New Grower 1st grow; Amare SolarEclipse 450, Advanced Nutes, Coco

[jingo]

Your seedlings actually look just fine remember they're doing most of their growing below the surface.

What I like to do is leave at least 2 inches of space between the top of my pot and the top of my Coco. Then once the seedlings come up and grow that couple inches I fill that in with clay pebbles. That has the advantage of keeping my Coco covered so it doesn't dry out and build up salts on the surface it also keeps bugs from getting down in there eating the roots. Then every time you water you end up adding more oxygen into your nutrient mix because it cascades over your pebbles.

The main thing you want to watch out for is you want to really wash those pebbles good because there very alkaline and they can throw your pH off.

 

[Slater]

Subbing up dude...
Awesome set up, looking forward to seeing how that light performs

 

[Only1Sky]

Your feedback is much appreciated Burr_nit. I was worried about humidity and misting. I'll stop misting and move the wife's bedside humidifier into the tent -- she doesn't use it during the day anyway. Meanwhile I've just placed an Amazon order for a small, cheap unit. Thanks.

 

[Only1Sky]

Your seedlings actually look just fine remember they're doing most of their growing below the surface.

What I like to do is leave at least 2 inches of space between the top of my pot and the top of my Coco. Then once the seedlings come up and grow that couple inches I fill that in with clay pebbles. That has the advantage of keeping my Coco covered so it doesn't dry out and build up salts on the surface it also keeps bugs from getting down in there eating the roots. Then every time you water you end up adding more oxygen into your nutrient mix because it cascades over your pebbles.

The main thing you want to watch out for is you want to really wash those pebbles good because there very alkaline and they can throw your pH off.

Thanks Jingo. I heard your tip on clay pebbles the first time ... my Amazon order will arrive tomorrow. I'll be sure to give them a thorough washing. One silly noob question... with the pebbles covering the coco, how do you know when you need to water?

 

[Burr_nit]

Your feedback is much appreciated Burr_nit. I was worried about humidity and misting. I'll stop misting and move the wife's bedside humidifier into the tent -- she doesn't use it during the day anyway. Meanwhile I've just placed an Amazon order for a small, cheap unit. Thanks.

Perfect! You got this bro!

 

[jingo]

Thanks Jingo. I heard your tip on clay pebbles the first time ... my Amazon order will arrive tomorrow. I'll be sure to give them a thorough washing. One silly noob question... with the pebbles covering the coco, how do you know when you need to water?

Sorry, I tend to repeat a few simple things and that's one. With Coco you want to go by pot weight like soil, but when the plants are two to three weeks old I water at least every three days and get good run off.
Since the magic with Coco ONLY happens when you water frequently, that's how you get hydro results. Keep your nutes and air fresh in the pot.

 

[Only1Sky]

Sorry, I tend to repeat a few simple things and that's one. With Coco you want to go by pot weight like soil, but when the plants are two to three weeks old I water at least every three days and get good run off.
Since the magic with Coco ONLY happens when you water frequently, that's how you get hydro results. Keep your nutes and air fresh in the pot.

Thanks for the quick response and answers. And don't ever worry about repeating yourself to me. I'm hell-bent serious about getting this right and getting the kind of results that I see from other AFN members.

I've been reluctant to water since the 3-gallon pots are still heavy from when I first soaked them and planted the seedlings 7 days ago. Obviously those tiny seedlings and tent evaporation can't "dry out" the pots at this stage. But based on your post I'm thinking that I should "refresh" the medium by giving a good drink to run-off (with some light Voodoo Juice added).

 

[jingo]

I will carefully water to full run off at that point, but then I wait a week unless the plant says more.

 

[Only1Sky]

UPDATE: Day 14 and Day 5

Well, I'm on a solid 4 strain grow. My Chemdog and Trainwreck seem to be doing well after 5 days. They are more than a week behind the others due to a few germination failures. The GS Cookie and OG Kush are now finishing 14 days. IDK - do the leaves look ok? I have no experience judging what they might be saying or needing.

Based on feedback, I've got a humidifier running and typically hitting 60-70 RH. Temps are about the same: 60-70 F. Also everybody's got clean clay pebbles and got a full soak-to-drain from RO water with lite Voodoo juice 3 days ago. I'm a nervous new parent, worrying if the children are getting the right care.

 

[jingo]

Looking good! I like to keep my temps up closer to 80 with LED and 75 with HID. If you get 60 temps and 60% rh your risk of pm goes up.