(Part 3) Top products from r/SpaceBuckets

> I am choosing to leave out side lights from my first build to reduce the amount of variables that may give me electrical/heat issues. Will this significantly affect my yield to the point where I should be seriously reconsidering this decision?

Not really. The sidelights are a nice and cheap upgrade, but probably affects more trichome production than yield.

> Which of those two fans do you think will work better for me? If these are both horrible, what other fans should I be looking at? I am looking at doing a DIY carbon filter since it seems to be pretty straightforward. What sort of DIY carbon filters do you suggest? How powerful should fans be to deal with a carbon filter in a standard-size space bucket?

Its really hard to recommend those small fans for filters, my advice would be to get an inline fan and filter and not overcomplicate things. ONA gel is also a good solution for odors.

> I am using white buckets rather than mylar because it seems white buckets work fine and mylar can create hot spots. Is this accurate?

White buckets are a fine choice, but mylar does not create hot spots. That is a myth. Check /r/HandsOnComplexity for the science behind that.

> I've read that buckets are much cheaper at stores than they are on Amazon. Around how much should I be spending for 4x white 5 gallon buckets? Are there any other items in my build that I can get for cheaper in person?

Try to get them for free. I've never paid for a 5gal bucket. At least in my city there are a lot of 5gal buckets near construction sites, to give one example. You just have to know where to look.

> I am planning on ordering seeds from Nirvana. Is this a good vendor or is there a different one that I should be using?

Should be OK, most big vendors are fine.

> I've found plenty of resources about space buckets on this subreddit and the website, but not much on the actual process of growing Marijuana inside of a space bucket. Apart from the setup, is there any difference in the process of growing Marijuana inside of a space bucket and growing it another way? Is there any sort of guide or subreddit dedicated to what's needed to go from seed to harvest you can point me towards?

Check the bucket plant guide for tips from the community. The best kind of experience will be your first hand experience. You should expect to kill some plants before mastering the proccess. In a Space Bucket, the main challenge is keeping the plant as short as possible. If you keep it low the lighting will be more effective, and the flowers more awesome.

> Any general advice? Anything I'm missing?

Yes, don't forget to update us and to have fun! Welcome to the community.

I have used this one before: https://www.amazon.com/Kingwin-FPX-001-Controller-Controls-Independent/dp/B00DP9WRZY

And it works great! You can hook up to 4 fans to it and to control the speed just turn the knob.

Then you will wanna buy something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Vantec-SATA-IDE-Adapter-CB-ISA225-U3/dp/B01E7EPKUO

So the fan controller has a MOLEX adapter for power. The data to usb has a MOLEX to power cable in the box (I’ve had a few and the vantech one that I listed should have an inline power button).

I’ve tried splicing the cables and although that works this is far far easier and effective. I hope you see this before you buy to many other solutions because I personally think this is the easiest.

Good luck and happy growing :)

Container: Rubbermaid 20 gal Brute Bin

Lights: Kingbrite 60 W Quantum Board (if you want dimmable, ask for a dimmable driver like the HLG-60H-36B and a potentiometer)

Screws: You'll need lots of nuts, long screws, washers, and spacers to mount the board and PSU. First put the board on the lid and mark where to drill, then drill holes. Then put the power supply on the outside in the middle, mark and drill those hoses. Mount power supply and then flip lid over and mount the light, using long screws and nuts to hold it in place (the light should NOT touch the lid but be 1-2 inches from it, held in place by nuts). Drill small hole for power line, then connect. Finally, drill 3 inch hole for exhaust beside the light. You'll also need long screws with nuts to keep the fan and shrouds together. Be sure to use spaces anywhere the screw heads or nuts are touching the lid or the lights. For light spacers, I used rubber spaces between the nuts.

