First time DWC

HashishOculus DWC Grow #3 - Week 1 (Day 0–6) | Seedling Establishment After two failed rockwool seedlings, I started this run with a lot more caution (and a bit of nerves). I wanted to document everything properly this time, but I also didn’t want to post another failure - so I waited until I felt the seedling was genuinely on track. Day 0 (Nov 27, 13:00) - Broke ground She finally broke through the rockwool. I’m running a simple humidity dome made from the bottom of a cut 1.5L water bottle, with a few small vent holes near the top. Tent ambient was around 23°C, and it was closer to 26°C under the light, so I raised the light to about 40 cm early on because I didn’t want the dome to turn into a tiny sauna. Day 1 (Nov 28) No big visible changes (which is normal), but I stayed hands-off. After losing seedlings before, I’m trying hard not to “help” the plant to death. Dome stayed on to keep humidity stable. Day 2 (Nov 29, 00:10) - Helmet/membrane issue Checked on her and noticed a thin membrane stuck around the cotyledons. I carefully removed it with tweezers, and the green leaves were underneath. No photo at the moment, but it was a big relief to see the seedling unfold properly after that. Day 3 (Nov 30) She looked healthy and upright. I noticed a hint of stretching and lowered the lamp slightly. Still keeping intensity conservative. Dome stayed on - one of my previous seedlings got wrecked by low humidity after removing the dome too early, so I’m not repeating that mistake. Day 4 (Dec 1, ~14:00) - Readings + small accident Took some environmental readings: the tent was cooler in ambient air compared to directly under the lamp (as expected). I removed the dome and accidentally knocked the seedling over. I supported her with a small stake/scaffolding immediately. The stem also seems to start a bit above the rockwool surface, which probably made her easier to topple than I’d like. Day 5 (Dec 2, ~13:30) She stayed upright with support and looked okay. I was mainly watching for delayed damage from the fall, but she didn’t appear to crash. Still cautious, still not making big changes. Day 6 (Dec 3, ~15:00) More stability and slow progress. The support is still necessary because she bends quite far without it, but overall she’s holding on and continuing forward. I also checked the underside of the setup and kept an eye on moisture - so far the cube hasn’t dried out, which is good, because dryness (not “overwatering”) was a major suspected killer in my last run. Week 1 takeaway: Slow, careful, and stable. I’m trying to keep the environment consistent, avoid early humidity shocks, and resist the urge to constantly adjust things. So far, she looks healthy - and after the previous attempts, that alone feels like a win.

HashishOculus DWC Grow #3 - Week 2 (Day 7–13) | Transplant to Bucket + “Roots Hit Water” Moment Week 2 was the real transition: moving from “fragile seedling in a cube” to “okay, this is actually a DWC plant now.” I was still carrying some trauma from the previous failed attempts, so I played it cautious and kept humidity management in the front of my mind. Day 7 (Dec 4) Mostly a steady, observational day. I kept things stable and resisted the urge to constantly mess with the setup. The seedling was still small, but clearly alive and pushing. Day 8 (Dec 5) - Transplant day (big milestone) I transplanted the rockwool cube into the net pot with hydroton and moved her into the bucket. Water level ended up about 1–2 cm below the basket and I could feel a fine mist on the inside of the lid, so I felt confident she’d stay hydrated from splash/mist even before the roots reached down. Light was around 23–30 cm above the plant at roughly 25% intensity, and I kept the dome on for humidity stability. After mixing, I landed at 370 ppm and pH 5.85. Later that night I checked again and saw pH had crept above 7, so I brought it down to ~5.73. Reservoir temp was around 22°C, and I turned the radiator in the lung room slightly down. Day 9 (Dec 6) I continued monitoring and tried to keep everything calm. This stage felt like “don’t shock her, don’t dry her out, don’t drown her.” Day 10 (Dec 7) Growth looked fine. I was watching humidity closely and still debating when to fully remove the dome. I wanted to avoid repeating the mistake from a previous run where low RH became a problem too early. Day 11 (Dec 8) - HELL YEA: roots in the water This was the moment I’d been waiting for: roots reached the reservoir. Huge relief. pH was around 6.7, I lowered it to 6.15, and later settled around 5.8. I removed the dome (this time I did it later and more deliberately). I’d also been doing a gradual exposure approach, because my tent RH sits around 40%, and I didn’t want another “too dry too fast” situation. Day 12 (Dec 9) The plant looked healthy overall. I also removed the support stake around this point (it had been needed earlier after I knocked the seedling over during dome removal). She was holding herself better now. Day 13 (Dec 10) - Slight worry about pace I started getting concerned that growth seemed a bit slow/stalled compared to what I’d expect, especially after taking the dome off. The plant also looked a little lighter green, but the roots were still developing well, which was reassuring. I lowered the light intensity slightly. For reference, I’m running a Mars Hydro FC 1500-EVO (150W) at roughly 30 cm and around 20–25% intensity. At 23:59 I checked again: pH had climbed to 6.4, and I lowered it to 5.69. PPM was 568. Week 2 takeaway: The run “became real” this week — transplant done, roots hit the water, and the plant stayed healthy through the transition. Even though I was a bit worried about pace after removing the dome, the root development looked strong, and that’s the foundation I wanted before anything else.

