# First grow in new cabinet



## 5yk0 (May 30, 2015)

Totally revamped my cabinet so I'm running a single plant to see how she runs. Today marks day three after the first set of three fingered leaves fully emerged.

The setup: 
Gutted 4'H x 2'W x 1.5'D dresser w/mylar door, mylar covering side walls and ceiling back wall white.

Ventilation: 
Dual 7" window fan mounted low for intake.
7" exhaust fan in the ceiling.
4" fan for circulation.

Lighting: 
2x 15w 2700K CFLs as side lights
2x 42w 2700K CFLs on homemade panel
2x 68w 2700K CFLs (also on the homemade panel. For a total of 250w

Container/medium:
14gal Rubbermaid tub full of backyard compost mixed with rabbit poo, bloodmeal, bonemeal, alfalfa meal, kelp meal and bat guano watered with bushdoctor microbe brew and molasses then mixed again and rested for about two months.

The plant: unknown bagseed

The seed sprouted in three days, but immediately began showing deformities, by one week after sprouting the first three finger leaves showed. So far keeping temps down has been my biggest issue with summer coming and no a/c so she's on an 18/6 schedule with as much of the day cycle as possible at night. Lights on temps are 75-79 but lights out temps rise to 80+.

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## The Hemp Goddess (May 30, 2015)

Hope you are looking for advise, because there is quite a bit that needs to be dealt with here if you want to save your plant.  I am going to give you my 2 cents worth--Plain and simple with no sugar coating.

If you are misting your plant, please quit.  It is bad for it--ditto the humidity domed.  Any kind of humidity dome used should be removed as soon as the seed sprouts.  You can have all kinds of problems from things being too humid.  

Did I understand you right....it is cooler when the lights are off?  There is something wrong if your space is running hooter when the lights are out....this doesn't even make sense?  Your fans should run all the time.  I would get rid of the intake fan(s) and get a real decent exhaust fan.  You should be running your lights 24/7.  This prevents stretch, which is not a good thing, especially when you have so little head room.

As a side note, the spectrum of the bulbs you are running is not the correct one for vegging.  You want something in the 6500K range, not the 2700K range.  That is for flowering.    

After going back and rereading your post, I am quite sure you are frying your plant with the mix you have it in.  Seedlings do not need or want food for 2-3 weeks and you have a pretty hot soil going there.  Read up on good soil mixtures.  It is hard to get things right when you just mix this and that together.  You can get soil way too rich in some nutrients, which can affect other nutrients.  Seeds should be planted in a totally inert mixture, with no nutes--some kind of seed starting mixture.  I believe that you had better get this transplanted into something pretty inert, right away or it will be fried beyond repair.

  It is always a good idea to plant more seeds than you want plants and then cull out the weak ones and or males.  If you get a male, 6-8 weeksd are down the drain and you start over.  Next...bagseed.  Bagseed has the unfortunate tendency to hermy, as the seeds are generally the result of the plant selfing.  Good top quality sensi should not have seeds in it.  If this came from as bag of not that good with a lot of seeds, it _may_ be the result of pollination in the old fashioned way, but you have no idea  where 1/2 of the genetics came from....could be ditchweed.  You can get quality genetics for a decent price.  This is a process that takes about 4 months from seed to harvest.  Why risk it on an unknown when you can get quality genetics that you at least have a pretty good idea of what to expect?

The more you know about what it takes to grow great cannabis, the better chances you have of having a successful harvest.  It can be a challenge, it takes knowledge, work, and care.  It is not like growing any other thing, but there is nothing like smoking your own.  



Also, the lights you are running


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## budz4me (May 30, 2015)

3 Things:

Welcome to MP!! And green mojo to you sir or madam!

250W CFL is going to produce twice the heat of an HID (MH/HPS) setup (400W) and produce far less light

It will also cost you more in the long run.

2x4 tent should have 40k lumens.....I like to have more than enough light.

