First grow failed. Starting over.

Hello everybody. Ive been trolling the forums for a few weeks now. Love the site. Lots of good information here. The people seem nice too so I figured I would post and say hi. This will be round 2 for me. My first grow fell apart 3 weeks in to flowering. To be honest I didnt really do my homework. I made more than a few mistakes. My biggest one was over feeding. I wasnt measuring out how much nutes I was giving her. I was just pouring some in the bucket. I wasnt monitoring my PPM. I wasnt monitoring my reservoir temps. I let her veg too long and she got too big for my tent. Second week in flowering and she was too close to the light. She was getting burned from the light and the nutes. A few days ago I opened the tent and she looked so sad. Every one of her leaves was hanging really low. She had no fight left in her. It was sad chopping her up. She was just starting to show her buds. I dont really wanna fail again so I figured it would be a good idea to post and get some advice. I have tons of nub questions but I want to start with my parts list. What do you guys think? Am I missing anything? Should I do something different? All comments and suggestions are appreciated.




My current tent is a secret jardin DR60. Im now looking at the DR90.
http://www.greners.com/i/grow-tents/secret-jardin/dark-room-ii-pro/secret-jardin-dark-room-pro-dr90-ii.html

I currently have a 5 gallon bucket. Im looking at this 3.5 gallon.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-GALLON-HYDROPONIC-BUCKET-/290529181267?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a4e37e53#ht_500wt_925

I just bought a ecoplus 264 pump.
http://www.greners.com/ecoplus-sumbersible-water-pump.html

My last grow I used this 6 inch active air fan.
http://www.greners.com/i/fans-ventilation-filters/products/inline-fans-blowers/active-air-in-line-fans.html

But I recently purchased this 6 inch duct fan. I like it. Im thinking about buying more and using these instead.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-INLINE-DUCT-FAN-EXAUST-BOOSTER-BLOWER-CFM-6-INCH-AIR-/220886242433?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336dd89481#ht_3995wt_1165

400w hortilux HPS / MH bulbs.
http://www.greners.com/hortilux-super-hps-enhanced-spectrum-bulb-400w.html

400w lumatek ballast.
http://www.greners.com/i/grow-lights/ballasts/brand/lumatek/lumatek-electronic-ballast-hps-mh-400w-120v-240v.html

6" air cooled reflector.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Air-cooled-Reflector-Hood-Grow-Light-Hydroponics-HPS-/220747181060?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33658eac04#ht_4310wt_1398

Hanna PH tester.
http://www.amazon.com/HANNA-Combo-TDS-tester-Product/dp/B000LDHOTQ/ref=sr_1_19?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1327378244&sr=1-19

Easy green growing media.
http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Green-Hydroton-Growing-Media/dp/B004EBP38K

Fox farm nutes.
http://www.amazon.com/Fox-Farm-FX14050-Fertilizer-Hydro-Formula/dp/B000HY2IXQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1327378469&sr=1-1

Millennium bud seeds from DR green thumb. +1 rep for him BTW. Seeds arrived quick. He also gave me an extra seed.
http://www.drgreenthumb.com/cannabis_seeds_GreenthumbSeedsEntrance.htm

Im considering buying this 20L of hydrogen peroxide.
http://www.amazon.com/Whitmire-Hydrogen-Peroxide-20-Liter/dp/B0055F63O2/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1327378909&sr=8-9

Also considering buying this reverse osmosis system.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Drinking-100GPD-Reverse-Osmosis-RO-System-/110736559837?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c869cedd#ht_8388wt_1165

no tds meter ? since on your first grow you claim you didnt monitor your PPM, id suggest picking one up, maybe you already did and missed listing it by accident ?