HashishOculus DWC Grow #3 - Week 3 (Day 14–20) | pH Drift, Leaf Damage, CalMag Fix, First Real Reset Week 3 was a mix of “roots look amazing” and “why is the top growth acting weird?” The big themes were persistent pH drift upward, mysterious leaf discoloration/tacoing, and me trying to stay calm and methodical instead of chasing numbers every hour. Day 14 (Dec 11) I was still feeling like growth was slower than expected above the bucket, even though the roots were clearly developing. I kept light conservative (Mars Hydro FC1500-EVO around 30 cm, roughly 20–25%). I was also watching the color - newer growth looked a bit lighter than I wanted, while older leaves stayed a healthier green. Day 15 (Dec 12) I started to seriously question whether I could trust my ppm numbers because the relationship between tap and res readings felt “off” at times. Tap water was reading around 360 ppm (and later 345 ppm), while the reservoir was higher (e.g. 637 ppm, later 683 ppm). I also logged tap pH ~7.60, which helped explain why the reservoir wanted to creep upward. Res pH was reading around 6.41 at one point and I brought it down to about 6.02. Environment-wise, the tent was around 20°C, ~22°C under the lamp, RH around ~40%, and res temp ~21°C. I remember thinking: “I’ve put a lot of pH down in this… is it normal that it keeps drifting up?” (Short answer: with alkaline tap water, it sure feels like it.) Day 16 (Dec 13) At around 17:00, I logged the numbers I’d just taken: tap ~345 ppm, res ~683 ppm, and res pH around 5.76 (down from ~6.1 earlier). This felt like I was getting the reservoir closer to where I wanted it, but I still didn’t love how much I had to work to keep it there. The plant looked okay, but I was clearly in “monitor mode.” Day 17 (Dec 14) Shortly after midnight I noticed one of the upper leaves was brighter green and tacoing, and I lowered light intensity. Over the day, I kept noticing the newer growth showing odd discoloration, while older leaves stayed more normal. That night (around 23:30) res pH was ~6.12 and I decided not to adjust it. I also took a closer look at the structure and noticed tiny shoots pushing at the nodes, which was encouraging - like the plant wanted to move forward even if the leaves were complaining. I nudged the light slightly back up afterward, still below 25%. Day 18 (Dec 15) I started thinking more seriously about whether I should do a reservoir change soon, because the leaf issues were spreading and I didn’t want to keep “micro-correcting” forever. I logged ppm ~669 and noted it had shifted since earlier readings. The plant wasn’t collapsing - just not taking off the way I expected for DWC at this age. Day 19 (Dec 16) This was the turning point. The damaged areas on leaves looked paper-thin / translucent, and I decided to try CalMag. I added 5 ml CalMag, mixed thoroughly, waited, then checked pH. After the adjustment, I landed around pH 5.82 and ~779 ppm. A few hours later, the vibe improved: the discoloration didn’t look like it was actively racing across the plant anymore, and there was actually pretty decent growth showing up. That was a huge relief - and it made me feel like the CalMag addition had been the right call. Later the same day, I did a reservoir change at ~14:30 (using my 10L container approach). I mixed a fresh solution, got ~703 ppm in the 10L container initially, and after everything was swapped and mixed I adjusted the reservoir to about pH 5.86 around 21:00. I had also ordered Voodoo Juice around this period, because I wanted to tighten up the root-zone support going forward. Day 20 (Dec 17) The next day I could see the “before vs after” clearly: new growth looked good, older damage still looked ugly (as expected), but it didn’t seem to be spreading much. That felt like the first time in a while where the plant looked like it was moving forward without me constantly firefighting. Week 3 takeaway: Roots were strong all week, but the plant’s top growth clearly didn’t love the combination of pH drift + low RH + early mineral imbalance. The CalMag addition followed by a proper res reset felt like the moment things started stabilizing again, and mentally it was a huge shift from “is this stalling forever?” to “okay—this is recoverable.”

