Thanks for the input! I’m still using the 100w light and have lowered it to 18" (per grab28) today. I’m using 3" rockwool w/3" mesh in a glass with r/o water on the windowsill to start yjem and they look healthy but stretched. The screens on the windows are 75% solar screens so I understand the stretch. Then I move the 3" wool/mesh cup into the grow w/3.5gall buckets, lid with a 3" hole for the mesh cup. Do I need to upsize to 6" soil pots? So I need to replace the 3.5gall lid w/a 3" hole with a 6" hole in the lid? Can I use soil pots for DWC? I’m trying to minimize the transfers/replants but need to prepare if need be. Can a 3" mesh cup support a mature plant in the bloom/flower stage?
@Dorf I’ve heard of people using a 3” net pot to grow. I’m only in a 6” because that’s what came with the generic DWC setup from Amazon and getting my own custom size was wildly prohibitive. If they’re in their 3” pots now, I’d leave them. Moving them now will very likely hurt roots- I’d be surprised if you don’t have roots poking out of the rockwool into the hydroton that you can’t see yet because of the hydroton. The 3.5 gallon bucket is gonna be a bigger pain in your butt than the size of the net pot, I think. When she gets bigger, that’s gonna be a lot of feeding.
Could also try adjusting down to 5.4 ish and letting the ph drift up to 6.0-6.2 then adjust back down. 7.8 is going to cause alot of issues in my experience. Any way to keep it controlled more frequently? Maybe check 2 times a day until it stays closer to the range it needs?
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I started 2ml hydroguard per 3.5gall bucket yesterday. I’ll start bloom the next reservoir change in a few days. Looks like I may have to check pH 2x/day as it creeped up from 6.0 to 7.8 over night. Still trying to get the grow temp down to 80 (from 84-86). I’ve got it down to 82-83 but its still too high. Looks like i May need a cooler of some sort, is anyone using a cooler?
@Dorf can you take pictures of all your intake and exhaust ducting in and out of the tent. Wondering if it may be possible to resituate your setup to fix the high temps. Long duct runs will have an effect on efficiency, sharp turns, stretched out ducting vs compressed, there are alot of variables to check imo before buying more to cool the grow.
Also, where is the humidity at in the tent? Could bypass the issue of heat by fixing vpd with humidity instead. According to this chart you should have humidity around 71% at at temp of 84°F
here’s the pics (in=line in, out=exhaust) room and grow pics. the temp/hum was taken w/the grow door open. note the location of the floor vent prevents a 10x4x4 register boot prevents the room door from opening enough for me to get in
BOOT REGISTER ANGLE 4X12X6 GLV #VORG6933295, GV0627-C?
feed=Froogle&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI06K6qaGV8gIVmnRvBB2kWgMoEAQYBSABEgJECPD_BwE
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@Dorf is the grow space a sealed area like a tent? Or is that an area that was home built? Either way, I would ditch the long intake tube, and try mounting the intake fan directly in the vent hole with maybe a mesh filter cover to prevent contaminants. Also, if I’m seeing it correctly, the exhaust fan is ducted up to the exhaust hole and out to…where? I would also mount that fan directly inside or outside the tent and run a vent tube inside the grow to above the light to try mitigating that extra heat it produces.
@Dorf cool, lower the temp in anyways especially while in bloom, flowering it’s get hot as hot in the office. Open up the tent, I use the box fan, old school if I see the temps going over the 83/84 mark. Also did you switch like I did, 390 cfm to blow in the tent, with y ducting for both ports on the tent. Then 195 cfm to suck out the humidity out of the tent. Hope this helps you with your grow, good luck with your grow and happy growing
The grow is home built. I’ve tried putting the duct in the rooms register hole and couldn’t open the door because the duct sticks above the hole (see 8th pic above). I even bought a 10x4x4 90 degree register boot
Imperial GV0606 Angle Boot, 4 in L, 10 in W, 4 in H, 90 deg Angle, Steel, Galvanized #VORG5386701, GV0606
and I still couldn’t open the door. Bottom line anything above the registers floor will prevent the door from opening. The grows exhaust duct is located near the rooms exhaust fan and goes outside. The grow’s exhaust fan is mounted inside the grow above the light (see pic 7 above). There is also a charcoal filter on the exhaust fan (not shown). I agree 7’ of duct is too much. What I can do is place the inline fan-in just outside the grow door and run duct into the grow thereby shortening the length of duct by 6.5’ (which is how I originally had it) and freeing up the grows footprint currently used by the fan-in sitting inside the grow on the floor (pics 5&6). I will shorten the input duct and place input fan just outside the grow as suggested. If that doesn’t work I will definitely upgrade th 6" fan/duct along with a 500w dimmable HGL light and 5 gall buckets (sigh)…
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I think the exhaust is the biggest temp issue. Unless that floor vent is constantly blowing cold air, I don’t see it being worth running a duct all the way to it. As far as the exhaust, if that is a normal “vent fant” for a bathroom or something, I don’t see it pushing enough air out of the room to offset the heat being generated. From what I have seen, those are usually low cfm around 50 -100 on the higher end. Considering your fans are pushing/pulling 195cfm, I would see about upgrading that exhaust fan in the ceiling to match, or bypass it and run ducting straight to it, unless you have the ability to run exhaust another way.