Cooling shrouds: 120mm Fan Duct Cooling Shroud to 4 Inch Vent Hose

90 degree 4 inch elbow for exhaust: 4 in. 90° Round Adjustable Elbow

4" to 3" reducer for exhaust: 4 in. to 3 in. Round Reducer

2x regular JB Weld to mount the reducer and 3 inch "trunk"

Fan: Delta AFB1212SHE-PWM 120mm x 38mm 4pin PWM+Tac Sensor Extreme Hi-speed 3700 RPM 151 CFM

Fan controller: Noctua NA-FC1 4-pin PWM Fan Controller

Fan power supply: LE Power Adapter, UL Listed, 3A, 120V AC to 12V DC Transformer, 36W Power Supply

Fan power supply adapter: CRJ Female DC Power Supply Plug to 12V Molex Power Adapter Cable

Fan molex adapter: Coolerguys Mini 3-4 pin Fan Adapter (Single)

2x ABS fan elbow (for "snout" intake): 3 in. ABS DWV 90-Degree Hub x Hub Long-Turn Elbow

Air filter for intake: 16.25 in. x 12.5 in. x 0.19 in. - 16.3 in. x .2 in. x 12.5 in. - CF300 Carbon Filter

Air filter (not pictured): VIVOSUN 4 Inch Air Carbon Filter Odor Control with Australia Virgin Charcoal for Inline Fan

Fan hose (not pictured): iPower GLDUCT4X8C 4 inch 8 feet Non-Insulated Flex Air Aluminum Foil

Watering device (not pictured): Janolia Automatic Irrigation Kit, Self Watering System, with Electronic Water Timer

Camera (not pictured): Wyze Cam 1080p HD Indoor Wireless Smart Home Camera with Night Vision (glue steel piece for magnetic base onto the upper side of the bin)

Notes: This design is very safe because it keeps all electronic components high in the bin. At the same time, using a battery powered watering system keeps you from requiring to ever open it. The lamp runs very cool. The PWM fan controller works well and keeping the air moving without using a lot of power (do NOT buy a cheap voltage modulator, I did first and it doesn't work nearly as well as the PWM controller). The Wyze cam is super cheap and lets you keep an eye on everything or make timelapses. Have fun growing your tomatoes!

His 'secret' isn't what he knows so much as his entire attitude to learning.

What sets 'experts' apart is that at some level they question everything instead of taking it at face value. Questioning something forces you to really think about it: you have to turn the idea around a few times and examine it from all angles. You can't help but gain an understanding of the reasons for something - not just of the thing itself. Teaching others works in a similar way - being able to clearly explain an idea requires deep understanding.

It sounds condescending, but that really is what it comes down to - curiosity and critical thought.

Nothing we deal with requires more than a high school knowledge of science - for example, while you need to know that light levels and frequencies affect photosynthesis, you don't need to know the exact quantum/biochemical processes involved. You might be curious though, so it becomes a new avenue for you to research - and what you find out might change what you thought you knew, or might lead you on to new things.

Think about what you don't know that you wish you did - and then go try and find it out. Who knows what else you'll discover in the process?

Now, as for some specific learning sources - for the basics you're looking at things like Jorge Cervante's classic Indoor/Outdoor Medical Growers Bible. Beyond that, there's Reddit - eg SAG's own /r/HandsOnComplexity (googling everything you don't understand) - or some kind of introduction to Botany - the Botany For Dummies book is pretty good. College classes might also be an option.

There isn't a huge amount of current scientific research material - largely due to the War On Drugs making it less attractive. That said, if you go back a way it does exist and is now being reprinted - for example Michael Stark's Marijuana Chemistry and Robert Clarke's Marijuana Botany. Both were originally printed back in the 70s, but were fairly extensively researched. They are dated in places - but the scientific rigor was solid, and they both have wonderful bibliographies of research papers that I hadn't come across elsewhere. Newer papers can be found on Google Scholar. (As a general rule, trust scientific publications over books and books over unsourced websites.)

Here by PM request of OP.

>how I can find the right lights on amazon to boost my efficiency

You lights are pretty efficient but I would spread them out more and use more of them. Read this and get this so you can dial things in without the guess work. Lux meters should only be used with white light sources and can not be used with that 18 watt color LED light.


>Is there a way you can tell the quality of the light just by the stats provided on the listing?

Not really, light quality gets into spectral power distribution. I do not know the SPD of the main light. You need a spectrometer for that and even different UFO lights can have a different SPD. Examples:

"135 watt" UFO

"180 watt" UFO


>Also what is your opinion on LED strips? I assume u must not think much of those? Perhaps I could use them to add some more green light?

