, 2018

calikevin87 said:

Que? lol I think you meant "I like topping"

Update after a few days:

Day 28-
So much new growth I started tucking it under the fan leaves to get it ready for LST/super-cropping

Top view-

Side view-

Day 29-
These new chutes are growing so fast they want to just grow straight through the fan leaves

Still some yellowing on the lower leaves too, but the rest of the plant looks super happy-

Top view-

Day 30-
It's like the plant knows it's been a month, there's at least 16 "tops" forming from the main stem, every day or so I'm having to do some super-cropping in a new spot on the brances, it just doesn't want to stay horizonal. Look at all this under-growth!

Some of the gnarly super-cropping-

Side view-

Top view-

Looks like a happy plant to me, what do you think?

@Tbone Shuffle, would you top or fim this, or do you think I'll get my 3x3 bush without any of that?
Click to expand...

hahaha i didnt realize i sent that LOL.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Grasscity Forum mobile app

calikevin87 · May 1, 2018

Tbone Shuffle said:

Check out what I did to my GDP a few crops ago. That was second or third stage of the process. I had already bent the main stem down at least twice. Most of the branches I was bending that time were side branches that had already made it to the top.
View attachment 2439111 View attachment 2439112
Click to expand...

Crap, I didn't realize I should be super-cropping the main stem, that makes so much sense now

Tbone Shuffle said:

The plant looks like it's growing great. Nice work. Don't let the slight amount of off color on the bottom discourage you at all. I would avoid increasing the nitrogen. You're not toxic at all but I do see some pretty dark green coloring on the leaves. The plant will continue to increase in feed rate. I wouldn't drop the amount of nitro, just don't increase it for now.

Give it another week or so to grow then do a lollipop from the bottom up to clean up some of the clogged up thick vegetation on the bottom. It's almost time to fully bend that main stem to the side carefully and train some of the other branches away from it. You still mostly have a single large top on the upper portion of the plant. Bending that off to the side will make the lower stuff come up to rival it.

Your main goal at this point is to get the larger tops that are just below that largest upper one to the top of the canopy. You generally have to keep bending down the largest main stem to do that. Just be careful and try not to snap it. Roll it in your fingers to weaken it a little where you want to bend then bend it with the other hand down as you pinch with the opposite hand. If you do it gently you'll get a crease instead of a snap. If you break it a bit of duct tape works to patch it. They do make specific tape for plants but I've never had a problem with duct tape. I always keep it handy if I'm supercropping. I've had some bad breaks. They've all survived. Cannabis is so tough to branches being snapped it's ridiculous. I've never even had one wilt snapped halfway across the stem.
Click to expand...

@Tbone Shuffle, you are the man, thank you so much. I have actually snapped two smaller branches doing the super cropping already, and all I had handy upstairs was electrical tape which worked perfectly, but the plant barely even needed that, this is one hearty mother.

I also keep forgetting to mention that my ppm has been somewhere in the 2000+ range for most of the grow, which probably explains the nute burn, but I've noticed that even when I mix some water that ends up being around 1200ppm, after it settles down in the bucket the ppm just seems to rise and rise and rise... Should I invest in an air stone to aerate the water? Will I see much of a difference with one?

I'm also using the 6/2 light schedule, I know there wasn't much info about it but I wanted to give it a try after looking up a few things about it. The plant seems to be liking it as far as I can tell.

Useful Searches

First Time DWC/Coco/LED Tent Grow - Hawaiian Headband

calikevin87 Medical User/Grower - Crohn's Disease Journal Owner

Attached Files:

calikevin87 Medical User/Grower - Crohn's Disease
Journal Owner