Newbie questions/advice

hi guys. First off im a newbie (as u can see), so want to say hi to everyone first. And also, looks like a gr8 forum and im glad im here.

Ok, this is going to be my first grow. I know alot about growing/looking after plants as i became a gardener (didnt want too) about 6-7year ago, for about 2years, cos i wanted to know how to grow weed cos i knew there was more to it than a light and some water lol
Anyways, i acquired 2x250watt sodium lights today from a freind who wasnt using them. Now im not an expert on these things and wanted to ask if u can tell by the photos if they are sodium lights.
Another question was, i read years ago that metal halide (mh) lights were used in conjunction with the sodium, but u can use just the sodium! Is this correct?
Fertilizers. I know about the NPK of fertilizers and realize that certain NPK's are used during certain processes (greenleaf growth, flowering etc). Which ratio of fertilizers is best for each process (ie 30-5-5 etc)

thanks guys, look forward to being a regular
PS i got seeds from him aswell, white widow by nirvana. Are these any good? i was speaking to someone earlier and they told me that nirvana are abit iffy?????

welcome sas, you're on the right track. those look like hps to me. i use hps with an enhanced bulb. it covers veg and flower. i use nitrogen high nutes for veg and phosphate for flower. white widow is a good strain. nothing wrong with nirvana as far as i know.

whatever they are they look like they'll work. 2x250w thats pretty decent IMO..

I would start my seedlings under fluoros(24/7) and then put them under there to veg (18/6) and then use them to flower(12/12)..

or another idea would be to use CFL's durring vegging(18/6 or 24/7) and devote both lights exclusively to flowering(12/12)...that might actually save some money on the light bill..

as far as ferts are concerned, I would use something relatively high in N for vegging and then during flowering period I would use something high in P&K

hi guys, thanks for the quick replies.

So nothing up with nirvana then, thats cool.

spittn4cash, so u use fluoros for the germination and weedling. How long do u do this for, and what kinda fluoros should i get? Is fluoros essential? My problem is space in the flat im in. Wouldnt be so bad if i didnt have all the kids RC stuff here (remotecontrol planes to rockets) so i had to put up x3 8ft shelfs to empty the cupboard in my room, which is 3ft wide by 6ft. Could u tell me the full NPK value of the fertz u use for a comparsion so i can get here in the uk?
anyone with any advice/tips is greatly appreciated and will be taken seriously.

Again, thankyou all guys

yea im gonna use cfl's for about 5 weeks then switch to flowering...

no fluoro's arent essential. Actually, Ive seen a person get better results using a sodium light straight from seed. the plant was much bushier and seemed to grow much faster..maybe it was the lumens that made the difference.

the soil i use is a pro-mix so no need to add ferts/nutes to it. but for flowering i have some Miracle-Gro All Purpose Water Soluble Plant Food 15-30-15 that im gonna feed them.

hi spittn4cash, what is CFL buddie? dont think ive heard of it.
The kinda soil mix i had in mind was perlite, vermiculte, abit of dolomite lime (for ph) and a good soil. Dont want just soil as ive been told im abit heavy handed with the water lol so drainage and abit of water/nutrient retention for me is essential, which would require more feeds than usual??
I might be wrong, so tell me if im wrong. This is just the stuff i learnt from about 6years ago. Need to get some how tos. Friend said he would hand up a collection of PDFs later (can these be put available for other users?)

thanks again buddie.

cfl Compact flousecent light. Good soil mix, might want to get a moisture meter and a ph meter as well. I don't use soil but I'm sure some one can recommend where you might get these. The lights you have will work. Don't put them to close to new plants. Start a few feet above and move the lights down a couple of inches a day, until they are about 1' obove your plants. Welcome to the forum.

well ph meters for soil you can find at ebay or at hydrostores, moisture meter you find there as well but sometimes you can buy them at local gardening stores too.
since i use hydro-growing, i use a normal henna fluit ph meter which got cheap at ebay

hi victorvicious/green_nobody, thanks for the replies.

CFl lol its more obvious when someone points it out
Yep moisture, temperature and PH meters are already on my "Need now" list.
I wanted to do hydroponics, but thats just a wee bit advanced for a first timer, so ill stick to a soil mix for the mo
Another thing i was ment to ask is, as u can see in the picture, as sheet of glass is covering the light unit, will i remove this glass??
Thanks for the info on the height to put the light.

Well think u have all answered the questions i need to know, for the moment anyways lol though will be browsing daily for an extra info i can pick up in the forums.

thanks for all the help guys, wont go untested

"Another thing i was ment to ask is, as u can see in the picture, as sheet of glass is covering the light unit, will i remove this glass??
Thanks for the info on the height to put the light. "

No the glass helps keep the heat away from the top of the plants.

and post a new thread with those pdfs, that would be pretty cool