First Timer. Am I ready?

Hey guys! Caution: Long post ahead. First post and first time grower here. I’ve always loved gardening and cannabis so figured it was time to join my two hobbies and give it a “grow”. I’ve spent the last couple weeks reading several posts in these forums along with tons of research on other sites. I’m very OCD so I wanted to get myself set up for success before just jumping in and failing lol. I put the below numbers together from all my research and hoping to get everyone’s feedback on any changes needed or suggestions. I am just waiting for my humidifier to arrive this week then hoping to start first seed germination this weekend. I’ll share all the equipment I’ve chosen for reference and also up for any feedback if something I got is garbage. I’ve already returned several Amazon orders for better equipment as my research grew. I’ve been running my tent the last couple days to see what my temps will be like. I live in the desert SW of the US so we are still in the low 100s. I have my tent set up in a AC cooled spare bedroom. My 18/6 light on temps are averaging 82.5° and 30% humidity. Light off (1pm-7pm) is averaging about 81° and 34% humidity. Are these temps too high? I have my home AC cooling the room to about 78 during the day and 75 at night, a tower fan in the room, 4” inline AC Infinity Cloudline T4 exhaust, and a 8” oscillating fan in the tent, all resulting in negative pressure (but that’s a topic for another day). Hoping I can bring temps down some after adding the cooling humidifier. I’m not able to exhaust my duct out of the window/attic, so I have the tent close to the open bedroom door to blow mostly out of the room. I plan to start small with 2 Jack Herer Autos in 1/2 gallon “A Pot for Pot” kits.

Here’s my equipment-
2’x4’x5’ Vivosun Grow Tent
4” AC Infinity Cloudline T4
4” Vivosun Air carbon filter
Bloom Plus LED Grow Light BP2500
LEVOIT Humidifiers 6L Top Fill Cool Mist Air
Pro CO2 Regular bucket
Vornado 133 Compact Air Circulator Fan

These are my “notes” from all my research. Would love feedback on these numbers and would love other first times to feel free to use my work if these targets are accurate.

Water:
EC- 0.2-0.8 or higher
pH- 6.0-6.5

Germination Stage:
Light interval- 18/6
Light height- 24-30”
Light PPFD- 200–400μmol/m²/s
Light Kelvin- ?
DLI- 13.0-19.0
Soil pH- 6.0
Air Temp- 78° (75-80°)
Humidity- 60-70%
Misc Tips-
Ziplock Bag over pots for extra humidity until sprouted.

Seedling Stage:
Light interval- 18/6
Light height- 24-28”
Light PPFD- 100-300μmol/m²/s
Light Color- ?
DLI- 8.0
Soil pH- 6.0-7.0
Day Air Temp- 72-80°
Night Air Temp- 70-78°
Humidity- 65-70%
CO2- 400ppm

Vegetation Stage:
Light interval- 18/6 or 24/0
Light height- 14-18”
Light PPFD- 300-500μmol/m²/s
Light Color- 6500K
DLI- 30.0
Soil pH- 6.0-6.8
Day Air Temp- 74-84°
Night Air Temp- 68-76°
Humidity- start 70% or higher then reduce to 50-70%
CO2- 400-800ppm

Flower Stage:
Light interval- 12/12
Light height- 10-14”
Light PPFD- 600–800μmol/m²/s
Light Color- 2800K
DLI- 44.0
Soil pH- 6.0-7.0
Day Air Temp- 68-84°
Night Air Temp- 68-78°
Humidity- start 40-50% then reduce to 30-40% after 30 days. Never above 50%.
CO2- 800-1400ppm
Misc Tips-
AF- 84 (days) out the door
Start LST around 30 days into flowering

Thanks for everyone’s help! Everyone here is so helpful! Can’t wait to start growing! I’ll definitely do a journal and I look forward to everyone’s continued help and support along the way!




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Welcome to the community. :+1::+1::+1:

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Welcome! Your temps are aren’t too bad a touch warm tho… humidity is low but you mentioned getting a humidifier. I didn’t notice what medium you will be growing in or what strains? Also, I leave my seedlings under 24hr light until transplant which is usually around 2 weeks, then I flip to 16/8

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Thanks @Pinboy. I’m using soil from the A Pot for Pot kits. And strain is Jack Herer Autos.

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Only other thing that stands out is that with a shorter tent you might want to move your fan setup outside of it so you can use all the height possible. I guess it depends how much plat training you do…

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With autos it shouldnt matter about the height.

