I asked a few questions in other forums but didn't get any views or responses, so I figured I'd ask here since they are hydro related. I bought a grow box from mrgrowpro and it's an LED light system with 3 light rails. Do I need any other lights? The guy who sold it said that I shouldn't need other lights, but I'm only been reading about 2700k and 6500k CFL's so this is new to me. I have my 3 beans in rockwool cubes with distilled 5.7ph distilled water and they just started to sprout. The 1.5" cubes are still in my humidity dome. I gave them no nutes and no light, and they are doing good, but I was told I need to wait until I see roots before I can transfer the cubes to the hydroton nets. I've read so many mixed opinions here, but I want to make sure my little girls don't die. When should I nute them, and how much? I got the Fox Farms Trio, but this is my first hydro grow, so I'm not sure how much and which ones to use right now, if I should be using them at all. I read a few other grow journals and have a pretty good idea of most other things, but this is confusing the hell out of me. Also, if you know anything about LED systems, should you still do an 18/6 and 12/12, or should I do a 24/7 and 12/12? Thanks again for all the help this board has given me. Jesse
Okay first,with leds you need to know what specturm they are running at,are they a mix of red and blue lights or just red or blue,you also need to know how much coverage each light will cover,,I rean my LEDs 24/0 then 12/12 my plants are growing great...check out my grow,they are under sunshine system"s grow panel 45"s 5 of them......http://forum.grasscity.com/hydroponic-growing/1214304-okaymy-babies-got-flipped-yesterday.html As far as yur seedlings,just stay with the distilled PHed water for at least the first 4 weeks,then transplant and switch to 1/4 streanght nutws and then double your streanght each week till you get to full streanght.......also It might be a good Idea to check this out by Goldgrower he really knows his shit........http://forum.grasscity.com/hydroponic-growing/1198022-how-determine-what-your-plants-preferred-nutrient-strength.html
Thanks man, I REALLY appreciate the feedback. The LED rails are 3 LED light rails at 15w (45w total); red (630nm), blue (460nm) = 2:1. I think I'll do the 24/0 and 12/12 too since that seems to be the smartest way to use the LEDs. The 3 rails are magnetic so I can get them down to 1" away from the plants with no heat, so that should have them come up quick, plus I got a scrog fence so I can make the plants bushy. You said to stay with the water only for the first 4 weeks, but since the seedlings are now sprouted about 2 inches above the rockwool cube, you don't think I should move the cubes to the nets with the hydroton yet? You think they should stay in the cubes in the dome for 4 weeks with just the water? Have you had any experience with the Fox Farms trio? I'm not sure which of the 3 bottles to use for the beginning stage. Forgot to mention - your grows look gorgeous and i'm super jealous
with LED"s you should keep them at least 18 inches above the plants, I would wait till the plants get to be about 6 inches high before transplanting,I have never used fox farm newts but they are all just about the same,it should say on the bottles how much to use,IE: how many ML to a gal of wate,but,and I think you have to use different parts of all 3 remember it is always better to make a weak soultion then to make even a slightly higher soultion
Whew - thanks! You saved me killing my girls. The guy I bought them from told me to put them about 3 inches from the plants. I guess I am surprised that they will even grow to 6 inches without nutes, but I can try. Will it be ok that they are not getting light? Should I be giving them some kind of light now? I will hold off on nutes till I put them in the hydroton. From other peoples experience, the Fox Farms Trio says to mix the ratios WAY too high and will burn the plants. The Fox Farms site says: Start with Grow Big® Hydro for abundant green growth. Switch to Tiger Bloom® at the first sign of bud development. Use Big Bloom® throughout all growing cycles to heal root systems and increase nutrient cycling. I guess I'll just start with 1/4 strength at first, and then bump it up a 1/4 at a time until full strength while I keep an eye on it, but from the sounds of it, I'm going to using the Big Bloom and Grow Big together at first and up until flowering.
YES GIVE THEM LIGHT,you should have been giving them light from the second they sproted,you only keeep the seeds in the dark to get them to pop,once they come up they need light....
I just put the humidity dome with the 3 seedlings in their cubes right in the grow box and turned the lights on. I guess this is the very start of the 24/0 cycle, and once I see the roots pop out the bottoms of the cubes, I'll move the cubes to the nets. And away we grow...
First off I would diffidently get some more lights. 45w is not going to be enough to carry your plants through flowering. Would like to see some pics of the lights. As far as nutes I usually start adding a low dose (100-150 ppm ) when my second node pops
You can check out the LEDs on his website or YouTube video. Mrgrowpro says that for the size of the case, he's had very successful crop yields. As for the nutes, I was waiting to see the roots pop from the bottoms of the cubes before adding them, but the second branch sounds like a good idea. Have you had any experience with the Fox Farms Trio? Is that 150ppm for both nutes or is that 150 per, for a total of 300ppm overall?
Check out my grow log for updated pix http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/1221640-grow-log-pc-hydro-grow-led-scrog.html
I've used ff trio for on my first grow and did fairly well. The ff trio I think is mainly for soil so switched. If you read your bottles I think one of them says can be used with hydro, the tiger bloom or the bloom will cause discoloration of the roots as it is brown and will settle in your res. what ever you do; DO NOT FOLLOW THEI FEEDING SCHEDULE YOU WILL BURN YOUR PLANTS. As far as ppm that is 100 for both veg and bloom a real low dose
Thanks for the feedback. The FF Trio that I got is the one made for hydro systems. I started with 1/4 of their recommended amounts, and now that I'm on week 3, I'm using their mix arty 2/3 of their recommended amounts. My total ppm now is 400 and the edges didn't turn yellow so I'm good to go so far
I dropped the bath to half so that the roots would dangle in it rather than have the baskets sit directly in it. The girls seem to be doing good so far but ever since I ramped up the Fox Farms Trio to 400ppm, the girls started showing signs of nute burn. So, I trimmed the leaves with spots and backed off the solution to approximately 280ppm. I also lowered the reservoir to about 18 inches away from the LED rails and haven't noticed any leaf curling, so they should be fine at this distance. When am I supposed to put the SCROG fence over the girls, and how far is it supposed to go from the base and tops? What is the best method of trimming the burned leaves?