deep water culture for the first time

[k1ng87]

so I setup a deep water culture system this weekend with 5 white widow seeds i got from nirvana. I made a room about 2.5ft deep and about 12ft long. Got 5 buckets, filled them a third of the way up and got some airstones. For lights I have 4 cfl ballasts with 8 38 watt 6500k lights (22,000 lumens total), 2 100 watt hps (19,000 watts), 1 76 watt grow LED ( lumens ??). I have a few questions thought that i'm not quite sure on....

a.) do I have enough lumens? My room is about 30 sqft and I have 41,000+ lumens right now.

b.) I've only filled the buckets 1/3 of the way up. When the root hits the water, will it just wick up? How much do I need to fill them up?

the second to the last pic is the LED light and the last pic is just the LEDon. light

[tinytoon]

Put your water right to the bottom of the net basket. You will most likely have to hand water or hook up a temp drip until roots get to the water.

[StoneMeadow]

In my DWC I fill the revervoir to the bottom of the basket and zip-tie the airstone to the bottom of the basket, as well. That assures that the developing roots get plenty of oxygen as well as assures the bubbles splash enough water to keep the jiffy plug moist. Once the roots are sticking out the bottom of the basket, as shown here, I cut the airstone loose and allow it to sink to the bottom of the reservoir.

[k1ng87]

do you keep the water level all the way to the top?...is that a must with dwc?

what about the lighting?

[NoCoBigPoppa]

That's correct, You only want your water level in each individual bucket up to the bottom of the net pot, maybe even covering the bottom of the net pot about an inch. But just until you actually show roots coming through the pot, then keep water level just below. On a side note, the air stone attached to the bottom of the net pot, one word; brilliant.

[NoCoBigPoppa]

It looks you have a good start on a grow room. However, even though you can technically grow cannabis under CFLs, I really think you should invest in some HIDs. Without getting too technical, CFLs are not suitable for flowering mj. They are however great for vegging clones and seedlings. So the short answer is this; yes you can grow with the lighting you currently have, but you won't be happy with the end result. Regardless, good luck.

[bluntar]

It looks you have a good start on a grow room. However, even though you can technically grow cannabis under CFLs, I really think you should invest in some HIDs. Without getting too technical, CFLs are not suitable for flowering mj. They are however great for vegging clones and seedlings. So the short answer is this; yes you can grow with the lighting you currently have, but you won't be happy with the end result. Regardless, good luck.

Never say never my friend

[MadSativa]

never sean a air stone on the roots like that, theri used to put air in the nutes not the roots directly

[Big len]

I like the airstone idea I think I will try it.

[420barista]

why would you possibly want to attach the air stone to the bottom of the net cup? wether its up there or on the bottom, air when released in liquid, it rises. I would tend to think that leaving well enough alone and the airstone on the bottom would work better. The air will oxygenate the nutes and also help in circulationg the solution around. if im wrong im sorry but I tend to be logically inclined.

[SmokeMyPiece]

why would you possibly want to attach the air stone to the bottom of the net cup? wether its up there or on the bottom, air when released in liquid, it rises. I would tend to think that leaving well enough alone and the airstone on the bottom would work better. The air will oxygenate the nutes and also help in circulationg the solution around. if im wrong im sorry but I tend to be logically inclined.

-He said he did this when the roots have yet to grow thru, assuring the medium would get splashed and pass the moisture to the new small roots. Although, you would need to be sure that the airstone stayed submerged, as it could get worn out quicker with just air being pushed thru the dry stone.

-Decent idea, but maybe a little slack would be better, insuring it would stay under if the water level were to drop too low. Or just flipping the stone upside-down then attaching.

[k1ng87]

okay...so i switched over to aero...everything seems to work but I have a problem now...i only had one seed that sprouted out of the 5 I got from nirvana shop...how long do this take to sprout usually (its been about 14 days)?

[k1ng87]

what do you guys think so far? I've just ordered 5 more white widow seeds ince only 1 sprouted...

[bluntar]

I see potential. Sux about the seeds not poping, good luck on the next batch