hilltopbud
Well-Known Member
Everything is ordered and I'm just waiting on my light, tent and bulkheads to show up for my first grow. I'm not sure what information is needed so I will give you my whole setup. 4x4 tent will be scrogged. 4 12 gallon hdx totes with 1 plant each and outside is a 17 gallon hdx tote for a reservoir. Using 3 1/2" netpots and keeping the water 2" below the bottom of the netpot, I will have 6 gallons of water in the 4 totes and 10 in my reservoir for a total of 34 gallons. Seeds are from JBC Seeds, Rare Dankness Ghost Train Haze #1. Light will be a Timber Redwood VS and an AC Infinity 6" fan with controller and carbon filter. I am going to use the GH Flora series along with the Lucas formula.
The grow will be in a building that has no hvac but it never gets below 50ish in the winter. Yesterday I tested my water, no water heater available. The PH was 7.2 and it was 48 degrees. The EC was .3. So I think my water is good to go, just a bit on the chilly side. I checked the water again today and it was at 50 degrees which is what the temp in the building was. I think that it will be fine once under the light.
When beginning the grow and at res changes....should I buy some type of heater to heat the water up to about 60 degrees before filling up the system? Or will the light heat the water up quickly enough that it won't shock the plants? Or should I just fill it with cold water and not worry about it? In my feeble mind, it will be fine for simply topping off at that temperature, but I'm a bit leery of filling up the whole thing with it unless you tell me otherwise.
Regarding the nutes and the Lucas formula. What EC should I shoot for at the various stages of growth? I have done a ton of reading and it seems like people are all over the place, with some using 400 ppm for the entire grow, and some raising it to 1500 towards the end? I'm thinking that I need to have about 5 different numbers: sprout/seedling, first 2 weeks veg, rest of veg, first part of flower, last part of flower. But I have no idea of what to shoot for during each stage. I understand that I should let the plants talk to me to know when to add more and when to add less. But what would some good ranges be to start with? 0.7 EC or 350ppm(.5 scale) sprout/seedling, 1.0 EC or 500ppm(.5 scale) first 2 weeks veg, 1.2 EC or 600(.5 scale) rest of veg, 1.6 EC or 800(.5 scale) beginning of flower and 2.0 EC or 1000(.5 scale) to end flower? Is that close at all?
Thanks for any tips and tricks. This has been a long time coming and will be up and running within a couple of weeks.
Hilltop
The grow will be in a building that has no hvac but it never gets below 50ish in the winter. Yesterday I tested my water, no water heater available. The PH was 7.2 and it was 48 degrees. The EC was .3. So I think my water is good to go, just a bit on the chilly side. I checked the water again today and it was at 50 degrees which is what the temp in the building was. I think that it will be fine once under the light.
When beginning the grow and at res changes....should I buy some type of heater to heat the water up to about 60 degrees before filling up the system? Or will the light heat the water up quickly enough that it won't shock the plants? Or should I just fill it with cold water and not worry about it? In my feeble mind, it will be fine for simply topping off at that temperature, but I'm a bit leery of filling up the whole thing with it unless you tell me otherwise.
Regarding the nutes and the Lucas formula. What EC should I shoot for at the various stages of growth? I have done a ton of reading and it seems like people are all over the place, with some using 400 ppm for the entire grow, and some raising it to 1500 towards the end? I'm thinking that I need to have about 5 different numbers: sprout/seedling, first 2 weeks veg, rest of veg, first part of flower, last part of flower. But I have no idea of what to shoot for during each stage. I understand that I should let the plants talk to me to know when to add more and when to add less. But what would some good ranges be to start with? 0.7 EC or 350ppm(.5 scale) sprout/seedling, 1.0 EC or 500ppm(.5 scale) first 2 weeks veg, 1.2 EC or 600(.5 scale) rest of veg, 1.6 EC or 800(.5 scale) beginning of flower and 2.0 EC or 1000(.5 scale) to end flower? Is that close at all?
Thanks for any tips and tricks. This has been a long time coming and will be up and running within a couple of weeks.
Hilltop