For all new growers with questions... Tons of information and answers..

Cali chronic said:

BUMP and I was wondering about Lumens
what is the recommended or min lumens needed per linear square foot of canopy?

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for flowering.... about 50 lumens per square foot is a good number.. 75 to 100 is perfect but can be hard to achieve without some possible heat issues..

jdizzle22 said:

So you recommend going with a good HPS for the whole grow vs a mh for veg and an hps for flower? Yeah I am starting to think I might go with a tent because its a lot less work for me (not much of a diy guy) and much neater and better looking. Trying to decide between a secret jardin Dr-80, and a GrowLab-80 *(GL80 supports 35 more pounds hanging and has a coated frame, while the DR80 calims to be totally light proof and has an extra vent port)

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i would recommend hps through the entire grow ya.. if you can get a digital ballast, they will run both... so you could do the MH through veg and HPS through flower.. but the main thing is the heat from the MH.. in a small area it could be to hard to control.. but in a 5x5 tent you could use it with minimal issues... it really just depends on your final decision with the grow area.. HPS straight through if you go in the smaller area.. MH/HPS combo if you go with a tent...

i would choose the tent with the most vent possibilities... you can help support some extra weight if you need to later on.. ventilation is pretty important in a small area so the vent holes will come in handy...

i have 6 plants, each were successfully transplanted into a flood/hydro setup im wondering how long i should keep my nutes at seedling level, which is 1/4 strenght according to the bottle 33ml of each with water. Also should i do a flush before i change the nutes? heres pics

the bottles are Floragrow floramicro and florabloom sorry for crummy pics General hydroponics is the brand

i use GH also... its a good 3 part system.. im having very good results with it

i start increasing after the first week...

week 1 of transplant i go 1/4 strength

week 2 i go 1/2 strength

week 3 i go 3/4 to full strength.. depending on how well they are growing...

i can give you actual amounts i use if you want.. i use other additives also so you have to take that into consideration if i do give you my numbers...




new you tube video i made today...
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Nah thanks anyways, i got the numbers off the bottle and so far its doing alright, thanks for the info tho

as far as nute flushs go when should i be concerned about that?

a man so one the blub plants is starting thicking up but there this brown tep at the ends of the leafs here some pics

dustyD said:

Nah thanks anyways, i got the numbers off the bottle and so far its doing alright, thanks for the info tho

as far as nute flushs go when should i be concerned about that?

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when you transition into flowering you want to cut back to 1/4 strength of all three until you can start to make out bud sites.. they will appear as super light green/yellow growth all over the plant where the flowers will grow.. once you see those drop the veg and start increasing the bloom to 1/2 strength then full strength...

also you'll want to flush before harvest... dont do the 2 week crap you hear everyone spit out... thats over kill and takes valuable nutes away from your girls during a time where they can possibly be swelling quite significantly...

the best flush routine i have found is this... over the last 3 waterings do this...

1/4 strength nutes

1/4 strength nutes

plain water - use 3 times the volume of the pot.. so if you have a 2 gallon pot run 6 gallons of plain water through it..

harvest when you would need to water it again... if the soil is dry at harvest it will help to dry the plant out faster...

that is plenty of "flushing" to take care of things and will keep your plant very happy up until the very end...

haha555 said:

o and its smells lot bud at a young stage

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they are looking a lot better.. its just a process... it can be quicker or longer.. many variables decide that... but they are coming along...

are you feeding nutes at all?? if so how much?? what kind of water are you watering with??

what size pot are they in??

gotta ask a few questions before i try to figure out the brown..

bhoyo21 said:

Hi guys!! Noob question, dont know if its been covered in the forums. I have a space for a dual grow cupboard. Top area for veg 5'w x 2'h x 2'd
Bottom area for flowering 6'w x 4'h x 2'd
Would the top space be enough room for clones and a mother, if topped regularly?

I have six of these little 16w 2700k t4 fluorescent tubes about 500mm long.Would these be enough light for my mother and clones?

Also could u recommend a strain and light for the flowering area due to limited space?
Cheers

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your best bet would be to LST the mother to keep her low... but you would have enough space to have clones and an LST'd mother.. it will be pretty tight if you just try to top the mom... or you could SCROG the mom and take cuttings from branches that grow through the screen.. but i think personally LST would be your best bet.. root the clones in party cups, or in starter cubes and then move to party cups for easy moving and transplanting.. a simple cut down the side of a party cup should easily make the root mass removeable in one piece...

you'll need more light than that to do things right.. if you could get a 2 or 4 bulb 4' shop light (t-5 floros) and use those smaller bulbs as supplemental lighting that would be ideal..

