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View Full Version : Total Beginner here, Looking for some info. I think it is Nute burn. You tell me...



Veterror
06-12-2012, 06:21 PM
Hey Guys,
I am totally new to Growing. I have a 4x4 Grow room with (Superponics.com Bubbleflow Bucket System) Mixture of DWC and constant flow. I have just transplanted my plants from The Propagator to My Hydro System. I have Feminized White widow, Feminized Blueberry, and two Afghan plants. Include I have some Pics, I did some research, not too much as I Wanted opinions from REAL growers. This is my first time, Be gentle with me and dont tell me i overpaid for my Grow room, or that i am a retard. I believe Hydroponics is something you must learn through trial and Error. So here is my Problem. The Blueberry is doing good, real good since i put it in. It looks like a little Nute burn on them, not much though. Second i have my White Widow, None of them are looking good at all, maybe severe case of nute burn. The afghan is in between. Please Look and give some Advice please on what to do. This community is made up of Smart experienced and non experienced growers, Help a Beginner out please. Thank you.

P.S. I Flushed With fresh water to lower Nute Concentration yesterday, seem to have improved since then.

pH - around 6.2

TDS - was at 600 ppm, now at 400ppm

Superponics growroom 4x4
Bubbleflow Buckets
600w HPS Air Cooled With Lumatek Digital Dimmable ballast (Now set at 300w) (175w CFL for Propagator)
Technaflora Recipe for success Nutes

Veterror
06-12-2012, 06:23 PM
Sorry if the Pics are a little Fuzzy, Camera which should be top of the line, Sucks. Anyway her are three more pics. of the others.285036285037285038

Gatekeeper777
06-12-2012, 09:26 PM
looks like you gave it Nutes to early. I wait for the 2nd or 3rd node. Or listen to her. She will begin to yellow a little. Then give 1/2 strength nutes to get her used to it. You can't feed a baby a t-bone and expect it not to choke.

PhatJay
06-13-2012, 12:42 AM
Sorry if the Pics are a little Fuzzy, Camera which should be top of the line, Sucks. Does it have a Macro mode? If so, use that next time you want a close up shot.


pH - around 6.2

Your PH is in range but most aim for 5.8

Veterror
06-13-2012, 08:13 AM
I have been adding pH down little here and little there, but it really likes to stay around 6.2 I know its in range, but like you said, I would rather it be on the low end of the range. About transplanting early, I do believe that your right, I planted them a little earlier than expected due to certain circumstances. One of them being that it seemed the plants growth came to a stand still. Thought Maybe a better enviroment with 300w HPS would work better. whats done is done though. Do you think the plants will pull through? Maybe just stunt growth for little bit? or will it adjust. Like I said, I put 1/4 Strength nutes in, a healthy dose of root 66 to help with rooting. What do you guys think?

About the camera, My camera suck, supposed to be good camera but have had nothing but unclear pictures, Pursuing new camera for better pics for this forum.

Veterror
06-13-2012, 08:14 AM
I will Mess with my settings to see if i can get a clearer picture. I was sort of in a hurry when i first posted.

PhatJay
06-13-2012, 01:21 PM
One of them being that it seemed the plants growth came to a stand still. Thought Maybe a better enviroment with 300w HPS would work better. whats done is done though. Do you think the plants will pull through? Maybe just stunt growth for little bit? or will it adjust. Like I said, I put 1/4 Strength nutes in, a healthy dose of root 66 to help with rooting. What do you guys think?

The 300w HPS is overkill at this point. I would use the CFL till they got larger (just to save electricity/money). I use 1 x125w 6500k CFL for my veg room. I have a mom and up to 4 cuttings/vegging plants under that.

Growth is slow at this stage, I think they will be fine and... relax. You are doing O.K.

