***Jay's Attic Grow, Blue Mystic and Skunky Haze,110W T5, then to 400W HPS. PICS*****

Hey everyone, whats good? Well, I tried to grow a couple times last year and the one before that, and needless to say that shit sucked haha. So, what I did this year was buy a 2x55 Watt T5 from HTGSupply, so I am gettin 110W @ 10,000 Lumens. This is for when they are babies like right now. But, I also ordered a 400W HPS System with Reflector and all from HTGSupply. So I gotta few questions that are really important and keep buggin me.

As you can see in the pictures, this is just in the attic. I dont have any sort of active intake/outtake measures. There are many passive vents in the roof of my attic, so I figure that all the hot air would just rise out. But, I dont have any passive intake. Is it feasible to just grow up there in the attic without any sort of vents. All I have is a tabletop with the plants on it (8 of em) and I will be having a 400W HPS. I dont have any mylar (is this REALLY important, can I grow without any of that reflective stuff?).

These are 8 pots that are the kind that you just put in another pot, and they grow into it. Also, I just water them when the soil gets a little dry. They are in Miracle Grow soil I got at Home Depot, and they have nothing added to them except for the soil. At Current, I have a stupid hanging mechanism made outta extension chords, but that will be all be changing when my hangers come in with my 400W HPS this week.

As for temperature, at night it can dip into the low 60's, high 50's, but the spring is fast approaching, so those slightly colder nights will be history.

Thanks again guys, and sorry about this mad long post. I just have a lot of questions about venting primarily, and if I am in the clear. Also, about the reflective stuff to. What can I do without investing in a whole new grow box? Thanks for any ideas. Peace and Love. :rastasmoke::rastasmoke::rastasmoke:

These babies are all at like 7 days. I will be adding a small oscilatting fan up there shortly, but I gotta get some cash first haha.

P.S. I know all the cords look retarded, and they are, but none of them are connected except to the Flouro Light. LoL, talk about a fire hazard if they were all connected like that.

Hey chief, welcome to the boards! :jointsmile:

Having a decent intake and extraction method in place would be a good idea if you're going to be running an HID up there. If you can only afford to run one, I'd look into setting up a good active exhaust and maybe finding ways to setup a passive intake. You also need to remember that having all this equipment set up in an attic may take things from too cold, to too warm pretty quickly.

Get yourself a decent thermometer up there. You want to keep daytime temperatures preferably under 81 degrees F, and no higher than 85F if you can help it. Depending on several factors, temps above 85 might stifle growth. Also, having a quality ventilation system in place, you should be able to prevent the temperatures from dropping more than 15 degrees with the lights off. Big temperature fluctuations can lead to stretching, as well as a few other unwanted maladies.

Something to consider when running HIDs, you'll want to spend roughly the same amount of money on ventilation that you did on the light itself. You can prevent a lot of problems this way. Take care!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. Clandestine

Hey chief, welcome to the boards! :jointsmile:

Having a decent intake and extraction method in place would be a good idea if you're going to be running an HID up there. If you can only afford to run one, I'd look into setting up a good active exhaust and maybe finding ways to setup a passive intake. You also need to remember that having all this equipment set up in an attic may take things from too cold, to too warm pretty quickly.

Get yourself a decent thermometer up there. You want to keep daytime temperatures preferably under 81 degrees F, and no higher than 85F if you can help it. Depending on several factors, temps above 85 might stifle growth. Also, having a quality ventilation system in place, you should be able to prevent the temperatures from dropping more than 15 degrees with the lights off. Big temperature fluctuations can lead to stretching, as well as a few other unwanted maladies.

Something to consider when running HIDs, you'll want to spend roughly the same amount of money on ventilation that you did on the light itself. You can prevent a lot of problems this way. Take care!

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Perfectly put :thumbsup:

Hmmm, any ideas on how to bring some sort of passive intake to the attic without actually cutting up walls? I mean, right now the plants are pretty healthy in their growing as far as I can tell. I got a fan up there now to strengthen the stem, etc. I would of thought since the attic is so big, all the air in there would just circulate and cross ventilate through all the vents on the ceiling of the attic. I mean, is it absolutely vital to bring that in there? And what are some good options for a passive intake and active exhaust, and how would I go about doing such an endeavor. Oh yea, also about the reflective stuff, no one really answered that? I mean guys, is it really that important to have reflective stuff if I am gonna be pushing a 400W HPS 55,000 Lumen setup. Thanks alot guys. Peace and Love. :rastasmoke::rastasmoke::rastasmoke:

Sup all. My plants have been growing very nicely except for one of them which seems to not be doing good. They have been in MG soil, but when I transplant, they will most definitely be in some FoxFarm and not this MG shit soil. Also, I ditched the old T5 lights I had, and I am now rocking a 400W HPS/MH setup. At current, Im vegging it up with a 400W MH. Here are some pics, gimme some feedback and lemme know whats up.

These have been growing in the same attic space as my first post shown. They are just chilling up there, and there is no sort of active/passive ventilation system. They are just chillin on a tabletop under a 400W light that is suspended by a chord hanging from a crossbeam in the attic. I figure all that space in the attic would just create a crossdraft and it all ventilates through the roof and all the vents I have in the ceiling of the attic. I am going to rig up a CO2 system in there with yeast in a 5 gallon bucket so it can withstand higher temp. I water them when needed, and have not used nutes as of yet because people told me MG soil is "hot", and has enough already. The MH light is exactly 13 inches above the plants. :rastasmoke::rastasmoke::rastasmoke:

I think you've made a good decision by choosing to ditch the MG soil after transplant. Next time you plan to plant seedlings, consider using a medium like Promix, or something similar that isn't prefertilized. MG can be too hot for some seedlings, but I've used it before (although mine was cut with perlite) and I don't remember anything detrimental happening to them. I definitely wouldn't make a habit of it, though.

As for your ventilation, I'm afraid that you'll eventually need to cool the space down... especially as the warmer months get here. But you're right about the CO2, plants can withstand higher temperatures with an abundant CO2 ppm in the surrounding air. I'm not sure how you'd go about setting up an intake without having to cut holes, or rerouting some of your houses duct work... but I'm sure you could use that vent in the ceiling of the attic and rig up a blower or some other kind of fan that could exhaust the air out of the room. You could also setup a carbon filter if you're worried about attracting passersby with the smell.

Hopefully someone will come around who has grown in attics before, and maybe they'll be able to give you some crafty ideas for setting up a good ventilation system without the need for cutting holes. I've never grown in my attic, so I can't be much help there unfortunately. Best of luck with your grow, though. You're gonna love that HPS/MH! :jointsmile:

You need to cool the area down, after 85 degrees Fahrenheit, the marihuana plants slows/stops growth. I bet if you dropped it 5 degree's you would see improvement in development of the veg state.

;)