And so it (finally almost) begins!

Well firstly hello to everyone!

Its been months since my last post but although ive got very side tracked ive still managed to make a lot of (slow) progress!

I now have my tent set up (80 cm x 80 cm x 160 cm)
I have a VIPARSPECTRA Reflector Series 900W led light
I have two fans connected via solid plastic ducting
One 4" fan for intake
One 6" fan for outlet connected to 6" rhino pro filter (outside of tent)
Both fans are connected to 2 fan controllers
One fan controller set to 25 degrees centigrade (77 degrees Fahrenheit) for day time connected to plug timer 18 hours on 6 off
One controller set to 17 degrees centigrade (63 degrees Fahrenheit) for night time connected to plug timer 6 hours on 18 off
I have a peat pellet to start my seed off in
I have a large pot and bag of Gold Label Special Mix to put peat pellet into
I have an Incredible Bulk seed by doctor krippling
In the next few days it will be time to put seed into peat pot!

So I have a few questions in regards to light and germinating the seed…

Once I have put the seed into the peat pellet how soon do I need to put it under the light?
Is it as soon as ive put the seed into the pellet or as soon as the plant sprouts through the soil?
And how close does the light need to be to the plant?
And if anyone has experience of the VIPARSPECTRA Reflector Series 900W led light do I just use the veg light or do I use the bloom and veg lights?!?

Thanks for reading and for any replys!

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Welcome! I suggest giving The grow bible a download. It is good you are getting everything in order before you grow. This is a great place to get support. Grow Bible

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Hi @Tr33!
Thanx for the reply!
Got the grow bible when i first signed up to the forum but it doesnt answer my questions?!?
I think it was written a while ago as the only lights it mentions are mh, hps and fluorescent lamps
Theres no mention of led light?!?

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I offer my plants light as soon as they are planted. You want to give the seed a reason to grow up from the soil. At this stage they don’t need a huge amount of light. If you have a small led you can use to sprout her, and then when she gets her root on and a couple of good nodes, you can transfer to your bigger led. Use your veg lights until it is time to flower, then kick it up to the bloom. Follow height recommendations from manufacturer.

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A lot of members use both the entire grow. I started off just using veg but I changed to both when I found that out.

I also use the Vipar lights, I use only the veg side for the first couple of weeks, then I turn them on full blast until harvest. Keep in mind, I grow auto flowers so my time frame is kind of set on when flowering starts.

For seedlings, I have 2x 450w lights, I run them both at about 50% power veg only at about 24 inches as soon as I put them in their peat pellets. As soon as I see a sprout, I watch carefully for stretching, and adjust power or height of light as I see fit to stop the stretch or get it to stretch to where I want it…

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That link to the grow bible didn’t work. These do if you want to update your notes @Tr33

Grow Bible Download

Book 1:

Book 2:

http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/wp-content/uploads/guides/Ilovegrowingmarijuana.com-plantcare-guide.pdf

Is that like the old and the new testament? @bob31 Welcome to forum @man10101 looks like you’re ready to go. Can’t wait to follow along.

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Hi Tr33!
thanks again for your reply
its nice to hear from someone who is also using leds!

i only have the one light (VIPARSPECTRA Reflector Series 900W)
instead of using a smaller led ill have to have the light a lot higher
and as you said “Follow height recommendations from manufacturer.”!

Hi @Tylan!
thanks for your reply
When you say “the entire grow” do you mean from seed / germination?!?
take it you do but thought it worth checking!

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HI @Ron330!
Thanks for your reply!

So you use a vipar too!
nice to hear
i take it youre happy with it?

ive only the one light (Reflector Series 900W) so will have to be careful with height whilst in seed / sprouting stage
have had different opinions on using the veg and then both or using both straight away?!?
thinking it might be best to start on veg as dont want to burn my sprout as i havnt got a smaller light to use!

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Hi @bob31!
thanks for your reply!

Not sure if you remember me but you helped me with a lot of my questions when i first signed up back in February!
Well its been a long journey but im now ready to plant me seed!
got to admit im a bit nervous now the time has come
good thing i have this forum!

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Hi @AnneBonny!
thanks for the reply!

i actually joined this forum back in February
had a ton of help from a lot of people!
i have a habit of getting side tracked (always trying to do 10 things at once!) which is why its taken to now to almost be ready to plant my first seed

Yes, that’s exactly what I meant @man10101

OH yeah, I remember @man10101 and you haven’t started a grow yet?

Hi @bob31!

No still not started!

I’ve worked away a lot the last few months and I’ve also wanted to make sure I’ve got everything done right before planting

Here’s a sort of grow journal for what I’ve been up to

Got tent setup No probs
Put light in tent No probs

Spent a lot of time getting extraction and air in take right

Got 4" solid plastic ducting for extraction

Started with 4" fan for extraction only to find it didn’t bring the temps down enough so went to larger 4" fan for extraction and used the 4" fan with more 4" plastic ducting for air in take only to find that didn’t bring the temps down enough so put larger 4" fan on air intake and got a 6" fan + ducting for extraction and now it works perfectly!?!

Connected fans to thermostat fan controller
Realised I needed different temps for nite so got another fan controller
Learnt how to solder so I could have both fans connected to both controllers, one controller with day time temp, one controller for nite time temps!

Realised temp was too low at nite so got heater

Sooo I am now at the planting stage!

Have seed soil n nutrients and plastic wire mesh as gona do scrog due to low tent height

Gona run everything without seed for a week or 2

1 to double check everything is working as should and
2 if I get a knock on the door (we often get police helicopters over us) theres nothing illegal up there!

I’m guessing by now uve finished at least 1 grow?!?
Hope its all going well for u!

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Hopefully this will answer your original question.

When you are ready to germinate your seed, place it in a small dish of distilled water and place in a warm place (I use my cable box) for 24 to 72 hours until a tap root shows. Then put it in your peat pellet DAMP NOT WET, 1/2" deep. I would set your light on veg and hang it around 2 feet above the seed. Try to maintain a soil temp around 80° until green is showing.

I would strongly suggest more lighting as coverage will be poor with one light. Especially a reflector series.

@dbrn32 is our lighting guy.

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If my math is correct, that tent looks to be just about 32”x32”?

That light should do ok in there on just the veg switch. I would probably have it about 36” above pots for seedlings and just watch to make sure they don’t start to stretch. Adjust height accordingly. I would probably look to add bloom switch about a week or so prior to going to flower schedule, just to get them acclimated.

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HI @dbrn32

Thanks for the reply

Yes your math is correct!
Im in the UK hence the cm!

Yeah only 32" x 32" so not big at all so

Plus only going to do the one plant as a scrog so it will have all the 900w light to itself!

Cheers for advice
Answered every question ive got!

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