First Time Grower - 400 Watt HPS-MH - Hybrid Hydroponics - Big Bang Auto Fem

[velomania]

Hello and welcome,

I will definitely give the time to try to fully explain my first experience, new growers may find this interesting and could learn from the many mistakes I am sure I will commit .

First of all let me tell you what is the goal of this project: I would like to produce large quantities and I am seriously considering taking growing as a full time job. I know that a lot of the items I picked can be home made for much less money, and I know this is NOT a beginner friendly kit/tools =) but as I've said I will be giving a lot of time and dedication to this.



So let's begin


11.05.2014 (day 0)
I am now about to purchase what I hope to be the complete set of things I need to get growing. Please do help me rating these items. I will also post a couple of questions that I have in mind, any help is much appreciated

-Nutrient Syringe
-HTGSupply Curved Blade Scissors
-Spray Bottle
-Scalpel
-HTG 400w Original Stacker Bubble Boy Grow Tent Kit, I customized the following:
SunMaster 400w MH
Advanced Nutrients pH Perfect Grow, Mico, Bloom
SunMaster 400w MH Conversion Neutral Deluxe
MaxWing Reflector​
-Hanna pH/EC Combo WaterProof Tester
-Humidity Dome
-Standard Nursery Flat Tray
-6 Pack Seed Starter
-Exhale CO2 Bag
-Clonex Clone Kit
-pH DOWN(and UP) by General Hydroponics 1qt
-Dyna-Gro Neem Oil

The total is (1237$) with (117$) taxes and shipping.
The seeds I chose are AK48 feminized (5 seeds) from Nirvana.
Now a few questions follow:
Is this a decent deal?
What do you think about the seeds and their pricing?
Am I missing something?
Should I get a cloning bucket while I am at it or is it too early?
I've had the option to pick a gift from HTG, I've picked HTG Supply 2 Foot 2 Lamp PL-55 Tek Lamp (gives 10k lumens and I picked the lights suitable for veg growth). Was this a good choice?Can a mother survive when only using this light?
I am not sure about the reflector, should I be getting one with a cooling system of some sort?
Is getting the Hanna meter necessary? After a lot of confusing reading I understood it isn't super required, but how good of an investment is it for the future?

 

[ColoradoKid]

Re: First time grower!400 W HPS/MH, Hydroponic(hybrid), AK-47 feminized.

I would not bother with the ph up. I never ever ever need up. Only down. I have a full quart bottle of up that is only several years old you can have for free. It looks like you are getting your equipment together. I think that you should do quite well with your grow. I have always had good results with Nirvana's beans and the price seems fair. I am not sure about what is and is not a good deal anymore. I haven't bought any new equipment for several years now, with the exception of my new LED lamp. I would not get the clone bucket yet. The PL-55 Tek Lamp looks nice but how easily can you get replacement bulbs. I run down to my local grow stores to grab replacement bulbs. The reflector is good if you have good airflow and cooling in your grow tent. It will work well for you. I think that the Hanna Meter is a good investment. It is a quality product that does the work of 2 meters. I am sure that other people will pop in and give you some opinions as well.

 

[velomania]

Re: First time grower!400 W HPS/MH, Hydroponic(hybrid), AK-47 feminized.

Okay I will cross it of the list then What do you think about the general plan tho ?

 

[ColoradoKid]

You need some odor control I think. I didn't see any listed unless I missed it.

 

[trichomes]

Looks like you are doing it right v, you're getting good help from these members,

stop by my yard and post a question for us, we'll be glad to help you with your final decision

if you'd like a couple opinions/ suggestions, the link is below!

 

[velomania]

Hi guys what is up? I'm sorry I've been away for some time. Since I left I learned quite a bit and was able to purchase almost the same stuff from another vendor in Europe, I was so lucky with this purchase because the items are top quality and they have an all around good service. pm me if you would like to seek this vendor

As my seeds are late I started germinating some Amnesia Haze that I was smoking myself. Here is something for you guys =)

 

[velomania]

Hi and welcome to a new update, I think I am not posting slowly but with the right speed so that you guys won't get bored of my journal .