My advice is go soil until you have a grow or two under your belt. i love hydro, but job 1 is to learn your plant. Job 2 is to go all techy on it. Jmo. cn

Omg you killed her!! I am sure some needy sap like me would love to have that plant donated to. Too big, i cant believe people would say such things about marijuana plants. I got small plants and want to get them big and that is my problem. Ok im using FF tiger bloom now, this is my first grow ever in anything. How ever i got mine going into soil FFOF. Ive heard that FF hs a good line. Also ive heard that smaller pots will keep the stunted. Not sure about the fans, i open my french doors throughout the day in a big room. The ph meter, i need one of those. Right now im using these drops and a color chart. Lights i got el cheapo florescent tubes but will soon step up on the lightings. After 9weeks of vegging they are 10"-15" in height. I did here that 400 watt wont make em as big as what the 1000 watters will do. Yeah i think growing in soil is easier and great for beginers so that we can get the feel of actually growing something. I think my next grow i might try hydro if it doesnt look to complicated. Good luck....oh did you atleast turn her into canna butter?

That PH stick I have also tests PPM. After seeing how quickly she grew with DWC I have no interest with soil. We all know DWC is quicker and more effective. I already have all the equipment and supplies for DWC too so its too late to go back now. This is the route I have chosen and I am sticking with it. I did not make canna butter I just chopped her up and threw her away. I wanted to get rid of the evidence and start over. I planted another seed 2 days ago. Im gonna do a journal and take pics every 7 days. Hopefully I will win round 2 with a little help from the forum.

What is DCW? I guess if i started on something i wouldnt give up neither. It would be nice it you did post pics and add details into what you are doing so that we newbies can learn from it. Curious, what kind of seed is it and did you germinate them before planting it?

Deep water culture. Its another way of saying hydro. The strain I bought is called millennium bud. There is a link in my first post. I put the last seed in a rockwool cube and it popped up in about 4 days. I will take lots of pics.

420 NUB said:

That PH stick I have also tests PPM. After seeing how quickly she grew with DWC I have no interest with soil. We all know DWC is quicker and more effective. I already have all the equipment and supplies for DWC too so its too late to go back now. This is the route I have chosen and I am sticking with it. I did not make canna butter I just chopped her up and threw her away. I wanted to get rid of the evidence and start over. I planted another seed 2 days ago. Im gonna do a journal and take pics every 7 days. Hopefully I will win round 2 with a little help from the forum.

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Hes right active hydro is over you head......You should be doing eather soil or passive hydro in a soilless mix like coco or peat moss.... To go from no knowlage to active hydro its no wonder you had problems im suprised you made it 3 weeks into flower really....

really easy get some jungle juice grow micro bloom and some regen a root and wilt guard all you need to do is foloow directions on bottle and keep ph at 5.8 when you flip to flower get some head masta also by cx hydroponics so is regenaroot and wilt guard worked great for me first time dwc and keep res temps between 60 and 70 easy

Your biggest mistake was not learning how to grow and jumping in to hydro.

I can handle this. The only reason I failed the first time is cause I didnt do any reading. After she died and I found this site I have spent many hours reading. Ive also been taking notes. I am much more informed and prepared this time around. Plus I have you guys to give me a push in the right direction so Im confident I will be fine. Give me another day of reading and I will post all of my notes so you guys can look over everything and make sure I have the right information.

wapow1001 said:

really easy get some jungle juice grow micro bloom and some regen a root and wilt guard all you need to do is foloow directions on bottle and keep ph at 5.8 when you flip to flower get some head masta also by cx hydroponics so is regenaroot and wilt guard worked great for me first time dwc and keep res temps between 60 and 70 easy

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usually following the directions on nutes bottle will not be such a good idea eather.....lol

Hey 420, that's ballsie but dont give up. I really want to see how you come along because i am thinking of doing hydro next time ( why didnt you just say hydro)? I am sure you learnt from your mistakes and is studying very hard on how to make it work now, thats a good drive to have. But i still think your a cold blooded cannabis killer.

