First time grow =] LED + CFL

[Daz2601bud]

Hey guys and gals, :thumbsup:

Starting my first grow in the next few weeks (ASAP really ).

Very low budget so must keep spending to a minimum

Just ordered 90w Triband (Red 7: Blue 1: Orange 1) UFO LED Grow light (ebay bargin lol ~£90). Also getting 2 x 65w 6500k cfl + 2 x 65w 2700k cfl and a few smaller (23-40w's) cfl's for surrounding light to try and light up under the canopy and surrounding leaves.

I'm wanting to build my own grow box - timber frame with mdf or ply wood walls, painted white inside - will this be sufficient? dim - 2 x 2 x 4ft.

I'm thinking of using a few large pc fans attactched to the side of the box as wont need as much cooling with LED + CFL (is this correct) and an exhaust (pc fan/pc exhaust - high powered) into an activated carbon air filter. I'm quite handy but will need some guidance in wiring just to be on the safe side lol.

Going for a soil bed just slightly smaller than the box 1ft deep (10-11 inch soil) on casters.

Scrog grow (pm help or posts welcomed as will need help with this as no experience with plants atall).

I'm thinking of doing 4 lowryders#2 or similar (feminised) 24/0 light cycle or 18/6 from seed to harvest.

No idea of which type of soil i will use or nutes.

Will post pics as things take shape.

All advice and comments welcome.

Great site, great community so with a lil help from you guys im hoping this will be a successful first grow. :jointsmile:

Thanks in advance =]

Daz2601bud Reviewed by Daz2601bud on 02-27-2010. First time grow =] LED + CFL Hey guys and gals, :thumbsup: Starting my first grow in the next few weeks (ASAP really :D). Very low budget so must keep spending to a minimum :) Just ordered 90w Triband (Red 7: Blue 1: Orange 1) UFO LED Grow light (ebay bargin lol ~£90). Also getting 2 x 65w 6500k cfl + 2 x 65w 2700k cfl and a few smaller (23-40w's) cfl's for surrounding light to try and light up under the canopy and surrounding leaves. I'm wanting to build my own grow box - timber frame with mdf or ply wood Rating: 5

[Gare0440]

sounds like a nice grow to come! you definitly got some good cfl's on your side:thumbsup: your making me want to go out and buy more for my current grow! as for soil i'm using Fox farms ocean forest, its working really well. than again its my first grow so i've tried no others but i got the idea from fox farm off people on this site. check it out!

[canni13is]

Sounds like you have a good start already. So your are going to be doing an autoflowering strain then?
As for this soil bed...... your not going to be using pots? Id discourge that if so. Plants need to be in their own medium for their beniefit and yours.


Fox farm ocean forest seems to be the the tried and true soil now days. Id give that a whirl. As for nutes id try Fox farm trio.

[Daz2601bud]

sounds like a nice grow to come! you definitly got some good cfl's on your side:thumbsup: your making me want to go out and buy more for my current grow! as for soil i'm using Fox farms ocean forest, its working really well. than again its my first grow so i've tried no others but i got the idea from fox farm off people on this site. check it out!

Thanks, i can't seem to find a Fox Farm supplier in the UK and im trying to keep costs down so staying away from delivery charges, just looking for something i can pick up from local garden centre was thinking more along the lines of MG, says that it feeds for around 3 months.... would this be ok for this type of grow or does this jsut relate to typical garden plants?

Good luck with your grow, ill check it out soon. :jointsmile:

Sounds like you have a good start already. So your are going to be doing an autoflowering strain then?
As for this soil bed...... your not going to be using pots? Id discourge that if so. Plants need to be in their own medium for their beniefit and yours.


Fox farm ocean forest seems to be the the tried and true soil now days. Id give that a whirl. As for nutes id try Fox farm trio.

Yeah im thinking an autoflowering strain will be good for my first grow and i choose a soil bed because i think this would be the easier to keep even for a ScrOG grow as using LED/CFL and from my research this will get the most out of my lights, but if a soil bed will give me problems in the future i'll pot them instead :thumbsup:




While brainstorming about my grow I was thinking of mixing up baking soda/vinegar in a large container with a thin tube fed into my intake just after the fan, elevating co2 levels in my box =]

Not actually experimented with this as of yet but if anyone wants to piss on my idea and save me the hassle, it would be appreciated . My only worry is how how long it would last? - 5-10l hard plastic container

[GetThisOrDie]

Whats up?