So what's going on?
SETUP:
Tent 1:
-1.2x1.2x2m
-400W MH Sonlight
-THE crappiest reflector ever built
-x2 ventilation fans
-exhaust with carbon filter
-CO2 release bag
-Humidifier
-2 DWC buckets
-Yaroots(r) 4 bucket drip system

Tent 2:
-1x1x1.8m
-Pretty much empty

PLANTS:
Keeping - pH at about 5.4~5.7
-EC 1.1~1.3

-Well once upon a time I was high as FLOWER and I found one seed in my Amnesia Haze pot which I decided to germinate, here it is now:
This plant is 3 weeks old now(from seedling to this).

I've been feeding her the following:
-1 ml/l Hydrogrow X+Y
-2 m/l Rootbooster
Now that the three weeks are over I'm giving her:
-1.5 ml/l HYdrogrow X+Y
-A couple of ml of root booster to avoid the sudden withdraw of the substance.

-I bought 'Big Bang' seeds from their original bank keeper, been feeding them the same as Amnesia, but as you can see I have 3 batches growing at different times sort of... But I think it is okay just because they are so bushy like.

So I'd like to ask some questions now:
-Is the growth speed good?
-What do you think about the nutrient scheme so far? Also what do you think about this scheme that was provided from the vendor I bought the nutrients from.

-Lastly I want to ask which tent should be for flowering and which for mother keeping and clone growing? What kind of lamp do you suggest for the mother keeper(Something efficient but that would also allow clones to grow rapidly) ? I have a 400W MH/HPS bulps now.
-PLEASE PLEASE give me as much criticism as possible, I am really putting a lot of money and effort on my grow.

 

[Dennise]

About all I got is things look great but I grow totally different and have no idea how to do what you are doing but you obviously do. Your girls look great....

 

[velomania]

Many thanks for having a look at my journal ^_^ I am going through your links now, quite interesting stuff.

About all I got is things look great but I grow totally different and have no idea how to do what you are doing but you obviously do. Your girls look great....

 

[Spimp]

Looks like you are on the right track!
Im fairly uncomfortable commenting too much with your advanced setup and my tiny amount of experience, But Id be happy to follow along and crack an occasional joke or three.

 

[b.real]

subbed.

 

[B A R]

 

[KingJohnC]

Subscribed. Either tent could be used for your mother tent or your flowering tent, a larger flowering tent would be practical. If you were in North America I would have suggested buying from a 420 Magazine sponsor, Advanced Gardening for Indoor Hydroponic Grow Rooms and Organic Greenhouses has very reasonably priced packages for someone looking for a complete kit. If you notice your grow tent temperature is too warm you could use a cooltube reflector and vent the heat away from your plants. You can see how I have my equipment set up in my KingJohnC 400 Watt LA Confidential Seed Cabinet Soil Indoor Grow Journal. I would either use a Metal Halide light bulb to vegetate your plants with for rapid growth or I would use a LED panel for vegetative growth.

https://www.perfectgardens.com grow-tent-packages

KingJohnC's 400 Watt LA Confidential Seed Cabinet Soil Indoor Grow Journal

 

[velomania]

Hi friend,
Many thanks for your reply, I went through the journal you sent, and wow! Sweet stuff man.
There is a tiny fan which is supposed to be cooling the bulb, but it's not haha, so there is a cool tube coming soon
Well I have a few follow up questions if you don't mind:
-Growers talk about making a mother 'survive' which means I am trying to keep the plan in a relatively stable structure as I trim clones. With an 400W MH bulp the clones will grow pretty fast (as I've seen how the seedlings thrived with the MH bulb) but the mother would also grow, should I just trim it? Also the clones are relatively very short in comparison to the mother, where should I set the light?

