First Grow -> DWC Closet

quick not about the vinyl paint i used the tub...

while dragging it in and out of the closet which was now a bit of a tight fit, some of the paint on the edges of the top started to peel off. this may just be because of the edges, and maybe some duct tape around em will help, but if it starts happening in more spots i will let you know.

so what does everyone think so far???

also i still have a few questions...

i am going away next week for aobut 5 days, so i am thinking that it may be best to not start the seeds that i have until i get back. how long does it usually take to go from un-planted seed to enough roots that i can put it in the DWC?

I also picked up a couple gallons of arrowhead spring wated, and have left them out with the caps off for a couple days. the idea is to use this for seeding the plants (i do not have any meters yet, ph meter is in the mail).

also i know i should start out with like a 1/4 nute solution in the DWC then work up to full as they grow, but are there any additives i should be using for the gestation period? are three CFLs enough to get these started before going in the DWC under the 250W MH?

also would love some advice on synthetic NUTES and other additives (including PH up and down).

thanks again to everyone in advance....

also, does anyone have any shot in the dark guess on what strain my seeds are? can you tell just by how the look?

like i said before, i got them from a friend of a friend who has a large scale indoor hydro grow operation (legal, California medical dispensary).

can anyone give me advice?

next on the list of things to do was wiring everything up.

quick tip, when mounting things with screw holes (such as my power strip) take a piece of paper and a pencil and while holding the paper over the holes scribble over the holes to create an impression, then just use the paper as a template for drilling the mounting screws.

after mounting power strip i found that it was kinda loose, and i do not like the idea of a power strip not being extra secure right above a tub of water, so i put a couple pieces of tape down and stapled some zip cords over top of the power strip to secure it in place.

then i screwed the air pump into place.

another tip which was given to me by the guy at the hydro store was to make sure you mount your air pump high up on the wall. oxygen is heavier then CO2 so the area at the base of your grow room is going to be richer in CO2 and the area higher is going to be richer in Oxygen, and your roots want Oxygen, not CO2. he said one of his friends was running a DWC with the pump low on the ground and it ended up carbonating his DWC, making it into soda.

Based on this it seems like it may be a good idea to put some fans low blowing upwards to provide the foliage with more CO2....but thats just guess.

ok, next up was finishing up the DWC bin. I starting removing the top and drilling two holes that would provide a tight fit for two air hoses to go through. i then attached a 12" air-stone to each hose, and positioned them to the base of the tub.

next up is to make the holes for the baskets in the top of the bin. i took one of the net baskets, traced around it with a balpoint pen, then drew another circle aprox 1/4" inside of that (thats about the difference between the diameter of the lip of the basket, and the actual diameter of the top of the basket.

an important not is ALWAYS CUT SMALLER. if you cut too small you can always cut more, but if you cut too big your SOL.

to cut i first slowly traced my inner line with a box cutter to create a ridge, then i kinda moved onto a brute force method of just pressing the blade into the plastic every inch or so around the ridge. once i had enough cut i went onto the backside and cut any areas that were not fully cut already. then i just popped it out.

so i got pretty lucky and got a pretty solid fit my first try without any extra trimming. i then used the plastic disk i just cut out as a template and drew more circles on the top, and used the same method to cut them out. i did crack to top at one point, only about 2", so no biggie, but this is an obvious risk in my hasty method of cutting.

next i put the top back on the bin, inserted the mesh cups, and put a little medium in them, to see what they look like....im pretty happy with it so far.

finally i mounted the remote unit for my "weather forecaster" under the power strip...i do not know how much effect the location will have on my readings, but i figure this should be about the mid point of the plants, and it leaves plenty of room for mounting the tri meter when it comes (PH / PPM / Temp).

so as im working on this i have another question, when using this type of system do you leave the air pump on 24/7 or just while the lights are on? and if its on all the time, i assume you would want your fan on all the time too?

anyways, thanks for reading, and please feel free make comment and suggestions, thats why im putting this up here.

