Hahaha okie dokie.
Sorry I was too late with my suggestion. :p
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Hahaha okie dokie.
Sorry I was too late with my suggestion. :p
Missed it by that much.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by dooobster
Here are some pics of the girls. We just finished repotting the one in the front. She's still leaning a bit from the breeze out at the potting bench. I saw that water in the saucer after I snapped the pics and removed most of it.
Sure is a lot more room in there now.
lookin healthy!, nice light setup!Quote:
Originally Posted by McToker
wow they looken real nice now.:thumbsup:
anbesol ~ Thanks, Frankenlight seems to be doing the trick, so far.
hydrocannabis ~ Thank you. We think so too, just like proud parents should.;)
It looks like 2 of the 3 unkowns in the backyard may be males. We'll give them another couple days to make sure before throwing them on the drying rack. So much for using the "crater shape on the end of the seeds" method to determine the sex of the seeds.:(
:DTemps were getting higher than we like....... up to 85 F. So, we took out the side lighting, for now. We may put some back in later.
We also tied down the main cola of the larger girl. This allowed us to lower the light fixture and the tops of the two girls are now even.
The shorter plant is still elevated on stacked pieces of 2x4's. We're hoping it will stretch a bit more and catch up to her big sister. If she doesn't, we'll just leave the 2x4's in.
With the main cola tied down, the light is now closer to many more bud sites. The pic was taken shortly after we tied her down but she'll straighten up soon.
It may not show in the pic too well but we can see lots of buds just beginning to form.:D Female flowers busting out all over the place. This is really starting to get exciting.:D
We have two 4 foot , 2 -bulb flouro shop lights that we used for the seedlings. We could probably squeeze these in on the sides at a diagonal angle for side lighting. They currently have Cool White 40 watt (4100k) bulbs in them.
Would they put out enough light to help the lower bud sites?
....... if they will help, should I get some different bulbs for them?
I would do it. I have dont that befor with 1 of my past grows and it helped the lower buds.
Go for it. Certainly won't hurt 'em!
Thanks dooobster and hydroC. The flouros are in, one on each side. We'll just keep rotating the plants a 1/4 turn each day like we've been doing.
The main cola that we tied down finished straightening up so we were able to lower the main lights a bit closer.
It seems that the two 4 foot flouros raise the temp about the same amount as the two extra CFL's we had in for side lights. However, they do add considerably more light to a larger area of the lower growth and won't burn the leaves like the CFL's. For that reason we'd like to keep them in. So, in our ongoing battle to keep the temps in a more tolerable range, we thought we'd try exhausting to outside the house rather than relying on the A/C to compenste for the extra heat.
With a couple pieces of tin, a few feet of flex duct, a piece of cardboard and about 14 pounds of duct tape we connected the 8 inch exhaust fan on the Homebox to the exhaust fan in the ceiling. The weight was a bit much for the springs that normally hold up the grill on the exhaust vent. I had to put in 4 sheetrock screws to compensate. Nothing a few dabs of spackle can't take care of later.
So far the temp has dropped from 86 degrees to 83.8 in about 30 minutes. The house's A/C is still set at 76, 2 to 3 degrees lower than we normally keep it. We're hoping the grow box temp will go still lower. I was hoping to use insulated ducting but the smallest amount I could find was 25 feet and we already had the non-insulated stuff.
Mrs. McToker wanted me to be sure to mention that she is even less excited about the new vent arrangement than she was about having the grow box in the master bathroom.
But, it's the one room we can keep folks away from in our downsized retirement home.:) I really need to figure out how to build a stealth grow room in my shop. Building it isn't the stumbling block at this point...... it's the "stealth" part that is holding us back.
If this doesn't do the trick we will try placing frozen one gallon water jugs near the passive intake flaps. I can't remember whose idea that was but is seems plausable.
For what it's worth, the girls don't seem to mind the heat but, I figure that if we can't get it under control while running CFL's it will only be worse if/when we upgrade to an HPS down the road.
