Fluro Cabinet Grow

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Tuesday, 10/24/06
It is the first day, I had placed 20 seeds in a paper towel setup to germinate night before last. As of today 14 have shown taproots and been placed in Parkâ??s Bio Dome plugs (Bio Dome found at www.parksseed.com). 10 days ago I placed 6 seeds directly in the Bio Dome to germinate, only 2 came up, though these are bag seeds and I expect nothing more than just a few anyway. The two from last week are about 1â?� and 1 ½â?� tall. The taller one has itsâ?? second set of leaves and is looking quite healthy, the other got a shock on Sunday when the fan fell on it but is recovering nicely. I am using spring type compact fluorescent lighting, 2 150w and 2 100w bulbs. I will soon be getting 2 more of the 150w bulbs, giving me a total of 800w or around 9200 lumens in a 4.5-sq. ft. box. This should be pretty good for fluorescents. Below are the Bio Dome tray and inserts without the dome, and the grow box.
The grow box. You see here the lighting, though the way they are set up will be changed to where they are vertical for more direct lighting. Also there is an aquarium pump that is working in a bowl of water in the back to raise humidity, which is working a little. Humidity is staying around 40-50%. I would like to improve on this, but am unsure how. There is also a digital thermometer with high and low recording.
I will be painting the inside of the box this weekend in hopes of dropping the temperature a little more, it is staying around 85 to 93with the door open. With the door closed the temp rises to around 107 but the humidity rises sufficiently. I bought a can of flat white bathroom paint that has fungicides and mold reducers, this should cut down on those problems. I think the aluminum foil that it is lined with right now could be contributing to my heat problem. I would like to find some 2-color plastic sheeting, white on one side and black on the other for the bottom in case of spills.
I will also be purchasing some ceramic light fixtures this weekend to hang the lights vertically. I will be making some reflectors out of 1/8-in. panels and aluminum foil for more light focus. This will concentrate the light more where it is needed, whereas right now with the horizontal fixtures it is all spread out and not working too efficiently. I should notice a large increase in growth and internodal spacing. I am expecting about 2 oz of finished product if half are female. I plan to seed at least 2 females for future growing and eventually breeding for better quality. My next grow will be a perpetual harvest setup. I am planning a new grow box that will be larger, with better ventilation and cooling. It will have 4 chambers for seedlings, clones, mother and flowering. I will be using fluroâ??s again, totaling 1000w in the veg, and also in the flowering compartment. The seedling area will receive 500w and the clone compartment will receive 300w. I will be using the SOG method from then on. I donâ??t have access to clones or seeds of high quality plants here in NoFuckinWhere, Texas, so I am using lower quality seeded schwag. I grew one plant from these same seeds last year and it was much better quality than the smoke that it came from, considering it was sensi and was taken better care of. This will be my sonsâ?? first grow, and I am proud that he is doing it with me. He is not much of a smoker, but he does occasionally and asked me if I would grow with him. Nice huh?
I am not feeding much right now, until all seedlings are a couple of inches tall. I have added a B1 formula and SuperThrive to the water along with a few drops of 6-6-6 Algoflash fertilizer. This fertilizer contains micronutrients and has worked very well for me in the past. Combined with the SuperThrive and B1 supplement plant growth is amazing even under fluorescent lighting. I need a little help with the cloning process, because my success rates havenâ??t been very high in the past. I use a cloning powder, not sure of the name because the label is missing, and floral foam. My next attempt I will try in the Bio-Dome which is supposed to increase success rates because of the humidity dome and the fact that the plugs only absorb the necessary water. The Bio-Dome works wonders with good seed, giving a 90 to 100% success rate most often. I plan on purchasing some Oliviaâ??s gel to take the place of the powder and some Rootone.

[BlueBear]

First and mainly, your temps are two high, you'll end up with a bunch of hermies, and also, why does every newb's fan fall on their plants?
Well I'm not knocking you, I wish you the best of luck, but first you need to get the temps down to at least the 80's IMO and the foil replacement will not change the heat too much if any. What are the room temps?
Adieu

[brookerosebud]

you need an exhaust, and cool intake system, maybe even a passive air flow...
but bear is right, you need to get those temps under control. (70-75 is perfect)

love, brooke

lol, my fan fell too. it just didn't fall ON the plants. whew.

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

The room temp is in the 70's, and stays that way. I have a large box fan blowing air into the box, and a small box fan(the one that fell..lol) hanging from the roof of the box blowing out. I'm recording low's around 82 at night but that is it. I have found a small fan and some dryer duct, so since it is cooling off outside I may try and run it out of the window for a little cooler fresh air and see what kind of temps I get. Maybe I will get lucky. I am working on plans for a different cabinet that I should be building within a couple of weeks that will be a lot better cooling wise and will have more chambers for all stages of growth. Thanks for the advice ya'll!

