First Grow/Set-up, SoS for assistance!

idk about you but everything that i have learned shows that the RR plugs should NOT be used with a bubbler :detective1: i will do some looking into this but IMO you should put you seedling in a clone dome with your 2x 23w CFLs above it..
let em sit in there for a week or less and then plant into a gallon of dirt.. just my :twocents:
if you REALLY need to run a DWC hydro grow then you gotta do some reading and talking to other peeps. i am a dirty man.. :D
IMO soil is easier for a first grow.. especially if you dont have a basic idea of how to grow..
if you want more info read the FAQ section.. and btw you need 5000+ lumens / sq foot.. each 23w CFL has ~ 1600 lumens.. so you need at least 3 per sq foot of grow space.. :jointsmile:
hit me up when you r in soil and ill help you all i can
~MG

I agree, try soil instead. its nice that you have those 100 watt CFLs they will come in handy in the long run. I am doing my first grow and so far I have not run into any problems with soil, although it has only been 3 days.

Ill be sure to look back a see what you decide to do. :)

Hey guys, thanks a lot for feedback, I appreciate it.

The plan is to go for soil grow, however I am using info from this post to germinate my seeds
http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...ml#post1967487

The idea was to germinate the seeds and transplant them into the soil. I did some more reading on seed germination and I think the mistake was not transpanting seedlings into soil fast enough and hitting them with lights, also the lights in the cloner/germinator were too close to the plants.

What I have done to resolve the issue, is bought a brand new dome for the germinator with no mods on it, sprayed it with the water and currently have all the seeds in there.

I am also trying something different and trying to germinate a few seeds directly in some miracle gro potting mix which looks promising.

Also, the tub that I have pictures off, would finally have about 600w of light from 6 x100 CFLs. That would just serve as a main area for transition into veg. The main grow area has a 150W HPS, reflective walls, and I am planning to install about 5 more 100w CFL bulbs around. This will be the veg/flower spot. The goal is to make sets of CFL bulbs at 200w each and move them around the grow room in varioius areas, so the light hits the plants from the sides as well. I ll check to see if there is DIY section on how to make a good light for cheap with CFLs, if there isn't I will write one as I make those lights.
The ceiling will also have hooks in various areas so I will be able to hang those lights in any spot or wall mount them. The spot is very stealthy too, I will be done with it next week and post some pics.

Again, thanks for the input guys, I ll keep you posted.

Yeah I just go with the good ol' paper towel in ziplock bag method for germination, it has never failed me. But it seems like you are good to go, just be careful with that miracle grow, a lot of their stuff isnt as good as it seems.

BooRadly,

Thanks for the info man. I tried the paper towell method, but my results weren't so good. In fact, over the whole germination process, I am only seeing like 15% germination. I think it is because I am using bag seeds that may be kind of old... I am just too paranoid to order seeds from online.

man i AM running bag seed.. and i have 95%+ germination with the ziplock bag.. you jus gotta keep the seeds WARM and moist for high % germination rate..
just my :twocents:
~MG

Yup, I tried that too a few times, but the rates were really low, I think it is in part due to these seeds being very old.

For the hard to germinate seeds what I had some success in is taking some sand paper and gently sanding the outer shell a little bit. It's hard to get right, but seeds will germinate extremely quick afterwards.

Maingrower, in your experience, how long does it take for the seeds to germinate.

only 24hrs.. maybe 48 but that is a maxx..
if they take longer than 48 hrs then they wont grow so good i think so i just ditch em..
but i have the advantage of buying a TON of commercial (what maine has for shwag.. but nothing like your mexi brick.. all the pot i buy is grown in maine.. the commercial is just the outdoor that is grown.. well for profit)
this means i have an abundance of seeds.. none of em are crazy good.. and i have found that there is a tendency for em to go hermie.. but its all good :thumbsup:
give this a try.. put the seeds in a glass of water for a day.. than take em out pour em into 2 pieces a' papertowel ad leave em under a 100w incandescent light.. the heat will treat em good! i promise.. but ya gotta have enough paper towel that they think that they are underground.. a lil light slipping in is ok.. cause they will want to head for the light ya know?
then plant em in a solo cup with some dirt.. f the RR plugs.. they only help if you can make em work and idk if they are working for you so good bro..
~MG

thanks mainegrower, i will give it a shot, i still got some seeds lying around.

I just checked the set up and one of the seeds is peeking out, but still slow as hell in growth. The seeds in the solo dirt cups are also not showing yet. Going to drop about two seeds in a glass of water today, put them in some paper towell tomorrow per your advice as well.

Also,

I noticed that the water in the bubbler seems to have a PH balance that keeps going higher and higher. I check it every day and every day I have to lower it, sometimes twice a day. I mean, it would jump from like a 6 to like an 8.5, EVERY DAY, without me doing anything to the water.

I am going to flush it out, but does anyone know what could be causing this?