This is really touching for me and actually gave me a little tear.
My bro is one of my closest friends and my parents absolutely tortured him. They were born in the 30s and we’re not to be approached unless you were spoken to. So no butting in on anything at all. My parents found out about my brothers status and all of a sudden he was denied any affection. They didn’t give him physical affection and we were not allowed to either. God forbid we all get infected 
I never listened to them because my brother is my brother and I would take what I got … at that time I had no clue wtf was going on. I got an eye opener when my brother got a cut at Thanksgiving. I grabbed a towel and tried to help him. This was the first time he pushed me away with anger in his eyes and said Don’t ever touch me again. I obviously was heartbroken a the day after I went to my grandma’s and told her imma kill myself if I don’t get out of there . She got an apartment for me at 17yrs old. I moved my stuff and my brothers while everyone was working and mom was out shopping. I left a note on my brothers dresser with just the address of my new place. He showed up after work. I told him this is our new life and it’s not about denial. We will learn and do everything in our power to get him the life he deserves with affection… whatever that would be because at the time we didn’t know.
I hope this helped him but he was angry most his life so very hard to tell. We did learn a lot and I held him many nights to show him people with HIV deserve love and touch like anyone else.
In the end my parents died he did not and neither of us attended either funeral.
We live and we learn.
Hi @plumbdand, the three I’m growing are all autos. White Widow, White LSD, and AK47.
I also received some “free” seeds. Two free seeds are Sour Diesel autos, and two free seeds are auto Caramelicious.
MSNL sent me the auto strong feminized pack (five seeds each x3…so 15 seeds) and the other two I mentioned (the “free” seeds).
5 White Widow seeds.
5 White LSD seeds.
5 AK47 seeds.
2 Sour Diesel auto seeds.
2 auto Caramelicious seeds.
So, I didn’t move my girls to the grow tent this weekend. I’m working on insulating the retired well room with some hard-foam insulation. Problem is, I have to deconstruct my 32x32 grow tent again…so to put in the insulation (it’s a fairly tight room).
I did re-pot the plants and have some okay lights on them (450 watts comparable leds).
I’m really frustrated I got at 32x32x64 tent though…I’m pretty sure these three plants won’t do as well.
The well room is all concrete with a pipe going up from the bottom…a time when a 1950’s house still had well water. I’m tempted to hack off the 10" pipe to make more room. It sits at around 55 degrees F. I’ve been playing around with some heaters, but I’m not quite there yet. The added insulation should help.
I don’t need any advice regarding the heating (yet), as I have yet to execute my plan. Work tends to get in the way.
Either way, here are the girls in their forever homes (in my work area):
Just a suggestion… space could be an issue but that light will be a bigger issue for all three girls. What’s that actual wall watt draw? I’m thinking your final plan and set up should include better lighting.
@BigItch, I have a Mars TS1000 in my tent downstairs. I’m just using the cheap one that came with the tent kit (300W) plus at 150W light pointed at them in my office (they are both LEDs…so 450W equivalent). Just temporary until I get them moved. Sorry for the confusion!
Ahhh didn’t know you already had another light… well good luck on your build they will soon need the extra light. Being autos you don’t really have a lot of time on your hands. Autos mature super fast and sometimes leave us in the dust thinking we have more time.
Below is one I wanted more time with but no she wanted to be average and flower sooner than what I wanted
@Friend, hello and thanks for sharing your stories! 
The Mars TS1000 is 150W input. Assuming the other lights you have add up to at least 50W to 100W input, you should be good for 3 to 4 plants.
Looks like you are doing good. Good luck!!
Thanks all for your nice comments (regarding my story). But, let’s focus on my growing. J/K, I’m a bit cheeky!
I picked up an Apera PH20. And it seriously sucks. I did the calibration (a few times). But when I test my tap water, it puts a smiley face on the screen (around 7PH), then it keeps climbing to around 9PH. I rinse and repeat. The next test is even higher. I dry it, cuddle it, give it a prayer, then I get a test at 4PH. Same water, same everything. And, reading the reviews on Amazon, this is par for the course.
I know my tap water is around 7.2 PH with my aquarium liquid tester. But I’d rather use a stick tester. I’ve done everything that Apera suggests (shake to get the bubbles out, etc). From what I see, it’s worthless!
Any advice (besides return it)?
Show the ph pen , did you hold the button until it blink ?
DID you try the KCL soak? My Bluelab’s it’s a requirement as well as to be stored in same solution.
Here’s a link to the owners manual look in section 9.
Here is what i used mainly . The green is my personal , and my go to back up ph pen , always keep a back up for a back up . So i like to keep 3 ph pens as @Dr.ofSmokology learn that one doing what most stonners will do is try to clean it , entirely in its importance in bloom . You can survive vegging without a ph pen in organics most times if you dont over kill it . But in flower you need to know each week before nutrient feeding the ph in the medium and the ppm.
Very important !
Welcome. Looks like a solid start. Joining this forum will be the best move you make towards not just learning more, but having a blast doing it. Good luck to ya!! I see you already have some of the top members checking things out here, so youre in good hands already.
Hi @yoshi, here’s a picture of it:
I followed the instructions, as well as watching a number of youtube videos. The (numerous complaints) said it doesn’t reliably measure tap water. That makes no sense to me. How can I lower the PH of my water without trusting the tester? I have PH lowering solution for my fish aquarium. Once the smiley face appears, that’s supposed to mean it’s locked on the PH…yet the meter keeps climbing.
They claim to store it with the cap on, with just a bit of water (or their solution). But I would think that it would be pretty accurate out of the box. It acted wonky right away, then did the calibration, and it was still wonky.
Still thinking I’ll return it and look into the testers you recommend.
Thanks all for you input!
Thanks @Pet_de_Chien, this is a different brand. Plus, it acted weird the first time I used it, even after calibration.
I appreciate your advice though! Thinking I’ll get a different brand.
@Pet_de_Chien, I’m sorry, I just clicked on your link. I assumed you were sending me a link to Bluelab.
The issue is that it acted nuts the first time I opened the box and tested my tap water. It was all over the PH range. I mean, I might’ve well been testing lye or lemon juice, because the meter was in those ranges. Makes me question my city water, lol.
No harm no foul. My lake Michigan drinking water jumps from 7ish to 8ish seasonally, it is strange, I’m sure it has to do with Ca/Bicarb in solution at low temps. Maybe you were sold an open box as a new, it happens, Return and Exchange, Apera is a good meter. If you really want to try and get it working, try the KCL(storage solution) soak, sometimes the bulbs get dry if on a shelf for a long time and can be rehydrated. .02
Thanks!
It was odd though, it certainly didn’t look open boxed. Plus, I could see some water droplets in the storage cap. I’m just not certain I can trust it.
What are your thoughts on: Amazon.com