[TheGreenFog]

The room temp is in the 70's, and stays that way. I have a large box fan blowing air into the box, and a small box fan(the one that fell..lol) hanging from the roof of the box blowing out. I'm recording low's around 82 at night but that is it. I have found a small fan and some dryer duct, so since it is cooling off outside I may try and run it out of the window for a little cooler fresh air and see what kind of temps I get. Maybe I will get lucky. I am working on plans for a different cabinet that I should be building within a couple of weeks that will be a lot better cooling wise and will have more chambers for all stages of growth. Thanks for the advice ya'll!

What?? :confused: :confused:


Well, hope you get your ventilation problems in check.

G'luck

TGF

[BlueBear]

You know last night when I read your post I just skimmed it. Let me start off by saying that it sounds like you have done allot of work/research and I do commend you. Super Thrive, cloning gel and so on are good things. Let me know a couple of things before I try to give you some more advice, what does your spending limit look like? With about $100 to $150 you should be able to nock out those heat problems, you can spend less, but will have to probably be a little more experimental. Second question, is there a garden store around you that sales name brand equipment like Dayton, Vortex or Hydro farm?
When your ready to clone just ask and we will help.
Adieu

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Hey Blue, well yeah I guess I have done a little homework. I grew a few plants before outdoors with great sucess and a couple indoors under tube fluros with decent results. This time I hope to get better results using the compacts considering their output and the ability to focus more light where I need it. I went today and bought a couple exhaust fans, a 70cfm outlet and a 50cfm fresh air. I also picked up a few more lights and some new sockets for a more vertical position. I got 2 more of the 42w for veg and 4 23w bulbs for cloning when the time comes. As for a garden store nearby, all we have is Home Depot (where I got everything this morning) and some mom and pop nurseries, no actual supply stores. :o( I am going to wire up the lights here in a minute and look at layout how I am going to mount the fans. I found a small squirell cage fan at my brothers that he said I could have, though if it works I dunno, it has been outside in the weather and is possibly full of nasties. Well gotta run for now, bedtime soon gotta work tonight. TTYL

[invision]

thats a whole lot of floro's there it would be cheaper to run a 250watt hps and gain over triple the lumens but heat again would be a issue just a thought for ya.

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

True, but for now it's the cheapest and most easily attainable. I looked at some HPS flood lamps 150w at home Depot and they are still a little over my budget after meds and bills... would be lovely though

[invision]

home depot is the last place you should buy HPS i bought both my 150's shipped to my door for 62.00 thats the cost of about 5-6 decent CFL's if you have a credit card and about 35.00 to spare ill hook you up.

19.00 plus 5.95 for a bulb

http://www.e-conolight.com/Product/EProductDetail.asp?ProductFamilyID=15&FGNumber=E-BLH151

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Thanks alot Fog, wish I had saved some funds this morning, but payday is tonight so maybe so!! BTW checked out yer grow Nice!!

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Correction, thanks alot invision ;o) well, guess last nights plan worked, temps never rose above 84, though i hope they will get a little better with the new fans, I am going to put them in tomorrow along with the new lights. I may keep that same intake from outside as long as temps don't go to low with the new setup. Cleaned out the closet in preparation for the next build and ordered some mylar and added a 150w hps to my shoppin cart (thanks for the hookup invision!) maybe I'll be able to order it tomorrow, depends on the wife. Well, I am off to work, see ya'll tomorrow

[invision]

dude no problem your now going to need a regular socket, make sure its very heavy duty. and a 3 prong extention cord to wire it to the wall maybe 10.00 for both at home depot.

at first when you turn it one it flickers a few times and start to burn, its orange at 1st but become very bright in about 3min get those sun glasses handy.

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Well I talked to a buddy last night and looks like I may get one for free, we will see. He thinks he has a couple 400w and a 1000w HPS and a couple MH laying around, he does electrical work for businesses so he usually has stuff like that layin around :thumbsup: I went ahead and wired up the floros this morning, a lot more light but a lot more heat too, though temps are in the 80's so that is lookin alright for now, and I am hooking up the exhaust fans today. :clap: One didn't work so I am taking it back this morning and replacing but I should be in business this afternoon. Afterwards I gotta paint the closet and start on it...lotta work ahead, but I can smell the girls already!

[invision]

good deal and a 400watt hps will grow some serious herb too with time and practice you can get a half pound with a 400watt light

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

with the new lights and fans things are looking alright, still have a few holes to cut to make it not so uggy!! but not too much to do, temps are in the mid to high 70's. Plants are looking pretty good, not stretching as I thought they would, might be pretty good till I get the hps. One is looking a little dull, leaf tips curling, too much heat and lights were too close. Should be ok now raised the lights and it's much cooler in there. :thumbsup:

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

pics turned out crappy, I hate that camera. Use my phone next time

[TheGreenFog]

Looks like its gonna be a bit hard to pull those plugs out of that rack individually. :(

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Actually, it is easier than u think. The tray has holes in the bottom, which the plugs absorb water through. You just give a slight nudge, no pressure because they aren't jammed in there, and they just slide out without harming the roots. It is a pretty cool little greenhouse/germination flat. Pics of the tray and better plant pics below

[BlueBear]

it it

With the active intake pulling in air from outside if I understand right, make sure you filter the air with a fine screen or pantyhose because you don't want to suck any bugs into your box and have to deal with that. Believe it or not, this time of the year bugs like to find their way inside so don't give them any help.
Good work.
Adieu

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Yeah, I have a fine screen over the intake hose, just for that purpose. And I got 2 400w HPS and 2 400w MH, could anyone tell me about how much that will run a month (ballpark figure for one light only, I'm not going to use 2 at a time.)? My wife is a little uneasy about how much the bill will be. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[TheGreenFog]

Well, there are some good threads out there that have the precise electrical formula. I tried for a few minutes to look one up for ya, but then got sidetracked. Just search "calculate electricity" or something to that effect. Plenty of people asked that question.

