The ultimate Newb humbly asks for help for first grow ever...

I tried to read as much as I could, and I have an ok idea, but started having so many more questions I thought opening my own thread instead of hoping people saw my questions would be best.

So in advance of basic questions seriously for even checking thread.


Basic things I've bought so far and plans.

I've decided to try two plants only for personal use, probably ordering seeds from attitude and probably just going with northern lights as it seems solid and a bit forgiving for new growers.

I've bought and made a DWC 14 gal container all black. custom fitted two netpots already it looks ok.

Have overpowered pump and going to use two airstones.

now I start to feel so overwhelmed and don't know where to start.



Biggest problems-

#1. I have NO clue on lights, on what to buy, where to look anything. Can I use just one type from start to finish?

#2. I sorta understand Lucas formula, and will probably buy a semi-expensive ppm/ph meter, but in the terms KISS, I feel like I'll mess with it too much and over-feed or something. When making very first nutrient soup, how should I clean the containers? Another confusing part, do I use tap water and should I alter it's ph before adding nutrients?

#3. Biggest problem is figuring out where exactly. I have an empty closet, but I'm confused on how much ventilation two plants will need, I don't have security issues living alone in a house. Do I crack closet door and have a fan on the plant, should I set up a airfilter right outside to limit smell and circulate cleaner air for plants? I could hang the lights off top of closet.

#4. What size rockwool cube should I start the seeds? in ? 1.5 inch or 4 inch??? Also after it starts I'll have hydroton all around, but I do take it out of rock wool right? I'm worried about the transfer if I can even get the seed to bloom.


I feel like if I can just get it started right I'll be ok, I understand it has to sorta touch the bottom of the planter at start and then you want root system to get down into it. I get the all black, keep algae out, ect, but I feel so lost on the cycles... and how to know when to do what. Like I read here over and over again, you can't go by just schedule, its when it's ready...


Anyway very nervous all around, but I'm sick of chemicals for my meds, and really hope to just get some little quality for myself only.

Anything else you want to tell me I'll be grateful, will keep people updated if they want, but I've yet to place orders for a few things, let alone seeds, so might be a little.

For lights. How big is your area you are growing in ? What kind of budget ?

The most popular bulb for going start to finish is Metal Halide (MH).

Experienced growing with a dialed in system can achieve 1 gram of dried bud per watt of energy used. So if you need big yields you need big lights.

I grow in soil, so i leave the rest to the hydro guys.

Decent sized , normal non-walk in closet I'm thinking of growing in, I wouldn't like to get over like 500 for lights if possible... Again it's only to light 2 plants max, in a 14gall container.

Do you think a first timer would have easier time in soil for first grow?

i would get a 400W hps full spectrum bulb, if you have a wide closet get a 600W

and yes i would def say you would have an easier time in soil if its your first time, i would suggest putting your 2 plants in soil, takking clones and putting the clones in your dwc buckets so you could experiment

An HPS is good for the entire grow. 400W for 2.5' x 2.5' area, 600W for 3'x3', 1000W for 4'x4'.

HopefulNewb said:

#1. I have NO clue on lights, on what to buy, where to look anything. Can I use just one type from start to finish?

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for two plants DWC in a 14 gallon tub you could go with Compact Fluorescents (CFLS) or PL-L's (higher efficiency fluorescent similar to a T5 fluoro) to keep it kinda simple and cheap. If you smoke more than a small amount you'll probably want a HID (higher power light) of some sort though, something like a HPS (high pressure sodium) is perfect for bloom. for two plants you could use a 400 watter and do great, or step it down to a 250 or 150w even.

I'd say get a 430w Phillips SonAgro bulb, hang it vertically between the two buckets and let the plants grow up around the bulb (keeping enough distance so they dont burn)

a 430watter will yield well enough so its worth your while, plus it will have enough intensity to produce high quality as well.

#2. I sorta understand Lucas formula, and will probably buy a semi-expensive ppm/ph meter, but in the terms KISS, I feel like I'll mess with it too much and over-feed or something. When making very first nutrient soup, how should I clean the containers? Another confusing part, do I use tap water and should I alter it's ph before adding nutrients?

