First grow setup and struggling

Hi everyone ,I am attempting my 1st grow and struggling a little.
I know that what i have is far from perfect (it took me 2 days to find perlite) but any help would be greatly appreciated.!
My setup so far is a 60 60 140 gro tent.
1 x Znet4 200w LED light (arrives tomorrow)
Pots that are too big I think
Soil mix (I just took ones that were light and recommended for tomatoes i think as language problem a big factor where I am )
Perlite.
Ph indicator and acid/alch sachets.
2 fans

Firstly I dont know how much coverage the Znet 4 will give me ? I keep looking and dont seem to get a definitive answer. I plan on growing dwarf Autos with not much leafage, which i will probably use either Sin TraBajo , Malana Bomb, outo kush or Lowryder Mix, if i can grow 2 plants or more (i have no idea) .

My pots seem to be around 13 liters which i know is too big, should i put a few rocks in at the bottom to fill it out a bit? Or just get some new ones that take up less space?

I had some one translate the soil packaging and it says it has 3 months nutes in it (i really hope i dont have to wander around another flower market being the only white guy and everyone trying to help !!!)

Once ive mixed the soil with the perlite , how do i initially water it? just pour water that has been sitting for a couple of days in a basin? and repeat until water starts filling the tray?

How long should the soil sit before i try and germinate my seed in it (I have been told that with auto flowers its best to germinate and start life in the same pot for the duration).

What size should the plants be before I switch the lights on (i have a sunny window sill to get them up and running)
Im told to keep the lights on 18/6 is best?

With the tent being only 140 in height and the pots being fairly large would it be ok just to drop the lights a few inches and keep them there?

Will two small fans be enough ?

I know these are school boy questions guys and im sure there are post which explain but ive been looking and looking and either get completely dif answers or none at all.

Any help would be great , Im not expecting much if anything for my first grow but some helpful advise would be great.

Thanks again

hay and welcome to the site. it sounds like your off to a good start. i would start then in the tent because the tents help keep pest out, with the light about 2 to 3 ft high im not sure about how strong the light is either. and do a search on the net for grow books most of them can be downloded in pdf for free. with a few books and this site you will be good to go. if you have troble finding the books you need i can send you a link to them

That's a lot of questions, I think Mike offers good advice on getting and reading a book before germing. But I'll take a shot with my comments in bold.

My pots seem to be around 13 liters which i know is too big, should i put a few rocks in at the bottom to fill it out a bit? Or just get some new ones that take up less space?

When in doubt, go with the bigger pot. You can take them out of the tent if they outgrow it and you have a closet or other suitable space. Rocks won't do anything but waste pot space for roots - don't use them.

I had some one translate the soil packaging and it says it has 3 months nutes in it (i really hope i dont have to wander around another flower market being the only white guy and everyone trying to help !!!)

This stuff could very well be too hot for starting seedlings in. Suggest you start them in little dixie cups or something about that size with seedling soil (very low nutrient content, like you want). Transplant into hotter soil after a couple weeks.

Once ive mixed the soil with the perlite , how do i initially water it? just pour water that has been sitting for a couple of days in a basin? and repeat until water starts filling the tray?

If the soil is moist you can do a bottom and/or top watering until saturated. If soil is bone dry, best to wet it in another container where you can stir it up really good with your hands. If you don't, you can have dry zones that never take water easily unless bottom watered.

How long should the soil sit before i try and germinate my seed in it (I have been told that with auto flowers its best to germinate and start life in the same pot for the duration).

You can plant right away. My thoughts on planting in that soil above.

What size should the plants be before I switch the lights on (i have a sunny window sill to get them up and running)
Im told to keep the lights on 18/6 is best?

I plant and turn lights on about day 3, or as soon as I see the bent stem starting to poke through the soil. 18/6 is fine but you can go straight 24 hours on if you want to pay for the electricity.

With the tent being only 140 in height and the pots being fairly large would it be ok just to drop the lights a few inches and keep them there?

Sorry, I'm not an LED guy so no experience here.

Will two small fans be enough ?

Should be fine. You will measure your temps at canopy level? Make adjustments as needed.

Good luck with your first grow!

Hi there,
Thanks for your advice, I will go an try and get some seedling soil today , my lights should arrive this afternoon , so should be up and running within the next couple of days
I still dont know how many plants I can grow, as I said they are dwarf plants with little folliage, i think im safe with 2 but as always any suggestions will be apreciated.

Good luck on getting started up and welcome. I'm still new to LEDs so I'm going to suggest you take a peek at the LED section in the indoors forums. See what others are working with..

Now I would say stick to 2 plants for now. See how your plants react to the lights then decide on more or less from there. But if you find out the coverage of you LEDs then decide from that.

A few people have siad not to repot, maybe i should try my luck at he flower market and see if i can get soil that is low /no nutriunts but the language problem is hindering me somewhat !

also if my pots are say 14 litre , I take it wont harm them?

You look like you have a plan,the only few things i would add is good intake and good outlet going from filter, and a min of one large fan for the tops of the plants and a smaller fan to blow up toawrds the outlet.

you don't have to use tubs of that size with seedling it wont harm them but to make it cost effective use smaller pots aqd you will use less nutrients,then just put the seedlings after they have been going a few week in to the large pots.

