Complete Noob!

[SuperSk420]

Hi guys just registered on this site because it looks like there are a few guys who know their stuff on here and was hoping to become a skilled grower like urselves :D. I have just bought equipment to do my first grow which is gonna be a tent measuring 90cmW x 50cmD x 160cmH inside a wardrobe. I am aiming to do 2 plants at a time using 2x pots which are about 45cm in diameter and about the same in depth. I am toying with the idea of using coco coir as the base instead of soil but have no idea how to use it properly as the nearest i have got to plants so far was mowing my nans lawn :D. Is it easier to grow in soil or coco if u are a noob? The nutes i have bought so far are Coco A/B, Hammerhead 4/8 as I am told this is good for flowering and some Ph Down to balance PH levels. When mixing up the feed for the plants what kind of ratio should i use them and at what stages. I am also debating on which lights i should use in my tent, i currently have 3 125w CFL lamps but was considering investing in a HPS lamp, if so what kind of heat do they chuck out and what would be the right wattage to use in this situation?? I had an idea of 250w for the tent i am using. Any advice is much appreciated :D

Cheers SSK

 

[RobotChicken]

welcome buddy....We love Noobs!

But this is really a general growing question..

So if you post these questions in the general growing section you will receive tons more responses..

I will respond to your questions in a bit..

RC

 

[stormannorm]

hi there supersk420,heres my poinion on your q's.i used soil for first time it is easyer to work with i think ive never used coco but i here if your not used to it it can go tits up very quick wi over/under feeding with your nutes r u using seeds or clone? if seeds u wont need to give them nuffin for first 4 weeks or so cos the soil will have nutes in for the babies to use then i started to feed grow/veg nutes @ 1/4 strength the stated doze on the bottle.while thats going on u will have plenty time to read up on flowering nute charts so on...The cfl's uv got r gr8 for vegging and will do 2 plants np.i wld defo get a 250w hps for flower the temp theese put out im sure u can appreciate depends on the size of space uv got im not sure about how hot it wld get in your tent with this sorry.but you will need to think about air circulation its a biggie my friend.my flower space is around 4ft x 4ft x 7ft and without fans carbon scrubber my temps from a 400w hps can easily reach 50 degrees c with out a problem but with all air movers on its a steady 32 deg c.just summin for u to think about.hope this helps some.

peace out!!!!

p.s enjoy your first grow have lots of fun with it you'll learn alot from it welcome to the farm!!!

 

[SuperSk420]

Hehe sorry robo think i put it in the wrong category by mistake :p. Thx for the advice storm i will give it a go :D. If u run a 400w in a tent/room that size i should imagine a 250w in mine would chuck out similarish kind of heat as mine is smaller obv but im gonna invest in a hydrometer to measure temp/humidity anyway so will adjust ventilation accordingly. I chose a big bud x northern lights mix to start off with as i am told these are usually fairly noob friendly. What kind of soil u use normally just standard compost sort of stuff or do u use specific growing soil as such?

thx SSK

 

[Alien Abductee]

I would highly recommend soil for your first grow. Specificly, fox farms ocean forrest and cal mag and whatever brand of nute you want to go with.

Dont: Over feed, Over water, Continuously mess with the plants. They are plants, they sit there and grow by themselves naturally.

Do: Get a good ph/tds meter. Have good odor control.

Make sure you can move the air a lot in the cabinet, very important for small spaces. For lights I would recommend 2 90w led, quad band 660nm red. Works wonders in small spaces, you will pull huge nugs and not have to worry so much about heat. Maybe supplement with some 2700 cfls in flower, but not neccessay. If your on a budget, id use a few 105 watt 2700k cfl from www.1000bulbs.com. I love them and use them a lot. 25 dollars 7100 lumens each, little heat, just a great flowering cfl light for the price.

 

[SuperSk420]

I have heard of rumours that LED lights are noisy is this true? I am already running carbon filters to control the odours along with the tent obviously and the cupboard the tent is inside is also going to be relatively sealed too so im hoping that it will do the trick. :)

SSK

 

[Alien Abductee]

Its about the same as a computer running. Its a good analogy to use. You wont notice the noise if you have any other fans running. Most use multiple hydro-static fans, which run pretty quiet.