Click to expand...

pH after everything is added in, you can check the pH while adding so you see what nutrient affects the pH how, always good to know, but final pH is what matters.

dont use tap water if you have a salt based water softener, other than that, its fine (hose water etc). You can get a reverse osmosis system if your tap water is really hard, if not, its alright, you can go without however R/O is a nice thing in DWC.

clean with a light bleach solution as bleach will dissipate out over the next day or two.

for checking pH, its nice to have a digital meter that can give you an exact readout of pH and PPM, I also highly recommend getting a dropper pH test kit as well just for a double check backup type thing as the electronic meters DO fail and you can ruin your crop by not knowing the meter is screwy... worth the <$8 no question

#3. Biggest problem is figuring out where exactly. I have an empty closet, but I'm confused on how much ventilation two plants will need, I don't have security issues living alone in a house. Do I crack closet door and have a fan on the plant, should I set up a airfilter right outside to limit smell and circulate cleaner air for plants? I could hang the lights off top of closet.

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you can put em in a closet no problem, just make sure there is a fan blowing on the plants so the leafs are ruffling, plus make sure there is enough ventilation to pull out excess heat generated by the light, this will vary depending on how your grow is setup, but pretty simple to figure out after that.

you want the plants to be in ambient temps of 70-75 ideally. too hot and you'll get loose airy buds, too cold and you can stunt growth (gotta be pretty low to stunt em though).

If you live anywhere except out in some country, you absolutely should buy a carbon filter/fan setup to scrub the air so it doesn't REEK through your whole house, believe me, it will... get a fan/filter that is overpowered for your setup, it will help you in the end.

#4. What size rockwool cube should I start the seeds? in ? 1.5 inch or 4 inch??? Also after it starts I'll have hydroton all around, but I do take it out of rock wool right? I'm worried about the transfer if I can even get the seed to bloom.

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if you are going to do seeds straight into the DWC bucket you'll want to know the sex of the plant before you commit two plants to it. It can take a while for a plant to show sex, upwards of a month (unless you germinate the seed under 12/12 lighting, sex it, then hopefully stress the plant as minimal as possible when you reverse back to 18/6)

you can germinate the seeds in 1.5 inchers just fine, 4 is too big.

once they have a couple roots pokin out you should transplant em up. a 4" block can sustain a plant till sexed with ease, just make sure you keep em moist.

after you have a vegged/sexed plant in a 4 inch block you can transfer it straight into the netpot with hydroton and let those roots blow up in the bucket. dont let the water in the bucket soak the rockwool as it'll be wayyy too wet if you fill the bucket that much.


good luck. DWC is fun and fast.

^ I would take Joe's advice. Either a 400w or 600w light, you prob have about a 4x4 or 3x3 ish area.

Wow thanks so much everyone, will invest in a HD then, anyone rec a shop online for lights?

On buying seeds, I see I can pay extra for femanized seeds, should I then to better chance of female plant?

Also what does auto flowering really mean? should I get that as well since I'm so new to this?

again can't thank you guys enough.

i think most members would agree its better to use a hps from start to finish rather than mh. i don't think 2 plants would be too much of an odor problem, but i geuss that depends on ur location, in an apartment kinda sketch, house no worries, also deppends on how big u grow em.

on seeds if u order feminized seeds there 99% gunna be female plants. Fem seeds are good if u dont wanna mess around with males. I preffer regular seeds beacuse then u can pollinate a select branch on the female and end up with hundreds of seeds to use in the future, and dont have to pay bank for 10 seeds imo.

Autoflowerin means that regardless of light cycles the plant will flower... so u can keep the light on 24 hours a day, basically they have no veg cycle, only flowering so u can get a harvest in 40-60 days. Some people swear by feminized seeds and others like myself fail to see the point, and personally wouldnt suggets it.

i would order your seeds from here - https://www.seedboutique.com/store/

yes soil, a cheap o store bought mix is great for starters. if you can get something that says pro-mix on it thats even better. the mix will have enough nutes for at least the 1st month. if you go soil forget the rockwool, you can plant directly or buy some peat pellets.
after that you I would recommend a 1 part bloom nute such as Floranova or better yet Maxibloom both made by general hydroponics. another complete 1 part nute thats easy to come by is Solo-Tek Bloom by Grotek. whether you use the manufacturers instructions or get someone on here to convert them to a lucas-ish amount for you any of those are great places to start.
as far as lighting I'd get a 400w HPS its a great overall starter set up. as far as bulbs a CMH bulb is good from start to finish.
do buy the expensive ph/ppm pen it's a good investment. or ph drops and a cheapo ec/ppm meter would work
consider a tent, they are so much easier to control light/air flow/temperature for noobs
where to shop?
www.plantlightinghydroponics.com has a $75 HPS ballast with a warranty Sunlight SS-10
they have good pricing on bulbs too. they don't carry CMH bulbs though. (Ceramic Metal halide) if you decide to go with a CMH send me a personal message.
some other good stores are
4hydroponics.com
bghydro.com
horticulturesource.com
the best place for a ph/ec pen that I know of is easongear.com or easongear's ebay store
good luck

ohh yeah I'd certainly start with CFL till I was ready to flower or til they got over 10-11 inches tall

ohh and screw the attitude buy from seedboutique.com or seedbay.com support the locals
do I get a cookie? do I?

