back at it *first grow* cfl question

Hey everyone, after multiple tries a couple months back failing over and over I took a break and read up for about a month or 2 and saved some cash. Well now I have a 4x4x6.5 tent with enough fan power to keep it cool. Using 6 23w 6400k t5 2ft 2bulb HO 6400k and a 84w cfl full spec. Been searching around to try to find my answer and most people say keep your cfls as close as you can without burning. Well im keeping them close and im around day 8-9 with 3 plants ...one is not doing well and 2 others have there first and 2nd leaves, one is doing the best with the 2nd leaves getting bigger and some small leaves coming in on the corners..

*Question is can you really have to much light because the best looking one isn't tall at all and looks a lot smaller than peoples plants at 11-12 days (which is a couple days away) Have the t5 about 3 inches from them and 2-3 of the cfls from the sides very close around 1.5-2inches from the best looking one. Guessing the reason there all doing differently is because each has a different soil mix since my main failures in the past have been from soil.

best looking one ... temp steady around 77...ph 6.5 havn't watered in atleast a good day or so because I watered to much last time.

just wondering if growth looks ok at this age... going to be a full cfl grow which ill prob buy some more cfls in a week or so. Questions and criticism is welcomed!!

Guessing the reason there all doing differently is because each has a different soil mix.....Quote.



Beech

Hmmm...are they all the same strain? If all other environmental factors are exactly the same (except the soil), then I'd have to agree it's soil. Also, when they are this young, I've always understood that you don't have to blast them with a million lumens of light. I usually start my seedling off w/just a couple of 23W cfl's 6500k and once they are more stablk, I'll start adding more lights. I don't thing the lights can kill your plants though, unless you're heat stressing them (which cfl's can absolutely do if the temps are too hot). You said you have good airflow though, so I can't think of anything other than maybe:

1. Different soil types (maybe some types you're using are too hot for seedlings?)
2. Over watering (wait till they ask for water and/or put your finger in the soil..it should be bone dry even 1-2" down before watering)
3. Temps too hot/heat stress (are your temps getting close to 90+ degrees? If so, that's too hot, and ideal is no hotter than 85)
4. Water quality? (tap water w/chlorine in it?)

That's all I can think off honestly. Keep us posted!

k thanks for the feedback.. ya im just seeing what soil mix works .. for now there all from a collection of good bag seeds soo its not a bad lose if i lose one .. have 4 more seeds germinating at the moment. using distilled water and the bulbs of the lights u can literally grasp and it wont burn your hand just feels warm.. 2 fans blowing both ways in the corners u can see a slight breeze on the leaves and a 240cfm inline fan exhausting.. have another 180-190 (forgot) cfm fan with a carbon filter for smell later on ( should install soon after i make some mufflers this exhaust fan is pretty loud).

But sounds good just glad its all working this time ... started a closet grow a month or so back and heat and circulation were a huge problem. After I have a successful grow or 2 I'll look into buying some seeds just don't want to waste them since i'm a newb at this.

*also top temps get around 79f, but at night they can get as low as 66f is that to low?*
humidity is around 20-23 ... has dropped alot since i added the 84w..most said your plant will adjust to its growing environment (hope so) even so i've been spraying the leaves and put a bowl of water in there ... hasn't done much

Temps sound good. I'm not a big fan of spraying leaves but I live in a humid environment anyway. You just risk fungus and mold problems if you keep everything wet all the time. Bowl of water trick should do it.

You've got to remember, bag seeds are nothing but question marks. What strain(s)?, how stable are the genetics?, etc.....add to that different soil mixes and I'd expect different results. As long as they're looking ok, no problem if they grow slow. Like a poster said above, watch that you don't overwater. That's the #1 problem most people seem to have.

ya figured that about the bag seeds... why im adding a couple more ones 2day that have germinated pretty well and fast. Want to make sure to get atleast 1-2 ..be happy with just one female for a first grow. For the ones I have going past the 2nd leaves I think its going steady with a every 2 days watering but not dripping threw the drain holes.. (should i water it every time enough so it does flow threw the drain holes? If so should i extend the watering to every 3-4 days?)

it looks to me as if the leafs are dehydrated. whenever my plants do that i mist them with some water which should revive the leaves. to keep from over watering i would soak the plants until water starts coming out of bottom of solo cups 1 time every three days. i highly doubt it is a light problem.

also make sure solo cup is stacked inside another solo cups with 5-10 holes on the bottom for drainage. you will know when to transplant them when roots grow out holes. make sure to water a few hours before transplant to reduce chance of the root ball falling apart.