1st Grow: DWC Cooler 600w Cream Caramel

tarzansmoke · Jul 25, 2013

What's up RIU? Long time lurker and finally decided to start a grow journal with the hopes
and prayers of actually finishing my journal with pictures of some beautiful buds.
That being said lets get into the detes of my grow

Strain: 1 x Sweet Seeds' Cream Caramel

Lights: Currently 3 x 1650 lumen CFLs running 24/0, however hope to get my 600w HID today or
tomorrow which will run 18/6.

Grow Room: Closet grow, dimensions roughly 4feet wide, 10 feet long, and about 7
feet high. I have one 20" box fan blowing towards the cfls and my baby, but I plan on adding
another with the anticipation of my 600w, which will be used at 50% to avoid a substantial
rise in temps.

Grow Method: DWC(ooler), using a 4 outlet Air Pump from Petco (too high to remember
the gph :eyesmoke:

)

Conditions: Grow Area - 80F
Res Temp - 67F
pH - Fluctuating between 5.5-6.5 every 24 hours or so

Nutes: General Hydro Hardwater Micro & Bloom. GH pH Down & Baking soda for pH up

Day 3ish: In all honesty its probably been a week however my initial setup leaked and
killed off one of three plants. I still got 1 Cream Caramel and a Toxic Blue 33 which will
probably be a mother plant, as she is in slow veg right now.

Below are some pics of the setup, for now.
Thank you for stopping by, I can use any help and assistance so feel free.
Peace :leaf:

From seed

Three original plants

Setup(Temporary)

Cream Caramel Survivor hangin in

Slipon · Jul 25, 2013

welcome

and nice set up, tho let me start by pointing out "the flaws" I see

you have 80F now running CFLs and only a box fan, even on half a 600W MH/HPS get pretty hot

what kind of ventilation do you plan to run ? you WILL need to replace air in a closet grow, specially with HID lights but also for fresh air/co2 for your plant`s

a nice 5 or 6 inch ventilation is advisable

also so you can control odor with a carbon filter to match

once you have that you can also fit a cool tube/hood on the 600W

400w_hpsmh_digital_ballast_air_cool_tube_grow_lights_set8.jpg

indoor-hyrdoponic-grow-cabinet-all-inclusive-stealth-e945.jpg

with out a ventilation my 600W made my grow room (3x7 ft) jump from 78F to 98F !!! in minutes, once I got a 6" vent going I got it down to 88F running it at night made me keep 84F once added a cool hood I had them perfect 80-82F most of the time, tho summer still suck`s, still do even with LEDs as I don't have a AC or a option to install one

Slipon · Jul 25, 2013

Ooh yea, and about GH nuts, try to have a read

http://lucasformula.com

and since your in DWG (others can also use it with good results) I would also have a read about hydrogen peroxide

http://joemacho.hubpages.com/hub/Hydrogen-Peroxide-for-Plants

hope some of this help

Slip

tarzansmoke · Jul 25, 2013

Slipon said:
Ooh yea, and about GH nuts, try to have a read

http://lucasformula.com

and since your in DWG (others can also use it with good results) I would also have a read about hydrogen peroxide

http://joemacho.hubpages.com/hub/Hydrogen-Peroxide-for-Plants

hope some of this help

Slip

I planned on using Lucas Formula, that's why I only bought the micro and bloom :bigjoint:

And the Hydrogen Peroxide sounds interesting, im just a little confused on when to use it and how.
I only saw it discuss flushing using soil, but needless to say it sounds awesome.

And as far as temps in the room, I have looked into those types of setups, however the costs and
stealth began to skyrocket in the opposite direction I needed lol. All jokes aside ive been closely
monitoring the water temps and I shall use this discussion to segue into my update

tarzansmoke · Jul 25, 2013

Oh Happy Day! HID for my baby girl! Hooked it all up and added that second
box fan for the time being.

Day 4:
Grow Temps: Rose from 85-90ish with new light on. Dropped to 79 lights off.
Res Temps: Remained 64-68F thanks to my Igloo Cooler

pH: drifting from 5.5-6.5 every 24 hours.