Hopefulnoob I see you can't send personal messages yet, sorry I suggested you send me one. hah

Ty very much, will check those links , and will check out boutique, I thought I saw it was only beta or something.

I saw the dwc thing and knew I could convert something pretty quick, but started getting overwhelmed after initial setup, maybe I'll try it 2nd time after I have some for personal use.


If anyone would like to rec a strain from boutique I'd also look into it. Still leaning towards good old northern lights since I know how I feel after it.

oh my god, wow plantlightinghydroponics.com has my head spinning lol.

So much stuff to consider...

there is a beta boo (seedboutique) but the regular one works still

you get a free pack with your order, no telling what but something

nothing wrong with autoflowers, but I'd do something normal 1st if it was me. no reason just me.

how 'bout Nirvana's Chrystal it's cheap and good. NL back crossed with White widow, whats not to like?
https://www.seedboutique.com/store/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=123&products_id=2131

would this be good for a small two plant hydro system then something like this inside the closet for more control?

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/hydro-hut-2x4-silver-edition-grow-room-p-3116.html

I know seed boutique carrys northern lights.

go to greners.com for tents.

they have more selection better prices on tents.

I'd consider a DR80 or a GL80 or the small DR120W

Plan your ventilation well. Just cracking the door open is seldom good enough.

You need proper extraction, which means sucking the hot air out of the top of the room with a fan, and drawing fresh air in at the bottom, either with a second fan, or with holes (known as active or passive intakes, respectively.) The holes that you make need to allow airflow, but block light, since you need 12 hours of complete, uninterrupted darkness per day when flowering.

If you are unable to cut holes in your closet door or walls, you could leave the door open slightly, and make a second door inside where you can cut holes for your ventilation. Alternatively, you could find a tent which will fit inside your closet, since these are designed with intake and extraction points in the correct places. For best results, you should dump your extracted air as far away from your intake air as possible, preferably in a seperate room.

Don't skimp on the cost of your extraction, both for the sake of plant health, and security. A good centrifugal fan and filter combo is a wise investment. Too many people try to get away with axial bathrom fans (aka duct boosters). They usually have fairly good cfm ratings, but they slow to a crawl when any kind of restriction is placed on them, like bends in ducting, and especially carbon filters. Centrifugal fans are designed to pull through restrictions, and will eliminate 100% of the smell when combined with a decent filter, whilst still providing good airflow.

Noc said:

Plan your ventilation well. Just cracking the door open is seldom good enough.

You need proper extraction, which means sucking the hot air out of the top of the room with a fan, and drawing fresh air in at the bottom, either with a second fan, or with holes (known as active or passive intakes, respectively.) The holes that you make need to allow airflow, but block light, since you need 12 hours of complete, uninterrupted darkness per day when flowering.

If you are unable to cut holes in your closet door or walls, you could leave the door open slightly, and make a second door inside where you can cut holes for your ventilation. Alternatively, you could find a tent which will fit inside your closet, since these are designed with intake and extraction points in the correct places. For best results, you should dump your extracted air as far away from your intake air as possible, preferably in a seperate room.

Don't skimp on the cost of your extraction, both for the sake of plant health, and security. A good centrifugal fan and filter combo is a wise investment. Too many people try to get away with axial bathrom fans (aka duct boosters). They usually have fairly good cfm ratings, but they slow to a crawl when any kind of restriction is placed on them, like bends in ducting, and especially carbon filters. Centrifugal fans are designed to pull through restrictions, and will eliminate 100% of the smell when combined with a decent filter, whilst still providing good airflow.

Click to expand...

great advice, sorta paranoid, going to try to figure out a setup that will work. looking at ducts ect... I want to get everything setup before I even order seeds, lol I almost thought about growing like sweet peppers for first run in hydro just to test it all out.

if you decide to go tent route, for smell control/air flow. let us know what size you decide on we can recommend a filter/fan combo