Mentor/s Needed

[wildride]

Hi, first time indoor grower here ( outside expirience though ) needing some guidance so as not to screw up again ( heat issues/ Fox Tailing first rough attempt ). First allow me to explain where I am at. I have a rough 10 x 14 room, with 3 1000 watt ( going to 5 ) digital ballast run lights. I have 5 600 watts digital ballasts sitting and waiting as well (they are all Quantum or Ace Ballasts). Going to use 5 Gallon Pails for the Hydro System I am going to set up. I have 3 small commercial Air pumps rated at 1300 Gph each , 2 inline 6" fans 400 Cfm, small portable air conditioner, couple fans, using Green Planet Hydro food, hortilux bulbs, and using a clay pellet for medium in rough hydro setup beside my dirt ones.

I have general growing knowledge, can clone and graft with very very low loss rate, and have a general understanding of plant growth. Privacy is not an issue as I am Licenced for me, my wife, and a friend shortly, and I have a house purchased just for this. Above equipment was purchased Hastily to begin experimenting before I was ready to go full tilt.

I have 20 Different Strains that I have Purchased from different companies and some Reg seeds for cross breeding at a later date. Also I will be looking at around 70 plants when in full swing.

Questions I am have are.

0. How to Setup Air circulation with fans? Air intake/exhaust, types of fans, how to vent etc..?

1. Should I stick with Hid or go to Led or Something else?

2. Hydro or dirt? If Hydro what type of system? Diagrams or setup instructions anywhere?

3. Type of food?

4. Worth using Co2?

5. Where to buy supplies ( my closest hydro shop is over an hour away)

6. Would like to do a grow journal, should I do 1 or 20?

I just would like to go with some proven methods from experienced people, at times there is too much information to sort through. I am growing the different strains for different effects for various medical issues, that's why I am trying so many strains.

Any help, guidance, or mentorship would be appreciated greatly, Thank you.

 

[Scientific]

Hi WR -- I'll take a whack at a few of these.

1. Should I stick with Hid or go to Led or Something else?
It looks like you already have lights (or at least ballasts?) so switching to LED sounds expensive and unnecessary?

2. Hydro or dirt? If Hydro what type of system? Diagrams or setup instructions anywhere?
(Agronomy types say "soil." ) Since you're already used to soil outside, that would seem to be easiest. Hydro can give awesome yields, but there is a lot to learn. Maybe just start with one, five-gallon deep water culture setup?

3. Type of food?
For hydro, I have used General Hydroponics Flora Series with good results. Advanced Nutrients' "pH Perfect" system is supposed to free you from having to pay so much attention to pH and has followers here. Check the hydroponics forum.

4. Worth using Co2?
I think CO2 is for advanced indoor growers and probably best reserved for a later grow. You'll have enough to deal with on your first indoor grow without having to worry about a sealed system, PPM CO2 in the atmosphere, etc.

5. Where to buy supplies ( my closest hydro shop is over an hour away)
Amazon has just about everything you'll need. No friendly guy to answer your questions, but they deliver.

6. Would like to do a grow journal, should I do 1 or 20?
I don't understand what you mean by "1 or 20," but doing a grow journal can be fun. To get people to actually read it, try to keep it brief, interesting, and most importantly include lots of great photos.

And of course the Internet and YouTube are your friends! There is such a mind-boggling amount of great info out there these days.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[wildride]

Thanks, ill try and clarify my questions abit. Ive dabbled in Hydro but not on a large setup, Ive used 5 Gal Pails individually and in a 4 bucket w/Rez setup, also a Diy Cloner. I know the basics Ppm, Heat stress, Air Circ, etc but only 2 plants my first time, then 4 the second. All Diy but just from head so not certain setup best, missed the hydro forum when I was looking earlier.

1. For my Lights: Going to need to double my current capacity and with changing bulbs every grow I thought Leds might be considerable less draw and heat with more yield but I do not personally know anyone who has ran Leds.

2. Dirt/Soil : Curious about yields vs cost on the Dirt/ Soil. If Hydro Definatly best then I have the means and the room to run either a large hydro setup or about 20 various smaller ones ( 4 bucket systems ). I was going to do to test various types of Hydro setups ( deep Water, Aero, drip, etc..), Food, lights and such but was hoping to find someone who is already running a top line system so I can Learn( follow journals etc..) and avoid the main testing phase I was planning ( so I wouldnt waste a 3 month run potentially by testing diff setups ).

3. Food: Found the Hydro Forum thanks

4. Co/2 : My rooms are sealed now for ventilation and I can afford the monitors for the co/2 was wondering if anyone had expirience and could tell if yield/ quality was worth the cost and effort.

5. Amazon has been my goto so far, the stuff works ok but all seems the be china Hydro Farm or thier subsidiaries and I was not sure if they were worth it. Sounds Like the are. Thanks.

6. Journals: I cracked 20 Different strains from various companies, Should I do a diff journal for each Strain if I go with a 20 Bucket system or just 1 journal for everything. If I do 10 - 20 Different Setups in 4 bucket systems, should I do 1 journal for all or a journal for each setup?


I was Looking for some of the best journals to look up on, so I can Learn, copy, improve and go from there. The thought of setting up 20 Different systems sounds seriously more time consuming and risky than follow a very good tried and true method. Thanks