My First Grow - Is This Normal?

[Mark30g]

I use Hydrofarm's Analog 15amp timers with two outlets.

Thanks Jandre i just took a look over their and i can see that they're grounded so thats why these have busted then i take it?? So the connection that fits into it are not the standard 3pin plugs that we have hear.
So i gather that timers need to be grounded otherwise they'll bust/brake so what else do i need to run this type of timer please.
Only ever seen the 2prongened they have in Europe Turkey and Greece.

 

[jandre2k3]

Shyte, I forget you're on DC there. I dunno, mate. I've had several electronic timers and all have taken a dirt nap. The analog, physical switch type have never failed me.

 

[Mark30g]

Shyte, I forget you're on DC there. I dunno, mate. I've had several electronic timers and all have taken a dirt nap. The analog, physical switch type have never failed me.

What does this mean then bro DC???
I gather it's electrical tho lol.
I had Analog timer by pro grow but switches are all busted but then I have had 3 grows out of it lol.

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[jandre2k3]

I'm not quite sure what it all means, but I would suggest that you stick with the analog timers.

 

[Mark30g]

I'm not quite sure what it all means, but I would suggest that you stick with the analog timers.

Ok will do, Thanks Jandre.
So how often do you replace yours? I'm assuming that you don't have to then is it.


So getting nearer to flowering in 2weeks and will need to get my act together regarding the pictures as it is easier when 1 can see.

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[Mark30g]

Vegging for 3.5 WKS seems to be going nicely.
lights cycle 24hrs (due to being so cold in attic, will run GLR once the other two seedlings are stable and strong.).
Nutrients Dutch Pro Gro A&B &
Ec@2.4 (was Ec 1.9 due to N-deficiency I increased it)
Reservoir temp@ 17.4C
GR temp@ 69.4F - 78.3F
Distance from light 8-10inches (lowered it due to low temps 69.4F)
Also dropped the speed settings on Oscillating fan (2speed) 1st speed due to low Temps as I gather I needs it(GrowRoom) between 69.F - 79.f ????

Some Pictures (Long over due and think I have got it regarding uploading from my phone lol, simplicity hey)

ps sorry about the poor quality btw will work on that next.

Also the 1s picture has been crushed by the Oscillating fan lol due to a Bee flying into he GR from within the attic (strange hey, No beehive like the Mrs just said) My thoughts are this bee took shelter thus going into Hibernation mode and awoke once it felt the warmth cheeky buggy bee lol.
So I will need to disinfect the whole GR because of this and would like to know what form of cleaning products you use! Or better still I think I should've asked what is safe what I can use but keeping it cheap but getting the job done right?
Kind regards

 

[jandre2k3]

A bee you don't need to worry about. Those are the natural pollinators. What you do have to worry about now, is if that bee brought in male pollen........ There's no morning after pill for that union.

There's no need to disinfect unless you start seeing a problem, leave it alone..

 

[Mark30g]

Haha I loved that one my friend and have had me in stitches bro pmsfl LOVE IT "But So True my friend and thanks for the reminder"

Disinfection, I never had any probs on my last grow but did use a weak soapy solution in GR.

Nutrients Veg stage;(Sorry for being a pain bro) Will use the Liter bottles of Dutch pro A+B (Rather than waiste money true), I realize now!!! what i should be asking you? due to you being in the Us is that if you were living here in sunny UK(i wish) What nutrients would you use as the postage is expensive to be shipped in for the BPN feeds, As i am all out of Bloom Nutrients and not sure to go back with what i'm used to or change to try things out and now i am not so bothered if it is 1 part or 2part feeds.


Ideas on a Veg room for 1 mum and cuttings to establish before flower room as i realise and also been given permission to go ahaed with a veg room, But unsure on how big i'll need things and what else you advise me to get as all i have for a veg room so far is
1x Bubbler for Mum
1x Light shade which if i remember you saying cut of the connection and attach a plug and use a MH Bulb Thus saving me money for other things as i can either use the bubbler for a mum or for cuttings and have about £80-£100 this is including a inline fan for my cooltube (although with the temps right down for the the next 2 seasons this can wait so i can have more to play on veg room)
Would appreciate all your help/advice.

