I need help, just a couple questions.

I am new to indoor and need some advise and help with a few things. Unfortunately I cant find the cord to connect my camera to my comp so no pics (I could use my laptop camera if needed) but these might be easy for some1 to answer without the pics. Any help is very much appreciated.

My set up: A plywood 4x4x4 built with a top box about 15" high & 30" long for the hood and light housing (Hydrofarm w/400 watt MH) so that I can utilize the entire 4' highth inside the box. I have a 4" centrifugical blower fan mounted at the top corner of the back that leads to a carbon filter and a 4" inlet for fresh air on the opposite corner near the bottom. It is built very well with no light leaks. (She's my baby, I'm proud of her.)1. Currently I am using the blower fan to exaust all of the air in the box. I have a 4" line running to just above the light so that the cold air rushes up through the plants and also pull the heat from the light. For now its working well. It's holding temperature at or around 70 to 78 degrees F and humidity at around 40. The problem I'm haveing with this is that I have to leave my window cracked so that I can regulate the temp. I am always opening or closing it a small amount in order to keep it at an optimal temp. I live in a very cold area and suspect that soon I wont need to open my window at all.

Nutrients: Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Grow 3-2-4, Botanicare CAL-MAG 2-0-0, Superthrive 3 drops per gallon, General Hydroponics pH UP. I always use distilled water.

Question 1: Would it be a better idea to have a seperate ventelation system for the heat from the light. I would need to add a lense or some type of high heat glass and another smaller fan to pull/push the air?
Question 2: I sexed my 2 plants and 1 of them took 4 days longer to show than the other. Both were girls but the 1 that showed quickly grew very quickly and has large starts at the bud sights. The problem is that I put them back in 24 hour light for 3 days then to 18 hours. its been 2 weeks now and barely any new growth. They seem to have stalled. I should mention that I topped them and also am training them to stay low which may be a stress but for this long with little growth..?
Question 3: The plants look great but I noticed that the leaves seem heavy and a little droopy. I had some yellowing on some of the fan leaves and some on the smaller leaves which I removed from the plant.
Question 4: Watering...??? Right now I dont have them on any kind of schedule. I water/feed when they get dry. I am using Smart Pots and the sides seem to dry out much faster than the center which confuses me on when to water. I have been pHing to around 5.5 to 6. I'm just unsure when to water. Should I give them a very small amount daily or water them when they are dry. How much should they recieve each in 5 gallon Smart Pots?
Also I have 20 seed started lemon haze plants in the same area (unsexed as of yet) and was wondering if I should feed them or just water them for now (on their 3rd leaf set).

Sorry for so many questions but I need help from some old schoolers, I'm used to outdoor in Oregon so this is somewhat new to me, Thanks to everyone in advance.

You didn't provide info about the plants. Age, height, medium, strain info, etc. would be helpful. everything.

1 - You're not having problems with heat, so don't worry about it.

2 - They are stalled because you topped them. Thet'll create a few days delay in growth as the new tops develop.

3 - Sounds like you are overwatering. How do you know it is time to water again?

4 - See #3. Tell me some details about your new grow.

info on the plants: they are about 2 months and I topped all but the lowest branches. I also LST trained them to about only 18" tall, I am useing Pro-Mix BX as the medium. The strain is a surprise. I got 2 seeds from a bag of some super good herb and they both turned out female( or herm?), I'm just not sure of the strain. Whatever the strain, it has very purple stems and looks to flower very fast, not sure if that helps you any on the strain. The seedlings I have started are Lemon Haze. I check the water by putting my finger in the dirt a few inches and manually feel if it is moist. With the smart pots the sides dry out and develope a crust like you can see on the top of the medium in a regular pot. When I transplanted them to the Smart Pots, the medium that they were in was just a soil with no perlite or vermeculite, basically no drainage so some of that dirt was put in with the new Pro Mix(not much at all). Also when I first transplanted I soaked them through. It took a very long time until they needed water again. In the 2 months I have watered only 3 times but I think that the original soaking had something to do with them still haveing water retention.? I just dont know.. I do the feel test for weight when checking for watering times as well as the finger test. They feel light like they used the water that they last had (9/30) but I still feel moisture just under the top about an inch or 2. (I'm confused because of the Smart Pots and their airation). It does seem to me like an overwatering issue also but I havent given too much. I didnt think anyway. I dont know how much to give them when I do btw. I will post some pics with my laptop camera of my setup and the new growth(the good thing is that they did revert and the places topped did split off), I just want them to get growing already or maybe I can just let the lemon haze catch up. I plan to build an 8 x 8 x width? with a 1000w HPS on a runner to use for flowering but this 4x4 is everything for my 1st attempt. The 4x4 is painted inside with a roof coating that reflects 90% and has an antimicrobial so no fungus or mold growth, caulked with white flexible high heat caulking. Mylar on all sides and bottom. Any ideas for improvement would be great. Thanks so much brother for answering. I hope I gave enough info for you.

