phototron

[gotmudatv]

long time reader first time writer...blah. I just had my first day with first set up it is great see in pictures but my friend gave me this thing and now i dont know what to do? what is going to work better? my thing is stelth (as you can see)(or do you) but i can make this thing "blend in" with the room. but i have no idea how to use this like it was made so any help will do.

[Mr. Clandestine]

:jawdropper:
What a crazy looking contraption! I'm certainly no Phototron expert, but judging from your pictures, I have concluded with 100% certainty that you're going to need a flux capacitor before that time-machine will ever fly. It's simply not feasible to travel time without one. :thumbsup:

If you don't want to take my word for it, you can purchase a complete set of operating instructions here: Pyraponic Industries (http://www.phototron.com/catalog/parts.html?&start_item=10)

Good luck! :jointsmile:

[gotmudatv]

just from what i have been reading the regular instructions will not work but it is a nice start.

but is it worth it?

[Mr. Clandestine]

just from what i have been reading the regular instructions will not work but it is a nice start.

but is it worth it?

I honestly don't know anything about that thing, bro. I'd imagine that it wouldn't be much harder than plugging it in, and watching it go... but if it's not even doing that, then I'm at a loss. I personally wouldn't bother using one, unless I was actually wanting to grow flowers with it. I need much more area than that thing would allow... but for one plant, it seems like it might work. Give this thread some time, if anyone has ever used one, they'll chime in and tell ya about it.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[gotmudatv]

thank you for trying... see in my grow box i only have about 36 inches so the phototron is taller... but the more i look the more i dont know.
like my box? i keep it from my roommate he would tell EVERYONE.

[trynagethigh]

damn i could see myself converting that thing into a vertical scrog setup with a vertical 400 cooltube. im gettin a woody over here thinkin about it :thumbsup:...LOL.

[dejayou30]

I have read in a lot of places that the phototron sucks for growing herb. Never experienced it personally though.

[klup]

i remember seeing that in HT and thinking it was a rip, but for free its nice. maybe make it a veg/ starter chamber and then move to your stealth for flower.

haha nice shoes btw

[gotmudatv]

it is my friends dads he used it in the 80's. is there a u bulb that will kick it up a notch?

My thing is i keep douting my new box it is my first one to build and my first time to grow. and one more my lighting right now is 18/6 is that ok for my rubbermaid?

I will post new pic atleast once a week so keep looking.

[stinkyattic]

Times have vhanged since the 80s. My friends are running a new version of the phototron but the old school one is pretty primitive. Definitely a collectors item and will be worth a fortune someday so dont go cutting holes in it.
That closet is a fire hazard. Don't grow in there with all the clothes. You need to do some rearranging.
A phototron WOULD, with some adapting, make a very nice base for a plexiglass reptile tank- the critters would stay warm and the PT itself looks like an aquarium base anyway, and noises and cords are expected.

[dsm711]

I used a Phototron for about 10+ years while my kids were young and I had no room for a real grow. I only flowered the plants once in it. It took alot of time and the buds were small although asskicking. What I did with the other grows was to just smoke the growing shoots from female plants. The shoots were just as potent as what I could buy however nothing beats the taste of real bud. It's quite time consumming because you need to prune contantly and watering is a chore. You grow 6 plants which become little bushes, very thick little bushes. There's a whole methodoligy for pruning. I would prune enough every day for about 4-5 joints and let it dry overnight on top of the machine. I was almost never out of pot.
I would suggest going to Pyraponic Industries -- Still the Original. Still the Best. (http://www.phototron.com/) and ordering the kit which contains the spagnum moss and nutrients. I would also order 3 extra bottle of nutrient which will last you through one grow, about 6-8 months. It will also include a full set of instructions.
Now that I have a real grow room I would never go back but still use the phototron for germination and occasionally keep a mother in there. They do grow like crazy in there.
One thing is to make sure you use the highest quality Indica that you can find for best results.
Good luck
DSM711

[gotmudatv]

That closet is a fire hazard. Don't grow in there with all the clothes. You need to do some rearranging..

so do i need to take it out or just move anything that is within a 3 foot area? I think i could move it next to my bed on the wall and my roommate wont think anything of it but the closet makes me feel safer. (roommate will not care that it is there but he would tell everyone just trying to be "cool" and with the first rule of growing "dont tell anyone" I just want to do it right )

so keep telling everything that i am doing wrong I am a student ready to learn

[dsm711]

Oh FYI,
It's not very stealthy, just small. It's still a "beacon" of light. Even with the reflective panels closed. You also should replace the bulbs. I replaced them every grow and there was a noticable difference
(Old model with U-34w $5.99 at Home Depot.)
I also had problems with Mold/mildew when I had it in enclosed closet. Needs good ventilation.