I don't use them because there are more efficient options and I don't like dumping extra heat in a bucket but recommend them because they are so simple and safe to use. At least half of everyone are using them wrong due to strip lighting placement.

I would just use white strips lights. The thing with green light is that their benefits are only at higher lighting levels which you will not get with strip lights unless they are very close to the plant. Terashima et al 2009 puts this at 300 uMol/m2/sec and above and my work with chlorophyll fluorescence confirms this.

pdf of Terashima paper that has been cited well over 100 times.

example pic of chlorophyll fluorescence measurements I do (red laser on top of leaf)

UV laser with chlorophyll acetone extract (in vitro and in vivo can give different results)

Another thing with green is that real green LEDs are not as electrically efficient as red/blue LEDs. This is known as the green gap. There is a phosphor based green LED that has hit the market that can hit about 1.9 uMol/Joule. I'd have to go back through some recent trade magazines to find it.

So remember, we can only use lux with pure white light sources which is what can cause a lot of confusion. I have verified this with dozens of different LEDs (that's from about four years ago) and a spectrometer as long as the CRI is about 80 or so which covers most LED light bulbs. CRI makes much more of a difference than correlated color temperature (I can pull up the charts/heavily cited paper on this).

If you have red/blue LEDs then we can not use lux and we must use PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) which is measure in uMol/m2/sec (micro moles per square meter per second) which is our PPFD or "photosynthetic photon flux density" if measuring lighting levels at a certain space or PPF or "photosynthetic photon flux" is measuring the total light output of a light. PAR is generally defined as light between 400-700nm. (BAR is another standard trying to be pushed by a trade organization which stands for "biological active radiation" or light from 280-800nm. I think it is non-sense.)

Is this clearing up some of the questions you have? I can articulate more if needed.

Have you already bought the fans? If not I’d say go with the AC Infinity MULTIFAN S3, Quiet 120mm USB Fan for Receiver DVR Playstation Xbox Computer Cabinet Cooling ones by ac infinity. They have a controller in line and it’s plug and play, no secondary power sources to power the controller to go back to the fan.

I originally got this fan controller with the two recommended buys which are the 4 pack of fans and a molex power supply.

This will let you have 4 fans all controllable. So you can always have two buckets side by side in the future and have them share a fan controller. That is what I was going to do, but ended up going with the prewired because of the fan cfu between then and easy I’d install.

Hope that helps. Sorry it didn’t use your adapter, but you can always use that for a 1-2 meters of led strip if it’s 2A

Beginners mistake, very common. Don't use miracle grow. Use something like the FoxFarms Trio https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Farm-FX14049-Nutrient-Formula/dp/B00572026S

For now you just need Grow Big for veg, when you get to flowering time start feeding it Tiger bloom, the difference between the bottles is the ratio of each nutrient, bloom nutes are higher in P and K while veg is higher in N.

And watering is easy. After you water it, feel how heavy it is. Get a gauge for that, and check it every day as the plant consumes water, eventually it will be as light as it will get and the plant may get to the point of dehydration where the leaves will tuck inward, don't let it get that dry, water a day before that. Soon enough you'll totally get it. Also stick your finger in the top of the soil for about 1-2" down and feel how the dryness changes and use that and weight of the pot.

You may also need a bottle of Calmag at some point https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Nutrients-Sensi-Cal-Mag-250mL/dp/B01D1Y9QAQ

Good to have handy.

You also need to make sure your water PH is in the acceptable range, probably by adding a weak acid to lower the PH https://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-Liquid-Fertilizer-1-Quart/dp/B00CJID1I4

Also a PH testing kit like this https://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics/dp/B000BT32UA

Here's the basics https://www.reddit.com/r/microgrowery/wiki/faq

I've gotten in to growing recently and really enjoy it :) I hop you do too stranger.

Whats the benefit of 5050 over 3528 (it seems like the difference is the coloring?)?

I figured it might be good to get a strip with a bunch of color variations to get more of the spectrum etc. Is the warm white more desirable? I was reading elsewhere that green or blue light was good for veg. link

Hmmm... I did not. Though, I thought it was typical to have 12 on, 12 off light cycles. Is that not correct? Should I just get one that is ideal for longer hours? Thanks for the help!

Edit: This looks like a better option, no?

