first DWC grow. Auto berry ryder/ auto blue invader. nutes and ppm questions

This is my first official grow with purchased seeds, ive gone through a number of plants from bagseeds. This is also my first autoflowering grow and first DWC grow. here is everythingi am using more or less, and please help me with some holes or misconceptions.

The grow space i will be using is from college grow box, it is the HPS hindu kush grow cab. Dimensions HEIGHT 36", LENGTH 25" , WIDTH 19 "
150 CFM EXHAUST FAN along with Can o filter 1500 carbon filter. I am thinking of purchasing another small 150 cfm fan. THOUGHTS?
I have 3 options for my lighting which i am considering, a. a 250w MH hung directly above resevoir along with 2 150w cfls one on each side of the resevoir, b. a 250w HPS on top with the cfls on each side, c. one 200/250W HPS and one 200/250W MH on top with no side lights. I am also willing to run options a and b without the side-CFLs I AM CONCERNED WITH LIGHTING AS SPACE IS AN ISSUE BUT THE TOP OF THE ENCLOSURE CAN BE RAISED IF NEEDED. I do not want to cause heat or light stress with too many lights but also want to produce the healthiest yeilding plants possibly.
It has a 12-15qt resevoir tank which i have decided to use, monitered by a PH, temperature, and ppm reader at all times. I also have an air stone running as well.
water will be between 65-75F @ around 68F preferred temp, PH 5.5-6.5 @ 5.9-6.0 optimum level
I am using 1.5" rockwool cubes with clay pellets for a medium.
Only nutes i will be using are Botanicare CNS 17 Grow, and Botanicare CNS17 Bloom.

from wat i understand grow nutes will only be used during weeks 2,3, and half of 4 and ONLY AT 1/4 STRENGTH DOSE. At four i will switch to the Bloom formula also at 1/4 STRENGTH DOSE for the remaining weeks 5,6,7,8,9. I READ SOMEWHERE THAT FOR AUTOFLOWERING PLANTS IT IS GOOD TO CONTINUE YOUR PLANTS WITH A NITORGEN ADDITIVE IN WEEK 4. BUT NO LONGER THAN THAT. THE REASONING BEHIND THIS WAS BECAUSE OF THEIR SHORT LIFESPAN AND ALMOST NON-EXISTENT VEG STATE, THE PLANT WILL USE THE EXTRA WEEK OF NITROGEN FEEDING TO CONTINUE ITS RAPID GROWTH AND PRODUCTION OF BUDS. Week 9-10 i will begin flushing for a week and week 10-11 will be when i harvest. IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC I NEED FOR FLUSHING OR IS TAP WATER OK?

Both strains i have should be ready to harvest around days 65-75 but as i am only growing 5 at a time Berry ryder should be the focus of attention.

I have found minimal material on nutrient feeding for auto flowers.

ALSO WAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DRAIN AND REPLENISH?
From wat i have read it should have a full drain and replenish after day 14. from then on it should be done once every 7-9 days to give roots an air bathe which they seem to enjoy and benefit from tremendously. FACT OR FICTION?

i have found next to nothing on either strain, no grow journals, except only one somewhat informtaive autofloweirng dwc journal. From his experince with deisle ryder, the less nutes the better.
Ppm was low 110-260s in veg 300-350 in transition to flowering n early flower and gradually to 560 or so a few days before harvest. I know they seem low but it seems auto flowers are very picky with their nutes so i want to start off slowly n gradually increase from there.


if anyone could help me figure out how much my ppm should be around each week throughout the grow that would be awesome.
 

BigLittlejohn

Well-Known Member
The one thing I have gathered in my time here is that there is not one way to do this thing. Some will tell you to change your bucket every 7 days, others say that is nonsense and you merely need to top off your buckets with Nutes and/or water depending upon what your PPM does the day before.

I think the thing to do is start low and gradually increase your Nutes and monitoring how your plants react to it. I have been topping my water bucket depending on how the PPM adjusts from the day before. If the PPM goes up, the plant is drinking more than eating so I add PH adjusted water to bring the PPM levels down. If the PPM goes down, then the plant is feeding more than drinking and so I add a nutes that I have prepared in a gallon jug at full strength (Same strength as what's in the bucket). If the PPM stays the same, I add mixture of the PH adjusted water and the Nutes to try and keep the PPM at that level. All you can do is adjust to how the plants react. I try to find the PPM level that stays constant because that tells me the plant is eating and drinking. I find that every 24 hours I need to top my buckets off because the water level has gone down.

I will add that with the topping only method it is a good idea to do a 24 hour flush every 3 weeks or so. I also, based on seeing the results and getting information from other users, keep my water right below the net pots in my buckets. I flush with PH adjusted tap water and have so far not had any issues with it.

I have heard the same thing you have with regard to autos, use of Magnesium and Nitrogen and their veg cycles, but so far it has not really come up for me. I've had some burning at the tips and after my last flush I had too much Nutes in the bucket so I got a couple of burnt leaves, butI was able to quickly fix that issue. I am on Day 62 of a La Musa Auto. She did well in the 5-600 range (started off around 300) of PPM during her 2 week veg period and even went up to close to 900 at the end with no issues. During Flower, she has done well between 900-1200 PPM and she is currently on a pre-harvest nute mixture which is around 800 PPM. In the next few days I will flush her completely with PH adjusted water.

I hope this helps. I am a first timer, so all I can do is relate my experiences and the things I've learned here.
 
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