NOOB CABINET

[ZeldaG.]

Some quick questions:
Can i grow without a fan?
Best Reflecter for the walls?
The soil says not fur use with acid loving/lime hating plants... should i change fast?

Now for the essay:

I guess I am a noob but i think this setup aint that bad...

I got a "Arcadia" Fresf water fish lamp (14W, 15inch, (360mm)) that seems to really be bright i got a '2 feet' fluorecent tube (18Watt 230v (1150Lumen)) from "Wickes" and a 60W bulb from B&Q (yes i am in england) i got Cristal and Super Thai skunk seeds and some unknowns i got 4 seeds planted (i dont know which are which because i germinated them together and now its just the ones that rooted first are the ones that are planted...
I still got 9 germinating.

I got soil form B&Q its called "John Innes Seed" and its meant for seedlings but not for acid loving or lime hating plants... I am guessing it should do...

I painted the walls of the cupboard white (the paint is to be used on outside of the house walls so i reckon it cant be too good) a lot of friends are saying get art class plastic mirros or foil any advice would be great on that subject.

the door remains black...

I am obviously not going to fit all 12 plants in the little closet once their bigger so i will only keep them there until i can tell which are male which are female, than i shall put the rest outside or give em away and stuff (get rid of em) only keep the best 2.

So here are the long questions:

Is it enough light?
What food/fertiliser stuff would you recomend (UK high street not web or us pls)?
Should i use plastic mirrors/foil/white paint/real mirros etc. etc. for the walls of the cupboard?
If i dont get a fan what will happen? And if i really need one than does anyone know a mains fan thats small enough to fit in there cos all i can find is really big ones... (again UK pls)
Thanks all!
Sorry about so much writing...

ANY ADVICE WOULD BE MUCH APREACIATED...

ZeldaG. Reviewed by ZeldaG. on 06-19-2006. NOOB CABINET Some quick questions: Can i grow without a fan? Best Reflecter for the walls? The soil says not fur use with acid loving/lime hating plants... should i change fast? Now for the essay: I guess I am a noob but i think this setup aint that bad... I got a "Arcadia" Fresf water fish lamp (14W, 15inch, (360mm)) that seems to really be bright i got a '2 feet' fluorecent tube (18Watt 230v (1150Lumen)) from "Wickes" and a 60W bulb from B&Q (yes i am in england) i got Cristal and Super Rating: 5

[partcleguy]

Hey, lots of stuff to cover. From what i've read, you should have some sort of ventilation (a fan). This can be complicated further if you're planning on using CO2, but it doesn't look like it. The CFM (cubic feet per minute) of the fan depends on how big your closet is (you don't say) and on how quiet you want it to be. This brings me to the next topic, lights. You don't really have enough light to get decent bud. I would recommend getting an HID (high pres. sodium at least, maybe also a metal halide). If thats too expensive, get a few more higher wattage cfls and make sure to put all the fluorescents you have only a few inches away from the plants. You want about 40-50W of HID lights per square foot or about 2000 lumens per square foot for great bud. (I'm pretty sure thats right... )

Based on your description of the soil, it sounds like its meant for neutral pH loving plants which is perfect for now. I like a soilless mix (vermiculite, perlite, and worm castings) which drains more easily. When you transplant your plants you may want to add some perlite for better drainage.

You'll want to put mylar or some reflective material on the walls. Paint is the absolute minimum... paint the door for sure. I can't say how big your closet is, but 12 plants is a lot.

Happy growing :thumbsup:

[ZeldaG.]

Oh thanks mate didnt expect an answer that fast,
Well I am not planning to grow all 12 in there only keep them there while they are young than replant the better ones in there and the ones that arnt so good maybe elsewhere (maybe give em to friends or plant some in garden see how they go)

wouldnt buying 3 or 4 more floresent tubes do? maybe two on either side (2 foot ones) (one on each side i mean) cos now there is only one up back (the arcadia light is gonna be right near the plants and get lifted as plants grow.)
I can paint the walls and door with mylar or osme other reflective paint as i dont know if we even have mylar in england (lol havnt had much paint experience in my life)
And if you look at the image below the 2 feet lamp is the one in back so thats 2 feet along hte back, and its pritty square like the isdes and door are the same length diagonaly but htere is a draw at the bottom aswell whcih enlarges its height, so i need a little fan to fit it (only 2-3 plants will be kept in closet) you know what kind of shop would sell that type of fan cos so far all i find is big office desk fans lol and i cant fit one of them in.

Thanks again for all the help!!

[partcleguy]

Ok, I gotta say I don't have any experience with fluoros, but what I can say is you should go ahead and buy 3-4 more high wattage fluoros like you're planning. Are they cool (5000 kelvin and up- white/blue light) or warm (2700 Kelvin- more reddish)? Cool fluoros are best for vegging/seedlings and warm are the best for flowering. So the best thing would be to have both the entire time or to switch them out between veg/flower cycles. I think you may be able to veg under warms or vice versa, but its only a small amount of light from the spectrum you need so you would need a whole lot more lumens. Definitely keep the fluoros as close to plants as possible without burning them (which is where the fan comes in).

