doing my research

[jimmy21]

I'm wanting to help mybuddy with his grow. His first go around had very mixed results. He has a bedroom dedicated to this. It thingbuilding a cabinet would help with a lot of his problems. First of all how big shoulwe make this. I'm thinking like 6 feet wide and 2 feet deep. I'm wanting to use cfls for this. How manyshould we be looking at? What should we line it with? White paint? Foil? Would mirrors work? How many plants could we keep in this?

[headshake]

getting others to answer your questions is not research.

you fail to mention how tall you want to build your cabinet.

why would you want to decrease your space (other than using CFLs)?


-shake

[jimmy21]

Sorry my last post was so short, it was on my phone and its hard to type with. What i meant by doing my research is that im in the process of doing my research..... but i also have specific questions. As basic as they may be. I've never done this before, but i have been reading these forums for the past few days. And while looking at other peoples setups, its hard to get specifics about what exactly we want to/should do.

I wanted to make a thread about the cabinet we are going to build. I guess i should have been more specific about what we are trying to accomplish. The reason for the cabinet inside the room, is to try to better control temp and humidity to the plants. And to try to decrease the humidity inside the bedroom and limit the mess. Mold was starting to grow on the walls of his bedroom, along with dirt and water getting all over the carpet.

anyway, this is a maybe a 10x10 bedroom. Im thinking we could build a cabinet that is about 6'x2 and about 6' tall. We could go a little bigger if need be. Im planning on painting the walls with flat white primer because thats what everyone seems to do on here. As far as how many lights to use, ive seen very mixed things on here. Some people only use 2 26w cfl and ive seen people on here that have as many as 12 on here.


also, how many adult flowering plants can we fit in a 6x2 space? i guess that would be the determining factor for how many cfls we need



thanks for the help, and rest assured, i am reading as much as i can on here

[headshake]

2 CFLs won't be near enough to finish your plants with any type of satisfaction.

you want a minimum of 5000 lumens per sq ft.

with that setup, you can get one, maybe two plants depending on what size you let them get.

if you are gonna use CFLs then i'd suggest building a shorter, wider cab. CFLs don't have great canopy penetration so it would be better to have more small plants than a few big ones.

you might want to invest in a cheap 400W or 600W HPS light. you're gonna keep buying CFLs and keep buying CFLs to get better and better results and then you'll have spent more than a HPS light that will run more efficiently and produce by far superior buds.

flat white paint will work the best unless you go mylar or panda plastic. i used some aluminized auto sunshades that i got from the $.99 store that work great.

put plastic on the floor as if it gets wet it can support mold and bacteria both of which can harm your ladies.

also, unelss you are running co2 you want to exhaust the oxygen filled, stale air and replace it with co2 rich, fresh air. you want the air to be exchanged at least every 5 minutes, preferrebly every 1 or 2.

keep on reading, it only get's more fun.


-shake

[syde00]

you might want to invest in a cheap 400W or 600W HPS light. you're gonna keep buying CFLs and keep buying CFLs to get better and better results and then you'll have spent more than a HPS light


this is so true... there is a small part of me that wishes i had gone MH/HPS, but I am also pretty happy at the same time knowing i can re-use my CFLs around the house later as house bulbs. I'd personally say that CFLs are an excelent way to get started simply because of this fact... if you decide growing is not for you, its not like you have really wasted much money, you can reuse those bulbs for other purposes.

ps. shake... i swear i am not stalking you!

[headshake]

lol @ syde!

what he says is true!


-shake

[jimmy21]

you think we could only get a couple plants in box that size? i measured his room and i think the cab would be 8 feed wide and 2.5 or 3 feet deep. That seems like a lot of room to me. I was looking at one thread that the cabinet looked to be about 2.5x1.5 and it looked like he had like 4 plants.

sq foot to lumens is based on how much room your plants take up, right? You wouldnt need that many lumens if you plants only took up a quarter of your cabinet.

What do you guys do for ventilation, we have a window we can vent out, but i don't want some obvious ductwork hanging out the window that the neighbor can see. Also we need a way to keep they window open, but not have anyone break in and rob the place


how much does a hps cost? Aren't they a few hundred? You can buy a lot of $1 cfl for a few hundred dollars

[headshake]

my bad. i miss read your box dimensions. you'd have 12 sq ft if you go 6' x 2'. 1 plant per 2 sq feet would be good. you could bet by with 1 per sq foot if you don't let em get too big.

yes on the sq ft to lumens question. however if your plants are only taking up 1/4 of your space and you only have lights over them you need something to block off the rest of the cab or you're gonna be loosing a bunch of lumens. and even then, when using the entire space the amount of CFLs needed and othe equpment for the CFLs you mine as well have bought the HPS.

i'm just telling you from my experineces.

as far as cooling, with that size of space you'll probably wanna go with an inline fan. one that will move the required amount of air. it's rated in Cubic Foot per Minute (CFM). to find your cubic feet, multiply l x w x h (i think).


you should be able to figure it out from there.

