Rumples, Thanks for the killer post! I am totally new to hydro, I built my first bucket and I am having good success with growth so far. I am 10 days into transplanting some bag seed sprouted in paper towels and opened up in soil(spagnum peat). My first one I was lucky enough to have a dark bucket. I covered it with the tape anyway to make sure no light got in. I am using a pretty standard nutrient package with some rooting solution for this transition phase from dirt to hydro. So far it looks killer! I bought extra lids so that I could have multi function buckets. I cut 12 2" holes and put starts in 2" net pots with hyroton. I lost a few but they didnt look good to begin with anyway. But the ones that are taking off are in hyper drive! However, I really want to use compact flourescents. Not only for the reduced electricity usage but also for being able to get the light much closer to the plants. I have a couple of questions and would also like to hear your opinion on the lighting subject. I feel that in a perfect world a 400 watt hid would work great, but with a stealth grow I think I can produce the same light with fewer watts? Possibly a 105 watt with some 27 watt fillers around the sides or tubes for that matter. Also I would like to ask about the distance from the bottom of the pot to the top of the water. Right now I have it very close(1") in order to get the roots going good from the soil transplant. Should this be increased to say 3" in order to prevent possible root rot? Again thanks for the post...I am bubble head, well kinda. PEACE