:thumbsup:

Veterror
06-13-2012, 11:08 PM
To the last two comments, First PhatJay:

Thank you, Maybe using the 300w HPS is overkill right now. Would it hurt for me to switch back to the 125 w 5600k CFL at this point and time? I have made a room in my house just for growing. The Hydro setup takes up half, and i am Looking to Make the Other half into a Veg room with the Hydro setup and grow room my flowering Chamber basically. But I am still new, Still trying to understand. Should I get another Growlab tent to set up my Vegging room? Will one 125w 6400k Be good for a Vegging room? They are only 70$ for the setup and light, wouldn't be much to pick on more up... I am looking to have one mother, and clones or seedlings in the Veg room. another good Question. Can I have more than one plant per pot, They are 5 gallon buckets with netpots. Would that be an ok idea or bad Idea?

To the Second:

I agree it is not looking good. The wHite widow is not looking good, The afghan isn't either, but the blueberry seems to be taking off. So, After thinking about it, and hearing advice i would like to set a Veg room up, and keep a mother, the strongest of the blueberry. and clone from there for a good and successful batch. I did presoak the rockwool in pH adjusted water, i am aware they come naturally with hig pH Value. When you say you would use any additives as a beginner, do you mean just do it all naturally until it is in the bubbleflow Buckets then just use boost bloom and growth and dont bother with sugar daddy, b1 vitamins, magical, root 66 or any other additive? I always kept them damp when they were in the propagator, and only watered with pH balanced water every once in a while. From what i know, the Dry/Wet routine will help with root developement? I did not manually pull seed husks off, they fell off on their own. Used Sterile equipment when dealing with seeds. Tried doing everything by the book. Another question. When the roots are developing, one root comes straight to the bottom, but root developement went to a standstill for about a week. I did not see much more roots other than the one protruding from the bottom, and they got real long. couple inches at least. So I am told that I should wait for the second node before transplanting. Would that be the second set of "True Leaves"? would that be considered the second node? I hope to be able to start a successful veg and flowering room, and yes, I am finding that doing Hydro for the first time from seeds is VERY confusing. I am no Dummy, I used to be a nuclear engineer, But there are so many opinions and ways. You said it yourself, its very hard, so I hope your comment on me being a retard was just about the system i Bought. Also if your read this whole post, I posted about I know I overpaid for my system. I am aware of this, But I have a five year warranty on any part besides the HPS light, I have money unlike some, so I am able to afford the system without remortgaging my house. and If you knew what I spent buying to smoke, you would say i got a hell of a deal, LOL. To be truthful, my girl is the heavy smoker. But now I have a whole system, and I have dived into the Hydroponic world which i have been interested in for quite some time. Would I reccomend superponics.com to anyone else.... not really, but i am happy to have a starting point. I plan on building my Veg room myself, now that i have a "Very Generalized Understanding" of Hydroponics.

P.S. Any help on how to build my veg room would be appreciated. or links to some good threads for building veg room.

Thank you guys, but please retain from calling people retards on choice of system, lesson learned, won't make mistake in future. :-)
[Mod Note: In the future, if there is any more inflammatory name-calling directed towards you, please hit the Report Post button and do not respond to that poster responsible. A Staff member will handle it from there. Any personal attacks and/or insulting other members will not be tolerated here!]

Veterror
06-13-2012, 11:10 PM
Also, Since this was my first grow, i still have more than half of my seeds. So I am thinking about Germinating more White widow and afghan.

PhatJay
06-14-2012, 12:48 AM
To the last two comments, First PhatJay:

Thank you, Maybe using the 300w HPS is overkill right now. Would it hurt for me to switch back to the 125 w 5600k CFL at this point and time?

No it won't hurt.



I have made a room in my house just for growing. The Hydro setup takes up half, and i am Looking to Make the Other half into a Veg room with the Hydro setup and grow room my flowering Chamber basically. But I am still new, Still trying to understand. Should I get another Growlab tent to set up my Vegging room? Will one 125w 6400k Be good for a Vegging room?

