First time post and grow attempt

Hello RIU people, Just thought i'd say hello and show you a pic or 2 of my setup. Im sure along the way i will be asking for your help. I currently have a 2.5ft x 3ft room(well a closet i suppose), 5x ghs big bang seeds - 100% successful germination - i tried 2 different techniques , 2x in water for 36 hrs and 3x in moist paper towel for 48 hrs. 1 of the water ones germed quickly within 24 hrs and the other at 36 hrs. 1 of the paper towel germed quickly and with a strong long root and another one cracked withing 36 hrs but one did not germ so i popped it into a cup of water over night and that did the trick. So that is the 1st hurdle completed. Yesterday i have planted them using multi purpose compost and gave them a quick spray( soil was quite moist anyways). For lighting i am using 2x warm light 16w 2.5ft t8 tubes and 1x cfl 20w warm white. I know these are the incorrect bulbs for veg state but i will not be going very high at all before flowering so i cannot see this being a problem......do you guys agree or am i talking out of my arse? I have a few questions if any one can help. 1- my PH level is 6 will that be ok? 2- are my lights ok(not great but will they do the job) 3-is GHS big bang a hardy plant or will i have to watch the nutes and ph like a hawk. Here is a quick pic of my setup(was originally going to have 3x t8's but one doesnt work so switched to a cfl in the middle) I havent spent a penny on any materials other than for the cheap seeds hence why it looks a bit crappy. I am also going to paint the walls white in the room to help reflect the light. Thanks Rich

The t8's will not do what you want on their own. You should replace them with 3 t5 fixtures with cool white lamps in the same places that you have now, as low as possible. Those would be a fine start, but I think you might want to add some CFL's, for bloom especially. I hope you did not mean compost, which is used outdoors only, but have potting soil. If you do have compost,change you soil now as the compost will be full of pests. 6.0 PH is OK, but shoot for 6.5. You must always watch your PH and nutrients like a hawk for any plant, especially cannabis, if you don't you will have dead plants and a lot of wasted time and money Good luck

Thanks for your reply. I have used normal compost, i will get some normal potting soil and transfer them, do i have to wait until the seeds have popped through the soil first so i do not damage the seeds? As for the T8's, Will they do the job but just a small yield or will the plant just not grow at all. I am doing this as a test really hence all the cheapness but would still like a little something to smoke at the end. Next lot i will be doing a bit more 'properly' if you like with correct spectrum cfl's , top quality soil, reflectors and the like.

Drop bong said:

Thanks for your reply. I have used normal compost, i will get some normal potting soil and transfer them, do i have to wait until the seeds have popped through the soil first so i do not damage the seeds? As for the T8's, Will they do the job but just a small yield or will the plant just not grow at all. I am doing this as a test really hence all the cheapness but would still like a little something to smoke at the end. Next lot i will be doing a bit more 'properly' if you like with correct spectrum cfl's , top quality soil, reflectors and the like.

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The t8's will work to a degree and you still can use them, but you will need some more lumens to get some decent growth and bud, so I would use CFL's as the primary light source for now. Get the best soil you can get. and I add perlite, to make a ratio of 25% perlite/75% soil. Some people use more. What kind of pot are they in now? I would wait until they sprout and after a few days move them. The PH of the compost will harm them and as long as you are very carefull, they will survive. Good luck

Right so in the next few days im going to get some good quality soil & vermiculite and maybe a 125w cfl. If i get 1 125 cfl will that do for 5x 12" high in veg grow or would i need a couple? Also do i need any specialised lamp holder or will a normal lamp holder be ok. Just a quick update on the seeds... they have sprouted through the soil and are about 2-3" high.

More light... 6500K CFL's maybe add as many as you can afford...
If you can afford, buy: any brand soil, amend it with 25-30% Peralite...and 25-30% Vermiculite...that leaves you a 40-50% soil mix...
You need your soil very light to promote good root growth...
and as many CFL's as you can afford...did I already say that ?
Damn short term...oh yes, if stems get too long, on beggining stretch for the light, re-plant soil around stem to prop it up...
and...Move lamps as close to plant as possible...
Good Luck man...

On what is holding your CFL now, go to wally/Lowes/HD and buy a couple of "Y" splitters for your light...[about $2.50 each]
Buy three and three more lights so you'll have four lights, that's only a $20 upgrade... really worth it to have more light...

The T8's are fine for vegging. Just get the light close to the plants, like a few inches.

Dont worry about pH. At least not yet. Soil acts as a buffer and as long as your tap wateris not off the charts, pH wont be an issue.

And use paragraphs next time you write a long post. Most people wont even read a huge block of text with no breaks. It will help you get more responses.