# 818 headband a.k.a Sour OG 2000w RDWC. First grow!



## grodude (Apr 14, 2015)

Hello everyone! Welcome to my grow!

This has been one hell of a ride so far and I havent even started growing yet. I was expecting to have everything ready to go a month ago, but a combination of unanticipated obstacles as well as procrastination due to fear of ruining something have kept me from starting a journal and growing until now. I would love input from those of you that have the experience and if you see me making a mistake I would greatly appreciate you all let me know. I am hoping to keep this grow as simple as possible so please keep that in mind when offering advice.

After much going back and forth I decided to start with 818 headband feminized seeds a.k.a sour og. The setup they will be in:

9x5 Gorilla grow tent - This was pricier than I liked to pay, but it did seem to have a few advantages. I really like how I can get the height up to 10 feet or so and any other tent is 7 feet maximum; however, this grow that will not benefit me as I will be scrogging and keeping the plant short. For this reason the extension is not being used and I have a height of 67. I do have some buyers remorse, I will soon learn if this tent is worth the additional $350 or so.
2 x 1000w HID lights - Thats almost 45w per square foot. I am using the T8 Lights of America fixture for the seedling stage. When I transplant them to their final destination I will turn the MH lights down to 50% and bring them closer to the plants and as the plants grow I will gradually increase to 100% and raise them. 
Active Air 720 CFM 8 fan - I also have a generic carbon filter and silencer attached to it. Barely makes any noise and the suction on the tent seems to be very minimal. I almost have a Mercury 4 titan control that I may use (I dont understand how setting the bottom half with the day/night and idle times work).
¼ HP EcoPlus Chiller.
Nutrients - General Hydroponics 3-part. I have calmag for flower; I am using RO water. 
Meters - Oakton EcoTestr ph2. HM Digital AP-1 TDS meter. Purchased with calibration solution.
Pumps - EcoPlus 1000 GPH inline pump. EcoPlus 396 GPH Submersible pump (for chiller). 112 watt 110 LPM air pump.
The system - 6-site UC RDWC setup
6 x 10-gallon totes
1 rubber flow lines with ¾ return lines (later told flow should be double return. Next time).
4 x 6 net pots and 2 x 10 net pots (bought 4 and found the 10 were cheaper)
4 x 8 Hydrofarm air stones. 1 x 8 generic air stone. 1 x 12 generic air stone.
1 x 27-gallon tote for control reservoir. There is a pvc pipe connected to the return tube with holes in it to slow down the flow. Also have ¼ float valve connected to main 27-gallon reservoir.

Im going to germinate the seeds in rapid rooters (any day now. maybe today?!), then move them into a cloner I made (maybe. I may just put the 6 rapid rooters in a small tray and move them to their final destination when the roots get big enough). Here are some pics: 

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## WeedHopper (Apr 14, 2015)

Nice


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## grodude (Apr 14, 2015)

And it begins... 

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## Dr. Green Fang (Apr 14, 2015)

Holy smokes.. pulling up a chair!! :aok:


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## WeedHopper (Apr 14, 2015)

Yehaaaa,,getter done. Green mojo.


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## grodude (Apr 14, 2015)

Dr. Green Fang said:


> Holy smokes.. pulling up a chair!! :aok:



Welcome! Great to have you!


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 14, 2015)

Wow, what a great looking setup. Looking forward to watching your grow.


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## WeedHopper (Apr 14, 2015)

That is a big tent.


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## JustAnotherAntMarching (Apr 14, 2015)

great setup man...  only question is doesn't Cali Connection have a strain called SourOG? did it change to the 818 Headband?  :48:


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## 000StankDank000 (Apr 15, 2015)

I love the size of that tent . I wouldn't of bought it cause I'm cheap but you do have a very high end tent. Welcome to MP positive vibes bro.


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## grodude (Apr 15, 2015)

JustAnotherAntMarching said:


> great setup man...  only question is doesn't Cali Connection have a strain called SourOG? did it change to the 818 Headband?  :48:



As far as I have read they are the same strain.


