New Setup

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/443741-im-new-need-some-help.html <--------------------- my previous grow. my parents made me pull them, they turned out to be both females =(-------------------------------------- started a grow box. its a locker, with most of the small holes patched so light dont excape.


i am currently using one of these bulbs (http://exo-terra.com/en/products/sun_glo_neodymium.php) i read in the lighting section, that these types of bulbs are bad. tho this is one of my first grows, id beg to differ, but i kno u guys kno more then i do.

i have a 24 hour timer set for the lighting, and a folgers tub with holes and rocks at the bottom for drainage, also with a watering tray.


i want to use miracle grow with a 24-8-16 blend. should i? or no.


ALSO in a few days, i will be leaving for a week, how do i make sure to water my plants? can i use a homemade aquaglobe, or will it just drain into the watering tray? or is the watering tray its own watering source?

I don't have any info on types of lights but I would say you could/should def move the light a closer. For the fert, I've read that miracle grow isn't ideal for indoor grows. I personally prefer organic homemade fert, grass clippings, dried chicken crap, sea weed, wood shavings (all diluted). But I wouldn't worry about fertilizing yet anyway, and if that is packaged soil it likely already has some in it. I think an aqua globe would be your best bet if you don't want to shell out for an irrigation system (I wouldn't either). I'm not an expert but I hope something I said helped. Also diggin the locker set up.

-_- seriously I thought they guy that literly butchered his plant was doing a rookie mistake but what your doing is beyond that. those lights aren't right for growing they are made for reptiles aka they are basking lights not growing lights. Go with CFLs or the 35w MH and HPS or natural sun light or don't bother growing.

As for the watering. Use a water pump and drip feed spikes, drill holes at the bottom of the pots you are growing in and make it go through a filter to make sure no soil gets into your res. Put the pump on a timer and all you have to do is topup and do a check up on them once a day or twice a day.

Toolage 87 said:

-_- seriously I thought they guy that literly butchered his plant was doing a rookie mistake but what your doing is beyond that. those lights aren't right for growing they are made for reptiles aka they are basking lights not growing lights. Go with CFLs or the 35w MH and HPS or natural sun light or don't bother growing.

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thanks man =( really great advice.... jerk.

I UNDERSTAND they are lizard lights, but if you read the page the link is set to, it say

Exo Terra Website said:

Broad-spectrum daylight lamp for terrariums
The spectrum is ideal for plant's photosynthesis and the UVA (ultraviolet A)

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broad spectrum i would beleive to be good? right? the temp in the box is only 80* so its not like im cooking my plant. i do have a CFL but im planning on using it after the first month of veg.


and as for the light, i cannot lower it any further, but im sure i can stick a box under the planter. Thanks. and imma try the watering globe, ill see how much it drains, cause im thinking it will just go straight to the watering tray

the soil i guess at one point may have ben packaged, as it has them water crystals of some sort in it, but i took the soil from another planter, and added about 10% by volume, purple calcium sand. i might not even use fertalizer, i was just wondering if i should or shouldnt.

While the reptile light is broad spectrum, it focuses too much on putting out heat to warm the environment. Most terrarium plants have low energy requirements and or high heat requirements, which is why this light is suitable for them as well. The difference between those lights and CFLs or HID lighting is the amount of energy that is being put into useable light vs heat. You would honestly be better off using the single CFL for now and adding more later, provided they are the correct spectrum.

That's exactly what I was trying to tell him. Those lights aren't ''made'' to grow mj with they are made for reptiles. A 4100k CFL or MH will produce the proper spectrum and put out less heat. A 70w Mh puts out abit more heat then a 45w CFL. Growing with lizard lights is almost as bad as growing with incandescent bulbs. As for the water globe thing that might make the soil to wet. I think a person on here already tried that but it didn't work out for him. If you want to make watering easier do the setup that I told you and it will water all your plants. Trust me you'll be alot happier and you asked if anyone can help you out if its the right light or not. I told you its not the right kind and what kind of light that you need.

UPDATE on the setup.

uhm the watering globes, dont work, your right. it just drained into the tray.

The plants are elevated more, and about 12-16 inches away from the light.

and i replaced the terranium bulb with a soft white CFL, i think i need a different one, im on a tight budget of 0$. i gotta find the shit around my house.

going to make a dripper now.


the last remaining questions for now :

how long apart should the drips be? seconds wise
and Should i look for a different CFL? all i have is FEIT ecobulb, 600 Lumes, 9 wats, soft white.

Yeah sorry man but that 9w bulb isn't going to cut it on its own. Go to a local dollar store and get a couple of 23w bulbs for $1 each. Grab a y-splitter from a hardware store around you for $2, and get the plant to 4" or less from the CFLs. Other than a drip system you could also try a wicking method. A cotton rope in a bucket of water and then into the pot. Water will go up the rope and is then available to the plant.

Lumes isn't everything you need lights for veg that is 4100k. The lumes is how strong the light is and the higher the limes the better the K output is.

well. the trip was good. came back to my babys.... the one with out a watering tray grew MOLD. all the dirt is fuzzy and white/yellow, suprizingly the plant is still standing up straight. and the one in the folgers, grew small spots on the top layer of sand, i removed all the sand from the top.

im going to pitch the REALLY bad one, should i toss the folgers one also and just start all over again? out in oregon, i got a bag of "water beads" should i opt to try and grow in those? or use those as a watering sorce and just mix them in the soil?

Start over. Don't use containers that you can't easily get the plant out of. You would have had to cut that folgers can off your rootball to minimize damage during transplant.

Clear containers are a really bad idea as well, they promote algae which kills your roots.

Use something that the rootball will easily slide out of. Clay pots suck... sometimes the roots stick to the clay, making it impossible to transplant without doing serious damage. Cheap buckets and clear plastic saucers for drainage work great.

Hey man I use 26w 6500k GE daylight bulbs, and they work GREAT! they are like 7 bucks for 2 at walmart. And LOL @ the Folgers! "...the best part of waking up..." HAHAHA!

Xcon said:

Start over. Don't use containers that you can't easily get the plant out of. You would have had to cut that folgers can off your rootball to minimize damage during transplant.

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Very true... good thinkin! I was lost in the theme song.

The reason why mold was growing is because lack of air movement. No air movement then the soil will stay wet for a long time thus giving mold a chance to grow.

you stated in your first post that your parents made you throw out your plants. Are you growing in your parents house without them knowing ?

dude...you honestly need to stop what your doing. your yeild and quality will not be worth it in the end. my theory on growing is why waste your time growing something when there is sooooo much better shit on the streets these day. only grow what you CAN NOT find on the streets. and yeah man, you will def want to ditch the reptile bulb. those only work good when you have a real light set up. that alone will not do crap, in fact those produce to much heat, and as close as you would need to get it to your plant for it to work, it would just kill it. so man, stop!!! save what ever seeds you have. trust me! they are worth more to you with a better set up. and Miracle Grow, please man... ive seen it down, but it is for experienced growers with a few grows on their belt. better just wait til you grow up a little more and move out of your parents house. especially if they do not smoke.