Hey everybody, I just got my Mars-Hydro TS 1000 LED 150W light and 2.3’ x 2.3’ x 63" tent, I ordered 3 12 qt. Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil bags, Fox Farm Liquid Trio Soil Nutrients (Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger Bloom), I have X nutrients PH up/down control/test kit. I also just got my supermix auto seed pack from ILGM and am about to germinate a Bruce Banner seed. I am only going to do one plant seeing as Ive never grown before and I feel like it would be smarter to just focus on one plant for my first grow, rather than two or three. Anyway, my questions are basically is there a specific feeding regimen I should be incorporating seeing as it is an auto seed and not a regular seed. I was told to use 1/4 to 1/2 of the nutrients that the bottle says to use. Some people have told me that I wont need to use any of the nutes until about 30-40 days in because the fox farm soil should be able to sustain it for that long using only water, then once the nutrients in the soil are diminished, I can begin using nutes. There is also no perlite in the soil, should I go purchase some to mix in with the soil? How much perlite should i add to the soil. It will be going in a 5 gallon fabric bucket also, that came with the Mars-Hydro kit. I have absolutely no problem whatsoever admitting i am completely green when it comes to this, I have no idea what I am doing or what to expect so absolutely any help, tips, facts, secrets, anything at all, will be appreciated. Take me under the wing and school me.
Welcome to the community looks like you have basic setup few things I didn’t see you mention ph meter, ventilation fan and a clip on fan(s) you are right FfOF will not need any nutrients for About 5 to 6 weeks
Welcome to the forum @JiggaMan1987
You may want to make sure you can post pictures here. Any questions you have will get better answers if we have pictures. Also as @dirtydave said, a Ph meter and TDS meter will help you diagnose any problems quickly. The Ph test strips are better than nothing but not by much.
One recommendation is to use a soil mix made for seedlings / young plants to receive the germinated seed. Happy frog would be suitable. These soil mixes have fewer nutrients in them compared to OF.
I think your decision to grow one plant is a wise choice. One caution is to not give it too much love and attention. That often results in drowning them when it it is a week or two old.
Welcome and enjoy the process.
@dirtydave I forgot to mention I grabbed a whole pH meter/testing/control kit and I ordered a pH up/down kit, the tent came with a 4" ventilation fan and a filter with 8’ of ducting. Ur right tho I am going to get two clip fans this week.
You do not need to add perlite or anything else to the Fox Farms soils. They have perlite mixed in already and is ready to use as is from the bag.
Do not order soil online, the shipping is outrageous, even with the “free shipping” from Amazon and others. Use the Fox Farms dealer locator, put in your zip code and you will be surprised how many local sources are listed. Not all have soil so you may need to call and ask. You will save yourself a bunch of money and may find a local source of support and advice.
I haven’t hung up the fan and filter yet, I’m still waiting for the actual pH kit and pH up/down to come in the mail which will be this Thursday along with the fox farm soil. But everything else I have in these pics is what I’m working with as of right now. I’m not germinating or doing anything until I have absolutely every single item needed.
@HMGRWN thank u brother. Im hoping to be successful with this grow, I’m anxious and excited to get it going. It’s finally completely legalized where I live to own, possess, grow Mary Jane so I’m jumping in. I got my medical card legitimately, registered with the state so there’s no type of anything shady on my behalf. I can’t wait to grow my own medicine, it’s something I’ve loved since my teenage years, it’s never been anything but beneficial to me, so I was ecstatic when they finally made it legal here. I definitely plan to document everything I do with this grow and will probably be here regularly annoying the hell outta u guys with a million and one questions 
@beardless ok cool, thanks for that tip. So the fox farm will burn it while it’s young? I’ll get some happy frog too, I was trying to avoid having to transplant but if the fox farm is too hot for the young’n then I’ll grab some happy frog.
I used fox farm OF and didn’t have a problem but many do. I also started with the Trio. You don’t actually have to transplant. You can fill up the 5 gallon bag with OF. Dig out the center of it a couple of inches deep and wide and fill that hole with happy frog or a mix of HF & OF. A day or two before you put the germinated seed in it, moisten the soil well with some pH’d water and you will be in business.
Like @CMichGrower said. Find a local source for soil. I am in an illegal state but it is still sold at places that sell yard and garden supplies. My go to was Farm & Fleet.
Here’s a tip 4 U…Place your in-line fan and carbon filter outside the tent. As in - duct out of tent to fan then to filter. That will give you more room in case your plant gets taller than you expect.( Happens more than you think ) Also the fan needs to be outside anyway for heat issues.
Depending on your grown environment I wouldn’t recommend staring with this. If this is your first grow and indoors, if you don’t have much experience with maintaining a controlled environment you’re going to want your filter in the tent with as short of a duct run to your fan.
Putting the filter last does not alter the environment vs inside tent only frees up the top area.
If I am understanding your setup explanation it would.
Placing a filter in line last one degrades the life of a fan over time if ran as exhaust. Also as I was mentioning with the environment, if you’re needing lower humidity or heat you need your exhaust. Placing the filter outside would only be beneficial if you’re using as an intake for the tent for filtered air. However, you mentioned when the plants stretch to provide more room, this would be the time the filter needs to be in the tent if they are worried about odor or needing to maintain the environment with proper exhaust.
I looked a your box of goodies it appears that your PH test kit is some sort of test strips you really need a PH pen made by a reputable company like Apera or blue labs your going to spend at least 50 dollars for an aprea 20 and up from there as @HMGRWN suggested a PPM meter is also a valuable tool you can cheap out on this one about 15 on amazon as @beardless said I have never had a problem with starting seeds in OF good luck have fun can’t wait to see how you do following along
Welcome Jigga to the forum community. The others have already given sound advice. Following along in your grow as you post. Happy growing 
I have a 3x3x7’ tent. When I had the fan and filter inside the tent I would on occasion get close to maxing out the vertical space. So I move it all outside.
I was able to hang the fan and filter from the ceiling in my workshop / growspace.
Used a piece of an old filter as a prefilter on the exhaust
I wrapped the duct and added a length of solid pipe to reduce the noise. Granted, it is not a thing of beauty but it gets the job done. One other thing. I placed the prefilter that would normally go on the outside of the filter on the inside. This extends the life of the charcoal
Another common arrangement is to leave the filter inside the tent while having the fan outside. It saves some room. Just not as much.
Something to keep in mind.
Hey everyone, thank u guys so much for all the info. Sorry I went mia, didn’t realize I was only allowed to comment so many times as a new member until it wouldn’t let me respond anymore lol. I went and grabbed a few more goodies, now I’m just waiting on my pH meter and tds meter to come in from Walmart and a clip-on 6" fan for inside the tent and I think I will be ready to go. I’m gonna hang the fan and cent tomorrow