Thanks for the input. I’ve shortened the in-duct to about 1/4 of what it was down from 7’ to 2’ and am pushing air in vs pulling air into the grow. No significant change in temp (82degrees lights on).
I also bought 5 gallon buckets to replace my 3.5gall ones fri 8/6 when I change the water and start FF bloom nutes. I figure 1/10th dose is about 1-1/4t/gall (sound right?). Hydroguard calls for 2ml (about 1/2t) but doesn’t say per gall. So is it 2ml per bucket? per gallon? I’m also opening the grow door/panel during part of lights on. I check the pH 2x/daily.
For me to change from 4" to 6" fans/duct would involve a complete rebuild including my charcoal filter and frankly seems to be an expensive, time consuming and wasteful project. right now the seedlings are at 82 degrees w/lights on with the house temp at 77. The fan in the ceiling is 750cfm and for the most part I haven’t used it at all. There’s no way to connect the duct directly as the fan motor prohibits the duct from being connected. Even if I removed the motor the 4" duct won’t fit into 3" hole.
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@Dorf my hydroguard is 2ml per gal, so in my 5 gal buckets it’s really about 5-6ml - I leave enough room for a 1 1/2” air gap under my net pot. But I also am seeing my hydroton still really wet from the air stones bubbling. I’m changing my water today and will be dropping down to 2” below the pot this time.
As far as the FF nutes - I’m assuming the “trio” of Grow Big, Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom - I switched to 1/4 strength last week and mine are loving it. How are your plants looking? That will be a better gauge on strength of nutes - since they’re not getting them from any other source by this stage
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So about 6ml (1-1/4 teaspoons) per gallon for hydro. I start the bloom nute tomorrow with the hydro and vinegar to pH down to 6 from 7.4. I have my the water at 2" below the mesh pot and it’s still pretty wet. Leaves are showing better color and facing up now, tips aren’t burning and 1st set of true leaves are brown and ready to drop. Wish me luck, I’m determined to make this setup work. fyi - I have measured the distance 2" from bottom of the mesh pot and marked it on the top and bottom of a spare piece of wood so I can keep the water line pretty consistent.
I start 1/8 strength bloom tomorrow ((per grab28) “So the chart said 8ml/gal, I gave them 1ml/gal until I started seeing growth in both areas, then slowly increased to 1/4, now I’m in flower and using 3/8 strength nutes, and full strength root zone nutes(Voodoo Juice). They look pretty happy to me”)"
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@Dorf 2ml per gallon - so 6ml for 3 gal of water.
I’d pick up something other than vinegar for PH down - I understand it works but just like H2O2 - it’s good for about 24 hours and needs to be readded to keep the ph down around 6 (H2o2 to keep the enviro sterile). That’s why I went the Hydroguard route instead of H2o2 - once a week is plenty for me. PH Down is usually phosphoric acid or some blend of acids instead of straight vinegar, so it maintains a lower ph over a longer stretch of time. These, of course, are just suggestions from a lazy newbie DWC grower. I like being able to mix up my water and leave it alone for a couple of days (except checking the ph and PPMs to make sure the plant’s not starving). Others like the daily maintenance approach
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Good info! I (like you) prefer to be as hands off as possible. As we speak I’m changing the reservoir, moving from 3.5 gall to 5 gall buckets, introducing FF bloom, and of course spraying the roots w/h2o+h2o2 solution and using hydroguard. I assume I need to check pH after all nutes are added? I’ll order some pH down as my pH is ridiculous only hours after I balance it out.
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Always. Most of the time, your nutes will lower the ph of your solution.
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Just finished and pH is dead on, adjusted the light to 18" and ordered a gallon of pH down. I think I’m making progress w/ya’alls help. I’ll keep you posted.
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Gorgeous. Looking good now! That root is long!
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