Running it at only 50% power most likely for entire grow due to the rise in
room temps. I already planned on this, and the temps in my city at the
moment don't help either, a cool 100F today outside. :shock:

Regardless here's the modified setup

And my baby's new growth.

Some new roots showing :eyesmoke:

Needless to say I gotta figure out some way to get temps to stay down, ac units, etc,
however that will have to wait till the semester starts again, gotta stay in school kids lol
but as long as shes not showing a huge sign of stress and my root zone is cold I feel ok.
Anyways, happy smoking, growing, and I hope tomorrow is more prosperous than the
last.

tarzansmoke · Jul 27, 2013

Day 7:
Grow Temps: Lights on 87-9F Lights off 79F
Res Temps: below64(my thermometer stops at 64F)-68F(max)
pH: 5.7-5.8, haven't really seen much drifting, I haven't pH downed
in a couple days which is great!
I also introduced a tiny portion of nutes, about 2 drops of micro and 4 drops of bloom.
Definitely see lots of progress, Im proud of my baby. :bigjoint:

And for the pics...

tarzansmoke · Jul 30, 2013

Judging by the lack of comments I'd say im on the right track lol

KLITE · Jul 30, 2013

Remember to keep nutes really low for now. i wouldnt be adding any blooming at all. Add a root growth promoter (big fucking difference) i would also put clay pebbles in the net pot, provdes the root system with something to hold on to. I would use advanced grow a and b, literally 5 ml of each in 20 liter of water will raise your ppm by like 200 lol very concentrated. I'm a big fan of supervit as well.. i find its the best multi vitamin out there imo it gives a sweeter taste to the final product.
But above all i belive in foliar feeding with good organic nutrients, if you arent doing it start right away and dont stop until you have 1/2-1/4 inch thick buds. I do not add any nutes in the water only a root stimulator until they reach a good 20-25 cm tall and give all the food they need through the leaves.
Keep ph on the higher side of the 5 for indicas and closer to 5.5 for sativas. You have a pretty shitty ph meter, so really calibrate it weekly or fortnightly.
i would aslo get a fan/temperature controller. I love them because they keep your temperature pretty much bang on and allocate appropriate air flow when lights are off.

Best of luck!

tarzansmoke · Jul 31, 2013

KLITE said:
Remember to keep nutes really low for now. i wouldnt be adding any blooming at all. Add a root growth promoter (big fucking difference) i would also put clay pebbles in the net pot, provdes the root system with something to hold on to. I would use advanced grow a and b, literally 5 ml of each in 20 liter of water will raise your ppm by like 200 lol very concentrated. I'm a big fan of supervit as well.. i find its the best multi vitamin out there imo it gives a sweeter taste to the final product.
But above all i belive in foliar feeding with good organic nutrients, if you arent doing it start right away and dont stop until you have 1/2-1/4 inch thick buds. I do not add any nutes in the water only a root stimulator until they reach a good 20-25 cm tall and give all the food they need through the leaves.
Keep ph on the higher side of the 5 for indicas and closer to 5.5 for sativas. You have a pretty shitty ph meter, so really calibrate it weekly or fortnightly.
i would aslo get a fan/temperature controller. I love them because they keep your temperature pretty much bang on and allocate appropriate air flow when lights are off.

Best of luck!

Thanks very much, yea ive already had to calibrate the pH meter a couple times, and ive been keepin the nutes very low, literally a drop of one and two of the other(Micro & Bloom respectively). And if you are suggesting I only use micro, how would that work in the lucas formula? Although Im not about to fish out of my pockets just to by a whole new nutrient system lol but where would I find the root promoter and fan/temp controller? The latter sounds like it cost an arm and a leg however interesting. Also, ive had too many pH shifts with hydroton, and have known someone who swears by neoprene inserts, and ive seen several dwc grows using them. Regardless ive seen substantial growth in the past couple days(roots and actual leaf growth), and plan to post tomorrow

marsdaley · Jul 31, 2013

this looks like it will be a pretty nice journal, u said this was your first grow yet you seem to have been considering it for a while because ur stuffs lookin nice. I have very little exp. in growing myself and even less $$ for my project then you. If u want check out my journal and maybe try to drop some advice?? Im gettin no love from riu lol i jus have some local bag seed going now and am hoping to get a female or two, by the time this second grow is done ill have $$ for some good genetics and possibly a beginners hydro set

