You are all so awesome! Love the assistance and really appreciate the expertise. I am so glad everyone helped me avoid a bigger issue down the road. I will get some RO going and add what it takes for the cal/mag to get it up to full as well as the nutes to 800. Should I be adding epsom also or will the cal/mag be enough? In regards to CO2, breaking my heart, was somewhat pricey, have it dialed in and quite a setup. What kind of wattage do I need to make the gains, or is it even worth it in a 5x5?
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You have roughly the same footprint I do at 4 X 6 and Iām running my own diy lights built from this thread:
There are 5,500 plus posts on this so itās going to require a bit of time to scan through but you should gain a much better appreciation for lighting technology A, and B you will have more respect for dbrn as heās almost intuitive on the lighting now.
Hereās a few pictures of the strip light build I did, times three:
1 1/2" X 6" aluminum tubing left over from a job years ago
Cut and bolted together and masked for painting
Samsung gen 1 EB strips, 3,000K
Running
Each fixture peaks at 240 watts so technically I have 720 watts available in my space. The spread is diffuse enough that I get exceptional canopy coverage even slammed down on top of them. Adjustable down to around 100 watts so very versatile.
3 plants under the lights RDWC: Crystal, Purple Haze, Black D.O.G.
It grows some pretty good cannabis
Lighting is the single biggest investment for us home growers. Once you have the intensity up, you could very easily run CO2 and really push the plants. But I pulled 15 grams shy of 2 pounds from that grow with 1.24 grams per watt in a 5 1/2 month grow.
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Everyone beat me. Was going for āA little to much nitrogen in the first picās, see leaf-claw and more calmagā. I mix 2/3 strength on nutes and full recommend calmag. Good call on PPM with give them what that want/takeout of nutes. Iām lazy and mix strong and then just add water on second day to drop PPM to around 800-750, thatās where my flower tents sweet spot is.
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Wow, beautiful grow. I hope I will get there someday. Would love to get a whiff of all that glory. Not great at dyi, but now I feel I need to visit the lighting threads and learn more. I will get there 
. Thanks again everyone, you never fail me! If no one minds, I will continue to post updates. Iām sure I will have plenty more to ask as I progress.
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This is your journal so thatās what itās for haha! Thereās a lot of technologies out there and that thread gives you a better understanding of the available and existing lighting. Lots of great ideas. None of this is cheap, but if you have access to cheap aluminum like I did you can save money. You might have a scrap yard around selling flat stock cheap. Wire, wiring and parts are all readily available. There are other technologies than strip lighting so do spend time and ask questions. As an example: that fixture costs around $200 without the aluminum. I have 3 so that tells you how much I have invested in lights. Plus I had to ditch the nine blurple lights I had. Another cost.
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Here is third party sphere data on kind k5 xl1000.
Shows ppf of 875 umols/s. In a 5x5, your ppfd average is about 377 umols/s. To hit maximum DLI on 400ppm co2 its recommended to have ppfd average of 600 to 800 umols/s.
You could certainly use more light to maximize productivity of your space. There are some lights available that would do that, but diy is significant savings.
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Wow! Ok, that puts it into perspective. CO2 off, abort abort! Lol. I will def be checking it out for sure. Sounds like my new mission is to learn lighting, stat. Thank you for that!
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Well Yohay is your guy. Probably someone else has already asked the question so good to at least scan that thread, long as it is.
Itās an investment and you can set up your space for CO2 but to me that makes the most sense: go with the most energy efficient method.
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Good guideline, but @Warthog remember, they are guidelines, not set in stone. Iāve had some that would not tolerate going over 800 in flower. Iāve had some that would take over 1,200 in flower. Start with the guidelines, then listen to your plants. They will tell you.
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Hey @Warthog Iām grem. Welcome to my 3rd favorite place to spend time 
. Iāll help when I can but we use diff media. I admire you hydro guys tho. And SWEET setup @Myfriendis410. My scrog guy I think of you and I havent even built one yet lol. I have the stuff to tho so thatās good 
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Dont worry. Ull get there sooner then u think. Just hang around.
And building the lights is extremely easy. Ive built em and suck at tools period
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Hey @Gremmall thank you and nice to meet you. I watch a few of the more lively posts, and yall crack me up! Ton of awesome folks. I have smoked most of my life and tried my hand at growing a few years on and off, but never was legal. Always stuck using cheap stuff not designed for hydro. I remember when led started becoming popular a long time ago, many years ago, they were cheap and worth every penny, killed a few with those and almost got in trouble even, buying a ton of them. Lights have come a long way and are way above my head now, lol. Actually surprised I did as well as I did back then not knowing jack, lol. Still donāt know jack! 
Now its legal, I spared no expense, ugh, and now I have family that needs the meds badly. Hoping to have a bumper crop, realize some of my cost back, and not throw money at dispensaries.
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I hope that for you too bro. And I hope you grow enough for a WHILE lol
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Quick update: It has been 2 weeks and 1 day since clones were put in the system. Since I have added the cal/mag at full strength, they are doing much better. I have also dialed back the nutes somewhat since the clawing was also pointed out. Finding that it is more of a challenge going six different strains, but I am learning what combo works for all. They all seem to be doing well after the topping. I have nutes at 800, res temp is 69, PH is 5.6. I have noticed PH drops a 10th of a point every other day, but does not seem to be an issue. Just moving down now instead of up.
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Looking good. Bump your ph up to 5.9-6.0 during veg.
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Looks great. Iām new to this, but great info. Super getting feedback & solutions.
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This is an awesome site @Phylby65 , a lot of great folks with the best knowledge. Welcome to the forum. Some of these folks have forgotten more then I have ever known or have learned. I am currently going down the rabit hole of lighting. My gosh! Tons of info. Enjoy!
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Thanks @Grandaddy013. Bumping it up. Its weird how I had to raise it those first two weeks, now its headed in the opposite direction. I guess the plants may be performing diff functions now.
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5.8 will work all the time. During veg, the nitrogen and some other nutes are a little more available at a slightly higher ph. During bloom, what they need is a little more available at around 5.6.
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@Phylby65 welcome to the forum. Lots of info here.
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