420 NUB said:

I can handle this. The only reason I failed the first time is cause I didnt do any reading. After she died and I found this site I have spent many hours reading. Ive also been taking notes. I am much more informed and prepared this time around. Plus I have you guys to give me a push in the right direction so Im confident I will be fine. Give me another day of reading and I will post all of my notes so you guys can look over everything and make sure I have the right information.

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I must say - i admire your spirit.
My first grow was in soil. My second was in hydro ... ebb&flow in veg, then NFT in flower. it worked quite well. One factor was the strain ... Cinderella 99, an easygoing big-boned biker slut of a plant. I started again, recently, and made two mistakes:
1) I went to DWC when I should have stayed in the comfort zone of e&f.
2) I chose White Widow for a strain ... and learned after that that that strain (follow all that?) is super fussy.

So imo one plank in the foundation of your plan should be selecting a good strain that has a broad performance envelope in hydro.
Best luck ... cn

Sounds like you know where you went wrong the first time so this time around there shouldn't be any problems. Good Growing I'm a happy soil grower myself.

I've got a DR90. I really wish I would have got the 120. I've got 2 plants in her veging and I can tell you those 2 will fill her up.

I plead guilty to being a cannabis killer. I chopped her up with a pair of scissors. She smelled really nice as I was doing it.

I do know where I went wrong the first grow. I dont plan to make the same mistakes again. For some reason I am really not interested in soil. After I do a few rounds of DWC I wanna try aero.

I had a DR120W it was way too big for my place and my needs. Right now Im only doing 1 plant. I could almost get away with the DR60 but she grew too fast. Im hoping the DR90 will be just right.

420 NUB said:

I plead guilty to being a cannabis killer. I chopped her up with a pair of scissors. She smelled really nice as I was doing it.

I do know where I went wrong the first grow. I dont plan to make the same mistakes again. For some reason I am really not interested in soil. After I do a few rounds of DWC I wanna try aero.

I had a DR120W it was way too big for my place and my needs. Right now Im only doing 1 plant. I could almost get away with the DR60 but she grew too fast. Im hoping the DR90 will be just right.

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If you're doing 1 plant it will be perfect. I wish it were a few inches taller but it will suit you well.

OK so i think i have all my notes in order. Am i forgetting anything? Any other tips?

Start PH around 5.6 and let it rise up to 6.2 before bringing it back down.
PPM veg 400-800. PPM flower 1000-1500.
Temp 75-85. Water temp 60-70.
Veg and clone 50-70% humidity. Flower 20-30% humidity.
Veg 18 hours of light. Flower 12 hours of light.
Veg 8 weeks from seed. Veg clones 4 weeks. Flower 8 weeks or when amber trichomes.
Can veg or flower longer. Depends on plant and desired height.
Plants will double or triple in size when flowering. Keep this is mind when deciding when to flower.
PH should rise and PPM fall in healthy system.
Change water every 7 days.
5ml of nutes per gallon of water. Feed when water changed.
Feed more if PPM drop in 24 hours. Stop feeding if PPM rises or doesnt drop in 24 hours.
2ml of 35% peroxide per gallon of water.
Dont add nutes and peroxide at the same time. Add nutes first. Wait one hour then add peroxide.
No nutes last 2 weeks of flowering.
When harvesting let branches dry upside down for 5-7 days.
When buds are crispy and stem stiffens cut buds down to smaller size.
Put buds in sealed mason jars and let them cure in dark and cool place for 1 day.
After 1 day remove the lid and let buds sit uncovered for another day.
Repeat until you reach your desired moisture level.
Dont over cure. Leave buds slightly moist cause they will continue to dry out over time.

if i had that space i would get a 25 gal tote with 4 to 6 sites and do a 12/12 from seed.. get a spray manifold like 25 bucks on ebay or make it yourself.. you would get a better yield and since you did dwc culture already youll be doing something youve tried already plus the added bonus of aeroponics... and if you get the dr90 just get a bigger tote with more sites and scrog..