HYDROPONICS Watering? New Grower (Stealth Autoflowering)

Ok guys, I've been wanting to do this for years now, finally even got me a registration on the site !

*I will soon journal this into a grow diary. I have 3 auto flowering seeds of different strain and plan to grow all three in this space.

I just have a few questions (some of which will probably be ridiculous but I must know so I don't want 2-3 months of fucking up, you know?
*I have read hours and Hours of threads on this site as well as others on stealth auto flower grows in your closet.

My supplies are incoming and are as follows.

- 4x4' cardboard box (All I can really afford but if things go well I'll be willing to upgrade on my next grow).
- 4x4' Mylar reflective paper
- 3 CFL 6500K 23w (100W) lights (See picture please I hope these are the right ones for vegging 3 plants).
- I have a 6 way electrical plug and a heavy duty extension cord
- I have 3 CFL to Electric socket plug/adapters
- I have 2 120mm computer fans (one for intake, one for vent top and bottom)

Now for the Hydroponic system

- 3.5 gallon Tuppeware with lid
- Small fish tank air compressor (2 prong, meant for 10-20 gallons)
- I have two 4" fish tank blubbers connected.
- 8' Tubing (I can cut in half for both outputs)
- 3x 5.5 inch heavy duty net pots
- 10 pack of organic rockwool
- 1x Fox Farm Veg Nutes
- 1X Fox Farm Bloom Nutes
- 1 lb Clay Hydroponic Balls

I live in New Hampshire and have extremely clean water via artesian well so I don't think PH will be a problem.

MY main question here is,

I plan to do this hydroponically obviously but I cant seem to find my answer, I am going to submere the bottom of the net pots about 1/2 inch to get the plant going, as soon as the roots start to establish out the bottom I was going to make it so the roots are half submerged so they can get some air.

Is it bad for the roots to be fully or partially submerged with plenty of O2 in the water?

DO I HAVE TO WATER THE TOPS OF MY POTS TO MOISTEN THE TOP OF THE ROCK WOOL AS WELL AS TOP END CLAY BALLS EVERYDAY OR IS THAT WHY THE ROOTS ARE SUBMERGED?

How do I feed the plants nutes? If it is via root system the plants absorb it through, then I would think I just put the dosage right into the main water supply where the roots are submerged is what needs to be done, with that being said, do I have to keep replacing the water or do the plants just absorb the nutes and breathe them out?

Any and all help will be great! I will be starting the grow in about 5 days time.

the 6500k are the right bulbs, but you will need more than 3. I used to use 6-8 on one plant..

Hydro: during the seedling stage you want your water to come up half way in your net pot. this keeps the medium from drying out as well as your seedling.. When the roots have exited the pot, you want your water to be a half inch below the pot.

You mix your nutes with your water and balance out the ph with up or down. no need to replace the water, just keep it at a proper ph for hydro at around 5.2

To each their own. I've never had a problem with cfl's in 6 years and the only time they burst is if you drop or step on one. Personally I would go with the cfls over LED especially the one that are being referred to in here.

cfl 23w 6500k (100w equiv)Lumen output =1600
LED (75w equiv)= lumen output=1100 << more expensive.

You can have your net pot in contact with the water but below the rockwool so the water splashes your medium keeping it moist. Or you can do the other and see what happens. Hell, if you wanna get all up close and personal with your plants get a spray bottle and foliar feed until the roots are coming out the rockwool.

petflora, I don't want to have a debate on which light is better, we will each have our own opinions on both..

Op, I'm sure you will get plenty of answers.. Do your research and figure out what will be best for you.

I see, Do I actually have to water the plants ever or is that what I'm doing with the roots?

I also know that I need to give the auto flower plants much less than the normal dose of nutrients correct?

