Andrew4385
Member
Hello everyone!
I've been doing a lot of research over the past two months on starting my own indoor grow room using your forums. I've got the grow room built, its 4x2.75x6 ft resulting in a total of 66 cubic feet. For now I am just going to grow 1 plant in it so that I can learn the techniques to maintaining an adequate watering / feeding / lighting schedule.
The seeds I have are Strawberry Kush, feminized, 25% Sativa 75% Indica.
Keep in mind, this is my very first grow box, and my very first time growing pretty much anything!
So, I'm going to start with the box and the lighting. Listed above are the dimensions. Its going to be completely lined with Mylar, will have 3 120 watt full spectrum LED lamps and 10 1.5ft long 5 watt (per strip) full spectrum LED light strips that will be adhered to the sides of the box to completely surround the plant in full spectrum light. I've calked the edges of the box to prevent any light from seeping in for the flowering stage.
As far as the lighting cycle, I haven't yet decided if I want to do a 20/4 cycle or do a 24/0 cycle until flowering. At that point it would change to 12/12. Any advice or recommendations as far as lighting goes would be awesome!
Soil
I'm going to be growing in a hydroponic medium, in this case, Perlite. I will be using a 5 gallon bucket with a reservoir at the bottom to hold water. A 1" thick cotton rope will go from the reservoir to the top of the Perlite to guide the roots of the plant to the bottom.
As far as nutrients and fertilizer go I bought some standard MiracleGro but I've also gotten FloraGrow, FloraMicro, and FloraBloom along with Cal-Mag. I would like to use the latter nutrients and not the MiracleGro. However, I am finding vastly differing opinions on what ratios of the nutrients to use per gallon of water.
I've read that you should water with just plain water, daily, at a pH of 5.8 and an EC of 1.0 until the plant has its first nodes, but thats in soil. Since I am growing in pure Perlite, I'm uncertain as to how much of each nutrient I should add per gallon of water for the best overall development in each of the stages of growth.
-How much / what ratio of NPK for a hydroponic medium (Perlite) grown plant for the seedling stage? Vegetative? Bloom?
-Since the plant has 6 ft to grow in, at what point during the vegetative growth stage should I start the 12/12 cycle to begin blooming so that the plants don't outgrow the room in which they have?
Ventilation
Since I have 66 cubic feet that needs to be recirculated every 5 minutes, I would need a total of 13.2 CFM to keep the box properly ventilated. I have a 6" inline fan for exhaust with a 6" carbon filter to keep the smell out of my house. For intake, I've got 2 120mm computer fans. The inline fan has a CFM rating of 260 and the two combined 120mm fans have a total CFM of 138, so I'm pretty sure the ventilation will be adequate.
As far as temp and humidity are concerned, I know I need to keep it at approx 70 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity of between 50-70%. My room right now is sitting at 43%, I know with the plant being in a sealed box, the humidity will increase but any techniques you guys have to help maintain proper temp and humidity would be great!
Also, I have carbon generator pellets that will be placed inside the box. Is there anything specific I need to know about that in terms of how much to use?
Are there any other factors that I am missing that should be taken into consideration? Have I done my homework well enough based on the information I have provided here? Any tips or tricks that you guys have to help a newbie who is probably aiming waaaaay higher than I should be? Over all, I've invested about $800 into this build so I would just like to be as prepared as possible when I actually start growing.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and for any advice or recommendations you give. Every bit is going to help!
I've been doing a lot of research over the past two months on starting my own indoor grow room using your forums. I've got the grow room built, its 4x2.75x6 ft resulting in a total of 66 cubic feet. For now I am just going to grow 1 plant in it so that I can learn the techniques to maintaining an adequate watering / feeding / lighting schedule.
The seeds I have are Strawberry Kush, feminized, 25% Sativa 75% Indica.
Keep in mind, this is my very first grow box, and my very first time growing pretty much anything!
So, I'm going to start with the box and the lighting. Listed above are the dimensions. Its going to be completely lined with Mylar, will have 3 120 watt full spectrum LED lamps and 10 1.5ft long 5 watt (per strip) full spectrum LED light strips that will be adhered to the sides of the box to completely surround the plant in full spectrum light. I've calked the edges of the box to prevent any light from seeping in for the flowering stage.
As far as the lighting cycle, I haven't yet decided if I want to do a 20/4 cycle or do a 24/0 cycle until flowering. At that point it would change to 12/12. Any advice or recommendations as far as lighting goes would be awesome!
Soil
I'm going to be growing in a hydroponic medium, in this case, Perlite. I will be using a 5 gallon bucket with a reservoir at the bottom to hold water. A 1" thick cotton rope will go from the reservoir to the top of the Perlite to guide the roots of the plant to the bottom.
As far as nutrients and fertilizer go I bought some standard MiracleGro but I've also gotten FloraGrow, FloraMicro, and FloraBloom along with Cal-Mag. I would like to use the latter nutrients and not the MiracleGro. However, I am finding vastly differing opinions on what ratios of the nutrients to use per gallon of water.
I've read that you should water with just plain water, daily, at a pH of 5.8 and an EC of 1.0 until the plant has its first nodes, but thats in soil. Since I am growing in pure Perlite, I'm uncertain as to how much of each nutrient I should add per gallon of water for the best overall development in each of the stages of growth.
-How much / what ratio of NPK for a hydroponic medium (Perlite) grown plant for the seedling stage? Vegetative? Bloom?
-Since the plant has 6 ft to grow in, at what point during the vegetative growth stage should I start the 12/12 cycle to begin blooming so that the plants don't outgrow the room in which they have?
Ventilation
Since I have 66 cubic feet that needs to be recirculated every 5 minutes, I would need a total of 13.2 CFM to keep the box properly ventilated. I have a 6" inline fan for exhaust with a 6" carbon filter to keep the smell out of my house. For intake, I've got 2 120mm computer fans. The inline fan has a CFM rating of 260 and the two combined 120mm fans have a total CFM of 138, so I'm pretty sure the ventilation will be adequate.
As far as temp and humidity are concerned, I know I need to keep it at approx 70 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity of between 50-70%. My room right now is sitting at 43%, I know with the plant being in a sealed box, the humidity will increase but any techniques you guys have to help maintain proper temp and humidity would be great!
Also, I have carbon generator pellets that will be placed inside the box. Is there anything specific I need to know about that in terms of how much to use?
Are there any other factors that I am missing that should be taken into consideration? Have I done my homework well enough based on the information I have provided here? Any tips or tricks that you guys have to help a newbie who is probably aiming waaaaay higher than I should be? Over all, I've invested about $800 into this build so I would just like to be as prepared as possible when I actually start growing.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and for any advice or recommendations you give. Every bit is going to help!
Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!
