Yea, definitely add perlite. I have learned to lean towards 35%-40%. Last time I used 25% and ffof soil drained slow.
Bagseed and autos at same time? Photos and autos have different light cycles. You can grow autos under 12/12 but it's not so great. Small plants=small yield.
The best method for sprouting seems to be the water cup to the paper towel method.
My advice for your first run is to just pop 3 autos and put them in 3 gallon pots. (That's really all that fits in a 4x2) LST them around week 3 and continue tying down shoots as they grow. You'll end up with a perfect canopy. Don't give them veg nutes. Just some bloom nutes starting at the end of week 4. Run 20 hours light and 4 hours dark.. In ten weeks you will have 4-6 ounces of great buds. It's always best to start the season with a win and this is the best way to start out.
You're running approximately 300 watts of t5. Not realllly adequate for 3 plants in a 4x2, but it will work. You'll have nice coverage at least. they'll veg awesomely, but flowers will could be a little smallish. Adding anthother 100 watts of 3000k CFL would help during flower (Weeks 5-10).
Keep those temps down as best you can. A good thing to do is vent to another room or into an attic or out a window. If you vent into the same room then things get toasty. Warm temps and poor air circulation recently stunted a friends grow.
No need for chlorine tabs in your water. just spitting in your water or throwing a little dirt in there will eat up the chlorine. That's why people have to shock their swimming pools after a swim party or after a rain. Chlorine levels drop to almost nothing.
More important than chlorine levels is the amount of dissolved solids in your tap water. If your tap water has high amounts of solids (Over 300 ppm) Then you may encounter issues.. (Only thing you can do for this is dilute with bottled RO water)
Best of luck.. Keep reading and watching videos. Keep us posted.
Ok so im starting my first real grow and trying to get the best for my money. My setup consists of a 4×2×6 grow tent. T5 HO lighting 4ft × 6 bulb. A ventech 6" inline van with carbon filter. The inline fan does blow cold air out, so today i moved my outlet vent back into the bottom of my grow tent to add more air and circulation (good idea?). My seed have germinated and are now planted in foxfarm ocean forest soil. Today i am 1 week in my grow and i have sprouts poping through the soil. I just want to make sure im not forgetting anything or wont have any major problems down the road. I want the most yeild for the money spent on electricity. Temps range from 75-85 , im running 24/0 lighting and my humidity is at 30% (just bought humidifier today ill post results tomorrow. Ideal is 50% humidity from what ive read). Today i after reading a few articles i tried water purification tablets in a gallon of tap water to feed my plants. Will this affect my nutes or soil? Good or bad? Any help is always appreciated. Happy growing!