Short answer, it won't change it too much. It might go up 20% of your bill using two 400w lamps plus other auxiliary equipment. Depends on how much you get charged per kilowatt hour.

TGF

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

yeah I looked around a little earlier this morning but didn't find it. I saw it the other day in a thread just don't remember exactly what I searched for...

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

ok, so how far do I need to keep the lamps from the plants? Like 12-15" right? I have never used lamps this big or hot, so I don't know much about them. I have decided to move the setup to a 15x20 shed to help with the heat, along with the fans. Larger area, more air to move around or so I would think. Waiting on the mylar to arrive. The kids are lookin good so far, one was a little droopy so I transplanted them into a soilless mix last night they are all looking better today.

[BlueBear]

Electric is usually charged by kilowatt use per hour , and 1 kilowatt is equal to 1000w so say your running a 1000w and your electric company charges 5 cents per one hour of kilowatt use and you use a 1000w for 12 hours then you are at about 60 cents a day. Some companies are lower and some cost more per kilowatt hour. With the 400 just cutt the 1000w calculation in half and you will have a ruff estimate. Hope this helps.
Adieu

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Alright, I got the MH hooked up this morning, and everything is looking fine. Temp might be a small issue since I am growing in an outdoor shed with a metal roof. It will have to do until I can get the closet ready and the a/c duct run to it. I have pics that I will post later on of the temp. setup. I will be glad when I can quit moving stuff around. I should have looked into my planning a little more before I started, but it is a little late now. Next crop will be planned better, guaranteed. But needless to say the babies are looking good, nice and bushy for only 2" tall, short internodal spacing and a beautiful green. Stalks are getting pretty strong, I'm proud of myself so far...but we will see in the long run...catch ya'll later
P.S. Thanks for the :twocents: ya'll have been a great help!! :smokin: Burnin one for ya!

[BlueBear]

Try to keep the lights about 8 in away, no more than a FT if possible, but give them a day or so before you take it down to 8 in, and only do it if you can control the heat.
Adieu

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Well temps only got to 86.3 today which it was pretty warm outside. Right now they are holding at 72. The light is about 15 in. away and there isn't any felt heat at the level of the plants, I will give them a couple of days to get accustomed to the more intense light and then drop the light. I need to set up my intake and exhaust fans, mainly just mounting and cutting the holes for the ducts and outdoor filters/covers. I am running them now for the circulation and also a couple of box fans on medium. Using the formula for electric usage I am estimating to spend around 1.08 per day, if that is correct then when I get the electric bill and figure out the budget I may go ahead and wire the second light up. Question...Should I use MH in both fixtures or should I mix with HPS to get more of a full color spectrum (the balasts work for MH/HPS bulbs both). If I understand correctly, the MH is more valuable to the veg state, but will the combination with the HPS enhance growth/quality/health in any way? Also, I am using AlgoFlash 6-6-6 liquid fert, should I use one specifically for veg and one for bloom or will it make much of a difference? If so, could you recommend a quality fert that you are familiar with? Thanks

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

The new closet is 21in. x 18in. x 8ft almost 3 sq. ft and 18 cu. ft.. It is already flat white, all I have to do is run my electrical lines and setup my ventilation and I will have my permanent closet. NO MORE MOVING AROUND!!! That sounds so appealing. This will also give me the benefit of temp control and better security. Here are some so-so pics of the plants and a couple of the closet.

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Thanks, I figured I would need something better, but wasn't sure.

[BlueBear]

The GH line is good, so is the Fox Farm line. The MH gives you a better light spectrum for veg and will promote really tight nodes and less stretching in your plant, the HPS mimics the harvesting sun cycle that takes place in the latter summer early fall and will promote heavy bud development. Both at once will give good results, but that cab will be a tight fit for just one light I am thinking, at least with temps. Ideally you could set up another cab and use one for just veging clones and the other which you may try to build or buy, adding a little more height, for flowering. This way you could have a harvest every two months if you dialed in everything, and with a 400w you could pull 4 to 6 ounces IMO without too much trouble.
Adieu

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

The kids are doing quite well, I have been sick so I haven't been able to post my updates. Growth and color are excellent. I am working on finishing the closet for a perm set up in a temp controlled environment. Temps in the shed are very good, 77 the high and 68 the low at night, so this batch will finish out there and I will start my clones in a couple of weeks for the indoor setup. Not much more to do, pics later.

[DudeWheresMyPlant]

Finished the closet, redirecting thread here... http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=90040