Last but not least....the last pic shows water on the leaves with light.  I would advise not to mist platns. If anything needs to be misted it is the medium. (IE starting seeds/clones)


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## The Hemp Goddess (May 30, 2015)

Budz--it is 4' tall, 2' long, 1.5' wide, so 3 sq ft.  Though you do have a point.  A 250W HPS with an aircoolable hood will run about 28,000 lumens compared to about 15,000 with the CFLs and be substantially easier to cool.


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## 5yk0 (May 30, 2015)

Lights are off during daylight hours due to high ambient temps, fans are constantly running. Humidity dome is long gone and standing water on leaves is always wiped off immediately. Even with misting humidity levels inside are less than 50% at all times and drop to 30% or below without misting. Vegetative plants need th levels of around 60% so I will definitely not stop misting my soil. I realised when I checked the Kelvin values of my lights they weren't optimal, looking into getting some 3500-5000K bulbs. My soil is indeed too hot, I was in a hurry to mix it, I'm planning on adding a layer of sunshine mix #4 to the topsoil to dilute it. To the best of my knowledge cfls are not going to produce twice the heat of an hps, what hps increases temps in a cabinet less than 16°F? Also on humidity, seedlings/clones need 75-80% rh or they can dry out and shrivel up. Lastly, why waste good genetics on a cabinet that I'm working the kinks out of?


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## 5yk0 (May 30, 2015)

Also, yes before adding the exhaust fan my lights out temps were higher because ambient temps due to the summer Sun are higher.


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## 5yk0 (May 30, 2015)

Just replaced the 15w 2700Ks with 23w 6500Ks, temps are still high lights off (to help y'all understand the air coming into the cabinet during lights out is 80°F+ so my high lights out temps do actually make sense) gonna look into rigging the cooling element from a water cooler into the intake box to make an "a/c" if this yard sale still has it.


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## yarddog (May 30, 2015)

5yk0 said:


> Just replaced the 15w 2700Ks with 23w 6500Ks, temps are still high lights off (to help y'all understand the air coming into the cabinet during lights out is 80°F+ so my high lights out temps do actually make sense) gonna look into rigging the cooling element from a water cooler into the intake box to make an "a/c" if this yard sale still has it.


Is this in a house? If so, drop $100 or less on a window unit. You and the plant will be cooler!!  
I'm not saying you are, but don't take the advice here lightly. These folks here know how to grow some grass!!  
Have fun and get those kinks worked out


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## 5yk0 (May 31, 2015)

Definitely not intending to seem like I'm taking any good advice lightly, I appreciate any help I can get. Between books and YouTube (lots of Jorge Cervantes lol) I've researched growing a lot, I just don't have any kind of income so I do what I can with what I can get. I know my temps need to be around 75-76°F day and no more than a ten degree drop over night, soil pH and temp have a huge effect on nute availability, proper light spectrum for veg/flower etc. Having fun with it for sure, and I apologize if it seems I'm simply casting advice to the side, I certainly don't claim to know it all.


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## The Hemp Goddess (May 31, 2015)

You are not going to like what I have to say, but if you are really interested in growing great bud, you are going to have to make changes.  My only concern is trying to make sure you have a good harvest.  There is a reason that cannabis is expensive--it is difficult, expensive, and time consuming to grow.  It is very very difficult to grow good bud indoors on a small budget.  Rather than adjusting your grow to suit your environment, you are going to have to adjust the conditions in your grow space.  Cannabis has very specific wants and needs.  One of them is a lot of good light.  The next is the correct amount of food for the growing phase you are in.  Rather than be adjusting your light schedule to your temps, you are going to have to get better ventilation and run the lights more.  Otherwise, you are going to end up with tall stringy plants that yield little, but outgrow your height.  You need a real exhaust fan and maybe A/C.  The window fan you are using is not the correct type of fan and is not strong enough nor meant to do what you are asking it to do.  

It is not only that you did not let the soil cook long enough, that soil is simply too hot for seedlings.  It will fry them.  Seeds need to be planted in something without any nutrients.  You should also always start in small containers, like kegger cups and then transplant as needed to larger containers.  Starting in something as large as a 14 gal tote can create a lot of problems.  It is virtually impossible to know how much water the seedling is actually getting.  In addition, fertilizing correctly can be problematic.

