New to this, heres my setup

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by d34th, Feb 5, 2010.

  1. #1 d34th, Feb 5, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 23, 2010
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    EDIT: Setup no longer looks like this I just leave this here to remind me how much Ive learned since...scroll down for the updated material...


    EDIT 2: For now the ventilation is a box fan with the closet door open...the room those are in is only as wide as the table.

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    Hi all and hope everybody is stoned while reading this! Im new here and new to growing so I decided to see what you guys think about my little (2.5 ft wide, 5.5 ft deep and 8 ft tall) closet CFL setup. Ive done a fair amount of reading on growing and finally started the process and yes I know the seeds are supposed to be in darkness but I turned the lights on for the pic. Once the lights are out, the tarp comes down over the mesh canopy and the door is closed (I sealed with weather stripping.) The room is totally dark. For the lights Im doing the plant floro there, with an overhead 27w CFL and the 2 others also at 27w. When they get bigger I plan on adding 2 more 27w lights. What do you guys think so far?


    edit: going to go smoke an L and wait for responses.
     
  2. Dag still nobody responded?
     
  3. Keep your bulbs around 1" to 2" from the plants. CFL and flouro bulbs don't cast lumens very far at all. Also, what's going on with your ventilation and your circulation.

    Where a 400w HPS light might supply enough light for photosynthesis 24" from the bulb a 27w CFL will only cast enough light up to 2" from the bulb. So, the closer the better with your CFLs, the flouros aren't very usefull but if you have them I guess use them.

    Ideally, you will spend the $200 or so and get yourself a cheap 400w system for flowering.
     
  4. ill tell u right now get those extra cfls now before you get bigger and keep it on a 24/7 light schedule. if your only gardening one plant then id say shoot for 125W in total and the temp inside around 70-75 degrees. if its any higher u need more powerful intake and exhaust. and like the post above keep the cfls within 5 inches of your plants there spectrums are thrown out wierd because of the shape of the bulbs unlike floro where as there spread out over the length of the bulb.:smoking:
     
  5. Aight thanks for the tips guys! Will get on fixing the lights in the morning...too hhigh :)
     
  6. #6 d34th, Apr 22, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 22, 2010
    Ok no more replies after that night meant most people here didnt take me seriously so we will see how this goes, if nothing else I'll use this as a progress journal for my own benefit so cheers to whoever follows it and helps or whatever and if no one does..oh well xD. I have tweaked the setup a bit adding more 27 watt daylight cfl's and getting them closer to the plants. I have more cfl's waiting til they get bigger and shelves on standby to add more space. Having had several germ problems by trial and error with bagseed led me to my successful method of peat pellets and a greenhouse outside in 70-75 degree and they have since done pretty well under these lights and almost all have gotten the 2nd set of edged leaves.

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    Day of transition from outside to inside

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    2 days after in new setup

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    Growth noticeable already as the plant in the bottom left in both pics are the same plant.


    Im also rotating them to make sure the light is balanced out ok. The lights are all adjustable so I can totally manage distance from plant. As for exhaust its just a simple closet opp so opening and closing the door and on nice days ill leave the closet open with the fans blowing and the window open. Im high up so smell wont be an issue. These are all just practice with bagseed from the best reg I could find essentially as I have Bubblicious, White Castle, Blue Mystic and El Dorado sprouting in the little greenhouse outside. Where "AZ" is the most plentiful weed available and purple haze goes for 125 for 5 grams...I plan to bring better weed, cheaper.. if nothing else... for me atleast :)

    Wish me luck guys.
     
  7. #7 d34th, Apr 23, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 23, 2010
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    Day 3

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    Decided the cellphone cam wasn't sufficient even at 2mp so I brought out the Cybershot..

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    Day 3 -4/22 Gunna add 3 more CFL's in a few more minutes for a total of 7 27 watt daylights...anybody think anything about that?


    Also Im fairly certain I know the answer but an extra 225 watts for my lighting setup in an apt where big screen tvs, a/cs and fans are constantly on and we added a new standup freezer... shouldnt bring too much attention right?

    edit: Added the new lights as well as noticed how nice one of my (girls hopefully?) is rebounding from lack of sun outside so I decided to post pix

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    Right there in the center :)

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    More CFL's!

    Also considering just swapping out a few CFL's for a lower watt HPS and supplementing with CFL.

    Still hoping to get SOME feedback :). None will just cause me to see how it goes and post pix of the results regardless. 130 views and going...
     
  8. You should deff lose the tin foil. If you can, paint it flat white or a semi gloss white....wrinkles in the tin foil will cause reflection...in this case reflection can and will most likely will burn your plants. If you cant paint then maybe take that off and try to put some up using the dull side with NO wrinkles


    With your lights right now it wouldnt hurt to try and get some highier CFLs 125w cools and 125w days i wouldnt put the HPS in there right now seeing as there just seedlings. Id hold off till your ready for the flowering then put the better light in, kinda shocks em more.


    Dont see much for ventalation...might wanna get on that soon. Small oscillating fan set on low for now can help strengthening your stems, and your gonna want an exhaust fan going in too


    good luck
     
  9. instead of painting, you could use flat white poster board if you have cfl's you dont need to worry about too much heating hurting the board but if you get hps you might not want the poster boards

    i like your set up tho
     
  10. Take the reflectors off of the clamp fixtures and get all of the bulbs horizontal will help some.
     

  11. The foil isnt a permanent thing and the paint is already flat white underneath. So you think thatd be better? Its up there with tape only. Stems are pretty sturdy right now as I do let a fan breeze through there..so right now only the leaves move a little wen the breeze rolls through. The lights are 27/100 watt daylights...when you say 125 you mean actual watts or equivalent? For exhaust I just leave the door open and the multiple fan system in my room does the rest of it. Maybe reflection from space blanket is the reason for the browning on one of the leaves..?
     
  12. 1 - lose the foil, the white will be much better (but in the case of cfl's, it doesn't really matter because the light won't be effective at longer distances)

    2 - place the cfl's in a horizontal or near horizontal position so that they are being used more efficiently.

    3 - an hps will certainly help. the more light the merrier, as long as you can deal with the heat.


    4 - good luck and have fun : )
     

  13. Thanks :)

    Yeah its flat white already, just read somewhere (Or I thought I did) that the space blanket was good. Seems like I should take it down is the general consensus. Have company right now and its a secret so Ill get on that soon.

    So then it is true that more light comes off the sides...hmm setting them up that way will require a little time and rewiring so itll have to wait til tomorrow. But im up to the task if its for the best interest of my darlings..
     
  14. Just take a bread tie or a piece of wire and loop it around the cord and tie off to one side of the socket so it will hang sideways instead of straight.

    A lot of the reflectors on clamp lights will come off with just a eighth to a quarter turn.

    Of course, there's always power tools!! Cut em off!
     


  15. Nice idea, I'll be all over that soon as the company leaves ;-)


    And yeah the reflectors are easy to take off..thanks again!
     
  16. Well, your growing and thats the important part! Enjoy it all. Now, on to your set up.

    Air, air, air. You need to start moving some air through there as they start making leaves, and o2 for that matter. You need to replentish the co2 by exchanging the air every minute or so which with your size area wont be that hard. I have seen many a people take the top cover off a 4" walmart fan (Massey fans$8) stick the bottom half in the grow chamber and face it outward then sandwich the front cover back on to protect from the blades. Add another one at the bottom of the chamber and face it in. Now you have an even exchange rate ;) and it only cost you about $16.
    As was mentioned also, depending on how you intend to grow these up through harvest you may want to invest in a better light source. HPS lights have been recommended to you but I didn't see anyone suggest a conversion bulb for them? A HPS light will create some heat so you might want better air flow if you go that route, look into a nice axial fan from Dayton, reliable and quiet, I have several 6" fans if you want one for cheap let me know.
    In regards to a light purchase, check these out

    Sun System® HPS 150 Grow Light Fixture - Sunlight Supply: Hydrogarden Wholesalers

    Don't make a lot of heat and great lumen output, as well as the fact that you will notice at the bottom of the page they sell a MH conversion bulb for it as well. Great veg potential and you can just swap the bulb when your ready to go 12/12.


    Then again, I seem to do things a little different than a few folks around here, but to each his own.

    Those lights are shown in my journal if you want to take a peak at them and how they are performing so far.

    Good luck
     

  17. Ok so I'll be leaving the door open with the fan on when I dont have people in my room...thats doable..as far as that light, I was looking at that very same light earlier and was really considering it...Im working off of extension cords right now but that doesnt seem to be able to plug into one...Am I wrong? I have no outlets in the closet.
     
  18. Space blackets are a bad idea, buddy said it causes tiny burn marks all over his plant. Might be different with the CFLs I don't know.

    With my CFLs I used two powerstrips ( used for computers and such) and got some of the sockets with plugs on them, can fit 3 per strip more if you get a bigger one might be able to fit more. You could then mount it to a board with chains. I also LSTd it to get the most outta them works great for the space I got


    Ballest for the flouros are cheap at lowes and walmart could
    rigged something up with chains simple plant hooks in the celing for your pullies.
     

  19. Yup yup comes with power cord 8ft i think, 3 prong.

    Now back to the fan thing. You should look at my journal as I am making changes tonight and will be posting the pics tomorrow. A simple fan wont cut it if you go to HPS/MH in that space, you'll need to move some air.:D
     
  20. #20 d34th, Apr 23, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 23, 2010
    Well last night I left the door open with a fan blowing inside (thats really bright when your trying to sleep lol) And I took down the space blanket, will work on getting the light horizontal after I've woken a bit...


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    I call this one Palm Tree...shes in a few other pics

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    Shorty here has also been one of my strongest growers..

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    If this one comes all the way back I'll call her Miracle lol

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    Browning and drying of a few of the leaves have me thinking the foil was the culprit? Took that down so hopefully there will be improvement...stalks are still rigid straight and another set seems to be growing green despite so idk....maybe they'll rebound now with a fan and no reflection?


    If I go the HPS/MH conversion route I will setup a better intake/exhaust (If I can build a custom CAI for my van I can do a simple fan job lol) but for now, learning with a simpler setup and tweaking what works and what for my grow room seems to be the more experience building route. I totally appreciate the feedback I've gotten so far so hopefully we are only getting better from here!
     

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