It depends on what size your plants are. I grow really small plants (under 2ft at harvest with L.S.T.) so thats all I need.I also keep my mother plant at 2ft. You would probably need more light for the later stages of veg. A 125w CFL will do 4 cuttings to week 6/7 for me.

Week 1-2 Root cutting in starter cube
Week 2-3 Root in larger cube (3")
Week 3-4 transfer to pot and veg.
Week 6/7 Put into flower room under 250w HPS

This is probably about 2-3 weeks veg time, which is quite short, I would add more light at this point if I were growing larger plants because 125 would not really be enough after week 6/7 (week 2-3 of veg).


Can I have more than one plant per pot, They are 5 gallon buckets with netpots. Would that be an ok idea or bad Idea?

Bad idea.


I did presoak the rockwool in pH adjusted water,

Did you squeeze the excess water out afterwards? The cubes need to be moist to the touch, not waterlogged. I soak my cubes then give them a good squeeze.


I am finding that doing Hydro for the first time from seeds is VERY confusing. I am no Dummy, I used to be a nuclear engineer, But there are so many opinions and ways.

This is the joy of growing for some, there are no right answers to a lot of questions. What is the right setup for you depends on so many factors.



Thank you guys, but please retain from calling people retards on choice of system, lesson learned, won't make mistake in future. :-)

I must say that I thought that that was uncalled for.

CFLhydro
06-15-2012, 07:22 PM
I agree it is not looking good. The wHite widow is not looking good, The afghan isn't either, but the blueberry seems to be taking off. So, After thinking about it, and hearing advice i would like to set a Veg room up, and keep a mother, the strongest of the blueberry. and clone from there for a good and successful batch. I did presoak the rockwool in pH adjusted water, i am aware they come naturally with hig pH Value. When you say you would use any additives as a beginner, do you mean just do it all naturally until it is in the bubbleflow Buckets then just use boost bloom and growth and dont bother with sugar daddy, b1 vitamins, magical, root 66 or any other additive? I always kept them damp when they were in the propagator, and only watered with pH balanced water every once in a while. From what i know, the Dry/Wet routine will help with root developement? I did not manually pull seed husks off, they fell off on their own. Used Sterile equipment when dealing with seeds. Tried doing everything by the book. Another question. When the roots are developing, one root comes straight to the bottom, but root developement went to a standstill for about a week. I did not see much more roots other than the one protruding from the bottom, and they got real long. couple inches at least. So I am told that I should wait for the second node before transplanting. Would that be the second set of "True Leaves"? would that be considered the second node? I hope to be able to start a successful veg and flowering room, and yes, I am finding that doing Hydro for the first time from seeds is VERY confusing.
P.S. Any help on how to build my veg room would be appreciated. or links to some good threads for building veg room.

There is a chance they might all bounce back in time. It depends if the tip is damaged/mutated or not. Manually removing the seed husk can cause that and is why I asked the question.
I'd advise only growing one strain for your first time for a more likely success. Some strains might show signs of nutrient burn and others of under feeding. Some may stretch up really high and others stay short and squat. Getting the best from your lighting is then more difficult also.
I mentioned not using additives on top of your part A and B grow or bloom because they could potentially cause problems you don't need on a first run. Dial it in first then experiment with the extras later.
I've never used rock wool so I can't really help with how to best manage it during seedling stage. I do know that is a great medium when used correctly but can easily be water logged.
That single long root is the tap root. It will tend to search downwards significantly by itself before it starts to branch out. Clone roots will branch out more quickly. Damage to the tap root in it's early stages is not good for the plant. That's why seedling trays/pots tend to be a lot taller than they are wide.
Yes I'd wait for the 2nd set of true leaves to fill out before transplanting.. maybe even longer. Your roots should be busting out of the cube so they are ready to punch straight in to the hydroton. I use 100% perlite and don't risk transplant until the stem is fibrous and strong enough to handle.
As I mentioned hydro from seed isn't simple for a beginner. After you do it a couple of times and get confident with what works it becomes easy. I prefer cloning because it's faster and there is less dicking around. Clones can take a fairly solid feed as soon as roots show up.

