First let me say hi , I have been reading here for quite some time and really enjoy all the great input! I was hoping to get a little guidance on a setup I plan to go with. I am in the process of putting a small closet room together. I have 2 closets and think one would look better with a little bit of green in it. I have been growing cacti for about 3 years and am pretty plant competent. I have dabbled in the MJ growing (mostly outdoor) and have assisted friends in the past. The game plan is 3 maybe 4 general hydroponics water farm buckets. It's a shallow wide and tall closet. Guessing 2ft deep 61/2 feet wide and 8 tall. I know there will be people trying to convert me to bubble buckets and that is great, I might well try them later but lets just say I have numerous reasons for taking this path for now. I have used one of these in the past that a friend loaned me and had pretty good results considering I didn't have any testing equipment and improper nutes. I was amazed how long the poor plant stayed alive and looking back it was probably due to not flushing and not keeping ph regulated that I lost my first endeavor with the water farm years ago. Thanks to all the great posts I have gotten alot of information that was not available to me before and feel pretty confident I have the ability to make it work. The main questions I have are this 1. would a 400 watt mh/hps combo be sufficiant for 3-4 heealthy plants. 2. Ventalation is a major issue, I don't have the abaility to cut duct holes anywhere so the door will be closed (for odor controll as well). I can replenish air (open the door) when I'm home but am concerned at how much the 400 watt lamp will raise the temp in there. I plan to keep a charcoal scrubber (decent CFM) running most all the time so circulation is not the issue, its simply the amount of space I am dealing with and I am kind of worried amout the heat buildup. I got a 1=" gap at the bottom of the door, thats about all I have to work with. 3. I need nute advice, I plan on going with the GH flora series using the flora kleen for monthly flushes. I have a friend that used it and was pleased and it seems to be strait forward. My main goal is keep it simple stupid and not try anything fancy until (gods willing) I get confortable in what I am doing. If any one has any simple stupid nutes they reccomend please put them forth and I will check them out. 4. I live in a area where my water supply is probably less that desireable (city water). From what I understand this poses more of a PH problem than anything but what else should I watch out for? Trace nutrients? I'm not fond of the idea of hauling any more distilled watter than neccesary. Thats really about it, got some nice beans on the way and look forward to getting started. Just want to cover as many bases as I can before lauch. If I think of anything else that fits here I will post it. Thanks for your time.
1. 400w will be enough to veg 3-4 plants, unless you keep them under 18in when you flower, you will have poor penetration when those 4 stretch during flower. 2. Yes, with the door closed, a 400w will heat that space to 90F or higher. Try to get some cool air from the gap at the bottom.. this is going to be an issue. You m ay want to consider an air cooled reflector drawing air from the gap in door. 3. Flora series is good stuff. 4. you'll need a ph and ppm/tds meter. You'll want to know what your base numbers are before adding nutes. Good luck !
Sometimes your water company can give you a breakdown of what's in the water with regards to calcium levels, etc. Definitely test it though. You'll need pH and TDS meters anyways. It'll be on the alkaline side and will require pH down. It is also probably hard with lots of dissolved calcium. The other problem with city water is chlorine and flouride. The former especially needs to be removed through evaporation, filtering, or as a last resort a decholorinator like the kind of drops you put in an aquarium.
Thanks for the replies, I understand that meters will be required and am shopping around on them now. oldskool, I understand about the chlorine but what can I do about the calcium levels? It is my understanding that calcium is a trace nute but how can I adjust my nutes to make up for it, or is the amount of calcium not that critical? Or is there a way to remove (for lack of a better word) from my water?
You'll probably be OK. The only potential problem is that very high calcium can cause magnesium to not be taken up. Don't worry about it if for now, but should you see deficiency problems a teaspoon of epsom salts will boost the magnesium levels enough.