First grow off and running now have a few O-Shit questions.

Ok, I have my first two seeds germinated and sprouted, now I have a few O-Shit questions. Let me give quick overview of my setup first.

DWC 10gal res with 5 gals inside. Water is about 3" below bottom of net pots. 2 round air stones hooked to 60 gph pump. Until roots hit water I have a drip system installed running 15 minutes 3 times daily at 1 drip per second (during light which is now at 20/4 for my two Lowryder 2 / AK 47 Fem Autoflowers). The sprouts are in 1.5 rockwool in 3" net spots with clay pellets (forgot name). I have the 90 watt 7.1.1 Tri Band UFO LED approx. 10" above sprouts.
Closed cabinet 19 cubic feet fully encased in Mylar no exhaust (temps average 80 - 87 with 40 - 65 humidity). Hanna PPM continuous tester (screwed up thought it tested PH too but not so I'm using old tube and dropper approach till I find a good digital). PH appears to be somewhere around or just below 6.0. PPM (no nutes) is running at 60.

Ok here go my questions. I've read so many variations on these subjects I wanted to ask myself knowing my setup and plants. I'm also panicking a little and questioning myself. Please bear with me I have a few. LOL..

1. I put rockwool cube in netpot with pellets on bottom and all sides. I read somewhere not to put them on the bottom. I also used the smallest pellets I could find in the bag because I thought more is better. (I always over do everything, bad habit).

2. My seeds have been in rockwool and netpots now for 3 days and are about 2" above top of cube. I do see about 1/4 inch of the tap root today protruding below the net pot. However, the shell is still on and the leaves have not come out yet. They are trying to push out but have not yet. When I look at them they appear to be encased in something that is brown in color (not the shell) or what is scaring me is that that brown I'm seeing is the leafs and I'm doing something wrong. The root sticking above the rockwool is off white not bright white. So is this normal at this stage and if so, how long before I should start to worry if leaves don't unfold.

3. Since these are Autoflowering the suggested light is 20/4 from day one. I assumed this to be the minute the shell appeared above the rockwool. After all that is how it would be naturally. Did I start the light too soon?

4. I have the UFO about 10" above the sprouts. Is that too close / too far? I did turn the pots around and noticed the next day they changed their lean direction towards it more.

5. Should I add nutes to the water now and if so how much? The PPM is 60. The only nutes I have is what I ordered (no shops anywhere near me with organic nutes that I found) Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Bloom 2-3-5 Fruit and flower formula for hydrogardens (yeah read bottle). I also read somewhere that if someone says you should have a PPM of let's say 200 and you start with a PPM of 60 that you should shoot for 260 not 200. Is that true?

6. When I pull up net pots I see water dripping from bottom of pots. Remember pots are 3 - 5 inches above water line. Is this normal and should I stop using the drip system at 1 drip per second or two?

7. I also ordered a fogger to go into res (remember I tend to overkill LOL). Should I use this when it comes in or leave drip till roots hit water, etc. etc. etc.. I'm just really confused here. Don't want to over water or underwater.

Ok that's about all I can think of at the moment. I know I'm probably overreacting but I tend to work myself into a frenzy when I get unsure of myself and NOT having anything to calm me down is making it worse. hahaha

Ok maybe I asked too many questions at once. LOL.. One of my seedlings leaves came out last night. What is interesting about it is that there are not just the two round leaves but two jagged leaves as well right out of the shell. They are also a dark grey color and not green. Is this normal for this strain? (lowryder 2 x AK47 Autoflower)..

1) you shold have some rocks at the bottom of your cup. Your cube should not ever be sitting in water. The rocks give you a buffer zone.

2) Roots are normally white to start. Make sure they are moist and not exposed to light. Mid to high 70's in temp.

3) You can/should wait until the seed is sprouted. Germinating seeds want darkness. Sprouts reach for the light.

Don't feed them at this stage. You will burn them. Wait until there are a could of true leaves then start off very weak and slowly work up.

4) Once the plants have established you should not have a problem with getting to close. Heat is your only problem normaly

5) Yes, add your starting ppm to your numbers. 60 ppm is a pretty pure starting water. Go slow with seedlings. They are very delicate at this stage it is easy to over feed them.

6) Why would you not see water dripping if you have drippers. It is not like the plant will drink every drop you drink. If your water was right up to the bottom of your pots you could turn off the drippers.

7) the fogger only helps the roots above the water line. So, start it now. It is almost impossible to over water with fogger. But it does sound like you are doing DWC, Drip, and fogger? More then enough, but as long as your water is very oxygenated it is hard to over water.


Best of luck.

Thanks StreetRider.. How about the color being a Dark Grey instead of Green now that the first one has started to unfold her first set of leaves?

I'm guessing to that having the round starter leaves and a pair of jagged leaves right out of the shell is normal for this auto-flowering strain?