First time grower. Going all in. (5x5/DWC/LED HLG-600)

[guabasa]

Hiya guys and gals,

First of all, I want to say that I’ll be posting this same thread in several forums in order to get more opinions, my intention is not to spam!

With that out of the way let’s get right into it:

I have some background and experience in organic agriculture and permaculture and have grown veggies and other edibles on and off for a number of years, always outdoors and in soil.

This is going to be my first time growing cannabis, at least seriously…A few years ago I had some Fruit Autos in soil on a windowsill that yielded some grams each, but that’s not much of a grow. This time I want to get a bit more serious about it and build an indoor setup since I have the time, space and some money I can invest right now.

I’ve been researching quite a bit for the past few months and have recently put together an equipment list which you can see here: h*ttps://goo.gl/14QKSn (without *)

I realize it may be a lot of stuff for a first time grower but I’m willing and able to shell out a bit more for the peace of mind, that being said I know that the experience is also important and have been researching on that as well. But I’m fairly confident I can have a good go at it

I already have my 5x5 tent which I purchased last week so I may adapt the setup recommendations you give me based on the size of the tent.

I’m planning to have 4 photo-period plants in my tent although I’m open to autos, and In terms of yield aspirations, I’m happy with whatever I get , that being said, of course I would like to maximize yields however possible and have been extensively looking into plant training methods.

I’ve decided to go with LED’s because of the lower power consumption needed for the tent size and also because of the heat HPS setups can give off since I live in a warm climate. And lastly because I really like the idea of growing with LED’s, it just seems fun!

FYI, power rates in my area are $0.08 kWh.

The DWC setup I have planned is two 10 gallon containers with two plants each. I’ve decided to go with hydroponics since I’ve always wanted to learn and experiment with hydroponic setups. I’m planning on going with a top-fed DWC. Is the cost of extra water and air pumps, and air stones worth the pros on having a top-fed system versus a normal DWC? I’ve read it only really matters when starting since the roots can’t reach the water yet.

Another thing I’m thinking of is heat problems within my DWC. The average yearly temps where I’m located are 20C - 32C (68F - 89F). Next week I will be begin testing and recording temperature in the room the tent will be located and later on in the tent with all equipment, all prior to starting the grow.

I would appreciate any advice you can share but here are some questions off the top of my head:

• What is the best plant training combination for beginners? Topping+LST+ScrOG?

• Is it really worth it going with 24/0 over 18/6?

• What are some good visual indicators it’s time to flip to flower?

• For people who know about quantum boards: I’ve seen the official HLG-600H DIY Kit has a Slate 5 Quad Predrilled 740mm Heat Sink, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. I contacted HLG and they linked me to the Slate 6 Quad Heat Sink which seems to be 950mm in length. Is this going to be a problem in my 5x5 tent footprint-wise?

• Next think I want to do in the spreadsheet is calculate my total kWh consumption of all my equipment. What’s the best way to calculate this?

I’ll be keeping detailed journals of my grows so feel free to tag along!

I’ll leave it at that! If any of you have the chance of going through the equipment list to get a whole picture of the setup that would be awesome!

Drop me a line or two with your recommendations and experiences.

And I always appreciate links to books, videos or any kind of info, and links to similar setup grow journals

Happy growing!

-Guabasa

 

[mobone]

I'd recommend topping at least once, if not more. and LST. If you don't have a strong fan, then you should do scrog. If you do, then just pick a few mains and remove the other offshoots entirely. This will make the plant put all it's effort into the mains and create larger denser buds, instead of a bunch of pop corn buds. The more small buds you have the more work it'll take to trim it all. Lookup mainlining or manifolding, same thing.

Not sure on the 18/6 vs 24, there isn't really a solid consensus on it I don't think. Personally I think they need dark to switch to root development. I'm trying 6/2 right now. Here's an article on it https://surna.com/a-6-2-light-schedule-could-increase-plant-growth/

I wouldn't look for visual indicators to switch, it's more about spacing or how big you can make the plant. The plant will at least double in size during flower. So switch when they're about half the size of your maximum height.

Dunno about HLG stuff.

To calculator your total kWh, find the wattage of all your products/devices. Multiple each one by how many hours they run each day. Then multiply that by 30 days. Divide that by 1000. The sum is your total kWh per month. (400w * 18 hours * 30 days) / 1000. Then multiply that by your electricity cost and you have your total monthly cost.

