1st Mini CFL Closet Grow

all i see is a picture of a light by your name

Thats my avatar, a pic of my first 50w hps light. I gotta figure out what im doing wrong putting up pics in posts. How those plants doin? Lookn any better?

Still under ground...had a high temperature of 83.8F and a low 75.5F. I figure this is totally normal range, but it is agout to start getting hot around here, so I hope that doesnt mess things up too much. Humidity is lowering too around 20-30%, is this a good range for a vegitation stage?

What watering schedule do most people do? I was thinking watiting till the top soil gets dry then water rather thoroughly. Something like two cups per plant????

I wait untill the top 2 inches of the soil is bone dry(testing with finger), then water till the soil is moist all the way through. Which in my 6 inch pots is every other day, and the 10 inch pots every third day. Under and over watering is probably the easiest mistake to make for new growers so keep that in mind. These plants dont need a lot of water.

Sweet deal, ill be careful when i water them. Ill listen to my babies.
So the first leafes popped up above the soil in two of the seeds! My babies are beautiful! slightly lopsided but a beauty non-the-less.
It has started!

MY two babies are looking good. I had to move one of the lights up a bit today so the leaves dont get burnt. FAn is still on 24/7


I read the news today and it said that MJ is at the highest potency ever, This means we must be doing something right. Potency is up to 9.6%
Check out this article Study: Pot at its most potent level in 30 years - Addictions - MSNBC.com

So I woke up this morning and one of my babies was nearly horizontal because the fan pushed it over. SO now I am going to turn the fan so it is not directly on the plants. They might not grow as stronge of a stem, but atleast they wont be horizontal.
The plants are about 3 and 4.5 cm tall. Other than the fan set back all seems to be going well

What about nutrients? I know that I dont need to use them for a while, but when is a good time to start using them, and what is generally the best amounts (X-X-X)? My plants are about 6 days new so i still got some time, but i might as well start thinking about it, any ideas????

Yeah you dont need to worry about nutes for a while. Wait till they are 3-4 weeks old and give them nutes that are high in nitrogen(nitrogen is the first number). For example 5-1-1. Also, do not follow the dosage directions on the nutes, you have to start them out way lower, I use an 8th of the recommended dosage on the label and gradually increase each week as long as there are no signs of overdose.

My babies are still doing well, there seems to be no sign of trouble. Though the temperature did get a bit high todaym peaked at 94F. I think that is the upper range of what I want. Were I live the temperature is going to start peaking around 90-100 everyday, I am a little worried that they might over heat. I dont think a vent fan would help at all, I already have a fan (non-rotating unless i can fix it) and I leave the enclosure open during the day. Is there any special tricks to keep the temperature down??

Yeah 94 is way too hot. Hell I dont like to see mine go over 83. Usually they stay between 77-81 which Im happy with. But I got fans out the ass because my light is 600w in a small area. Not to mention its hot as hell in my area too. Heres a pic of my vent system coming through the ceiling.

3 SIX INCH DUCTS WITH 250CFM INLINE FANS AND ONE 110CFM EXHAUST FAN

2 SIX INCH DUCTS AND 2 250CFM FANS DEDICATED TO THE COOLTUBE

So I guess you may have realized I figured out how to post pics.

nice pixs. I dont have the option to cut into the walls or cealing for venting. I am growing in my closet so the area is rather restricted. During the day I open it up so it can vent around the room. I am trying not to spend all that much money, soa $200 AC unit is outta the question, do you know of any other alternatives, or a good thread that talks about options? And what are the "cool tubes?"
Thanks

A cooltube is a light fixture, its basically just a glass cylinder with a bulb in it. The cylinder is open on both ends, so you can hook 6" ducts to both sides, add a fan to that and youve got a light that doesnt put off much heat, its a closet growers wet dream. So start saving, I know once I discovered this fixture, I had to have it. Here it is again........

If you cant bring fresh air in with ducts, Id suggest circulating the air in the closet as much as possible. Lots of fans! I got extra lights and fans because my grow has evolved so much in the past few months. Heres a pic of the fans I got from htgsupply.com
Im using 3 of these, 2 on my cooltube, they arent bad for $40 IMO.

well it has been about 8 weeks since i first planted my babies, and they are doing very well. i am thinking about switching over to the flowering stage. Both are about 13" tall and have had multiple toppings.
I have been giiving them a little bit of fertilizer (mericle grow) about once a week, and they seem to be taking it just fine.
I had been previously using the 6500K lights, now i am thinking about switching over to the 2700K lights for the flowering stage, does that sound right?
Also if anyone is still reading this, what times should I switch to. I had been running 24/0, I am thinking of running to 20/4 for a few days then switching it to 18 on 6 off and leaving it there till im ready to harvest.
Finally what fertilizer schedule should i use? I figure they will be eating a lot when they are flowering, but I also figure that I should not feed them right before i crop.
Thanks for the reply, if i get one.