First Indoor Grow --- AK-47 Autoflower --- PLEASE HELP!?

Hi all quick question...

Its my first indoor grow ever. I have chosen Feminized AK-47 Auto-Flowers in a tent space of 1.6m x 0.6m x 1.6m. I'm using a 250watt HPS and a 110watt T5 light. The seeds were germinated in 2 days on cotton wool then planted into rockwool cubes (wish i hadn't) and placed under a 110watt T5 in a smaller tent. As soon as i seen roots shoot through the rockwool cubes i planted them into my huge 30 litre pots (thats approx 8 gal in case your wondering) and placed them in my big tent under my 250watt HPS and i also moved my 110watt T5 into the same tent . My grow medium is a 70/30 coco/perlite blend which i mixed myself with high quality pre rinsed coco. I have now learned a little more about Auto-Flowers and discovered they dislike being transplanted. Next time one pot from start to finish! I have a 6" fan drawing from top of the tent keeping my lights cool, i have a oscillating fan blowing constantly on low and cool mist humidifier. Temp has been between 22c and 27c whole time with humidity between 50-70%. My light schedule is 20/4 as i have read up that's ideal. They are on day 9 since breaking soil and have only been fed tap water with zero nutrients. PH level of tap water here is about a 6.5 - 7.0. I am hand watering and simply emptying drip trays.

My main query for the time being is am i over watering!? I'm currently watering them every 2 days with approx 2 litres of water per pot. I get about a 20% run off... The plants at present are only very small with there original round leaves remaining and have there first two propper leaves popping out no bigger then a couple of centimeters. They stand about 1 inch tall. There round leaves are sort of twisted and pointing downwards and there 2 proper leaves curling downwards and slightly twisted looking. They appear to be of a healthy color but this curling downwards and twisting is really doing my head in. I can say for sure there has been one occasion that i certainly over watered. Any tips, tricks advice from experienced would be greatly appreciated. This is my first indoor grow period but i have grown very successfully outdoors before. Also Auto-Flowers are new to me but i am reading much info daily and watching vids. I plan on feeding them 1/4 strength nutrients from day 14-18 and then half strength from day 18 onwards until finished. I was planning on running Sensi Grow Part A+B for weeks 2-4 and then Sensi Bloom Part A+B for weeks 5-6? Any tips, advise appreciated? I also have some Voodoo Juice which i was thinking of running say week 2-3? Will be doing some low stress training on these ladies when aged.


Hope i have provided solid enough info for a helpful reply. I will post pics if necessary

Cheers - SkunkBandit!

any pics ?

i had problems with rock wool staying to wet
if your watering every couple of days there probably too wet
i water seedlings with a spray bottle

So you reckon water them every 2 days with a spray bottle until how old? When do i increase water and do you think my nutrient schedule sounds oK? Like i said I've been watering them like 2 litres per plant til they just start to drain like 10-20% run off. The pots there in are huge 8 gal (30litre) pots. I will upload some pics shortly.

I've been letting the coco dry out a good 2-3 inch deep if i stick my finger in.. but yeah id say its the rockwool ruining things for me

if the bottom of the pot is soaked the roots wont grow into it and the plant stunts

There is some pics guys... As you can see big pots... Spray bottle them until what age do you think?

ya let them dry up a bit
and just water very lightly until your pot starts to feel lighter
if you pick it up and it feels heavy its probably too wet for this stage
leaf tips curling down is usually over watering

2 weeks or so for the spray bottle i try not to soak the pot until week 2 at least sometimes longer
i start watering until runoff after feeding starts
i feed at 1/4 str and work up when it starts showing signs of being hungry
i start feeding around 3 weeks / preflower but my coco is loaded somewhat

Ok cool. Thanks heaps man! Any tips on how i will be able to tell when they begin to get hungry? When do you think i start them on the voodoo juice also? Sorry about all the questons.

Also my 250watt HPS is sitting 24 inchs away from them. Is that all sweet?

if they start to yellow or spot look at a nutrient deficiency chart
or post a pic
yellow lowers is N
brown spots is calcium
really easier to look at chart your gonna have to learn what to watch for anyways

ya it should be fine when they get a few leaves you could bring it down a few inches kinda gotta trial and error this part of it

View attachment 2816516
Something like that? Ok thanks man. Fingers crossed they pick up.

Day 10 - Still looking like crap really for day 10. The coco has dried up a little overnight. I'd say an inch and a half of dry stuff on our top layer and the remaining of the pot lucky to be holding 50% of its capacity. So i'd say by tonight we should of dried up. I'll begin spray bottle watering as of tomorrow morning. Approx how much water per pot would you say?

i do about 10-20 squirts with a spray bottle just around the stem a inch out or so
maybe a 1/8th of a cup at most in a big pot
you'd have to pick your pot up and see how heavy it is the bottom is probably still pretty wet even if the top is dry
when the top looks dry i spray it again

when they dry up enough they should recover and take off

Thanks man.. So much stress has been relieved with your noble advise! By tonight my pots will be close to 80% dry top to bottom. I may even water these very lightly before that drys up to 80% by the sound of things? Simply wait until top layer of soils drys and re-spray. How often do you find yourself watering with this method?

1-2 times a day
hot soil or over watering at this point leads to smaller plants or altogether full on stunting
from my experiences and from pics ive seen