http://www.brandys-imports.com/susaivgr.html these ballasts would be perfect for your flower room.. they are expensive.. but i use them myself.. and for a space your size you would get results as if you were using an HID light.. without the heat problems or any other problems you normally run into with HID in small places....

if thats too much to spend.. i would suggest simply a 400w or 600w hps... you may have to do some ventilation and air cooling to make it work.. but it can be done.. easier with the 400 than the 600...

ok well i water them with EM_1 and water. the nutes i feed them is the worm tea ive been makeing its h is 4 in" and 25 cm and w is about 4 to 5 " across

and i only water them em-1 for two day then on day three i give them the worm tea

cheers for the info sampson420.

i think you may want to increase the amount of tea you are giving them by a little bit..

is the water you use tap, well, or ro water?

well im trying to collect rain water but it has not rain here for a good loon time so i use tap but the rain i do get i put in the tap water so the ph gos down tap is alkaline right?

So I decided to get a hortilux mh blue but I've run into a problem, some websites say its only 4200k and others say it is 6500k. The hortilux website says that it is 6500k but I figure there must be something going on for so many websites to say 4200k. For a metal halide does it really matter if its 4200k or 6500k? I see most mh and hps are not either 6500 or 2700 like most people say the lights should be for the plants. *ok i read once that the 4200k mh/hps bulbs are for when you intend to use that bulb veg through flower, is that really the case?

PS: Are most all reflector hoods with built in sockets mogul based?
PSS: sorry if i am asking way too many newb questions, if i am at all doing wrong please tell me

haha555 said:

well im trying to collect rain water but it has not rain here for a good loon time so i use tap but the rain i do get i put in the tap water so the ph gos down tap is alkaline right?

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haha555 said:

a so should give them the tea one a day then

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tap is generally more basic... which means a higher ph... i dont know if rain water is more or less acidic.. but you may want to consider getting a ph meter to check your ph of the water.. also if your water is high in chlorine you should let it sit out over night...

i would only give them tea every other watering... that should be fine.. also you shouldnt be watering daily.. they should only need watered every few days... if they are needing watered daily you need larger pots.. or set them up with some sort of DIY drip system that feeds constantly...

jdizzle22 said:

So I decided to get a hortilux mh blue but I've run into a problem, some websites say its only 4200k and others say it is 6500k. The hortilux website says that it is 6500k but I figure there must be something going on for so many websites to say 4200k. For a metal halide does it really matter if its 4200k or 6500k? I see most mh and hps are not either 6500 or 2700 like most people say the lights should be for the plants.

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if its 4200k it'll be fine.. if its 6500k it'll be fine too... the 4200k would be my personal preference since it would have more reds/oranges in it for flowering...

Darn i was hoping you hadn't replied yet so i could add a PSSSSS:

Ok so whats the deal with people saying you should use a 430w bulb even when you have a 400w socket? I would think the damage in running a bulb that isnt rated for the socket would totally negate any benefits from that extra 30w. Specifically i am looking at the Eye Hortilux Super HPS line and read someone say to get the 430 over the 400

PS: i am thinking i will go with the hortilux blue mh and the hortilux super hps both 400w as they seem to have the best rep
PSS: I will go with a tent that is 2'8 x 2'8 x 6" and I am looking at these as they are certainly attractive. There are 130 and 240 cfm models (the 130 is said to clear an 8x8x8 room every 3 minutes, do you think either would be adequate for hooking up to a vent hood and having that suck the air out of a sealed 400w mh/hps hood as the only exit? *producing the negative pressure? *(thus cooling the 400w bulb and cleaning/sucking the air out of the tent) I was thinking of making a cylinder scrubber like this and buying one of those fans but this might actually be cheaper...? Or would that whole negative pressure thing only really work if the actual vent was at the top? (if the vent entrance is low along with the light hood say during early veg, it wouldn't clear the air in the chamber as well as it would if it was raised to the top right?)
http://stores.ebay.com/FOOTHILL-FILTERS_ACTIVATED-CARBON-FILTER-FAN_W0QQ_fsubZ16925998QQ_sidZ28732033QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322
sorry I am not speaking very clearly right now, maybe i should restate...

Would the item in the link be powerful enough to cool a 400w bulb inside a reflector/hood (with the glass piece and the only other vent open), and clear the air inside the chamber at a decent rate?*(even if the hood is not near the top of the chamber?)