HashishOculus DWC Grow #3 - Week 4 (Day 21–27) | “Looks Better… Then pH Wars Again” (Dec 18–24) Week 4 was basically: the plant looked stronger, the roots kept looking great, but the reservoir kept trying to drag me into constant pH corrections. I also started seeing that my canopy management and light positioning were becoming real variables now that she was stacking growth fast. Day 21 (Dec 18) Midday check: 832 ppm / pH 6.15. The plant had grown enough that the light ended up too close (about 23 cm), so I raised it back to around 30 cm and nudged intensity up slightly (still below what the manufacturer claims for veg). The overall vibe was “moving in the right direction,” but pH was clearly trying to drift upward again. Day 22 (Dec 19) Late-night reading: 832 ppm / pH 6.20. So basically stable ppm, and pH still creeping up. Roots were looking fantastic, and I took that as the main reassurance that the system was fundamentally working. I did notice a tiny bit of discoloration on the tip of new growth - not classic nutrient burn, more like that earlier “damage” pattern - but it was minimal. There was still some tacoing, so I backed the light off a bit again. Day 23 (Dec 20) This day really tested my patience. There was still tacoing and I started seeing new damage showing up on newer growth, which made me suspect that my constant pH swinging might be contributing to instability. pH was sitting around 6.2, so I dropped it to about 5.75. I ended up doing a fresh reservoir after that. Post-change numbers: ~20°C, 713 ppm, pH 5.83. It felt like a “reset the board and stop chasing ghosts” moment. Day 24 (Dec 21) Even with the fresh res, I still ended up doing a fairly heavy pH correction (it had climbed high again and I brought it down). This is the part that annoys me the most: it feels like I’m using a stupid amount of pH down. The plant itself looked okay, but I could tell I needed to keep changes controlled and not get into a loop of fixing the fix. Day 25 (Dec 22) By midday the plant had clearly pushed enough new growth that the worst damaged older leaves were getting covered and shaded out. That was a relief, and it also made me consider whether to remove them or just leave them alone. Late reading: 779 ppm, and I brought pH back to 5.8. Notably, the reservoir temperature had been staying in a good zone, and the roots continued to look like the healthiest part of the entire operation. Day 26–27 (Dec 23–24) The last couple of days of the week were more “maintenance and observation” than big changes. Holiday life makes it harder to be hands-on anyway, and honestly that might be a good thing for me: fewer opportunities to over-correct. The plant was clearly building momentum, and the main focus stayed on keeping the reservoir stable and the canopy manageable. Week 4 takeaway: The plant is stronger and the root zone looks excellent, but my biggest recurring enemy is still pH drift + big corrections. When I keep things steady, growth wins. When I chase perfection, I create turbulence.

