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darklotus760

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Hi all I am new here and this is going to be my first time growing indoors. I am going to be using a 47”x47”x79” grow tent. I was thinking of growing 6 plants the strains are 2 Master Kush, 1 Mendocino Purp's and 3 Green Crack all Med seeds with a 400 watt Son Agro HPS lighting system. I will be using Premier Pro Mix BX potting & seeding Mix which I will be adding Perlite soil amendments too I was told that I need to add 2 cups of hydrated lime per 3.8 cub. Feet because of the peat that is in it but do I really need to add it or will my soil be fine without it? I will also be adding worm casting to my soil mi for added nitrogen, micronutrients and aeration. The way I want to do my light is a scrubber – light- exhaust fan which will be a 6” fan. Will my 6” fan be enough mind you I have to run my duct work up and around a corner so will it be enough to suck out all stale air? Also back to my soil will my soil be fine or will I have to still add nutrients to it and if so what quantities an what type of nutrients should I use and how often do I use it when watering?

View attachment grow-light-exhaust[1].jpg
 
First off, Welcome to MP....
You will need a bigger light for Flowering in that tent. A 400 won't come close to cutting it. I did one grow in a tent that size with a 600W HPS and even that wasn't that great. Yield sucked. A 600W HPS technically gives you enough lumens to Flower but I didn't get decent yields until I added a 400W and had a 1000 watts total.

I don't know that soil but if it has peat in it and they say to add sweet lime I would do it. I always add perlite and Sweet Lime to my soil. The Sweet Lime is great for keeping the PH stable and I believe it also adds either Calcium or Magnesium to your soil. I forget which one. Ever since I started using it I don't get PH problems.
Even not knowing that soil I can tell you that you will need to get nutrients. The only Soils that can go the distance are Super Soil mixes which Organic Growers mix themselves. You will have to choose either an Organic or Chemical Nutrient program. Mixing them will only kill the Micro Herd you need in Organic Growing.
I think your fan will be fine. I use a 6 inch inline myself.
 
Howdy.

Need more light like Hamster said.
Your question on nutes/feed depends on if you are using synthetics or going organic.
 
Thanks for the advice I already have the lighting system and am on a budget I haven't got my tent yet still shopping what size tent should I use for the lighting system that I have since the tent I was looking at is too big and won't give a decent yield? I found a tent that is 3 feet x 3 feet x 6 feet, 8 inches will that tent be good enough for my lighting and yield a good crop? Also any advice on what size tent I should use with this grow light would be appreciated so I can order the right tent and get my grow on its way. Also I plan on growing organic not hydro so what nutes will I need? An how and when do I administer them? Also HAMSTER and pcduck my soil is PREMIER PRO-MIX BX it is a peat/perlite-based growing medium that contains MYCORISE PRO, a beneficial mycorrhizal inoculum if that gives any help on what nutes to use
 
Hey all I was wondering if anyone had bought or know anyone that has used a complete grow kit? If so are they any good? Also I was wondering if anyone has used an agromax grow tent and if they are any good?
 
By a complete grow kit, do you mean everything in one package--lights, tent, fan, filter, pots, nutrients, etc? If so, I find that they are always quite a bit overpriced. You can go to someplace like Amazon and probably find everything that you need for a whole bunch less than someone will change who puts it all into one package for you.

That tent is still pushing it. Generally, lighting needs are figured by lumens per sq ft. You want a minimum of 3000 lumens per sq fty for vegging. You also want light in the 6500K range. For flowering you want a minimum of 5000 lumens per sq ft and light more in the 2500-3000K range. I wouldn't go over about 9 sq ft with a 400W light. I used a 600W in a 32" x 32" tent and did not feel like I was overlit. I also think that you will find that 6 plants may be too many. Will you be growing from seed or do you have clones? If from seed, are you going to get fem seeds? I don't think that you are going to want to veg with the HPS as the light is really not the right spectrum for vegging. Do you have a digital ballast that will take a MH bulb?

Your fan/filter setup looks just fine. You will also need an oscillating fan in your space to keep the air moving around and help strengthen the stems of the plants. You will probably find that you want to add a speed controller to your fan.

I would recommend adding lime to all soil mixtures. This helps regulate the pH. There a re a lot of soil recipes in the organic section. I suggest thayt you peruse some of those and build your soil from there. Different things break down at different times and the plant has differing needs at different times of its life. So unless you are very very well versed on organic ingredients, what elements they contain, and how long it takes them to break down and be available to the plant it is best to go with a tried and true soil mixture. I use the General Hydroponics GO line (General Organics) to supplement the nutrients in the soil and the occasional organic teas. Keep in mind that everything that goes into your soil and the food you feed must be organic as chemical nutrients used with an organic grow will kill most of the microbial life going on in the soil.
 
Hi Hemp Goddess,
How tall is your 32x32 grow tent? I was just surfing amazon and seen a 32x32x63 would this be sufficient for my lighting system or should I get a 600watt bulb? Also would my exhaust and fan system fit in a 32x32 or would I have to change my set up with just the light and venting system set up from the top? Also yes my digital ballast will take a MH bulb actually my lighting system came with a HPS and a MH Bulb. I got the Son agro bulb new from a friend who told me that you could use it through the whole grow process. I will also be growing from seed that came from a med shop all are fem seeds. As for the plants I haven't started them because I am trying to gather all information so I have a successful grow that will yield as much as I can.
 
