First grow, would love some thoughts

N

nehemiah

New Member
This is my first time growing, been a long time needed though. I would love anyone's feedback on my setup and materials.

space: 6.5' x 4.5' x 7.5'

lights: veg/4-35w 6500k 2400Lum cfl's and 2-35w 2700k 2400lum cfl's. bloom/opposite.

res: 23x8x17 21 gal 'tote' w/ six 5" net pots and white covers.

medium: rockwool starter cubes on hydroton.

nutes: adv. nut. grow-micro-bloom.

misc: mylar, 2 fans, air pump w/ two 12" stones and black tubing, water pump with adjustable gang valve, digital/battery backup timer, reflector clamps, surge protector, ext. cords, hanna combo meter...

i guess my main concerns are light and nutes. is it enough? has anyone used these nutes before? also, i'm ordering hash plant seeds from bcbd, has anyone dealt with them before? reliable?
 
It doesnt sound like enough light to do the entire area but you can concentrate your lights on each plant, thats what I try to do with my CFLs anyhow. If you get a chance to look at my journal, check out post #127 on page 9 you'll see how I made a reflector with 2 85 watt cfls for about $10, not including the light bulbs, those were like $60 from stealth hydroponics, but you dont need those to get started, its just to give you an idea to throw around and use how it fits you. When I saw this a dude had a 65 watt CFL (I think) and peeled open a soda can and made a reflector out of it, I thought it was awesome anyhow.

You will probably need more than that as far as nutes but you really dont need anything to get started at the very beginning. You will need what are called macro nutes I believe, you have the main important ones I am guessing because I am not familiar with AN nutes. Someone else will chime in on that I am sure.

Anyhow, dont go crazy in the beginning, you will have time to buy more of what you need as you go along. It sounds like you have enough to get started. I'd personally recommend to go with soil if this is your first grow, hydro is for people that know how to recognize problems with plants already. Problems with hydro plants dont slowly roll in like soil plants (most problems in soil plants anyhow certain probs can overtake you fast), you look at your plants before going to be and wake up and theres big problems real fast, I wouldnt listen to the people that went through it before me, and I went ahead and did it my way and suffered, if you look at that post I mentioned above you will see what I mean. Those are pics of my DWC plants that have died off or are dying as I type this. So if this is your first go round, think about it long and hard, dont rush it and plan it right, unlike me.. LOL..... Breeze through my journal if you have some time and you'll see what not to do, I made every rookie mistake and I am still making them.

But I wish you the best of luck, I am not the most experienced person here as I am still on my first grow, but I'll help you any way I can but I'll tell you if I dont know something before blowing smoke up your ass and giving you bullshit info.


Edit:

What are you growing anyways..... And some pics of your setup will help people go through and tell you whats wrong. Also I recommend getting your room setup and doing a dry run for atleast 24hrs to get a feel for what temps and humidity are gonna be like so you can adjust before not during.
 
ok, thanks dude

i've got them really close to the plants, and i don't plan on using the whole area, but are these bulbs just as good as say 85 watters? cuz they have good lumen output...thats why i went with six, is twice that too much?...
 
Over 24 square feet covered by 210 watts..... not even enough. I run about 700 watts covering about 6 square feet, and could use more. The standard that is bounced around in the forums is to try to get 50 watts per square foot. 40 or even 30 will be good, but you are at 8.

Also, a 35 watt CFL does not put out as much lumens as a 85 watt cfl. Or if i'm wrong, please point me to where I can find such.

