Hello all

After months of research, months of preparation, months of building and assembling, today I finally start my first grow.

Seeds

For my first grow, I will be using 5 feminized Snow White seeds from the Nirvana seed bank. I highly recommend them to anyone who needs seeds in the US. They were very discreet and quick.

Grow Area

My grow area is a small bathroom closet that is 55.5" x 22" x 8' that is inside my room. I picked this area because I am the only person that ever goes into that bathroom and I will be able to keep it hidden. The area had no door, and had 3 shelves that were 2ft apart. I am also going to be using a 20" x 22" x 4' Veg box that will be used for my mother. I went in, took out the shelves and molding, and put the box I built snug into the hole it was made for it. (I love it when things fit) I then realized that the top of the box, and the side support that I removed would make for a perfect surface for a shelf and then another area. So I made a shelf over top of it. I then found a large closet door and put it into the door area. Sadly their was a large 4" gap on the top and left sides of the door. I then decided to lift the door up so that there was now a 4" hole on the bottom, that is now my passive air intake for the closet. I then built a small frame on the left side out of a 2x4 and called it a done deal. The door opens well and closes snug. I then lined the inside with mylar and threw in the towel.













Grow System

As it said in the title, this is a DIY DWC grow and I am loving every minute of it. I decided to focus most of my research on hydroponics and more specifically DWC. I built a main tank out an 18 gallon rubbermaid tote that has 5 net pots in the top. I also made a single plant tank out of a 5 gallon bucket that is going to be my mother tank in the veg box. Both of the lids are covered in aluminum foil tape to reflect the light. They also both have drain plugs in the bottom that are currently waiting on a little bit of marine caulk to finish the job. The big tote is using an Aqua Culture 20-60 gallon double outlet air pump AND a Tetra Whisper 100 Gallon double outlet air pump. Attached are small air stones, one 12" bubble wand, and one 6" air stone circle. The air is boostin'. The bucket is running with an Aqua Culture 20-60 Gallon double outlet air pump and a 6" air stone circle that is doing just great.








Lights

I am going with CFLs for this grow obviously for the small size, safety, efficiency but most importantly, the low heat. In the veg box I am running a power strip with 6 600 Lumen 14W "daylight" bulbs on splitters. On the other side, I have a power strip with two of the 1-to-3 socket converters on it. There are 2 800 lumen 14W "daylight" bulbs on each one making 4 in total. There are also two 2600 Lumen (can't remember the Watts, but it was quite a bit) on a splitter between the daylighters. This power strip hangs from a simple reflector made from a piece of duct that was unbent. This hangs from the shelf above it with some low grade chain. On either side of the power strip, there are 2 more independently hanging 2600 Lumen bulbs. I am hoping to drop these inside the plants for closer light since the heat is so low on them.



In the Veg Box


Main area







Alright, I think that is enough info as of right now. I am proud to say that last evening started the extravaganza and was coined DAY 1.


DAY 1

The seeds soaked in ph adjusted water overnight under the main area grow lights. The temperature was recorded at 76* F and the humidity was at 53%. I also adjusted a bowl of water down to about 5.5 and soaked 5 rockwool cubes.

Since it is just an overnight thing, I am counting today as day 1 too, plus I think I started soaking my seeds in the early AM hours. Regardless, today I went in and took a look at them and I already had some opening and root tip pointing out. So today I have been keeping them in the light and letting them soak still.


Even if the above is organized, don't let it fool you. I know what I have researched, not what I have learned from experience which tends to stick better for me. So, this is my first grow and I will be needing help. Along the trip if anyone has any questions, comments, concerns etc please direct them my way because I need it!!!

That being said, the first question:

My camera is currently uploading some high res pictures of my seeds to my computer. I will attach them to the bottom but I was wondering if I was ready to chuck them in the rockwool cubes? I have one complete crack, 3 popped open with a tip, and 1 with a very small opening.







Germination Station!

Should I chuck them into the rockwool now, or just the one that cracked maybe?

Thanks guys I can't wait to hear from you all!

BUMP for my question at the bottom, can anyone help me out?

ON top of that, the drain plug that I made will NOT stop leaking. I have tried seals and every sealant imaginable and it is still leaking.

cool

shud be interesting to watch!

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Should start soil for first grow it is much easier.... very nice setup though. I tried Hydro on my first 10 beans and they all died or where so stressed out they hermied. Much easier with soil for the first time.

I have fem seeds so hopefully I won't be having any huge issues like that. I honestly think I will be doing alright. My ph is good, my temps are good, and they have enough light to blind a small child.

I am so excited, I just planted them in the rockwool and turned everything on. I have the lights as low as I felt safe and the water level pretty high.

For starting with seeds, how far below the net cups should the water level be?

Thanks!

You can put seeds directly into the Rockwool and let them germ in there, in the first place. Now is just fine. PH adjusted water in the cubes, they have a high PH. Drop em in there and leave em be for a bit, they will be fine.

Yea the water was adjusted to a low ph and they soaked over night. The seeds were planted into the cubes about 3 hours ago, so far so good. Temp is 73* and humidity is 48%

Everything sound okay? I am really paranoid that they are going to dry out. I have enough bubble power to inflate a house though...

I currently have the above lighting situation (the one with the hood) above my rockwool cubes about 1.5" from the surface of my box. Is this okay? Since im not using it yet, should i swap out the 4 2700k guys and put in more 6500k daylight guys?

I also have been reading things about humidity domes. Should I have one on my ladies while they are seeds in rockwool? I just made some up out of dasani bottles that are probably going to work, but I have no idea if they are supposed to be on them or not =/