Hi all, newbie grower, some basic questions

[pilgrim69]

Hi,

I have just bashed a growdrobe together (6' high, 6' wide, 2.6' deep), 424 tank, 200w enviro (for my 2-3 weeks veg), and an old skool 400w sodium growlight (the kind that has the ballast and shade all in one unit and heavy as hell!!).

Anyway, being a bit of a newbie, and friends all having conflicting views (tut and sigh), i'd appreciate a bit of help.

1. I understand the ph needs to be about 1.2, wondering if this includes the ph of the water or not?

2. What is the best temp for the water in the tank?

3. Is it ok to use the 400w sodium bulb for my grow in my growdrobe without buring it down! I have a 12" fan which i intend to put in the room, but as yet only have a simple electric extractor 100mm lodged into the side of the hardboard.
I know a good extractor fan is needed as with a bit of angled ducting, but thats not affordable till the first grow is done.
Will the loss of light through the extractor fan make much difference?

Well, thats about it (for now!), thanks in advance for all your help.

I'm still trying to figure out the science of it all, like whats the diff between ec meter and ph meter, and is it the nutrients that affect the ph or the ec?

I know it's not rocket science, but knowledge is power and i can say, hand on heart, that i'm a bit wet behind the ears with all this hydroponic malarkey.

But... i am keen as mustard to learn and no better place than this forum, rather than the many 'pub' experts who have shared their totally different wisdoms!

many thanks, chris.

[bigballs]

hey Pilgrim welcome to the forums :D
I'm no expert but will help you out with the bits i know
ph for plants is about ph6 ish, which is slightly acidic,with neutral being ph7 like normal tap water, ph 1.2 is similar to battery acid which would kill anything you tried to gro in it.
You would use ph mater to measure acid/alkalinity of your solution should be around 6 ish.
You use ec meter to measure the conductivity of the solution, which actually measures the amount of salts/feed in the solution, can be calibrated in ppm or cf ranges.
Probably gonna get fairly warm in there may need to open doors during lights on. I have 1m x 1m x 2m tent c/w 600W HPS and with 100mm bathroom extractor fan i had to open the doors when lights were on. Thats all i know about it, other more experienced hydro growers will answer the rest of your queries im sure, hope these points help a bit :D

[pilgrim69]

thanks bigballs!

i now understand difference between ph and ec, and have scribbled down the right levels in my little black book.

much obliged.

[abbo]

:joint: I have a similar set up and start from seed into jiffy pellets have a look at esoteric hydroponics-Expensive but idiot proof and excellent customer service good streaming video
Buy good seeds (femi)because they are not cheap (seedsman have a good selection and offer freebies the G13/skunk v.good)

EC or electrical conductivity is a measure of how much salt is in the water(not table salt!!!) not enough and they wont grow to much and they wont grow. pH is a measure of the acidity start at 5.5 and go no higher than 6.5
YOU NEED meters and shop around, make sure you get calibration solutions free or at least cheap as your meters need calibrating regularly.

My set up is in a tent and I use 400Hps 16inch fan and 100mmshower fan (Argos) it does get warm but rarely above 32 the main problem is humidity but rather than buy a de-humidifier I just open the door for a couple of mins 2-3 times a day (I often leave it alone for 3-4days and its ok) don't spend any more on extraction.

My main advice would be don't let them get more than a foot and a half before starting to flower or you will run out of head space before the cycle is complete ( and you literally have to trim away buds bad times)

oh and resist the urge to mess about with them