CFLhydro
06-15-2012, 07:51 PM
I am looking to grow big and tall. My Growroom has a max height of about 5ft.

Unless you plan on adding higher wattage lighting I'd probably try and keep them on the shorter and stockier side, genetics withstanding. You will get better penetration that way. Check out this guys video for what I see as an ideal kind of size for multiple plants in a smaller area. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpOI5h3Vqbg


I was told almost impossible to overwater rockwool.

No that's not right. You can easily water log rockwool. Perlite and hydroton tend to only hold a suitable amount of water which is why I prefer both. I think you have to be careful of stem rot too if you're top feeding. The rockwool might be soaked yet the root zone within the hydroton is ok.


I am finding that "JOY" to be a pain in the butt, HAHA j/k Once i figure it out, I know I will enjoy every aspect of growing.

It wouldn't be as much fun if you mastered everything on your first go :) You'll appreciate perfect health more if you've grown a less than perfect plant first.


Hey CFLHydro, I am Completely sorry, I know you were not trying to mock me or say hurtfull things. I got on today and I saw that they remove your post, and they said for me to refrain from saying stuff too. I will Message Burntoast and explain that it was a misunderstanding. Sorry CFLHydro, Thank you for the advice.

No problems, it was an honest mistake. I thought I couldn't post at all because I tried to comment again and that post was removed almost straight away too. Seems ok now. I couldn't message him either so assumed it might have just been my restricted account or something. I'm not really worried about it any more. Maybe he'll see this at some stage and resolve it.

Veterror
06-16-2012, 11:47 PM
There is a chance they might all bounce back in time. It depends if the tip is damaged/mutated or not. Manually removing the seed husk can cause that and is why I asked the question.
I'd advise only growing one strain for your first time for a more likely success. Some strains might show signs of nutrient burn and others of under feeding. Some may stretch up really high and others stay short and squat. Getting the best from your lighting is then more difficult also.
I mentioned not using additives on top of your part A and B grow or bloom because they could potentially cause problems you don't need on a first run. Dial it in first then experiment with the extras later.
I've never used rock wool so I can't really help with how to best manage it during seedling stage. I do know that is a great medium when used correctly but can easily be water logged.
That single long root is the tap root. It will tend to search downwards significantly by itself before it starts to branch out. Clone roots will branch out more quickly. Damage to the tap root in it's early stages is not good for the plant. That's why seedling trays/pots tend to be a lot taller than they are wide.
Yes I'd wait for the 2nd set of true leaves to fill out before transplanting.. maybe even longer. Your roots should be busting out of the cube so they are ready to punch straight in to the hydroton. I use 100% perlite and don't risk transplant until the stem is fibrous and strong enough to handle.
As I mentioned hydro from seed isn't simple for a beginner. After you do it a couple of times and get confident with what works it becomes easy. I prefer cloning because it's faster and there is less dicking around. Clones can take a fairly solid feed as soon as roots show up.

Hey CFLHydro,
This all was really good advice! I have spent many hours searching the interenet, reading the horticulture "Bible" and other ways, this is why I got on the boards. I know that by talking to other people who do the same as I would help me more than all those other methods put together. I also have to understand that this whole subject in general is not without "Red Tape Everywhere". So we will move on and tred lightly.