KLITE · Aug 1, 2013

tarzansmoke said:
Thanks very much, yea ive already had to calibrate the pH meter a couple times, and ive been keepin the nutes very low, literally a drop of one and two of the other(Micro & Bloom respectively). And if you are suggesting I only use micro, how would that work in the lucas formula? Although Im not about to fish out of my pockets just to by a whole new nutrient system lol but where would I find the root promoter and fan/temp controller? The latter sounds like it cost an arm and a leg however interesting. Also, ive had too many pH shifts with hydroton, and have known someone who swears by neoprene inserts, and ive seen several dwc grows using them. Regardless ive seen substantial growth in the past couple days(roots and actual leaf growth), and plan to post tomorrow

I have found that environmental conditions are quite more important than what you actually feed the plant (brand blah blah). You can get a half decent intake and outake fan controller for under 100 euros. And believe me that will be the best thing you'll have ever bought especially if using a grow tent.
If you want bud that will leave any connoisseur completely mind and eye boggled you denfintely need to give your plant some kind of carbohydrates during flowering, humic and fulvic acid (not one or the other they work together sort of, but if you had to chose go with humic it's expensive but by god it is fucking amazing) also during flowring to keep it cheaper, some kind of bloomin enhancer especially something that acts as a flower site 'ignitor' I love Canadian Expresses Head Masta and combine it with Big Bud (mate's got some Lemon OG at week 6 that looks like a tree holding enlogated soda cans also in dwc), some sort of PK booster (no matter what DO NOT use canna, it will take the taste away from your buds), enzymes obviously and multivitamins ( ilike supervit, cheap concentrated and does wonders. Some people would add cal mag to this list but i find not all strains need it and Head Masta has quite a bit of it.
How I do it is i add 10% less than what the directions say for a 50l tank i.e: Bud Candy 90ml, Sensizym 90 ml, Head Masta 30 ml, Big Bud 70ml, Humic 90ml, Fulvic 90ml. With this your ec will be at around 0.6 more or less and then I use a blooming formula (advanced) until i reach my desired EC ( usually very little no more than 20-30 ml of each a and b). Then whenever you need to add water adjust ec with the blooming formula, usually every couple of days.
If you are growing only a few plants and are not too worried about wasting a bit of nutrients change your water EVERY WEEK. Otherwise youll have to keep a very close eye on your algae situation and watch out for those air stones to not clog up, especially using humic and fulvic.
DWC is really really easy and if done just a bit correctly you will get trees that will leave everyone jealous of you. I once did a Lemon skunk more or less as described above and the club i go to wanted me to work for them after seeing just one smoothered bud of lemon funkiness.

Two tricks I have found that work wonders is to do 2 random flushes of the reservoir during the flowering period to 'starve' the plant a bit. I do it at weeks 2 and 4 when changing water and leave it flushiong for a day or 2 so that when the water gets impregnated with nutrients again the plant will soak them up. Another one is to keep ph around 6-6.2 during weeks 4 to 6 that ph range is more optimal for mag and cal absorbtion in hydroponics and that's also the period when plants begin whoring for it, at least indicas.

tarzansmoke · Aug 5, 2013

marsdaley said:
this looks like it will be a pretty nice journal, u said this was your first grow yet you seem to have been considering it for a while because ur stuffs lookin nice. I have very little exp. in growing myself and even less $$ for my project then you. If u want check out my journal and maybe try to drop some advice?? Im gettin no love from riu lol i jus have some local bag seed going now and am hoping to get a female or two, by the time this second grow is done ill have $$ for some good genetics and possibly a beginners hydro set