If there is a hydroponic store or a big general plant nursury near you, you should try to look for some HIDs- high pressure sodium or metal halide. I think it might save money in the end rather than having to have 5 or more various fluorescents esp. if you have to change them out between cycles.

Mylar isn't a paint, its a reflective, silvery material. You can go to a hardware store, though, and look for some kind of insulation meant to reflect light. Probably ask someone there for help with that. Otherwise, if all else fails, paint everything white for maximum reflection.

As for the fan, I would recommend a computer fan or two. You could probably pick some up for cheap from a computer store assuming you have one where you live. You could put one for intake and one for exhaust or have two for exhaust and nothing but a hole for intake (passive intake). Calculate the cubic feet of your grow room. The CFM= cubic feet/minute of the fan. If the grow room is 40 cubic feet, a 40 CFM fan clears the entire volume of air in 1 minute. Try to get something that clears the room at least once a minute, probably more.

Good luck!

[Stellar]

That looks so not-gonna-work.

Go buy a couple 5" shoplights... The brackets that fit two flouro tubes.

I use 4 of those brackets coupled together in my basement to grow cherry tomatoes still, and it gets the job done.

that 14 watt stuff and what have you... Don't waste your time. Buy some real shoplight reflectors, and some 40w flouro tubes. I used 4 5" reflector brackets with 8 40w bulbs total when I was living with my parents to grow dope and grow dope it did rather well for a setup that cost a total of about 40 USD for all of the brackets and bulbs brand new. I would get a pound and a half easy every 4 months off of flouros in a small closet off of even shabby grows where I was still learning what I was doing, out of a closet with flouros.

The reflectors I still use from my first pot grow to grow tomatoes these days were called 5" Basic Reflectors. They work. They're cheap (9 USD a peice). About as cheap as you want to go if you are going to try and make any kind of plant grow.

And you will want some fresh air flow and a decent fan for ventilation, to boot.

[Stellar]

You might as well ditch the smaller stuff.

The 60w bulb is really only usefull to act as a litle heater if your grow room gets chilly in the winter. It seems like you have it all the way at the top of the set up? Not gonna work all the way up there. Your basic idea, when working with flouros and other low wat lighting, is to keep the lights no more than 4" away from the plants at all times, from what I know from growing with them for a few years when I used flouros for flora. Thus, you will want your lights to be adjustable, in order to move them up and down, accordingly. I used to try keeping them real close and kinda far. In the end, I learned that you want hem about 3 or 4" away from the plants for best results.

I've seen people actually rear a plant off of a 60w bulb, however. But, its really not worth the half a year wait for less than an ounce you will get. With your setup, it almost looks like your bulbs are going to be too far away to inspire phenomenal or even basic growth, considering their low wattage. I mean, you might still be able to get all of that to work without really changing anything... Just expect it to take about 6 months per 1/8 ounce of bud.

[L3G10N]

ZeldaG. Do you live in USA? If so, i bought two 4 foot flouro shop lights (the kind that hang) for like $8.00 a piece from Wal-Mart. Then i got 4 GE ecolux daylight bulbs to go with them, each bulb puts out 3050 lumens. I dont rememebr exactly how much the bulbs cost but i know its less than $10 a pair. Also, wal-mart sells the CFL bulbs (compact flourescent) Get some that are 150w equvilent. They also sell those shop lamp fixtures with the shiny reflector dome.. like $5 bux a piece. Also in the sporting goods section, they sell theses things called emergency/thermal blankets, line the inside of your box with that. Make sure you get cool white bulbs for vegging and warm white for flowering. GE sells ecolux kitchen and bath bulbs that are 3500 lumens each (i think).

[L3G10N]

Dang, i just realized from your other post, you live in UK.

[ZeldaG.]

... Crap thats alot of mistakes i made... lol

Okay i will leave it like this for now, and take notes form all 3 replies than see whats happening...

2 seeds have come out...

Legion thanks mate i reckon i will be able to find most of that stuff littered around different shops in the high street (lucky americans get it all in one shop, i need to look around half the island...)
Anyway than i shall set it up better and ill let these plants grow here but it seems like this attempt is just a test, edit ,change, improve. run so ill post more pics once i sort it out a bit...

the problem with computer fans is that i can get the 3 pin plug ones or soemthing but htose are for computers only... if i cut the wire and connect it to a plug and stuff... would that work or would it make it run too fast... :S

Thanks again all youve been really helpful

[ZeldaG.]

... hate to double post so badly... so sorry, but just need a question answered
if i get 4: '20w equivelent to 100w' CFLs would that do for 2 plants... or 3...

this is what i am talking about:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...46292&doy=20m6