First Grow DWC White Widow & AK47

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Starting my first grow ever!

Background
My Wife and I have recently started using MJ for medicinal purposes for various reasons now that we’ve crossed over the mid-life line. It’s now legal in our state both medically and recreationally.

Given the costs at dispensaries locally, I wanted to try my hand at growing.

Here’s my planned setup:

Space: 2x4 grow tent
Lighting: Quantum Board 260W (2 panel) v1 kit plus possibly an older 300W Blurple ebay special (prob more like 75W) to add during flower for some extra reds.
Media: DWC (5 gal buckets)/rockwool cubes and clay pebbles
Food: General Hydroponics 3 step plus hydro guard and cal-mag

Seeds acquired here from ILGM. White Widow (fem) and AK47 (fem).

I put the seeds in water until they sank (just 12 hours). Then moved them directly into Rock-wool cubes.

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They’re currently sitting in a domed tray with a low-power heating pad underneath. Temp at the center of the rock-wool cube is 78 degrees F. I’ll probably turn the pad off once I see sprouting so as to not cook the girls. Ambient temp in the basement is about 65 degrees.

Cubes were prepared by soaking in PH-balanced tap water then shaking out excess.

My tent just arrived today, and I’m expecting my DWC buckets to arrive in a couple days just in time to setup for transferring (fingers crossed!). In the mean time I’ll get the tent built and lights installed (already have those ready to go).

Other supplies (nutrients, etc) are ordered and on the way.

I’ve done Hydroponic via Ebb&Flow both indoors and outdoors with lettuce, beans and cucumbers with some success. I’m thinking DWC will be much less complicated so I can focus on the girls and giving them what they need instead of leaks, daily nute balancing, pump failures, etc. Planning on weekly water changes with fresh nutrient mix…and any necessary top-ups with just water.

Still deciding on growth management style–free-form, main-line, SCROG, etc but leaning towards main-lining. Looking to achieve fast but consistent grow/results with an even canopy. I figure I’ve got a couple weeks yet to decide on a method for this grow.

I started this post over in “beginners” forum, but figured I’d want to document the whole grow so here’s all the details thus far in a Journal.

Thanks everyone for the push to get started and all the great details.

Lots of questions, but I don’t know enough yet to know what they are!..Hopefully my journey will help others in the same position of just starting out!

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Hi and welcome to the forum.
Sounds like you got your ducks pretty well lined up. Best of luck w your grow, I’m sure you’ll do fine, plenty of very friendly & helpful & knowledgeable people here as you probably already know.
Set to watching and have fun :v: :popcorn: :smiley:

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Looking good! That qb260 will do great all by itself. If you decide you want less light overlap, you can get a slate2 triple heatsink from hlg. It will allow you to spread the light panels apart for better coverage on the outer edges of the tent.

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I love my 260xl Rspec panels. It does help to distribute the light over more area and that is a good thing. :+1:

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Welcome! You chose wisely with the lighting and nutes.

Your choice of a 2 X 4 tent is really more suited to one plant unless doing some advanced growing techniques. In fact; I have one plant in just that footprint.

There’s my journal; just scroll to the end if interested.

5 gallon buckets are problematic with DWC simply because they don’t have enough reserve capacity so you end up chasing PH issues in flower and have to top up the buckets sometimes twice a day. I’ve had plants consume better than a gallon per day and when you only have 3 1/2 gallons of nutrient solution it can change drastically. (5 gallon buckets with net pots only hold about that)

I would advise one plant, pick up one of those yellow-topped totes in like 20 gallon or so and use that. Just run one plant in the 2 X 4 to see what your challenges are.

You will also have issues with maintaining proper temps in the buckets/totes. You really need to be below 70F to reduce the chance of root rot (pythium) and to properly oxygenate the medium. A chiller is the best way to maintain temps. It is an expense and sits outside the grow space but is invaluable.

Hope this helps a bit. It’s fun to grow this way and amazing root mass. Depending on strain you can get some fast, heavy yields this way and it’s a very clean smoke too if you run em out well.