 

[guabasa]

To calculator your total kWh, find the wattage of all your products/devices. Multiple each one by how many hours they run each day. Then multiply that by 30 days. Divide that by 1000. The sum is your total kWh per month. (400w * 18 hours * 30 days) / 1000. Then multiply that by your electricity cost and you have your total monthly cost.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Kingrow1]

All lights are hot if you put a thermometer under them, to read air temperature you omit all indirect and direct light.

Most seem to need this advice when starting, saves your next thread being "Just got my lights now my temps are 95°f....

 

[guabasa]

All lights are hot if you put a thermometer under them, to read air temperature you omit all indirect and direct light.

Most seem to need this advice when starting, saves your next thread being "Just got my lights now my temps are 95°f....

Haha! Thanks, awesome tip!

 

[breedwheel]

All lights are hot if you put a thermometer under them, to read air temperature you omit all indirect and direct light.

Most seem to need this advice when starting, saves your next thread being "Just got my lights now my temps are 95°f....

I never put a lot of thought into where the best place to put a thermometer in a tent. How would you omit all direct and indirect light? I always thought monitoring temp close to the canopy top was the thing to do?

 

[Kingrow1]

I never put a lot of thought into where the best place to put a thermometer in a tent. How would you omit all direct and indirect light? I always thought monitoring temp close to the canopy top was the thing to do?

Luckily i did and i reguarly spew out all the basics forcall new growers because these simple scientifi principles are often overlooked far too easily and quickly by those that seem to want to skip through indoor growing like its not a serious ag. Insd and expect to achieve ag.Ind byd quality and yeild.

*You may never omut all direct and indirect light in a highly powered highly reflective tent. The meteological office circumvent this problem with a stevenson screen but we can just find the coolest spot and assume were not far off.

The air temo shouldnt be far of your room tent since you are intaking and exhausting large volumes in very small amounts of time.

Heat is radiqtion conduction and convection. Heat in the form of light radiation and radiation has little effect on air but will heat a thermometer placed under a light to very hot.

This site sucks for how to grow generally, too busy led'ing or beneies or genetics to realise the biggest gains are in the simple science of how to set up an indoor grow. Most be growing in wind tunnels- a seperate gripe of mine

 

[breedwheel]

With that out of the way let’s get right into it:

I have some background and experience in organic agriculture and permaculture and have grown veggies and other edibles on and off for a number of years, always outdoors and in soil.

This is going to be my first time growing cannabis, at least seriously…A few years ago I had some Fruit Autos in soil on a windowsill that yielded some grams each, but that’s not much of a grow. This time I want to get a bit more serious about it and build an indoor setup since I have the time, space and some money I can invest right now.

I’ve been researching quite a bit for the past few months and have recently put together an equipment list which you can see here: h*ttps://goo.gl/14QKSn (without *)

I realize it may be a lot of stuff for a first time grower but I’m willing and able to shell out a bit more for the peace of mind, that being said I know that the experience is also important and have been researching on that as well. But I’m fairly confident I can have a good go at it

I already have my 5x5 tent which I purchased last week so I may adapt the setup recommendations you give me based on the size of the tent.

I’m planning to have 4 photo-period plants in my tent although I’m open to autos, and In terms of yield aspirations, I’m happy with whatever I get , that being said, of course I would like to maximize yields however possible and have been extensively looking into plant training methods.

I’ve decided to go with LED’s because of the lower power consumption needed for the tent size and also because of the heat HPS setups can give off since I live in a warm climate. And lastly because I really like the idea of growing with LED’s, it just seems fun!

FYI, power rates in my area are $0.08 kWh.

The DWC setup I have planned is two 10 gallon containers with two plants each. I’ve decided to go with hydroponics since I’ve always wanted to learn and experiment with hydroponic setups. I’m planning on going with a top-fed DWC. Is the cost of extra water and air pumps, and air stones worth the pros on having a top-fed system versus a normal DWC? I’ve read it only really matters when starting since the roots can’t reach the water yet.

Another thing I’m thinking of is heat problems within my DWC. The average yearly temps where I’m located are 20C - 3

 

[breedwheel]

Thank you for that answer--temps and ventilation have always been an issue for me with my two small tents due to the major temp changes here during winter and hot summers. Just starting fourth grow so I am still green.
I did want to give my two cents to guabasa about new grow. You are going to have a lot going on with that big set up. I had a hard time refraining from topping, fimming, bending, supercropping, mainlining--name it. I would keep everything really simple. Let the plants do their thing as much as possible. If i could go back to first time I wish i just topped once and maybe lollipopped them before flowering. I fooled with them so much I didn't really learn how they react to certain things. I am also starting to believe all those high powered fancy nutes are probably a waste of money. How would I know if the bud enhancer I spent big money on actually made big buds on my first two grows anyway. I wanted to learn and play with my plants faster than they would grow...
My third grow I built a cheap RWDC with 3 five gal buckets for two plants. So much easier than soil to me. I did go with two big air stones and a good circulation of water with a small pump. Most people seem to like a lot of air so I went with the masses. For water temps Hydroguard. My water temps got up to 80F a few times for a while and I never had any root issues. I wish you luck

 

[Kingrow1]

The idea is you control the temps of the room the tent and light will be in and then it dosent matter what light you use.