Good advice on pulling the seeds off being a bad idea, I seen them there, but also know mother nature has its own way of survival. Seedlings are built in with nutrients for the early stages of its life, so i was truying best not to interfere. I beleive a mixture or me being anxious to grow and certain home factors made me transplant too early. But an Update would be that I Six out of Eight are looking better. I lost one white widow, and one Afghan, so I am dealing with 3 strands, maybe a bad mistake by me. But I mostly focus on the Blueberry and White Widow. The blueberry seems full speed ahead, the WW is looking better on the top leaves and seems to be have nute burn on bottom leaves. But looking better which amazed me.. I thought i lost them. I am Switching out my water and nute mixture to a new fresh batch. I will go 1/5th strength rather than 1/4 strength. and i will leave out all the extra nutes until i figure out growing in general. I have started some seedlings all afghan, and i am moving them into the rockwool now, I want them to grow a good size before transplanting. Mean while i will continue trying to nurture the remaining six back to health. I will start them out in 1" rockwool and transfer them to 3" later down the road. This will probably ensure me good root developement before transplant. My first batch might not be the best, but your right, it will make me appreciate a good batch. It will also allow me to start cloning and getting into that. I have always been a fan of cloning, and I have the necessary equipment to do it now. But thats further down the line. Thank you for your advice CFLHydro, Its nice to talk to someone with experience rather than books. lol

Veterror
06-17-2012, 12:29 AM
Unless you plan on adding higher wattage lighting I'd probably try and keep them on the shorter and stockier side, genetics withstanding. You will get better penetration that way. Check out this guys video for what I see as an ideal kind of size for multiple plants in a smaller area. Eight weeks S.AG.E. grow in 4 minutes - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpOI5h3Vqbg)

I watched the Video and I really liked it. What was he growing in? Soil? Got Amazing bud production from them.


No that's not right. You can easily water log rockwool. Perlite and hydroton tend to only hold a suitable amount of water which is why I prefer both. I think you have to be careful of stem rot too if you're top feeding. The rockwool might be soaked yet the root zone within the hydroton is ok.

I will pay close attention to them in the future.


It wouldn't be as much fun if you mastered everything on your first go :) You'll appreciate perfect health more if you've grown a less than perfect plant first.

This statement is true as can be, but i am still anxious. Really enjoying this.


No problems, it was an honest mistake. I thought I couldn't post at all because I tried to comment again and that post was removed almost straight away too. Seems ok now. I couldn't message him either so assumed it might have just been my restricted account or something. I'm not really worried about it any more. Maybe he'll see this at some stage and resolve it.

He seems to have deleted some of my posts also. Tread Lightly my friend.

Bloomin Idiot
06-18-2012, 07:36 PM
I kinda Chuckled a little at your posts. :)

Honestly for a 1st time grow you need to get a setup to match your level of exp. One thing you will learn are there are tons of opinions and facts alike.

I personally use full strength ferts as soon as I see rooting. You be beter off in dwc to use half till you can read a plant.
As far as your setup goes the plants are improperly planted- and let me give you some advice. A small plant doesn't need alot of water and it also needs to search water out to grow root. Those little clay balls called hydroton there hold 1/3rd their volume in water. So simple math 3cups of it hold 1 cup of water. Bury those little cubes, plz and quit drowning them.

Now lets take water. PH 6.3. hmm. No good. I think a ph of 5.6-5.8 would be better suited for those plants and dont stand on top of it. Adjusting it for .2 is unneeded.over a period of say an hour get it to the level then check it again in a day or 2. They don't want you correcting it every 5 mins. I also hope that is RO water. If so either use about 1/3rd tap to bring the ppm up to 100 ish. If you tap is horrible use ca/mg to 100ppm or so and then start mixing the fert in. You will also find a chiller works best in that system....

And as far as lighting go crazy just keep it well away from their young eyes.

I think i read you wanted to make a 2 room setup for increased cycle time. I would go with some simple setup for this and pack that room very tight. I use only a few t-5 and t-8
[attachment=o285105]

Just keep it safe and simple.

Good luck!

Soil is forgiving for a new guy as yourself. As you learn about the plant and its needs you can then go nuts with faster moving setups.

