HighMtnSkier's Stealth Rubbermaid CFL & Bagseed grow

[HighMtnSkier]

Hey GC,

First of all, I want to thank everyone who took the time to answer questions regarding getting my own grow-op going. Special thanks to KayakBubbler and latro.

My grow needs to be super stealthy as my wife doesn't really like the fact that I smoke, and I respect that by not smoking around her, ever. Back in April, my only connect in the area disappeared and I decided to start supporting my self.

So here's some details about my grow:

Soil - FFOF w/ about 15% perlite
Pot - Peat Moss Pot (will put this into directly into 12" pot)
Nutes - FF Trio Pack
Lights - 4x26W 6500K CFL 24/0 cycle for now
Temp - Holding between 79-82
Humidity - 40%

Here's a few shot's of my grow box getting put together.

Supplies


3" passive air intakes - I cut the left hole a little too big, so I just used a little black tape to create a bit of a seal around it.


The inside view of the air intakes


Cut out the interior (top and bottoms) - The "hole" eventually got enlarged. I also used weather stripping tape between the two totes.


Taping everything up - This was the hardest part.


Bottom all taped up - Next time, I'm springing for some UL181a 4" Foil tape.


120mm Exhaust Fan - Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER R4-C2R-20AC-GP 120mm Case Fan - Case Fans


1st Charcoal Filter - I'm using the same filter (shown in pic 1) but changed the assembly to a 4" PVC elbow.


Finished!

[HighMtnSkier]

9/23/2009
I put 1 seed in between 3 folded wet paper towels, and then put the paper towels in a Tupperware. I then put this on top of my computer tower for warmth and darkness.

9/27/2009
I checked my seed today, and much to my surprise, there was a little white tap root sticking out of the seed. It was about 1cm long. I let it sit for about 7 more hours and then I put her in soil.

I'm keeping the lights on 24/0 for now. I may switch to 18/6 later a week or so before flower, but I haven't decided yet. I'm maintaining good temps (79*F to 84*F) inside the Rubbermaid so a cool down period doesn't seem necessary.

10/1/2009
She's starting to sprout. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics of this.

[benthamj49]

Hey HighMtnSkier

Looks good you're finally getting started. Good choice with the FFOF. I had a bad run-in with miracle gro and I've heard shit about it anyways so I'm glad I switched to that too. Nice setup with one plant. I'm also running 4 CFL's for veg and then moving to 6 whenever I get more fans from newegg. I had trouble achieving low temps...how'd you do it? I got 90's right now but then again my room is near 78-80F all day.

Goodluck I'll be keeping an eye out

Bentham

[ManNamedJed]

I just saw this journal. Good job on that aluminum tape. It looks really clean. My mylar looks like I did it blindfolded and drunk. I found that a hot glue gun works awesome for covering the inside. I did the top that way, but it was too late for the bottom section.

Anyway, I'll be stopping by check up every now and again. Keep up the good work.

[HighMtnSkier]

Originally Posted by benthamj49

Hey HighMtnSkier

Looks good you're finally getting started. Good choice with the FFOF. I had a bad run-in with miracle gro and I've heard shit about it anyways so I'm glad I switched to that too. Nice setup with one plant. I'm also running 4 CFL's for veg and then moving to 6 whenever I get more fans from newegg. I had trouble achieving low temps...how'd you do it? I got 90's right now but then again my room is near 78-80F all day.

Goodluck I'll be keeping an eye out

Bentham

I went with the FFOF after reading so many grow journals on here. I want to give my girl every opportunity to succeed. I too, had a hard time keeping my temps down. That was very frustrating. I "solved" this problem, by moving my grow box into the crawlspace under my house (concrete floor, about 4.5 feet high). The air in there ranges around 60F-65F during the day, and gets colder at night. So to keep the interior cooler, the only way I could do that was to find a way to cool in air coming in.