[stinkyattic]

I'd dedicate the whole closet to your grow then. Go to walmart and get one of those $15 portable clothes rack thingys on casters for your garb. Then you can just roll the whole thing in front of your closet door. =extra stealth, extra noise dampening, extra light shading, extra easy for you to pick out your outfit for the next day during particularly uninteresting sexual encounters...

[dragonrider]

Hahahahahaha! This thing brings back strange and bizarre memories!

I have no advice to give you, but I worked for Pyraponics making phototrons about 20 years ago, and that was the worst job I ever had in my life! The owner, Mario something, was absolutely the worst boss ever. When something went wrong he would have everyonw into a conference room to be yelled at and threatened for a half hour. He liked to sit at the head of the table in his running shorts and threaten our jobs while two women, one anorexically skinny and one morbidly obese, stroked his legs and back! No joke! It was surreal!

They would sit on either side of him at the head of the table and lean in toward him and rub their hands on him while he told us what shitty workers we were! It was so strange that I almost didn't mind being insulted for a half hour just so I could watch the freakshow! I always imagined they went off afterwards for the worst, most-disturbing three-way ever!

Hahahahaha! Thanks for reminding me of that!

[dragonrider]

Oh FYI,
It's not very stealthy, just small. It's still a "beacon" of light. Even with the reflective panels closed. You also should replace the bulbs. I replaced them every grow and there was a noticable difference
(Old model with U-34w $5.99 at Home Depot.)
I also had problems with Mold/mildew when I had it in enclosed closet. Needs good ventilation.

Yes, it is a beacon when turned on. It's like a very bright lantern with a plant inside. I thought it looked pretty cool back then, sort of decorative like an aquarium. It's not very stealthy!

They were very expensive back in the 80's so my friend used the phototron as inspiriation to make a "garbotron" --- huge reflective galvanized iron garbage can with lights inside and a computer fan to ventilate it. It still wasn't very stealthy and not very practical, but he grew some decent weed in there.

[dragonrider]

... extra easy for you to pick out your outfit for the next day during particularly uninteresting sexual encounters...

That time is more productively spent on the grocery list!

[stinkyattic]

He liked to sit at the head of the table in his running shorts and threaten our jobs while two women, one anorexically skinny and one morbidly obese, stroked his legs and back! No joke! It was surreal!
They would sit on either side of him at the head of the table and lean in toward him and rub their hands on him while he told us what shitty workers we were! It was so strange that I almost didn't mind being insulted for a half hour just so I could watch the freakshow! I always imagined they went off afterwards for the worst, most-disturbing three-way ever!
Makes me think of that scene in Goldmember where we first meet Foxy Cleopatra... I wish I could find a better still that's a full screen shot. Damn. Dragonrider that's freaking hysterical.

[dragonrider]

Makes me think of that scene in Goldmember where we first meet Foxy Cleopatra... I wish I could find a better still that's a full screen shot. Damn. Dragonrider that's freaking hysterical.

Gawd, it was wierd.

Mario was big believer in turnover, so at least one person would be fired every week. And he would use the term "turn over" to describe firing someone. So a typical session with Mario would invovle something like this, "Last week a customer called to complain that the three green clips were not included in his kit. I expect enerything to be in the kit. If an employee fails to put anything in the kit, that employee will be turned over." *stroking, fondling, rubbing*

There was a guy in charge of the manufacturing floor who used to have these twisted pep talks during lunch. He always mentioned that Mario had access to a sportfishing boat, and he would take us all fishing in a week or two if everything was going well. Then at some point in the week he'd say something about how Mario wasn't happy about how things were going, so no fishing this week, but maybe in another week if things pick up.

I could just see Mario as the captain of this boat, "I expect you to catch fish. Any employee who does not catch fish will be turned overboard." *stroking, fondling, rubbing*

[stinkyattic]

If an employee fails to put anything in the kit, that employee will be turned over." *stroking, fondling, rubbing* Yes because we all know the genitals are underneath... :wtf:

[dragonrider]

Yes because we all know the genitals are underneath... :wtf:

Yikes! I guess I was in even greater danger than I thought!

Mario actually reminded me a little bit of some kind of organized crime figure. I said before he yelled and threatened us, but really he didn't actually yell. It was more of a menacing kind of intimidation that you don't see much out here in California. I had this idea he was sent out by some East Coast crime family to set up an operation in CA. But of course Pyraponics didn't really fly under the radar, so that can't be it.

This was just a summer job for me, so I could take it or leave it, and after about 3 weeks I went to sell Margaritas at SeaWorld. I just remember seeing the ad in the paper and thinking, "No way! Pyraponics is hiring! I see that Phototron thing in High Times all the time! It'll be so cool!" No. Not cool. It was probably the same summer some of my friends got a job at the carwash. "It's gonna be just like the song!" No. Not like the song.