HPS, yeah, somewhere around there.

-shake

[jimmy21]

does the intake and exhaust need to come from the window. or only the intake?


Also, did you read what i said about the window? How do we duct out the window without drawing attention, and or getting robbed from having the window open?

[headshake]

neither need to come from the window, although you can use it. exhaust would be better if there aren't any neighbors nearby.

there are ways to do it, that's why it's called research and not "hey you on the forum, answer my questions!".


-shake

[jimmy21]

I was thinking of hooking a heater up to a thermostat for when the lights are off. Is that necessary? I think it might be 60 with no lights

[headshake]

i think 60 is a little low. you might want to try to keep it around 70. i'm not saying that they won't survive, but it will probably make an impact on your overall growth. samething if temps go to high.

-shake

[jimmy21]

heres a diagram of what im thinking. we are hoping to cram as many plants in there as possible

6 foot high, 8 foot wide and 2.5deep
white primer inside
i didn't draw doors, but they would be on there
i already have an extra bath fan so id use that for ventilation

and i plan on putting several thermometers and humidity gauges in there


any thoughts?

[irydyum]

Once you build that behemoth are you going to be able to negotiate it around your house to get it in the desired room? I was a mover for a long time and I look at things strangely sometimes. Just thinking how bad it would suck to build a nice cab in the garage only to find out it has to stay there now because you were too stoned to account for the relocation part of your operation.

Peace.

[jimmy21]

im a step ahead of ya........ im gonna assemble it inside the room and keeping it mind that if it ever needs to go away, its getting torn apart. This will be way too big to try moving



it won't be pretty, it'll probably look like a hunk of shit, but i think it will make controlling the temp and humidity much easier

[irydyum]

it won't be pretty, it'll probably look like a hunk of shit, but i think it will make controlling the temp and humidity much easier

Gotta love the optimism! I hope your babies get a more confident approach than the cabinet.

[jimmy21]

im very optimistic about the plants, i think we can get very good results. We have some haters to prove wrong. A few people that say you cant get good results without hps and hydroponics

i think with the cabinet we can get perfect temp, humidity and have pretty good lighting.

I don't have to be optimistic about the looks of cabinet, hunk of shit is a relative term. What i will build your average person would be very happy with, but as a licensed contractor i think i have a higher standard for what i would say looks good. Especially something made on a budget with scrap plywood and a bathfan sitting on top of it

[irydyum]

I wasn't knockin your buildin skills by any means. Just poking a jab at semantics.

I grow without HPS or Hydroponics and I think my homegrown is some of the finest herb i have sampled. Many others around me would also agree. My average top bud comes in around 7g and that's plenty large for me, I usually push a zip out of each root system (seems plant size doesn't necessarily have as much impact on yield as i thought in a small indoor grow. larger plant means less light to bottoms, means small crap that gets cut off, means probably should have kept it smaller anyways.) I'm rambling now.

I'm excited to see what you come up with as your solution, so go get after it.

[jimmy21]

you just sparked a question i have, i have a few others that you may be able to answer. The answers are probably around here somewhere, but i havn't been able to find them. Sorry if any sound stupid, but i have no experience in growing, in fact i have no experience in smoking, im just helping a friend out with this. I like my projects

1. how much dried bud do you get off a plant?
2. when you harvest do you Have to cut the plant down?
3. Are those $10 meters i see on ebay how you test soil ph? Or is there a better way? Same with water, is the only way to test with aquarium test strips?
4. I see people talk about cloning, does this give you a females if taken from a female plant? Or do you still have to wait and see?
5. is bagseed just seeds that are picked out of bud that you buy?


i guess thats all i can think of for now. thanks

[irydyum]

1. how much dried bud do you get off a plant?
2. when you harvest do you Have to cut the plant down?
3. Are those $10 meters i see on ebay how you test soil ph? Or is there a better way? Same with water, is the only way to test with aquarium test strips?
4. I see people talk about cloning, does this give you a females if taken from a female plant? Or do you still have to wait and see?
5. is bagseed just seeds that are picked out of bud that you buy?


i guess thats all i can think of for now. thanks

1. I avg about an oz per some more some just under
2. Most people do, but it's not necessary to. You can harvest 95% of it and grow it again. Look for a thread by Rusty Trichrome called Rusty's ReVeg
3. Cheap meter = unreliable reading. Usually determine soil ph by doing a runoff test. Look at the sticky in the top of the plant problems forum.
4. Yes if the mother is female, all subsequent clones will be female.
5. Yes

Hope this helps.

