1st grow ever - using rainforest 66

so 1st i want to apologize for not having any pictures. i will by a camera shortly and post the progress of my NEXT grow from start to finish.

this is my 1st grow ever.

i'm growing 6 plants from seeds.

secret jardin darkroom 100L (about 6 ft tall, 3ft x 3ft)
600 mh/600 hps
5 pineapple express (g13)
1 rocklock (dna)
rapid rooter plugs for germination
transferred plugs to rainforest 66 in hydroton after about 4 days

have grown the plants for 3 full weeks and i thought they looked great...were 15 inches tall. i read they could double in size once i switch to 12/12 so i was worried i would run out of room if i let them veg too much longer so i made the switch.

they have almost completed their first week in flower and i'm just curious to know if i should be pruning ANYTHING at this time. i cut about 4 leaves total a few weeks ago that were looking a little dry, but all the other leaves on all plants look nice. no spots, no curling, nice and green. so i really haven't pruned anything pretty much because i dont know what to cut and what not to cut.

since this is my first grow ever i've been pretty much keeping myself busy keeping an eye on temp (avg. 75 deg. Fahrenheit), ph (avg 5.9) and nutes (following foxfarm hydroponic schedule)

any feedback would be welcome, but i'm sure it'd be alot easier with pics.

i gotta say, this website has been a fantastic source of information.

So here is my update with pics.
I'm just coming to the end of the 2nd week (14 days) since switching to 12/12. I think I let them get a little too tall during the veg stage, but again, this is my 1st grow.

Please feel free to give me any advice. I'm here to learn!!!!!!

looking good bro for a first grow. the ladies do look a little stretched though, like you said. Do you have any grow "bibles"? They help out alot. Im in the same boat as you, in my first grow. I like to say building an airplane while in flght!! Im using CFLs so my ladies are tiny curvy wild women. Almost to tight to clone, which is where im at. But I am also using Fox Farms and it finally looks like I figured out the feeding schedule, which seems to be about two weeks late to me, but like I said , building an airplane here. Sorry I couldnt give you any pruning advice just wanted to give props. Stay Irie. peace

Hey thanks for lookin....

Yah I think I stretched them a little too much. I'm def. gonna trying topping next time. You learn alot in your first grow.

I'm using FoxFarm nutes as well and have nothing to compare them against, but I'm really happy so far. They have a feeding schedule on their website, which I'm following, and no bad effects so far. I change my res. once per week and add the nutes at that time, adjust the ph and I'm good to go for a week.

Cheers!

how do you like that system?
i am thinking of getting it, would like to hear your thoughts

i dont want to steer you wrong. this is my first grow ever so i dont have anything to compare it against. maybe growing herb is easy? maybe the rainforest helps make it easy. i dont know. so far, i love it. my plants seem healthy and strong. i use the fox farm nute trio with their schedule and simply change the res. once per week. i germinated in rapid rooters and then put them directly into the 6" net cups with hydroton where i haven't had to move them since.

next time i will document the entire process. i will also trim my plants as they grow and keep them a little shorter. this being my 1st grow, i check the plants everyday. the only actual maintenance i need to do is change the res. so far i have no complaints.

cool thanks
are water changes difficult

do you think it was worth it, or do you think you coulda built something better/cheaper

i think they are easy enough. like i said, i have nothing to compare it to. this is how i change the res.
i mix up my water and nutes and adjust the ph in a rubbermaid container. i then put a little solution in a bucket. i take two plants out of the rainforest and put them in the bucket. i then lift the rainforest onto a little stool and unhook the drain (that's apart of the system), it takes a few minutes to drain into another bucket. once it's drained i take the solution and fill it back up. then i put the two plants back in. when i first put the seedlings into the system, i let the vortex sprayer run 24/7. once the roots grew long enough to touch the solution, i put the sprayer on a timer so it sprays 15 minutes per hour. the ONLY thing i added to the system was a small airstone.

as far as building something, yeah, i think i could build something myself. cheaper or better? i honestly don't know. like i said, this is my 1st attempt at growing herb. i had (and still have) my head so full of so much info that buying something was just easier. i tried to do as much research as i could from lights to grow tent, to ventilation, to where to even find seeds in the 1st place. i'm really happy with the system and i know i'll continue to use it. i still don't know how much dried product i'll get. this 1st time is really an experiment. i'm not worried though. i grow just for myself. it's hard to find anything where i live and if i do, it's usually crap. this way, i know what i'm growing and how i'm growing it. to me, quality is better than quantity. i haven't smoked in months so i can't wait to see how this turns out.