First Ever Hydroponics Grow. Help?

First Ever Hydroponics Grow
permalink
basically, this will be my first grow with a 50-50 sativa/indica hydrid, i'm going to be growing one plant, scrOG, in a cabinet, under cfls's using a cross between drip irrigation and ebb + flow.



setup:

• ph up + down
• nutes: flora micro + bloom
• ph tester kit

• 1 x 125 watt 2700k cfl red spectrum for flowering
• 1 x 125 watt 6400k cfl blu spectrum for vegging
• small fan and air intake
• small pump
• 12L resovoir
• mylar coated interior
• rockwool and clay pebbles to grow in
• thermometer

questions:

is it worth investing in a hygrometer and a ppm meter? i know the water around here is only slightly soft.

for my feeding system, the pump will flush nutrient solution through the entire plant from the top for about 10 minutes, 3 x a dayand it will drain out of the bottom, some held in the rockwool

how far from my scrog and plant should my light be and at what times during the vegging and flowering?

when should i train the plant into the scrog, and should i involve topping when doing it?

what would be the best way to germinate, as i have no way of getting clones.


anything i need to add to the whole thing? please review and answer.

it took me way longer than it should have to write this 'cos i'm extremely toasted, so i've missed loads probably.



peace

cool design dude, I hope it works out!

sublimed said:

how far from my scrog and plant should my light be and at what times during the vegging and flowering?

Click to expand...

You probably want to keep it about 6 inches away from the plant once it starts getting bigger.

sublimed said:

what would be the best way to germinate, as i have no way of getting clones.

Click to expand...

the best way (as far as I know) is to wrap it in a wet paper towel and put it in a tupperware container and put it somewhere dark and cool

thanks

what, so while vegging it should be six inches away. what about when it's just started growing?

and will my lights have enough power for a single scrOg plant with a small mylar covered surround. and if so, are they the best option?

what, so while vegging it should be six inches away. what about when it's just started growing?


* i mean like just after germination when it's sprouting
how far away then?

Depends on how hot the light gets, just get it as close as you can without overheating the plant.
And do you know what strain it is 50/50 doesn't say much

i was thinking of this.

sublimed said:

thanks

what, so while vegging it should be six inches away. what about when it's just started growing?

and will my lights have enough power for a single scrOg plant with a small mylar covered surround. and if so, are they the best option?

Click to expand...

I would say keep the lights 1.5 inches or less away from the plant while flowering, adjust daily.

The great thing about CFLs is that they don't get as hot as other lights, so with a little airmovement, the plants won't burn unless in contact with them. That means CFLs can be placed very near the plant.

Half the distance = 4 times the light intensity. 1/3 of the distance fom th lights 9 times the intensity.

CFLs aint worth a shit unless they're real close.

I have the same type of lights and I keep the plants 1/2 inch from they lights, they don't burn.

i agree with ranunky, cfls are almost heatless, drop them around 2" from the plant top leaves,
great system, i use this exact same setup, except with a 400hps for flower and it has worked great for me!
The germ method that has worked for me is to just throw your seeds into a plastic container filled with water (room temp), like an old margarine tub, once the seeds crack, place them right into the rockwool cubes, and drop you lights when they emerge.
cheers and good luck
check out my current grow with the almost identical setup at
Indoor Hydro Grow #2

cheers man. so would you reccommend swapping the cfl's for hps's ? and if so what size and power should they be.

bearing in mind my grow space is about 45cm wdth and depth, and 65cm high

yes i definately would reccomend a 250 or 400hps, im on the stupid american standard system so not super familiar with centimeters but a 400 might be a little big. how big exactly is 65cm.....around 2 feet maybe, if so then yea i maybe would stick with the cfl's or if you do go hps youll need some killer ventilation.....but they throw fatter nugs for sure.

yea, 2foot. i guess i'll stick with the cfls real close.

here's a pic of the grow box unfinished and unfurnished.




it's perfectly square by the way, my phone is a tad funny.

sublimed said:

questions:

is it worth investing in a hygrometer and a ppm meter? i know the water around here is only slightly soft.

Click to expand...

For growing hydro a PPM(TDS) and pH meter will really, really help.

sublimed said:

for my feeding system, the pump will flush nutrient solution through the entire plant from the top for about 10 minutes, 3 x a dayand it will drain out of the bottom, some held in the rockwool

Click to expand...

I recommend rapid rooters over rockwool but they are more pricey.

sublimed said:

how far from my scrog and plant should my light be and at what times during the vegging and flowering?

Click to expand...

as close as possible without burning them - this is especially important with CFLs. Otherwise they'll stretch and that is bad.

sublimed said:

when should i train the plant into the scrog, and should i involve topping when doing it?

Click to expand...

this is up to you. but you can start training once they reach the screen/trellis. Topping will produce more top buds (but they tend to be smaller). If you want short bushy plants, train/tie them and top.

sublimed said:

what would be the best way to germinate, as i have no way of getting clones.

Click to expand...

I have had great success using the paper towel method (my grow journals document it).

how wide should the gaps in the screen/trellis be? and will 125 watt cfls be strong enough for 1/2 plants?

thanks for the help greatly appreciated

sublimed said:

how wide should the gaps in the screen/trellis be? and will 125 watt cfls be strong enough for 1/2 plants?

thanks for the help greatly appreciated

Click to expand...

I don't use CFLs so can't answer your question with certainty. Any trellis should do the trick - as long as it isn't so tight branches can't fit through. you need just enough to be able to train them to grow sideways instead of straight at the lights.

awesome, thanks man. i've been doing work on the grow box amidst my exams:

i bought some things i could get my hands on. i put the fan on, but kinda screwed up the positioning, so re-did it.



^ much better.

next step was to light and air-proof it. along with the bonus of insulating it.
expandafoam!

no-one told me that there are no solvents that can remove expanding foam from skin. i tried soaking my hands in white spirit, tried setting my hands on fire, sanding them down and stabbing the dried foam off. this better be worth it

next step was filing down the excess foam and lining the inside with some thin insulaor and to block out any missed holes.


trip down to the garden center and local hydro shop for some of the other stuff next.

wear latex gloves when spraying the foam/paint anything yucky. get a box of them as they come in handy for harvest time!

Reedzx said:

the best way (as far as I know) is to wrap it in a wet paper towel and put it in a tupperware container and put it somewhere dark and cool

Click to expand...

You don't even need the paper towel. Just put it in a cup of some room temperature water, then put it somewhere very dark, possibly covering it so that it's totally dark.

Come back a day later and the seeds should float to the bottom of the cup (you might need to tap it, since sometimes it gets air pockets in it). If it floats to the bottom, it's ready. If not, leave it in there for another day.

Before you germinate any seeds, please consider running your grow box a few days before adding any plants (or even germinating any seeds) in case you run into problems.

I know it sucks - but if you have issues (like heat or something) you'll be happy you waited an extra day or three.

hah, i know for next time.

i was wondering, i was looking at these seeds, as i can't get clones. i don't really want to spend too much, as i dont have that much money, so can ou reccommend anything especially suited small grow spaces + scrog?

sublimed said:

hah, i know for next time.

i was wondering, i was looking at these seeds, as i can't get clones. i don't really want to spend too much, as i dont have that much money, so can ou reccommend anything especially suited small grow spaces + scrog?

Click to expand...

best bet is to decide what kind of high you're looking for and go from there.

but as a general rule - indicas (couch-lock/body stone) are going to be shorter and fatter and take less time that sativas - but with all the hybrids out there - you have a lot of choices.