Although it seems hard to believe, I can assure you that not only will a 250W HPS in an air coolable hood will be easier to cool, it will probably produce twice the bud for the same amount of electricity, because it provides so much more light than CFLs.  CFLs are really not good for growing--people really started using those when we had no real better alternatives.  Now we do.  We know that they lack the power and penetration of HID or even T5 fluoro tube lighting.  This is a 4 month process--keep this in mind.  We want you to actually have something at the end of that 4 months rather than a harvest of light airy buds that is measured in grams rather than ounces.

You are getting too worried about humidity and other things that are not critical at this point.  Getting your plant to survive is your goal now.  You may have to start over (think about buying some good genetics--look up- hermy plants).  While important, those other things are not as critical as getting your ventilation corrected so you can run lights at least 20 hours a day.  And your temps do not have to be within that narrow band.  Temps up to 85 and down to 60 can usually be tolerated.  Both high and low temps cause plants to slow down growing to defend themselves, but unless the temps stay above 80 for long periods of time, 80 is not horrible.  Getting them more light is more important than keeping the temps between 75-76. 

I have been growing for over 30 years and I only know a tiny fraction of what there is to know.  You will always be learning and improving your skills.  But you do need to start with good basics--light, ventilation, medium, nutrients--and it is not cheap.  

Don't mean to discourage you, but do want you to know what you are up against and what it takes to get a plant from seed to harvest.


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## 5yk0 (May 31, 2015)

CFLs didn't even exist before hid bulbs.......I understand that y'all want me to get the best possible out of this, unfortunately it will have to be the best I can get with what I have. Unless y'all happen to know where I can get everything y'all want me to use for a total of $15 or less.

It is not hard nor expensive to grow good bud indoors, it may be expensive to maximize yield, but I have never found it hard. I may have only been growing for four years, but I've grown an ounce plant in very similar conditions and much less light.

I agree, one can only ever learn more. I know a guy that spent less than $400 on his entire setup and he will be growing 2+ oz per plant.

I very seriously doubt I will run out of headroom in the cab, I fimmed this one soon after the first fingered leaves appeared and I always LST. 

I've vegged under 24/0 and under 18/6 and never seen a difference at all, from what I've experienced 24/0 just wastes electricity.

I'm definitely not discouraged, if anything I'm more motivated to run what I have so y'all can see that dropping $3-$4K on a setup is not at all necessary.

Also, I know what a hermaphrodite is, I have grown quite a few seeing as at least half my seedstock is hermaphroditic. I've tried clones from clubs but my experience has been horrid with those (they came with spider mites).

I prefer to start my plants in the largest container they will go into to eliminate needless stress from transplanting, I just have to remember to layer my soil properly.

Please do not get me wrong, I understand what y'all are saying, and I appreciate the advice y'all impart. Thank you


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## 5yk0 (May 31, 2015)

Amended the top four inches of soil with sunshine mix 4 and re-planted my plant into that. Unfortunately I lost my thermometer in the process...


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## Kraven (Jun 1, 2015)

5yko - All I can say is peace bro, you will get out of it what you put into it.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 1, 2015)

So basically y'all are stuck on "spend money or you can't grow" cool.....too bad its not true


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## yarddog (Jun 1, 2015)

5yk0 said:


> So basically y'all are stuck on "spend money or you can't grow" cool.....too bad its not true


Its not the "spend money" so much as "providing a plant with as perfect conditions as you can afford". 
What's trying to be said here is not that you have to spend money, but to do it well, with good returns it can take some materials and equipment. Which takes money.


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## Norcentralorganic (Jun 1, 2015)

Why would you want to spend so many months of your time and electricity to get one ounce per plant? Especially if you only have one plant.. At the rate you're going you might not even get that thing to harvest. I used to have your attitude and thought cfl's were wonderful too. I also wasted a bunch of my time growing mediocre at best buds. Swallow your pride and take some advice. You might not have money or the best setup, but if you are not arrogant about things people will give you advice on how to have a halfway decent little setup on a budget and get the most out of it.