Setup is looking Great man...

thanks, im excited...i feel like im getting a good start...

hah, just a silly pic of one of the twins enjoying the saw dust.

my boy just spray painted his bin with some spray paint for plastic.

but cant the paint chems get through the plastic into the water?

from what ppl at petco said you can kill your fish if you spray the side of you fish tank with window cleaner cause the chems get through. anyone ever heard of this? or did those ppl just feed me a line of bullshit?

i would assume he means either the inside of the tank, or the risk of over spraying into it.

i cant imagine that paint could seep through glass or plexi.

so i let the ventilation and the light run for a cycle to get the a sense of the humidity and temp in there. there is currently no water in the bubbler, so i assume that will have an effect on humidity....

but for now the humidity is sitting between 37% and 86%....seems high, maybe i need to clear the min max and do another test.

the temperature is sitting between 51 and 77, which seems pretty ideal.

the room humidity (outside of the closet) is sitting between 40% and 70% humidity. with a temperature between 60 and 72.

now that i think about it, it was raining out, so maybe that had a large effect on it....will have to do the test again when its not raining here and with some water in the bubbler....

got my 24-7 multi meter for the tank...its well packaged and, and all the components seem well constructed.

it came with all the calibration chemicals. have not calibrated it yet, will do this before i do my next of room temperature / humidity.

here are some pics of teh CWP 24-7 Nutrient Monitor mounted in the room...i think thats pretty much everything that needs to go in there short of plants =]]

i do have a question about the nutrient monitor, the PH / temp probe has a plastic white bottle thing with a small amount if odorless liquid in it....is this just for when its out of water?? do i take this off once i fill the tub up?


so im leaving for a week on tuesday, when i get back i am going to get some more seeds (funny story, i was keeping my seeds in a glass jar with my weeds and in a drunken / stoned state i decided to grind up the shake in the bottom of the jar....well....there was more then just shake in there....bummer eh?). so germination should start in a week.

I also decided to get a better blower, went by a different local hydro shop...really cool place, very knowledgeable. think im going to get something in the $100 range. def something quieter is going to be desirable.

also talked with him about nutrients...and i think im going to go with the botonicare nutes. he spoke highly of them.. wanted to know what other additives you all recommend? i dont want to be to ambitious and run into difficulties keeping the nutes balanced, but do want a bountiful harvest =].

I have also included a picture of the closet closed with everything turned on....def stealthy enough for my uses. i dont have roommates or anything and i think that is stealth for occasional company...none of which would think negatively about a grow. I can always take the scrubber off to close the closet completely if necessary.

thanks again everyone.

i like!


one question, i see in some pictures that you take pictures with the curtains off the window? you arent scared someone is watching? put up some thick curtains! dont need the nosey people watching...lol


setup looks good bro! simple but working!

what is your excuse if people ask 'whas that black thing sticking out of your closet?' ?

pretty sure they come pre calibrated. Where the hell did u get that nute monitor? shit is dank!!!!! and just a heads up, its a problem i have now. looking at the pic of you bin the net pots are to close front to back looks like 2 inches apart max. i did the same thing an im having a bitch of a time getting light to the lower branches.

well atleast my ppm test comes pre calibrated and i dont have to do that for a year from what the lady at worms way said

LoudBlunts said:

i like!
one question, i see in some pictures that you take pictures with the curtains off the window? you arent scared someone is watching? put up some thick curtains! dont need the nosey people watching...lol

setup looks good bro! simple but working!

what is your excuse if people ask 'whas that black thing sticking out of your closet?' ?

Click to expand...

luckily i live in socal and have a doctors recomendation. so risk is pretty minimal already, that window faces an alley way, with a tall apartment building next door, and no windows too close to my window. i will keep all the curtains drawn obviously when the closet door is open.

and if anyone asks what the black thing is i will ask "why the fuck are you in my bedroom?"

=]

Roullette said:

pretty sure they come pre calibrated. Where the hell did u get that nute monitor? shit is dank!!!!! and just a heads up, its a problem i have now. looking at the pic of you bin the net pots are to close front to back looks like 2 inches apart max. i did the same thing an im having a bitch of a time getting light to the lower branches.

Click to expand...

ordered the nute monitor, it was like $140 shipped. shop around for "24-7 nutrient monitor" they are made by Control Wizard. read some reviews on this board, and everyone seems to have had a good experience with them.

and thanks for the tip about the spacing....i thought that may be an issue. this first grow im going to keep kind of small, and just in that one side of the closet. just to get my feet wet. after that i am going to build out the other, larger side of the closet for a flowering room. maybe use a bigger bin so i have have more space between the plants. and get a 400w HPS in there. if im feeling really ambitious i may try to build and ebb and flow unit in there.

can anyone explain the benefits and weaknesses of the various common hydro systems (DWC, SWC, Ebb and Flow, Drip, etc)? only reason i have considered doing a E&F system in the future is because i have seen quite a few flowering rooms do this.

i was also thinking of attaching some mylar to the top of the...well top. to bounce light back up. is this a good idea? im thinking it would give the lower branches some extra light.

also for sprouting, i was going to use three 100w CFL's, but can i just use the 250w MH and jsut give em some distance? which method would be preferable?