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Good luck! You definitely seem prepared

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Welcome to the forum it looks like you have ur self set up pretty well ,are you doing auto flowering or photoperiod plants if you are doin autos you can keep ur light cycle on 18-6 all the way through from grow to flower but if ur soin photoperiod plants thats when u would use the 12-12 cycle coz auto flowering plants dont need to be flipped like photos autos flower when they are ready

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Welcome to the community, you’ll find a wealth of info and amazing growers here will to help . You’ve picked the right place .Very nice set up and thorough research. I agree with @Pinboy on the exhaust fan on the outside of the tent. It’s a PITA to move when the ladies have grown to a point that you have too. Tag me on your run if you need any help,:love_you_gesture:

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So I’m starting with 2 Jack Herer autos in small 1/2 gallon A Pot for Pot fabric pots. I specifically chose those to start small. What is the anticipated height they will reach at peak?

Are you planning on that be the forever pot? The height will depend on if you grow her naturally with 1 main cola, it’ll look like a Christmas tree with minimal harvest. All the lower bud sites will be covered by the upper growth with little light penetration. Natural growth can be anywhere from 1-3 feet in a 1/2 gallon pot. I top and LST my autos and photos to expose the middle by tieing the side branches down. My preference is starting them in solo cups with a clear dome for 10-14 days, this allows the leaves to take in the moisture to feed her until the roots have established. I then transplant to 2.5 gallon fabric pots and with the trading method I mentioned in they usually grow to about 2-2 1/2 feet tall. Here is an auto skittlez from my last run. Topped and LST.

This is 2 weeks after topping and training the same Skittlez

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First and foremost, welcome! I, too, am long-winded so bear with me.

I’m in New Mexico, so I feel you on the high heat days. Low to mid 80s will be fine in your tent but do approach the flowering stage with some tremendous caution. During my vegging phase my tent averaged 75°, but now that my plants are in full flower I’m hitting 90° inside the tent easy. That’s with 2 small desk fans, a 6” inline fan cranked all the way up, and the bedroom it’s in being air conditioned to 68° (I doubt the room ever gets that cool anymore, the heat production from the tent is just astronomical).

I don’t think you’ll ever need the CO2 - my general understanding is without awesome amounts of light your plant won’t ever need or be able to use it. I may be wrong but have noticed very few growers here use supplementary CO2.

Your light makes me wary but only because I’m not at all familiar with the brand, but it’s certainly enough power to veg your plants. I’ll be curious to see if you get nice packed buds or mediocre airy things. It’s an actual 250watt light so It could go either way depending on the diode quality.

As others have noted, that’s a real short tent. Nothing wrong with a nice 2x4 but as @OGIncognito alluded, you may need to become a plant-training pro with great haste once they start their flowering stretch to stop you from hitting the tent ceiling.

I think you’re definitely ready to give it a shot.

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Out of likes, but spot on Graysin. Definitely with you on the CO2 :joy:

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I’ve thought about returning and exchanging my light. I’ve heard pretty good things about the SPIDER FARMER SF-2000 LED Grow Light. Only about $100 more than what I paid for mine. Worth the upgrade?

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I’m gonna go out on a limb and say no. Lower wattage, similar claims in terms of quality. Spider Farmer is fine, but you’re not gaining anything by throwing an extra $100 at them for the brand name.

If you’re willing/able to drop decent money on lights, I recommend going with HLG (Horticulture Lighting Group). Many will echo this sentiment, some may not. A QB288 260 watt kit will run you $300 (minus 10%, use DUDE or DIY10 as a coupon code). But the thing is the quality is controlled, the driver can be dismounted from the light board and heat sink, and their customer service is generally a joy to chat with - I’ve shot them my fair share of stupid questions.

I’m running 2 VS1000 lights off Amazon right now, the equivalent of one Spider Farmer SF-2000 (200 watts total) and they’re vegging my plants OK in a 4x3. But I have a 320w HLG and a 240w KingBrite (I’m gonna tag @Nicky into this to make the case for em, I’m happy with both HLG and KingBrite) in my 4x4 doing my flower power.

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Not bad because the Spider is $265, so the HLG would only be $5 more at $270. Only downside is HLG isn’t on Amazon right? Does HLG ship quick? Hoping to start germination this weekend. I suppose I can order it and start with the light I have and then swap. Do you have a link to the specific HLG you guys recommend?

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Hlg ships real quick
Probably takes longer on a weekend but I got mine quickly

What are dimensions you plan to light? How much are you willing to spend?
@dbrn32 can tell you what you need

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24x48x60. Hoping to stay under $300 on a light.

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Are you handy? you work wirestrippers and a screwdriver?

They do have diy lights too if your into that and want to save a few bucks, but if not there might be options in that price range.

But like I said the guy I tagged above knows all about the lights and can advise you

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AC infinity has there new 100 watt light on sale for 89 bucks 3 of those would be under 300

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