My first grow! how much light to start out with?

hi all! this is my first thread since i subscribed to this site. Anyways starting a grow in my closet. i have read quite a bit and have made a great set up with mylar walls and a aircooled 600w hps bulb(95k lumens). i tried to find a post about my situation but it proved a little difficult. i am about to get some clones from the despensary and when i put them in my hydro set-up i dont know how far away i should keep the light? and what light / dark ratio to start them out with? also not sure when to start giving them 50% strength of the nutes? any help would be appreciated thanks!

subscribed to this site. Anyways starting a grow in my closet. i have read quite a bit and have made a great set up with mylar walls and a aircooled 600w hps bulb(95k lumens). i tried to find a post about my situation but it proved a little difficult. i am about to get some clones from the despensary and when i put them in my hydro set-up i dont know how far away i should keep the light? and what light / dark ratio to start them out with?

congrats on making the desicion to grow. I personally use a thermometer in the grow room i keep it 75 to 85 degrees in there. I use my hand and keep close to the light. if it starts to feel uncomfortable i will move the light upwards. since you are new i would check out the growfaq. If i didn't say it someone else would.....lol

temp is not a problem ive tested how hot it gets with everything running and i keep it around 74 quite successfully. sorry i was a little high last night when i started this post, i was just wondering how far away to keep the light while the clones finished rooting, i looked into it a little further today and read anywhere from 2 - 3 feet away for larger hps bulbs on a 24 or 18/6.

i think im going to start with 18/6 and about 2.5' from the clones and go from there

vtm760 said:

hi all! this is my first thread since i subscribed to this site. Anyways starting a grow in my closet. i have read quite a bit and have made a great set up with mylar walls and a aircooled 600w hps bulb(95k lumens). i tried to find a post about my situation but it proved a little difficult. i am about to get some clones from the despensary and when i put them in my hydro set-up i dont know how far away i should keep the light? and what light / dark ratio to start them out with? also not sure when to start giving them 50% strength of the nutes? any help would be appreciated thanks!

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Keep the hps light at least 2ft away at first. i see you have an aircooled light so the heat might not be much of a problem for you. slowly work the light closer to the plants. you should also keep them on a schedule of 18 hours of light and 6 hours darkness. some have different ratios but as long as the plants are getting at least 18hours of light you will be fine. when you go to flower it you want 12hours light and 12hours dark.

thanks bud i appreciate the feedback!! anyone got any suggestions as to when to start giving them nutes? I was thinkin about 50% strength nutes once once i start to veg em? anything to add to the water before roots pop through the bottom of the cube? and ph level 5.5 for the water is correct right? any feedback would be helpful thanks

no nutes for first 2 weeks of veg.

what kind of soil you using? are you doing hydro? if so that pH is right.

if you are growing in soil pH should be a solid point higher like between 6-7, 6.0-6.5 is pretty much the sweet spot.

yes, im running a hydroponics setup - ebb & flow with 2gal individual buckets with 6" rockwool cubes surrounded by the clay pellets. i also plan on using flora brand nutrients in my system. sorry if i left something out im a little high. thanks all

is this your first grow? if so, god damn good luck on the hydro.

seriously i'd consider parking the hydro system for this grow, soil is much more forgiving, plus the advantages to hydro are pretty much non-existent for a hobby grow (you yield about 10-20% more and finish a week earlier). the problem with hydro is when things go bad they go way bad really fast and can kill plants quickly whereas if you over/under nute or water with soil the problem is usually self correcting with time and a quick flush.

that being said soil is simpler (and even that can be a pita) and more forgiving than hydro and it makes better tasting bud.

well time does matter to me, and so does yield. ive read a lot and im going to get a great ec / tds meter in a few days so i dont think im going to have too much problems with the hydro part...