First hydro grow! 😈👻

This. :point_up:

If and when I build another RDWC, this will be the sizing for 4 sites. 6 sites? 3" return.

Having said that, I managed with a 1" return. Just had poor water level co trol over back buckets.

Haven’t had any issues controlling the water level as the res bucket is elevated to help with the 1” gravity feed and a 3/4” valve on the return line to help control return flow. Basically if water level is too low I choke the valve to let the gravity feed catch up and if water level is too high I open the valve…

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Any suggestions on how much I should be watering the little sprout? I’ve been giving it water from the res bucket once a day with a syringe to just moisten the rockwool… is this too much or not enough?

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I would say if the rockwool is soaked, then its too much. Never started seeds in rockwool, but when I clone, I soak the rockwool and then give it a quick shake, so that its moist, but not fully saturated.
$0.02

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It’s spouted now and just shedding its shell.
Just wasn’t sure if the rockwool should be dry or moist. I’ve been giving it about 60ml of water a day to to dampen it up. Hope that doesn’t fuck it up or anything.

As I sit hear reliving my first hydro grow I came up with this advise: Rock wool should be fully soaked the first time and then be left to drain, it holds moister for a long period of time. Seeds and seedlings do not require constant wetting and they require very little light in the beginning. Your doing a great job on the technical parts (hydro system), this will lead to a better grow.

On a more personal grower note: take two rock wool cubes, soak in water, shake once, put on a plate and push a seed into each about 1/4 inch. Put it in a low light constant temp area and leave it alone for 4 days, soak the cubes again and drain off excess, I guarantee that in 7-8 days you will see starter leaves. I am not saying you will need a back up plan, the knowledge wont hurt the grow.

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Thanks for the comment and suggestions. Seems to be doing ok so far. Wish I could see some roots coming out of the net pot but nothing yet. Day 3 since it hatched and it’s starting to get a little foliage poking out today. Hopefully everything stays on this track…
Temp 70f
Water 66f
6.05ph
500ppm tds

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Well now… that’s a fine example of what a healthy seedling looks like. Looking forward to your first roots shot!

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Well, here we are at day 6 since it broke surface. Looks a solid dark green on the leafs and some new ones coming out of the middle. Next couple weeks will be exciting, watching this continue to grow!

Temp 70f
RH 28%
Water temp 68f
PH 5.9-6
TDS 520ppm and 1020 ec

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Looks really great man :blush: I am excited about the upcoming Fast grow :blush: BUT please dont forget to remove the plastic cover from the rockwool :joy:

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Check the roots under the pot. If they are not there already, in a very few days you will spot them :heart_eyes:

Nice one, wikl take a seat :popcorn:

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Thanks for the heads up. Totally would’ve left it on :joy: I’ll remove it shortly…

@sk1 no roots yet but I’m so stoked to see them fill the bucket! It’s so cool we can do this legally now in Canada! Great hobby :canada:

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How far is the net Cup from the water level? The Cup should be about 1cm in the water at start so first roots will get it ASAP :slight_smile: once they are Long enough, the Cup should be about 4cm Above the water level

It’s about an inch in the water at the moment… 8” net pot so it takes up a lot of real-estate in the bucket.
Hoping to see roots soon and then I’ll drop the water level a few inches. Plant looks great this morning! Crazy how they grow so quickly!

Question about silica, I’ve never used it before and the bottle doesn’t come with info and I haven’t been able to find much online… when is the right time to add and for how long?

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I add when the plant have the first real leaves well developed, at the same time that I also raise slowly start to raise EC. At 50% first. What is the concentration of your silica ?

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Hell yeah you got it growin-on! Thank you for turning off the light for the picture. :sunglasses:

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Lol rookie move I know. Man this thing is growing like a weed no pun intended :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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The bottle says 0-0-4 it’s the grotek brand. They are pretty loose with their instructions. How often do you add this? Thanks for the reply, much appreciated :call_me_hand:

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I also use Grotek.
They recommend between 2,5ml and 5ml for each 4 liters dosage, as per bottle instructions.

I use 5ml - 7ml for each 10 liters roughly. That is about half the “recomended” dosis.

The first thing that you should add to your nutrient mix is the silica. Add and stir really well before addding other nutes.
If you forget to add the silica first, no problem. Put the dosis at a ratio 200ml for each 5ml of silica that you need to add, shake really well and then add.
If you use cal/mag I recomend to do the same 200ml/5ml ratio, shake well and then add. Cal not interacts well with silica, that is the reason.

I add silica on every watering, even when I add just pH corrected water to the reservoir.

At the last 3 weeks of flowering (that I will only be topping the reservoir, no more rez changes for me) I stop using it, and normally just top with pH corrected water.

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Day 8: Thanks @sk1 for the dosage tips with the silicate!
Added second batch of nutes last night which consisted of 15ml micro, 20ml grow and 5ml bloom on my 4 gallon system. Had to adjust the ph a lot after… also added 10ml of the grotek silica to the system. To me the plant seems to be growing slow but that could just be my impatience lol
Expecting a burst any day now.