[KingKronic420]

We have some haters to prove wrong.

rule #1: NEVER let anyone else know that you grow, or where you know.

and a couple days browsing 1 site, isnt research. i have been reading daily since i signed up here and at 3 other boards. and i still dont know shit:jointsmile:

time for you and your buddy to hit the forums, and a couple of books wouldnt hurt either.

good luck with the grow bud.

[jimmy21]

Believe me. I've been reading. A lot. I've gone from knowing nothing about marijuana a week ago to feeling like I have a decent grasp on growing. And believe me, this is a very need to know situation. The haters I'm reffering to are the growers that helped my friend get started in the first place. They think we will never get good results with out spending a few thousand

[jimmy21]

Oh and is there any reason nobody uses mirrors? I'm sure o could find a few to donate to the cause.


One other thing. Where do you buy peralite? I checked wal mart and didn't see it. Is it a garden specialty store thing?

[irydyum]

Light loses significant energy when it goes through the mirror glass on the way in, then loses energy on it's pass out of the glass since the reflective part is on the back.

Also, you can find perlite at most garden sections. I have gotten it from wally world before, your store may be out, or i just searched HomeDepot online and they list it as being sold in their stores.

[bigworm1922]

Believe me. I've been reading. A lot. I've gone from knowing nothing about marijuana a week ago to feeling like I have a decent grasp on growing. And believe me, this is a very need to know situation. The haters I'm reffering to are the growers that helped my friend get started in the first place. They think we will never get good results with out spending a few thousand


:wtf:
That is crazy. you could send $200-$300 and get a good grow. Heck if you know what your doing you don't even need that. Now you can spend well over that. But unless your cash cropping then no need.

Also do a search on SOG. That might be the best way to grow if your not going to get a HPS. That way you can spred out the CFLs over the canopy. They don't have the power to get lower on the plant without SOG. Unless you hang them down to get lower. That is just a pain in the butt.

[ForgetClassC]

Here's my advice for your research..........start growing, a lot of your questions will be promptly answered.......they may be answered by failure, but they will be answered.

And yes, just use CFL if you are truly as new to this as you say, HPS is a big jump from not growing to growing, especially in the financial stand point.

ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't vent out your window, the hot air might set off some FLIC(forward looking infared cameras) Drill a hole in the wall and vent it through the house, it will slightly warm the house(MAYBE) and it wont go to the no no zone(were the po's can see)

-C

[jimmy21]

We have to vent out the window. This is a rental and we don't want to do any changes to the house. Also this will be a legal grow so its not that big of a deal. We aren't growing yet because we are waiting to become legal. We aren't yet. Believe me. We are very anxious to start

[KingKronic420]

Light loses significant energy when it goes through the mirror glass on the way in, then loses energy on it's pass out of the glass since the reflective part is on the back.

that and i could only image how hot the plants would get with the reflective light. :wtf:

stick to white primer its cheap, easy to apply, and is damn near the same reflectivity as mylar. :thumbsup:

[ForgetClassC]

But wait, you said you only want to grow 5 so its only a misdemeanor, but how are you going to get in trouble if its legal?

[jimmy21]

We aren't legal yet. We don't want to start till we are. And we want to grow as many as possible. With 20sq feet it sounds like 10-15





Its just a waiting game. Damn doctor won't take anyone for a month and it takes 2 appointments and 1 with a thc clinic

[KingKronic420]

We aren't legal yet. We don't want to start till we are. And we want to grow as many as possible. With 20sq feet it sounds like 10-15





Its just a waiting game. Damn doctor won't take anyone for a month and it takes 2 appointments and 1 with a thc clinic

lol, then why would you make the statement of keeping it at a misdemeanor? if you have planf getting legal then you shouldn't have to even worry about misdemeanors.

maybe its just me but you have contridicted (Sp?) yourself far too many times in this one thread bro.

get your story straight and try again.:thumbsup:

[jimmy21]

well to bump an old thread. We finally have all the legal dents worked out, so we are now starting our grow. Our cabinet dimensions are 6' wide x 4' tall x 2' deep. We are planning for 5-6 girls in there. We are going to use a bath fan for exhaust. I believe it is around 75 cfm. Should exchange the air about every 45 seconds. I'll post a few pics when we get a little farther.








lol, then why would you make the statement of keeping it at a misdemeanor? if you have planf getting legal then you shouldn't have to even worry about misdemeanors.

maybe its just me but you have contridicted (Sp?) yourself far too many times in this one thread bro.

get your story straight and try again.:thumbsup:

open up your eyes and read who wrote what, "bro." I wasn't the one that was talking about being a misdemeanor. "ForgetClassC" is the one talking about legalities. I have never strayed from the fact that this will be and always was planned to be a legal grow. If there was any contradictions by myself in this thread, or any other, i assure you it is because your misinterpreting what i write. Put down the bong, read what i write and stop being a hater

[carinia]

Good luck Jimmy!! Maybe bless us with a grow log of your first legal grow? :)