A newbies DWC plan. Opinions?

Hello all,

New grower and member here at the forums. I've enjoyed marijuana for many years but just recently decided to try my hand at growing it. Perhaps it's best for all growers to first use soil, but I like the idea of growing hydroponically and am more than willing to learn all that I can to be successful. After a couple of days of reading countless articles and conflicting opinions online, I think I've arrived at a rough means of at least trying to approach a good grow. Although I'm positive some of these questions I'm going to ask have been asked and answered before, I'd still like to request a bit of guidance and advice. It would be greatly appreciated.

Where I am currently....

• I ordered a stealth grow cab (24" tall, 15" wide, 12"deep) from some dude on Ebay. It comes complete with just about everything one needs. One concern of mine involves the lighting system. It is a 180w CFL. This will be fine initially, but what about during the flowering stage?
• Although there is room for four plants, I've decided to only grow two. They're a feminized auto-flowering variety called GirlScoutCookies.
• I think I'll germinate in the rock wool. I'll soak the cubes in 5.7 pH water for a few hours and put the seeds into the medium. I'm sure I can find a plastic tray with a lid somewhere to aid the process.
• One area of confusion for me involves the period right after you've transplanted your seedlings in rock wool to the hydroponics system. Is it best to wait a bit before adding nutes? I was recommended (and purchased) DynaGro Foliage Pro for veg and DynaGro Bloom for flower. This brand seems to be a pretty well accepted non-boutique brand in the growing community. Anyway, I went with it. I was told to start at half-strength and slowly increase. It would be awesome to hear from some of y'all who've used these particular products.
• I plan on giving these plants 18-20 hrs. of light per day. I guess I'll have to elevate my reservoir for the first few weeks in order for the plants to get adequate light. I'd almost bet money that new lights are going to be required for a good flowering. What would you recommend?

Ok, so that's as far as I've gotten. Yes, I know, still lots of reading to do. If you're still reading, I thank you. Long-winded post on my part. It was nice meeting y'all.

that cab is tiny. good choice with dyna gro. that light will be plenty in that tiny of a cab, better make sure you have proper ventilation for heat. You can always start off with really low amounts of nutes (like 1/4 or less) if you don't want to burn.

SamsonsRiddle said:

that cab is tiny. good choice with dyna gro. that light will be plenty in that tiny of a cab, better make sure you have proper ventilation for heat. You can always start off with really low amounts of nutes (like 1/4 or less) if you don't want to burn.

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Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I had to go tiny. This is a stealth grow, and it'll fit perfectly in the corner of my small closet. I haven't received it yet, but here's an Ebay pic:

Do the seedlings need to be four inches or less from the bulbs? There seems to be some controversy over this...

Soil is sooooo much easier, especially for a beginner. Soil is a lot more forgiving, meaning that it allows for a much easier corrections to the mistakes that you will inevitably make. Good luck on your grow though. You should do a journal, because there are a lot of good people in here that can/will provide you with some valuable tips and tricks that will have you humming along in no time.

bearkat42 said:

Soil is sooooo much easier, especially for a beginner. Soil is a lot more forgiving, meaning that it allows for a much easier corrections to the mistakes that you will inevitably make. Good luck on your grow though. You should do a journal, because there are a lot of good people in here that can/will provide you with some valuable tips and tricks that will have you humming along in no time.

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Thanks for the info. I'm planning on keeping a little journal once I get things going. Soil is still an option, and I've considered setting aside the hydro gear I've bought for a little later down the road. I could easily fit a couple of pots in that little cab. Would a soil grow make my future hydro grows worlds easier?

zachyweezer88 said:

Thanks for the info. I'm planning on keeping a little journal once I get things going. Soil is still an option, and I've considered setting aside the hydro gear I've bought for a little later down the road. I could easily fit a couple of pots in that little cab. Would a soil grow make my future hydro grows worlds easier?

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Yes it would, because soil gives you time to learn about how the plant grows. And like i said before. it's easier to correct your mistakes in soil, in my opinion.

Just out of curiosity, is there a difference between cabs made for hydro grows and cabs for soil grows? Does one have greater ventilation or something along those lines?