 

[jandre2k3]

Okay....

Don't really "need" a MH bulb. If you have the extra ballast, and bulb, use it, but T5's work great for Veg. Hell CFL work great for Veg if you have enough of them. Make sure whatever you use supplies the "Blue" spectrum, because the plants use more of the "blue light" in veg, than they do it flower. Gonna need some way to clone, starting out, would be easy for a rockwool medium, and a humidity dome. Mondi makes a killer set-up for cloning search "Mondi mini greenhouse". Extremely durable domes, nice and heavy, and crystal clear. Black plastic tray. Don't use the peat pellets, though. Rockwool "Starter Cubes" and some rooting Gel. I have a how-to on that exact medium. Cloning: Mad Simple - A Beginner's Guide

You'll need a light fixture for clones, no timer needed as 24/0 is really good for clones. You'll need LOTS of light for veg, oscillating fan, pump, res, medium, tray, timer. I suggest 1 60cm HO T5 "blue" per 20cm Veg Space. and at least 1L in your res for each plant per week. So say you have 20 clones going into Veg-and-selection. You need a 20L res, and at least 15x15cm space per 4 clones. As they get bigger and you start to select good clones and cull the weaker ones, you'll need 15x15cm per 1 clone. Then you can select from there what will go into flower. I also suggest you get at least 7.5cm net cups to receive your rockwool starter cubes and new rooted clones. This will provide a good base for roots, and a sturdy area around the rockwool to keep it from coming apart in your veg and flower spaces...

 

[Mark30g]

I have 1 Ballst which is connected to Cooltube but the hood that came with the ballast i'm not using but thought i could run a MH bulb thus saving me money towards what i need.

Aww i see now the Mondi mini greenhouse is for the cloning and all the rest of the pumps and stuff is for a sort of ebb and flow.
So first of then i think i'll need a 75cmX75X125 GR then or the 80x80cm???? and the lighting you suggested "60cm HO T5 "blue" per 20cm Veg Space" now i don't get the last part per 20cm??(will this mean i'll need 3X = 60 cubic feet??? As i'm lost now lol.

Right then, see if i have this right?
Mondi for cuttings
oscillating fan, pump, res, medium, tray, timer are for the rooted cuttings i gather and was wondering is the a set up where i can do the cuttings and leave them for 24weeks to establish before going into the Atami wilma as all i fear is not being able to spray the Mondi mini Gh 3 times a day and was wondering is there anything out there what will help me for for this? Or am i better of just going with what you've said???

 

[jandre2k3]

I have 1 Ballast which is connected to Cooltube but the hood that came with the ballast i'm not using but thought i could run a MH bulb thus saving me money towards what i need.

Aww i see now the Mondi mini greenhouse is for the cloning and all the rest of the pumps and stuff is for a sort of ebb and flow.
So first of then i think i'll need a 75cmX75X125 GR then or the 80x80cm???? and the lighting you suggested "60cm HO T5 "blue" per 20cm Veg Space" now i don't get the last part per 20cm??(will this mean i'll need 3X = 60 cubic feet??? As i'm lost now lol.

Right then, see if i have this right?
Mondi for cuttings
oscillating fan, pump, res, medium, tray, timer are for the rooted cuttings i gather and was wondering is the a set up where i can do the cuttings and leave them for 24weeks to establish before going into the Atami wilma as all i fear is not being able to spray the Mondi mini Gh 3 times a day and was wondering is there anything out there what will help me for for this? Or am i better of just going with what you've said???

