New Grower Zero Experience Grower - DWC Trans Siberian & Critical Jack

[Eljefemoe]

Hey guys - Thanks to this site and the research I've done over the last 2 months, I finally decided to grow my own. Here is a quick rundown of my setup, I think this is adequate for 2 plants at a time:

GrowLab 60 Tent (2'x2'x5'3")
150w HPS overhead
2x 23w CFL (2700K) clipped to the sides to supplement
Clip-on Circulating fan
Ceiling Mounted Carbon Filter
Ceiling Mounted 6" Duct Booster (260 cfm... not bloody likely, but more on that later)
Passive Intake Port
2x 3 Gallon Buckets
2x Net Pots
Hydroton
Aquarium Pump
AirStones
Thermometer / Humidity Reader (records daily high/low)

Full range of General Hydroponics nutrients

So, that covers it for now. I think my setup is pretty great; I got 90% of it from a local store because I wanted to support local business. They have preconfigured kits which is what I bought after I decided I wanted to do a DWC grow. I added things like the CFL's, carbon filter and exhaust fan.

Anyhow, I ordered my seeds from Attitude. Here's what I've got:

5x Dinafem Critical Jack Auto
5x AutoSeeds Trans Siberian Auto

I'm doing this grow solely for myself. My plan is to do 2 plants this grow with the goal of getting 2 oz's total from the deal. I think my expectation is pretty low, but I'm a first timer and I'm sure I'll make some mistakes. After this grow I might do 2 more plants, but then I'll probably have enough to take care of myself for a year or so if I can meet my targets (I have additional seeds that I got from Attitude).

Anyhow, here is a log of whats happened so far:

Day 1 (March 2) - 1x of each seed placed directly in rockwool that had been soaked for 4 hours in ph 5.5 water. Cubes were placed in a tray on top of my DWC buckets about 8-10 inches from the HPS.

Day 2 - Checked rockwool, no sprouts, cubes were still damp to the touch. No activity. HPS & CFL's running 24/0.

Day 3 - Both seeds had sprouted and begun to push through the top of the rockwool. I was soooo happy. I quickly dunked each rockwool cube in ph 5.5 water as they were beginning to feel dry.

Day 4 - TS seed started to "unfold" and show its first baby cotyledons. CJ seed had gotten a little taller but looked droopy and dark. Cubes were very dry (and very light when I picked them up) by the evening so I held the bottoms of the rockwool in ph 5.5 water for even longer to let them soak up more water. Since the cubes were so dry, I moved the HPS up to be about 18 inches away from the cubes.

Day 5 - This morning the CJ seed looked like absolute shit. No change in its leaves and it looks very dead and brittle. I'm thinking it might be a goner. Not sure why though? This morning i decided to go ahead and start a 2nd Critical Jack seed in rockwool using the same process as before.

And that's where I stand today. Here are stats on water/environment etc that have been consistent for these 5 days:

Water ppm (from tap): 190
Water ph (from tap): 9 (!!)
Water ph (after adjust): 5.5-5.7
Temp (min): 71
Temp (max): 79
Humidity (min): 32%
Humidity (max): 53%

The humidity seemed low to me at the start (its winter and I'm in the northeast) so I put some ph 5.5 water in the buckets and turned the pump on to get some moisture in the air. Worked great; the humidity is typically in the upper 40% range now.

The exhaust fan isn't here yet. I had originally ordered an ActiveAir 4" inline fan... its a little too big and sounds like a jet engine, so I ordered a 6" duct booster instead in hopes that it will fit better with the carbon filter and be quieter.

Here they are:



The Trans Siberian (TS) on day 5



The Critical Jack (CJ) on day 5 looking pretty bad and the new cube I started yesterday.

SO... now that I've spit all that out... I'm hoping for some advice:

1. Is the CJ sprout dead? It looks like it to me. I only did 2 seeds because I'm trying to conserve here; I don't want to waste those precious seeds.

2. If it is indeed dead (and I'm 90% sure its toast), any idea what I did wrong?

3. The TS sprout looks really good. No roots yet though at day 5. Is that normal?

4. The TS sprout also has a tinge of yellow on the leaf tips. Anything I should be concerned about?

Thanks in advance for your help. I'll keep the updates coming as things progress.

 

[Bipolarbear]

Bear had the same problem on his Diesel. Can bearly wait to see what the masters say. Sounds like a great set up. Grow karma sent. :buds:

 

[Eljefemoe]

Bear had the same problem on his Diesel. Can bearly wait to see what the masters say. Sounds like a great set up. Grow karma sent. :buds:

Thanks! I'm really hoping my first grow will be a successful one. What happened with the Diesel?

 

[Eljefemoe]

Hey guys just a friendly bump. Looking for input on my setup and the questions I asked.

Still particularly interested in your thoughts on the lack of roots so far on the Trans Siberian? Day 6 and still nothing showing through the rockwool.

Thanks in advance if any of you pros can chime in.

 

[DABaracuss]

Hey guys just a friendly bump. Looking for input on my setup and the questions I asked.

Still particularly interested in your thoughts on the lack of roots so far on the Trans Siberian? Day 6 and still nothing showing through the rockwool.

Thanks in advance if any of you pros can chime in.

No worries im sure some of the DWC guys will get you goin just give a lil time lots of grower threads here ..im curious to see how your grow goes ..guess ill pull up a chair and send you some good grow karma !:alien:

 

[toke]

I always put the R/W plug on the bottom of the netpot and add hydroton around R/W raise the water level to just touching the netpot. all of that should have been done and the system up and running before you place the seed in the R/W. when roots reach into the water 2-3" set the water level about 1-2" below the netpot. a pic of your setup would be nice.

TOKE OUT

 

[Eljefemoe]

I always put the R/W plug on the bottom of the netpot and add hydroton around R/W raise the water level to just touching the netpot. all of that should have been done and the system up and running before you place the seed in the R/W. when roots reach into the water 2-3" set the water level about 1-2" below the netpot. a pic of your setup would be nice.

TOKE OUT

Got it. The system is setup and running, to be clear. I'll post pics of my setup later on tonight.

Just so I am sure I understand, are you saying I should go ahead and put the sprouted rw cube into the net pot with some hydroton now? I had been waiting for roots to show, but if. Can get it into the pot now, I'm all for it.

 

[Eljefemoe]

As promised, here is a pic of my setup. The HPS does weird things to my camera, so pardon the scan lines in the picture.


Not sure if you can see, but the bubblers are up and running. The bottoms of the netpots are a little bit wet.

I measured the distance of the HPS to the rockwool cubes at 19". Too close? Too far?

Thanks again for your help. I still have no roots on the trans siberian and my 2nd critical jack hasn't sprouted yet (coming up on 48 hours after planting into rockwool).

 

[toke]

I see your system good job moe. ok this is how I start, system up and running includes everything minus the seed. that means the R/W cube hole up are placed in the net pot and encased with hydroton. (no seed yet) adjust water level so the R/W is moist and not soaked and holding steady I just watch it for a day. now you can germ and sow into the R/W or i just drop a dry bean in it..... you can put your sprouts into the net pots now give em some time and hope for the best. myself I would start over but I didn't pay for your beans, that's your call. don't need the fan blowing right at the wee ones and light height I determine by canopy temps in the 70'sF.

TOKE OUT

 

[Eljefemoe]

Thank You!

I'll pop them in there tomorrow and report back.