I'm starting my first grow, and want to journal the experience. I've got 2 2'x4'x6' tents, each with two Induxpert 270w draw LED panels (advertised as 600w equivalent), with carbon filters and exhaust fans for both. Each tent will have two plants in DWC buckets, and I've got some screen ready to set up and scrog once I get that far. I've attached pictures of most everything I've got, plan to start germinating in the morning using a wet paper towels in a pair of saucers, while I hang the carbon filters and fans and get everything plugged in and full of water. I have a few questions: Do I need to do anything to the water I use to germinate or is tap fine? Do I also need to do anything to the clay grow pellets aside from put them in the net pot and keep them wet? Should I prep the water and buckets and such as if there's a plant in them while I wait for the beans to sprout? Last, I initially planned on getting two of the air stones per bucket, but somehow miscounted while ordering and only got 6. Will these work fine with 1 stone per bucket in one tent, or should I go ahead and order another pair? Thanks in advance!
I dunno jack about the dwc fine details but i can tell you that you prob wont need the second carbon filter or inline fan most likely as you can just run a t between em and dump the heat through one carbon filter or suck filterd air through it if you so wish. Your not gonna have temp spikes like hids i doubt youll get higher than 83°. Never heard of those lights so results may vary so buy a back up light incase. I dont think you need 2 air stones per bucket i wouldnt prep the water till needed as you might grow stuff. Seedling dont require alot of water so dont drown em. You might wanna wash the clay before use and clean all the components to prevent unwanted mold bacteria ect. I hope you got timers fans humidifiers ect. Also where are you planning on dumping exhaust is important as you dont want it to be in the same room. I think i got most of the questions.
Thanks! I got a TDS meter with calibration fluid on the way, clay washed, etc. I need two carbon filters and such, because there are two tents in separate parts of the building, both housing two plants. Connecting the ventilation between the two would be a big pain. Both have fans and will be vented through the carbon filter into attic space above with exhaust fans. Pretty sure the lights are just another knock off ViparSpectra variant. They have a good real PAR rating and I'm thinking they'll do well for what they are. My seedlings just sprouted taproots today!
I grow DWC and I would consider scraping the scrog idea and just get good at LST/supercropping for training a wide canopy. A scrog traps the plant under the net eventually when it grows into it. They can put a lot of pressure on one. Later in the grow the plant can't be moved much if at all. In bucket DWC you have to change the res water at least once a week especially when the plants get older. If you use a scrog net you'll have to add drain valves to your res and space it enough off the ground to collect the water or pipe it to a drain through the floor. Many hydro gravels come in the bag full of dust and need a pretty good rinse before using. You'll still get red dust in your res with new gravel after rinsed until it gets some age. Target 6.0 for ph and ph your feed/mid week top offs. After your sprouts have roots sticking out of the starter cubes and are about 6" tall or so place them in the net pot and plant them with the gravel. Fill the buckets up with a lite nutrient solution of maybe 350ppm. Run the level in the res about 1" below the bottom of the net pot. The idea is the bubbles that pop on the surface from the air stones will keep the gravel wet. You don't want to drown the net pot. When starting seedlings in a bucket net pot you can run the level up to touching the bottom of the net pot but I wouldn't go higher then that.
Gotcha, I've washed up all my hydro gravel, and it seems to be running clean. I expect a little dust still, but nothing significant. I'll definitely take into consideration your suggestion to try LST/supercropping over scrog, though I was initially going to LST and scrog only if I thought it would help me fill the canopy more evenly. As a solution for changing the water, I was just going to use a battery powered sump pump through a hole I've drilled in the top of my net-pot/lids for filling, adding nutes, and pumping water out, like this: Now, I didn't plan well enough - I didn't buy any rockwool or root plugs, and my seeds just got tiny little taproots sticking out today. Should I go buy some in the morning and put them in until they're large enough to drop in my net pots? Thanks!
I wouldn't attempt to put a seedling in a full size bucket net pot. It would probably die. Plant the seedling in a small seeding starter cube. I've used the cheap jiffy brand ones with lid from walmart. When the roots are sticking out the bottom and the plant has a serrated leaf or two plant it in the net pot with the starter cube in the gravel. Once you start working from clones you can build or buy an aeroponic clone machine. I use a turboklone 24. This prevents the need for any medium when starting plants in the net pots. I'm actually able to let the roots get super long in the clone machine. I can dangle them right into the bucket res when I transplant them and they don't slow down at all when growing through the net pot into the res.
Once your plants root ball gets big you won't be able to get that pump line to the bottom of the bucket. You'll need a hole for a drain in the bottom of the bucket if you plan on not moving it and a pump sprayer for rinsing the last of deposits out at water change. Use black air lines to prevent light getting in the root zone. It will follow clear line right in like fiber optics. I just use a placeholder empty bucket. I place the plant's root ball in the place holder bucket and then I'm able to walk off with the whole res, rinse it, refill, balance, and bring it back ready to go. I put the plant back in it and it's happy. It only takes a few minutes a plant like that with my attached bathroom with tub.
Gotcha. Your way definitely sounds more convenient. I'll follow suit and have a couple placeholder buckets for water changes, and focus on LST and maybe some supercropping for filling out the canopy. I'll also cancel my order for the pump
You really only need one but you could speed things up with multiple placeholders. That way you could bring all the bucket res's to the bathroom and do all your cleaning mixing at the same time. I actually do them one at a time. I'm currently growing 4 in bucket DWC. 3 in flower and one in veg. The plants don't have a problem sitting in the placeholder for up to 30 minutes or more.
Oh yeah, I was just considering for bandwidth purposes. So I could drop the plants in backup buckets and clean them all quickly.
You need black food grade buckets to keep the light from penetrating the plastic for your res on each plant but for the placeholder you can just use a colored cheap bucket.
Yeah, that's what I've got. I'll likely just get the same ones, because I'm weird about shit matching. So all my seedlings are cracked. The taproots vary from 1mm to 1inch. I got them tucked in some jiffy peat pots and the humidifier dome now. I put the seedlings just below the surface and expect to see them peeking out soon. The Veg section of my lights are on them, but pretty high up. Temp is 77-78F.
They're starting to peek up out of the jiffy pellets, so I've got them under lights. Humidity's only @ 25%, so I put a humidifier in the room near the tent to hopefully bring it up. One of the beans popped out of its shell, but is still curled up in the soil. Not sure if it looks good or not, but it's growing!