1st dwc,, NEED HELP W/ FEEDING

[young yeff]

ok so im getting started with my first ever DWC grow, i just setup my room in the basement i have a 120w CFL over a 5gal bucket with two 4in net pots. im currently waiting on my seeds to germ in paper towel but will put them in rockwool and place it into the pots with hydroton. can someone please tell me where to go from here once i get my seeds geminated?

do i need to soak the rockwool and hydroton before placing my seedlings into them?

do i need to top feed until roots reach the solution? if so how often should i feed them?

and when should i start using nutes?

i will be posting pics of this process as soon as i get my seeds to sprout, but as you can tell i might need a little help to do this right. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!

 

[Flo Grow]

ok so im getting started with my first ever DWC grow, i just setup my room in the basement i have a 120w CFL over a 5gal bucket with two 4in net pots. im currently waiting on my seeds to germ in paper towel but will put them in rockwool and place it into the pots with hydroton. can someone please tell me where to go from here once i get my seeds geminated?

do i need to soak the rockwool and hydroton before placing my seedlings into them?

do i need to top feed until roots reach the solution? if so how often should i feed them?

and when should i start using nutes?

i will be posting pics of this process as soon as i get my seeds to sprout, but as you can tell i might need a little help to do this right. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!

Forget rockwool and get rooter plugs if you can first.
No need to soak the plugs and ph probs like the rockwool.
Soak the wool and hydroton in 5.0 PH'd water for at least 1 day.
But first FLOOD that damn hydroton with GALLONS of water to rinse it off first.

Place the cubes no more than 2 inches deep in the pots and let the roots search for water/nutes. Some ppl do top feed too, so it is an option.

Beginning solution should be 100 - 250 ppm's, and you won't need to increase for the first 2 or 3 weeks depending on strain.

 

[justparanoid]

You need to soak the rockwool in ph corrected water for a day. then shake it but dont squeeze to remove some of the water. Use the water level to keep the rockwool cubes moist. I use a plug like a rapid rooter. they work the best.

Place the germinated seed, tap root down into the soaked rockwool. Do not feed for up to 3 weeks, In my dwc i do not feed them for three weeks then start them on 1/2 strength nutrients. I know it sounds crazy, but Cannabis doesnt need as much food as you would think. Top off the water in your dwc every day or two.

JP

 

[young yeff]

You need to soak the rockwool in ph corrected water for a day. then shake it but dont squeeze to remove some of the water. Use the water level to keep the rockwool cubes moist. I use a plug like a rapid rooter. they work the best.

Place the germinated seed, tap root down into the soaked rockwool. Do not feed for up to 3 weeks, In my dwc i do not feed them for three weeks then start them on 1/2 strength nutrients. I know it sounds crazy, but Cannabis doesnt need as much food as you would think. Top off the water in your dwc every day or two.

JP

ahhh! still tryna get used to this forum.. thanks for the tips JP. so once the seedlings are in the soaked rockwool i can go ahead and put em into the rinsed hydroton but i shouldnt feed them at all for the 1st couple weeks? and when u say 1/2 strength nutrients, i just dilute the solution double than what the nutrient directions say to?
oh and should i just start lighting right away? what cycle should i light them at first and around what week should i switch over to 12/12?

 

[young yeff]

Forget rockwool and get rooter plugs if you can first.
No need to soak the plugs and ph probs like the rockwool.
Soak the wool and hydroton in 5.0 PH'd water for at least 1 day.
But first FLOOD that damn hydroton with GALLONS of water to rinse it off first.

Place the cubes no more than 2 inches deep in the pots and let the roots search for water/nutes. Some ppl do top feed too, so it is an option.

Beginning solution should be 100 - 250 ppm's, and you won't need to increase for the first 2 or 3 weeks depending on strain.

thanks for the quick reply! can u explain what PPM's are? im a total newb at this.

 

[zem]

can you invest in some type of HPS? this will be needed later in flowering so you got time to do it. you can start and veg all the way with cfl's but HPS is much better to flower. how much bud you plan on getting out of this? how much room you have?

