Newbie's grow log-Speed Queen and Hashberry 400w hydro

[ChestrCopperpot]

Hello-thanks for stopping by and checking out my grow diary. I've never grown cannabis before so this will be my first attempt. I've read quite a bit on this topic and bought some decent gear so I am very excited and hopeful things will go well but similarly nervous since this is my first time.

The setup is a 2'x2'x7" ebb and flow table and a 20 gallon reservoir. The table and res are in a small bedroom closet measuring approx. 6'x10'x3'. There is a squirrel cage exhaust fan in the top of the closet pulling hot air and exhausting via 4" ducting to the room outside the closet. I just leave the closet door ajar so the intake air is pulled from the same room that the exhaust air goes into. I haven't purchased any odor control gear yet so i'll tackle that bridge soon.

I have started the seedlings in 1" rockwool cubes then transplanted to the hydroton table. Lighting is a 400w Lumatek with a digital ballast and cheap reflector. I will be vegging with a MH bulb then flowering with an HPS blb.

I dialed in the pH to 5.9-6.0 with no nutrients for the initial seedling growth. Have a look at the pictures below. Should I begin starting the little tykes on a weak nutrient mix? The two Hashberry plants are on the 'bottom' in the pictures and the three Speed Queen plants are on the 'top' if you are looking directly above the table. The Hashberry plant on the lower left looks trapped in the seed still or something but is slowly poking out. The Hashberry plant on the right has two leaves that are yellowish. Is that a bad sign? Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

peace.

 

[twiztidbudsmoke]

howdy Im sure a super weak nute mix couldnt hurt, Ill be watching this one if you dont mind

 

[clowntown]

Very nice clean setup!

 

[ChestrCopperpot]

Thanks...just did a res flush and started the seedlings on a very weak (~240ppm) veg solution. I am hoping to see some increased growth because they seem a little slow so far out of the gate but I know I need to be patient.

 

[ChestrCopperpot]

Here are some updated pictures of the seedling growth. The pH is at 5.7 and ppm is ~430 on a half strength pre-mixed veg solution. Temperature is stable around 79 during the day, 75 at night. They are getting 3 hours of dark currently. I am little saddened by the curling of the leaves on two of Speed Queen plants though.

Checkout this closeup of the curling. Is this a magnesium deficiency or something else?






Hashberry:



and the rest of the table:

 

[ChestrCopperpot]

Finally an update! As you can see, the plants have really grown tall since the last pictures of them as seedlings. I lost the plant in the middle due to a combination of factors I think--it was overcrowded and was under a hot spot on the 400w MH I was using.

Last month before I started 12/12 I ditched the 400w MH lamp and bought two flouro ballasts each with two t8 48" lamps in the 6500 spectrum. I put the flouros nice and close (like 2") from the seedlings and they really liked that better than the MH. I also got a cheap humidifier from Bed, Bath & Beyond and run it periodically...that brought the RH back up to a range that fluctuates between 40-65%.

Also, some other changes: a friend gave me his old 250w HPS which I am now using for flowering. I just think the 400w was too hot for my grow space. It was causing the leaf curling and dry temps.

Here are four remaining plants under the 250:



I am certain three of the four are female. But one of the speed queens I am not sure about. Does this look like a girl or boy?

 

[Poker_Toker]

Bro dont ditch the 400 watter in there man, think of the yield, there has to be a better way. I am sure there is a better way to work with it. Have a look in sugarbears den thread. Sugabear had 100w per square feet and was pulling 2 oz per plant in perpetual grow style with 2 plants every 3 weeks and 6 plants total. .
I will be soon growing with a 400 myself, just knowing i can pull that off a harvest that big with a bit of practice. I just read like close to 12 400w grow diaries and a bunch of others too and many of the people had a 4 square feet area like you for 100w per square feet man, nothing is comparable.

According to this HPS light chart
http://forum.everyonedoesit.co.uk/gallery/data/508/medium/Light-Distance-Chart-1-.jpg

The lumens from a 250w hps is 27,500 and the lumen output from the 400 is almost DOUBLE that!! at 50,000 lumens. the lumatek is also a vey nice ballast to run
On top of that you can have the 400 hps 5 more inches higher with the same amount of usable light.

The 400 has really good penetration through the canopy up to 21 inches from the bulb compared to the 250's 16 inches from the bulb

I would run it in a vented hood or some sort of cooltube with a simple 50-100 cfm cooling the bulb only. If you want links i can get you some just ask.
Too each his own though bro, im just trying to change your mind, just make you a VERY happy guy on harvest day(s)
grow on bro

 

[Poker_Toker]

are you updating at all? i am dying to see the speed queens

 

[ChestrCopperpot]

Hey there...I apologize for abandoning this thread. Things got really busy, but I just harvested yesterday!

Here are some more pictures--at the end of the grow, it was down to a single Hashberry plant and a single (much larger) Speed Queen plant under the 250w. In the pictures the SQ is towards the rear of the closet. I don't have a scale, so I do not know the weight of all the buds but one of the colas from the Speed Queen is huuge:

 

[Poker_Toker]

Definitely a great job, damn thats impressive, and to be clear, that was a 250 from start to finish right?
What size diameter plates are those, that is a colossal bud?

gave u much needed rep. You veg for about 20 days?

 

[ChestrCopperpot]

Thank you...total veg time was closer to 32 days. The light source in veg at the beginning went from 400w MH initially to four overhead CFL tubes (these worked better than MH imo) then down to 250w HPS for flowering. With better ventilation next time, I am positive I can get a 400w HPS bulb and use that instead. The plate size is 10".

 

[ChestrCopperpot]

Another thing for next time: individual net pots so I can move the plants around during the grow! I don't recommend the shared hydroton.

 

[Poker_Toker]

Thank you...total veg time was closer to 32 days. The light source in veg at the beginning went from 400w MH initially to four overhead CFL tubes (these worked better than MH imo) then down to 250w HPS for flowering. With better ventilation next time, I am positive I can get a 400w HPS bulb and use that instead. The plate size is 10".

Yes man, definately run the 400 next time. I actually bought one that i will be running after i move and get settled in in only 15 days woo hoo
I am planning on a soil grow but that will change if i can get enough money for hydro supplies. I already have AN hydro nutes, so the hydro stuff wont be too much i dont think if i shop around. I will be running speed queens in 3 gallon dwc, or 3 gallons organic soil/peat/perlite/vermiculite.
you think if you trained with less veg you would of yielded the same?