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## yarddog (Jun 1, 2015)

Norcentralorganic said:


> Why would you want to spend so many months of your time and electricity to get one ounce per plant? Especially if you only have one plant.. At the rate you're going you might not even get that thing to harvest. I used to have your attitude and thought cfl's were wonderful too. I also wasted a bunch of my time growing mediocre at best buds. Swallow your pride and take some advice. You might not have money or the best setup, but if you are not arrogant about things people will give you advice on how to have a halfway decent little setup on a budget and get the most out of it.


So true!


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## 5yk0 (Jun 1, 2015)

Hahahahahaha, yeah I'm being arrogant. I'll do what I can with what I got with or without y'all's help, at least I'm not claiming to be helping while only suggesting solutions that cost money I don't have (no help at all thanks.) Sorry to hear you only grew mediocre buds with your low budget setup. As far as deciding to throw your b.s. out about my plant not reaching harvest or me not taking advice.......way to go, you already look stupid for that because I added what I could so far in the way of bulbs in the proper kelvin AND diluted the section of compost the plant is growing in, as advised. I can't do anything with the rest of the "help" because y'all don't seem to grasp the concept of no money available.....I can be just as arrogant as y'all if I wanted, giving me false information like "humidity is bad stop misting" or "hps runs cooler than CFLs." To answer your first question though, what's better; plant 3-4 in there and lose them all in the event something isn't right, or plant one and only lose one in the event something isn't right?


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## 5yk0 (Jun 2, 2015)

gantt said:


> Its not the "spend money" so much as "providing a plant with as perfect conditions as you can afford".
> What's trying to be said here is not that you have to spend money, but to do it well, with good returns it can take some materials and equipment. Which takes money.


So basically you just said no one is telling me to spend money, they're just telling me to spend money. No one has taken into consideration that I have exactly $0, if y'all don't know how I can keep things within parameters with things I have around then y'all should swallow your pride and say so, I've bounced ideas off y'all but y'all just ignore it and arrogantly stick to your guns saying I can't unless I spend money I don't have. Yet I'm the arrogant one because I can't afford to do the things y'all suggest.......what a backward place.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 2, 2015)

Some update pics, got my hands on a thermometer/hygrometer so now I can keep better track of my climate. Intake air is right around 60°F right now and this is how things are looking.

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## yarddog (Jun 2, 2015)

Let's all take a step back for a moment. 
Let's go over the high points. 
Providing a suitable environment for growing can take money. That's a fact. I wish it wasn't so. 
An example of our problem here;
Jimmy gets on a classic F-body Camaro forum. He has a 1967 Camaro he wants to restore/rebuild/ fix/ whatever. Jimmy goes and asks advice about some things he has questions about. Then he gets mad because everyone is telling him to spend money. That's the name of the game. It takes money to get results. I'm sure we all would rather grow for cheap and still get good results. 
Back to now, I get you want to be frugal. I'm as cheap as they come. That's a fact. I've been wearing free boots to work in for two years now just because I don't fix unless it's broke. 
You are trying to grow mj indoor with almost no income. You sound determined. Go for it, make the best that you can. Can you do outdoor??
These folks here take growing very seriously. What your asking is to do this grow "halfway" in their eyes. When someone is passionate about something, they tend to do it right, no matter what the cost. So you can see why you might get the responses you are getting.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 2, 2015)

I get what you're saying, but when someone is truly passionate about something they don't let anything stop them from doing it, even if they have to fabricate things out of stuff they have laying around. Say jimmy has a '29 model T; it needs a new header, but jimmy can't afford one....he has a welder, tubing bender, and scrap exhaust pipe and metal. He asks how to make that work and everyone says you can't you have to buy a header......they would be dead wrong. That is actually what is happening here, I know what needs to be, just not quite how to get there with what I have. Slugs, snails, leaf hoppers, grasshoppers, a massive infestation of whiteflies, cutworms, and Jerusalem crickets make outdoor a much worse choice. I understand why I'm getting the responses I'm getting, it boils down to no one being creative enough or driven enough. Its not that they're so passionate they can't bear to see it done "wrong" its that they are too lazy to put the work in to do it in an unconventional way. I'm growing with practically zero income, turning in recycling or selling what few possessions I have is the only way I get any money at all, so growing is the only way I can stay medicated.