Prairie
 
hmmm, discouraging replys

all i said was that my 35w have decent lumen output. i never made a comparison, and like i said, i will not be using the entire area...and i've noticed, that, it isn't the wattage that counts, but the lumen and kelvin rating of the bulb...i chose low wattage for a reason, and i can expand the area as needed, and add more.....but what about the nutes? anyone used em?
 
ok yeah, the comparisosn i made was a question on the ratio of lumen to watt. 85 to 35...i don't know the lumen output of an 85, but i'm assuming that two stratigacally placed 35's could be more beneficial than one 85. but maybe i'm wrong, thats why i'm here
 
nehemiah said:
ok yeah, the comparisosn i made was a question on the ratio of lumen to watt. 85 to 35...i don't know the lumen output of an 85, but i'm assuming that two stratigacally placed 35's could be more beneficial than one 85. but maybe i'm wrong, thats why i'm here
Click to expand...

Sorry if that came off harsh.

The 85 watt CFL's I have put out 4,200 lumens. How much are your 35's putting out? My 150 watt HPS puts out 16,000 lumens. This is all for four SCROGed plants.

When I started I looked over many sized bulbs. I think the most efficient in terms of wattage/lumens were the 42 watt bulbs.

I would suggest reading several of the journals on here. Seeing how others have done it will help answer some questions you have. Also it will create more questions too. <s>

Prairie
 
no, it's cool, i've had alot of people trying to talk me out of dwc, but i really enjoy the amount of work involved. kinda like my fish tanks. but my 35w put out 2400 lumens. i think i have 15000 lumens total. i will probably get more once they get taller. i'm doing a trial run with some beans i found, before i start the hash plant. and i got tired of waiting. i had to start nutes before most tutorials suggested, the water leaves were droopy, but i used 1/4 dose and they are growing sooo fast now. i'll post some pics. but really, thanks for the advice!
 
Hey there, I am also on my first grow. Hydro has had a pretty steep learning curve for me but I'm getting there. I've always been haunted by the "Go Big or Go Home" ideology, sometimes it works out and some times it goes south like my first set of plants. Either way, they folks on here want you to succeed at growing and make suggestions to make your first grows easier. Grow the way your heart tells you; I know I am.

One suggestion though, I would point those fans up or at least level to remove excess heat as they may get a good baking blowing down on the plants.

You can see what went wrong with my first plants and what I did with my CFL's in the links in my sig.

:goodluck:
 
yeah thanks. They're pointing at the door, behind the lights. Temps are steady 79 during the day and 77 at night. The thermometer is right next to the plants. But i'm still gonna move them, i'm gonna get more lights too, to be ready when they get bigger. I'm thinking 8-35w 6500k 2400L and 4-35w 2700k 2400L. Not bunched up, but scattered. Checked them today and some edges appeared to be curling up, but the leaves are bent in the direction of the fans, too much wind deformed them slightly i guess.

funny how i never used to remember the date, but now that i do a grow chart everyday i have no problem...
 
nehemiah said:
Picture34 - 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

I hurt my baby, will this be ok? should i put a snoopy bandaid on it or some thing?
Click to expand...

Yes, bandage it up. Something soft that the plant can grow into if possible. I have used plain tape, and duct tape. Wouldn't hurt to brace it also if it looks like it needs it.

Growing SCROG, I tend to break one or two stalks when I'm putting them under the screen.

Also I was meaning to ask you, you are monitoring the pH, right?

Prairie
 
yeah, i check it when i get home from work and it's between 6.3 and 6.5, then i bring it down, mixing out of res first,to 5.5. getting pretty good at it too. i have a hanna combo meter, how often should i calibrate? i planned on doing it every sun when i do water change, but it only varies like .03...
 
nehemiah said:
yeah, i check it when i get home from work and it's between 6.3 and 6.5, then i bring it down, mixing out of res first,to 5.5. getting pretty good at it too. i have a hanna combo meter, how often should i calibrate? i planned on doing it every sun when i do water change, but it only varies like .03...
Click to expand...

At first I calibrated once a week. Any more I do it once a month. Hardly ever have to adjust much, but I guess it keeps me sane.

Prairie
 
gave up on the dwc, have two survivors, come check out my grow with those and 4 hash plant seeds from bcbd in journals in progress: hash plant cfl soiless
 

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