6 plant stealth hydro setup first time please help* PICS!

Whats up guys this is my first grow i just want to get some clarity on this next step since im almost done with my cab.

I have a G13 Labs blueberry gum seed in germination process right now. My first question is i have 6 seeds all different strains... should i start with 1 or can i grow a few strains at a time?

I have a 4 gal reservoir. What level should i fill it to with water? is an inch and half under the net pot correcT? I have 2 Air stones in the reservoir.

I have a PH meter but its not digital and i think its only for soil

I ordered a digital ph meter and TDS peter for PPM... soo my next question is instead of tap water should i just fill with distilled water since i cant check the ph?

My seeds should sprout tmw hopefully so i want to get everything ready... i dont have any way to measure pH besides these strips i got at the pet store and they only go from 6.2-8.4

Am i missing anything? I plan to let the seed sprout... place in rockwool.. should I put in container with dome under light... ? or right into my hydro setup?

Yea thats a soil ph meter. You are correct, fill the water to about an inch below the net pot. Having a PH Meter and a TDS meter are a must. You don't have to go with distilled water, to me it doesn't make much of a difference. If you do use R/O (Reverse Osmosis) water you have to add some Cal/Mag which is already in tap water. Some say you have to let tap water sit out for 24 hrs to let the chlorine evaporate out, but I've never done that. Again, it doesn't make a difference, unless your levels of chlorine is extremely high, which I doubt. I feel that having a small amount of chlorine in your water from tap can help a little at killing some bad bugs that may be in it, just my opinion doesn't mean it's true. You say you have 2 airstones, what size of pump are you using? From experience, you want to make sure you have plenty of air flow into the water. Also, make sure your rockwool is damp, I usually just dip the bottom and top real quick into the res making sure moisture gets through to the center. After I get it damp I just put the seed in the pre made hole, stick it in the netpot with some hydroton and place it under some regular shop lights until it gets a around 3 or 4 inches tall, and make sure it stays warm, around 75 degrees is perfect. As for how many should you grow, it all depends on how much room you have and how many lights you have.

You can grow 6 plants under a 600w MH/HPS light, but you won't get as much out of them. Again, it's just my opinion, but I think no more than 2 plants per 600w is good, and make sure you use some mylar to help with side lighting. 6 plants under a 600w system only produced 4 ounces. 2 plants under a 600w hps light produced 9 ounces, same strain.



By the way, get a thermometer, it really helps knowing the temp. Make sure your water temps stay in the 65 range, get a oscilating (sp?) fan and have it gently blow on your plants - it helps produce strong stalks. Have good fresh air flow coming in to the room, and have the old air going out. Fresh air is closest to the ground, stale warm air rises to the top so put your exhaust higher in the room.

Thanks for the fast response..

can i do without the meters till they get here? I couldnt find any locally.I dont even know what RO water is ... its either Tap or Distilled for me... guess i'll go tap .. My reservoir has been on for about 12 hours with regular tap water in it and the pump on.

I am starting with flouro and might do HPS during flower. ITs a stealth grow so i might do flouro the whole way out...

you can check my stealth dresser out here https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/485487-check-out-my-stealth-cab.html

i surely dont have enough room to grow all 6 but i was thinking maybe 2. I just dont know if i should grow 2 seperate strains in the same reservoir.. I should have picked up 2 of each seed

My cab is about 90% complete. I attatched the dresser draw faces upside down the unfinished side on the top was showing now i must flip each one and add mylar to inside of doors and i will start doing temp readings...

as far as thermometer you mean for the reservoir? i have a temp/humidity monitor inside cab already

You can do without a meter for a little bit, some might say you can't but you can. Just don't do alot of nutes though cause you could over do it without knowing. Go by the manufacturers measurements they say for however much water you will have in your res. R/O water is Reverse Osmosis water. When you use a TDS meter on R/O water it should read 0 ppm. You can get R/O water at Walmart from their water dispenser in those big 3 or 5 gallon refillable jugs. Alot of people like going with R/O water because you are starting with water that has nothing in it, and they just add only the nutrients they want in their water, but you do have to add some Cal/Mag though. Tap water already has enough Cal/Mag in it to suffice, and it helps save you money. Regular tap water will have probably any where from 200 to 400 ppm, depending on where you live and what type of water you have, i.e. well vs. city water. I see where people are coming from when they say they only use R/O water because you know exactly everything that is in the water and how much.

You also need a thermometer for the air temp as well for the water temp. If you water gets too warm it is a breeding ground for bad bacteria, and believe me, when your roots start developing slime and start to die off when you are 3 weeks into flowering, it sucks. Flouros are good for cloning, seedlings, and somewhat veging for a few weeks, but when it comes to flowering, HPS is the way to go. With using flouros to flower you won't really develop good sized buds, and they will be light and fluffy.

Trying to flower two plants under flouros won't really work that well either. They start to stretch, bush out, and flouros, unless you have a ton of them, won't have enough light, or power to give the plants what they need to develop properly. I'm not trying to hate on your system, just trying to give some advice so you won't be disappointed in the end. Sure, MH/HPS lights are more expensive, produce high heat, use more electricity, but they pay for themselves after one, maybe two grows. If you do decide to go with the flouros, I would recommend only growing one plant.

Oh, going back to the meters. I didn't mention the PH meter. You can go without using one, but I wouldn't do it for no more than a few days. Regular tap water around here comes out anywhere from 7.0 to 8.0, depending on the day, and weather. If your PH is too high your plants will not take up any of the nutes. If your PH is too low, it will do the same thing. Plants in hydro do best with a PH reading of 5.8 to 6.0. Some people may say you can go as low as 5.4 and as high as 6.4, but it's just a good idea to keep it between 5.8 and 6.

Hope it helps.