1st time dwc!

Hi all! I've been on rollitup forever largely as a reference site for all the problems i've run into during my previous grows. I've always grown soil because i thought it was the easiest way to grow but after doing some research, i've decided that "bubble buckets" would probably be the best choice. I've grown some pretty damn amazing buds in soil but i'm pretty new to this hydro thing so I wanted to get some suggestions from people that've done similar setups. So without further ado...

Equipment:
-400 or 600 watt hps light and ballast (for flower)
-4ft 4 tube 6500k hydrofarm t5 lights (for vegging)
-3.5/5 gallon homemade bubble buckets
-not sure on the nute regime yet... suggestions?
-large box fan
-not sure about the whole vent and filter thing yet... help?
-about a 4x2x5 grow area

i'm probably gonna end up germing about 8 plants and keeping 4 into veg but i'm still looking as to which strains i want to grow out as i am used to yielding at least a 1/2 - 1 pound every round and i would be pretty disappointed if this grow ended up as a bust

i'm not really sure what else i am missing, so bring on the questions/suggestions/comments/etc.!

Well if youre worried about smell a fan and carbon filter would be useful. Where'd you grow in soil outside?

A EC/PH meter is necessary, though people grow without em following some fractional dosage of the nutrient manufacturers recipe.

Nutrients, Ionic is good, GH flora series, canna(pricey), h&g(pricey), i wanna try dynagrow but my hydro doesnt carry it. (you're going to want a grow formula, a flower formula, and a PK booster just for basics. And then something for pathogen control like h2o2 or teas. I'd go the tea route. Check out heisenbergs sticky.

You're going to need an air pump that'll handle the buckets and air stones. Air hoses for the airstones.

I'd get like a 200-300CFM room exhaust fan and a carbon filter that'll handle that. That'll be about 5-7 air changes a minute in there.

Good luck!

hey welcome to the dwc club ^_^. im dealing with similar space req as you lxwxh 4x2x4 for me.
also one nice thing about dwc. you can buy most of the supplies needed at petco.
as far as nutes go i would start of simple. Go with the 3 part an grow micro and bloom. there is a hydro mod on here (hellraizer30) that will help you will the formula for this (he has tested many types of nutes not just AN).
As far as the root protection goes you want to make sure the buckets are light proof and keep the water 66-69 degrees. As stated above, teas work the best (fighting bad stuff while feeding the plants) but if you dont have a strong grasp on them yet i would just go the h202 route 30% or higher 1mL/L every 3 - 4 days.
If its a airtight micro cab like mine is (check out my sig) make a DIY carbon filter.

Lakai: "First time," recommends a ppm meter and I'm going to try to get you to spring for a pH meter or some kind of tester. I don't particularly like the paper or the chemical tester. Check your pH everyday and adjust it back to 5.8 if necessary.

I'm a fan of Technaflora's, "Recipe for Success," and I cant praise them enough. Discount Hydro at Riverside, California started me on them and after seeing the nutes related problems so many others have had with other brands I've never had the inclination to change. Use good water and mix any nutes in strict accordance with the manufacturers directions. I did a write up on this recently and you might be able to find it.

Here's a few more things for you to ponder: buy an extra bucket to make changing your nutes easier and keep your grow area and buckets clean. Make sure you have a lot of air in there and that it's a mass of tiny bubbles, not big ones. A friend said, "Anything bigger than champagne bubbles is too big." You can't have too much air becasue that gives you the turbulence you want to circulate your nutes without a pump and prevent stagnation.

Use something like Hygrozime in your water. It's cheap insurance for healthy roots.

When you change nutes, (like from seedling to veg and veg to flower), make the next batch 1/2 strength until you see how your plants like it. Some guys flush in between. I don't until just before harvest.

Keep a close eye on your plants because in any kind of hydro grow if you see a problem it's already there. Try to be proactive not reactive.

Get to know your local hydro stores. They often have some very helpful people there and they want your business. I've gotten some great help at forums like this one but some times you need it right now! We all have our own lives and often we can't respond in a timely fashion to your needs.

I might suggest you review the following resources, especially the parts on hydroponics related to what you're doing:
1. Jorge Cervantes’s book, “MARIJUANA HORTICULTURE THE INDOOR/OUTDOOR MEDICAL GROWER’S BIBLE."
2. Ed Rosenthal’s, “MARIJUANA GROWER’S HANDBOOK.”
3. You’ll also want to subscribe to, “HIGH TIMES,” magazine if you don't already. Each issue is chocked full of useful information. .” All these resources are very well written, well illustrated and packed with information that will usually answer your questions before you know to ask them. Some cowboy philosopher once said, "It ain't so much educatin' we need as remindin.'" This might save you and your plants a lot of anxiety. I hope this helps. HSA

Why bother with a T5 light for veg? Just pop an MH bulb in. By the way, you didn't mention it, but you definitely want an air cooled reflector hood.

Lakai: Illegal Smile is right if you're using that type of lighting. The reason T-5's are becoming so popular is the cost of electricity. If you've been watching that new TV series, "American Weed," on the National Geographic channel you'll see one of the commercial growers using T-5's, so that might tell you something. Another advantage of T-5 lighting is the low amount of heat it emits. And you can hang them real close without damaging your plants. Don't try that with MH, HID or HPS. HSA