hey all...i'm hoping to start a grow for the first time and wanted to get some feedback from yall on my current setup. i haven't planted anything yet but wanted to get things established first and see what i'm inevitably doing wrong before i plant. that's where yall come in.first of all - i bought a grow tent here is the tent i'm using (milliard pretty common on here i've seen):http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H2ULB86inside i have an orange 5 gal home depot bucket with a 6 in net pot:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049XIIGCi filled the net pot with clay pellets after i rinsed them off and placed them inside the net pot. the bucket is being aerated by two large air stones and a 126gph pump: stones http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00564IT5Spump http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LOWF7Wtubing http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002563MW (i've heard some people say that clear tubing can cause algae issues - is this true?)i'm using 4x100 watt CFL lighting because this is a personal grow and i didn't have any money left in the budget right now for better lighting but will upgrade when i have some extra cash; is this sufficient?:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J7IOMCSi bought a small 4" fan to get some airflow in the tent:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WEIJ7Ki dosed the water from my tap with general hydroponics nutrients (the flora series):http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024NDVRAand after 24 hours i dosed it with GH PH down to take some measurements before adding any plants (just want to go through this once without anything in there to see how it all works)i measured temperature, humidity, PPM, and PH for the past several days and here's what i came up with:11/4 - Temp 70. Humidity 80. PH 7. PPM 70011/5 - Dosed with nutes (5 teaspoons of each in the 3 part treatment per the schedule) and PH down. Temp 66. Humidity 82. PH 6.9. PPM 63711/6 - Dosed with PH down. Temp 66. Humidity 85. PH 6.6. PPM 787. added lights - will take measurements again in 8 hours.Having a hard time understanding why my PPM is all over the place but that's what my readings are saying. I know my humidity is very high and i'm trying to run a dehumidifier to see if i can bring it down. what is the ideal environment for plants?i ordered some beans from Sannie's shop:http://www.sanniesshop.com/sannies-jack.html would love some feedback on my bean choice as well and any tips if anyone has any experience with them.here are some pictures of my setup for you all to see. thanks for any help or feedback on what is or is not going to work.
I don't grow hydro but I do use tap water. Letting it sit for 24 hours is just wasting 24 hours. The treatment plants don't put the type chlorine in the water anymore that will evaporate. They've switched over and use chloramine which doesn't evaporate nor is there enough of it in the tap water to have a negative affect on your plants. I've been using it straight from the tap (pH adjusted) for several years now and my plants are happy and healthy. There are also micronutrients in regular tap water that your plant likes. Good luck with your hydro grow. Make darn sure you understand what you're going to be doing as far as growing the plants. Hydro can be complicated to someone with no growing experience. You don't mention in your post whether you have grown before and this is just your first hydro setup or if this is your first grow period. If it's your first grow, I strongly suggest you do a ton of reading before you start this to make sure you have a good understanding of the details of doing a hydro grow. It can be pretty technical trying to manage and maintain all the correct values in a running system like that and most people who have no grow experience have a rough time with it. Not everyone is like that. Every now and again, you'll find someone who just has the knack I guess, and they'll have gorgeous plants from beginning to end. Unfortunately, most don't. The soil grow is a much easier place to start for the person with no grow experience. They grow just as nicely in soil but it takes a bit longer to kill them than it does with a hydro setup where they can be pretty in the morning and dead by that evening. LOL Soil is a bit more forgiving to the new grower. Regardless, hope you have a nice easy and productive grow! TWW
You want a pump stronger than 126 gph, I'm running 240gph and it isn't enough for my 18 gallons of nutrient solutions. I mean It can work but the more the merrier. Also those lights are not 100 watts from the look of it. Maybe equivalency but you want actual wattage. Those will work for veg for a few weeks but not flowering. You want the humidity high for seedlings. Then around 30+% for veg and 40% or lower for flower. Just remember that these are optimal conditions it will grow in practically any environment given it is not below freezing or above 130 degrees haha. I suggest getting an LED. They aren't overpriced anymore and they help with heat issues. Good luck I'll be watching!
