Pro led growers please Chime in

10 5 gal in pots in a 5x5 after 3 weeks? Good luck. 10 1 gal pots may work

 

Autos in 5 gallon containers will take considerably longer than they should so much so that it defeats the purpose of growing autos for me anyway.
2-3 gallon is a better choice

That light is a little short on power for a 5×5 . It's generally accepted that you need 30 watts per square foot I like 40 watts per for flowering .
A 5×5 is a large space and could really accommodate two of those lights, that way they can be dimmed to maybe 70% creating much less heat than when ran at full power. If you want to start with one light you can partition your space to fit the footprint of your light. You should always take care to match your physical footprint with the lights footprint.

 

Are you saying the bigger the pot an auto is in the longer it's life will be?

 

I say 5-7g fabric pots are best just my opinion

Sent from my SM-J727P using Tapatalk

 

It takes them longer to finish, yes

 

Huh.....I've never heard that before......something worth looking into, you might be on to something(at least to me)

 

I would want the Samsung diodes for sure. I buy hlg products myself so I don't know my way around Alibaba but I've heard alot of good about Kingbrite check out their line

 

It brings it up in Mephistos grow guide, I also know growers that have experienced the same @JXAllen and I were just talking about his 5 gallon went 130 days or so I also believe @Mr.Isaiah is currently in a long running auto grow in 5s
Maybe they'll chime in

 

It's all in what you want out them and what fits your needs/wants. I grow autos for a quick turnaround so I choose the small containers.
It also matters what your growing in, I'm using coco dtw with multiple feeds so I'm able to replace pot size with increased feeding. Alot of variables, but from what I'm seeing larger containers equal longer finishing times. 30 days + in some cases

 

Pot type and medium will make difference too. If you're growing in coco, I would not recommend anything over 3gal, and personally have switched to 2gal exclusively. If you're growing in soil, that's a different matter. It takes more volume of soil to produce the microbes and nutrients that your plant needs. pots that breathe make a huge difference too. I use air-pots, but fabric pots work the same for the most part. They allow for more root development than solid side pots. In solid pots the roots keep growing in circles around the pot. With a breathing pot, once the roots hit the outside edge they air prune, telling the plant to send out new, fresh roots.

All that said, the larger the root mass a healthy autoflower can grow, the longer she'll veg for. I had an auto in 5gal air-pot, in coco/perlite, and it vegged for a full 7 weeks before starting to flower. I've spoken to a couple different breeders, including some of the Mephisto guys. We hung out, smoked out and chatted about autos for a couple hours at the Autoflower Cup. They all agree, the bigger the pot, the longer the veg, the bigger the auto, but also the longer the overall time. This is all premised on a healthy seedling. You can easily throw an auto into a 5 gal, water it incorrectly and end up with a runt. I see them all the time. I'm a big proponent of transplanting autos. I hear a lot of people that are afraid if transplant shock/stress. I SEE a lot more poorly watered small plants in big starting pots. I know OP is already planning on transplanting, I just wanted to throw this out there to anyone else.

@OP You might be able to fit 10 plants in that tent, but with the right training you could easily fill out your canopy with maybe half that number. I'm not sure how much experience you have with growing autos. What type of pots are you planning on using? What medium and feed schedule? I'm a big fan of HLG's QBs, but I don't have any experience with alibongo. But I'd look for something closer to 1000w actual draw for a 5x5.

 

That's a good choice of light again though I would get 2 for a 5×5 or partition your space to fit the light you get.
Also 60-70 days is optimistic at best 85-100 days is more how it's been playing out for me.
You need 1000 actual watts in there.
5×5 is huge in my world

 

You think 3 mars sp250s would be sufficient?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Grasscity Forum mobile app

 

I would say 4 minimum 5 would be better. Alot of people say 30 watts per square foot I find I use 40 watts per square foot in flower to hit the levels I want.

 

I run 700watts in my 5x5. I feel like I get away with 28watts per sq/ft only because I run a mixture of CMH & QB boards. Granted I run photo's but 6 in 3 gal pots gets crowded for me. Watering can become a huge pain in the ass