First time attempting autos in soil with LED's. ANY pointers appreciated

testtime said:

If you get Fox farm Ocean Forest dirt you don't have to worry about thinking about

When you prepare the water after you've added whatever nutrients and additives, you then want a pH adjust it to 5.8.

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5.8 pH is for hydro.

View attachment 4922051
Make sure you treat any tap water and get rid of chlorine and chloramine. And you can't bubble out chloramine, you have to treat it via some chemical that you get the fish store or some other filtration system. Don't kill all your beneficial microbes by accident.

I use the vinegar for pH down. It's the cheapest way I could find.

The nutrients were chosen simply because they were the cheapest listed on Amazon for the given category. I wanted calcium magnesium, I wanted PK for flowering, I wanted whatever. So I looked it up on Amazon and found the cheapest.

Make sure you have a decent pH meter, and rest it in distilled water between measurements. It matters.
[/QUOTE]
ph probes need be stored in KCl storage solution, never distilled or RO!

1212ham said:

5.8 pH is for hydro.

How to Check pH & Stop Cannabis Nutrient Deficiencies | Grow Weed Easy

Learn how to easily adjust pH up and down if needed for your cannabis grow. It helps prevent nutrient deficiencies!

www.growweedeasy.com

View attachment 4922464View attachment 4922465

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Hey 1212ham thx for stopping in. So then according to these charts I wanna adjust my PH between 6-7 right? And I currently dont have any wheels and the hydro store is im west BBF so I went ahead amd ordered the FF Ocean Forest and 5 of the 4 gal grow bags off Amazon last night. U think 4 gal will be sufficient to last for the entire grow? And im planning on returning all the nutes I have now and going with all FF nutes to keep everything the same. Any suggestions on what my shopping list should look like?

Oh and yes Ive always used RO for all my watering. But what exactly is that solution I should store my probe in? The probe came with 3 little packets to calibrate it. Is that what you're talking about?

fo

Stickyicky1979 said:

Hey 1212ham thx for stopping in. So then according to these charts I wanna adjust my PH between 6-7 right? And I currently dont have any wheels and the hydro store is im west BBF so I went ahead amd ordered the FF Ocean Forest and 5 of the 4 gal grow bags off Amazon last night. U think 4 gal will be sufficient to last for the entire grow? And im planning on returning all the nutes I have now and going with all FF nutes to keep everything the same. Any suggestions on what my shopping list should look like?

Click to expand...

I'm not a soil guy, but in soil a lot of people don't adjust the ph of their tap water and it's usually around 7.5-8.0 ph, soil has a good ability to buffer the ph. 4 gal. is more than enough for an auto. It will last an entire grow, but you'll probably have to add nutes after a few weeks.

I don't like the idea of buying a bunch of stuff and returning it after figuring out what you want, it's wasteful and drives up prices for everyone.
Figure out what you're doing, then order supplies. Lots of people use GH Flora and I'd use that before FF. FF isn't popular and it sounds like their feed schedule is crazy.

Stickyicky1979 said:

Oh and yes Ive always used RO for all my watering. But what exactly is that solution I should store my probe in? The probe came with 3 little packets to calibrate it. Is that what you're talking about?

Click to expand...

No, those are calibration solutions. Did you read the link I posted? Maybe search "ph storage solution"?

1212ham said:

View attachment 4922051
Make sure you treat any tap water and get rid of chlorine and chloramine. And you can't bubble out chloramine, you have to treat it via some chemical that you get the fish store or some other filtration system. Don't kill all your beneficial microbes by accident.

I use the vinegar for pH down. It's the cheapest way I could find.

The nutrients were chosen simply because they were the cheapest listed on Amazon for the given category. I wanted calcium magnesium, I wanted PK for flowering, I wanted whatever. So I looked it up on Amazon and found the cheapest.

Make sure you have a decent pH meter, and rest it in distilled water between measurements. It matters.

Click to expand...

ph probes need be stored in KCl storage solution, never distilled or RO!

[/QUOTE]

I meant between measurements as you adjust the nutrients. As far as storage it seems to be meter specific. I have a Vivosun pH meter and according to the documentation it says clean it with distilled water, turn it off and put the cap back on.

As far as pH. Interesting. I grew 10-12 years ago. First grow since then. New information? I have some reading to do. Thank you.

1212ham said:

fo

I'm not a soil guy, but in soil a lot of people don't adjust the ph of their tap water and it's usually around 7.5-8.0 ph, soil has a good ability to buffer the ph. 4 gal. is more than enough for an auto. It will last an entire grow, but you'll probably have to add nutes after a few weeks.

I don't like the idea of buying a bunch of stuff and returning it after figuring out what you want, it's wasteful and drives up prices for everyone.
Figure out what you're doing, then order supplies. Lots of people use GH Flora and I'd use that before FF. FF isn't popular and it sounds like their feed schedule is crazy.

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Alright cool man cuz I dont want the hastle of having to transplant. I did order the FF Ocean Forest soil and as far as ive read so far I can wait like 3 weeks before starting to add my own nutes.

And only reason I was thinking about returning what I have now is only cuz I wanted to keep everything the same brand name. But in all honesty I much rather stay with the 3 bottles of GH Flora series that I currently have. I was just on the fence as to whether the GH would work good for soil. I still havent returned anything yet. Did u look at one of my posts from before where I posted pics of all the nutes n everything I bought so far? Do u think ill be alright using everything I have now with soil? If so then ill just keep everything and use what I have.