 

[stormannorm]

Hehe sorry robo think i put it in the wrong category by mistake :p. Thx for the advice storm i will give it a go :D. If u run a 400w in a tent/room that size i should imagine a 250w in mine would chuck out similarish kind of heat as mine is smaller obv but im gonna invest in a hydrometer to measure temp/humidity anyway so will adjust ventilation accordingly. I chose a big bud x northern lights mix to start off with as i am told these are usually fairly noob friendly. What kind of soil u use normally just standard compost sort of stuff or do u use specific growing soil as such?

thx SSK

i use bio bizz all mix soil just because i use the full bio bizz nutes range exept heven.not had any probs with it so far.dunno about growing bug budxnorthern kights but ive smoked it and its gooood.like i said before good luck and keep us posted.peace out!!!

 

[Louisiana]

Hey bud I too am a noob and I love coco cause if you screw up on things it can be leeched instantly it's all the benefits of soil and hydro in one. Also it holds moisture and oxygen well so your water schedule is a little more forgiving. I am in 3gallon smart pots though. Also I noticed you said you have ph down but in my(very little) experience it seems to be the up that I use daily I did a hydro run and generally only used the down to stabilize the Rez other than that as far as premixing I never need down only up. Anyways I don't know shit though. So good luck with everything bro.

 

[SuperSk420]

hehe louisiana yea im gonna get some stuff that increase ph levels too just in case. I'm tempted to give coco a try instead of soil as the only other time i grew a plant it was an outdoor grow in soil but i didn't use any nutes at all then. The plant was a monster too bad i didnt have the nutes to make the buds tighter tho :P. How much do these LED systems go for Alien??

 

[Alien Abductee]

I got mine for around 120.00 each. A little more pricey to start off with, but they last at least 5 years without losing any ability to make light, unlike hid and cfl. You dont have to replace bulbs, etc over the years, they just work. You also will not have to cool the light, I just use carbon filter for odor control and it removes the heat no problem. I sleep much better at night not having to worry about fires.

In a small space, they rock. They produce very little heat, your plants can touch the light without any ill effects. I wouldnt recommend led lights for a wharehouse grow, but closets and cabinets, just doesn't get much better.

If your serious about buying them, ill help you pick out a nice one. ebay has great selection and you can win them off auction for under 100.00 if diligent.

Here is a few pics of my set up and current grow. I use 3 led lights and 2 cfl's in 10 square feet using nothing buy miracle grow soil and tomato fertilizer.

 

[SuperSk420]

nice man the lights look pretty sweet! what strain u growing there?

 

[CrippledArcher]

If you are a noob just as I, why don't you go with soil (basic organic) I have seen to many people say that the Fox and other are pretty hot out the box. Then just use a simple seaweed, molasses, worm casting, epson salt, guano a good water PH meter and a sol PH test kit ?

 

[Alien Abductee]

madman, sour alien, hazy og, and alien dawg. Planning on chopping the sour alien today.. :)

Im converting to hydro and I have c4, madman, and 5 way in waterfarm buckets in the veg room.

the c4 and 5 way are just my testers to get use to it, i think the c4 is stunted beyond repair, but ill try anyways. The madman was the first clone I expect to harvest.

 

[Alien Abductee]

yeah fox farms ocean forrest is high in nitrogen, but has calcium mixed in, which buffers ph nicely.

I have a thread on how to grow from walmart.. you might want to read that over, it applies to any soil. If you follow it, buds will come.

 

[MakinGoo]

Nice lookin buds with those led lights.. Great work

 

[Alien Abductee]

thanks! appreciate the kind words

 

[cenjiedi]

I have heard of rumours that LED lights are noisy ,too. I think I won't buy it.

 

[SuperSk420]

well i'm already gonna be running 3 fans including the filter so its gonna be quite noisy as it is.. i might buy some LED for my next grow and use less fans depending on what kinda heat they are gonna give off (not a lot if Aliens words are the truth :D). Grow room is all set up now, got all my coco coir and nutes so ready to go now using 2 x 125w CFL's for now probs gonna go for an HPS next pay day tho.

 

[Alien Abductee]

They give off almost no heat. The air coming out of the light is slightly warmer than ambient temp of the room. Ive left 3 led lights on in the closet and turned off the fan for an hour and it was maybe a few degrees warmer after the hour. it was a little cold outside the cabinet though, 50 degrees or so. I wouldn't have even thought about it if it was 70 degrees. Sorry i ramble when im stoned lol