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Thanks! I hadn’t seen that they drink that much! I’ll keep an eye and will consider switching the buckets out.

I acknowledge your suggestion to go with only one, but I really want to try the experience of a couple different varieties (even if it reduces my yield). (plus of course I already started 2!) These, of course, are famous last words and I may just close this journal out in a few months with a picture of me eating my hat!

If they’re really growing that fast (and I hope they do!) I may just pick up a second tent along the way. That would certainly be a horrible problem to have! Or perhaps I’ll mess things up with one and loose it along the way (or it’ll be a male–even though these are fem seeds)

I’m really hoping I don’t have temp problems. Using only LED lights, and this is a basement grow room where the ambient temp never gets above 65 degrees. I realize inside the tent will be different, but I’m hoping I don’t need to add a chiller. I’m also adding botainicare Hydroguard to combat any potential root-rot. Fingers crossed!

Thanks also for the feedback on the lights and nutes…did a lot of reading here on the lights and I’m very impressed with them. Info on Nutes is all over the place…but I’ve used GH Maxigrow and Maxibloom (the one part powders) in my previous vegetable experiences, and heard others have success with the 3 part liquid so I thought I’d give it a try.

I’ll hop over to your journal shortly as I’m very interested to see your experience.

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Tagging the folks who helped me out in my beginner thread to make sure they see the Journal (and give them some credit for helping!)
Thanks to @Bubblehead, @nicky, @fixerpower, @cannabian, @reticence, @grundo, and @QueenCityB

Further tags to @kellydans and @Dickrick527

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Thank you kindly sir set to watch.

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Cool! Thanks and Ill watch also!

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@neo96789…anytime my friend. I’m not like others on here. 24 plants In RDWC, a tent, some lights and some nutes and let’s see what happens! I’m not using a chiller either…res temps have hit 75…no issues and I’m using ORCA and Hydroguard. I run an exhaust fan sometimes and that’s it. I can keep my r/h in check and temp with just the fans circulating with all the water. Don’t know if it will be the cream of the crop, but it’s my crop that I grew! I don’t have ph swings at all, but I’m using ph balanced nutes with perfect ph filters. My plants are 2 1/2 weeks into flower. Point is we all do things differently with somewhat the same results. Just find what works best for your situation. Good luck!

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If you had a standing reservoir outside the tent that is sitting in your (ambient) basement it would help.

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I’m here too always nice to have another member from Michigan. You have a couple of good hydro growers helping you out. Me I’m a dirt guy right now but that may change…one never knows.

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Cool congrats your well on your way… good.luck I’ll be watching as well…:sunglasses:

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@Bubblehead…I’m not on @Myfriendis410 level yet. That dude is above my pay grade and has solid advice. I just kinda do my thing and see what happens and then adjust. For me the larger setup has been easier to run. I think I would struggle with 24 plants in 12 different res…or 24 plants each with its own res. Just my 2c.

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@grundo: Thanks! If my first grow looks half as nice as those pics you just posted I’ll be happy!

@Myfriendis410 Your grows are amazing! I really appreciate the advice…I suspect the bits of it I choose to ignore for now will become part of my regular regiment once I realize you’re probably right!..lol…

Keep the great advice coming! I’ll have some posts next week with pics of the grow room once I get it setup, and of course expect pics of the girls once they pop their heads out of the rockwool.

Next step: Getting the grow tent setup. I’ll post more pics once I get that done.

Thanks again so much everyone!

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Nice plants!
Here we go.

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Thanks for the mention and the tag!
I don’t really know much about DWC but lots here do, I think in the long term you will be happy you started growing but keep in mind the first 2 years you will find yourself investing in your setup.
You may think you have everything you need and want a year in but I find at about the 2 year mark is when you can sit back and grow the way you are comfortable with even if there is newer greater tech out there.

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I’m no different from anyone else but thank you for the kind words. Experience in my case just means I’ve screwed up more than you have haha.

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@Myfriendis410…lol, right!!

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So here we are, almost exactly 24 hours after putting them into the rockwool and they’re showing themselves! Time to find a spot where I can put some lights on them while I get the tent setup.

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