Planning new 400w scrog. Newer grower.

Planning Out 3rd Grow. First Hydro Grow.

My first grow can be found here.

Problems arose between my Ex and I and i had to move abruptly and didn't get to finish. Second grow i didnt have internet to do a journal. Both were CFLs and Bagseed from some local product (usually some blah reggie), And MG soil. Second grow i was able to pull just a little over 5 oz off 3 plants, Topped with some LST.

Now that i have a good tent and live alone i want to try a large scrog, If this will work with tent only being 2ft wide. 5 plants, 3 soil and 2 first time hydro (may not be added to screen since its first hydro attempt)

4'x 2'x5' Grow Area

400W MH/HPS (400W too much in veg?). First time using HID lighting, Previous 2 grows were with CFL's. So any suggestions as to a hood that would work best with my grow area size and shape would be awesome.
Will be doing Hydro for the first time, torn between DWC and the Waterfarm. Which is easier for a beginner to hydro? And will also be growing soil, FFOF w/ Perelite added for extra drainage help.

Nutrients i would really love some help on for both soil and hydro. Since i used the MG last 2 grows i didn't really need veg nutes first few weeks since soil was slow release. Used some cheap Shultz flowering nute from home depot. Have a pretty good idea how to use / measure the nute for hydro, along with checking the ppm and ph of the water. But still dont have a clear idea of how to change out the water (or if you flush in anyway??? lol).

This will also be my first time growing in a Tent compared to a closet which only had a wall mounted oscillating fan and a slightly open door as it ventilation. :/ So this is a big upgrade for me.

Any tips/suggestions concerning any part of the grow (lighting, ways to make screen, ventilation and cooling, etc...) are greatly appreciated since im still very new.

Will be checking thread regularly and posting updates on tent w/ pics as setup comes together before starting the grow journal.

Finally got my 400w setup in. MH/HPS dimmable ballast, wing reflector. My next step to to start coming up with/constructing a move-able scrog for 1-2 plants each. Thinking of making a wood base for the potters to sit on with wheels on the bottom so i can move it out for training. Screen built onto it and about 1ft above the top of the plants.

Also ordered some pineapple express from attitude, really excited for them. It's a strain i've wanted to try a few years but never came around my area.

no love for a newb? lol. Geting really excited about setting up the grow. Decided that instead of the scrog i would just do a sog.

what size pot would be best for a sog in my grow space to allow 4-8 auto grow under my hps. It's only 400w so what is the max amount of plants i could grow in the 4'x2' space? Would smaller 1-3 gallon pots work to grow out all 8 of them in the space?

pineapple express is autoflowering. it will only have approx 30 days of veg regardless of light cycle. so if you have only pineapple express you might as well run an 18/6 light cycle

you could do 6 in 1 gallon containers or you could do 12 in 6 inch containers. otherwise 2-3 in 3 gallon containers.

I'm currently running a sog and most of the info I received was 1 plant per square foot. So if your 4x2 then 8 plants in 2gal pots should do the trick. I have no clue about hydro. I grow in pro mix bx and use advance nutrients sensi grow/bloom and works good for me.

Oh wow I just seen your running autos. I don't think you have room to run all 8 in there at once. 3 max in 3 gal pots should get you around 6 zips total give or take if you have problems or not

Switching from CFL to HID is a good thing. As for hood in my experience it does not really matter, I have an old "wing" hood used for 400W HID and new air cooled hood with glass 600W HID. The hood is heavy like hell and I am not using glass since it "eats up" 10 -15% light. I have 6" fan blowing into the 6" hood vent and it works well enough to keep tops about 16" from the bulb. Based on this experience I'd not buy again expensive and heavy hood .

The worst is "cool tube" since light goes through the tube once or twice! (light going upwards through the glass tube then reflected down part of it goes through the tube again?

I do not have proof to back it but I believe that 600W light inside the cool tube is about as efficient or only a fraction better than 400W without any hindrance.

The Pineapple express is a Photo-period from G13 labs. So i was thinking about doing was growing out one mother in a small tent, then taking 8 cutting after preflowers and putting into larger space and flowering those and the mother at the same time. Then repeating when stash gets low.

Pineapple express does great with scrog. I think someone on icmag did a mini scrog with this strain. Should be good.

Chronic Masterbator said:

Pineapple express does great with scrog. I think someone on icmag did a mini scrog with this strain. Should be good.

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Yeah. I've read alot of the PE journals on here and love some of the scrog results. Have also been considering making a screen to fit the L/W of my tent and doing a 2plant waterfarm scrog

Pineapple express doesn't stretch too much so it should do well in a scrog. Some phenos are really crappy yielders. You may as well use your 400 watt to veg your first plants since you do not have any vegged plants ready for flower right now. I would dim the ballast and put them close to begin with, then make it less dim as they grow. I have a 400w grow and I usually get about a half pound after 9 weeks of flower. I supplement CO2 by fermenting apple juice. Make sure there is no dust on the glass of the hood and the bulb. Keep the top colas about 8 inches from the bulb (not the glass from the hood, the bulb). Use a fan to keep those colas cool.

My Boss Hogg and Critical Hog SCROG setup:


Good luck! I hope you grow a ton of bud!

I drilled holes into the side of PVC pipes then ran white (white reflects light, keeps cool) nylon cord through them to make my screen. The gaps in the screen are 4 inches x 4 inches, and I am completely happy with that spacing. You can buy netting, but it would probably be more expensive. Metal conducts a ton of heat so I would not use that. I top my plants to have 4 main colas, I then top any part that is a lot higher than the rest of them; however, I make sure to stop topping my plants at least two weeks before flower so that they have nice bud sites.

MidwesternGro said:

I drilled holes into the side of PVC pipes then ran white (white reflects light, keeps cool) nylon cord through them to make my screen. The gaps in the screen are 4 inches x 4 inches, and I am completely happy with that spacing. You can buy netting, but it would probably be more expensive. Metal conducts a ton of heat so I would not use that. I top my plants to have 4 main colas, I then top any part that is a lot higher than the rest of them; however, I make sure to stop topping my plants at least two weeks before flower so that they have nice bud sites.

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This is exactly how i was planning on doing mine. How much space do you have between the screen and your planter. i was told 12-18in is the best?

and how long of a veg time would be suggested for a 2'x2' scrog, i know i should fill about 70-80 of the screen before flowering, just wondering what a rough time frame for this would be.

I space my planter about 18 inches away.

You should really do a 3'x'3'. When you count the amount of space taken for a fan and the filter you really do not have much space. I usually veg for about a month before switching to flower. I grow pure sativas in a 12/12 cycle to start with. Once you have clones from a known producer you will have a better understanding of how long they need to veg and how much they stretch.