They will need the bigger pots for big root mass,big root mass and right feed and room =big yeild

I have a couple of fans one small and one medium, my tent has an opening in the "roof" and as you can see and couple high up and a square mesh at the back of the tent, what the best thing to do with them? Do I need to buy a filter for the temps? The lights have arrived and have a couple of fans in the unit . Pics here,

Oki I have added the light to the tent and it measures 40 cms from roof of tent to lights , leaving me 100cm. I can raise or it another 20 I suppose later on if needed and easily raise my pots with boxes or something. I keep reading the light can be fixed from start to finish but still not sure the best distance should be, especially after germination ?

Man I think you are absolutely crazy to be growing in Japan. So many bad stories of people caught with a small amount of pot let alone growing. Japan is not the place for a smoker...

japan is worse than missouri. and missouri will fuck you over. hard

Yea cheers but I'm looking for help not a lecture

if ur doing auto's u dont want nuted soil, but you also dont ever, ever, ever (ever) transplant auto's. Extra root room is fine, remember soil stays dry compared to photo-grows. Auto's like nutes later, lighter, and in much drier soil.

Id find new dirt... mebbe even coco-coir if u got a big bag of perlite, n mebbe some hydro stones... (again big bucket is a plus here )

get a thermo/hydrometer combo, one that records high/low for past 24hrs, so u know ur fans are keeping up.

germ right into the main grow container, transplanting an auto will make it stop rooting n flower.... not "always" but... yea, close enough.

be prepared a month or so later w/ high cfm fan and carbon filter...

dont be shy w/ the light, let her flow. 18/6, 20/4, 24/0..... i like the 20/4 so i got a "dark" window for spraying azamax, keep the mites out...

out and got 1big bag of potting soil with no nutrients, could i mix, 1/3 no nute soil, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 the mix i got before or does that still spell disaster?

Flagg420 said:

if ur doing auto's u dont want nuted soil, but you also dont ever, ever, ever (ever) transplant auto's. Extra root room is fine, remember soil stays dry compared to photo-grows. Auto's like nutes later, lighter, and in much drier soil.

Id find new dirt... mebbe even coco-coir if u got a big bag of perlite, n mebbe some hydro stones... (again big bucket is a plus here )

get a thermo/hydrometer combo, one that records high/low for past 24hrs, so u know ur fans are keeping up.

germ right into the main grow container, transplanting an auto will make it stop rooting n flower.... not "always" but... yea, close enough.

be prepared a month or so later w/ high cfm fan and carbon filter...

dont be shy w/ the light, let her flow. 18/6, 20/4, 24/0..... i like the 20/4 so i got a "dark" window for spraying azamax, keep the mites out...

Click to expand...

thanks for that I have

Flagg420 said:

if ur doing auto's u dont want nuted soil, but you also dont ever, ever, ever (ever) transplant auto's. Extra root room is fine, remember soil stays dry compared to photo-grows. Auto's like nutes later, lighter, and in much drier soil.

Id find new dirt... mebbe even coco-coir if u got a big bag of perlite, n mebbe some hydro stones... (again big bucket is a plus here )

get a thermo/hydrometer combo, one that records high/low for past 24hrs, so u know ur fans are keeping up.

germ right into the main grow container, transplanting an auto will make it stop rooting n flower.... not "always" but... yea, close enough.

be prepared a month or so later w/ high cfm fan and carbon filter...

dont be shy w/ the light, let her flow. 18/6, 20/4, 24/0..... i like the 20/4 so i got a "dark" window for spraying azamax, keep the mites out...

Click to expand...

thats great advice thanks ,I had gone out and got 1big bag of potting soil with no nutrients, could i mix, 1/3 no nute soil, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 the tomato mix i got before or does that still spell disaster?

Sounds like you're on a good path. If your still worried about burning your seedling with your mix, you can fill you pot with your mix then take a handful out of the center and replace with a little of your unnute soil. This will give the seedling a 1-2 week buffer before getting into the mixed medium.

good luck m8 ..im just at the end off my first grow auto ak47 ..got pics on here

OK now that sound like a plan !! Ok im going in, start the germination process tonight, just pop the seeds under the soil and pray

Sorry mate. All you need is seeds, soil, light, water, air. Good luck.

Flagg420 said:

if ur doing auto's u dont want nuted soil, but you also dont ever, ever, ever (ever) transplant auto's. Extra root room is fine, remember soil stays dry compared to photo-grows. Auto's like nutes later, lighter, and in much drier soil.

Id find new dirt... mebbe even coco-coir if u got a big bag of perlite, n mebbe some hydro stones... (again big bucket is a plus here )

get a thermo/hydrometer combo, one that records high/low for past 24hrs, so u know ur fans are keeping up.

germ right into the main grow container, transplanting an auto will make it stop rooting n flower.... not "always" but... yea, close enough.

be prepared a month or so later w/ high cfm fan and carbon filter...

dont be shy w/ the light, let her flow. 18/6, 20/4, 24/0..... i like the 20/4 so i got a "dark" window for spraying azamax, keep the mites out...

Click to expand...

Im trying to find a cheap C02 and carbon filter but my geographic location is not great for that! lol
Is there a cheap way of doing it myself?
How important is it ?