People will say dirt or coco, but personally after using everything other than aeroponics, I have found dwc to be the simplest way to grow myself. A bucket, an airpump, an air stone, a netpot, some clay balls and then its all water and nutrients. All I do is add a pre set amount of nutrients to a bucket, and ph check once every 3 or 4 days and that’s it, it really couldn’t be any simpler imho and growth wise there is simply no comparison, again I am sure people will disagree, but I have tried every trick in the book gleaned over decades to outgrow my brothers DWC setup with dirt/coco. I can’t even get close.
Nutrient wise, I just more or less use the ‘lucas formula’ using GH Maxibloom from start to finish at a rate of 1.94 grams per litre with PH at 5.8. Then you get a bottle of PH up and PH down and then along with your trusty PH stick these are pretty much all you need. I NEVER have deficiency issues, only ever PH issues. If you want to see the result of how this works out, check out my mini dwc setup in the current OG 16 OZ comp.
IMHO this is WAY simpler than dirt because there are less variables, they are controllable and they can be changed/adjusted quickly as needed. Also as a really useful bonus, because the roots hang free in a bucket, you get to see directly how they are going and in my experience, all things being equal, a good root system is key to a good yielding plant.
@ChronicMcBudz is correct on the X2 and X3 SolStrips having different voltage requirements, which in most applications will mean different drivers. Doesn’t make mixing them together in the same lamp array (but on different circuits) impossible, but a bit more complicated.
The real question is why? The X3’s main difference from the X2 strip, other than the forward voltage requirement of 36VDC, is its dual-band diode design of 2700K and 5700K color temperatures on a single strip. But that is just as easily achieved by mixing X2 strips in 2700K and 5000K together in a 2:1 ratio, and can be powered by a single driver.
Okay - makes sense. Again, I am like an infant when it comes to electrical matters. So what are the pros and cons of going x3 exclusively or doing the same with 2:1 on x2s? Is it just more assembly required?
Well after trying various temps in my setup, in the end I have found personally that 3500k is the sweet spot and is all I use for both veg and flower. There is decent amounts of red for flowering, and sufficient blue to promote shorter bushier plants. When I use 5000K during veg, while it works no problem, I find some of my short stocky indica plants get virtually no stretch and grow over themselves. I end up using the 5000K now exclusively for stretchy sativa plants that want to get out of control. If you check out the spectrum curve, you will see that there is not actually that much extra red in the 3000k compared to the 3500K and significantly less blue and they tend to be slightly less efficient and produce more heat. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks - from what I was reading elsewhere in the forums it seems 3500k is the most rffective multiuse. Given I plan on using autos for the foreseeable future maybe just sticking to x2 3500ks would be the most efficient way and then just add x2 at 2700 or 5000k if I’m finding favourite strains are lacking on either end.
A sound choice IMHO, I think you will find no issues at all with that setup and as you say, can always add extras if the need arises. I factor about 8-10000 lumens per square foot, perhaps slightly more than you might with cobs, but because of the lower heat output and the fact that the light is distributed across the strip you can get away with it without having to worry too much about dealing with heat or bleaching the top of your plants, if you go overboard with light intensity then the buds tend to get a bit more airy, which I assume is the plants adaptive way of providing a more hospitable/less humid and mould prone environment for seeds to develop.
So I’m continuing to gather my supplies, once I get to installation phase I think I’ll start a diary but in the mean time still have lots of questions on set up.
Goal: 1st grow is just to learn the plants better in a hand water indoor setup. Will look to move to auto water next round with coco I think.
Where I’m at now:
4x4x6 Growneer tent
6" 390 cfm inline duct fan with carbon scrubber
2 solsheet x with x2 @3500k (thanks everyone for their feedback and especially @slain and @Baudelaire for taking the time to help me through it)
Various pots, containers etc
Soils (fox farms happy frog and ocean forest)
Amendments - various
Hygrometer - ThermoPro TP67 (maybe not best suited but was a good deal)
Lots more to get but a good start. Question what other “must have” tools can you not live without?
So I’ve been scouring the forums and the net and it seems sonoff is the go to for power controls but looking at it (ch4 pro for instance) intimidates the crap out of me. Are there any simple power switch timers folks would recommend? Really only need one for the lights at this point. Will have to “take a class” to figure out the advanced stuff pre-water automation.
Sonoffs aren’t very difficult to install - you just wire them to the AC leads of your drivers. But a good 'ole heavy duty mechanical lamp timer will work just fine for your immediate needs. Just make sure its marked “heavy duty” so it can handle your amperage loads.
Speaking of amperage, I don’t see a driver on your list. I’d recommend a single HLG-480H-24A for your dual SolSheet X setup. Otherwise looks like a good start on a nice grow space.