For best results you should keep track of your ph 5.8 for hydro, also you need to know the ppm's of your nutes, that's important, you don't want to burn them or underfeed them, the suggested mix given by manufacturers tends to be too high in my book, thus the need for a tds (ppm) meter, lighting is all up to the operator and is different with each of us, cfl's are fine as a beginner, later you can move on to better lighting, T5's, MH and HPS are the best choices, T5 fluorescents are not too expensive and low on elect use also better than cfl's, when you purchase your lights you want to look for 6500K equivelant for veg and 2700K or 3000K for flowering, best of luck with your grow.

Thank you guys, this is all so helpful. What is a PPM meter? Is that what I use to test the hydro bath after nuteing and as a standard for PH level? How much do one of those go for? As of right now I'm just doing it for personal grow for me and my GF, just trying to get a couple z's to start but once we move into our new apartment I plan on going balls to the wall with all the top notch equipment and maybe triple the grow area (dont tell her ), I just want to make sure I'm capable of a decent grow straight off the bat to give me incentive to move onto bigger and better plants. Ideally I'd like to have a few autos in one grow for constant smoke and some special non autos in a separate chamber...... but that is way off topic, I need to make sure I do this one right first before I start dreaming here.

LIGHTING QUESTION (I AM GROWING 2 AUTOFLOWER PLANTS. I've spent maybe $95 on it so far and am trying hard not to break $130):

Ok guys, I've done so much research (48+ hours) on the actual grow, reading threads, forums and guides. I think I have the nutrients/circulation/Hydroponics down to a science, but after all the reading I have done, I seemed to have left the most important part to chance...... THE LIGHTS!! I know above I was planning on getting the 23w bulb 6500k Cools (JUST FOR VEGGING*) but I ran into a problem and now I am in a panic as my equipment should be here after this weekend, 2/8/14.

I have as of now

3x 13w 6500k Cool CFLs = we'll call it 40w for 3x (I found out they mean 100 ACTUAL watts per plant rather than equivalent, so this leaves me with a massive problem).

What I am thinking of adding -

3x 13 w 6500k Cool CFLs = 6x 13w 6500 CFLs (= 80w overall 6500k cool)

1x 40w 6500k Daylight CFL = 40w 6500K CFL ( = 120w Overall 6500k Cool/Daylight)

2x 23w 2500k Warm (Flower lights, I heard mixing light can be strong for bud density but am unsure about the "daylight" lights)


So... OVERALL I will have for VEGGING ONLY* (2x auto flower Plants)

- 80w 6500k Cool CFLs

- 40w 6500k Daylight CFL

- 40w 2500k Warm CFLs

Overall Wattage

160w Mixed (Heavy 6500k Cool)


I am not a teenager trying to make miracles out of nothing in my closet, I'm a college graduate. At the moment I really can't afford to sink whatever money it takes into this (or else I would have done MH - HPS grow) but I am willing to bend. I understand a lot of you are very knowledgeable but for right now I dont need the nitty gritty, I need real plausible answers for my budget.

1. Should I say **** it and just go all out 6500K Cool 100w per plant or do you think my setup can work?

2. I don't fully understand the 6500k Daylight CFL light I'm getting, will that hurt my vegging stage or does it contain both spectrum's and will actually benefit and add to the wattage without stunting anything?

3. I am looking for about a z off each auto flower (just to see if I am dedicated enough to produce a decent flush, then I will start venturing into new more expensive methods.), that being said I dont care if going full 6500k Cool gets me an extra 1/4 or whatever, right now I need this to work for as cheap as possible. Please feel free to give me harsh constructive criticism if necessary.

Thanks guys for checking this constantly, I've been wanting this for so long but my balls finally dropped at 26.

Oh, and are 13w completely useless for growing or, if I add enough of them is it okay?

!60 actual watts will get you going. Add 40 more actual watts every two weeks for eight weeks giving you a total of 320 watts for final flower. IMO this is the least you can use to get somewhat of a good bud.

Tyrantecks: "What is a PPM meter?"

PPM meter or known as TDS meter measures the amount of desolved solids in your solution (parts per millium) it basically tells you the strength of you solution, PH measures wether your solution is too acidick or akaline, they are two different things.