Growing on a budget of $0.00

[ForgetClassC]

Yup, had most of this hanging around from previous grow attempts, the rest only cost $40 bucks that I asked the mum for (I'm in college w/ no job, the funds be low). Anywho, the box is 2 identical bookcases with reflective insulation wrap around the whole shi-bam. The fixture is bottom of the line 3 socket bar/bath light. Picked up 3 of the Y dual apadters, and threw:

-4 14-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 800 lumens each
-1 23-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 1100 lumens
-1 random CFL (will be replaced soon) I think its soft white = no bueno
-1 14" t-5 UV reptile light

Dimensions:
25" x 18" x 21" = 832 lumens/sq.ft.
Does that sound sufficient? or should I get bigger lights.

The seeds are mainly from just nice stuff thats been around and happened to have a seed or two in it. The one in the dark green pot (mine) is from one of my buddies homegrown from last year so it should be delightful(its also about a month younger than all the others, its only about 2 weeks old and prier to this set-up was only on one single tube). The other plants are from my other buddies house, they were/are struggling but we are getting some nutes in acouple days. WHAT TYPE/BRAND DO YOU GUYS RECOMMEND?

Thanks, Jim

ForgetClassC Reviewed by ForgetClassC on 04-28-2009. Growing on a budget of $0.00 Yup, had most of this hanging around from previous grow attempts, the rest only cost $40 bucks that I asked the mum for (I'm in college w/ no job, the funds be low). Anywho, the box is 2 identical bookcases with reflective insulation wrap around the whole shi-bam. The fixture is bottom of the line 3 socket bar/bath light. Picked up 3 of the Y dual apadters, and threw: -4 14-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 800 lumens each -1 23-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 1100 lumens -1 Rating: 5

[bigtopsfinn]

So what I understand is that a couple are 2 weeks old, and the others are 6 weeks old (?) They are very small and stretching for light.

3000 lumens/sqft is the minimum... aim for over 5000. The lights should be an inch or two away, as long as they aren't scorching the leaves.
http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-li...-lighting.html
http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-li...uch-light.html

But what can I really say, if you don't have any money Buy one less 12 pack and get some more Y adapters and stronger bulbs (min. 23w, preferably 42w, depending on how much your sockets can handle). Don't eat out for a week or two, and there's your ventilation (oscillating fan, and a bathroom exhaust fan). If you're already not drinking or eating out, then I don't know what to say other than putting them outdoors is always an option (just don't bring them back inside).

Good luck:thumbsup:

[ForgetClassC]

Yes, the one small plant is mine, I have been keeping good care of him and hes (hopefully a she) good n dandy. The others are my friends plants. He doesn't really knows what to do, he thinks if its alive, its doing good. I brought my box over so i could try and keep his plants alive as well as mine. We are most likely going to get some better stronger lights, but these are whats going down now.

[Italiano715]

Just my :twocents: but those look terribly stretched! For the age of them they should be more stout and bushy if anything. Just like said above keep the lights a couple of inches from the tops. Personally, I'd rip them and start over you are going to be unsatisfied trying to grow those to potential.

Also it looks like three of them are in the same pot. That's not good for them as they will be all looking for space to grow. You never want more than one in each pot! Either way GL with w/e you decide to do! If you look at anybody else grow logs you will see how it should look around that same age! Here is what mine looked at 18 days..... Yours should be similar at that age!

[ForgetClassC]

as i stated before he believes "if they are alive, they are doing good". We are on the second day of this grow box so it does still have components we need to get and specifics we are still working out. chiiiill:jointsmile:

[Italiano715]

Yes I read and understood everything you said, but you being a complete n00b I'm just here for help and criticism whether you like it or not It's what I like to call my tough love. We could all be complete s*** heads and not respond to anything you may have problems with and just to tell you to find it yourself. Is that what you would like or would you like some criticism who has been where you are in the past? Forget what your friend thinks as he obviously has no idea what to do as you stated before, so I'd take everything we (people w/ prior experience already) into consideration. Sorry if I'm coming off a bit harsh, but like I said before it's my way of tough love!

