1st grow: AK48's: i have questions!!!

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by alexnoble, Oct 8, 2007.

  1. So I've got 2 Nirvana AK48 seeds germinated. One is in the soil (3:1 Potting Soil:Vermiculite mix) and the other is still wrapped in the moist paper towel until the root comes out a little bit further. The seeds germinated within 24 hours, which I was very pleased about, but in the last 2 days little has happened. I am still awaiting the sprout to show in the one pot. My growroom is 4' x 2' x 5 1/2' tall, which I think should be spacious enough for 2 2 foot plants. (I read somewhere that plants in the flowering stage grow quite a bit so I'm not exactly sure how tall I should let them go in vegatative). I received 2 250W Halogen bulbs from a friend, which I understand work good for small seedlings. My question however pertains to the intense heat coming from the grow room. The 2 bulbs seem to have the grow room temp near 100 degrees, if not over. Because of this intense heat, I don't think I'll be able to put the lamp within 2 feet of the plant. I would imagine this is going to cause stretching. I am considering purchasing a fluorescent bulb or as many as it takes, to eliminate the heat problem. Ideally, I would like to get a light that will give me the bushiest plant. I have a 400W HPS lamp on the way which will be used in the latter stages of growth. Any suggestions are appreciated!!!!!!! THANK YOU.
     
  2. Your set up sounds like its gonna be nicea nd the ak48 sounds like its gonna be nice, i plan on buying some from that seed bank here shortly, but im like 99 percent sure the halogen dont work for growing they put out FAR more heat then they do light kinda like incandecent. you should just get like 8 or 10 daylight cfls, 5 for each plant get tem 6500k and then use that for veg and heck even when you get the hps use all your lights.
     
  3. Halogen lights are useless for growing. They radiate way too much heat and don't put out the correct light spectrum.

    For bushy plants, metal halide bulbs are best. They make your plants grow bushy and compact. You can buy a MH conversion bulb for your HPS system. Just make sure you switch to a HPS bulb when you go to 12/12.
     
  4. Good to know, thanks. I know MH are the best for veg. growth, but I'm worried it's going to put off to much heat in the small closet. Any recommendations on where to pick up good CFL bulbs?? And if I do pick up the 6500 K CFLs, should I pick up some 3000 K lumen CFLs for flowering? I guess they give off less heat than HPS bulbs and are more efficient.

    Also, how long will I be able to get growing the seedlings with the halogens before I absolutely need the CFLs? I gotta know if I should pick one up right away, if so any suggestions on where?
     
  5. lowes, home depot, walmart, etc. Clfs are cheap and easy to find, and if you use them correctly they can produce suprising results. Dump the halogen get some clfs and youll be fine until your setup comes
     
  6. I would say go get some CFLs right now. Without proper lighting your seedlings will stretch for light badly.

    Here's what I recommend:

    Go to Home Depot and buy two 42 watt soft white CFLs and two 27 watt daylight CFLs. Also buy three Y-sockets. Put the Y-sockets together so you have four empty sockets for bulbs. Put your new CFLs in those sockets and keep the bulbs about two inches from your plants. Have a fan blowing on them to keep them cool and to strengthen the stem.

    You should be good for at least two weeks with that setup.
     
  7. alright thanks,
    sorry i'm slow here...
    Would I use the 42W for vegitative and the 27W for flowering? or will i use the 4 bulbs for veg at once?
    My plan is to clone the females and move flowering plants to a separate closet to make room for the next crop.
     
  8. Use them all at once.
     
  9. Will I benefit from using an HPS during flowering over sticking with the CFLs the whole time?

    And whats the deal with nutrients?? Are there any key ones I should use in order to increase yield or potency?
     
  10. HPS is the preferred light source to use during flowering. CFLs are good for people on a budget but your yield will be much less. I was originally going to use CFLs for the whole grow but I decided that I really didn't want to have to buy a bunch of bulbs and cords and string them everywhere to make sure the plants were getting enough light.

    That CFL setup I recommended to you what what I used on my three plants for the first 10 days of their lives. I had them all in plastic Solo cups and transplanted them into 5 gallon buckets once I got my HPS/MH system.
     
  11. well if you think i'll be happy with that setup then I'll go with it. thanks for the help.
     
  12. so if I buy those y sockets will I need to construct or purchase some sort of housing unit to reflect the light back down toward the plants or will it get enough without a housing unit??

    ANYBODY KNOW SHIT ABOUT ADDING NUTRIENTS FOR HIGHER YIELD OR POTENCY???
     

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