 

[young yeff]

can you invest in some type of HPS? this will be needed later in flowering so you got time to do it. you can start and veg all the way with cfl's but HPS is much better to flower. how much bud you plan on getting out of this? how much room you have?

i have a corner blocked off in my basement 4x4x8ft, but couldnt find anything like mylar @ my local hardware supply shop- is there anything else i can use? im trying not to spend TOO much money on this, so i went with 2 different cfl bulbs instead of a whole new lighting system. starting out with a 6500k daylight cfl, then during flowering i will switch over to the 2700k soft white cfl. that should be alright yeh? and please correct me if im wrong, during veg stage i was going to run 18/6 for roughly 4-6 weeks, then once to flowering stage i can switch to 12/12?

 

[BeaverHuntr]

Yo ! Like Flo said rockwool is poo poo especially for a noob.. Rooter plugs are the way to go.. Remember if you keep the rock wool and you soak it , after you soak it you need to get a lot of the water out of it but dont squeeze it SHAKE THE WATER OUT OF IT. Shake the water out like you were rolling dice or jerking off but do not squeeze it all out you need some ..

 

[BeaverHuntr]

i have a corner blocked off in my basement 4x4x8ft, but couldnt find anything like mylar @ my local hardware supply shop- is there anything else i can use? im trying not to spend TOO much money on this, so i went with 2 different cfl bulbs instead of a whole new lighting system. starting out with a 6500k daylight cfl, then during flowering i will switch over to the 2700k soft white cfl. that should be alright yeh? and please correct me if im wrong, during veg stage i was going to run 18/6 for roughly 4-6 weeks, then once to flowering stage i can switch to 12/12?

Your local hardware store and Lowe's will have a product called Reflectix.... I have my walls liined with it it's about 40 bucks for the big roll... It looks like that windshield sun visor that you buy to keep your vehicle cool.

 

[BeaverHuntr]

thanks for the quick reply! can u explain what PPM's are? im a total newb at this.

PPM's are Parts Per Million. Its basically whats floating in your water . WHen you add nutrients they will tell you after you added all your nutrients that you should have a PPM of 500 or so. This is when you dip your PPM meter in your reservoir and check what your PPM is . Tap Water (depending on where you live ) can have a PPM of 100-1000 thats why many of us use R/O water ( Reverse Osmosis ) .

 

[zem]

mylar is not the best way to go, in fact you will find most experienced growers would either switch to paint or get panda film. mylar wrinkles loses reflectiveness and also stains quickly. flat white paint(no gloss) is cheap and very reflective. your area is huge for a cfl grow. in a 4x4 you would need like 800watts so this is quite an investment there. if you dont want it, then use a small part of this area to suit your light. 120watts cfl's would cover 2 sq.ft max and would yield like 1oz or 2 every 4-5months if you're really good. you can speed it up to every 2-3month if you split room into veg and flower, and just keep lights on for vegging plants 24/24 and move them into flowering the day you harvest the flowering plants under 12/12. thats not much bud in this time period depending how much bud do you need to be self sufficient grower without need to buy. thats why i'm advising you to get HPS

 

[BeaverHuntr]

mylar is not the best way to go, in fact you will find most experienced growers would either switch to paint or get panda film. mylar wrinkles loses reflectiveness and also stains quickly. flat white paint(no gloss) is cheap and very reflective. your area is huge for a cfl grow. in a 4x4 you would need like 800watts so this is quite an investment there. if you dont want it, then use a small part of this area to suit your light. 120watts cfl's would cover 2 sq.ft max and would yield like 1oz or 2 every 4-5months if you're really good. you can speed it up to every 2-3month if you split room into veg and flower, and just keep lights on for vegging plants 24/24 and move them into flowering the day you harvest the flowering plants under 12/12. thats not much bud in this time period depending how much bud do you need to be self sufficient grower without need to buy. thats why i'm advising you to get HPS

I agree with this guy you are using a grow room similar to the one I have. My size is 5' wide x 6' long ' x 8' high. I can do about 5 plants in sport coolers and thats getting cramped. On the lighting your grow room is perfect for a 600W MH/HPS ...I would look into a 600W HPS light ..