[syde00]

Anywho, the box is 2 identical bookcases with reflective insulation wrap around the whole shi-bam.

nothing wrong with the insulation wrap, but make sure you watch out for heat build up inside the box... some of those wraps are just as good at holding heat in as they are at reflecting it away. - as long as you have an exhaust fan running through there you should be fine though

-4 14-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 800 lumens each
-1 23-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 1100 lumens
-1 random CFL (will be replaced soon) I think its soft white = no bueno
-1 14" t-5 UV reptile light

are you sure those lumen counts are correct? I;m not sure about the 14watt one, but the lumen count on the 23watt seems low... or are they maybe just older bulbs from when CFL bulbs just weren;t as good as they are today?

all the 23watt CFLs i see on the shelf today are in the 1600-1700 lumen range.

with the random CFL you have - you should be able to figure out what it is... most CFLs have a model number written somewhere on the balast, take the model number and google it for lots of info... also most of the time you can tell the approx. colour temp just be looking at it while its lit up... this is by far not accurate of course, but its enough to get you in the right ballpark... 6500K bulbs are much strong in blues and the bulb itself will look very bright white with the smallest tint of blue seen if you look for it... while the 2700K bulbs have more red in them and when they are lit up, almost look like they have a very very faded salmon colour tint to it.

of course... they do make bulbs inbetween these 2 levels as well... i have some 5100K bulbs, and I have also seen some on shelves that are in the 4000K-area

If you can find them... i have seen some 29watt CFLs that output 2200 lumens... i have only found them in the 2700K spectrum so far though... these so far are the most effecient CFLs i have found on store shelves here (75 lumens per watt), where as 23watt (1600 lumen) bulbs are 69 lumens per watt and 43watt (2600 lumen) bulbs are 60 lumens per watt.... not sure if electrical usage is an issue for you, but if it is... i;m sure you can see the effeciency benefits of the 29watt bulbs... if effeciency is not a factor to you, then i'd go all out on the 43watt bulbs to max your lumens... just be careful on heat... the more effecient the bulbs are at producing lumens, means they also produce less heat per lumen outputted.


as italiano said... your plants look pretty stretched, try getting the lightts closer if you can... CFLs should be kept about 1-4" away from the plants... less than 1" and you'll scorch the plants, more than 4" and their effectiveness starts to decrease... you can also help with effectiveness by making some home-made reflectors out of pop cans... check this link Text for some great info on CFLs and how to make the reflectors (might need to find larger cans for the 29watt or 43watt bulbs though, as they tend to be fatter than the 23watt ones)


I;m also not sure about the reptile light... do you have the specs on it? T5s are great, but you mention its a UV light... it might be outputting tons of light, but it might be in a spectrum that the plant can;t even use.. so you might just be wasting electricity with it... i couldn;t say without knowing its colour temp though...

Dimensions:
25" x 18" x 21" = 832 lumens/sq.ft.
Does that sound sufficient? or should I get bigger lights.

You need alot more than 832 lumens/sq ft - but also remember for your square footage, that really only the amount of square footage that your plants are occupying is imporant... if you put a single plant into a 4' by 4' area (16sq foot) it would be kind of silly to put 80K lumens in there for a single plant thats only actually occupying maybe 1' x 1' area. this is a detail that I think most people often don;t pick up on... but then again, most people often grow the max their box can possibly fit, so to them, cab area = occupied area... not so in your case however... well at least... not yet

[Lit Up]

What are you going to do when school is over? Which is soon. Also, I trust your not growing in the dorms; since you had to borrow $40 bucks from your mother, I highly doubt that you are paying any rent or bills.

My advice is get a job on campus or in town somewhere, your in college now, you can support yourself. Don't go spending your mom's money on your little grow, I doubt she would like that too much.

Bottom line growing in dorms is not allowed on here. Growing in your parents isn't either and I highly doubt your living off campus w/ $0. Not trying to be a dick, just don't want you to do something dumb and get caught.

[ForgetClassC]

For the chatty guy, italiano, beleive me, since I started the box and found this site, nothing but improvements. Here is what I just recently added to the box and such:

-4 15-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 800 lumens each
-2 23-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 1100 lumens each
-A FAN!!!!!
-IRONITE 12-10-10

and for Lit Up, its at my buds house(yes, he owns it), i live at home, go to community college and have no job. But I am getting an internship at an architectural firm so awwwwwwesome.

[ForgetClassC]

forgot to say:

syde00

thanks for all the input, really helpful, really diggin the reflectors idea. The t-5 is a reptile growth assistor. It makes it so that animals that get there ability to grow bones from the sun, can still do so. Its what I vegged my little buddy in the green pot on for about 2 weeks till we moved him here.