-If I will choose the larger tent for flowering and install the 400W HPS instead of MH what light would you recommend for the smaller tent(to keep the mothers and grow the clones)?

Subscribed. Either tent could be used for your mother tent or your flowering tent, a larger flowering tent would be practical. If you were in North America I would have suggested buying from a 420 Magazine sponsor, Advanced Gardening for Indoor Hydroponic Grow Rooms and Organic Greenhouses has very reasonably priced packages for someone looking for a complete kit. If you notice your grow tent temperature is too warm you could use a cooltube reflector and vent the heat away from your plants. You can see how I have my equipment set up in my KingJohnC 400 Watt LA Confidential Seed Cabinet Soil Indoor Grow Journal. I would either use a Metal Halide light bulb to vegetate your plants with for rapid growth or I would use a LED panel for vegetative growth.

https://www.perfectgardens.com grow-tent-packages

KingJohnC's 400 Watt LA Confidential Seed Cabinet Soil Indoor Grow Journal

 

[KingJohnC]

Hi friend,
Many thanks for your reply, I went through the journal you sent, and wow! Sweet stuff man.
There is a tiny fan which is supposed to be cooling the bulb, but it's not haha, so there is a cool tube coming soon
Well I have a few follow up questions if you don't mind:
-Growers talk about making a mother 'survive' which means I am trying to keep the plan in a relatively stable structure as I trim clones. With an 400W MH bulp the clones will grow pretty fast (as I've seen how the seedlings thrived with the MH bulb) but the mother would also grow, should I just trim it? Also the clones are relatively very short in comparison to the mother, where should I set the light?

-If I will choose the larger tent for flowering and install the 400W HPS instead of MH what light would you recommend for the smaller tent(to keep the mothers and grow the clones)?

excess growth can be removed from mother plants as required. You may be able to lower your light. Place your hand underneath the light bulb to the point you can not feel any heat from it and move your light above your canopy at that level, raise the light as your plants grow. I would recommend either a Metal Halide light bulb for vegetative growth or a LED light panel for vegetative growth for your clones and mother plants. I keep mother plants under Florescent lights also.

 

[velomania]

Hey guys, what's up?

I am here for a quick update

Here are the tech info

• DWC #1 Amnesia Haze
  EC 1.6 S
  Temp 27 dC
  pH 5.6
• DWC #2 Big Bang
  EC 1.8
  Temp 29 dC
  pH 5.6
• Yaroots 4 pot Big Bang
  EC 2 S ( I know this is high, I already diluted from 3. I didn't want to change the reservoir before posting a question regarding nutrients here).
  Temp 22 dC (Is this low?)
  pH 5.5

Now that the boring stuff is written down check out my girls
Setup:

Amnesia Haze:
Front

Back

Close-up

Is there any telling at this point if it's a he or a she?
Big Bang:

Questions:

1. As you can see the Yaroots is holding 4 plants, 2 are clearly younger. I will be changing the reservoir tomorrow and I want to know if I should use the Rootbooster with the same higher proportion as the first two weeks?The bigger plants developed crazy roots that got out of the pot ^^ But I am not sure the smaller ones got their fill of Rootbooster. Suggestions?
2. Is it okay growing the Amnesia like this? As you can see I am trying to direct all the leaves to the light due to the nature of my setup.

 

[b.real]

nice plants. you can upload photos directly to this site by clicking gallery (top left) > upload photos.

 

[velomania]

Sorry B, haven't been on forums for some time Didn't know I can do that.

Please tell me what you think about the general situation, as it's my first time growing every detailed opinion is very appreciated

nice plants. you can upload photos directly to this site by clicking gallery (top left) > upload photos.

 

[b.real]

I think all the plants look great. there are no startling signs of stress that I can see. how far away is the light? one of the plants is stretching a little more than normal.

I can't tell the sex of the plant.

 

[KingJohnC]

It is too early to sex your cannabis plant. Here is everything you should need to know to post full size photographs.

Photo Gallery Guide: How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos