My Very First Grow, 3x3 Grow Tent w/ 315W CMH

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XxHammer

XxHammer

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So far the only problem I have with CMH vs. LED would be the amount of heat the bulbs produce. This is made worse by the fact that the exhaust fan that the sales guy sold me at the Hydro Store doesnt perform up to par for the Tent size and my Light type that he sold me but I will 100% remedy this situation for my next Grow. I will be getting a much much better exhaust fan as long as this Grow isnt a complete failure. At this point I've invested about 1,000$-1,200$ on this Grow so I am really going to be sad if I dont get a decent yield and I am being very cautious about putting any more money into this hobby yet.
 
DankNugz420

DankNugz420

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Don't get discouraged it will be worth the work! That first harvest is very satisfying lol just keep them girls happy and they'll reward you
 
XxHammer

XxHammer

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Looks good. Temps shown where with lights on?

Honestly, it is so hard for me to tell the Temp in there. I have 3 different thermometers/ hydrometers.

But I brought home an infrared digital thermometer today, like one of the guns that you aim and point, the temp of the plant leaves came in around 73F.... the medium around 76-77F, but the thermometers that sit on the table read closer to 80-84F because they just sit under the light so they naturally get a little hotter than the air really is.

I was worried I wasnt keeping my tent cool enough when the lights were on, but now that ive been able to take temps from the actual plants, I feel much better about where I am keeping them, if anything they could probably stand to be a little warmer.
 
SwoleGrow

SwoleGrow

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Honestly, it is so hard for me to tell the Temp in there. I have 3 different thermometers/ hydrometers.

But I brought home an infrared digital thermometer today, like one of the guns that you aim and point, the temp of the plant leaves came in around 73F.... the medium around 76-77F, but the thermometers that sit on the table read closer to 80-84F because they just sit under the light so they naturally get a little hotter than the air really is.

I was worried I wasnt keeping my tent cool enough when the lights were on, but now that ive been able to take temps from the actual plants, I feel much better about where I am keeping them, if anything they could probably stand to be a little warmer.
Leaf temps could be warmer. I run co2 & keep mine around 82F. If I’m not mistaken 77-79F without co2.
 
XxHammer

XxHammer

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Yeah, I didnt have that gun thermometer until yesterday. That allows me to take the leaf temps and temps of the medium. I was worried this whole time that my temps were too high because my digital thermometers/hydrometers had been reading higher because of where they are located. So this is actually a bit of a relief. I now know that I can back the A/C unit down a little more and make a few minor tweaks.

Plants are looking good. I will get some pictures up tonight after work. I have been doing a better job of giving more time between waterings now. I was really struggling early on to properly water my plants which resulted in very poor root development. I have since been able to sneak some peaks down the sides of the pots and the roots are doing much better now. They will be ready for transplant on Saturday for sure. I picked up a bag of Mykos to help the seedlings make the transition. I know they are ready for some nutes!
 
ChesterCheeba

ChesterCheeba

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This is my first go around with the 315 CMH and so far I’m really liking it. Currently on week 2 of flower with Phillips 3100 bulb. Running all Archive gear currently, Scooby snacks in the back and Code Blue in the front, all LST and scrog.
5F03C229 2D33 4EF8 8210 28D08C729E6F
 
XxHammer

XxHammer

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Your plants look great! I am glad that you are having a good experience with a 315 CMH. I will be very happy if my plants look that way when they are ready to flower :)
 
ChesterCheeba

ChesterCheeba

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My only suggestion is if your having issues with heat, switch to a six inch exhaust. I tried a four inch and it didn’t work good in the 3x3. 6 “ AC infinity exhaust rocks it much better. Temp never gets over 81 even on hot days.
 
XxHammer

XxHammer

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My only suggestion is if your having issues with heat, switch to a six inch exhaust. I tried a four inch and it didn’t work good in the 3x3. 6 “ AC infinity exhaust rocks it much better. Temp never gets over 81 even on hot days.

Yeah. I will DEFINITELY be doing this in the future. I am not going to do it for this Grow. It will be too much work to tear down the whole exhaust system at this point. The Portable A/C does the job of keeping the temps down, sometimes too good a job.

On a side note, I have been scared out of using 5-gal pots. I am going to return these and go back to 3-gal. pots.
 
Madmax

Madmax

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I use the 5 gal square pots .i use these using 70/30 coco perlite but i throw in extra perlite..i use these so i can water only once per day.i have an 315 for veg and do get abit of stress from the intensity of the light as rooms temp is 25.5 -26.5....i love using mine..crazy bright lol.rooms only 90cm by 1.5 mtres and have a 6' fan 230cfm phresh hyper.
 
Madbud

Madbud

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The thing about the infrared gun is it has to be close to the leaf or soil to be accurate, couple inches. Long range, the dot is great for cats and dogs tho.
 
XxHammer

XxHammer

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The thing about the infrared gun is it has to be close to the leaf or soil to be accurate, couple inches. Long range, the dot is great for cats and dogs tho.

That isnt a problem. I have no problem getting close to my plants.

What happened?

Just a lot of people using/recommending 3-gal pots instead of 5-gal. Making me feel like I might be better served to use the 3-gal.
 
Madbud

Madbud

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That isnt a problem. I have no problem getting close to my plants.



Just a lot of people using/recommending 3-gal pots instead of 5-gal. Making me feel like I might be better served to use the 3-gal.
Justnoticed something weird with mine, seedlings with just the dicot read about 5° higher than three-four week old plant leaves, even tho those are closer to the led. 85ish vs 79-80°, maybe water content?
 
growsince79

growsince79

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Been a couple days since I posted pictures of the little ladies, so here we are. Day 13. View attachment 1112741View attachment 1112742View attachment 1112743


The biggest mistake I have made so far as a rookie to cannabis cultivation has been improper watering. I was not fully saturating the soil which led to my roots only going about halfway down the pot. Luckily it is early still and I gave them a nice soak yesterday and could feel the weight difference between soaking and just misting them.

The plan is to Transplant on Saturday. They definitely should be ready by then.
Imo proper watering to runoff starts the day before planting the seed. Soak the day before planting so it has time to dry a bit. Then water to runoff every few days, whenever it loses about 80-100g in the lil square pots like you have.
 
XxHammer

XxHammer

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Yeah. Everything I read suggested "misting," or using a squirt bottle for Seedlings, so that is what I did. But then I found out that I wasnt getting the medium anywhere close to fully saturated. I have since started watering until the medium is fully saturated, which has allowed me to increase my time between waterings.

At first I was watering 2-3 times per day, spraying. That was for the first 12-13 days. Then I wised up and have since been watering now every about 36 hours (1.5 days), I am doing my best to stretch it out between waterings and not over-water.

I did not prepare my medium at all either, in terms of saturating before planting the seeds. Another rookie mistake. But hey. You only learn by doing and so far my mistakes have been minimal.
 
growsince79

growsince79

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Yeah. Everything I read suggested "misting," or using a squirt bottle for Seedlings, so that is what I did. But then I found out that I wasnt getting the medium anywhere close to fully saturated. I have since started watering until the medium is fully saturated, which has allowed me to increase my time between waterings.

At first I was watering 2-3 times per day, spraying. That was for the first 12-13 days. Then I wised up and have since been watering now every about 36 hours (1.5 days), I am doing my best to stretch it out between waterings and not over-water.

I did not prepare my medium at all either, in terms of saturating before planting the seeds. Another rookie mistake. But hey. You only learn by doing and so far my mistakes have been minimal.
Imo your plants look good, but are a couple days behind where they could have been. Use a scale to water and watch them shift gears.
 
Madbud

Madbud

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Yeah. Everything I read suggested "misting," or using a squirt bottle for Seedlings, so that is what I did. But then I found out that I wasnt getting the medium anywhere close to fully saturated. I have since started watering until the medium is fully saturated, which has allowed me to increase my time between waterings.

At first I was watering 2-3 times per day, spraying. That was for the first 12-13 days. Then I wised up and have since been watering now every about 36 hours (1.5 days), I am doing my best to stretch it out between waterings and not over-water.

I did not prepare my medium at all either, in terms of saturating before planting the seeds. Another rookie mistake. But hey. You only learn by doing and so far my mistakes have been minimal.
Fresh bag soil has plenty of moisture, to germinate you need warmth and moisture. The main thing is to cover the container with a baggie or dome til the dicot forms or the soil dries too quickly.
 
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