Thanks man! I have been researchin quite a bit, and i'll say this is my first semi-successful run, however there are always roadblocks and speedbumps. And tell me about it, i'll make sure to drop a line after visiting ur grow, not too much help for us newbies unless we look the questions we really need answered up, otherwise you may be getting tips that may steer u in the wrong direction. If you have a plan and method you've researched, stick with it, and don't let anyone coax you into spending more and more money on endless products for our plants. That's all bs in my eyes, cuz this stuff is already expensive enough lol, why go around makin it more complicated, especially in our first grows at least.

tarzansmoke · Aug 5, 2013

KLITE said:
I have found that environmental conditions are quite more important than what you actually feed the plant (brand blah blah). You can get a half decent intake and outake fan controller for under 100 euros. And believe me that will be the best thing you'll have ever bought especially if using a grow tent.
If you want bud that will leave any connoisseur completely mind and eye boggled you denfintely need to give your plant some kind of carbohydrates during flowering, humic and fulvic acid (not one or the other they work together sort of, but if you had to chose go with humic it's expensive but by god it is fucking amazing) also during flowring to keep it cheaper, some kind of bloomin enhancer especially something that acts as a flower site 'ignitor' I love Canadian Expresses Head Masta and combine it with Big Bud (mate's got some Lemon OG at week 6 that looks like a tree holding enlogated soda cans also in dwc), some sort of PK booster (no matter what DO NOT use canna, it will take the taste away from your buds), enzymes obviously and multivitamins ( ilike supervit, cheap concentrated and does wonders. Some people would add cal mag to this list but i find not all strains need it and Head Masta has quite a bit of it.
How I do it is i add 10% less than what the directions say for a 50l tank i.e: Bud Candy 90ml, Sensizym 90 ml, Head Masta 30 ml, Big Bud 70ml, Humic 90ml, Fulvic 90ml. With this your ec will be at around 0.6 more or less and then I use a blooming formula (advanced) until i reach my desired EC ( usually very little no more than 20-30 ml of each a and b). Then whenever you need to add water adjust ec with the blooming formula, usually every couple of days.
If you are growing only a few plants and are not too worried about wasting a bit of nutrients change your water EVERY WEEK. Otherwise youll have to keep a very close eye on your algae situation and watch out for those air stones to not clog up, especially using humic and fulvic.
DWC is really really easy and if done just a bit correctly you will get trees that will leave everyone jealous of you. I once did a Lemon skunk more or less as described above and the club i go to wanted me to work for them after seeing just one smoothered bud of lemon funkiness.

Two tricks I have found that work wonders is to do 2 random flushes of the reservoir during the flowering period to 'starve' the plant a bit. I do it at weeks 2 and 4 when changing water and leave it flushiong for a day or 2 so that when the water gets impregnated with nutrients again the plant will soak them up. Another one is to keep ph around 6-6.2 during weeks 4 to 6 that ph range is more optimal for mag and cal absorbtion in hydroponics and that's also the period when plants begin whoring for it, at least indicas.

Are there some intake/outtake controller fan brands you would suggest? any links would be gladly appreciated, as I do realize the severity of controlling the environment.

tarzansmoke · Aug 5, 2013

So I finally have an update and let me tell you its been a constant struggle, so ive constantly smoked to maintain lol.
On August 1st or 2nd I came home to find a single bug terrorizing my babies

it took bites out of some of my leaves,
however they're buffalo soldiers to the fullest, and didn't seem deterred.
On the other hand, after introducing a miniscule
amount of nutes I was left to find my plants began developing yellowing on the tips of the leaves as well as curling at the
bottom. I was not sure if this was due to my use of nutes so early on an auto, or the fact that the temps above canopy
are 89-91F with lights on, so to remedy this I flushed out my reservoir with new pH'd water.
After this I was hit with another low blow, as my clumsy friend stepped on my ph meter and broke
it

now for the past two days ive been "winging it" pH wise adding a drop or two of pH down daily,
which I know is no good for my plant. Ive already ordered a new pH and ppm meter, however:
Does anyone know where to find regular pH strips for cheap? Im not willing to dish out another $20
at the hydro store when I've already ordered one online.
Also, can anyone tell what is wrong with my plant, deficiency/abundance or heat stress? or all of the above?
The roots are continuing to strive, leading me to believe my plant is totally salvageable, I just want the
health of my plants.
Thanks to all the help and support!
View attachment 2764698
View attachment 2764699
View attachment 2764700
View attachment 2764701
Toxic Blue 33 Hanging in there
View attachment 2764702

tarzansmoke · Aug 7, 2013

Day 14(or so)