Veterror
06-18-2012, 08:23 PM
Bloomin Idiot,

I feel bad by calling you by your name LoL, Your no idiot. This is good Advice. I have grown in the past in dirt, a few crops. So I do have a little Experience with that. I Like the room setup you have going. What do you have on the walls as Reflective material? is it expensive? i am trying to save some money on the Veg room. I will go to my local hydroponics store and look for some t-5 and t-8 lighting. What do you mean by bury those little cubes? You mean dont use rockwool? Use only Hydroton?

I only Adjust my pH Every now and then, it seems to be set around 5.8 now and i dont want to mess with that. I check it daily and only correct it every now and then when it gets out of line. What type of setup would you reccomend for the Veg room? Hydroponics? Ebb and Flow? What type of setup should i use to start my plants and veg them to be switched into the Flowering room?

What do you mean a Chiller works best for that system?

The water is not RO.... Is this a Big Problem? I planned on getting a RO system, I have it on my list of stuff to get, But What is the point? Could you elaborate. My Drinking water in my house is right around 100 ppm, maybe a little more. I didn't feel Needed it right away. But if you say otherwise, i will look into it soon.


Thank you for your help, hope you can answer my questions.

Benjamin

Bloomin Idiot
06-18-2012, 09:13 PM
See here
Current Culture Under Current Hydroponic System - YouTube (http://youtu.be/P2Q-ix07GpY)

Veterror
06-21-2012, 05:05 PM
This was a Very Helpful Video, This is Basically what i have on a bigger scale and with more goodies. A Chiller will be in my Future purchases. I started Pricing Components for a Veg Room. i am just going to start buying item after Item Until I have a good setup. The most helpful was the picture of your setup, It gives me a good picture in my head what i would like to do. Thank you Bloomin!

Veterror
06-21-2012, 05:10 PM
Could you explain to me more what I see in your picture? Which lights are t-5 Which are t-8? from the pictures point of view. Which is more powerful, Which do you recommend for what plant stage?

Veterror
06-21-2012, 05:21 PM
Here are some more current picks of my plants. I buried them like you said, they are rooting out good. I took some and ended up putting them in 3" Rockwool to let them root some more. Check out my pics. I am Flushing out my system today, and I will be putting nutes in. What strength nutes should i be running them on? I am using Technaflora Recipe for Success Kit, Been running them on 1/4 Strength nutes at about 500-600ppm. What Strength Nutes should I put in this time?

Veterror
06-21-2012, 05:29 PM
More pics (Last pics of plants under 125w CFL 6500k, These pics in the Growtent)
[attachment=o285143][attachment=o285144][attachment=o285145][attachment=o285146][attachment=o285147]

Veterror
06-21-2012, 05:31 PM
More Grow Room Pics[attachment=o285148][attachment=o285149][attachment=o285150]

Veterror
06-21-2012, 05:33 PM
After looking at pics:

I am Flushing out my system today, and I will be putting nutes in. What strength nutes should i be running them on? I am using Technaflora Recipe for Success Kit, Been running them on 1/4 Strength nutes at about 500-600ppm. What Strength Nutes should I put in this time? I had my HPS 600w Dialed down to 300w, turned it up to 400w just a couple days ago, When Should I use full 600w?

Bloomin Idiot
06-21-2012, 06:32 PM
I would go up a little more on the nutes like 1 or 200 ppm at a time over a week till full str. You can turn the lights on high, just move them up to about 36-40" and bring them down over the next week. I imagine in a weekish you will be over 20" and ready to flower. remember ph,feed and light= Fast growing big plants in dwc.

Bloomin Idiot
06-21-2012, 06:51 PM
the t-5 in in the center, t-8 to the right. The t-5 is the way to go. You can honestly let the plants touch the bulb and they dont burn. I had a mother grow between 2 bulbs, funny shit.

Lighting is another opinion filled deal. here is mine.

