steppedinds
Well-Known Member
Howdy all. Semi-newbie here. This will be my 2nd hydro grow, and 3rd indoor. This is a new setup compared to my last hydro grow, and I have fixed a lot of my problems from that attempt...hopefully. Still don't have everything I want, but it's one step at a time I guess. All seeds were purchased from a 420mag sponsor. I found a cheap tent setup on ebay that I figured was a good starting point for $547, and better than what I had. Definately would have been better off doing another week of research and ordering things seperately. Not necessarily for cost difference, but slightly better equipment and more specific for my setup/liking. The LEDs were weaker than anticipated, and since I just got rid of my 2 HPS to pay for the setup, I was out of luck. I ordered a few cheaper COB LEDs from China that fit in my budget as temporary solutions that actually surprised me in their power, just a very narrow coverage area.
- Strains : All are auto-fem strains from the same bank (they did very well for me last order so I figured I'd stick with what was proven). Strains are in order from left to right looking at the top pic (1- back left, 2- front left, 3- back right, 4- front right)
1. 4 x Haze
2. 4-1=3 x Cheese
3. 4 x Sweet Tooth
4. 4 x Hindu Kush
5. 1 x Great White Shark/Lemon Skunk (they were freebies/not labeled in the res, and one fell into the rez...not sure which one it was. it was too stunted to remain in the tent; relocated the surviving plant in the cheese res and removed a weak cheese plant to give them to friends...that too fell into the res around wk 2 (another reason I would not recommend these particular buckets, although others may be better)
- Life cycle stage : Currently in veg, showed preflowers @ day <48 (they were a little slow to start because of some crap LEDs that came with the setup. Should have checked lux to begin with. Aproximately 3 weeks behind schedule.
- Tent : 4' x 2' x 5' - 600D Polyester Nylon grow tent (leaks light around the zippers)
- Pots : 4 x 4 site 3.5 gal res (originally 5 buckets; weakest were removed and strong were reallocated 11-13-15. (Stunted passed to friend to practice hydro)
- Lighting : 4 (during veg), 6 (during flower) x 60w COB LED E27 (3x20w each Epistar)(ebay - also have 90w = 3 w x 30- really not a bad deal), 2 x 23w Phillips CFL ("100w equiv"), 2 x vertical 2700K-3000K Soft White 24" Florescent, 1 x vertical 6500K 24" Fluorescent (top LEDs - going to try and get something bigger with a wider coverage next grow or grow after)
- Ventilation : 4" 190 cfm inline fan w/ carbon filter (leaving outside the closet), 1 8" stainless steel floor fan, 1 6' floor fan pointing strait up (opposite side).
- CO2 : 20 lb CO2 tank with regulator/solenoid (just ordered CAP CO2-2e Controller - no sensor yet); running @ 10-15 psi ~1 min, every 2-3 hours during daytime after opening/venting/letting out heat/humidity. Started CO2 on day 45.
- Lighting Schedule - 24/7
- Temp : 78-90 F
- Humidity : 50-88% (humidifier or ac to fix this)
- PH of res : ~5.5 (color blind so it's hard to tell. plan on getting a digital pH meter asap)
- Pests/Disease : None
- Water changes/Fertilization : once a week
- Ferts : Currently full str GH Flora series Performance Pack - Week 3 schedule
- Germination : 24 seedlings were planted in pre-soaked 1/8th grow solution that came with the setup I ordered on ebay in cloning tray w/ lid under 2700-3000k fluorescent lights for 7 days. 20/24 sprouted, so I added an extra 4 site bucket to the tent to grow the other 4 till I could remove the weaker ones. They were then moved into the DWC buckets in the tent @ 1/2 fert solution @ week 2 schedule of GH Flora Series Performance Pack with the 3 24" fluorescent corner vertical lights and the 2 x 12w LEDs. The lights that came with the kit had 225 R/G LEDs, just assumed they were the 3w...they were not lol. 12w total each.
- CFLs : added 8 23w (100w equiv) Phillips CFLs on day 38, followed by 4 x 60w (3w x 20) COB LEDs on day 41
- FIM - FIM technique was used on larger plants on day 41
- LST : Started on day 47 (day before these pics/post)(plan on tightening bend tomorrow or next. Since these buckets do not have a connected rez, I dont plan on using a scrog or trellis. Next grow I plan on getting the Superponics 16-site top fed system to accommodate this since it has a drain. Also, I've had some problems with rockwool cubes not getting nutrient solution because I put too much hydroton underneath them (problem during seedling stage and early veg). These plants seem to be noticeably smaller during the first few weeks vs those with only a small layer of hydroton underneath the rockwoll cube and are staying wet. Hypothesize top fed may eliminate this.
