Need confirmation

[parrjj01]

Hello!

This is my first time attempting to grow. I’m only trying 3 plants in a grow tent. I have these items aligned up on eBay, but want to make sure I’m getting the correct things.

Tent: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281167492750?var=580225281424

Lighting: http://www.ebay.com/itm/291258208743 both 2700k and 6500k

Pots: (after they sprout out of a jiffy cup)
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Pots-5-Gallon-Soft-Sided-Container/dp/B002JUOWB2/ref=pd_sim_lg_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0VQ9SCQP3YAM24X68N6W[/ame] (3 gallon one)

Fan: http://www.ebay.com/itm/271175363361?var=570148209531
Is a fan speed controller needed for the amount of plants I have?


Now my 1st question is. Is that 1 light enough for my three plants?

2nd question: From what I’m reading I start out with 2700k and after 2-3 weeks of the plant popping out I switch it to 6500k?

3rd question: What kind of soil do I get and fertilizer and when do I start adding fertilizer?
Is this soil fine? [ame]http://www.amazon.com/FoxFarm-FX14053-12-Quart-Organic-Potting/dp/B001I49Q98/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1421939220&sr=8-3&keywords=soil&pebp=1421939251496&peasin=B001I49Q98[/ame] If so, what fertilizer do I need?

Out of this whole process my main concern is the soil followed by lights. Once I get confirmation on the soil and lights I’m good to go! I’m starting out basic, and once I get some success I’ll upgrade.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Thanks for all the links--this makes this easier.

I am growing in a cabinet the same size as the tent you linked--36" x 20", but I do have it separated into upper and lower chambers so I can veg and flower at the same time. It is a nice compact size, but should be large enough for 2-3 plants, if kept small.

I would seriously reconsider the lighting. There is no other way to say this, but CFLs are simply the worst light you can use for growing. Let's talk lighting needs first. For vegging, you need a minimum of 3000 lumens of light (preferably in the blue spectrum) per sq ft. For flowering, 5000 lumens per sq ft in the red spectrum. The tent is 5 sq ft. so for vegging, you need 15, 000 lumens (2 fixtures). For flowering, you would need 25,000 lumens or 3+. I believe that veggging with one red spectrum bulb and 1 blue one will cause excess stretch in your plants, but you can do it. However for flowering, you would need more light so you would need 3+ fixtures. And that just gets you to bare minimum. And I always recommend getting air coolable hoods on their lighting.

CFLs are the costliest to run of all the lights we use to grow and they produce the least amount of bud, sometimes by a large amount. At 8000 lumens per 150W bulb, you are only getting 53-1/3 lumens per watt. Compare this with other lighting. T5s and MH run about 92 lumens per watt and has better coverage. So each and every month, you are going to pay about 75% more for electricity to run the lights. We would not care about this if we got better yield, but quite the opposite is true. When we start talking about HPS lights, the best for flowering, IMO, the lumens per watt increase considerably. A 250W HPS will put out about 28,000 lumens, a 400W HPS 50-55,000 lumens. And then there is the heat. When you get enough CFLs in a given space to meet minimum needs, they do run hot, hotter than most other lighting. My preferred lighting is T5s for vegging and HPS for flowering.

Talking about cooling brings us to ventilation. The fan you linked is not meant to be a stand alone fan and while it may work in veg, I doubt that it will work when flowering. You should plan on getting a fan that is strong enough and built to be used with a filter. While some people grow in circumstances where they do not need a filter, a lot of people rely on them to combat the odors of growing--it is a huge part of keeping your grow stealth.

When I grow in soil, I make my own super soil up and I have a favorite local soil I use as a base, so do not have any input on the FF soil. There is one that is too hot for seedlings and young plants, but I do not recall which one it was. I am also not a huge fan of peat pots. Peat can be acidic and they never really disintegrate like they are supposed to. I usually just sew seeds directly into seed starting soil in a Solo cup.

While talking about seeds, I encourage you to buy some known good genetics from a seed bank. There are several real drawbacks to using bagseed. But I have given you enough here to think about, so we can talk genetics when you decide on your setup.

 

[Iams]

I also did bagseed for my first attempt, and it was that, an attempt. What THG is saying is something I wished I knew when I first got started. No matter how small , space/ lumens/ ventilation, is everthing to create the right environment. ( small space,=small buds). + Quality seeds.


That being said, I now have it set up that when I am growing with smelly plants I hook up the filter to the light. I have also found out other strains do not require that and only use filter when needed.(flowering)

MY bubblelicious was stinky from 2 months in, but my ak48 grows never needed filters.(just love that diesel smell). Having speed control to ventilation/filtration makes it easier to control smells later. You will probably need it at some point so invest in the right gear first time out.

dial it down or take the filter off line when not needed, but during flower, when you come home and the "girls" say hi outside your home, Your electric meter guy might notice that smell too.

/sniffing for diesel

 

[parrjj01]

Thank you!

So I can run a 400W HPS throughout it's cycle and just switch the bulbs HPS and MH. Like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/400-watt-40...d=100011&rk=1&rkt=10&mehot=pp&sd=271115410241

Also, I'm getting autoflowering seeds to test everything out before I go to the more difficult seeds.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Yes the 400W is a digital ballast so that means that the ballast will fire both MH and HPS bulbs. You can use the Mh for vegging and the HPS for flowering. A 400W light is good for up to about 9 sq ft. It looks though as the open hood is the only option on the auction you linked--not a good choice. I would not buy a hood that was not enclosed and air coolable nor would I recommend that any0ne else either. It is really really important and well worth the extra money. A batwing reflector is really hard to cool and may take the addition of an A/C, which you want to stay away from if possible. This is the light I a m going to use for flowering: [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GLK400CT24E-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B00547I5I8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1422063463&sr=8-3&keywords=400W+hps[/ame]. I use T5s for vegging.

A fan/ filter combo like this should work for you: http://www.ebay.com/itm/iPower-4-6-...ter-Ducting-Combo-HPS-Grow/181153049913?rt=nc.

IMO autos are NOT easier to grow and for that reason, not a good choice for beginners (well, actually I think not really a good choice for anyone). They only live a certain number of days, so they are really affected by any stress. Stress is something that new growers almost always experience. Any stress will affect the potency and the quantity. This is especially bad when you consider that autos are already a certain percentage of ruderalis, which is basically ditch weed with no THC. With photoperiod seeds you have the chance to nurse plants back from stress as you are the one that determines the vegging period. I am going to encourage you to do a bit more research and see beyond the hype.

It is so wise to get a space set up right from the get-go. have you done enough reading to know the basics of growing? Growing mediums, nutrient needs, pH, PPMs, different phases of growing, etc, etc? The more you know and are able to utilize what you know the better your chances of a successful harvest.

 

[parrjj01]

For the fan filter combo do I get 4 or 6inch?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

A 4" should be fine for a 400W. I personally have had far different experience with batwing hoods than Multi and my "extraction is up to par". I truly believe that you will have problems with a non-air coolable reflector in that small a space, even with your "extraction up to par". A cooltube will probably add a very small amount of weight over the batwing. You do not need any more "running equipment" with a batwing than a cooltube.