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## grodude (Apr 15, 2015)

Thanks everyone for stopping by. Just waiting patiently (anxiously) for something to happen


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## grodude (Apr 23, 2015)

I only bought 6 seeds and not all of them germinated so I am deciding on what to do now. Will be back soon to update


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## grodude (Apr 26, 2015)

Looks like my headband seeds turned into Blue Dream clones; how crazy is that!? I will transplant them today 

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## Dr. Green Fang (Apr 26, 2015)

> Looks like my headband seeds turned into Blue Dream clones; how crazy is that!? I will transplant them today



I laughed quite a lot at this! :rofl: :aok:


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## grodude (Apr 28, 2015)

My system does not seem to be circulating at a proper speed and I was hoping some of the more experienced rdwcers could give their input. The 1000 GPH pump seemed to be way too fast because the return flow was faster than the flow out of the control reservoir. I added a pvc pipe and put holes in it to slow down the stream (pictures above), but water doesn't seem to be circulation well. The pH is different when I check it in the reservoir vs the individual buckets. 

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## Dr. Green Fang (Apr 28, 2015)

You have RISES on your in and out.. they need to be LEVEL with your control bucket. This is the exact same issue I had with my setup, which was 3/4" line. I thought "oh my line wasn't big enough, so next time I'll make them bigger" ... but it looks like you're using 1" or larger and still having issues. 

When water is circulating around it doesn't want to rise and fall through the air vents, that messed the flow ALL up. 

Someone told me to cut my tent to fix it.. I laughed lol. Can you get your control bucket in that room? Looks like maybe not.


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## snugglebud (Apr 28, 2015)

Very nice setup. Hope you get your issues sorted soon.


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## grodude (Apr 28, 2015)

Dr. Green Fang said:


> You have RISES on your in and out.. they need to be LEVEL with your control bucket. This is the exact same issue I had with my setup, which was 3/4" line. I thought "oh my line wasn't big enough, so next time I'll make them bigger" ... but it looks like you're using 1" or larger and still having issues.
> 
> When water is circulating around it doesn't want to rise and fall through the air vents, that messed the flow ALL up.
> 
> Someone told me to cut my tent to fix it.. I laughed lol. Can you get your control bucket in that room? Looks like maybe not.



That makes sense. I tried to avoid that because I didn't think it would cause this much trouble, but I may buy new buckets and make new holes. Fortunately the the top half with the lids wont need any extra work.  I may actually be able to move teh reservoir into the tent, but I may have to use the same size bucket that I'm using for my plants since it's smaller and use the larger 32-gallon tote as a top-off reservoir.

Thanks for your advice, I will give that a try.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Apr 28, 2015)

> I tried to avoid that because I didn't think it would cause this much trouble



You have no idea the POWER of 1" vertical and water  

I learned the hard way.. you're learning too. We'll sort this!


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## 000StankDank000 (Apr 28, 2015)

Awww Fang did you find a hydro buddy lol .

I got some FIRE Sour OG meds today from the club . First thing I said was I need this clone and was told a crazy price . So I am sad your beans turned into blue dream clones.  
Positive vibes bro


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## TangieDank (Apr 28, 2015)

This grow looks like fun . Will be watching


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## grodude (Apr 29, 2015)

000StankDank000 said:


> Awww Fang did you find a hydro buddy lol .
> 
> I got some FIRE Sour OG meds today from the club . First thing I said was I need this clone and was told a crazy price . So I am sad your beans turned into blue dream clones.
> Positive vibes bro



I'm upset as well, but that's how you learn. I feel I now have more information about what I did wrong and should do substantially better the next time around.  I may even germinate all the seeds I need. Glad to have you around


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## grodude (Apr 30, 2015)

So I bought the new buckets and put the system together, but it still seems to be flowing pretty slowly for a 1000 GPH pump. Is that what it should look like or do I need to keep looking for the problem? 