Just a couple things... First your question about MG. Ive used MG potting soil many many times with great results. Ive also used Scotts potting soil mixed with MG perlite with even better results.

The size of your box and the size and amount of your CFLs will raise the temp alot inside from my experience. I would be careful with using just pc fans to cool all that CFL in such a small box.

Also ive read that the optimal light cycle for lowryders and other autoflowering strains is 20/4.

Hope this helps and good luck!!

*edit* Didnt notice you wanted to run the exhaust into a carbon filter... I dont know of any pc fan that could pull that off... but I might be wrong. Got any links for the fans you are considering?

[Daz2601bud]

Whats up?

Just a couple things... First your question about MG. Ive used MG potting soil many many times with great results. Ive also used Scotts potting soil mixed with MG perlite with even better results.

The size of your box and the size and amount of your CFLs will raise the temp alot inside from my experience. I would be careful with using just pc fans to cool all that CFL in such a small box.

Also ive read that the optimal light cycle for lowryders and other autoflowering strains is 20/4.

Hope this helps and good luck!!

Not alot dude, just kicking back with a :jointsmile: playing CoD:MW2 lol

You?

Thanks for the info i wasnt thinking heat would really be an issue so i will upgrade the cooling, would this be sufficient - Buy Challenge 9 Inch Air Circulator. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

ill try scotts + MG perlite im sure i can pick them up locally.

:yippee:

[GetThisOrDie]

Love that game... do you play it on PC?

That fan will work for circulation. It will basically blow the hot air around inside. You need a fan to exhaust the hot air buildup inside the cab.

A good idea would be to cut a passive intake hole near the bottom of the cab and an exhaust hole near the top where the hot air rises. Attach some cheap ducting to the exhaust and have an inline fan pulling the hot air out. You can also DIY a carbon filter to fit with the fan for odor control.

this is just an example of the type of fan im talking about...
ECO PLUS 4 INCH 17 CFM INLINE FAN HYDROPONICS COOLING - eBay (item 400000999871 end time Mar-26-10 07:37:02 PDT)

Its best to buy a fan that sucks more air than you need and use a fan controller to bring the RPM down to match it to your cab. The only bad thing about those fans are the price. They are well worth it and you will be able to use it with a DIY cab or tent or a small closet.

[GetThisOrDie]

I am also using a 90W UFO type with CFLs on my current grow... check it out if you want.

http://boards.cannabis.com/hydroponi...row-log-6.html

[Daz2601bud]

Love that game... do you play it on PC?

That fan will work for circulation. It will basically blow the hot air around inside. You need a fan to exhaust the hot air buildup inside the cab.

A good idea would be to cut a passive intake hole near the bottom of the cab and an exhaust hole near the top where the hot air rises. Attach some cheap ducting to the exhaust and have an inline fan pulling the hot air out. You can also DIY a carbon filter to fit with the fan for odor control.

this is just an example of the type of fan im talking about...
ECO PLUS 4 INCH 17 CFM INLINE FAN HYDROPONICS COOLING - eBay (item 400000999871 end time Mar-26-10 07:37:02 PDT)

Its best to buy a fan that sucks more air than you need and use a fan controller to bring the RPM down to match it to your cab. The only bad thing about those fans are the price. They are well worth it and you will be able to use it with a DIY cab or tent or a small closet.

that fans a little outta my price range just now, ill see how it goes with what i can buy if not ill opt for an upgrade yeah i was thinking DIY activated carbon airfilter :thumbsup: cheaper option for an exhaust?

play it on the PS3, its great lol

I am also using a 90W UFO type with CFLs on my current grow... check it out if you want.

http://boards.cannabis.com/hydroponi...row-log-6.html

Very nice, how long till you cut? looks like a lovely smoke =]

Do you think the UFO + CFL's i'v listed will be enough for the 4 lowryder/similar autoflowering strain, do you think i could push it to 5-6 as they are quite small?

[Daz2601bud]

Got my seeds in the post this morning from pickandmixseeds, very good company, fast delivery and descreet packaging :thumbsup:

I got 2 x Short rider's and 2 x Snow ryder's all feminised. Anyone had any experience with these strains?

My UFO is still in the post, prob be here by monday.

after germ (paper towel method) im planting in ''Erin 8cm Round Peat Pot's'' after this im not sure what size of container im going to transplant them to, what size of container would be suitable for these little plants from week 2 until harvest?