DWC Scrog Grow Extrema & El Monstre!

I had a journal and I didn't like how it looked and couldn't figure how to start fresh so hopefully this will be the same as a journal. Any knowledgable advice is appreciated!!

Grow Gear:

Lighting: 400 watt air cooled MH/HPS
Nutrients: Advanced Nutrients Sensi Grow/Bloom A&B plus a few additives (VooDoo Juice, B-52, Big Bud, Bud Candy, Overdrive)
Area: Homemade 4x3x6 wooden box
Conainer & Medium: 18 gal Rubbermaid container w/hydroton (no rockwool or plugs). I'm rooting in cups of soil
Method: Scrog
Seeds & Strain: Sannies Seeds, 2 Extrema (Indica) & 2 El Monstre (Indica) 8-9 wk

DAY 2 since sprouting. The 2 Extrema were the first to pop up. The El Monstre look to have more hairs on the stem and more of a frosty look on the leaves. It's still real early so who knows what will happen. I still have them in the plastic cups (half cup) with holes in the bottom, sitting in a tray that I fill with water about twice a day. I'll post pics in a couple days.

Went to Lowes to get Intake/Exhaust duct. I got the aluminum hard duct at first and it sucked. Waste of $15. So I found the flexible stuff like used for dryer vents. Much much easier and less of a headache. I still dont have a fan hooked up for my exhaust so i dont know how much good its doing being hooked up with no fan to blow it out. And the same goes for my intake. I have about 5 ft of 6in flex on the floor with holes in it but nothing blowing it in. I dont have anywhere to vent the exhaust to either other than back into the bedroom. Right now I can maintain 80 Temp 40 RH but I think it will be harder to do once I lower my light. I was planning on getting a filter and fan combo from eBay. I know I'll need it later, but would that solve alot of my problem? And is venting back into the bedroom a bad idea? Any suggestions?

Got any pics?

I dont have any pics of the seedlings yet!! I will soon though

Clean looking setup, nice

I filled my container with water to see how the (2 round 6 inch) airstones worked in there. They stayed at the bottom but flipped over so I tried suction cups and that half ass worked so i drained it and used liquid nails to hold them in place (let it dry 24 hours before filling with water). It seems to be working fine so far cuz they havent moved. Just not sure if the toxins will affect anything in my rez. Sure hope not.

Day 3: Plants are looking good. The 2 El Monstre are about 1 inch tall, 1 Extrema is about 1 1/2 and the other is about 2 1/2 in tall. It seems to be a little ahead of the others. Hope thats not a sign of a male. Not gonna stress it tho cuz they are looking good. I'm anxious to transplant them into the hydroton but I am gonna give them a few more days or week to give the roots time to grow so they will survive the move. Temps : Avg 80 High 83 Low 62 RH: Avg 40 Still wanting temps to be lower. Im having to crack the GR door a little to keep it that temp or it jumps to about 83.

That looks similer to the yaroots system ? Curious how 4 plants will do in there cant wait good luck mate .

Dont know what system you are talking about but if they look the same then I'm sure its close to the same setup though. Bubbleponics or DWC is all I know. Yea, thats one of my concerns as well having 4 plants in there. I wont be able to grow as big of plants as if I had only two in there, but hopefully they wont grow together and cause an issue with roots tying together. Buckets would prob be better, but for me starting out I think it would be easier to maintain the water pH and nutes with just one res instead of 4 or 5 buckets. I may upgrade later on if I have to. Will wait and see how it goes.

Hope it all goes well for you mate keeep an eye on them roots last thing you want is a root ball . i will be keeping an eye on this

hey blu!! nice set up you have going there, and clean too , im subed for this one. happy groing

Day 4: These aren't the best of pictures and it's not even a shitty camera. The two in the front are the 2 Extrema. Two of them have a root sticking out of a hole in the bottom of the cup so I am tempted to transplant them within the next day or so. I don't wanna rush them but I also don't want my roots getting stuck in the hole either. Waiting for my pH/temp meter to come in the mail. Any day now.

I have a couple concerns for later growth though if anyone knows.
What should I do with my res so that I will be able to change out the water? I won't be able to just pull the plants out if they are attached to the screen. And should I top the about the 3rd or 4th node to split into two branches or just keep the one main stem and stretch it? I'm thinking just stretch it but I was wondering what other people do.

Looks good. That was the first thing I thought... DWC SCROG? How the fuck?
Your going to need a drain on your tub or something. I would also HIGHLY suggest (like don't be a freking idiot) that you build a top off system of sorts. Late in flower the plants will drink that container dry in a couple days.

Definitely FIM those plants when they have 4-5 true nodes.

That is one of my concerns. What would be the best way to set it up? Put a drain hose on it? Or get a fish aquarium suction tool? I'm open for suggestions.

Day 5: Plants are looking good still. The 2 El Monstre look just alike just a little different height. Very hairy and stocky looking stem on both of them. The 2 Extrema look a little different as far as the color of the leaves. They both have skinnier less hairy stems compared to the El Monstre. I really should have put these in a full plastic cup instead of a half cup because I have a root trying to come out of the bottom. I'm gonna hold it off for a little while longer before I move them into the hydroton. I need to also set up my drainage on my res. If I don't get it done before I transplant them, I will do it on my first res change. Will just have to see how busy this week is gonna be for me.

I was looking at some videos on YouTube and I didn't find someone doing it with a rubbermaid, but with a 5 gallon bucket and they had a drain tube coming from the side on the bottom with a shut off valve on it to drain the water and a small hole in the lid that they used a funnel to put the water back in with without moving the res. It may be a little tricky to do, but I think it can be done. I just have to figure out a way to have my drain tube off of the ground a little or I won't be able to drain it into anything but the floor and need to have my fill hole to where I can fill it with a long big mouthed funnel without being in the way. I have a couple ideas in mind. I'm not sure how all of this will work but I have faith that with a little help along the way this should be a nice grow with hopefully a good yield.

pH/Temp meter came in today. Not sure if I am supposed to calibrate it or anything before I use it. I put it in the water to test it. pH 7.4 and res temp 72 with no nutes or pH buffer, so it's not too bad. Room was 83 when I got home so I am thinking as long as I keep it around 78-80 until I get my inline fan ordered and installed my water should be fine and level out around 66-68.

Whoooa there grasshopper, your ph is 7.4!! Danger dude, danger! That shit should be around 5.8. Your rez is a little too warm as well but that is just DWC. I would highly suggest you integrate h2o2 throughout your grow to prevent bad microbial growth. 3ml/gallon every 4 days. Fear not, a gallon of 30% is only like $20. If you can get it down under 70 your golden.

You absolutely need to calibrate. Calibrate everytime you mix nutes. Dilute your ph down before you add it.

If I were you I would install a 3/4 drain in the rubbermade. Have a little nipple on it to connect a 3/4 hose. Now you can drain it. Now, to fill it, take a 5 gallon bucket with a 3/4 hose installed in the side of it (near the bottom obviously). Set this at the same level as your rubbermaid, connect it, and open the valve. Now just pour your fresh nutes in the bucket until the desired height is reached. Now you can close the valve and get rid of the bucket but you may find that it will serve as a nice reservoir that you can easily monitor. Just take it off the shelf, let it fill up (draining the rubbermade) then put it back in the shelf (filling the rubbermaid) and test your ph and ppm. It is likely that you are going to want that extra Rez capacity when the plants mature. They will drink ALOT of water.

Oops. Didn't realize your Rez is on the ground. Going to need a pump to remove the water. A cheap aquarium pump placed in the bucket should work. That's how I drain my 50 gallon reservoirs. Harbor freight had a 1200 gallon aquarium pump on sale for like $25-30. A little overkill in your situation but works great for me as I have to pump up 3' to get into my utility sink.

Im subbd I got El monstre too Killing Fields and Uber Kush, Hey any questions you need help with ask Im still a noob but I know some basics so let me know we all was there once. Good Luck bro and thanks for the Journal to look at keep it up.

I absolutely know that my pH needs to be around 5.8 or as close to it as possible. I was just saying what my pH was of my well water without having any nutes or pH buffer added to it. I'm not a lost cause by any means. Lol. I Like the idea of the bucket being elevated above the res with a hose running into it. That way I can leave the bucket there and add my water to that bucket. I am shooting for res temps around 65-68? That sound about right? I appreciate the help and criticism. I learn best from my mistakes.

pH problem: I had two small bottles of buffer 4.003 and 6.86 1 oz bottles. I added the whole bottle of the 4.003 and 30 minutes later my pH is 7.2. I guess I will have to order some pH up/down. Best option? I know I ask alot of questions but I'm just trying to learn as I go.

Do you mean a pump like this one? Will it suction all of the water out of the res into a bucket? I didnt really wanna leave left over nutes in the bottom of the res between changes. I added some nutes to my water at 1/4 strength and last I checked I was at 315 PPM. I added water but cant add anymore so I am hoping the PPMs will go down a little. Plants are still in soil for the time being. I am just trying to get the water right

Day 6: I added vinegar (lemon juice will also work) to my water to lower the pH. Using temporarily cuz it is said to cause a buildup in the res, so I am just gonna use it this time and get some pH down ordered and use it for my next flush. I got the pH 5.9 but my res temp 69-72. I will have to get some plastic bottles and keep in the freezer to keep my temps down. My PPM 310 I tried getting them lower by adding more water but my tank was full so I am hoping that this doesn't affect them too much. I also added a small amount of bleach to my res. Read that a few places that the bleach is not harmful to the plants or us when it's smoked. And it helps keep algae growth in the tank.

I also transplanted my babies into the hydroton last night. I am not sure how they will react. I put per litre in res (68L)1 mL of VooDoo Juice, 1mL of B-52, 1mL of each Sensi Grow A&B 1/4 strength. I checked them this morning and they are still green and not laid over choking so I will see how they do in their new home. The 2 Extrema had the longest roots as you can see from the picture. Long roots for 5 days old.