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## grodude (Apr 30, 2015)

Scratch that, everything looks fine. I'll update tomorrow


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## grodude (May 2, 2015)

The system is flowing at a good speed now. This is what I have:

PPM: 420
PH: 5.5
Day Temp: 85 degrees
Humidity: 35%

The next day (Today) I checked and the water is at 415 PPM and 5.9 PH. My chiller is keeping the water at about 68 degrees. The roots seem to be slowly creeping out of the bottom; some more than others. I will take pictures of the roots in a couple days. 

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## blowinthatloud (May 2, 2015)

nice looking setup grodude, real nice! BtL


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## Dr. Green Fang (May 3, 2015)

> PPM: 420



Tee Hee




Lookin' good! Grats on a proper flow!!! Now your control bucket makes for a good fan table! :rofl: :aok:


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## grodude (May 3, 2015)

Everything is staying relatively constant, which I think is a good sign. Temperature dropped a few degrees, but that's about it. Oh, and roots! They are started to form nicely. The plant also seems to be growing and I expect to top them relatively soon. 

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## Dr. Robertsozki (May 4, 2015)

very nice


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## grodude (May 7, 2015)

All the numbers are still staying withing range. Temp, PH, and PPM are all staying constant, except I left the lights running at 50%...oops. They have all bushed out and developed nice roots except for one; one main root coming down, not sure why that one is struggling. The roots also don't seem to be as white as before. If you can see in the picture with the roots the shorter roots look whiter than the longer ones, I assume because the shorter ones get more oxygen; is that correct?

I also think I am ready to top some, but wanted your opinion. The picture with my fingers looks like it's ready to be topped. 

All other advice is welcome. 

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## Grower13 (May 7, 2015)

Looking nice........
:48:

I hope you can keep the temps down in the tent......... cool tube lights might help if it starts getting hot in there


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## grodude (May 8, 2015)

I would like some advice: 

The temperature in my room seems to be to high (high 80's low 90's) after turning my lights to 100%. I have another 6" fan, possibly 400 cfm or so, that I hooked up on the other side as you can see in some of the pictures, but this does not seem to be helping. I was thinking that I would connect some ducting to the exhaust and have it blow into the other room (it's currently blowing into the same room, making it quite hot). I don't know if this will solve the issue as it gets hotter in the summer though. I have a few other options and would like input on what is best.

1) I could buy air cooled hoods (or cool tube, don't know the difference)
2) I can buy an small AC unit
3) ?

What do you guys think?


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## grodude (May 8, 2015)

Grower13 said:


> Looking nice........
> :48:
> 
> I hope you can keep the temps down in the tent......... cool tube lights might help if it starts getting hot in there



Just saw the latter half of your post after making my post. Is cool tube better than an air cooled hood and would either keep my temps low enough even when it gets a lot hotter in the coming months?


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## Rosebud (May 8, 2015)

Just wanted to say green mojo for a great grow. It certainly looks high tech or somthing in there. Looks like you have a lot of thought and work in your room. Have FUN, and enjoy this wonderful journey.


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## peterevans (May 8, 2015)

So those seeds you planted in rapid rooters are obviously not the same as the 6 x plants in rockwool starter cubes as they appear to be cuts.
So nice set up only downside imeo is your reflectors which are the cheapest on the market, go get yourself some 1m parabolics as 1. they cut down on heat massively and 2. you can get them to within 1" from plant tops without any issues of scorching and lastly the light spread is superb being spot on 2 x 600's for an 8 x 4 tent like you and i have although my ballasts are on super lumen output thus 1320 watts total.
Peter


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## peterevans (May 8, 2015)

Blowing extracted air into the same room will make your paranoid big time once your plants are in flower as it will stink due to air mixing, this alongside massive high temps, i did the same late last year and eventually had to vent into attic and then the problem was solved.
Peter


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## 000StankDank000 (May 15, 2015)

peterevans said:


> Blowing extracted air into the same room will make your paranoid big time once your plants are in flower as it will stink due to air mixing, this alongside massive high temps, i did the same late last year and eventually had to vent into attic and then the problem was solved.
> Peter




Not if you use a proper charcoal filter . I have 0 smell from my 8" exhaust fan


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## 000StankDank000 (May 15, 2015)

I wouldn't go parabolic that's not gonna help your heat issue. Buy 2 XXL magnum reflectors . The 6" ones are $200 CDN. Then use that inline fan to pull air threw your hoods. I run a 8x4 tent with 2000watts . My Tent stays in the mid 70's hits 80 on the hottest days. I could get my tent cooler if I used an inline fan to push fresh air into it instead of a passive intake.

