My sexy Afghan first grow with CFLs

[oSecretGardeno]

So I have been cruising this site for a while, attempting to figure out exactly how I wanted to create my first set up, specifically made for my situation. After much research I have decided on a homemade closet grow-box. I figured I owed it to myself and others to create a little grow log, if not to help other people, but for my own personal reference in future grows. This is my first grow, so please feel free to leave any advice/comments/criticism, all is welcome. Oh and I am on a limited budget, so that will probably be evident as time goes on. The set-up is as follows:

- Grow box made from 2 large packing boxes stacked on top of each other, lined with the non shiny side of tin foil, approx total dimensions = 20"x20"x48"
- Gear: 3 -10" circular pots, approx 2.5 gallons
- Medium: 3 parts potting soil (miracle grow), 1 part vermiculite, 1 part perlite and a smattering of lime to help control the pH
- Lights: 2 - 105W 6500K CFLs (planning on changing out to 2700K for flowering)
- Intake/exhaust: 2 - 5" AC computer fans, one at the top for exhaust and one at the bottom for intake, running at about 78 CFM. My box is less then 16 CF, so I am relatively confident with the exchange available at the moment.

I have the ability to shut the entire operation into the box but after some initial tests with the lights and no fans, I found the box could quickly get to 120F+, which is completely outrageous. So I installed the fans and have decided to leave the doors open until I have to seal the place up for the 12/12 dark time. As of now, ventilation is a big problem of mine so I have been forced to adapt.

For seeds I have Afghan Haze seeds, and so far all 5 I started seem to have germinated to an extent, some better then others. I put then in the paper towels 2 days ago (10/3) and planted them in the soil late last night. It already looks like one is about to break the surface, so I am looking forward to tomorrow.

I'll post some pics of the box either later on tonight or tomorrow at some point.

Peace
:smokin:

oSecretGardeno Reviewed by oSecretGardeno on 10-06-2008. My sexy Afghan first grow with CFLs So I have been cruising this site for a while, attempting to figure out exactly how I wanted to create my first set up, specifically made for my situation. After much research I have decided on a homemade closet grow-box. I figured I owed it to myself and others to create a little grow log, if not to help other people, but for my own personal reference in future grows. This is my first grow, so please feel free to leave any advice/comments/criticism, all is welcome. Oh and I am on a limited Rating: 5

[Puffzter]

Gonna be interesting to see those pictures m8. I love a nice getto setup done with what's around the house + some extras.
Good luck and have fun growing.

Puffzter

[hahaitsdoogle]

looking forward to those pictures i will keep an eye on this thread

[oSecretGardeno]

Thanks for stopping by and checking things out, hopefully this box won't disappoint too badly. Let me know any ideas for improvement.

Here are a few of the pics of the box. You can't see the fans, but I will get some better angles next time so you see where they are placed. Right now I am waiting for these ladies to pop up (I am extremely impatient), even though I am pretty sure I can see one about to pop. Hopefully once they get some little leaves going they can take advantage of all the lumens. I am also thinking of going with some LST or some sort of screen, since I have very limited head room.

Let me know what you think of the box. To date I have spent 225.54USD and that is starting completely from scratch. I'll keep you updated. Oh and I am new to this whole posting thing, so hopefully these pics get up alright.

Peace
:smokin:

[InspectahEX]

good luck, check my log out, i use CFLs in my setup too

[oSecretGardeno]

Alright so it's been a few days since I germinated these ladies and i can see the split shells of each one breaking the surface. I have been sprinkling the surface with water to keep the surface damp as the lights seem to have a tendency to dry the surface out first. This morning was the first time I saw the little fellas and it doesn't seem like they have grown much since.

I know I just need to leave them alone and let them grow, but does anyone know how soon I can expect to see things really happening? I have read about people seeing plant growth of 2"-3" a day. I know that it is usually during flowering or heavy vegetative growth, but I guess after going to work for 12 hours I kind of expected to come home and see them shooting towards the light, or at least a noticeable difference. Oh well, I think I have things set up to work well, so I am hoping only time will tell.

Also, the top of the grow box is hovering around 80-81 degrees so I am a little worried about the heat, although I feel like at the surface of the soil it is probably at an ideal temperate. I had a problem with wiring the fans, so they aren't running right now, but they should be up and running soon.

As a final note, I am planning on creating a couple of yeast/sugar/water systems to pump some CO2 on to those babies once they come up. Any suggestions on the set up? My idea is just a soda bottle with the sugar, water and yeast with a balloon on top with a small hole in it. A simple shake of the bottle and it should reactivate a yeast boost each day, even though it should technically be working all the time. The balloon on top should let me know when the yeast isn't producing CO2 anymore and then I can add some more sugar water. I was told the yeast can technically live forever if sustained properly.

I'll post some new pics when you can really see something (can someone tell me how to do the thumbnail post instead of pasting those huge pics in there)

Keep it real people.
:smokin:

[hahaitsdoogle]

Look forward to watching the growth...

[GoldenGraham84]

i think you'd be better off on the heat issue by doing some flat white spray-painting on that interior. also, i'd run both fans as exhuasts for heat issues. reason: negative pressure. do a little reading on negative pressure on these type of forums. i'd explain it, but i just got home after my 2nd twelve hour shift (and tomorrow another one followed by a 24 hour shift the next day and then two more twelve hours days) and my stash is calling me... otherwise best of luck man

[oSecretGardeno]

i think you'd be better off on the heat issue by doing some flat white spray-painting on that interior. also, i'd run both fans as exhuasts for heat issues. reason: negative pressure. do a little reading on negative pressure on these type of forums. i'd explain it, but i just got home after my 2nd twelve hour shift (and tomorrow another one followed by a 24 hour shift the next day and then two more twelve hours days) and my stash is calling me... otherwise best of luck man

Hmm ... interesting thought on the fan. I am sort of limited on my spray painting abilities since this is sort of a secret grow and living in an apartment complex doesn't give me a lot of options for outdoor painting. I am familiar with negative pressure thanks to the days of dorm room smoking, so let me just make sure I have this right. Run both fans as exhaust (out the top area I assume) and just have a hole at the bottom for intake via negative pressure? I'm under the assumption I would need some sort of hole for intake for when I close the box up. What do you think that will do for heat dissipation? I have never done this before, and I don't know a whole lot of fan size vs heat dissipation, so I am just curious as to what I can expect. I assume it also depends on the temperature of the intake air.

Any mathemagicians out there with a CFM vs indoor temp vs outdoor temp = the resulting temperature formula? Ha! I'd like to see that ... no really, I would.

Thanks for the help Golden.

:smokin:

[GoldenGraham84]

yes, you have the right idea. i'm well smoked now and will go into further depth. the easiest way it was explained to me was to imagine the air being removed at a certain pressure is being replaced by air entering at the same pressure. this is particularly applicable to you since you have two of the exact same fans (if i read your post correctly) pushing and pulling at same pressure and kinda canceling eachother out in a way. as far as that formula goes, i'm too good-looking to do math. but you're right the air temp going in should be cooler than air temp coming out. you could do the old a/c thing, but if you switched both fans to exhaust, i'm 99.9% sure your temps will drop. never thank me for help. hopefully everyone here would help anyone who doesn't have a super stupid or forum-redundant question. keep us posted and best of luck.