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## yarddog (Jun 2, 2015)

OK, well let's talk about temps. What temp range do you normally see later in the year?  Is your home cooled at all?  If not its cool, ive did that for 4 years. With an upstairs room facing the western sun to boot!!!  
Look up the diy online for a swamp cooler. Might be called a sump cooler.  Also, you can make a cooler with frozen gallon jugs and a 5 gallon bucket with fan.  Should be cheap to make.  This might help solve your temp problem.  
Lights. 
    Maybe you could find a shop light fixture and toss a few t'8's in there. Might help you, and it wouldn't cost much.  You can probably dig around and find a fixture for little to nothing. New costs $13 at wallyworld. Then you would still need to buy bulbs. IIRC, about $15 or so.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 2, 2015)

5yk0 said:


> I get what you're saying, but when someone is truly passionate about something they don't let anything stop them from doing it, even if they have to fabricate things out of stuff they have laying around. Say jimmy has a '29 model T; it needs a new header, but jimmy can't afford one....he has a welder, tubing bender, and scrap exhaust pipe and metal. He asks how to make that work and everyone says you can't you have to buy a header......they would be dead wrong. That is actually what is happening here, I know what needs to be, just not quite how to get there with what I have. Slugs, snails, leaf hoppers, grasshoppers, a massive infestation of whiteflies, cutworms, and Jerusalem crickets make outdoor a much worse choice. I understand why I'm getting the responses I'm getting, it boils down to no one being creative enough or driven enough. Its not that they're so passionate they can't bear to see it done "wrong" its that they are too lazy to put the work in to do it in an unconventional way. I'm growing with practically zero income, turning in recycling or selling what few possessions I have is the only way I get any money at all, so growing is the only way I can stay medicated.


 
You cannot run the Grand Prix with a Yugo, no matter how determined you are.  Unfortunately, there are certain things you absolutely HAVE to have.  You can DIY things yourself, but they have to be the right things you are trying to DIY.  If someone does not have an expensive welder, they cannot fab up a header.  You do need the correct things to get certain jobs done.  It is no different with growing.  No matter how dedicated you are if you do not have good light, medium, nutrients, and ventilation, you are not going to be able to grow a great plant.  

And I am a little hurt that without even really knowing us or what we have done you have called us lazy.  Okay just to give you an idea.  I am a 63 year old woman.  I live on less than $1000 a month.  I made a dual 150W HPS for about $20 a piece.  I found 2 old 150W security lights at a yard sale for $2 each.  I bought 2 bake-a-rounds to make cool tubes (Pyrex round tubes intended to bake round loaves of bread in).  Redid the wiring, moved the sockets from the light, left the ballasts and wired sockets to the cool tubes.  Used the metal from no-hub plumbing couplings to connect together and a place to put a hanger.  Made a reflector out of roofing metal.  Lights that actually were the type of lights meant for growing.  
So, yes you can DIY stuff for inexpensive, but you have to be trying to DIY the things that will actually work for your grow--i.e-Jimmy can make a header with a welder, metal, and the knowledge.  Jimmy cannot make a header with cardboard and duct tape, no matter how determined he is.


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## yarddog (Jun 2, 2015)

The Hemp Goddess said:


> You cannot run the Grand Prix with a Yugo, no matter how determined you are.  Unfortunately, there are certain things you absolutely HAVE to have.  You can DIY things yourself, but they have to be the right things you are trying to DIY.  If someone does not have an expensive welder, they cannot fab up a header.  You do need the correct things to get certain jobs done.  It is no different with growing.  No matter how dedicated you are if you do not have good light, medium, nutrients, and ventilation, you are not going to be able to grow a great plant.
> 
> And I am a little hurt that without even really knowing us or what we have done you have called us lazy.  Okay just to give you an idea.  I am a 63 year old woman.  I live on less than $1000 a month.  I made a dual 150W HPS for about $20 a piece.  I found 2 old 150W security lights at a yard sale for $2 each.  I bought 2 bake-a-rounds to make cool tubes (Pyrex round tubes intended to bake round loaves of bread in).  Redid the wiring, moved the sockets from the light, left the ballasts and wired sockets to the cool tubes.  Used the metal from no-hub plumbing couplings to connect together and a place to put a hanger.  Made a reflector out of roofing metal.  Lights that actually were the type of lights meant for growing.
> So, yes you can DIY stuff for inexpensive, but you have to be trying to DIY the things that will actually work for your grow--i.e-Jimmy can make a header with a welder, metal, and the knowledge.  Jimmy cannot make a header with cardboard and duct tape, no matter how determined he is.


Very good THC. Much smoother than what I was trying to say. I get op wants to do cheap.  Me too!  Who doesn't?  But you can only cut certain corners without sacrificing the whole deal.


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## Norcentralorganic (Jun 2, 2015)

The Hemp Goddess said:


> You cannot run the Grand Prix with a Yugo, no matter how determined you are.  Unfortunately, there are certain things you absolutely HAVE to have.  You can DIY things yourself, but they have to be the right things you are trying to DIY.  If someone does not have an expensive welder, they cannot fab up a header.  You do need the correct things to get certain jobs done.  It is no different with growing.  No matter how dedicated you are if you do not have good light, medium, nutrients, and ventilation, you are not going to be able to grow a great plant.
> 
> And I am a little hurt that without even really knowing us or what we have done you have called us lazy.  Okay just to give you an idea.  I am a 63 year old woman.  I live on less than $1000 a month.  I made a dual 150W HPS for about $20 a piece.  I found 2 old 150W security lights at a yard sale for $2 each.  I bought 2 bake-a-rounds to make cool tubes (Pyrex round tubes intended to bake round loaves of bread in).  Redid the wiring, moved the sockets from the light, left the ballasts and wired sockets to the cool tubes.  Used the metal from no-hub plumbing couplings to connect together and a place to put a hanger.  Made a reflector out of roofing metal.  Lights that actually were the type of lights meant for growing.
> So, yes you can DIY stuff for inexpensive, but you have to be trying to DIY the things that will actually work for your grow--i.e-Jimmy can make a header with a welder, metal, and the knowledge.  Jimmy cannot make a header with cardboard and duct tape, no matter how determined he is.



:yeahthat: Well said Hemp Goddess


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## 5yk0 (Jun 2, 2015)

Thank you gantt for your suggestions. I don't know why I didn't think about a diy swamp cooler, that could help significantly with my low humidity. I'd be worried about using it during flower....another idea I had was to convert a mini refrigerator into an a/c similar to the 5gal bucket and frozen jugs, do you think that would work? Or would I be risking getting too cold? With lights, I have a couple of t12 fixtures with bulbs, but they don't quite fit inside........maybe I could turn the sides of the cabinet into the light fixtures with the sockets and ballasts?

THG.......yes you can run the grand Prix in a yugo if you wish, you won't even come close to winning but you could have fun. Yes you can fab a header without an expensive welder (you can fab a welder) gantt is the only one that has actually given me anything real significant that I can use. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, but I was under the impression we weren't sugar coating things.


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## yarddog (Jun 2, 2015)

Make it fit. Do what you got to do to make it work.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 2, 2015)

Swamp coolers can be a great solution, but they can also work "too well".  Be careful using swamp coolers in a small space.  They are meant for large spaces and if in a small space, you can get your humidity way too high, which is worse than too low.  Cannabis can actually do just fine from about 30% to 60%.  You are worrying about little things and ignoring the big things, like light and ventilation.  

No we are not sugar coating things, but I have grown for decades.  It can be done inexpensively, but there are certain things you have to have.  And you cannot qualify for the Grans Prix in a Yugo and therefore, you could not run a Yugo in the Grand Prix.  Fabricating a welder would be a huge under taking--I lived with a professional welder for many years, did a bit of welding myself and do understand what a welder is.