PSSSSSSSS: ok so 8x8x8=512cf , 2.66x2.66x6=42.64cf , 512/42.64=12 3mins/12= tons of air replacement and negative pressure?

jdizzle22 said:

Ok so whats the deal with people saying you should use a 430w bulb even when you have a 400w socket? I would think the damage in running a bulb that isnt rated for the socket would totally negate any benefits from that extra 30w. Specifically i am looking at the Eye Hortilux Super HPS line and read someone say to get the 430 over the 400

PS: i am thinking i will go with the hortilux blue mh and the hortilux super hps both 400w as they seem to have the best rep
PSS: I will go with a tent that is 2'8 x 2'8 x 6" and I am looking at these as they are certainly attractive. There are 130 and 240 cfm models (the 130 is said to clear an 8x8x8 room every 3 minutes, do you think either would be adequate for hooking up to a vent hood and having that suck the air out of a sealed 400w mh/hps hood as the only exit? *producing the negative pressure? *(thus cooling the 400w bulb and cleaning/sucking the air out of the tent) I was thinking of making a cylinder scrubber like this and buying one of those fans but this might actually be cheaper...? Or would that whole negative pressure thing only really work if the actual vent was at the top? (if the vent entrance is low along with the light hood say during early veg, it wouldn't clear the air in the chamber as well as it would if it was raised to the top right?)
http://stores.ebay.com/FOOTHILL-FILTERS_ACTIVATED-CARBON-FILTER-FAN_W0QQ_fsubZ16925998QQ_sidZ28732033QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322
sorry I am not speaking very clearly right now, maybe i should restate...

Would the item in the link be powerful enough to cool a 400w bulb inside a reflector/hood (with the glass piece and the only other vent open), and clear the air inside the chamber at a decent rate?*(even if the hood is not near the top of the chamber?)

PSSSSSSSS: ok so 8x8x8=512cf , 2.66x2.66x6=42.64cf , 512/42.64=12 3mins/12= tons of air replacement and negative pressure?

Click to expand...

i am pretty sure a 400w ballast actually can produce more and uses more than 400ws... i know they have an initial extra surge of power to start... so i think, if i am right, that the 430w bulbs actually use all the power that the ballasts can supply.. they are fine to use... the extra 30ws dont make much difference...

hortilux is a good brand.. cant go wrong either way...

the 132 cfm fan would be big enough for your tent... it would create adequate negative pressure to help keep things cooler..

i would try to keep it towards the top.. but it will clear the air in the room just fine wherever its at...

Geez man you are so helpful, if there is any way for me to give you props officially with votes or whatever let me know!

Do you think that fan could suck enough air through a tent, then the hood with glass, then the filter, and then maybe* out some venting?

PS: i just have no visualization of how much air this is, i jsut thing of how hard a computer fan blows on my hand just a couple inches away and how that seems like such a small amount of air

these fans move a lot more air than a computer fan.... think more like leaf blower style.. maybe not quite as much air as that.. but they move a lot...

attach the fan up in the top corner of the tent... run duct from the intake of the fan to the closest side of the HID reflector.... leave the other side of the reflector open so air can be pulled in.. run the exhaust out of the top of the tent to another room ideally.. if you want to put an air scrubber on the duct somewhere for smell thats fine.. just make sure you check what kind it is.. some require air to be pushed through.. some pulled through.. some dont matter...

every bend in the duct removes efficiency of the fan.. try to keep from doing 90 degree bends if possible.. make them as gradual as you can.. if you cant get away from a couple sharp turns you may want to get the larger of the two fans to compensate for the lost efficiency...

What time of day should I water? Right now I am growing for my sickly aunt and I have my first 3 little ones growing in a mix of FF Ocean Forest and perlite (2 parts ocean forest to 1 part perlite). They are in those red party cups with the top inch or so cut off, and are in my mrgrowpro pc grow case with 4 24w 6500k cfls. So far I've been watering every 3 days at about 9-10am (their 18/6 light schedule kicks in at 6am), just enough with a spray bottle until a few drops of water come out the bottom.

I use a scale to weigh them to see how much water weight they lose. When totally dry I believe each cup weighs about 90 grams, I usually when I water them they are about 100 to 110 grams. Today I am thinking of letting them go an extra day to get it a bit dryer in there so they will stretch their roots down more (down to sub 100grams or do you think that might be too dry?)

I am pretty sure I am not over watering them, but I am not sure if I am letting the soil dry out too much (at least this time with waiting 4 days). Right now they weigh about 105g each and if my guesstimates are correct they should lose maybe 10 grams more of moisture in the next 24 hours.

Um to my original question though, what time is it best to water? Just before lights come on? Just after? Just before lights go off? Anytime? Does it matter if they are young *It has been 9 days since they popped out of the ground

you watering schedule sounds perfect... your definitely not going to over water them with that routine.. knowing the weights and such.. very impressive...

as far as when to water i personally liked to water within the first few hours of the lights coming on... it gave them a chance to wake up and start their daily functions... get them ready and wanting water..

but really any time wihtin the first half of the day is fine...

i just wouldnt do it towards the end of the day or before lights out....

thats just my opinion though...