Defo.
I want to be using this for a few years

Hey oj1981,

My last Gforce just died. I think it is because I am getting conflicting information. I am using a miniture greenhouse with those brown cubes. THe first advice was to let the seeds pop and put the in the cubes and let them sit in the dark and wait from them to sprout them put under the light (400 mh) The next advice was as soon as they pop put them in the cubes and then put under the light. My problem is as soon as i put them under the light using the wait a week method the seedlings die like the light is too powerful or something. Thats what happenned to the gforce. I am trying some new sees with the 'lets not wait a week in the dark' method. Any advice?

Ok just a quick update.
My shit wasnt delivered today so have to go to the depo tomorrow morning for it.
More hassle and less time to refine my grow room!

Transplant will also be going ahead tomorrow as these ladies are getting too big for there boots now!

roots are showing through the root riots now so there ready.

in the pic they are a little droopy as I slightly over watered them this morning but no big issue they should be fine by the morning.

They have stretched for the light a little as well but this shoulnt be to much of a problem as they are being re-potted tomorrow.

Hi stilzz,

sorry to hear she didnt make it

400w MH I would say is defo to much for them when there that young.

Im no expert as iv only been growing for just over a week but id say it would shock the plant to much at such an early stage in its life.

I would use a cfl until you can see good development of its first leaves. my cfl I used for mine only kicked out about 50w but they seemed to like it.

also got to keep an eye on temps with the 400w MH. you dont want to dry them out to much.

My 250w MH is on for 30mins then off for an hour and so on 24 hours a day at the moment. helps keeps em warm and lets them get used to the stronger light. my cfl is still over the top of them which is on 24 hours a day.

the sort bursts of the MH keeps the grow room at around 25c/77f. also check the water your feeding them with. Iv read alot that you need to leave your water out for 24 hours before giving to the plant to evaporate any chemicles used in the water.

I havent bothered with leaving it out. my tap water PH is about 7.6 and they seem to be ok and growing well.

I would suggest once germinated, transplant into your soil cubes and then keep her in a warm place under a low light cfl up to 100w until she pops up out of the soil. the warmth is important for the root development. once the first leaves have opened out increase the light. you could probably use your 400w MH at this stage but just keep an eye on the temps and give her good ventillation. slight over watering will be ok but dont let her dry out.

I have found that under my 250w MH my soil cubes dry out very fast so I dont have it on 24/7 as im sometimes away at work for upto 8 or 9 hours a day.

once iv transplanted them into the auto feeder it wont be to much of a problem and I can leave the light on all the time which im not going to as I want to save electricity. probably have the 250w MH on 18hrs off 6hrs for about 1 or 2 weeks then I will switch to the 400w MH on 18 on 6 off for another 1 or 2 weeks then I will leave the 400w MH on 24 hours a day till there about 2 or 3 feet tall then will switch to 600w HPS on 12 off 12 till there ready to harvest

I suppose eveyone has there own way of doing things.

Im learning as i go along! lol

heres the pic that didnt upload for some reason on my last post

Attached Images

18092009182.jpg (63.7 KB, 44 views)

get the light a bit closer... that is why youre plants are so stretchy

__________________
Legalize nature

Iv spent 2 days preparing for the transplant and it is now complete.

The original pump I got with my hydro system is not as loud as I first thought so am using this pump for the auto feeder.

The other smaller pump with no vibration was shit and could not produce enough water pressure in the lines.

Iv had a busy day and have been messing with my set up for about 10 hours!

Iv made a box to keep my light ballast cool and rigged it upto the exhaust duct so my room does not get to hot.

Iv now also swapped the crappy duct for insulated duct which has made a good bit of difference on the noise front.

Iv added an air stone to the res and added a heat shield to the light reflector.

All seems to be ok at the moment. hopefully my girls will not be in to much shock from the transplant but only time will tell.

running the 250w MH at the moment on 18 on 6 off and the feeder is on for 15 mins then off for 2 hours and stays off when the lights are off. fans also on cosntant apart from when the lights are off the fans come on for 15 mins every 2 hours to change the air.

Light is at the top of the tent at the moment and will move down a foot every 24 hours till I get to the height I want. I want them to recover a bit after the transplant before getting the light to close.

A pic of my girls in there pots

Attached Images

	20092009190.jpg (50.5 KB, 28 views)
	20092009191.jpg (86.7 KB, 39 views)

girls are doing well.
they dont seem to be growing as quick as I thought but they might just be getting over the shock of the transplant.
Also I think they have been slightly over watered as the leaves on a couple of the plants are dropping a little.
I had the auto feed on for 15 mins and off for 2 hours.
I am now trying on for 15 mins and off for 3 hours.

Lights are about 2 foot above the plants and the temp is around 30 to 32c/86 to 89f.

this should be ok and dont really want temps any higher.

I will get some pics of the ladies on this weekend.

here are some pics of my D.I.Y Lamp Ballast cooler

Attached Images

	20092009192.jpg (74.5 KB, 32 views)
	20092009183.jpg (32.4 KB, 25 views)
	20092009184.jpg (30.3 KB, 21 views)
	20092009185.jpg (29.3 KB, 18 views)
	20092009186.jpg (42.0 KB, 23 views)
	20092009187.jpg (43.7 KB, 19 views)
	20092009188.jpg (27.6 KB, 23 views)

not much to update at the moment.
there just coming back around from the shock of the transplant.

all looking very well though

Attached Images

	21092009196.jpg (103.0 KB, 25 views)
	24092009197.jpg (61.4 KB, 23 views)

lookin good bro

__________________
Im a picker, Im a grinner, Im a lover, Im a sinner. I play my music in the sun. Im a Joker, Im a Smoker, Im a midnight Toker, sure dont wanna hurt no one.

All 8 ladies look good at the moment.
temps are around 30c/86f when lamp is on and around 20c/68f when the lamp is off.

Still got the 250w MH going at the moment.

Iv noticed the stems are a little red so have backed the light off a little.

Iv also noticed the 2 round baby leaves are starting to die off. from what iv read its normal so im not worrying to much at the moment.

one or 2 of the plants are a yellow/green colour. Im not to sure if this is a problem or not. I first though maybe heat stress but then My water PH is a little high its around 7.4. plus not using any nutes yet (apart from Canna Rhizotonic to help the roots after the transplant) but I am due a water change this weekend in the res so will be bringing the PH down then and starting nutes at about 1/4 strenth and see how they get on.

Nutes I will be using are Canna Aqua Vega A&B NPK 6-3-8.

This includes some stuff on the periodic table so here goes!

NH4, NO3, P2O5, P, K, K2O, Ca, CaO, Mg, MgO, S, SO3, B, Cu, Fe (DTPA), Fe (EDDHA), Mn, Mo, Zn, Si.

It looks like premium quality stuff and cant wait to get my girls beefed up a bit

A few more pics which I took a few days ago.

Attached Images

	27092009199.jpg (107.4 KB, 21 views)
	27092009201.jpg (102.2 KB, 18 views)
	27092009203.jpg (84.8 KB, 19 views)
	27092009204.jpg (86.4 KB, 18 views)
	27092009200.jpg (96.2 KB, 18 views)
	27092009206.jpg (51.2 KB, 18 views)