This one point like where and how to place your thermometer is also skipped over leading to bad info that leds run cool or somthong and hps dosent.

Ya i ran my hps through a heatwave here last year no problems

 

[guabasa]

You may never omut all direct and indirect light in a highly powered highly reflective tent. The meteological office circumvent this problem with a stevenson screen but we can just find the coolest spot and assume were not far off.

The air temo shouldnt be far of your room tent since you are intaking and exhausting large volumes in very small amounts of time.

Heat is radiqtion conduction and convection. Heat in the form of light radiation and radiation has little effect on air but will heat a thermometer placed under a light to very hot.

Great info! Thanks for the input.

 

[guabasa]

Thank you for that answer--temps and ventilation have always been an issue for me with my two small tents due to the major temp changes here during winter and hot summers. Just starting fourth grow so I am still green.
I did want to give my two cents to guabasa about new grow. You are going to have a lot going on with that big set up. I had a hard time refraining from topping, fimming, bending, supercropping, mainlining--name it. I would keep everything really simple. Let the plants do their thing as much as possible. If i could go back to first time I wish i just topped once and maybe lollipopped them before flowering. I fooled with them so much I didn't really learn how they react to certain things. I am also starting to believe all those high powered fancy nutes are probably a waste of money. How would I know if the bud enhancer I spent big money on actually made big buds on my first two grows anyway. I wanted to learn and play with my plants faster than they would grow...
My third grow I built a cheap RWDC with 3 five gal buckets for two plants. So much easier than soil to me. I did go with two big air stones and a good circulation of water with a small pump. Most people seem to like a lot of air so I went with the masses. For water temps Hydroguard. My water temps got up to 80F a few times for a while and I never had any root issues. I wish you luckView attachment 4280251

I really dig the idea of letting the plants do their thing for the first few grows, I'm thinking I will just do 1 topping and some scrog for canopy management. And I'll leave the more intrusive techniques for later grows.

Thanks for the input! Appreciate it.

 

[Midnight Warrior]

I have to ask why hydro if so much experience in soil? Seems the general consensus is that soil grows produce better overall quality. Stick to what ya know IMO.

As a side I am still on my first grow myself so am still learning too.

 

[guabasa]

I have to ask why hydro if so much experience in soil? Seems the general consensus is that soil grows produce better overall quality. Stick to what ya know IMO.

As a side I am still on my first grow myself so am still learning too.

Hey! I guess I've grown so many things in soil I'm kinda bored and looking to learn new stuff! I'll be keeping a grow journal when I start and I'll link it here. Are you keeping any journals?

 

[Midnight Warrior]

Hey! I guess I've grown so many things in soil I'm kinda bored and looking to learn new stuff! I'll be keeping a grow journal when I start and I'll link it here. Are you keeping any journals?

Hey nothing wrong with learning new ways of growing. I hope it works out for you.

Never really thought about a journal, but its amazing how my first grow has evolved since September. Might post some pics when this grow is done.

 

[Dwcn00b]

Thank you for that answer--temps and ventilation have always been an issue for me with my two small tents due to the major temp changes here during winter and hot summers. Just starting fourth grow so I am still green.
I did want to give my two cents to guabasa about new grow. You are going to have a lot going on with that big set up. I had a hard time refraining from topping, fimming, bending, supercropping, mainlining--name it. I would keep everything really simple. Let the plants do their thing as much as possible. If i could go back to first time I wish i just topped once and maybe lollipopped them before flowering. I fooled with them so much I didn't really learn how they react to certain things. I am also starting to believe all those high powered fancy nutes are probably a waste of money. How would I know if the bud enhancer I spent big money on actually made big buds on my first two grows anyway. I wanted to learn and play with my plants faster than they would grow...
My third grow I built a cheap RWDC with 3 five gal buckets for two plants. So much easier than soil to me. I did go with two big air stones and a good circulation of water with a small pump. Most people seem to like a lot of air so I went with the masses. For water temps Hydroguard. My water temps got up to 80F a few times for a while and I never had any root issues. I wish you luckView attachment 4280251

What was your yield in this grow? Looks awesome btw.

Plus rep