Sorry if I seem to go on and on but I figure the purpose of this log, in part, is to have a record of what did and didn't work with this grow.
Mctoker. I really hope your using a carbon filter if your filtering outside. your going to smell the neighbor hood up. If you have a home box this is what you need to do to increase stealth.
Look at a long wall. Put a TV entertainment center against a wall. Put your home box next to it. right smack dab next to it.....now if you can, have like a dresser next to the homebox or something so its just the front of the homebox that is visible....go to homedepot and pick up a 8ft x 4ft piece of masonite (white side and brown side. for siding walls) and then go to a fabric store and less mrs. mctoker pic a print she really loves!! take the masonite and cut it to the exact dimensions of the home box. Cover the homebox sized masonite with the fabric and put it in front of the homebox to hide it...if you can, get to other boards of masonite and fabric and use it for the other sides. Hiding them is easier then you think. If you really think about it, if you cover that stupid green sympol on it, it looks exactly like a portable closet to hang jackets and dresses in. :) good luck man! say hello to mrs mctoker
So much for my next brilliant idea.:(Quote:
Originally Posted by anbesol
We are running a DIY carbon scrubber. I don't know if it's because we are now down to two plants in the box or the fact that we got all the males out of there and they were just stinkier, but the smell just isn't that strong.
I was thinking about removing the scrubber. Guess I won't, afterall.
The inline duct fan we're using just doesn't seem to have the balls to pull through the filter and push air through two 90 degree bends even with the bathroom exhaust fan pulling on the other end.
Trying to be "cheap" I've been avoiding getting a better fan. Guess I'm just gonna have to break down and do it.
That brings up my next question. I've been looking at 6 inch fans that range in CFM from 250 to 440 and range in price from $119 to $165 from various vendors. Brands include EcoPlus, Value-Line, Cannon, Can, C.A.P. and GrowBright.
Not wishing to throw good money after bad, any recommendations?
I don't see that the fabric/masonite stealth would work out for our situation. Part of our problem is adult sons that will show up from out of town to visit on short notice. That pretty much rules out anywhere but the master bedroom and bath. I'll even have to be carefull with the shop as one of our boys will go in there to fabricate motorcycle parts. I'm thinking of building what looks like add-on storage to the outside back wall of the shop which would actually hide an insulated grow room, a room A/C unit and the ventilation system. I don't think that even our boys would pay much notice to just another storage shed.
McToker, i'm usin a a xs homebox at the moment and haven't got a carbon filter yet, my babies are just startin to flower and startin to stink out my room,
wat were you usin to keep the odour under control?
We built ours similar to this one:Quote:
Originally Posted by jamboyce
http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...-ofs-unit.html
which is an adaptation of this one:
http://boards.cannabis.com/growroom-...on-filter.html
and I think I'll build one based on this one in the future:
http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...round-2-a.html
Ours does a pretty good job. It may not do as well as one with actual activated carbon. When we had all the other plants in there and it was really stinky, we also tossed a Bounce dryer sheet on the filter and just replaced the sheet with a new one every 24 hours.
The pic is from an earlier set up. It is now attatched vertically and directly to the exhaust fan. The fan is outside, on top of the Homebox.
"Don't try this at home!" At least that's what the Mrs. said. Remember the ducting we finished putting up last night connecting the Homebox exhaust to the bathroom exhaust fan? Well ........ we heard this crash..........
Yup. Seems that 14 pounds of duct tape just wasn't up to the task. The whole thing came crashing down.
Back to the drawing board.
Still looking at better fans. I'm kinda leaning toward a 6 inch Vortex fan. It seems to me that there just isn't that big of a price difference between the cheaper versions and the Vortex which I've found as low as $149.
Maaaaaan :jointsmile:
Yeah... that's usually not the best way to secure things in the grow room, but ya gotta do what you gotta do, right? lolQuote:
Originally Posted by McToker
I've even found that multiple strips of that Gorilla tape isn't even good to hold back light cords... and that stuff is TOUGH. At least in my small space, the glue seems to stay too warm to hold its adhesive properties.