It's pain in the ass to crawl in there (pain in the knee actually). This keeps things just a little more hidden from my wife, who does not want me to grow on our property. She's never asked me where the bud comes from, so it works for me. On my next grow box, I'll redesign the exhaust a little better.

Glad you found my grow

Originally Posted by ManNamedJed

I just saw this journal. Good job on that aluminum tape. It looks really clean. My mylar looks like I did it blindfolded and drunk. I found that a hot glue gun works awesome for covering the inside. I did the top that way, but it was too late for the bottom section.

Anyway, I'll be stopping by check up every now and again. Keep up the good work.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to use foil tape, mylar or just get a couple of sun-screens (for car windshields). For my next box, I might just spray paint the interior white with Krylon Fusion paint, but I'm not sure how light proof that will be (to avoid the pumpkin effect). Did you try using spray adhesive when lining yours? If I decide to go with foil tape again, instead of using the basic foil tape available at Walmart, I'll spring for some 3" UL181A foil tape.

Thanks for stopping by!

[HighMtnSkier]

Here's a picture from Saturday. I was a little freaked out about the yellow tips on her cotyledons, but they diminished.

[HighMtnSkier]

I can't believe the growth she has after only 4 days since sprouting!


She really seems like she wants to live (and grow). I can hardly believe that this environment works so well. I'm pretty psyched today. I actually wasn't planning on using a grow journal, but this seems like a good (and safe) avenue to share my excitement with out really telling anyone (actually, my brother knows, and we're building his Rubbermaid this weekend).

[HighMtnSkier]

Not much of an update for today, but since I took the pics, I might was well post them. Lots of threads and activity going in in the Indoor Grow Journal forum right now. In 11 hours since my last update, my thread was back three pages!

[ManNamedJed]

I bought some containers at Lowe's for about $9 each that were of "recycled plastic"...it says it on the side. I put them in a dark room with a flashlight inside and I couldn't see any light.

If our spaces were just regular closets, the mylar emergency blankets I got for $2 each would've been fantastic. The rubbermaids are a little harder to manage.

I think the paint, or the windshield idea would be easier.

[The_genius]

Thanks for hittin' up my journal. I see you and I are about the same in age. You're 5 days from sprout...I'm 6 days...and looking really similar.

[HighMtnSkier]

Thanks for stopping by guys.

I was in Lowe's tonight and I saw this and thought "duh". Simple.

Reflectix at Lowe's: 2' x 25' Double Reflective Foil Insulation

A little of that, some spray adhesive, foil tape and weatherstripping would have been much easier. I'll give that a try next time.

I can't believe how busy the Indoor Grow Journals are right now. I'm amazed at how many seasoned and rookies are making their own green right now. I gotta think that for every blade who has a journal, there's gotta be a lot more folks growing who don't.

[HighMtnSkier]

Here's a few more pics from this morning. I think her new leaf is a bit yellow, so I'm not going to give her any water today. I now realize that peat pots are not the best to start seedlings out with (it seemed to make sense at the time...you've all been there). I noticed that there's a small part that busted open. When do you folks think I should transplant her into the 12" pot?

[HighMtnSkier]

Yeah, my baby is a week old today. I gave her about 6oz of distilled water, as the soil was feeling really dry, but I still don't like the yellow on the middle leaf. What do you folks think?




Here's two of the Rubbermaid in action




When do you think I should plant her into a 12" pot?

[weedznbones]

Your setup is really awesome. Innovative to say the least. Hope all works out, I'll be following this closely

[HighMtnSkier]

Originally Posted by weedznbones

Your setup is really awesome. Innovative to say the least. Hope all works out, I'll be following this closely

Thanks, I can't take all the credit however. I took the best elements from these two Rubbermaids and made something that worked for me. I knew I was going to need a charcoal filter, so I built mine for more airflow.

http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-gr...-cfl-grow.html

http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room...-together.html

I'm actually going to build a 2nd one this weekend. Stay tuned!