1st grow with CFL's 12/12

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bpatpil

Active Member
hey, first post on forum, seems like nice place.

anyway, i got an afghan kush seed that has just been germed and planted 3 days a go. its under 23w 4200k cfl and a 11w cfl. I am getting 4 more 30w 6400w so these lights are just for the first few days.
here are some pics of the beginning of the 3rd day and end of 3rd day.
100_1005.jpg100_1006.jpg
does everything seem ok? i have painted the grow area, which is 3ft length, 2.5ft high, 1.5ft wide, in white paint for reflection of light. I'm waiting till top of soil goes dry then i water with tap water which has been left out for a few days so the chemicals can leave the water.
The plant is in a few litre pot with normal compost which has decent drainage. I also have a fan blowing from a distance to cool lights and maybe to help the stem grow strong.
I am starting 12/12 today so i only want a small plant. Will this pot be enough for a small plant?
thanks for reading
 
OopsCake

OopsCake

Active Member
Those seem like odd spectrum's, You'll need 6500k for for vegetative growth and 2700k for flowering. You can use a mixed of both for all stages, right now I'm doing 12/12 from seed using all 2700k and one little 6500k since I had a spot.
 
Mister Black

Mister Black

Active Member
bpatpil said:
hey, first post on forum, seems like nice place.

anyway, i got an afghan kush seed that has just been germed and planted 3 days a go. its under 23w 4200k cfl and a 11w cfl. I am getting 4 more 30w 6400w so these lights are just for the first few days.
here are some pics of the beginning of the 3rd day and end of 3rd day.
View attachment 2650087View attachment 2650088
does everything seem ok? i have painted the grow area, which is 3ft length, 2.5ft high, 1.5ft wide, in white paint for reflection of light. I'm waiting till top of soil goes dry then i water with tap water which has been left out for a few days so the chemicals can leave the water.
The plant is in a few litre pot with normal compost which has decent drainage. I also have a fan blowing from a distance to cool lights and maybe to help the stem grow strong.
I am starting 12/12 today so i only want a small plant. Will this pot be enough for a small plant?
thanks for reading
Click to expand...
At this stage you don't need so many lights but the above posters advice on spectrum is right on. How many liters is 'a few'? Just be sure to keep the lights close and the temps within a good range for now and as long as your soil is not too 'hot' you'll be fine.
 
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blackbellychimp

Member
Throw away the 4200k bulb as it is useless for the plants. The 6400k lights will be ok, but you also want to have more 2500k bulbs. You want to have the majority of the lights to be in the 2500k temp; no higher than 2700k. You should also implement some 6500k bulbs (in smaller amounts than the 2500k bulbs) in order to broaden the spectrum that is useful to the chlorophyll.

Your grow area is 4.5 square feet, so you want to have AT LEAST 180 watts total for the box in order to achieve 40 watts per square foot. 50+ watts per square foot is optimal. Lighting will be the difference between air buds and rock buds, so don't skimp on it if you can help it.

Best,
-Chimp

EDIT: The 4200k isn't useless, but bulbs in the 6500k-2500k range are MUCH more useful, rendering the 4200k sub-par.
 
B

bpatpil

Active Member
sorry i got it wrong. I ordered 2 30w 6400k and 2 30w 2700k.
So all together, I will have about 75w of 2700k and 60w of 6400k.
I have a fan blowing from a nice distance which should keep everything cool.
Other then that, do the pics look o.k? I have started it on 12/12 now that it is 4 days in after being planted.
another pic from today 100_1007.jpg
 
clayman187

clayman187

Active Member
looks ok. If doing a 12/12 from seed you need more soft light watts then daylight watts..ie:100 watts of 2700k/50 watts of 6500k...put som pert in that soil. whats your ph runnin"?
 
B

bpatpil

Active Member
im fine with the lights man, im picking up 2 30w 6400k and 2 30w 2700k, so im good with lights. I don't have a ph tester but the ph of the soil on the package says around 6. I am looking to get some perlite for the soil, but would i be able to use some small pebbles, maybe ground up? or sand?
1st plant is looking good. I just finished germinating my second one, so that's planted.
100_1012.jpg
 
B

bpatpil

Active Member
i will try to check it but my water is very drinkable and it's fine water. Most of the water i use comes from a watering can which has been left for a f ew days.
Anyway. I had to throw this plant out for various reasons and now I have planted a NL feminized seed. It just sprouted.
 
Mister Black

Mister Black

Active Member
bpatpil said:
im fine with the lights man, im picking up 2 30w 6400k and 2 30w 2700k, so im good with lights. I don't have a ph tester but the ph of the soil on the package says around 6. I am looking to get some perlite for the soil, but would i be able to use some small pebbles, maybe ground up? or sand?
1st plant is looking good. I just finished germinating my second one, so that's planted.
View attachment 2651807
Click to expand...
Environment is everything. Having a ph tester (they are cheap from Aquarium supply stores) and a thermometer/hydrometer (again cheap from many places) is very important. Know your temps, know your RH, know your ph going in and coming out. There is more to know but for now that should be enough. I'd also rec an EC tester but you might not want to get into that right now.
 
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