Oh, and word of advice... even if I don't practice what I preach :stoned:... DON'T go cheap on the fan. If you can afford it, a good fan will absolutely improve your conditions. Great ventilation will help out much more than just your temperatures. Have fun :hippy:
Hey Mctoker, Thought I would throw my two cents in. I don't have a grow going right now , but plan on starting one again very soon. I've grown 2 years outside and had a nice grow going inside but had to quit because I had to move. I got to cloning and had a really nice mother plant but didn't get to flower I was lucky enough to have a whole room dedicated to it and the wife didn't mind.(even when I stole her cookware for my projects) I liked using computer fans for venting, but didn't get around to making an inline setup with them. But I do plan on trying soon. They seem to have a pretty good CFM rating. And are a heck of a lot cheaper than the setups that you can buy and very quiet. About $10 for a fan rated for 250cfm I believe. Maybe even put two together with some 6"pvc tube. I do believe you should have a certain amount of strait run before and after your fans for best air flow but don't remember how much. Probably has to do with the size of your pipe. Also you mentioned the 2 90 degree angles in your vent line. If you could change them to flex pipe and make a radius you would get better air flow. With ducting the straighter and shorter the run the better the airflow. But anyway, looks great and the best of luck. :thumbsup:
CAP Valueline 6" Inline Exhaust Fan Vortex Style - HPS - eBay (item 280261651693 end time Sep-06-08 08:01:04 PDT)
Hydro Wholesale offers Wholesale Hydroponics, HPS and MH Grow Lights, HydroWholesale hydroponic Supp: 4? Can Filter/TD Series Fan COMBO (i used this now)
Hydro Wholesale offers Wholesale Hydroponics, HPS and MH Grow Lights, HydroWholesale hydroponic Supp: 6? Odor Sok/TD Series Fan COMBO
You need to move your carbon filter over to the other hole. so your not doing to 90 degree turns. or do what i have done since i have started HPS. Take the filter out of the grow tent (more space) and have just a bit of the duct work sticking in the tent and then attach the fan above your ceiling like your doing and stick the carbon filter right after that, so your no longer sucking air into it, but more blowing air. might solve your problem, but to do that you may have to get something that i listed.
Your idea for making the new grow room, is probably your best bet. MCtoker, you need to buy a fan that will fit your carbon filter, or buy a new one, the thing is you need to attach your fan as soon as it comes out of the homebox, if your having trouble with airflow....Yes, you need that carbon filter, dont risk it without it. You have no idea, how much weed smells after you have been living in the smell. I have my grow tent in my sleeping quarters aswell. However i will go see my girlfriend and she will say my jeans smell like weed. well this is before i got my carbon filter. now when she comes over, she says she can barely smell anything. Always use a carbon filter, because you can really stink up a house with a fan but no filter. Good luck!!!! Take clones. seeds are annoying. unless you dont have room for a clone box (rubber made containers).
TheMetal1 ~ Yup. A lesson learned.
misslilly ~ I think I'm done trying alternative fans. I'll just bite the bullit and get one designed for my purpose. But, I do appreciate your two cents. Thanks.
Thanks for the links anbesol. I hadn't stumbled across that vendor.
I've done the math and, on paper, a good 4 inch fan flowing roughly 178 CFM would be more than adequate for my 36 cubic foot space even allowing for more CFM to "scrub" as well as exhaust.
I just don't want to plunk down $$$ for a 4 inch fan only to find out I should have ordered a 6 inch fan.
I had planned to run the fan connected directly to the filter with no ducting or bends in between by just setting the fan on top of the tent with the filter attatched but directly below the fan, inside the tent,for now.
That said, we will most likely upgrade to an air cooled 400 watt HPS for our next grow. I want whatever fan I get to be able to handle the light, as well. With the addition of a light, I'll need to go to the fan sucking through the light and blowing through the filter due to space.
The older girl ( in the back) started pre-flowering while still in veg and has quite a jump on her little sister (in front).