And as we are not sugar coating things, I am through here.  I am not even sure why you came here at all.  You do not care to take anyone's advise, as you seem to know it all already....


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## yarddog (Jun 2, 2015)

I was worried about the swamp cooler being in a small space. I use one at work. I go through 15 gallons of water in an hour sometimes. In a small space I bet it gets rather humid


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## 5yk0 (Jun 2, 2015)

Based on what we have discussed thus far I've decided on a hybrid setup of sorts. Using a fountain pump and copper tubing I had laying around in conjunction with an ice chest. It will run similar to an a/c but with water in the lines rather than refrigerant that will be cooled via ice in the chest/water reservoir. That should keep temps down better without causing too much humidity to build up. Thank you again so much gantt. Btw, I remeasured my inside height and I'm actually at about 3.5ft instead of the 4ft I thought it was, I'll eventually raise my ceiling height to accommodate 4ft tubes, but as of right now I want to stop baking the plant first.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 2, 2015)

The Hemp Goddess said:


> Fabricating a welder would be a huge under taking--I lived with a professional welder for many years, did a bit of welding myself and do understand what a welder is.



You can make a welder out of a car battery and jumper cables or even an old microwave.....


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## yarddog (Jun 2, 2015)

5yk0 said:


> You can make a welder out of a car battery and jumper cables or even an old microwave.....


True,  but dude that doesn't sound safe. You ever seen a battery explode?  I have. And I'm damn glad it wasn't me who was screaming.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 2, 2015)

gantt said:


> True,  but dude that doesn't sound safe. You ever seen a battery explode?  I have. And I'm damn glad it wasn't me who was screaming.


I didn't say it was safe lol my college automotive instructor had plenty of stories of batteries exploding due to overcharging and igniting the venting gasses.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 2, 2015)

Got the cooling system set up and running, freezing water bottles as we speak.
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## 5yk0 (Jun 5, 2015)

Got the cooling system running fairly well.....then an early birthday present came today. It's a Mars LED 100x3w light fixture!!

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## 5yk0 (Jun 7, 2015)

Currently have the light 13" above the plant, humidity is much more manageable and the new growth from where I fimmed is pretty tightly clustered. I mixed about four quarts of perlite into the bottom soil (tedious process with a growing plant) the soil feels nice and spongy now.


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## yarddog (Jun 7, 2015)

Glad its going a little better. Keep us updated.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 7, 2015)

I will for sure, thank you for sticking around. I'll be focusing on temps from here, its looking like I'll have to start working on editing my intake/exhaust again. While my cooling system is efficient, it is too efficient for the ice chest I'm using. The water tends to be 80°+ in only 5 hours of operation even with frozen bottles having been used.


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## yarddog (Jun 7, 2015)

I should be able to start my grow in 4 weeks or so. Tired of having to watch others at work.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 7, 2015)

gantt said:


> I should be able to start my grow in 4 weeks or so. Tired of having to watch others at work.


Awesome! I know the feeling...it sucks when there are holdups. I can't wait to be running more plants on my next run, but for now I need to stick to the one so I don't waste plants.

On the agenda today; ventilation redesign (based on the tips I've received here) I'll admit to my insanity....even seeing my temp problems I still kept running active intake....that changes today. Also, I'll be doing some reworking to the light hanger as it is too long in the non adjustable portion.

Lastly, my plant seems a little droopy today....might the light be too close still?
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## 5yk0 (Jun 9, 2015)

Cooling system died today, or maybe yesterday. The old fountain pump gave out. But the good news is  the plant seems to be beginning to perk up a bit more now that I added more perlite (gotta work on my soil mix for next run).

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## 5yk0 (Jun 9, 2015)

After an hour! Now that's what I like to see!!

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## yarddog (Jun 9, 2015)

Its all a learning process. Its overwhelming at times. Even with the experienced advice from the knowledgeable growers here.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 11, 2015)

Indeed, especially while I'm trying focus on too much at once. The bottom two leaves are looking like a K or Zn def.....but just those two. Should I be worrying and trying to correct something? Or just wait it out? Pics in a sec...


