newbies first grow, advice and criticism welcomed.

This is my first time growing cannabis, not in hydro or soil, I mean growing cannabis period. I did conduct a lot of research before starting including reading forums and one member i gotta give my thanks too TheCapn on 420mag amazing info really. now I can assure you this won't be the most accurate journal because well I didn't keep notes this is all from memory and some pics. I am a slacker sorry but on to the details.

The current strain was from female seed, strain hunter money maker. tap water tested at 6.9 ph at 150ppm multi-able times. Nutes = 7grams maxi bloom + 2.5ml cal-mag per us gal - hydrogen peroxide was added twice a week. then allowed for gradual ph rise from 6.0 - 6.4 then ph - down to 6.0. res changed every two weeks. she was topped at 4th node then topped main branches 4 weeks later. stalk split vertically while low stress training - bandage was applied. the plant was veged for 70days in DWC under 400watt mh in 6in cool tube.

transferred 3x3 tent for flower,4inch carbon filter, 6inch cool tube, 600watt hps with ipower digital hps/mh ballest. 6inch centrifugal fan with speed control. diy ebb n flow table, scrogged 29in x 28in. res is 7 gallons all 1/2 inch irrigation tubing, barbed fittings and grommets. titan analog 15 min timer, floods every two hours for 15mins during lights on and once for 15mins at lights off. basket is suspend in table not sitting on bottom due to roots since it was vegged in DWC. also i did not break the root ball just laid it down and covered it with river rock. it's been lollopped as of a week ago and 20days into flower as of Jan 1st, planed for an 80day flower total. est harvest date is at the latest march 1st. will update with new pics every 10 days. also the next run I will be taking more notes and making a real accurate journal because its been fun.

thanks for reading and again sorry for my horrible documenting skills.
 

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Sali-D

Well-Known Member
Hi mate,

Nice grow by the looks mi old pal. im just thinking to order the 400w ipower setup from ebay, the seller been quiet helpful and responsive. is this just one plant you grown? how much yield? was the ballast a dimmable one and if so did you drop the wattage at all or just keep pumping out at 400w? do you feel the light produced lots of heat and was the ballast noisy at all? sorry to bombard you with lots of questions. love to see a photo of the ipower ballast and see if its same as mine...cheers buddy and keep at it, look fantastic to me
 
no problem. yes its just one plant. im hoping for 8oz dry yeild but i cant really give a good estimate since its at like 25 days into flower as of today and im going 80days max, est harvest will be march 1st. lest see i vegged under a 400watt digital greenhouse adjustable ballast with mh. when it was young i turned it down to 50% after two weeks full tilt. i read some where in veg you dont need as much light plus the spectrum of a mh/5000k bulb is more penetrating the hps/2500k.

when i swapped from veg in dwc to flower in ebb n flow i changed to the 600watt ipower ballasts, yes it is adjustable but i leave it on full tilt. they seem like pretty decent ballasts, i bought all my ballasts used because i'm cheap but no issues so far. the ipower ballest have a light humm to it but you have to be really close to hear it. also i didn't buy a complete kit, i bought everything individually. yes heat is an issue but air cooled makes it really manageable tent never get over 85 degrees inside. also i my fan configuration is passive intake - 4inch vent tech filter - 6inch cooltube - 6inch vent tech centerfugal fan - outside the tent.

the 400watt mh is actually hotter then 600watt hps i hear this in common mh bulbs running hotter then hps.

digital green house 400watt first pic
ipower is 600watt second pic
 

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Looking nice.

Though I'd stay away from ghs personally.
why is there something wrong with general hydroponics nutes. i was under the impression that chemical based macro nutes are already broken down to be easiest for a plant to uptake. ive been basing my nutes not by brand but off the Lucas formula using a nute calc. should i be going a different route with my nutrient selection.
 

Keystone-grower™

Well-Known Member
why is there something wrong with general hydroponics nutes. i was under the impression that chemical based macro nutes are already broken down to be easiest for a plant to uptake. ive been basing my nutes not by brand but off the Lucas formula using a nute calc. should i be going a different route with my nutrient selection.
Just to clear the confusion, by ghs I mean green house seeds. Strain hunters is green house seeds.

Not saying it's impossible to find a gem, but their genetics are hermi prone, not to mention Arjan is an asshat.

Take it for what it's worth but I'm sure there are plenty others here that'll back my claims.

That being said keep on truckin, you're doing damn good for your first grow.

Cheers
Keystone-grower™
 
Just to clear the confusion, by ghs I mean green house seeds. Strain hunters is green house seeds.

Not saying it's impossible to find a gem, but their genetics are hermi prone, not to mention Arjan is an asshat.

Take it for what it's worth but I'm sure there are plenty others here that'll back my claims.

That being said keep on truckin, you're doing damn good for your first grow.

Cheers
Keystone-grower™
my bad I miss interpreted that oh yes I heard the rumors about Arjan and there strains issues but I got those seeds for free so I figured why not. I'm gonna run this one out and the clone I took off her utill I can order some better beans. Thanks buddy I appreciate that since I'm still new at this sometimes idk if it's where it should by its ago and so on, I guess that's where experience comes into play.

BTW I'm eyeing Skywalker og Kush from Reserva pravada, blue moon rocks from bog and ghost train haze from rare darkness seeds. Have you or anyone else have any input on those strains.
 
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UPDATE 39 days into flower as of jan 20th 2015. buds have swollen a lot and hairs are turning red, a few trics are getting cloudy. please ignore the rope and yarn, i had to add it because some of those colas are 2ft tall and were leaning bad from the weight.
 

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its nice to see someone who has done proper research and setup properly for a first grow,plant looks nice and healthy,Nice work man
thanks i appreciate that. i don't believe in half assing things, i researched for months and spent the extra $ to do it right the first time
 
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