The closer and more intense the light the faster the growth. I had people tell me you cant bring a light to 24" of a plant or it will heat stress and die. At this very moment I have 1000w hps bulb about 14" from the colas.
You see its all in the setup and what it can do. With chilled water the plants can take more heat as well. You will also see people blowing the plants sideways with 10 fans. Crazyness. I have 1 fan pointed at...yup the sky on the lowest setting.
not my plants, not the bulbs, the sky. Why? Cuz IMO you need the air on move and mix thats it. We never blow plants sideways in a greenhouse of tomatoes and face the exact same problems prob even more.
People often miss the point that heat rises and you should be skimming this hot layer off the top not spreading it all over.

PhatJay
06-21-2012, 08:44 PM
More Grow Room Pics

Nice to see that they are recovering OK.

CFLhydro
06-23-2012, 01:09 AM
Looking much better Veterror! Especially the ones in your full system. Nice and perky now. :D
I googled the nutrients you are using and I understand why you over fed them at first. Also I see it's a complete set of products hence all the additives.
From what I can tell it's basically a 3 part but you use the grow and boost in veg then bloom and boost in flower.
In Veg the standard recommended dose equals an EC of 2.0 which seems very high to me. Would be perfect for heavy feeders like tomatoes though.
If you are using 1/4 strength right now and they look good then doubling that to half strength or an EC of 1.0 might even be pushing it.
Personally I'd recommend not going above an EC of 0.8 just yet. You can always up the dose if they begin to look under fed. They might handle an EC of 1.0 but I'd wait until next week for that just to be on the safe side. From my experience and from what I've researched it's better to slightly under do it than to over do it.
I have two different types of nutrients and I'm finding one brand at an EC of 0.6 is has the same effect as the other at an EC of 0.8.
Keep in mind I don't claim to be an expert nor do I have massive amounts of experience. I'm always refining the easiest way to get the best results.
I recommend making a log with notes and pictures for everything you are doing on a week by week basis. Especially while it's still fresh in your memory.
In a few months or years time if you're raising seedlings again it's easy to forget what worked in the past. You can be much more confident just following your own directions with the products you use until the plants start becoming easy to gauge in full veg mode.
Keep the pics and updates coming!

DanteDemont
11-29-2013, 07:25 AM
I kinda Chuckled a little at your posts. :)

Honestly for a 1st time grow you need to get a setup to match your level of exp. One thing you will learn are there are tons of opinions and facts alike.

I personally use full strength ferts as soon as I see rooting. You be beter off in dwc to use half till you can read a plant.
As far as your setup goes the plants are improperly planted- and let me give you some advice. A small plant doesn't need alot of water and it also needs to search water out to grow root. Those little clay balls called hydroton there hold 1/3rd their volume in water. So simple math 3cups of it hold 1 cup of water. Bury those little cubes, plz and quit drowning them.

Now lets take water. PH 6.3. hmm. No good. I think a ph of 5.6-5.8 would be better suited for those plants and dont stand on top of it. Adjusting it for .2 is unneeded.over a period of say an hour get it to the level then check it again in a day or 2. They don't want you correcting it every 5 mins. I also hope that is RO water. If so either use about 1/3rd tap to bring the ppm up to 100 ish. If you tap is horrible use ca/mg to 100ppm or so and then start mixing the fert in. You will also find a chiller works best in that system....

And as far as lighting go crazy just keep it well away from their young eyes.

I think i read you wanted to make a 2 room setup for increased cycle time. I would go with some simple setup for this and pack that room very tight. I use only a few t-5 and t-8
[attachment=o285105]

Just keep it safe and simple.

Good luck!

Soil is forgiving for a new guy as yourself. As you learn about the plant and its needs you can then go nuts with faster moving setups.




Wow, that setup you have there is absolutely amazing!
I would die if I had that!
It is all so neat, organized, an legit!

I am way too young an inexperienced to build something like that but man I gotta say I am envious of you!!