yes - this is my first grow. thanks for the feedback on the water - i did not know that. i can see how it can be complicated but i think i've done a lot of reading and watching videos that i HOPE that i can pull it off. my biggest questions are the nutrients and lighting right now. i think everything else i've done so far is correct (i hope ) do i really need a bigger pump for a 5 gallon bucket? i can see how you would need more for 18 gallons but i have 2 air stones in a 5 gallon bucket. what would you recommend the humidity be at for seedlings? my humidity is at 70% on a good day so i'm worried that i won't be able to get it down to 30 or 40% - is this going to hinder me? do you have any recommendations on LED? from reading your response it seems like i need to upgrade the lighting and i might as well do that now!
Actually you don't need a bigger pump. I was thinking you were running more than one . that is plenty for one bucket, sorry my mistake. Is your outside humidity high? If it is, then I'm afraid you will have to run a dehumidifier. An ozone generator will help prevent mold in. high humidity, also it won't ruin your crop it only put you at risk for mold or mildew and less primo nug. 70% is perfect for seedlings.. If your outside humidity is lower than your grow room, I would run an intake from outdoors. A passive intake if it is really cold air. I got an LED off of eBay for 150 bucks and it is 300 actual watts.(700 LED watt power) Made from a brandless company but it seems to be doing well so far. I'm a cheapo person so I went with price instead of quality lighting. Should suffice and grow great buds despite .
yeah, get a cheap led off amazon. I got some appolo's and they work good. Your PPM is probably too high for a seedling and your ph is a bit high too, try to keep it around 6, hydro and soil need different ph. The clear air hose is fine, the nutes might stain them but won't cause algae. Put something around the buckts to keep light out, that is how you get algae. I wrap mine in duct tape. Humidity and heat can be an issue in tents. Dehumidifiers will make the room very hot very quick. An exhaust fan blowing air out can help with the heat and humidity and if you put a carbon filter on, your house won't smell like pot. Don't be scared of hydro. Just keep reading and start growing. Stick some shwag seeds in there today and don't expect to harvest much. Just use it as a learning experience.
thanks for the feedback.. how do i lower the ppm? i took measurements with the air stones on and off and with them on the ppm drops to 2-300 but when they're off it's around 700. not sure which measurement matters more. also how much time should i keep the lights on / off? does it vary by stage? i keep my dehumidifier outside of the grow room and noticed that it still helps to drop the humidity inside the tent. any suggestions on lights you've had success with? unfortunately i dont have any shwag seeds just good ones i order from sannies shop! i have 10 total so i'm hoping i can trial and error a few and still learn without wasting them all in one pop.
with hydro things can go bad real quick but if they do, all you have to do is change out the water and if you have a proper nute recipe, everything will be OK. Just dump that bucket and mix up a new one. Just mix enough for 1 or 2 gallons, the charts always tell you to use too much. Measure with air pump on after everything has swirled around and mixed up for a minute. After you have the ppm set, then check ph because adding nutes can change the ph.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FGG1HDM/ref=mp_s_... I have these lights i have a 300 watt and some 400's. They aren't the best but either one is enough to properly flower one plant. I also have a 100 watt advanced diamond series, very nice light but expensive. Lighting times depend on phase of growth. Usually 16-24 hours of light per day to veg and 12 to flower.
what are your thoughts on these lights? http://www.amazon.co...duct/B00NMX5EGC i figured these would be much better than the CFL setup i currently have. also - how often should i be watering the seedling while it is in the rock wool? i do not have a submersible pump so i'll be manually watering.
I'm using a cheap 150$ LED off eBay. This is day 44 from seed in a 4x4 tent. Do what you can with what you have. I'm really impressed with my "cheap Chinese LED"