Here's the big plus to using Rockwool under a Mondi vented dome: Close the vents, presoak your rockwool in 5.5 pH solution take more than 12 cuttings, and the moisture in the cubes will hold the 95% RH inside needed for keeping your cuttings moisture level up. Also, if taking less than that, I have a 4x4x4 inch rockwool "Gro Block" that I soak with water, and put that in there with the cuttings to keep RH up. What you're looking for is for water condensation on the inside of the dome at least halfway up the sides of the clear plastic. The top can be clear, and that's actually better to let as much light through as possible.


If you're thinking an ebb & flow system for your rooted cuttings... I have a great tut' on how to make your own.

DIY Ebb & Flow



Now as far as the lighting: Whatever length you get of T5's, you will be placing them side-by-side Lengthwise. So they run ||||| something like the ties of a railroad track (the wood in between the rails). I would suggest having each fixture NO FURTHER than 20cm from the next.

 

[Mark30g]

Here's the big plus to using Rockwool under a Mondi vented dome: Close the vents, presoak your rockwool in 5.5 pH solution take more than 12 cuttings, and the moisture in the cubes will hold the 95% RH inside needed for keeping your cuttings moisture level up. Also, if taking less than that, I have a 4x4x4 inch rockwool "Gro Block" that I soak with water, and put that in there with the cuttings to keep RH up. What you're looking for is for water condensation on the inside of the dome at least halfway up the sides of the clear plastic. The top can be clear, and that's actually better to let as much light through as possible.

If you're thinking an ebb & flow system for your rooted cuttings... I have a great tut' on how to make your own.

DIY Ebb & Flow

Now as far as the lighting: Whatever length you get of T5's, you will be placing them side-by-side Lengthwise. So they run ||||| something like the ties of a railroad track (the wood in between the rails). I would suggest having each fixture NO FURTHER than 20cm from the next.

Cuttings I think i'm a lot confidant once I have the right equipment.

Ebb and flow for cuttings.
So basically I can put the rooted cuttings from mini greenhouse into either ebb and flow and only use grow cubes as this would be simpler for me to strip down and clean as the Atami wilma I wait for reservoir to be near empty and then clean them so this would great.
So once they come out of the mini greenhouse and into the ebb N flow how long do one veg them before throwing into flowering.

Veg space and lighting.
So if I go with T5s I gather I'd need 2-3 T5s for a Veg space between 60 -75 cm square and height is 120cm.
as I was thinking to use the Mh bulb with the light wing and fix a plug onto it.

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[jandre2k3]

Cuttings I think i'm a lot confidant once I have the right equipment.

Ebb and flow for cuttings.
So basically I can put the rooted cuttings from mini greenhouse into either ebb and flow and only use grow cubes as this would be simpler for me to strip down and clean as the Atami wilma I wait for reservoir to be near empty and then clean them so this would great.
So once they come out of the mini greenhouse and into the ebb N flow how long do one veg them before throwing into flowering.

Veg space and lighting.
So if I go with T5s I gather I'd need 2-3 T5s for a Veg space between 60 -75 cm square and height is 120cm.
as I was thinking to use the Mh bulb with the light wing and fix a plug onto it.

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The MH Bulb needs a ballast. It does not work like a regular bulb, the hotter it gets, the more voltage it needs to stay lit. This is the lob of the ballast, to steadily raise voltage as demand gets greater, and greater. If you do not have a ballast, DO NOT rewire a plug to it and plug it into your wall outlet. Get the ballast rated for your wattage.

Otherwise, if you do not want to get a ballast for your MH light, go get T5's. They don't veg as well as a MH, and need to be closer to the plants, but they do save on energy, run cooler, and are comparatively less expensive. T5's do an adequate job of vegging in my experience if you provide the plants with enough of them. This is the reason I said earlier 1 per 20cm. Just make sure that they stay about 7cm to 4cm from the tops of the plants. If they touch, though, you will have some burning in the contact areas. For an area that is 65x75, I would use four T5's to provide enough even lighting across all your plants. If you use three, the edges on either side will be shadowed, and the plant may go into a semi flower state, and produce only one blade/finger per fan leaf.

 

[Mark30g]

Ok, i see now about the MH bulb and only said it because local hydro man said so lol, Joke huh m8.

