T5ho/HPS 400w 1st grow

So picked everything up from the hydro shop: 4" inline fan, filter, 400w hps cooltube light system, and assorted accessories. Only problem is I cracked the fucking cooltube glass tightening down the hanger screw . So if you have a cool tube be careful tightening those hanger screws!
Good thing the hydroshop is willing to swap out the fixture!
So ill have it all together by Monday. Pics soon to come.

Sorry to hear about the glass. Bummer.

I think you should always suck through the filter. This uses the prefilter to prevent fouling, and more initial surface area of the carbon.
I suck throught the filter, then blow throught the reflector. Most reflectors are not air tight, and I don't want to suck air out that has not gone through the filter. Sounds like you have a similar set up.

Ya im goin with filter, fan, and then cool tube to vent.
This whole ventilation process is a pain the ass! Every time i think i got it the way i want it, i change my mind...

Sounds good -
I put my fan in an insulated box for noise control, and bought a variac fan controller.

I have been having some temp problems, and decided that I did not have enough air intake. I added some PC fans to my vents & that dropped the temps a couple of degrees.

Finally got everything setup. I was worried abt the ventilation but it wasn't as hard as I made it out to be. I did go with the carbon filter, fan, cooltube to vent setup and its working great. I totally sealed the closet so i have neg. pressure and plenty of fresh air being pulled from a 1/4" gap under my door. Ill cover up the gap during the dark period with a black sheet.
The plants are just starting to come arnd from the shock of being transplanted and im seeing my first signs of female preflowering. I plan to give them the rest of the week to finish out recovering then its 12/12.
So far I haven't used any nutrients, just what is in the FF OF and LW. I just bought some big bloom and tiger bloom for the flowering period and I'm wondering if I should start off with the recommended dose on the feed chart or go half since my plants havent had any nutes?
Also, so far Ive been just watering the plants on instinct and I haven't had bad results. But Im wondering if theres some sort of ideal water volume for plants in 3gal fabric pots or is every plant different and you just go abt it by the look and feel of the soil?
Again thanx for any help!

TreeBurnah831420 said:

What up ROLLITUP community. Im a new grower can u guys give me some advice on my channel
on the best ORGANIC nutrients for my veg stage. Trying to build my channel so any subscribers
and comments are appreciated! Im going to experiment with a 25,000k super blue light *usually used
for aquarium underwater plants like coral" and smart pots. Right now my set up is low budget but any
advice on organic/home made nutes would help a lot

youtube.com/Treeburnah831420

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spammer!!!!!

OSAMAbinSMOKIN said:

I'm wondering if I should start off with the recommended dose on the feed chart or go half since my plants havent had any nutes?

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I have got a real similar grow going on, my first time with FF OF, LW, and nutes!
I would go with 1/4 the recommended dosage, then work you way up to 1/2, then read you plants as needed for any increased dosage.
Remember, FF recommends feeding every other watering (~once/6 days - see below). I was using 1/2 dosage, fed twice in a row & had a slight overdose (some clawing & damaged leaves).

OSAMAbinSMOKIN said:

Im wondering if theres some sort of ideal water volume for plants in 3gal fabric pots or is every plant different and you just go abt it by the look and feel of the soil?

Click to expand...

Best way is to feel the weight of your plant. When light, water. I also stick a finger in the soil. I was watering once/3 days during veg under T5. Still doing this under veg with 400W HPS, but now grow box is hotter. I may need to water more often, especially during flower. I try to water slowly to allow the water to absorb, and water enough to get some runoff. For me, this is ~1/2 gallon in 2-gal smart pots.

How many plants do you have? I'm thinking the 8 I have are ttoo many for the 400w. But I'm supplementing with the t5s.
I decided to go with a full dose of micro nutrients but I'm definitely going 1/4 on the tiger bloom. Im going a quart of water per plant every other day with feeding every other watering. Adjusting as need be.
So far the full dose of micro nutes hasn't shown any neg effects.
on a seperate note. My ducting into the attic fell down on the plants just a few Mins ago. I haven't been home to check it out yet but my better half says no plants where damaged. For future reference if your using cardboard to seal off an attic access more than duct tape is required. I'm going to use tiny nails to hold the cardboard against the roof than seal with duct tape.
Thanx for the replies Mr wood and the rest of RIU.

