Setting up a new grow room, a journal

Edit: When I started this the choices were overwhelming. I’ve gotten some great info in this forum and I’m trying to give back with this journal in some small way.

So this is my old grow closet (66×16"), it was set up as an over/under. That’s my old 250 mh, I also have a sodium conversion for it.

My grow tent is coming tomorrow I plan on putting it next to the closet and this time using the closet for storage…

and maybe cloning (that’s my cat Bunny inspecting the grow light)

Already I’m wishing I bought the seven foot tall grow tent instead of the (4×4×) 6.6 but it will be fine for veg and the next one for flower will be 7’

I’m going to try to update this journal as I go along, and could use input. I need all the help I can get, for sure!

On a side note this is the coldest weather we’ve had (well below 0) but that unheated room is not that cold! it only has two windows, so I’m sure now that the temperature will be not a problem.

-thanks

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I took a minor inventory of what I still had in my attic:

two full size propagation mats

at least 3 different size square pots & assorted trays

a multimeter (I don’t know if it works)

a bunch of airstones

…and that’s pretty much all

Edit: the light works fine, the halide was almost new but it’s been stored for about 20 years, the light meter on the multimeter says it’s okay, but the meter has been stored for 20 years too!? :open_mouth:

I’m completely stuck on lighting!?

I’m looking at ipower 600 dimmable and now I’m starting to see incredible testimony of LEDs!

I’m fine with my little halide while I’m starting seeds into seedlings, but within a month I’m going to have to make a lighting decision.

In a year I hope to look back at this thread and say ‘wow I made the right decision’ instead of wow I had to buy (something) twice

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That is the same question we all ask ourselves, Is this the light I want long term ? MH and HPS are great lights for growing. There are different things about both lights that some of us like the MH/HPS and some of us are hardcore LED. I have used more LED than HPS and am happy with them. They both work. Take some time now to research both types of lights to get what you really want.

Robert’s free on-line Growing Marijuana E-book has a huge amount of information in it. It is a great place to start.

Another thing you might want to use for starting out is a Support ticket. You will not need to fill it out now but it will give you a great checklist for things to look at for your grow.

This is it:

ILGM Support Ticket:
What is the strain and type(unknown bag seed, strain name, regular seeds, feminized seeds, auto-flower, etc)?
Indoor or Outdoor? If outdoor, planted in ground or in a container?
Size of space (max height and area, length/width)?
Soil or Hydro? Type of Medium used? System type?
pH? Of the soil or medium (root zone/reservoir/run-off) and of the water and/or nutrient mix that is fed to the plant?
Type and strength of nutrients used? NPK? EC/TDS/PPM levels? Of what you feed it as well as what is in the water by itself and in the soil/medium (run-off), or reservoir.
Temperature? Day vs. night temp or highest and lowest temps? Root zone temps?
Humidity %? Day vs. night
Light system/watts/lumens/FLUX/PAR?
Ventilation system? Size? CFM? CO2? AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier?
Number “weeks/days” from into Season, Vegetative Growth or Bloom/flowering?
Add anything else you feel would help us give you a most informed answer. Feel free to elaborate, but try to be brief and to the point. Short and to the point questions and/or facts will help us help you

This will give you a reference on what you might need to address. If you ask grow questions once you get started, it helps us all a lot to have these questions answered.

Of all the things on the list, pH measurement is most likely the thing that will give you the most problems. There are some excellent pH meters and PPM/TDS meters on E-bay and Amazon for low prices. Good Luck and do not be afraid to ask questions. We all started asking questions. Jerry

I bought a Hydro Planet 600 hid. I’ve never heard of it but I haven’t heard of most of them… it was $160 bucks on Amazon with Free Shipping and it’s coming Thursday.

I’m sure it will be fine. It had 5 stars but not many reviews but there other lights were all very well rated too.

Hey Jerry thanks for the input! All my exes don’t live in Texas, but one lives in Llano County :grin: …beautiful area!

…And so it begins (needles and pins)

And once again Bunny the cat is helping with the package…

And now I have to select my medium and my hydroponic methods for seedlings and veg, and I tend to go with what I know…

I’m a big fan of a 50/50 mix of perlite and vermiculite, which goes from seedlings in 1.5 square pots to 4 inch Square containers to veg for a short time, then to 6 inch Square containers with hydroton to flower hydroponically

I’ve had great growth rate and aeration with this mix and it can stand my particular hydroponic style well, but I sure would like to get some input on other hydroponic media and I’m particularly interested in Coco coir

-thanks

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I have some going in Hydro but personally love my coco girls more :slightly_smiling:
Day 37 flowering in coco, 2 plants in a 4x4x7 tent. One topped, the other topped and lst’ed. Vegged under 600w MH, flowering under 600w HPS. 70% coco/30% perlite.