Darklotus, I have used the Son agro lights for years and really like them, they do put out an extra 30watts of blue spectrum so they work in veg well. I have the 430 watt ballast to go with the bulb. You can use the 400w ballast ,I have and it still works. I used two bulbs for an area just a little smaller than what you have.
 
Thanks for the advice I had thought the Son Agro would work for the whole process MR1. I decided to rethink how I was going to set up my grow area I decided to sell my 400 watt light to a buddy of mine. I still haven't decided on which tent I should use the 4ftx4ftx6.5ft tent or 3ftx3ftx6.8ft tent? I am trying to have a decent yield the new light system that I am going to get is a Apollo 600 Watt grow Light digital Dimmable HPS MH system with cool tube hood set up. Also what is a good place to get a 6" fan for this tent. My question is though which tent size should I get with the new lighting system that I am getting???? Any and all advice would be appreciate. My budget consist of $600-$700 so any advice would be appreciate.
 
Yes, I used the Son agro bulbs for veg and flower.
 
Hey all,
I was wondering if you could reuse potting soil? Also I was told that after you have grown a plant in a pot that you have to sterilize it is this true?
 
I use smart pots so I don't sterilize them. I do reuse all my potting soil and add some amendments to it.

Welcome to MP!
 
What's up, I've used the same Pro Mix for several years and the Ph buffers already in it work well for me. Was the lime a recommendation of the manufacturer or a friend?
Tap water varies from place to place, so a good idea is to run some of your tap water thru a container of the Pro Mix before the lime and check the Ph of the drain off.
I do recycle mine too. I'll mix it about half recycled and half new. Now if you're using all recycled the buffers do get depleted in time so you may need to adjust the soil or your water. Just check the drain off to see.

That jump to a 600w was a good idea. The 600s are far more efficient, you'll get a little more heat but a lot more light.
The Pro Mix is pretty much nute free. You can't really go "hydro" in a soil medium but you can use the same hydro nutes in soil. I've used Dutch Master Gold for years in my soil plants and works great. It's not organic but pretty much everything they need except a little Cal-Mag. Sometimes organic can be a pretty complicated mix, but when you get it down the results are pretty good. Good Luck!!
Peace, SM
 
I use chemical ferts, I flush the soil good before I reuse it.
 
I use chemical ferts, I flush the soil good before I reuse it.

It really is the simple way to go and productive. Organic is sweet but a lot of work.
Peace, SM
 
Hi Superman,
It was a friend of mine that said that I might need to add the extra lime because of how the perlite breaks down. I wasn't sure so that's why I asked. As for the soil I was thinking of doing the mixing half old with half new once I am done so that I can recycle my soil. Also I am not trying to grow hydro I am trying to keep it organic I have been told that you yield better organically and the bud is a lot better. I have grown outside organically but with totally different methods then what I am trying now. Where I live there is a bunch of wankers that are nosey and would prop a latter to hop my fence and steal my stash so I thought I would grow inside for the first time and was wondering trying to pick up tips on the process. I was checking out Hemp Goddesses recommendation about the general hydroponic go line and seen they have a general hydroponics Go Box which includes: (1) 16oz Bio Thrive Grow / (1) 16oz Bio Thrive Bloom(1) 8oz Ca Mg+ / (1) 8oz Bio Root / (1) 8oz Bio Weed, (1) 8oz Bio Bud / (1) 8oz Bio Marine / (1) 8oz Diamond Black. So I am going to get this and try my hand just good thing they have a feeding chart instructions with it my question is when I first start using the organic box it says in week one use 5ml of bio thrive should I cut the ratios by half in the first week then to 2.5ml or should I use it as directed? Hemp Goddess I think this question would be more for you since you have used this stuff before so thanks in advance to whoever answer my questions.
 
Hi Superman,
It was a friend of mine that said that I might need to add the extra lime because of how the perlite breaks down. I wasn't sure so that's why I asked. As for the soil I was thinking of doing the mixing half old with half new once I am done so that I can recycle my soil. Also I am not trying to grow hydro I am trying to keep it organic I have been told that you yield better organically and the bud is a lot better. I have grown outside organically but with totally different methods then what I am trying now. Where I live there is a bunch of wankers that are nosey and would prop a latter to hop my fence and steal my stash so I thought I would grow inside for the first time and was wondering trying to pick up tips on the process. I was checking out Hemp Goddesses recommendation about the general hydroponic go line and seen they have a general hydroponics Go Box which includes: (1) 16oz Bio Thrive Grow / (1) 16oz Bio Thrive Bloom(1) 8oz Ca Mg+ / (1) 8oz Bio Root / (1) 8oz Bio Weed, (1) 8oz Bio Bud / (1) 8oz Bio Marine / (1) 8oz Diamond Black. So I am going to get this and try my hand just good thing they have a feeding chart instructions with it my question is when I first start using the organic box it says in week one use 5ml of bio thrive should I cut the ratios by half in the first week then to 2.5ml or should I use it as directed? Hemp Goddess I think this question would be more for you since you have used this stuff before so thanks in advance to whoever answer my questions.
Yeah that's GH's organic line. I use the 3 part flora myself.
Those packages can be pretty expensive and won't go far in those little portions. You may think about getting the basics in larger 1 gal sizes and let some of the organic folks here help with some lesser expensive alternatives to the others.
But I do recommend the Cal-Mag. It helps keep the calcium and magnesium levels where you need them. But, Good luck!! Sometimes there's more questions than answers.
Peace, SM
 
Ok so I have been doing some reading and see a lot of people mention botanicare liquid karma. What I am wondering is what does this do to my plants?
 

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