Combination of parts from Amazon and ebay. Not all of them are necessary, fittings and Brute trashcans and such are from Home Depot.

• 12v, 20A power supply ($17)
  Runs the lights, pump, fans, and other electronics. Kind of excessive. 5A would be enough.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E6S0JS4
  
  
• Check valves, x2 ($10)
  Don't cheap out on these. Crappy plastic check valves really screwed me early on.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KZOCQMA
  
  
• Shutoff valves, x2 ($12)
  Needed for priming the pump or flushing the nutrient reservoir.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018HMFG7O
  
  
• Mylar ($10)
  This was roughly 4x what I actually needed.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B8PAAJW
  
  
• Leca ceramic substrate, 4 pounds ($18)
  Transplanting the sprouts into this was weird, but they took well to it.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IAM29K
  
  
• Vinyl tubing 25ft ($12)
  Everything I chose was 5/16 inner diameter.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CGVJ9QG
  
  
• Net pots, 5in, X20 ($13)
  Hydroponic pots, specifically for Leca substrate.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N9AE9BE
  
  
• Air bubbler ($13)
  I think that dripping from two feet aerates the water naturally, but this can't hurt.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L17IPEO
  
  
• Warm white LED strip ($11)
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01339F5ZO
  
  
• Cool white LED strip ($11)
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01339G2F6
  
  
• 270W UFO Light ($60)
  Wait for sales on these! The 270W light is $80 now, but I got it for $60.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RWQ4B50
  
  
• Sealing foam ($8)
  To make the door airtight.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011CXIPO6
  
  
• Nutrients ($33)
  This will be enough for a bunch of grows. A little goes a long way.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017H73708
  
  
• pH Control Kit ($18)
  Will also last a long time. Only takes a few drops to balance a gallon.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNKWZY
  
  
• Activated carbon filter, 4 inch ($40)
  This thing was bigger than I anticipated.
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E582DV2/
  
  
• Barbed T splitters x10 ($10)
  For making the irrigation loops.
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/302176243137
  
  
• 12v PC fan ($3)
  Loud as heck. Ended up using a quieter fan I had around.
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/272508816366
  
  
• 12v pump ($15)
  Quiet as heck. Rated for 2.1GPM. It's enough, but I think that a 5GPM pump would have been better.
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/272403296601

I'm using the drivers to run the lights and the fans. I had to order some more because I accidentally fried my light and exhaust fan. My plan was to step up the driver to 36V and split it among 3 12v fans. One fan gets really good air intake, cant wait for the extra exhaust fan to add better air flow. I really enjoyed making mine and I can't wait for a finished project. Once I'm done with this one I'm planning on making an automated bucket using a raspberry pi.

As for the light specs:
One light, 100W LED power by a 100W power supply. (This is it)[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CZ6QDDU]

For sure.

https://www.amazon.ca/Luster-Leaf-1601-Rapitest-Soil/dp/B0001LEPYA?th=1

I took a trip over to my local hydroponics store yesterday with the same information, they took one look and agreed it was calcium deficiency. After talking with them I bought a bottle of Terra Vega and watered the plant with that last night.

I'm just waiting for the lights to turn on and I'll have a good look at it, I can already notice a difference in the smell that it's giving off, so I'm hopeful that this is all it was.

You can use a watt meter to measure its real power. Useful for everything. Sure it will work with a cheaper UFO. Why not? If it is only 1' x 1' sqft (30cm x 30cm)? I am not entitled to tell you something like it is a full size grow where i would say "Pls, Invest in better lighting."

It is a spacebucket and you can do whatever you want from one sinlge cheap 14W china LED to something smaller from KINDled, Advanced platinum or marshydro. You want better yield? Go for more power and quality product in the end. You just wanne experiment? Try and error with this, but the risk is there for a reason too. You just want to use it for reproduction in veg, or cloning? Works fine too.

MINGER LED Strip Light Waterproof... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079B834PB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

AC Infinity AXIAL 8038, Quiet... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009OXTWZI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

The AC Infinity fans are nice and are standard wall plug NEMA 5-15P.

Thanks!

