THE IDEAL INDOOR HYDROPONICS CONDITIONS FOR GROWING MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Here are the ideal conditions for growing medical marijuana indoors 
Growing medical marijuana indoors gives you a fantastic opportunity: you get to control all the factors that influence how much medical marijuana your plants produce, and how potent your marijuana is. Here are the ideal conditions for growing medical marijuana indoors:
TEMPERATURE RANGE: During lights-on cycle, 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit (F), but maximum operating temperature is influenced by whether or not you are adding C02 to your grow room. Ideal day cycle growing temperature without C02 augmentation: 73F. Ideal day cycle temperature with maximum C02 augmentation: 80F. During lights-off cycle, between 65-71F.
ROOT ZONE TEMPERATURE: 67F. Growing medical marijuana indoors with plants in pots growing in basements or cement slabs should not put their pots directly on the floor, as this can cool the root zone, especially in colder months.
WATER/NUTRIENT SOLUTION TEMPERATURE: 67-70F
GROW ROOM HUMIDITY: 45-58% during vegetative phase; 40 to 55% during flowering. Excess humidity creates conditions that allow mold and other harmful organisms to flourish, which can destroy your buds.
LIGHT CYCLES: Vegetative Growth: 18 hours on, 6 hours off. Floral triggering and growth: 12 hours on, 12 hours off.
TYPES OF LIGHTING: For clones and seedlings- T-5 high-output fluorescent lighting. Vegetative Growth of established plants: Metal halide augmented by vertical fluorescents for side growth. Lighting for Bloom phase: High Pressure Sodium. At present, non-HID lighting technology such as LED and plasma lighting has not been as successful as many manufacturers of those products claim. Two companies that have produced lighting that does well for medical marijuana are Stealth Grow LED and Chameleon Grow Systems plasma and plasma-LED lighting.
LIGHT COVERAGE: Stationary lights: One 400 watt bulb provides adequate light for 10 square feet of space. A 1000-watt light provides adequate light for 20 square feet of space. The use of light movers can extend these coverage areas.
LIGHT REFLECTION: Easy Grow reflective materials, white glossy plastic or similar materials on all walls. Aluminum foil, mirrors, and white paint do not have adequate degrees of reflectivity.
DISTANCE OF PLANT TOPS TO LIGHTS: Growing medical marijuana indoors means you provide the light! Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium bulbs, if not separated from plants by glass or other material between bulb and plants, should be at least 28 inches feet from top of plant to bottom of light. Fluorescent lights can be eight inches from plant tops. Glass-shielded MH/HPS: 18 inches from plant tops. (Monitor temperature at leaf zone to prevent burning; temperature at leaf zone should not exceed 84F).
STERILE GROW MEDIA: Grodan Rockwool, processed coconut husks, lava rocks, vermiculite, perlite, clay pellets.
ATMOSPHERIC REQUIREMENTS: Growing medical marijuana indoors requires that your marijuana plants get large amounts of oxygen, including in the root zone. They also need large amounts of carbon dioxide (C02), especially at underside of leaves. Total room C02 should be between 800-1200 parts per million during lights-on cycle. Natural C02 levels are approximately 400 ppm. C02 emitter should be timed in relation to exhaust fan so that C02 is not sucked out of room.
AIR CIRCULATION (INTERNAL): Circulation by at least one medium size oscillating fan for any size grow space, no matter how small. For larger grow spaces, at least one medium size oscillating fan for every three 1000 watt lights. You should be able to feel air movement in your grow space at plant level so that all plants are in a moving ocean of air.
AIR EXCHANGE: Install exhaust fan sufficient to totally exchange all air in grow space every five minutes. Exhaust fans must be timed relevant to C02 augmentation to avoid removing augmented C02 from room.
IDEAL Ph OF GROW MEDIA AND NUTRIENT SOLUTION/WATER: Between 5.8 and 6.3. IDEAL pH OF SOIL: 6.5.
IDEAL PPM (parts per million) OF HYDROPONICS NUTRIENTS SOLUTION: For rooted clones, established seedlings, or mature plants in vegetative and flowering phase, between 800 ppm to 2000 ppm, depending on strain, grow media, and plants’ growth phase.
IDEAL WATER: Rainwater, or reverse osmosis water.
Now that you know the ideal conditions for growing medical marijuana indoors, there’s one other thing for you to know: having a sealed grow room (otherwise known as Controlled Environment Agriculture, or CEA), is going to give you the best chance to create the ideal hydroponics conditions for growing medical marijuana indoors. Check out the Urban Grower video for more information on building a CEA room for your best shot at growing medical marijuana indoors.