HashishOculus DWC Grow #3 - Week 5 (Day 28–34) | Canopy Takes Over + Trellis/Topping + Space Management (Dec 25–31) Week 5 was the week the plant stopped being “a plant in a bucket” and started being a canopy-management project. Growth turned noticeably more explosive, the footprint expanded fast, and I had to make real decisions about structure, airflow, and tent space. Day 28 (Dec 25) - Explosive growth Came home to a huge jump in growth. The plant looked healthy and vigorous, and it finally felt like the system was “locked in” after the earlier turbulence. Reservoir was stable, roots looked strong, and the canopy started to crowd the tent. I started seriously thinking about topping and how to manage height long-term. Day 29 (Dec 26) - Post-training recovery looks good The plant handled the recent canopy work well and kept pushing new growth. I logged a stable reservoir (temp staying in a good range) and the overall posture looked positive. Water usage was clearly increasing, which matches the jump in biomass. Day 30 (Dec 27) - Strong momentum + dialing light position The plant kept building mass fast. I continued to raise the light slightly as the canopy climbed and nudged intensity upward cautiously (still conservative relative to manufacturer “veg” suggestions). Reservoir readings stayed in the workable zone, and water level continued to drop steadily, confirming she’s drinking. Day 31 (Dec 28) - Steady readings, steady push No big interventions - more “observe, tuck, and keep it stable.” The canopy was getting denser, and I could tell the next phase would be about preventing the tent from turning into a packed, hard-to-service jungle. Day 32 (Dec 29) - Space management: moved extraction hardware outside To reclaim headroom and working space, I moved the inline fan and carbon filter outside the tent. This was purely about space and practicality as the plant expands. I kept an eye on airflow behavior and made sure the setup still pulled properly. Day 33 (Dec 30) - Canopy density reality check Canopy got dense enough that it started feeling like a “light and airflow engineering” problem. I did a light prune (nothing extreme - more like clearing obvious blockers). I also noticed some droop and ended up focusing on reservoir basics: keeping the root zone oxygenated and avoiding a too-high water line. I siphoned out some water to bring the level down. The water looked a bit murky but didn’t smell, which was reassuring. Day 34 (Dec 31) - Hands-off (New Year) I was away for New Year’s, so this was effectively a hands-off day. Sometimes that’s the best thing for me - less temptation to over-adjust. The plan was simply to return, assess water usage, and continue shaping the canopy with minimal stress. Week 5 takeaway: The plant is officially in “take over the tent” mode. Growth is strong, water consumption is increasing, and the limiting factor has shifted from “will she survive?” to “can I keep the environment and structure under control without over-correcting?”

HashishOculus DWC Grow #3 - Flower Week 1 (Week 6) | Stretch Begins + Trellis Work + Reservoir Stabilizing (Jan 1–8) Day 35 (Jan 1) - Flip day Came back after being away a couple of days for New Year and she had absolutely exploded. The tent was suddenly feeling small. Water level had dropped a lot, and the readings were pH 5.98 / 705 ppm. I decided to flip to 12/12 and set the schedule to lights on 00:00-12:00. The mix was still in a conservative zone, and I focused on keeping the system stable rather than overreacting to the speed of growth. Day 36 (Jan 2) The canopy was getting dense enough that I started removing a little leaf mass, including one hilariously large fan leaf (it looked like a solar panel). I’m trying to stay controlled with pruning - just making room and visibility. Around this time I also logged pH 5.63 / 632 ppm (00:25). Day 37 (Jan 3) After a top-off I landed at pH 6.02 / 582 ppm. Still seeing how sensitive ppm is to top-offs because reservoir volume isn’t huge at the moment. The plant kept pushing hard. Day 38 (Jan 4) Did another small prune/tidy-up. Logged pH 6.15 / 601 ppm (00:30). pH drift upward continues to be the recurring theme in this run, so I’m trying to correct without swinging too aggressively. Reservoir temp has been staying cool, which I’m happy about. Day 39 (Jan 5) After adding 1 liter top-off water, readings were pH 5.85 / 610 ppm (around 11:45). Waterline was about 7 cm below the net pot, which I’m comfortable with as long as roots are well established in the solution. Canopy management is now a daily reality. Trellis work / canopy shaping During the week I also did some leaf tucking and weaved two tops sideways under the trellis, just to keep the canopy more even and avoid everything stacking straight up into the light. The plant is clearly in “fill the tent” mode now, so a little daily steering makes a big difference. Mid-week res swap + lighting change I mixed a fresh reservoir batch (9 L), dialed it to around pH 5.78 / 833 ppm, then did the res change. I also bumped light intensity up significantly (went to 75%) to match how aggressive the plant has become. At this point the plant is vigorous enough that the limiting factor is becoming vertical space and keeping a clean, even canopy under the net. Day 43 (Jan 8) 00:30 readings: 753 ppm / pH 6.38, so I topped off about 1.5 L and rechecked after mixing: pH 5.86 / 709 ppm / EC 1.418 (res correction landed cleanly and EC/ppm lined up perfectly). Week takeaway First week of flower has been all about managing momentum: she’s stretching, drinking more, and thickening up fast. The plant looks vigorous and the system is behaving predictably when I keep changes controlled. The main “project” this week has been balancing pH drift + top-offs while keeping the canopy open enough to actually work in the tent.