I was able to save my babies by adding some much needed nutes, despite the lack of response from the RIU "community" lol
No worries though back to the regular schedule. I also was able to pick up another ph meter for the time being. Heres an
update.

Grow Temps: Lights on: 88-90F Lights off:75-79F

Res Temps: Below 68F

pH: Somewhere in between 5.5 and 6.2

I was able to get the color back healthy looking
(I tried to rotate the pictures but ive basically spent the
last 30 minutes messing with this post smh)
View attachment 2767625

View attachment 2767626

View attachment 2767628

Roots

View attachment 2767631

Toxic Blue 33

View attachment 2767629

polo the don · Aug 10, 2013

Hi Tarzan,I'm subscribed. I'm rather new too but maybe I can help a lil. You need to get those temps down(duh). Here is what I did... My closet is 5x2x8,(80cubic feet). I run a 400w@100%,my temps are 78f w/lights on. I have a 6" duct booster fan in the celing blowing into my attic 24/7 no speed controller or timer on it. These fans are 25-30 dollars at any A/C supply store or home improvement store. I have an 8x8 passive intake hole in my wall near the floor opposite corner of the fan. This will wisk away the heat before it can build up. Also I run a ran blowing between the plants and the light blowing towards the direction of the exhaust fan. I hope this helps.

Happy Growing,

Polo.
ps,I'm subscribed

tarzansmoke · Aug 10, 2013

polo the don said:
Hi Tarzan,I'm subscribed. I'm rather new too but maybe I can help a lil. You need to get those temps down(duh). Here is what I did... My closet is 5x2x8,(80cubic feet). I run a 400w@100%,my temps are 78f w/lights on. I have a 6" duct booster fan in the celing blowing into my attic 24/7 no speed controller or timer on it. These fans are 25-30 dollars at any A/C supply store or home improvement store. I have an 8x8 passive intake hole in my wall near the floor opposite corner of the fan. This will wisk away the heat before it can build up. Also I run a ran blowing between the plants and the light blowing towards the direction of the exhaust fan. I hope this helps.

Happy Growing,

Polo.
ps,I'm subscribed

Thanks a lot Polo! I fear the heat will become a factor too, however I don't have an attic because I live in an apartment, however I have been looking at those fans, they seem really great I just don't know where I would redirect the air to and how :-(

. The nearest window is clear across my room, outside of the actual closet, about ten or so feet from the closet. I have an ac vent right above the entrance to the closet, however I don't know how to redirect that air nor what other possible ways to vent air without causing too much damage. Thank you for the help and the sub! Any more help would be much appreciated!

tarzansmoke · Aug 11, 2013

Update

Day 18

pH: 5.5-6.5

Canopy Temps: 85-90F (lights on) 75-79F(lights off)

Reservoir Temps: Below 65F

Cream Caramel:

Roots

Toxic Blue 33 Day 11ish

Roots

Side By Side

spontcumb · Oct 19, 2013

tarzansmoke said:
Update

Day 18

pH: 5.5-6.5

Canopy Temps: 85-90F (lights on) 75-79F(lights off)

Reservoir Temps: Below 65F

Greetings, tarzansmoke!! I just now stumbled upon this thread and am curious as to how your grow went.......Any major problems. Did she make it through to harvest? I'm subbed, though I think I'm a bit late....lol
Anyway.....I hope you had good fortune and really good smoke! Peace!!! :peace:

1st Grow: DWC Cooler 600w Cream Caramel

tarzansmoke

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Slipon

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Slipon

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tarzansmoke

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KLITE

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tarzansmoke

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marsdaley

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KLITE

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tarzansmoke

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polo the don

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