newbie grower lookin for advice

hello everyone, first of all let me appologize for my capitalization / grammar mistakes..the pc i am posting from won't let me use the shift, control, or caps lock keys but continuing on...

1)
first off here is my setup, bought it from the local hydro shop. its a 200w sunleaves cfl w/ reflective ballast..output is 13,000 lumens. the light and ballast ran me 200 dollars. i am only looking to grow 2 plants so is this overkill, not enough, just right?

2) my current grow is not looking too pretty. my second question is should i continue trying to use this drip system or possibly use something else. like a dwc, etc. links would be helpful as well! diy's are nice btw.

2a) if the drip system is ok to use do i have to use the rockwool medium? is it possible to sprout in dirt and then put the dirt clump into the hydroton?


3) i just sucessfully germinated a very nice, dank bagseed. i put it into a 8 inch deep pot with some nice soil w/ perilite and watered it thoroughly. i then put it about 1/8 - 1/4 inch into the soil and covered then watered until the soil was damp. i keep addin lil amounts of water to keep it just moist enough. i also have a small bright desktop light positioned over the dirt where i put the seed, it makes the soil nice and warm. am i doing everything ok to make a good sprout?

plz help, thank you very much i look forward to hearing some of your input.
peace&love.

I don't use CFLs so I won't comment on those but the rest of the set up looks fine to me. I see some green poking up back there - how old are those?

I saw another thread that someone successfully transplanted from soil to hydro but that isn't necessary. I would try to avoid the transplanting as it can be shocking to the plants or at least slow growth. You can germinate the seeds some other way e.g. the paper towel method or place them right in the hydroton. You can use a small piece of rockwool, rapid rooter, some other porous-plant-friendly material to hold the seed in place.

I use coco-tech cups with lids in net pots and cover the seed one hydroton layer deep held secure with a little piece of rapid rooter. But I am using an aeroponic system and just following the directions that came with it.

As long as the light is grow friendly and you are using proper pH water you should see results.

ya everything looks good, the only thing that i knoticed is how close the light is to the plants, have you checked the heat? Also if you ever want to try a new system that works really good look at this websight to get a good idea on bubbletronics, they sell stuff way too pricy so just look at the pics and go to home depot to get the parts. I am using BC Grow, BC Bloom, and BC Boost and let me tell you results are amazing. (just a thought)
https://www.stealthhydroponics.com/index.php?a=SHH2&gclid=CPqAp7rQ2o0CFSOmIgodJWCo6A