New Grower First time grower with a few questions

[Blunted-Reality]

Hello all !

Recently a friend of mine gave me the easyryder hydroponic grow box because they no longer had the desire to grow.. I have a few questions on this system as I will be attempting my first grow very soon

First - Since I am a newbie should I try a soil grow in this system opposed to the hydro system already in it. I heard soil can be more forgiving for us first timers.

Second - I am not sure if this system comes with proper lighting. If someone could shed some light as to if I should change the lighting or add more I'd appreciate it.

I look forward to learning as much as I can from all your people. This community is great !

 

[namvet25]

Welcome to AFN. Yes hydro is a little tricky and not the best to start out with. We need more info on your setup like size.ventilation,type and size of lights to make any comments,thankyou.

 

[blue]

Hey again B-R

Soil can be more forgiving and less work (and maybe less to go wrong) than hydro.
I've never done hydro, but from what i can see, hydro (or at least DWC) often gets the biggest results - so you kind of get rewarded for extra effort!

Coco is inbetween - you water like soil, but make your nute solution like hydro (a lower PH than soil)

It all depends on your style. I'm a coconut! (semi lazy lol)

As for lights, you didnt say what you have or the space/dimensions it needs to cover hehe, but i think around 100w per plant is a good benchmark figure.

Hope this helps a little

 

[Blunted-Reality]

Oops ! Silly me !
The box is 36 T x 16 W x 9.5 D

I will add the light specs when I get home from work .. Basically it is http://www.fullbloomhydroponics.net/easyryder-hydroponic-grow-box/ that setup

 

[Jim Dandy]

I would say soil first grow. I agree with blues light recommendation, from my photo growing it was recommend 50w per sq ft. posting the dimensions, wattage and type of light, CFM of fans. As detailed as you are able to get the more detailed the experts can get.

 

[Jim Dandy]

Posted while I was typing hahaa

 

[blue]

Ahh

Looks like 3 fixed CFL bulbs?
The Cab looks nice, descreet and air tight, but i can't imagine growing 6 ...or even 3 with that arrangement at the bottom.
If the lights are fixed (to the top) aswell, i can imagine it will be tricky to get your plants close enough to them.

My thoughts are - if you had any cash to spend on this grow, i'd pull out that hydro system at the bottom and stick in one 11 litre pot. (coco or soil)

If you can't move your lights, i'd consider getting something that enables you to - You'll want to get the CFLs as close as possible (a few inches away after they've develpoed a bit) to get nice results.

I'm sure there's an led panel that will fit in those dimensions - that could be an option too. I'd ask around the LED section first if this appeals to you though! (they're not ALL good ^_^)

 

[Blunted-Reality]

Blue - thanks for the awesome response .. I definitely don't mind spending some cash to make
It worthwhile .... I think your right about taking out the hydro system and trying pots for my first attempt .
As to adding leds do you mean removing the current lights ( I don't think they can be adjusted) and just installing the leds
Or adding LEDs and keeping the Cfl ?

You rock !

 

[blue]

You biggest issue is going to be cab depth - Just under 10 inches is pretty tight!

How powerfull are your cfls? - could hooks be added to the top of your cab so you can make that fixture moveable on a chain or with yoyos?
My other thought if they''re not too powerfull would be to just get a 250w cfl in there - get a connector and lead and hang it from the ceiling - i've used garden wire - it wont melt and is easy to bend and work with/tie

I'm not even sure you'll be able to get a reflector in there which is why i say hang the bulb "bare"

Really not sure about LEDs - you'll get the best advice from Red eye, Tang or one of the other mods in the LED section.

I think too many lights will cause heat problems. A good extractor fan and carbon filter are a "must have" for me

^_^

And as far as "pots" are concerned - i'd be more thinking about one "pot" - you could always try the tierd mothod, start 3 or 4 in party cups, see which is the best and then transplant the best one into the big pot and kill the rest. (something which go against the grain a little for me - not just becuase of seed cost - but something i'll be trying next as i have lots of seeds to grow and not enough space to grow them all in a reasonable time frame - so i'll pick the best of the bunch and see it through)

edit...

You rock !

Oh.. Thanks