Hello All! I am new to the growing scene. I am going to be starting a grow consisting of 2 5 gal bubble buckets, built to spec per rumpleforeskin. Questions: I am not on a tight budget, but a budget none the less, what would everyone suggest as far as meters (ph,ppm) I plan to get a 400W hps/hp light, any suggestions as to a good place to order from or a good brand to order? I am going to go full on straight hydro. Germinating and putting the seedling in rockwool doesn't seem to be difficult, the question I have is, how high do I put the water in my buckets when starting my grow? Should I fill to touch the net pots until roots take off? or should i leave the rockwool out of the system until the roots are long enough to touch the water on their own? Any advice really, as far as where to get seeds (reliable places only) like I said im on a budget so losing packages isnt on the top of my list of things to do. Nutes, I hear a lot of people talking about Lucas. Is this a nute I can use from seed to harvest? How much will I need per grow? I don't plan on getting too experimental seeing as how im a noob and want to atleast harvest something. I'm realistic about my attempts to grow, Im not expecting 2 pounds per plant, really, any amount is better than none. So any tips, hint, advice on any part of the grow would be greatly appreciated! Thanks to everyone in advance for reading my post!
Try www.greners.com if you looking for quality . One of the best meters Hanna combo meter Hi98129 . Calibration solutions for that meter can be found on amazon , about $10 each . Info how to calibrate the meter can be found on YouTube .And list of the solutions can be found on the users manual . Good ( probably one of the best ) digital ballasts are Lumatek and NextGen ( I personally prefer Lumatek , because it has no moving parts and it comes with 5 year warranty ) . One of the best bulbs are Digilux , they are pricy but comes with 1 year warranty . Keep your water level at 3 gallons for the first 2 weeks then you can lower it to 2.5 gal . Stay away from the blue air stones they are crap . One of the best air stones are Micropore air difusers . But those diffusers requare slightly more powerfull airpupm , try hydrofarm 3psi pump . If it is your first grow try Technaflora starter kit as your nutrients . It comes with feeding schedule so you do not have to struggle and there is anough nutrients to support the entire grow from the start to finish ( 2-3 plants )Start with 1/3 of the recommended dosage ( about 400ppm ) and increase nutrient level by 150ppm every week. Make sure to monitor and adjust ppm and ph every 24 hours .if you need seeds try Attitude seed bank , they give away free seeds with every order . To get 10% discount try promo code 420.
Thanks for this reply! Got some good ideas and great information. Look forward to soaking up all the knowledge that anyone is willing to throw my way. rep+
The best thing you can do at this moment is to go to Hydroponic grow journals and read and ask questions . There is few very detailed journals which can be very helpfull. Good luck .
I have been falling asleep for the last few weeks with my computer on my chest and GC up lol. Im trying to soak up all the info I can before I even attempt a grow. Are there any tips for higher yields, without having to scrog, lst etc... can I split the main bud? anyt simple tricks to make a bushy plant?
Be careful with 400w HPS, it'll put out a lot of heat! I have a small'ish grow room that unfortunately doesn't get great ventilation and my temps were over 100f in my 3'x3'x6' tent. Air cooled reflector or at least a good intake/outtake will likely be necessary. I haven't done hydro so I'll not try and give you advice on it, but from a fellow newbie, I wish you good luck and happy growing!
Would upping the Watts help reduce heat? i am going to build a grow box in my garage. Not quite sure the exact dem yet but plan on maybe 5' high 42-44" wide and 2' deep? still playing with it. I most likely will not have a ventilation system, those things can be pricey, i may however be able to get an old window unit and install it with the grow clost? idk, any input on this would be greatly appreciated. newbie or not all info good or bad is good to me.
Lowering the watts might help, I'd recommend doing some google searching to make sure you've got adequate space for the wattage. The great thing about growing is that without a doubt, someone else has had the same problems you have, and have posted about it somewhere on a grow forum Are you worried about smell? I've got neighbors very close by and my ladies put off quite an odor(the source of my ventilation woes). I spent about $70 on my vent kit and it does an alright job of keeping the smell down. With the door shut on the grow room you can't smell it from downstairs(it's in my spare upstairs bedroom). With the door open you get a decent amount of smell downstairs, but nothing outside.
would i get the same result with say a 250w also, (if i wont get the same results) would it be pointless to do 2 250w? ive said a few times that i havent commited to anything other than the method im going to grow. lighting nutes plants vents etc is all still up in the air. i am not worried about smell too much, i live int the country, somewhat. if i could vent for 70 i would do it later on in the grow (thanks for that info) the space itself is a (bigger) shed, i mean i could fit a car in it. so the size of the cabinet its self is still in the workings.
The wisdom I've seen thrown around is 150w for the first plant and 50w for each additional plant. I'm currently growing 3 plants with a 250w CFL and they seem to be doing just fine, you can check my journal if you want to see how I've progressed(including my 400w HPS failure). http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1025827-leaflocks-first-grow-dna-lemon-skunk-5.html
You can try Topp off your plants , just do it one time after first 10 days wait 7-8 days then topp them off again 2-3 times , wait another 7-8 days and top them off again 3-4 times. Do topp off during vegg period . Conversion bulbs are for those who has outdated magnetic ballasts , so that way they do not have to have one ballast for MH and another for HPS . Speaking of heat , well it is simple do not grow during the summer if you can not have your "room"- intake temperature below 70f . My 600W Hid heats up 3x3x6 tent about 10-12f higher than room temperature . And I have 450cfm Vortex fan attach to it ( independent cooling in sealed reflector ) . I also have 2nd Virtex fan (150cfm) for tent ventilation . Your 400w will do the same , there is not much difference in temperature between 400 and 600watters . I did the test my self and run my ballast on 300w settings for couple of hours , measured the temperature , then I run my ballast on 600w setting and only noticed 3 degrees difference . If you looking for best performance ( lumen per watt) go with 600w . Speaking of the grow box... You can make it but ( just trust me ) you will be much happier with the grow tent . DR120 has perfect design quality and size 4x4x6 ( I unfortunately have DR90 it is smaller and I wish I bough DR120 . ( you can look at the review of that tent on www.greners.com . It will perfectly fit 4 plants in DWC ( or even better RDWC ) . Keep in mind that MJ plant by the end of the 1st month of flowering (12/12) can easily take 2x2 space ... You also going to need carbon filter . Do not go with just carbon filter , get quality one . I know two good brands CAN and PHRESH . Difference between two - CAN heavy and require Flange installation , phresh - light and ready to go right from the box . Both filters comes with prefilter . For sound suppression use Phresh silencer , it does work , I have two and hey do cut down the noise no Bull . Oh and one more thing if you resided to go with presh filter make sure to buy phresh carbon filter and stay away from phresh intake filters ( which are just a dust protectors for intake ) unless you really need one . And te last thing consider to make RDWC system ( 4 buckets ) with that system you can potentially pull 1lb every 3 month from 4 plants under 600w light . Tutorial on how to make it in Do it your self section .