question for a first timer

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jezek

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i have 3 girls in my closet i got from a friend, around 5/6 inches roughly, 1 of them the leaves are turning brown, i was told to put a little hydroperoxide in the water to help it breath and feed them through a dish in the bottom, any sugestions? second, my closet is about 5 feet long, 2 feet wide, 7 feet tall, i have one single floresant light which im going to suspend today(i have it mounted on the wall to far up) and ive lined the walls with tinfoil, i smoothed out so no creases which would result in burning but i read last night to use the dull side of the tin foil... will it make a big differance? and third, i have a fan in there and a thermometer, its around 80/81 degrees which is a little hot for this time of year in canada, in there, is that alright, its rather dry in my closet so im going to get a dehumidifer, any suggestions for this first timer is greatly appreciated
 
Welcome to the forum.
Let me first begin by sayin you really need to read a grow guide. There is some listed at the top of the indoor section.

1. Not enough light is your biggest problem. MJ needs at LEAST 3,000 lumens/sq.ft. to grow. To Flower you really need to pack in the light. 1 florou tube won't cut it. Metal Halide and HPS light system is of course the best way to go. but Can be grown under flrous. just need lots of em. and keep em within an 1" or 2" of the plant.

2. You need to get a thermometer that also tells you relative humidity. It doesn't need to be a suana in there. Also "Humidifiers" add heat and could add too much moisture. Excessive heat and MJ don't mix well.

3. Aluminum foil don't refelct worth a hoot. Flat white Paint or Mylar. Even those cheapo "space" emergency blankets are better than Aluminum foil.

4. Browning leaves doesn't mean it could be a PH problem. It could be a fert problem or anything. Need pics. and you should always have a PH tester handy.

But first and foremost. Read a grow guide.
 
i know im getting more lights soon, there not that big so this should be enough for now, second, i do have a thermometer, its between 75-80 degrees, so thats fine, and i just got them yesterday this is the way they came and iw ant to make sure they grow strong and i dont have fertilizer yet so... :s
 
im kind of broke right now from spending all the money to make this grow room but i do happen to have another floresant light sitting around, i know its not what i should have but will it help?
 
Florous will work. I use florous for veg. HPS for flower. But any amount of florou light in your situation can only help. but only one tube will not be enough. plant needs 3,000 lumens per square foot. one tube of florou does not do that. Also, get that flo about 1"-2" from the top of the plant. ;)
So all the flrous you can.
 
ok well i managed to scrounge up $7.50 gonna go down to my friends moms hydro shop and see what shell give me for 7 bucks
 
Not much man. I can't walk into a place like that without dropping at least 30 bucks. ;)
Unless your really good freinds with her son and see if she has a dented case ballast and light she can't sell or something. ;)
 
my girlfriends brothers are her sons best friends so yeah i might be able to but if not ill buy a good bulb and jimmy rig something up myself
 
Don't do any jerry riggin with an HID tho. That'll get you electrocuted or start a fire.
For 20 bucks. The Brother Grunt has a wal-mart set up. that would keep 1 plant in veg. till you can afford a good set-up.
Check out insidesun.com for decent assembled remote ballast HIDs. ;)
 
now this may sound stupid but i dont know **** ass about lights, what if i was to buy a good hid bulb or something if i can find one for cheap and get an old lamp, crack the porselin and secure the wires, get an old lamp shade and line it with something reflective and hang it over the plants and use my 2 floresants for cloning? or would i burn my house down
 
jezek said:
now this may sound stupid but i dont know **** ass about lights, what if i was to buy a good hid bulb or something if i can find one for cheap and get an old lamp, crack the porselin and secure the wires, get an old lamp shade and line it with something reflective and hang it over the plants and use my 2 floresants for cloning? or would i burn my house down

OK dude, you just gave me one of the worst mental pictures of my life.
That WILL get you electrocuted.
HID bulbs have to have a ballast. HID bulbs can ONLY plug into the ballast that matches the wattage and type.
So.....
400W HPS Bulb can ONLY be used in a 400W HPS Ballast.
A 600W MH Bulb can ONLY be used in a 600W MH ballast.
HPS=High Pressure Sodium
MH=Metal Halide
(I won't get into conversion bulbs, switchable ballasts, or the differences of MH-HPS....just the basics)

