Hey all, Im a new Grower and am looking at doing a smallish home setup. I have a few General question's about water and Lights. First, i was looking at doing a Drip Irrigation system on plants in the Veg room, seems pretty easy to setup I just have some questions on the watering. watering 3 times a day new clones in 1" rock wool cubes and 4" rock wool cubes how much water would be needed per rock wool cube at each watering period (eg: 2 weeks, 4weeks), and also if there was 2-3 Mother plants also on the same watering schedule how much water would each need? Also what size water pump would be needed for 27 clones and 2-3 mother plants? Second, I have read that 25w and 1k-3k Lumens per square foot should be enough for Veg and Flowering. Also that a Blue spectrum Lamp is better for Veg Growth and a Red spectrum Lamp for Flowering. I have found some fluorescent tube lights that out out 8k Lumens over about 4sq ft as well as some that do 20k Lumens over 9 sq ft and 40k over 17-19sq ft. Just any general feetback on the lighting would be cool, also will the fluorescent tube lights be good enough for Flowering or is HPS/IH lights needed? .peace.
There's not really a set amount of water to give a plant, each will have its own needs. If you are starting up a first grow, I would recommend keeping it basic and simple. Start with a few plants in decent sized pots and get some experience before moving on to drip systems, etc. As far as lighting goes, you could veg a couple of plants with the floro tubes, but a HPS light, probably 250w would be much better. Another option is CFL lights, but you would need several. Do some research and read the various threads for more info and ideas.
Drip systems are not that complicated. There really isnt a way to overwater you plants on a drip system when it's set to go on three times a day. Have the pump turn on for 10-15 min every 6-8 hours and you'll be good to go. Since you're talking about running about 30 drip heads you may want to go with 2 small pumps instead of one larger pump but that up to you. I would recomend 300-400gph should work well. T-5 lighting works well for vegs as well. Don't waste you time going MH for veg floros or cfls or t-5 will work perfectly.
While i agree that T-5's are really good for veg........ I must staunchly disagree with MH not being worth the time. I used to use both and after moving babies/clones from the T-5 to the MH they took off like cannon-balls. You're talking about twice as many lumens, conservatively, and far superior light penetration under MH. Just my $.02
So i would rather Make it Drip alittle faster, to saturate the rock wool, and the excess will just run out? In regards to the MH lamp Vs. the T-5, would it make a Huge diffrence in the final product, Potency, yeild ect..?
Drainz, I've heard the arguement both ways between MH and other light sources. Alot of people believe MH are the best option. As far as I can tell Flo's will just make the veg process take abit longer as to where MH will get you were you need to be in a much shorter time. I'd rather use MH for 3 weeks veggin rather then 5 weeks with flo's. But I'm still a fresh grower. Not to much experience yet in the field. But that's what I'm reading. GoodLuck, Blaze
unless you're going to start pushing some weight out of your house some t-5's or cfls or floros will work fine. There's always time to expand and upgrade your system. start out with what works then go up to what works better for you. It's that simple. in regards to the drip system. as long as your water is draining freely from your medium you should not have any problems.
Did you miss the part where the OP said You may be able to root 27 clones under a T-5, but you're not going to be able to veg them all under T-5's unless you've got several of them. Vegging 27 plants will require a sh!t ton of Fluoro's or 1-2 MH, it's that simple.
and the with the MH will Flower 1-2 weeks quicker and have a small increase in Yield, right? I think i buy the T-5s for the Veg room and just grow a smaller amount of plants 2-4 to start, then Flower them with the same lights. after that ill buy a 400-600w MH and flower 4 more and see what happens.
More available energy to the plant = faster growth, increased metabolism, and yes, greater yield. The difference in yield will depend on other factors as well, but having the xtra lumens sure won't hurt. That sounds like a grand idea. That way you'll have both and can see for yourself.
Well i think ive got most of the info i need, all the books and Vids ive Dled +all the help from the fourms. hoping to start building the grow room in the next 2 weeks or so. but if you guys are interested ill setup a thread on the whole project. thx to all that replyed on my thread, info is much appreciated. .peace.