I disagree, I find hydro easier.

Dumme said:

I disagree, I find hydro easier.

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Thanks for the reply, man. I guess I'll just read up really well on both methods and ultimately decide once I have everything I need to get started. I can already tell that growing is going to be one of those things you really have to develop a feel for, kind of a like a fine balance between science and art. I'm really excited. I am leaning a little toward hydroponics, though. How did you first start? What are some things you wish you'd known back then?

Try to always be over prepared and always underestimate what you project you'll be at.
Understand that learning is more important than the crop. Don't freak out when you see what's in front of you, 99% of the time, it's nothing but a new experience. Don't be afraid to as questions; the only dumb one is the one not asked.

Failing is only when you give up. Understand that, because your first grow with suck compared to your tenth.

zachyweezer88 said:

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I had to go tiny. This is a stealth grow, and it'll fit perfectly in the corner of my small closet. I haven't received it yet, but here's an Ebay pic:

Do the seedlings need to be four inches or less from the bulbs? There seems to be some controversy over this...

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that is not a 180w cfl. a 180w cfl would be one big bulb that would fill the whole top of that cab (if it would even fit).

SamsonsRiddle said:

that is not a 180w cfl. a 180w cfl would be one big bulb that would fill the whole top of that cab (if it would even fit).

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That's weird. When I messaged him about the lighting setup, this is what he replied: "It is a 180w CFL lighting system good for all stages of plant growth. If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your business and have a great day."

Very well could be I was suckered.....

Anyway, just by eyeballing it, what would you say the wattage is? Perhaps each bulb is 60w? Maybe three of these things:

Please tell me you didn't pay 300$ for that.....

That box is a little silly...wait till you see it up close and personal.

Not enough light. Too small. No vertical room. Better off to go buy some 40 watt CFL's and clip on fixtures (like 6 at least)
and surround a plant with them...and you might actually get an oz.

I hate to sound discouraging...but that box just don't got it...go to plan B

I think you got suck too. DIY your own. You'll come out cheaper and a lot better quality and performance.

zachyweezer88 said:

That's weird. When I messaged him about the lighting setup, this is what he replied: "It is a 180w CFL lighting system good for all stages of plant growth. If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your business and have a great day."

Very well could be I was suckered.....

Anyway, just by eyeballing it, what would you say the wattage is? Perhaps each bulb is 60w? Maybe three of these things:

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Well, those would be ok - still very hot and there is no way that little computer fan will dissipate the heat quickly enough. I hope you don't need to control smell either, because if you make it to flower in that thing then your house is going to reak.

You will also need to switch bulbs for flowering from 6500k to 2700k, so expect to spend another $30 on bulbs.

I hope you can make this work for you, but don't expect to yield very much.

I feel this guys pain. As a new grower I figured I would go for one of these "complete grow kits" you see all over the Internet. Fortunately I did some research before pulling the trigger. What I found was these were usually extremely low end components slapped together in someone's garage and. They take 150$ worth of crap they bought at Home Depot and sell it online for 600$. I'm sure a lot of noobs have been suckered by them.

I've seen the exact add for this one one eBay for 300$. Probably can be built for 100$?

BurghBudN00b said:

I feel this guys pain. As a new grower I figured I would go for one of these "complete grow kits" you see all over the Internet. Fortunately I did some research before pulling the trigger. What I found was these were usually extremely low end components slapped together in someone's garage and. They take 150$ worth of crap they bought at Home Depot and sell it online for 600$. I'm sure a lot of noobs have been suckered by them.

I've seen the exact add for this one one eBay for 300$. Probably can be built for 100$?

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A waste of time at any price. You need a real grow space. That's just a tiny box.

Yeah I just finished building mine. 7x4x8'

Building material cost 130$
Hydro grow store bill 800$

Growing ain't cheap....

BurghBudN00b said:

Yeah I just finished building mine. 7x4x8'

Building material cost 130$
Hydro grow store bill 800$

Growing ain't cheap....

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True, but you're set for a while now. You aren't spending another $930 next time for hardware. It's pricey getting started properly though. If you're at least a little serious about it. That little box is a quarter ouncer if everything goes perfect.