Brain's Choice CFL Hydro Cabinet Grow

So I wanted to start this grow journal because this is my first grow and Im bound to have questions and make some mistakes. Im hopeing that my fellow growers will catch some of these mistakes before they become deadly. I figured this would also be a good place to log my ph, ppm, and temps.

Here's a run down of my setup:

Homedepot cabinetmaid wardrobe cabinet 36*20*72in

6* 23watt 6500k CfLs

6*23watt 2700k CFLs

Homedepot 160 CFM booster fan with carbon filter.
I may need to install another one of these. I dont know how many bulbs Ill need on at one time but I did a test run with all 12 bulbs and my temps sat around 90-95.

I planted my first seed on the evening of Nov 24th in a ph'ed rockwool cube. I placed the cube in a tall bowl and covered it with plastic wrap to keep the humidity up. I placed the bowl on a heat mat that I got from my local hydro shop.

Here's a few pictures of my progress as of this morning 12/3 (little over 4days sense planting)


Currently Im using one 6500k 23watt bulb about six inches above the bowl 18hrs a day and the heat pad is also attached to the same timer so help keep it warm.

Morning of the 8th day from planting.
Everything looks good. She's about out grown the bowl so this weekend ill be moving her to the hydro dome. Ill also add another exhaust fan to keep the heat down.

Here's a few updated pictures.

12days in and my leaves are curling and are yellowing on the tips.

A few days ago I moved the plant from a bowl with platic wrap to a hydro dome. I didnt think my humidity was high enough last night because I added a few more wet paper towls to the hydro dome. When I got home today and inspected the plant it didnt looked worse. I have a hard time believing that the humidity is too low. All the paper towls are still wet and the plastic dome is covered in droplets of water.

When I moved my plant to the hydro dome i did turn on more of my 23watt cfls because I had to move the light further away and to keep my temp up. Also I do have a heat pad to help with the temp.

The temp is sitting around 75-85

Im kind of at a loss here. Any help would be appreciated.


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I have a feeling that I over watered the poor thing in the attempt to keep the humidity up in the dome.

No worries, we've all killed a few despite our best intentions! More seeds out there if necessary.

So if you are feeding a light dose of something, that yellowing and stalled growth aren't getting better after getting the dome off, you will probably find that you have some root rot from excess moisture. I think this could go either way at this point. Don't worry about the little round leaves, they've already served their purpose. But the first single leaf should be staying green until your 3s come in. Hopefully just stalled and roots are catching up.

I'm also a little concerned with the heat mat. Cheap heat mats can fry the root zone pretty easy. Is there a reason you are using it for seedling phase?

I haven't grown in rockwool for quite a few years so excuse this question if I'm just behind the times, what is your rockwool wrapped in? It has drainage on bottom? If no drainage, that is big problem. Also, did you condition your rockwool? Rockwool did better for me with bottom watering and addition of a root stimulant (hormone).

The heat mat was recommended at the hydro shop. For the most part it was a heat source, 3 bulbs and heat mat keep my box at 80 degrees. I dont know how sensitive the roots are but its heat is minimal and ive always put something between the plant and pad such as the try.

the wrap is just what it comes in, I dont know what its purpose is.

The rockwool is currently sitting in the tray from the hydro dome and it does have drainage.

Okay, I'm feeling better about your chances. When you described the seedling as 12 days old, it was a little misleading. Better to describe how long she has been poking up as germination times can vary a lot. So she's been up like 8 or 9 days? That makes a difference at this stage of the game!

Oh okay, well it was like 3 days when it was visible. So my most resent photos are on the other forum from last night and that would make it day 11.

What's up skorch! I think you may have almost done just that to your seedlings root. Im pretty sure your overwatered and a tad too warm. I always have around 100% success with seedlings and not once used a heat pad. Sounds like the dude at the hydro shop just wanted to make a $ off you. Let that thing dry out. Roots like to be stay a little cooler than the plant.

So I got home and checked how the day treated her. Still pretty yellow but my roots are starting to poke through the rockwool. I decided to go ahead and put her into my dwc.
PPM of tap water 190
PPM after nutes 325
135PPM
PH 5.78

I still need to get a thermometer for my res.
Hopefully my plant will start turning around.

Here's some pictures from this morning (day 13) (day 1 in DWC)
I dont think the res water is reaching the rockwool and my roots are tiny so I spooned some res water to feed her.

Day 14
Shes looking pretty good. Got some new growth coming along. I've noticed that the water level drops about a 1/2in every day, I have a hard time believing my plant is drinking that much and assume that lots of it is due to evaporation.

I got a new remote thermometer/humidity its been handy. Temp is sitting right at 74-76 and humidity 40-50%
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