He is calling your light reflectors cheap then telling you to buy parabolic SMH they are both open bulb reflectors .


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## grodude (May 17, 2015)

I've been busy tweaking a few things in my setup and haven't had time to update. I took the pictures, but that's as far as I got. I was having some pretty serious heat issues; they would get up into the low 90s. I corrected that by attaching ducting to my exhaust and directing it out the window. On the other side I installed a window fan to bring cool air into the room (not the grow room) and opened the mesh screen on that side. I also have my lights turn off between 2-8pm. I will probably still need an A/C come flower time during the hotter part of the summer, but for now temps seem to be within range.


Another problem I had, which was rather frustrating, is my handyman knocked over my ballast and broke it, so I had to order a new one. For a few 4-5 days my plants were running off of one 1000w light, which I'm gudoenessing is why some plants are further along then others. I actually bought  a whole new lighting setup because it was $40 more and I may need to replace something else down the line. 

My PPM stayed around 420 so I didn't change it, until one day I found it at and decided it was time to do a res change and increase the nutrients, I was less prepared for this as well. I got it  850 PPM and a pH f 5.9. I actually added too much pH down and it was reading at 5.2, so I added some tap water to bring it back up since I read mixing pH up and down was a bad idea. I was aiming for a ppm around 700, but I ran out of time because my lights went out and my green light is still on the way. I'll check on it tomorrow to see how the plants are responding. 

As you can see, some of them are starting to grow through the screens already, and they were topped at multiple sites not too many days ago. If there is anything you guys think I should be doing differently please let me know. 

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## Kraven (May 17, 2015)

Nice set up grodude, looking forward to your grow, green mojo man


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## grodude (May 18, 2015)

My plants are not doing so well after yesterdays nutrient change. It dropped from 850 PPM to 780 PPM and went from a 5.9 ph to a 6.3 ph. I think I'm going to mix a new solution today at around 1000 PPM or so and see how it does. The leaves are yellowing and curling at the top as you can see in the pictures. I assume this is due to my nutrient change? Any input? 

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## grodude (May 21, 2015)

Kravenhead said:


> Nice set up grodude, looking forward to your grow, green mojo man




Thanks man! Glad you could stop by!


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## grodude (May 21, 2015)

I did a nutrient change. I had it set at 1000 PPM and 5.9 PH. After changing it out I realized I need to add more water, so I added more, but had to leave right away so I couldn't check on it. When I came back the next day the plants were looking great. It was not at 510 PPM. I added a little more and it is now at 595 PPM and 6.1 PH. 

Unfortunately because I was using 1000w total for a few days a couple plants didn't get as much light and are growing a little slower. I figure I'll flip to flower when the larger ones are ready and have a reduced yield on the smaller ones. I added a foot to the height of the tent as well and heat does not seem to be an issue for the time being

Any advice on  training this scrog? There are HUGE fan leaves at the top that make it harder to train the plant. When should I start trimming below the canopy? 

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## Dr. Green Fang (May 21, 2015)

Lookin' very awesome!


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## Dr. Green Fang (May 21, 2015)

Defoliate some. I mean, don't strip it entirely (lol) but go to town on trimming up for sure :aok:


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## grodude (May 22, 2015)

I defoliated. Before, after, and top view. 

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## grodude (May 22, 2015)

I accidentally suppercropped twice while defoliating. I duct taped them, but one of them may not make it


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## koldsurf (May 22, 2015)

Rad set up bro, thanks for sharing!


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