OK, got home surveyed the damage and its minimal. The plant in the left hand corner up front got bent but its the weakling so no real harm.

Tonite im going 12/12, got this brinks timer for the switch. ill report how it works.

Also been having these yellowing leaves on the bottoms of my plants for abt 2 weeks. Hasn't spread or anything and im pretty sure its due to them not getting light. Plus, those bottoms leaves did get a little roughed up during the transplant. Any thoughts appreciated though.

I got two plants under my 400W w/a scrog screen in a 2x3 footprint. I may do 3 or 4 in the future, with less veg time.
Eight plants may be too many. You could do it they were small, or if you were OK with less light coverage. I read where a 400W projects an optimum footprint of 2.5 x 2.5'. I also like 1 sq ft/plant. Put the two together & you are at ~4.

Your space is 4x4. You could do 8 with the 400W, even better if you supplement your light with CFLs/T5. They look OK in your photos, not too crowded (yet!). Keep going & see how it works. You will learn & adjust as needed for next grow !

I am running two plants now to sort out my new grow box. I may do more in the future, especially if I want to grow a couple of different strains. I think I am better at fewer plants trying to grow well & maybe higher yield, rather than running a bunch of smaller plants.

A quart of water every of day may be a bit low. Watch your plants - you know best being there. But I like to get some runoff when I water, and a quart for 3-gal pots sounds a little low. Try & do a search on 'how much should I water' & see what you get.

Okay first week into flower update.

I got rid of 3 plants, 8 was a no go for sure. So far I'm seeing long preflower hairs and little calyxes forming on some.
These were bagseed genetics I got from an 1/8 of unidentified primo smoke. So far all 8 popped female. I have 20 seeds left I'm thinking all will be female. Maybe I got somebodys "breeding bud" so to speak? Anyway the plants are naturally bushy with multiple bud sites but I'm pretty sure they have Sativa in them due to the height. Overall I'm impressed with the genes and more to follow abt this mystery breed as the grow continues. Pics to follow

Pics!!
Here's the wide view

I'm LSTing my tall girl

And the upclose view of preflower gotta kinda look close

Looks pretty good! Could be a sizeable harvest!
Plant color looks a little off, probably from your lights. Next time, take photos without your lights using your flash or normal room lights.

What strain are you growing?

They are pretty green, i do have some yellow leaves at the bottom from transplant shock, nute burn and noob mistakes. Ill post some pics tonite without the HPS on.
The strain is unknown. I got the seeds outta a 1/8 of some really good bud. I'm not a strain fanatic so i didn't ask the guy what it was. And a week earlier I had bought an 1/8 of the same shit and there were no seeds at all. So im thinking maybe the guy that grew the dope had a plant hermie and i got the bud with the seeds.

Here's a lights out pic.

OK, so I was wondering how close you guys let ur tops get to the cooltube? I've been letting some grow right up to the cooltube itself. I think it may be bleeching the leaves a bit so I'm going to move the light up and keep it 4" above the canopy. Any thoughts on this much appreciated.

Realized today was end of week 2.
Here's some pics

oops delete msg

Alright we have reached the end of week 3 and im encountering the "Claw", as some have put it. It's mostly on one plant but it happens to be my biggest one. The problem doesnt seem to have spread very fast and only a couple of the small fan leaves are showing signs of the Claw. I have backed my nutes off to a 1/4 for week 4 and I just flushed the plants today.
I really think the main problem is too frequent waterings (watering a small amount each day) so now i going with a 1/2 gal per plant every other day.
View attachment 2623746
Besides the Claw, everything is looking good!! here are some pics!!

I like the plants to dry out between waterings. The soil is dry when you stick you finger in, and the pot is lighter. I then water until I get some minor runoff.
You are in 3 gal smart pots? Maybe try 3/4 gal every 3 days?
You got bigger plants than me, not sure of your humidity. I am in 2 gal smart pots, and water 1/2 gal every 3rd day. I am ~2 weeks into flowering.

Your plants look a little stretchy, but that is probably because they are a sativa hybrid?
You were asking about light distance - I get it as close as I can, as long as it is not too hot (measured by palm of hand & thermometer) and you are not limiting the spread of your light. 4" above canopy sounds great as long as not too hot & light is spreading out to plants.