And regarding the PH meter and PPM meter I bought... The instructions for both of them just say to re-cap them after use. Nothing about storing either in any solution. Thx for that man cuz im not looking to have to spend more money on anymore meters.

testtime said:

ph probes need be stored in KCl storage solution, never distilled or RO!

Storage, Cleaning & reconditioning pH electrodes and EC Electrodes

Just some basics put together for keeping everyone green. Note that Ph meters and EC meters should be stored in different liquids, and why. Keep Your pH Electrode Hydrated: If your electrode is dry, rehydrate the sensing tip by soaking the bulb and junction in an electrode storage solution for...

www.rollitup.org

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I meant between measurements as you adjust the nutrients. As far as storage it seems to be meter specific. I have a Vivosun pH meter and according to the documentation it says clean it with distilled water, turn it off and put the cap back on.

As far as pH. Interesting. I grew 10-12 years ago. First grow since then. New information? I have some reading to do. Thank you.
[/QUOTE]

Yeah both the meters I have say the same. Just cap them when finished using. My last grow was about 6 years ago n on both grows ive ever done I did dwc so thats why I honestly appreciate all the advice from everyone that has come thru. I spent good $ on these seeds n I dont wanna blow it doing anything stupid. So again thx to all!!!

1212ham said:

No, those are calibration solutions. Did you read the link I posted? Maybe search "ph storage solution"?

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And yes sir I just now read that link u sent. Thx for that.

Ok so heres an update on where im currently at. Im gonna go with the MARS light I have that pulls 150w and im gonna use the 4gal grow bags I just ordered with the FF soil I ordered. On my first grow im only planting 1 plant since I now know thats probably all my light can handle. And im also just gonna keep all the GH nutes and everything else I have and use them. So really all im returning are the 2 dwc bucket kits I bought. Then once my bags and soil come in, ill get started. Anyone have any suggestions on which strain I should try first? The Gelato, Zkittlez, or Wedding Cake autos. I cant wait to start cuz I honestly had the most fun ever with my first 2 grows.

Quick question if anyone can give me an answer...
On both my previous grows i used nothing but RO water and I just read something about how RO can throw the ph out of whack. So should I continue using RO or switch to distilled or any other suggestions?

Thx in advance

Stickyicky1979 said:

Quick question if anyone can give me an answer...
On both my previous grows i used nothing but RO water and I just read something about how RO can throw the ph out of whack. So should I continue using RO or switch to distilled or any other suggestions?

Thx in advance

Click to expand...

Not really much of a help here, pretty new grower myself, but I found that ditching the bottled nutes and focusing more so on building up a soil simplified everything for me. Not saying that bottled nutes or other styles cannot grow healthy plants and good weed, but for me the more so organic soil route saved a lot of second guessing myself.

It's a whole new rabbit hole to dive down, but maybe venture over to the organics section while going through this grow and see if that may work out for you. It's more so about pre loading your soil and then allowing the microbes and plant itself to dictate the rest. A lot of reading and different styles as well in the organics section, but lots of good knowledge and helpful people if you so choose to try that out one day.

Best of luck with your grow though sir.

loco41 said:

Not really much of a help here, pretty new grower myself, but I found that ditching the bottled nutes and focusing more so on building up a soil simplified everything for me. Not saying that bottled nutes or other styles cannot grow healthy plants and good weed, but for me the more so organic soil route saved a lot of second guessing myself.

It's a whole new rabbit hole to dive down, but maybe venture over to the organics section while going through this grow and see if that may work out for you. It's more so about pre loading your soil and then allowing the microbes and plant itself to dictate the rest. A lot of reading and different styles as well in the organics section, but lots of good knowledge and helpful people if you so choose to try that out one day.

Best of luck with your grow though sir.

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Thank u very much for your input. That is the exact reason im glad im only growing 1 plant at a time on each grow out of the 15 seeds I have. Like that I can see what works and what doesn't. Ill check those other forums out too. Thx again.

Hey all.... So I just received my FFOF soil today and I believe I have everything I need. So ill be starting hopefully within the next few days. I will definitely keep you all posted. Thx again for all the pointers.

Stickyicky1979 said:

Quick question if anyone can give me an answer...
On both my previous grows i used nothing but RO water and I just read something about how RO can throw the ph out of whack. So should I continue using RO or switch to distilled or any other suggestions?

Thx in advance

Click to expand...

.
RO has a very week ph and that easily changed, tap is typically alkaline and ph 7.5 - 8.0 or higher.
No reason for distilled, use tap, RO or a mix of the two. RO doesn't have calcium or magnesium and hard water can have way too much. My tap is HARD, almost 700 ppm, distilled is zero and RO is typically around 8-20. I have a water softener and an RO filter to remove the sodium from the softener for the plants.

Any ph meter instructions that don't call for storage solution are wrong. Rinse in distilled or RO, then park it in storage solution. And don't use that same rinse water and storage solution forever.

1212ham said:

.
RO has a very week ph and that easily changed, tap is typically alkaline and ph 7.5 - 8.0 or higher.
No reason for distilled, use tap, RO or a mix of the two. RO doesn't have calcium or magnesium and hard water can have way too much. My tap is HARD, almost 700 ppm, distilled is zero and RO is typically around 8-20. I have a water softener and an RO filter to remove the sodium from the softener for the plants.

Any ph meter instructions that don't call for storage solution are wrong. Rinse in distilled or RO, then park it in storage solution. And don't use that same rinse water and storage solution forever.

Click to expand...

Ok gotcha. So around what PPM should I be aiming for my water to be at before I add anything to it? And yes im definitely gonna follow your advice on how to store my meters. Much appreciated.