You gotta use paragraphs, my friend. My old eyes have a hard time with large blocks of text, lol

That much topping is certainly the reason they seem stalled. Give them a week and you'll see a forest of new tops emerging.

Purple stems and petiols could be genetic, or it could be a sign of a deficiency in their environment.

Smart pots I'm not familiar with, but I understand they dry out faster than hard sided planters because much more moist soil is exposed to air movement.
-When you check for dryness, either use the weight method or stick your finger into a drain hole at the bottom. Roots are at the bottom of the planter, not the top. You can't get accurate info about what the roots are getting up there.
-When I water my 7 gallon planters, I use a gallon each. You can't overwater in one application, you overwater by not letting the medium dry out between waterings. So soak that soil mass and the excercise patience while you wait the days it takes to use it up. This is even more true after a transplant.
-It sure doesn't sound like you're overwatering.

An 6x4 space is about as much as I would use a single 1000 HPS in, with at least 6' height.

What is your ventilation like in the caulked room?

Sorry about the paragraphs..

I have an in 4" inline centrifuge fan. It is exchangeing the air well, much more than is needed I think and It was silicone not caulk that I used to seal all the joints, where boards met anywhere..

My setup is a 4x4x4 cube but I soon realized it was too short (burn) so I added what I call a top hat and it raised the light to about 4' 6" high. I just cut out a section of the roof large enough to house the light hood and some area for vent and centered the light. In hindsight I should have just raised the whole box by 2 to 3 feet. It was only about 3 feet from the plants before I added the top. The bulb is only 400 watts and is MH. I read that a 400 watt light would cover a 5 foot cube area so I figured it would be good for a 4x4. Again, I'm just not sure on all of this.

I ventilate by using a 4' aluminum tube with a mesh covering the end, run from the ground near my window to the 4" inlet hole at the base near the front of the box. The centrifuge inline fan pulls the fresh air from outside through the box and is mounted on the back of the box opposite the side of the inlet. Both inlet and outlet for vent are near the corners. The inlet is on the bottom and the outlet is on the top. This actually raises a question I have about the temperature. I live in Alaska and today we got our 1st snow so I get a cold fresh air that runs through the box and my thermometer is attached to mylar right in the center on one of the sides, inside of course, but my plants are in the semi jet stream of the fresh air. I have to keep opening and closing my window a small amount to keep the temp under 80*f and in the 74* -75* range. This is kind of a red flag I think when everyone knows you dont leave your window open in the winter and I live in a high traffic area so its a concern of mine. To get to the question: Do you think that my thermometer is accurate for the entire box or would it be ok for the temp to get up to 80*?

The Smart Pots were great outdoor but I wouldnt recommend them for indoor now after this experience. Just too hard for me to judge when to water.

When I water I usually just water them good, about 1 gallon for a 5 gallon pot and then I let them dry up almost then go again. These plants have only had about 4 feedings and its been almost 2 months. Its been the environment. I may be moveing too much air or it may just be that they were small and it took a while for them to eat. I'm still trying to fine tune it.

I dont want to overload you with questions but I do have a couple more about these babies that I started from seed and they are Lemon Cush. They are on their 4th leaf set and thats counting the 2 baby leaves. I have them in small party style cups that are clear and they have a great root mass started. I wonder if I should just scrap the 2 that are larger and concentrate on the babies.?

