yah interesting! When I used expanded clay I would get the seedling tall then put it in there.
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The only thing that are changing are the NYC Diesel. One looks like it has started flowering.
The seed in the dwc looks like it’s growing, it may be a bit too cold during the night, we’ll see…
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I found seeds were quite hard to start in straight LECA and i had to do what JoeCrowe said he did by letting it get quite tall before throwing it in and it was still hard going.
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It looks like it’s doing something, the ppm dropped by like 2 or 3ppm so i guess it’s feeding. I raised the water to 0.4-0.5 ec if i remember correct. I PHed the water, but didnt stir properly, ended with a ph of like 5. To balance it i used my tap water, hope the chlorine wont be a problem.
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Okay time for a real update.
Yesterday, I went to check on the water of the dwc and swampy smell hit me. I also noticed a little bit of foam. I though I could get away like Joecrowe and not change the water, but I guess not. So I cleaned the tote, changed the water, added nutrients (0.5-0.6 ec) and PHed the water. I also didn’t have time to bubble the water to remove the chlorine, so we’ll see how that goes.
With a some help and twice daily spray of water, the Alien Rock Candy was able to remove it’s shell. It doesn’t look good but it doesn’t look bad either.
The Cherry brandy started to grow really weird, like it’s reveging or something, so I ended my visual suffering. Forgot to take pictures of the trimmed nugs.
I also cut the stunted JLo. Toward the end it got nice purple colors, most likely due to the cold nights. I’ll let the biggest one rippen more.
The NYC Diesel are doing really good. Both are in flower. The smell is still weak. I might dust it with some of the SB pollen to make faster SB, since its was such a slow plant.
The soil mite population reduced drastically for some reason. They are almost all gone or maybe hiding. Maybe its the cold and low rh.
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hope the soil mites don’t grow up to be aphids. I spray diluted hydrogen peroxide and water on the soil if I see them and then I don’t
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Juste read some literature on H2O2 use in dwc. It kills bacteria and give more oxygen to the roots, like im killing 2 birds with 1 stone. So maybe I need more O2 or maybe I need some H2O2 or maybe I need both? I think first i’ll try spliting the air line and use 2 stones at each end of the tote to spread the bubbles. And ill also start adding H2O2 after ~5 days of water change or if I start smelling the water.
@keene I hope too, I’m always carefull, seeing people have pest issues is enough for me to try and keep the grow area as clean as possible. I follow general pest managment rules, fighting pest is the last thing i want to do.
Anecdote: The day before I noticed the soil mites were almost gone, I cut a leaf of the NYC Diesel to look closer. So maybe I activated the plants defence mechanism and it repelled the mites 
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So my reading on the use of H202 is not extensive, I did learn that because it kills bacteria it also kills good bugs and life and that essentially its a placeholder as if there is something off with the growing medium it cannot be used indefinitely. I need to re clean everything come spring and now I use only new pots. It did stop those nasty aphids in their tracks though and I do not see anything flying around and that is important as the aphids emerge from the soil and fly about until they become stem suckers as far as I have learned and could be wrong. I need more time to research these issues, too busy with required reading.
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What are you adding to the res specifically? What are your reservoir temps? Any light falling on the water?
The chemical fertilizer I add to the res can’t support any strange growth of micro organisms, I have to specifically create the conditions to allow them to thrive.
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@JoeCrowe All I use are the chemical nutrient line of my local hydro store (I looked for the same brand you use the technaflora bc stuff, but they only had big quantities) and PH down.
The water is around 19-22°C all the times I checked it (at lights on, at lights out and between).
There is no direct light on the water, except maybe the tiny hole on the side where the air line gets in. Maybe the totes lid is too thin and lets some light through. I guess it wont hurt to cover the top with a garbage bag…
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NYC Diesel rings old bells, I am following your progress with them
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I do what’s called the flashlight test where I shine a flashlight on the side and if I can see light through it, then it’s not good.
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Fuck I burned my fingers with 35% h2o2, the bottle leaked during transport… Noticed after like 5 seconds and directly went to rince my hands. Good thing my brain clicked fast…
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It’ll sting for a bit, but there’s never any lasting damage.
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Yeah the burn didnt last for more then a day. There is definetly something growing in the water. I added 35% h2o2 at ~0.12ml/L. I should have probably dilluted it before adding. Tomorrow i’ll have the time to change the water, clean, desinfect everything and do the final upgrades (hopefully) to the dwc.
I think I put too much nutrients in the water, the ec seems to be going up. I’ll bring it back down tomorrow with the water change. The seedling looks pretty good and looks like it’s enjoying life. It even has its own 15w bulb now, so it can grow straight while. I’ll add pictures after work.
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NYC Diesel,
Alien rock candy dwc experiment
Still no bad smell or stuff growing. I’m felling like the plant would do better with a second air pump, I might add the spare one I have.
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I go for a minimum of 750CC air/20 liters of water, it’s got to keep the water flowing around that dissolves the oxygen by exposing more surface area. The bubbles do some dissolving of oxygen, but most of the heavy lifting is merely making the water flow. I can get the same results stirring it with a stick, not that I’m gonna. The most important part is trying to maintain 18C in the water, so you are getting the most oxygen saturation VS plant cold tolerance.
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I see, I have one of those cheap aquarium pumps that’s rated for 90L aquarium tanks. Not sure how much it gives in cc/L. My water temps are controlled by the environment In the empty room the tent is in (minimum set to 17°c). As we get deeper in winter and snow is starting to establish, the water will most likely end up in a good range. Dwc will definitely be something I do only in winter with colder weather.
Out of curiosity what is your temps in the grow?
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