Out of room to raise the light, but the plant is taking being 1.5" below the light like a champ so far lol

Edit: I hand water to 20% waste twice daily in 3 gallon smart pots. PH and feeding similar to Hydro but a little more calmag thanks to coco binding with calcium ions

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Hey J thanks for the share! I’ve used a lot of things including soil, styrofoam (and probably mixtures thereof) but I’ve never used Coco

I hear great things about it, I hear you can push it which is my grow style. I’m going to the hydro store either this week or the weekend and I’m going to check it out, glad to hear you’re having great results, your girls look awesome! :slight_smile:

Edit: I’ve noticed that vermiculite seems to have fallen out of favor, is that due to the possible negative effects of handling it?

I read somewhere the reasoning why it isnt used as widely anymore but can’t remember what the reason was or where I read it. I kept it simple by using Coco mixed with just perlite. I have read of people mixing in hydroton with coco. I guess whatever is inert and increases drainage will work :slightly_smiling:

Vermiculite contains asbestos. Pearlite’s not great to breathe either but it’s more like a spun glass (silica, I think), but vermiculate is mined and contains asbestos

It’s all over for me cuz I used it for a decade and it’s all over my attic and probably trace amounts everywhere including my grow room and even if that wasn’t the case I was in the heating industry for ever and everybody in that business is up to their elbows in asbestos particular the old timers in the old days like myself

And coincidence or not I’m currently having respiratory issues and under a Pulmonologist care

I’m not recommending this media, I’m just saying I used it and I probably will again, it’s pretty much too late for me to worry about it, but I certainly will take full precautions if I decide to use it.

I wanted to add that I would NOT use vermiculite if I had others well-being to consider, and perhaps perlite should be reconsidered as well (jmo)

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Agree with the perlite. I wear surgical gloves and a mask when taking it from the bag to be rinsed before using in the pot. I did electrical work on a lot of homes in Vegas for several years. The new ones weren’t bad but the older ones… And because I am tall yet skinny I had the fun of attic work, wasn’t heavy enough to break through and long enough to span the rafters with ease lol.

Couldn’t agree more! Very wise handling!
I don’t have asbestos, I removed a small amount on my funace decades ago, but if I had a newer home or if I didn’t already have tons of vermiculite and perlite already crunching under my feet with virtually every step in my attic, I wouldn’t bring it into the environment.

Next dilemma: What type of hydro system to hold four mother plants? (again with the choices :-() I’m leaning towards a root spa system

Can’t be much help here unfortunately. I always grow from seed each cycle, never clone :slightly_smiling:
I run DWC with individual 5 gallon setups for each plant. Coco with hand water is 3 gallon smart pots and soil I grow in 10-15 gallon plastic planters for their final greenhouse move.

So everything changed yet again I’m going to use an aero cloner and eliminate the tray of 1.5" seedlings & 4"sq.'s pots altogether

Now the plans is to let them root well for a couple weeks in the cloner then put them right into 6 inch sq. pots (w/hydroton) that they’ll remain in thru their cycle

But to get the clones I’ve got a produce some mothers!

I’m watching the mail everyday for Roberts letter (Day 11) :pray:

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Edit: I read in another thread that you can only post commercial links to Amazon and Dealzer so I remove the above link to Clone King, sorry didn’t know

Above is the likely candidate, it’s less than half the price of the Turboklone and honestly one seems as good as the other.

I’m looking at features like quantity and value for price, I’d like to get some input (but I’m not going back to cloning the old way)

-thanks

I know @Donaldj made his own cloner, he might have some input for you :slightly_smiling:

Donald has already inspired me to make my own bubble buckets, but this is pretty much something I want right out the box…

Today’s day 12 (seeds), I’m still :pray: , I can get some clones at the local dispensary / caregiver but their ridiculously priced and not what I want

I’m giving it till the end of month, not a problem as I’m still setting up and buying stuff but one way or another something will be started by then

super easy to make your own they use same principle as bubbler buckets you simply use a rubber made tote cut holes in top for neoprene inserts add a couple 12" airstones simple and cheap. Many find the airoponics style nozzles clog easy made mine with 16L tote 2 12" air stones it holds 12 clones and have roots within 8 days plants hardly even wilt even without dome

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Sitting here waiting for seeds I realized I’ve given zero thought to a seedling area!

I like simple, usually I sprout them in wet paper towels in petri dishes on a propagation mat, plant them half inch deep in perlite / vermiculite mix in 1.5" square containers in a small bottom fed tray. I will put them on the floor in the veg tent

I will be looking at other methods when I go to the grow store Friday, does anyone else start seeds differently?

-thanks

I mentioned it in another post but I soak them in water for 4-24 hours and plant them straight into their grow medium. Soil and coco go into solo 16oz cups on a seedling heat mat set at 75f, Hydro goes into rockwool in a solo cup with the bottom half filled with hydroton, same temp.