Shopping list;

AmazonBasics 6-Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip, 6-Foot Long Cord, 790 Joule - White https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00TP1C1UC/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_H4B1DbVABEKV0


VIVOSUN 4 inch Inline Duct Booster Fan 100 CFM, Extreme Low Noise & Extra Long 5.5' Grounded Power Cord https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01C82SYZ0/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_33B1DbZQFHVBT



VIVOSUN 4 Inch Air Carbon Filter Odor Control with Australia Virgin Charcoal for Inline Fan Pre-Filter Included https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01DXYMBU6/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_D3B1DbXZRD3RS


Hydrofarm TM01015D Dual Outlet Grounded Timer https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B001Q1FZWA/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_.2B1Db0WE33FY



LED Lights Strip 5M 5050 SMD Waterproof 150LEDs RGB Color Changing Flexible LED Light Strip Kit https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07B5Z2Y34/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_H2B1Db47ZRW0K



COB LED Grow Light, Niello Full Spectrum Grow Lights for Indoor Plants, Higher Light-Gathering, Space Saving and Easy to Install, Professional Greenhouse Hydroponic Indoor Plants(150W) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07DJ5WZQD/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_M0B1DbJMFAJ20



Not included; tin tape, duct tape, 2" curved pvc tubes x3, zip ties, hot glue, and the Rubbermaid wheeled bin + lid.

This $40 ufo worked wonders for me
Make sure you get a high speed exhaust fan for ventilation and a low speed intake fan to stimulate trunk development
Use smart pots to hold the soil and plant - you should start in a small pot and graduate up to larger ones, but you can also just pop your seed into the big one. Be sure not to overwater.
Amazon brand power strip for 4 dollars

Buckets and reflective tape from Home Depot

I will definitely flip it back when she wakes up this afternoon.

My bucket wound up being too tall to put in the closet without removing shelving so I went ahead and got a tent.

This is the 1st one I got. Way too short to hang a light. Boo.

However, the zippers, viewing flap and zipper covers are things I really enjoyed and wish my new one had. Also, the intake at the bottom was sweet and lacking in the new one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00H2ULDR0/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1


This is the current one. It juuuuust fits in my closet. No complaints just not a lot of extras.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00H9OJHYA/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I have no idea what to do with this extra tent. Not something you advertise having. Tempted to drop it off on someone's doorstep and run.


I think I'm going to be sticking with autoflowers and can't rationalize growing a ton of plants solely for personal use.


The current set-up should allow to have one vegging and one flowering at the same time....maybe even a 3rd sprout if I time them right.

Would this carbon filter, VIVOSUN 4 Inch Air Carbon Filter Odor Control with Australia Virgin Charcoal for Inline Fan, Grow Tent Odor Scrubber, Pre-Filter Included, Reversible Flange 4" x 14" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DXYMBU6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0C6RDbBJWSN4Q work with these fans? ELUTENG Dual 120mm USB Fan with 3 Speed Controller, 5V Ventilator Fan Rechargeable Compatible for Laptop Receiver DVR Playstation Xbox Desk Computer Cabinet Cooling https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071Y4MGFK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ED6RDbSX70SX5

I would be surprised if this thing pulls 75w.
It looks like it is the size of the model that is normally marketed at like 150w but is actually only 35-40w or something.
Get a Kill a Watt and report back, cadet.

edit: oh, you havnt bought it yet. Yeah. Don't buy it, go with a different seller I would say.

cheap mylar and glue it inside is what I did. I got some super cheap stuff it was a little hard to work with because it was so thin but in the end it worked.

​

edit: something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B8PAAJW/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_t4CxCbD53B743

It's a great lamp. Too big for a standard sized (5-gallon) spacebucket. I use it for 2 plants in a small grow tent.

I am assuming you are in the uk.

3x These ~£36

2x storage bins stacked opening to opening. ~£20?

Potting soil with perlite. ~£19

Fans ~£13

Flowering Fertlizer ~£14

Seeds ~£14

£125ish should get you going. As you go you might want a few things like wire to train the plant so it better uses the space.

Here is my outdoor setup. I no longer have a bucket, so this is what i use in my box now.