Lots of bud sites showing on the older girl. Baby sister just seems to be taking her time. Both came from bagseed but from different years. Of course, we have no idea what variety either plant is and won't even hazard a guess.
Don't underestimate the runts. So far the plant with the lightest weight (2 oz dry bud) produced the nicest high, so far. I've tried about half of the 12 plants so far. Best of luck, Toke.
Shov
Hey, When you get that 400 watt hps. go with a lumatek Digital ballast. i just got one and its great!
Shov ~ Actually, the bigger girl in the back was a runt, too. It was the second seed to pop, then it shot up with a long stem and fell over and was rowing in a corkscrew shape for quite a while. All of a sudden, I checked on her one morning and she was standing up proud. Been doing pretty well ever since.
Anbesol ~ Yup. After much reading I had already decided to go with the Lumatek.
Regarding the fan ~ I went back and read Rhizomes "Grow Room" thread yet again. Tey sy the third time is the charm.:) This time I drug out the calculator and did the math. Looks like a 4" fan will do just fine with or without adding the HPS. I found a 4" Vortex for $109 and decent shipping. Gonna go ahead and order it this weekend and see how it works with my filter.
Awesome! good Luck!
The last unknown plant in the back yard finally decided to show its sex. It's a girl!!! Out of the nine we started with, that makes three girls and one hermie.
OK. If I understand this correctly, the seeds produced by the hermie should be feminized. Since the hermie will most likely pollinate the outdoor female, will her seeds also be feminized?
I did break down and ordered a fan the other day. I also ordered a carbon filter to go with it as I wasn't sure how my DIY filter would match up with the fan.
The indoor girls are doing well. The latest one to bloom is really starting to show off her bud sites. The buds on the late bloomer appear to be coming tighter or more compact than those on the early bloomer. I have a feeling that we'll be harvesting the late bloomer several weeks later than her sister.
If you let your hermi pollinate other plants (or itself which is worse) you will be helping to pass on that trait to your next batch of seeds. The views that I have read about is that if you have a hermaphrodite, get rid of it quick. Incest in plants is like it is in humans. Seems to bring out the bad traits.
But, some of the best high quality herb strains have high hermi tendancies. I've grown out some hermie seeds and got one great, 100% fem crop with very few seeds. Most plants had none. All the herb was great.
I was on one cannabis growing site where I had to leave due to the harrassment over feminized (hermi) seeds. I still disagree that it would be the downfall of society if I grow out hermie seeds. WTF? Up here the locals have grown for a long while and hermie plants are just part of the business. Sometimes they are the best head in the crop. So, go ahead. after you veg a plant for 8 weeks, and after another 8 weeks of flower it shows a male part or two (which is how it usually goes) rip it out. Burn it and all it's seeds!
Sorry for the rant. I'll probably get jumped on again...
Shov
Hey Shovelhandle, Always good to hear about someone's experence. I guess like a lot of things in nature you never know what might happen. And some of the best things can happen if you keep an open mind.
Shov and Misslilly ~ I really apperciate your responses. It wasn't my intent to spark a debate but as long as things stay civil, which appears to be the case, I suppose all is good.:)
Since I'm growing from bagseed which I understand is frequently prone to produce hermies anyway, I suppose I should expect one once in a while. I just look at it as one more smokable plant that we'll have.
We've been dealing with seeds in our smoke for as long as I can remember. It's no big deal to us.
It will be interesting to see the difference in potency, if any, between the hermie and the female growing outdoors and the two girls without beans growing indoors.:jointsmile:
Once we start getting ahold of some really nice strains, well......... we deal with it when it comes up.;)
The new fan and filter arrived. I guess I wasn't quite prepared for the size of the filter but it is supposed to be matched to the fan. We ended up running some 4 inch flex duct out of the top of the Homebox to the fan which is connected directly to the filter. We figured we may as well make sure it would work with the fan blowing through the filter as we'll have to run it that way when we upgrade to an air cooled light just because of limited space inside the tent.