[twoguysupnorth]

i imagine you could use it, a mother plant would be excelent in there. (i think cause i never have used a phototron) for flowering though you wouldnt want the panels to allow light in. i think i really would use it as a novelty for other types of plants. reading my first high times in the 80's this sure brings back some memories/wishes of growing. the natural resource class was donated about a dozen of those things at that time by the police after a bust. as you can imagine all the students fingers were itching to do a project with them, but it never happened while i was there. lol, a bunch of teenagers drooling over a stack of phototrons, priceless.

[gotmudatv]

look what i just got ..... some new toys

any tips for these in a rubbermaid box

one is kush the other is orange mango

[stinkyattic]

SWEET.
If I were you I would do a test run first with crappy bagseeds up to the point where they are ready for the first transplant and feeding- about 3 weeks. this will save you making noob mistakes on the good ones. It happens; I killed my share of plants too, lol. Orange mango sounds like a DREAM.

[gotmudatv]

sorry to ask basic qestion but my soil that i have is miracle gro orchid potting mix the numbers i see are 0.10-0.02-0.05 it would be nice to use this but if not i can get off my ass and get somthing better.

[stinkyattic]

Definitely not for seedlings, and not the greatest for any life stage. Pick a soil that is labelled for seedlings for your um seedlings lol (how many times can I type seedlings in one post? SEEDLINGS!!!! mwahahaha)
THen look for a pretty plain potting soil without added fertilizer, that is nice and light, with plenty of perlite in it. If you can't find that, no sweat, perlite is sold all over the plae and you can add your own. Even the Miracle Grow Organic works okay if you add extra perlite! Just be careful, added ferts in the soil tend to interfere with your normal fert schedule, and they aren't designed for cannabis (MiracleDro anyone? lol)
Read the link in my siggy... lots of info...

[gotmudatv]

ok before i read your post i was at the grocery store and they had miracle gro potting mix and i got a bag..... with that said and after i read your other post i think i bought another bag that i need to take back. unless you think other wise

[gotmudatv]

ok deep reading your post can i flush this out or am i cutting to many corners....

[gotmudatv]

thank you for helping me

[gotmudatv]

I have started with soaking the seeds in a shot glass, now they are in a cup with 2 clf lights (one red one blue) over them about 5 inches. lights are on 18/6 .... thats about it right now

[gotmudatv]

one more just got the book Closet Cultivator it sucks. I got the book and read it twice so far and well when i buy a book on growing in a closet it should be about growing in a closet. it has some ok stuff but do not buy.

[dsm711]

I would use the spagnum moss that Pryroponics has for your first grow. Then experiment with other mediums after you have a baseline established. I tried using another medium once and it failed miserably. PH problems/watering problems, root bound problems- Remember there is no transplanting after you start. Worth the $50.00 investment the first time. Plus you get the instructions you need for pruning etc.
Just my opininion from someone that used one for over 10 years.

DSM711

[gotmudatv]

is the phototron better than the rubbermaid?

[twoguysupnorth]

i've never thought about that, the planter isnt very deep on those are they? the light getting in was my first thought.

[mushaboom]

i have a friend who is looking in to buying a new version of one of these. it doesnt look too bad for growing if it lives up to its specs. i think it said it puts out something like 40,000 lumens. however with all the necessarry stuff i think it comes close to around $1000 dollars so you can grow one plant at a time in a non light proof enclosure ( i think). i tried to convince himto buy $1000 worth of cool equipment but no go. what a chump

[dsm711]

Actually you grow 6 plants at a time. With proper pruning the plants take up every inch of space within 45 days. The growth is so thick that you need a light in the middle of it also. If one plant dies the others take over the space.
I used one for 10 plus years when I had no room. Now, I have a room with a 1000 watt hps and would never go back.

[gotmudatv]

With all the talk I think I am going to use it for a mother plant. But for the next few weeks it is going in storage. If anyone is looking to get a Phototron they have 2 for 300 on ebay. New cost is 500-1000 bucks.

[doobidude]

Yo man, I hope you still have it! I was in a similar dilemma a few years back. I did have some experience with one that I had tossed when I moved. Then a friend gave me another one - much the same condition as yours. Not wanting to waste the oportunity OR to stay in contact with the manufacturer, I decided to "experiment" on my own. What I found did that good ole' Miracle Grow potting soil and fertilizer worked as good as anything. Before long I was producung a harvest every 3-4 months. I did do some adjustments to the light cycle but what the hell, better than throwing it away! I settled on a cycle of 20 hours light during vegetative cycle and 12 hours during "flowering" cycle. And I only use the center fixture (with compact florescent bulb) to speed up maturing the buds. Hope this helps... someone anyway. Comments anyone? :cool: