Hi everybody, after my first fluro grow :
http://forum.grasscity.com/general-indoor-growing/91096-needs-professional-assistance-flowering.html
it's time for me to try again.
With a few tweeks ofcourse, or better say upgrades.
First off I got rid of the foil and painted my box white on the inside. Looks a lot better I'd say!
Last grow I used only 6x18W cool white (3300K) 2 foot fluro tubes.
Because this time I want bigger buds faster I double the power.
6x18W Philips Genie CFL (2700K) are added, three on each side of the 2 foot tubes :
and
So now I'm running 12x18W of power = 216W.
One problem I ran into with my last grow was the temperature.
During a heat wave my room temp goes past 35C and the difference between room temp and box temp was about 10C making the box a soaring 45C.
This is a problem, for the thermal protection on the tubes ballasts kick in and off go the lights.
Ofcourse the meager 2x 50CFM 9 cm PC fan ventilation system I used was crappy to begin with.
So, a bit of handywork seemed in order :
Again more power. 1x 30 cm 30W fan. The 9 cm fans drew 3W each, so this sucker is 5 times as powerful and many more times efficient. I don't know the CFM or maybe even CYM rating of this sucker but if I leave the door of my growbox open by 4 inches the fan will suck it closed. LOL.
I guess this will suffice. The difference between room temp and box temp have dropped to about 5 degrees C, which I will improve on further by making the intake hole larger.
Ofcourse with all this tech stuff goes some life.
I planted 12 seeds in general potting soil by hand the old fashioned way, 1-2 cm deep.
Look at them after 5 days, it seems I have suffered only 1 fatality thus far :
Yes, yes, I know they look like there stretching but thats because I germinated in a shaded area of my house. It's getting proper light since yesterday.
I can't wait to see what this grow will yield/teach me, since I've improved my grow box on three important points.
Yippy! I'm growing again!