It just amazed us that a 4 inch fan can make the sides of the tent suck in. Temp dropped from 83.7 to 81.1 as soon as we turned the fan on. I'm guessing it will go still lower.
The girls are doing well. The older one is starting to show nice trichromes on the trim leaves.;)
All systems are GO!!!:D
They look beautiful, McToker. Very impressive indeed!
Grow on, my friend. :D
yah the do look very beautiful.
Thanks dooobster and hydroC. The wife and I are very happy with the progress. The anticipation gets worse every day.
Hey McToker... I've been following along silently. Doing a great job over there :thumbsup:
How are you digging the Homebox? I've been looking into the Homebox XS just for something tiny. I haven't heard anything bad about them other than they are more expensive than some other brands. I did hear that they are completely lightproof, except for the Homebox Lite. How is the quality? Zippers, frame, etc...
Keep it up :hippy:
Thanks TM1. I'm sold on the Homebox. Quality is top notch. It went together easily and all seems well made. The frame is metal poles that went together properly and heavy duty plastic corners to connect the poles. The cross bars that hook over the top of the frame will support 100 pounds. We opted to put the new filter and fan outside the tent because our Frankenstein CFL light fixture takes up so much room already. The new filter turned out to a tad bit bigger than I was expecting (12 inch diameter and 14 inches long) but it sure is doing a good job. With 16 pounds of carbon, it had better.;)
We had some light leak issues along the seams that we addressed in a separate thread. Turned out we just hadn't tucked the sewn in flaps behind the frame bars. Doh.:i feel stupid: Live and learn.;) We're going to build a stealth room (closet) in the shop and plan to get a second Homebox, probably a bigger one. We'll use one for vegging and/or a mother plant and the other (hopefully larger) for flowering.
Really wasn't that expensive, about $139 from buy-a-homebox. Since then I've seen them on a few websites in the $120's for the Homebox S, which is what we have. When not in use, it can easily be taken apart and stashed under a bed or wherever you please. Between grows we plan to just take some Clorox wipes and wipe down the inside.
I guess you could say we're quite happy with it.
You... my friend.... have just sold me on a Homebox :jointsmile:
I have a wooden cab made out of an old... well I don't actually know what it was, but it is working perfectly for practice. I'm just really low on head room. Although, I think I may be breaking a record for least amount of height for a flowering plant. The box is about 2 feet tall. The lights hang down about 8" and the pots come up about 10". This leaves me very little room, but it can actually flower 3-4 heavily LST'd plants with CFL. The thought of getting a Homebox with about 4 feet in height... is like taking a deeeep breath of fresh air. I was just wondering about the quality, but you and a few hundred other people I have read about.... LOVE IT! Thanks for the input.
Keep up the good work :hippy:
TM1 ~ We're certainly happy with ours; happy enough to consider a second one. Anbesol has the size (XS) that you are talking about and IIRC he was talking about getting a second (larger) one as well. We googled it and searched on the forum to read as many opinions as we could beforehand and found no negatives. It sounds like you've done the same. Even Miss Stinkyattic was impressed with it when she helped assemble one at her local grow shop.
And...... yes..... I have the capability to build a cabinet or 2x4 and panda tent but I kinda figure, why re-invent the wheel.
Good luck!
If you have problems keeping your humidity up I would recommend a wooden cabinet.
I built one at home that is pretty nice. As a side effect I found that the wood would absorb moisture in the air over time. Eventually it got to where it was able to bump up my humidity by close to 10%.. which was very beneficial to me as I was having a hard time to keep humidity up past 30%. Now with my plants fully watered I can get up to 50% humidity without going through tons and tons of effort.
I don't even live in a dry climate but I live in a climate that requires lots of A/c and that seems to kill humidity in the house.
The wooden cabinet was a nice fix for me and saved me the hassle of having to put a humidifier in the same room as the plants.
I have scrap materials to build a 6ftx4ft cabinet. I'll probably be doing so once I move in the next few weeks.
:hippy: