FIRST INDOOR GROW - DWC Buckets, SCROG, Stealth Cab, 400 Watt. ||| Start - Finish

[unispanman]

Hey everybody!

I have one outdoor grow under my belt which i faired decent result. I want to up the ante and head on indoors.

Ok, where to begin. Let me start off by saying thanks for stopping by and that i will endevour to complete this log so everybody can relish in the tasty cured bud...

The Cab...
I have turn an old pretty much skeleton of a box into what hopefully will be my little mj factory. I sheeted it in ply, added plenty of support for the weight of the buckets etc. I am still yet to add the plastic waterproofing on the bottom. The dimensions of the cab are 5.5 feet to the top but 4.7 to the bottom of the light. So well call it H = 4.7 L = 4.5 D = 1.9.

Lighting...
Fluoro's for the first few days then under the 400 watt MH for a few weeks untill ready to flower under the 400 watt HPS. I have a sealed aircooled hood with a small hydroponic fan pulling air through the light and out under the house.

Ventilation...
I am using a 12 Inch exaust fan which pulling air out of the box and pumping it under the house. I will be adding a carbon scrubber in the latter weeks as it becomes a necesity. I built a light proof box in order to recieve max air flow in with no light.

Medium...
I will be growing in two 5 gallon bubble buckets in which i intend to scrog. I will be using seperate buckets and a pond pump to flush res etc once a week as i cannot afford the ppm meter ha! I do have an electronic ph reader though. The lucas formulae too will be adopted.

Strain...
This is where i need an educated opinion.... It will either be 2 x G13 Haze feminised OR 1 x Red diesel AND 1 x Pot of Gold.

Nutes...
General Hydroponics

Im sure there is plenty more info that i could throw up here but that will come with time... in the meantime il throw up some pics. Im sorry it is not the most detailed log atm i will buster it up as time goes on...

1. My 7500 dual airpumps - One spare in case of failure haha
2. Small hole for light exhaust and the bigger cab exhaust
3. Prior to connecting ducting
4. Ducting installed
5. With the buckets inside
6. With the flap down , cant even see it.
7. Pulley and light exhaust
8. The light box which has a series of light breaks alowing air in from underneath.
9. A the point of fresh air!!
10. NOTE - THIS IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION Still plenty work to do on the Veg side
11. Cloning/ Vegging area
12. Cab exhaust under house, I am still yet to add the exaust under the house for the light.
13. Cab temp atm empty, with only the cab exaust running is 75f is that alright?

 

[unispanman]

Question - Should the plants be topped and then topped again for the SCROG or should i lst the heck out of them?

 

[unispanman]

Off to the hydro store today to pick up the rest of the nutes and possible carbon filter!!

Oh btw, everybody please feel welcome to leave comments/thoughts. I want to get this right the first time so if anyone can see any improvements or changes that i need to undertake please let me know

 

[unispanman]

OK little update... back and got some goodies!

I ran the cab all night last night and it stayed at a constant 68 - 70 F so looks like things may be going smoothly fingers crossed! Summer is still on the way though with 105+ days arggg

1.Nutes ill be using, and the ph up down. Is this sufficient or are there other products which i should use along with em??
2. The PH pen
3. Net pot size, you can compare it to the cleareyes ha


Still need to get smaller ducting to run the light heat out the house... but other than that i think im ready to bring these little ladies into the world!!

 

[northernsmoker]

How do you use the pump to change the res? I worry about my own dwc buckets that if I scrog them, I will be unable to get into the buckets....

Also, how are you adding nutes? Mixing them into ph'd water then pouring into buckets?

 

[unispanman]

Hey northern, I have started this journal early with a purpose, so i can really do things spot on.

Well those pumps in the cab are for the bubbles in the buckets... I may in the future use the third for a res for a third bucket with a solid lid.
If not, i am thinking that i will have TWO SPARE buckets - one for each bubbler. Add TAP water, PH it and let it sit for 36 hours and check ph again. IM NOT USING PPM METERS. then i add my nutes.

So now - i have two buckets with my nute batch for each bucket. Using a cheap pond pump i will pump the new nutes from the spare buckets untill that bucket runs empty which means it is time for a res change (lucas formulae). To empty the buckets i use a pond pump to pump the water from the bubbler bucket to the spare, emptying it competly. Flush it with bleach solution if i going from veg to flower. And use the same pump to pump the new nute batch into the bubblet bucket giving your plants a 5 - 10 m inutes air bath whilst in the dark

Well thats my thinking.... Is it plausable or any other suggestions?

 

[Weedler]

There are a few of us that use a product for fish called Amquel to remove any chlorine in tap water.

 

[unispanman]

Thanks weedler, and would that eliminate the need for me to stand the water for 36 hours? Just ph and nute? Also,

Will it work for my red changes in the way i described above?

Thanks

 

[k2daalvin]

Question - Should the plants be topped and then topped again for the SCROG or should i lst the heck out of them?

i DON'T top when i SCROG. i just LST them pretty much, as soon as they stretch over the screen about 2 in' is when i tie the top down to the SCROG and also FIM the top. with the top of the plant tied down, and also FIM'd is when they really start to bush out. its pretty easy, and everyone does it different. which in my opinion is what makes it fun. good luck i cant wait to see some SCROG action.

 

[unispanman]

Cheers K2, thanks for the info, thats exactly why i started it a tad early to make sure i do things right!
Question though, do you fim whilst lst'ing or fim once you have your bud sites in place and close to flower??

 

[Flo Grow]

What up UnispanMan !?
Like the set up you have there.
You really put some thought into it.

Amquel removes Ammonia, Chloramine, Nitrates, Nitrites, etc..
1 dose per 24hrs ! Use in 5gal bucket and wait 24hrs before treating again, if need be, in other words.
You PH and add nutes like normal, after treating with Amquel.
32oz bottle is like $12 from PetSmart or PetCo
Get that PPM meter asap too.
Especially since you're using tap water.


p.s. You might want to ask a Moderator to move your thread to the DWC subsection, where it belongs.
Easier for the rest of us DWC growers to see and communicate without jumping to other sections.

 

[unispanman]

Ah will do, thanks Flow!

about the PPM meter, i was doing some reading and found that if one follows the Lucas formlae where you change res every time equal solution has been added to that of container size a ppm meter is not required, is this the case?

Thanks for the amquel info not sure about the cholrine content in my water supply but one thing i do know is they recently added Flouride. Would that have any effects on the plants?

THanks for stopping by

 

[Flo Grow]

A hear you about the Lucas formula, but a ppm meter is a MUST HAVE for a marijuana grower !
Fluroide in water, I don't know about it terms of plant uptake.
If you call your local water company, they'll tell you if chloramine is in your water.
If so, then you most def need the Amquel b/c sitting your bucket out for 36 days let alone 36hrs, won't matter a single bit !

 

[k2daalvin]

Cheers K2, thanks for the info, thats exactly why i started it a tad early to make sure i do things right!
Question though, do you fim whilst lst'ing or fim once you have your bud sites in place and close to flower??

i FIM constantly in the beginning. i FIM the very top of the plant as i tie it to the screen. and as soon as any side branches/new tops get big enough to tie down i FIM them. i stop FIM'ing about 2-3 weeks before i switch over to flower. i also do 14\10 or 13\11.. as they only need a 10 hour dark period to induce flowers, so you have a few extra hours of bud production.... again these are my methods, everybody does things different. there is no right or wrong method. also remember, once you get into flower, the branches are more prone to snapping, so have your screen filled, and alil room for stretch..

anymore questions? im sure everyone here will be more than willing to help you out, RIU is a great community.

i hope everything goes good. ill be lurkin

 

[Flo Grow]

+REP, K2 !
Good advice.
I do my SCROG different.......no Fimmimg.
But I may give this a shot b/c I love the outcome of a properly Fimmed plant !!

 

[unispanman]

A hear you about the Lucas formula, but a ppm meter is a MUST HAVE for a marijuana grower !
Fluroide in water, I don't know about it terms of plant uptake.
If you call your local water company, they'll tell you if chloramine is in your water.
If so, then you most def need the Amquel b/c sitting your bucket out for 36 days let alone 36hrs, won't matter a single bit !

Oh ok , well better go count my pennies then haha but it wil be worth every penny.

Called the company and yes, the water does contain chlorine... so will be picking up some Amquel. Cheers.

Quick question - I think i understand PPM and all that but mabey not lol....

So, using tap water my PPM will be 150 - 200 higher. So lets say I am aiming for 1000 PPM. Do i just keep adding the appropriate nute solution untill it reads 1000PPM?

 

[unispanman]

i FIM constantly in the beginning. i FIM the very top of the plant as i tie it to the screen. and as soon as any side branches/new tops get big enough to tie down i FIM them. i stop FIM'ing about 2-3 weeks before i switch over to flower. i also do 14\10 or 13\11.. as they only need a 10 hour dark period to induce flowers, so you have a few extra hours of bud production.... again these are my methods, everybody does things different. there is no right or wrong method. also remember, once you get into flower, the branches are more prone to snapping, so have your screen filled, and alil room for stretch..

anymore questions? im sure everyone here will be more than willing to help you out, RIU is a great community.

i hope everything goes good. ill be lurkin

Awsome info!!! I will definatly be following you methods. And questions yes.... i bet they will never end ha!

So you FIM your plant as soon as it is tall enough to touch screen and continue training and fimming side branches untill they all pretty much leveled out? Also, how long do you go 14/10 - 13/11 for ? do you switch back to 12/12 in the last two weeks?

Thanks for your input, feel free to lurke anytime haha

 

[k2daalvin]

Awsome info!!! I will definatly be following you methods. And questions yes.... i bet they will never end ha!

So you FIM your plant as soon as it is tall enough to touch screen and continue training and fimming side branches untill they all pretty much leveled out? Also, how long do you go 14/10 - 13/11 for ? do you switch back to 12/12 in the last two weeks?

Thanks for your input, feel free to lurke anytime haha

haha thats all the part of learning. i FIM when its tall enough to bend and tie down to the screen, (FIM only the top at this time), wait until side branches reach above the screen a few inches to where they can be tied down as well, then you can FIM side branches to induce more side branching... i hardly ever go all the way to 12/12.
as i mentioned, MJ only needs a 10 hour dark period to trigger is natural mechanism to switch itself to flower.. so that leaves you with 4 extra hours of light you can use. generally i will switch (1.) 14/10 (2.) 13/11 (3.) 12/12 to replicate earths natural light cycle. remember these are my methods, there is no right or wrong way of doing them.

i posted FIM pictures in n!pples OG grow journal.. they are alittle over a foot tall, and received there first FIM treatment about 1 1/2 weeks ago.. check emm out