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## budz4me (Jun 12, 2015)

Hey I have been lurking in your thread for a while, it just dawned on me to ask you......why on earth are you using an 18g tote full of soil for one plant?

I could grow 4 pepper plants in there. 

I am just worried it is going to make watering/feeding the plant properly. The biggest pot I have ever used for soil was a 5g bucket. I actually prefer the 3g ones because it makes it easier to water.

I read that you are using organics in your soil, so feeding may not be an issue (ive never done organic, I just use promix and feed when needed.)


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## 5yk0 (Jun 12, 2015)

budz4me said:


> Hey I have been lurking in your thread for a while, it just dawned on me to ask you......why on earth are you using an 18g tote full of soil for one plant?
> 
> I could grow 4 pepper plants in there.
> 
> ...



Just one plant for now, I plan on doing 3-6 when I do "official" runs. I've actually seen grows (granted in larger areas) that were running 15-25gal pots per plant. The bigger the pot, the more space there is for the root system to develop and bigger root systems make for bigger/healthier plants. I'm also concerned about proper watering and nutrients, but I believe if I get my soil dialed in I shouldn't have a problem....I hope. If you mix a good organic soil and layer properly you should be able to run start to finish with just water or water and molasses, although I have seen some that have needed to use liquid organic nutes toward the end. I'm not sure if it was because the soil wasn't mixed totally right or maybe the humidity was so low the plant transpired too much causing it to pull more nutrients from the soil than it should or what, every plant grows differently though so it could just be that some want more than others.

Thanks for lurking around!


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## 5yk0 (Jun 12, 2015)

Otay, so I'm fairly certain I will be needing to totally re-mix my soil and add a couple of things like coarse sand, rock dust, lime, and Epsom. When I do that I plan on doing three layers, top layer fairly inert, middle layer medium, bottom layer hot.

Also did another modification to my intake, I ported the room a/c vent directly to my intake with a filter in the mix and my highs have come down from 81-84 to 77 last I checked. Lights on 24/0 for now till I get my timer re-set.

View attachment uploadfromtaptalk1434146661649.jpg

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## budz4me (Jun 12, 2015)

Yeah organics is not something I am familiar with. I stay away from synthetic nutes, but I dont do the whole build your soil thing. 

Hey well either way, I wish you green mojo!


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## 5yk0 (Jun 12, 2015)

budz4me said:


> Yeah organics is not something I am familiar with. I stay away from synthetic nutes, but I dont do the whole build your soil thing.
> 
> Hey well either way, I wish you green mojo!


Thank you! I understand, mixing a soil right can be a pain. I was thinking that once I get the stuff I need I might switch to organic DWC in the same bucket (just seal up my drainage holes)


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 12, 2015)

You cannot do organic hydro.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 12, 2015)

The Hemp Goddess said:


> You cannot do organic hydro.


Oh really?  http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/homegrown-hydroponics-zmaz77mazbon.aspx


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 13, 2015)

Okay, we are talking cannabis here.  You cannot do cannabis organically in hydro.  You can do low energy plants like greens.  I often grow lettuce organic hydro.  But you cannot grow cannabis hydroponically and organically.  I does not work.  And I would not really call the set up they describe as hydro.  It is a soilless grow, but not really hydro.


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## 5yk0 (Jun 13, 2015)

The Hemp Goddess said:


> Okay, we are talking cannabis here.  You cannot do cannabis organically in hydro.  You can do low energy plants like greens.  I often grow lettuce organic hydro.  But you cannot grow cannabis hydroponically and organically.  I does not work.  And I would not really call the set up they describe as hydro.  It is a soilless grow, but not really hydro.


So a cannabis plant grown in rockwool and hydroton with a trickle down system isn't hydro? That's the exact same concept as what they did with those tomatoes. Why do you continue to pass off your opinion as fact? You do realize you aren't a real goddess right? From the start you've assumed I know nothing, yet while trying to cram your opinion down my throat a good portion of it has been misinformation.


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