Whats up
@Moondude ..Okay all the info i am gonna give is based off my experience(which is somewhat limited) and i have not cut the coco with OF or soil but this is not a major concern.So lets dive into some info(i did cruise thru your journal but this info will be based off the previous post#191(just above)..This info will be specific to Auto flowering strains and not Photoperiod strains..The tent and light combo sounds soild,and your plan of using the MH for veg(go approx 3-4 weeks) and HPS for flower is good as well.You can choose the light period you want but best growth thru veg will be accomplished with 24/0(no worries,they can take it as long as your heat is controlled),in flower many still use 24/0,i chose 18/6 for both veg and flower times(personal preference)
If mixing the media at 70% soil and 30% coco,the PH should be in the 6.0-6.4 area and this is why the dropper kits are not gonna be accurate enough,if the PH gets way off(too high/low you will cause a lockout of nutes that will cause all kinds of problems),there are charts all over that show how ph affects nute uptake and the soil chart is different than coco/hydro chart,look one up so you see what im talking about..i think that the soil will help hold nutes for sprouts/seedlings till the first feed,but,most coco growers(including myself)precharge the (straight)coco,then light feed right from the start,slowly increasing the ppm as the plant gets bigger/stronger..for instance,i precharge at 400 ppm of nutes,when they sprout i feed at 400 and increase slowly,and with the ph set at 5.9 or 5.7..and since the nutes will have the macro and micro nutes in it,that part is taken care of..
The 5.7-6.0 PH i use is what the charts show for coco/hydro,again if its out of this range by much it will cause lockout issues that can be hard to pinpoint,those numbers are for veg,I do adjust a little upward for flower to 5.8-6.1...I see what you are asking(i think) on the coco at 7.0 range and while i dont have an in soil meter for testing,this is why its better to water more often,not only does it help keep the coco in the right PH range so that the nutes can be used efficiently,it also adds more oxygen to the root zone and keep the coco in the range for the plant to use the nutes..Yes coco has a tendency to buffer the PH to the 7.0 range but this is too high for both soil and coco,which is also why more waterings are better.
On Pots...My last grow,all plants were in 2 gallon fabric pots and the ultimate grew to 43 inch/1.09 meter..The geo/smart/fabric pots "air prune" the roots which keeps them from getting rootbound and allows more efficient use of the pot wheather its 1 gal or 5,the air pruning will cause the roots to branch more withing the pot and the tiny "hairs" of the root system to fill the pot better for more efficient use of the nutes..since autos have a short lifespan a smaller pot could be used better by the roots/plant and i have seen monster plants in 1 gallom fabric pots..i dont disagree with your choice at all..The 5 gal pots will require more water but less waterings,you may want to include a root enhancer/stimulator because when the tap root hit pot bottom it will start the secondary root branching and thats about the time the plant goes thru its rapid growth stage and the root stim will help speed that up so the roots fill the pot quicker..healthy roots=happy plant..
Lastly..dont get too hung up on the "ph perfect" thing, even if i was using that line i would still check with meter,I use tap water and the ppm is about 230 which has a good amount of calcium in it,i still add cal mag at full strength cause i was running into cal mag deficiencies.GH nutes are good and my personal experience using the Lucas Ratio (which is GH Maxi bloom only from start to finish with no additives)is that if they are mixed at full strength,they will be PH balance/perfect,but the ppm is too strong for autos..If you are gonna use a feed chart,use it sparingly 1/4-1/2 strength,unless you find an autoflower specific chart its better to go low and increase cause once they burn or lockout it can be hard to correct cause most autos only have 60-90 day lifespan..this is longwinded but hope it helps some.I will always find time to help a brother out...Peace
OF?
. I am using smart pots. Is there too much water with smart pots? or, Can I water to draining every couple of days?
It will have 250W HID MH and HPS and 3x 40W CFL lights. .
, that the soil in the proposed mix helps hold some of the secondary nutrients, or something to this effect. 
to get you started!!!