So with this said and what you've just explained would it be cheaper to run 4T5's or a 250hps or 250hps dimmable ballast.
As i don't want to over load the extension lead with 8 plugs as if i went with the T5's i'd have to but another 4 way ext and i'm guessing is this possible to have this amount of power running through 2 4 way ext and a 5m ext cable. As i am worried as it is but it's all been fine.

 

[Mark30g]

What did you use to make your flower and veg room please?
As i been seeing Mylar on rolls and imeadiatly thought of your GR@s.

 

[jandre2k3]

1 60cn HO T5 is 24w

4x24=96w TOTAL.

250w-96w=134w SAVED

To make your GR, Use something durable and lightproof that you have around the house. Mylar is reflective, but not lightproof. Alternatively, you can get:Hydroponic Grow Tent - Black Buy new: £72.99 Secret Jardin Dark Street DRS60 (60x60x140cm) Grow Tent Buy new: £74.99 Pretty cheap for a grow tent. Amazon.co.uk It's small enough to fit into your space you have set aside, too.

 

[Mark30g]

1 60cn HO T5 is 24w

4x24=96w TOTAL.

250w-96w=134w SAVED

To make your GR, Use something durable and lightproof that you have around the house. Mylar is reflective, but not lightproof. Alternatively, you can get:Hydroponic Grow Tent - Black Buy new: £72.99 Secret Jardin Dark Street DRS60 (60x60x140cm) Grow Tent Buy new: £74.99 Pretty cheap for a grow tent. Amazon.co.uk It's small enough to fit into your space you have set aside, too.

Yea those figures sounds great thanks for clearing that up for me m8.

Yea I'm going to go with a grow tent.

Remember when we spoke about the Cheese Ph probs? ?
Drying flowering??
Well the last 2wks my Ph 5.8-6.1 the other 2 Cheisel are flourishing lovely but this Cheese strain seems to be going bright yellow so I'm just waiting for the reservoir to go down a bit before I change ad the Cheisel seems to be in harmony so I don't want to mess just yet.

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[Mark30g]

Yea makes sense to go with the 250hps may try for a dimmable 1? Any thoughts bro.

GR yea I think I'd be better of getting a grow tent but wish I more room as I'd use my Gr for veg but until I have more room I'll have to settle for what I have.
So space I have is limited and I only have 140 height yo play with as above this and I lose out n width space due to shape of the attic. So 80x80x120 or 140 will be just right but will need to double check.

I have to stop leaving water changes to late as if I'm to go down this road then I'll need to make sure I do this on each and every fortnight as I couldn't do it over the weekend I've noticed the yellowing ph sign like last time but this time I've caught it and have but fresh nutes in so things should be fine for a short while I hope.
will upload pic now

 

[jandre2k3]

Yeah change res and CLEAN every 14 days. Check pH every day.

Gonna go with the bigger light? Could cost you less up front, but more on the back with higher power bill. Less setup, though, and easier to cool. Dimmable is gonna cost you more, I think, but you can check it out. JDL has some dimmable ballasts. Just have to make sure your bulb is digi-safe. I stick with the magnetic, though: More reliable IMO.

 

[Mark30g]

Yeah change res and CLEAN every 14 days. Check pH every day.

Gonna go with the bigger light? Could cost you less up front, but more on the back with higher power bill. Less setup, though, and easier to cool. Dimmable is gonna cost you more, I think, but you can check it out. JDL has some dimmable ballasts. Just have to make sure your bulb is digi-safe. I stick with the magnetic, though: More reliable IMO.

Well tbh my friend I'd prefer to have it Lee's on my back and pay less electric but without having to sacrifice having more lights/hoods.

H temps we have touched on this before and noticed it @ 14C' reservoir temps and will need it between 18-21C' (I think).
Ph has been between 5.8ph & 6.1ph never over or under but like I said the yellowing on young leaves like ph isue? So making sure it's all under check.

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