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.