Wall-Unit Fluorescent Grow Op

[urgr8estfear]

Originally Posted by THeCloset

That would be nice. I even discovered that I did that math wrong I actually have 179 watts of light, but eighty is in wide spectrum 4 foot tubes. Will that alter the calculation much?

179 w * 0.33 g/w ~ 59 g

How did you come up with this conversion rate?

Let x = conversion factor for 40w T12 wide spectrum fluorexcent tubes
(99 w * 0.33 g/w) + (80 w * x g/w) = 33 g + 80x g

Now all I need is a value for x

ANOTHER QUESTION

Should I replace my T 12's with T5's? Are they readily available? Do I need to change ballasts for these?

This 0.33 g/W is from experience.
Is a rule of the thumb thingy very inaccurate.
You could yield 0.5 g/W if you're a really good grower.
And let the T12's be, they may not be the newest and most efficient of fluros but it's not easy to make up for the difference in money when compared to buying and running new fluros.

[THeCloset]

What about switching to T8's? I hear that they work in the same fixture as the t12 but are better, and reasonable on the wallet.

[urgr8estfear]

Will do fine too.
Just go with what comes cheapest ; lumens versus Watts, purchase price, money per Watt and so on.

[THeCloset]

One crappy part about this whole operation is that it doesn't really deal with odours at all. The carbon filter in the exhaust pipe mostly just backs up heat.

Thus I need to build an odour scrubber, what with young'ns about and company dropping by all the time.

I found the perfect one that is tried and true. Then I brought it to grasscity. Check it out Here.

I'm going to start collecting the materials right away and hopefully I'll be odour free rather soon

[GrowBot]

i'm sorry, but i didn't read your thread. as soon as i saw what you were using for lighting, i just skimmed. if you're gonna use tubes, use t-5's. anything else is a waste of time imo. even cfl's just don't get the job done. the only flourescents worth using are the t-5's. they may cost more, but they're well worth every dollar. the only unit of measure to use in this debate (which it usually is) is yields....

[SmknVTEC]

Hey THeCloset,

Nice grow and journal. I am with growbot on this one; the T5's are great CFL's. You can't grow wrong with them at least as far as CFL's go. Early on you gave them lots of nutes. You were lucky they did not burn. From now on I would not give any more "time release" fertilizer because you have no control of how much and when it is released. As for your other question about height; it depends on how big the pot is. Figure the plant will grow about a foot in height per gallon of pot. So if they are 24 inches tall now for example, and they are in a five gallon pot, then yes they can get a lot bigger.

[THeCloset]

Thank you both for coming and providing some input. Do you really think that 1/2 strength time release ferts are that dangerous at this point? The plants are pretty established, and I think may even be showing defieciency's. Purple leaf stalks? So I should just use water soluble fertilizers eh? I've read that if applying sugars to the soil, one should drop the N in their ferts so I was thinking 5-15-10 ??? By the way, I'm discontinuing the use of honey and bringing in the blackstrap molasses, as I've heard that adding honey may have damaging effects.

I have another question.

CO2 enrichment. That should happen when the lights are on, but no ventilation is in effect right?

I figure this b/c the co2 is used w/ water and light to make sugars.

The problem is.... I must ventilate the air while the lights are on or it simply grows too hot in there - 90 deg+

If I add co2 at night will my girls still be able to use it?
If not, maybe like 40 min b4 they wake up?

What's the best home, cost friendly growers way?
I've heard of allowing a baking soda/vinegar reaction to take place in a bowl in the growroom, or leaving sparkling water to go flat.

I just had a thought. This unit is in my bedroom. How much will my sleeping/breathing affect co2 levels during the night hours? On weekends my girlfriend sleeps in here as well. Are two respirating bodies going to significantly affect co2 levels?

Now, if I'm sharing all the same air as my plants could I simply enrich the bedroom air w/ co2 while the fan and lights are on? and then have the unit will draw it through the box? Again what's the most cost effective way to do this?

Hopefully you guys can help me get some of my facts straight.... Thanks

[Plex1]

Hey, did you have the lights that far from the plant even when it was very small at the bottom of the unit? cause if so, then i will just rearange my setup and it will elimate the, "how am i going to suspend theese 3 4ft flouro tubes and keep the CFL's on the sides!!???" question. my setup is here, http://forum.grasscity.com/general-i...?highlight=CFL, and i hope you can see what i mean by how it could be easier. Get back at me ASAP. Thanks!

[THeCloset]

This question (above) answered here,

[chimera]

Forget the CO2, good circulation is all you need. CO2 is only useful when you have the right environment, which includes a closed system and HID lights.

[Squonk]

gl with your floro grow. i'll be following along to see what the outcome is as i'm interested in what can be accomplished with just floros. i've not heard of the eggshell thing before. what do they do

[SmknVTEC]

I agree chimera co2 is of no use in CFL set ups. THeCloset, check out Gardening Indoors by Van Patten. He talks about supplementing with CO2.

[THeCloset]

I didn't know that co2 was no good with just fluoros, thx for the heads up.

Eggshells can act as a mulch to keep moisture in, if you have a enough, and if they're ground, they act as a nutrient source with the nutrient analysis of 1.2-0.4-0.1 With additional trace minerals.
They also release calcium which helps regulate ph.

[THeCloset]

Feeding Questions
Hey, I've got two plants growing in soil that has a nutrient analysis of 0.08%-0.24%-0.8% and includes micronutrients, and I've been fertilizing regularly with 1/4 strenght all purpose liquid food,
Nutrient analysis
N- 12%
P- 4%
k- 8%
Micronutrient analysis
Fe - 0.10%
Mn - 0.05%
Zn - 0.05%
EDTA (Chelating agent) - 1.18%
and upon flowering I applied an all vegetable all purpose slow release fertilizer (5-10-10) at 1/3 strength. I also apply used coffee grounds, tea bags and ground eggshels to the surface of the soil as organic fertilizers.

Yet.... I have a nutrient deficiency. I think. Some of my stalks are very red, all of my leaf stems have some degree of redness, none of the growth shoot stems have redness just leaf stems. There's a little bit of red on the main stalk.

What am I lacking, and how should I rectify it?

Also, please don't tell me I'm overfertilizing because there are no signs of chemical burning, and I don't have to worry about salt buildup and stunted growth because I've already flushed the soil with plain water once (earlier this month, around 8 weeks into growth) and I intend to do so again before the end of april.

[firstgrow]

I dont think the redness on the stalks has anything to do with nute problems, just genetics. I've seen plenty of plants with red parts on the stalks. If you would have nute problems, they would show in the leaves and not the stems.