I dont know wether to let the babies grow normal and top them or to Low Stress Train them for the best yield(because of the room size again). I think I figured out that if I use 5 gallon pots that I can fit 16 after transplant.

Should I go ahead and transplant them now or wait till 5 leaf sets?

Should I sex all 32 of them in the small party cups then transplant just the females? (its the room size that is the issue once again). I didnt know wether to transplant the most verile and strong or to sex them and then just the females..?

Thank You so much for the help. It really is much appreciated.

Also I just feed them yesterday and had a lot of yellowing on the bigger of the 2 large plants. The other one and the babies are fine.

Should I be feeding the seedlings also. The ones I call babies. They have 5 leaf sets and a great root mass. The party cups are clear so you can see the root system.

Clear cups , Not a good idea ,,, light gets through the cup !!
red solo cups 8$
i would trans plant if you have a good root ball !!

After the trans plant you can sex the plants
Idk about your space deal ! ??
pics help out
thumbs

Oh yellow leaf
mabe too much water 6.7 ph is good for soil !!

Yellow leaf sometimes needs nitrogen or nutes !!
your call
watch your plants. They will tell you what they need !!
and the search on the top of the page will give you the information your lookin for !
Sometimes you have to read 10 -15 pages but you will find your question
thumbs

I know bud, I read a lot but was trying to get more specifics on my situation. My ph tester is a liquid one not a digital so I try to get it close to 6.5 as possable. I've been giving them nutes in not too much at a time as well so I'm not sure on the yellowing. it is happening right after I water though. I'm thinking of grabbing a few clones and then getting rid of the 2 larger plants.
The only problem with sexing them after I transplant is that I can only fit 16 of them in 5 gallon pots and I have 32 starts. They are on the 4th leaf set includeing the 2 little starter leaves(are those considered a leaf set?). Can I sex them in the small containers so that I can get a better amount of females total out of the 32 potentials? I can keep the clones under some Agrosun 32 watt cfl's for 18 hours while they are sexing and then put all the females and clones in and have a fresh start.....??? otherwise I'll have to send my already stressed large mother back into flower again and she wants to finish. I have nowhere to put everything else or I would. Maybe I should just pull as many clones as I can from this one that is bigger but all the big leaves are yellowing. I'm haveing issues. I need pics. I will try tonight to use my webcam to take some low quality pics at least. Please hgelp though. Thank you so much. Peace

I would clone !!,
but I would leave the yellowing plants alone !
Hit the pot , bucket , fluff the dirt up !!
then
Try one thing at a time
nutes wait a few days....
water mabe a little b1 .......
wait !!
just try a few things wait for it to respond
imo
hey keep it up
thumbs

ok so I have decided to clone but should I clone them directly into their finish pots or what is the best way to clone?

You said you Phed your water to 5.5 that's very low for soil. That's your problem you should have a ph of 6.5ish in the soil if the ph is off stunted growth that really does nothing I would add some lime to the soil, lime does many good things its a natural anti bacterial to keep your soil and roots clean but make sure it's garden lime I would not add anymore nutes the plant has nutes but is unable to use them because the ph is off also do not use super thrive a lot! It is very potent and should only be used on a sick plant and never during flowering. I think your problem is ph caused from over watering and 5.5phed water. I hope this helps ph is everything for your girls to do well I would just add a thin layer on stop of soil and water as (needed)

do you think I can clone from the yellowing plant. Its just the bigger leaves that are yellowing plant on her. also when I clone do I clone a branch or just a leaf? i dont have a lot to work with is why i ask that.

If you don't have a lot to work with, let her be for awhile. Listen to the advice you got a few posts up and fix your Ph. You should do nothing until that is corrected and the plant explodes in growth. Then you can take a clone or three if you want.

You clone branches. A grow tip, a leaf or two and stem should be part of your cutting.

Ok thank you. I actually figured the Ph problem out at the local grow shop and am now at 6.5. This morning I noticed the 1st new green coming out (explosion to follow please, lol).