I'll try to update this as much as I can. Can't promise much with work and school as it is right now, but I'll at least try to get some pics every few days and add them when I can. Constructive feedback is absolutely welcomed and more than appreciated. Also, I'm no expert, but I'll be more than happy to share what info I can that may help others out.
- Strains : All are auto-fem strains from the same bank (they did very well for me last order so I figured I'd stick with what was proven). Strains are in order from left to right looking at the top pic (1- back left, 2- front left, 3- back right, 4- front right)
1. 4 x Haze
2. 4-1=3 x Cheese
3. 4 x Sweet Tooth
4. 4 x Hindu Kush
5. 1 x Great White Shark/Lemon Skunk (they were freebies/not labeled in the res, and one fell into the rez...not sure which one it was. it was too stunted to remain in the tent; relocated the surviving plant in the cheese res and removed a weak cheese plant to give them to friends...that too fell into the res around wk 2 (another reason I would not recommend these particular buckets, although others may be better)
- Life cycle stage : Currently in veg, showed preflowers @ day <48 (they were a little slow to start because of some crap LEDs that came with the setup. Should have checked lux to begin with. Aproximately 3 weeks behind schedule.
- Tent : 4' x 2' x 5' - 600D Polyester Nylon grow tent (leaks light around the zippers)
- Pots : 4 x 4 site 3.5 gal res (originally 5 buckets; weakest were removed and strong were reallocated 11-13-15. (Stunted passed to friend to practice hydro)
- Lighting : 4 (during veg), 6 (during flower) x 60w COB LED E27 (3x20w each Epistar)(ebay - also have 90w = 3 w x 30- really not a bad deal), 2 x 23w Phillips CFL ("100w equiv"), 2 x vertical 2700K-3000K Soft White 24" Florescent, 1 x vertical 6500K 24" Fluorescent (top LEDs - going to try and get something bigger with a wider coverage next grow or grow after)
- Ventilation : 4" 190 cfm inline fan w/ carbon filter (leaving outside the closet), 1 8" stainless steel floor fan, 1 6' floor fan pointing strait up (opposite side).
- CO2 : 20 lb CO2 tank with regulator/solenoid (just ordered CAP CO2-2e Controller - no sensor yet); running @ 10-15 psi ~1 min, every 2-3 hours during daytime after opening/venting/letting out heat/humidity. Started CO2 on day 45.
- Lighting Schedule - 24/7
- Temp : 78-90 F
- Humidity : 50-88% (humidifier or ac to fix this)
- PH of res : ~5.5 (color blind so it's hard to tell. plan on getting a digital pH meter asap)
- Pests/Disease : None
- Water changes/Fertilization : once a week
- Ferts : Currently full str GH Flora series Performance Pack - Week 3 schedule
- Germination : 24 seedlings were planted in pre-soaked 1/8th grow solution that came with the setup I ordered on ebay in cloning tray w/ lid under 2700-3000k fluorescent lights for 7 days. 20/24 sprouted, so I added an extra 4 site bucket to the tent to grow the other 4 till I could remove the weaker ones. They were then moved into the DWC buckets in the tent @ 1/2 fert solution @ week 2 schedule of GH Flora Series Performance Pack with the 3 24" fluorescent corner vertical lights and the 2 x 12w LEDs. The lights that came with the kit had 225 R/G LEDs, just assumed they were the 3w...they were not lol. 12w total each.
- CFLs : added 8 23w (100w equiv) Phillips CFLs on day 38, followed by 4 x 60w (3w x 20) COB LEDs on day 41
- FIM - FIM technique was used on larger plants on day 41
- LST : Started on day 47 (day before these pics/post)(plan on tightening bend tomorrow or next. Since these buckets do not have a connected rez, I dont plan on using a scrog or trellis. Next grow I plan on getting the Superponics 16-site top fed system to accommodate this since it has a drain. Also, I've had some problems with rockwool cubes not getting nutrient solution because I put too much hydroton underneath them (problem during seedling stage and early veg). These plants seem to be noticeably smaller during the first few weeks vs those with only a small layer of hydroton underneath the rockwoll cube and are staying wet. Hypothesize top fed may eliminate this.
I'll try to update this as much as I can. Can't promise much with work and school as it is right now, but I'll at least try to get some pics every few days and add them when I can. Constructive feedback is absolutely welcomed and more than appreciated. Also, I'm no expert, but I'll be more than happy to share what info I can that may help others out.