If temp falls below 62- then my heater kicks on and goes til about 82
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Comfort-Zone-5-120-BTU-Multi-Purpose-Ceramic-Heater-Black-CZ442WM/21899614

At 78 my fan turns on and i have is set lower to be less loud. So the heater will turn off while the fan is on exchanging my air out. Once its below 78 the fan turns off and we wait til the heater kicks on again. But the HPS puts off enough to keep it warm usually


http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Heating-Cooling-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B000E7NYY8/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1417395131&sr=8-13&keywords=temperature+controller

http://www.amazon.com/VenTech-VTSPEED-Variable-Router-Controller/dp/B00EVYGPJQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417395084&sr=8-2&keywords=inline+fan+controller

I want one of these:

https://m.lowes.com/pd/GE-20-2-cu-ft-Frost-Free-Upright-Freezer-White/50343450

Hooked up to one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000E7NYY8/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The thermostat would have to be mounted inside the freezer to keep internal temperature at whatever is ideal for the plants. Most upright freezers even come with a lock on the door!

Sure:

• 4 Buckets from Lowe's
  
• Morsen 216W (55W) Grow light
  
• LED 5050 Strip w/ Power Supply
  
• Timer
  
• Carbon air filter
  
• 4" Inline Fan
  
  
• 4" Ducting
  
• Mylar blankets
  
• A roll of foil tape, roll of black duct tape, and a small bottle of tacky glue from Lowe's
  
• 1 1/4" wood screws from Lowe's
  
• An 80mm PC fan I had from before
  

Ekrof on the article you talk about UFO lights and you posted a link to an 'Apollo 180W' light. You also state that 135W lights are recommended, but when I go to the 135 Apollo light link on amazon there is a section where it says "Actual Power Draw: 90 Watts" Should we consider to choose the 135 watt light based on the "Actual Power Drawn" or the wattage that is advertised on the tittle of the product? For example

IMO the water your putting into your plant is wayyy to acidic. What I would suggest is to get some distilled water from the store, it can be either RO or steam distillation, and then add your nutrient additives. Your plant looks to be suffering from manganese and possibly a few other deficiencies, This is what I personally use and it should help.

All this being said I'm only on my third grow so there's still a lot to learn, hope this helps!

I am not monitoring my water PH. I have done a PH test on my soil which seems to be good, between 6-7. I wasn't sure if the soil test kit I purchased(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001LEPYA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) could also be used with water. If not then I guess I will need to buy a test kit made for water.

Thanks!

Sure... I just uploaded another image to the album showing each part of the irrigation system. http://i.imgur.com/kuTPh3C.png

The pot is inside a cut out bottom of a bucket about 2 inches tall to catch any runoff water. The plan is to leave it there to keep the humidity about 50-70% inside the bucket. If it goes higher then that water can be drained very easily.

So the irrigation system is very simple, it uses PVC pipes to go from the outside into the inside of the bucket and it contains a valve (2) that can be used to control the flow of the water. So, I pour the water into the bottle (1), it goes down the hose (3), and it's then evenly dispersed by the PVC pipes (4), these PVC pipes have holes in them (5) and it goes around the stem of the plant to get water everywhere.

Regarding nutrients. I bought the these ones that I'm planning to use depending on the stage I'm in (vegetative vs flowering). With these nutrients you just prepare the mix with water and then you irrigate. You just need to control the pH before adding any nutrients (it should be between 6.5 and 6.8) and once the nutrients are added you have to control the EC (electrical conductivity), this one depends on the stage again (it should be around 0.9 during the vegetative stage and between 1.5 and 2.0 during flowering). Remember that you don't add any nutrients during the germination and seedling stages and during these stages the pH should be between 6.5 and 6.8 and the EC should be around 0.4.

Quite possibly, I've been told to ph test and balance post addition of food which makes sense, but this is the fertilizer I use during flowering

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BYG6P0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How's this?

What about these ones?

Edit: For clarity, these are some I have lying around the house

If you have the resources you should take those all out then and get some more, but better quality LEDs. These arnt horrible and are well priced. http://www.amazon.com/5630-Waterproof-Fleixbe-supply-Brighter/dp/B00D86DZZA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00 Did have one burn out a few days after i bought them but it was replaced and had no problems after that.

Main LED is this one running at 33.5V and 2.4A. The red LED is this ebay model running at 22V and 1.45A. I know I should probably under drive them, but I think I'll just toss them and buy sturdier models if they die.

Not actually sure about power consumption, although I have an unused meter somewhere around.