Getting a decent HID is a must. Save up your bucks and get a good grow light. Even a decent "super florou" Like Insane uses will still run ya 90 bucks or so.
but a HID like my 250W HPS refurb job was only 100 bucks. Bought an extra bulb from 1000bulbs.com (I think) for 8 bucks.
A HID the inital cost for the ballast is expensive, but Lumens per watt can't be beat. So what extra you spend the more you'll save on power consumption/yeild ratio. IMHO
 
ive been talking to some friends about it and they say if i get something ther then floresant lighting ill have to get an exhaust system, i live in an apartment i cant midifie shit so..?
 
Even without a HID, you'll need to have "flo-thru" ventilation. My Hid is in a cabinet I made. I have intake in the bottom and outake by the HID. So the hot air is expelled pretty fast. I can keep the Ambient Temp in the cab. the same as the room its in. ;)
If space (mainly height) is a problem. then florous would be your best bet. Florous 1-2 inches away HID's 6"+ depending on wattage. you will need about 1' for your pot and 3' for plant ht. (trained). So your cab (unless a scrog) needs to be at least 4' tall. for a HID. ;)
 
its all in my closet, the temp in the closet stays perfect, dunno how, 29/30 degrees(im canadian) around 80 and all i have is a little fan, i dont grow it where i stay, somewhere else but when im there i leave the door open, these floresant lights dont give off any heat at all but my closet is about 5/6feet long, 3 feet wide and 7 feet tall so height is definitly not a problem lol
 
You can put a HID in there just fine. thats 15 sq.ft. A nice HID would be a must. IMHO. I would leave the ballast outa the closet though if you can. The ballast generates a lot of heat. (unless a digital which your not gonna be forkin over the bucks for).
Check out the grow journals. you'll see what many people have done with there closets. without doing any modifying ;)
 
im gonna save up some money and try to get an hid but until then should 2 floresants be alright im very very new to this but im pretty sure their still in veg state, i have 3 and two are dying, i want to make some clones today is veg the proper time to do it? and tell me if this is right, cut a nice slip from the bottem on an angle, shave off the bottem leaves and leave a cluster at the top, shave the tip until you see green, dip the tip of it in to the growroot gel, and then i put it in these little cardboard things i got, you soak them in water and they expand then plant the clone in there until it roots nice and then put it in my starter pot?
 
Veg is the correct state to be in. But you plants health is a big factor in cloning.

Hick's Cloning guide has step by step instructions with pictures.

Florous will be fine. but again. you NEED 3,000 lumens / sq.ft. 2 4' tubes isn't enough. 4 tubes would be.
To keep my mother in veg. I have (4) 42W 2,700 lumen Spiral florous in 3 sq.ft. If that gives you an idea. My box is only 1.5'X1.5'X32"h. and to keep one the way I like it. I can have 2 mothers, and a couple of clones. Thats it. Remeber Florous Lumen output is drastically decreased after a few inches. Not like a HID.
My flower cab. is about 5 sq.ft. and has a 250W HPS and is 4' tall. That is not easy to flower in. but I do it. ;)
 
here we go, im back at my site and i managed to snap some pictures with my very poopy $20 digital camera... dont laugh



top notch security
photo001dc4.th.jpg


outside the closet looking in
http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photo002qr7.jpg

the one floresant with tinfoil over it to "reflect the light"

http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photo003ml2.jpg

this is my good plant that i plan to clone
http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photo005uy7.jpg

this is the one plant thats starting to look bad
http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photo006vf0.jpg

this is the one that needs life support
http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photo007xo1.jpg
 
Get that florou closer. 1"-2"
If your ferting STOP. You also need a PH test kit. Your plants are frying man. What ferts are you using? Also what is your watering schedule and stuff.
The two plants look totally spent. Might be able to save the other 1.
You also need to get us the PH of your soil.
 
im not using fertilizer, i bought these on tuesday this way for $10, im using natural topsoil i bought from IGA for 1.99
 

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