hey man... i'm really happy to hear how excited you are about all this. I actually am growing a few feminized auto-flower bubbalicious seeds from nirvana. I can vouch for them and they are great. my plants just can't stop growing.
You seem like the type of person to put germinate your seeds before getting the perfect environment for your babies...
I'll break it down as simple as my brain can accomplish catered towards what enlightenment i believe you are seeking.
So you're going to need a $400-$500 budget for this...
I have a lot of questions but I'm going to assume a lot of things and hopefully I'm right.
You should definitely stick with 400 Watt light.. if you can get one with a Cool Tube reflector hood. A COOL TUBE IS A MUST for indoor growing. **GREAT TIP: angle a small fan blowing towards your light towards your exhaust fan (5 degrees differences)**
Figure out your dimensions of how big you want ur tent to be and get it. It would be AWESOME if you had a window / AC / Portable AC / DIY AC to help with heat...it WILL be an issue.
Also you want to get a REALLY CHEAP Humidifier from salvation army
Get a temperature + humidity monitor in one. they r pretty cheap like $12-15 all over the web (i got mine from amazon i think, along with most of my shit AND Ebay).
Keep temp's at 75-82 if it gets to 86 or more that's bad and you need to ask for help or figure something out. the RH (Relative humidity) should be 60% during veg and 30-40% during flower.
You want to get great dirt. I forgot the name of what I got but it was very organic shit. It is VERY important to have a good dirt medium with the RIGHT nutrients.. I question your soil..what did you get and what % of NPK is there?
you will need to look into making a DIY ONA bucket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jQv_-hbXok for SMELL..pretty cheap and Very effective.. fuck getting/making a air scrubber
5 gallon buckets are plenty for you man. and concerning seeds.... don't skimp out if you want the best bud...and also get a sativa/indica mix...indica is all body high.. i love the head high (sativa).. i think you do too.
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK NUTRIENTS BRO!!!!!!!!! don't fuck with it. just don't... not until your second grow. IF ANYTHING get something like bat guano for flowering. you just spread it across the top of your soil medium and water it...but just don't do it in my opinion.. i burnt and killed 3 of my plants first time and i thought i was doing it right.... just chill on it. esp if you got good seeds!
You will need to get a decent $30 exhaust fan in my opinion... at least 3 times more than the air you need to exchange. if your room is 3ft long x5ft high x 3ft depth then your room will need at LEAST a 45cfm fan. You want to get an inline fan (which is blowing air into the tent while simultaneously sucking new air from outside in) probably at least 2x what you need to be safe...CAUSE IT GETS HOT!
You are going to get flexible ducting ... like $15
WATER: whatever water you're going to use... make sure it's left out for a day or two.. all the shit you don't want in ur water dies out or whatever.
Really basic shit on the timeline on growing and how it should be done:::
1. put ur seeds in a damp paper towel and put into a zip lock bag and shut it to hold moisture (should take 24/48hrs)
2. when the root is 1/4" then put into 12 oz red cups or whatever with at least 3 holes on the bottom (good drainage is vital) **TIP: water your soil and drain the water before putting in germinated seed**
3. after 1 week transplant into 3gallon buckets...uhm u should youtube this..its really simple but u can kill ur girls if you fuck it up so do it while ur not high lol
4. then after 1 month or 1.5 months transplant into 5 gallon bucket and LET THEM FUCKING GROW!!! they will get to be as tall as you within 3 months...and know this..when you put ur lights on a flowering 12/12 schedule ur plant will still grow 50-70% higher BEWARE ! haha it's awesome
5. you should start flowering 2 weeks into transplanting into 5 gallon buckets (in my opinion) UNLESS you see pistols...then you flower immediately by turning your lights to 12hrs on/ 12hrs off..but in the beginning when vegging the plant, make sure to leave ur lights on 24hrs a day or least 18hrs
6. curing and harvesting i'm not an expert at yet i'll be honest... look it up and ull find all the info in the world but you shouldn't worry about it yet
you're biggest concern is making sure you don't get ahead of urself. you probably got a lot to learn yo! I kno i did.
Just make sure to get your tent. Get your fans, RH/TEMP gadget, get your light on, cool tube working well through ur ducting (unless your place is really cool like 68-70 degrees naturally), your soil, buckets, DUCT TAPE, and seeds...........before you germinate ur seeds make sure to have it all SET UP.. trust me your plants will be so much more healthy if you FIRST create the environment and prove that it will be perfect for a day then germinate.. germinating only takes a day usually so be motha fuckin patient and you will be a grow master.
Hope this helps yo!
This is my grow at the moment.. it's pretty lame cause i can't find my camera cord..but i'll get the pics up soon..
https://www.rollitup.org/blogs/blog11616-closet-grow-tent-3-nivana.html
WOULD LOVE +REP if you like what i wrote