Wassup Y'All ... Didn't want you to think I forgot about the grow box situation. Just holidays kinda put a damper on money so the build had to halt... Did get the rest of my second order though so that's good. Pots, humidity/temp thermo, fans, digital ph tester, and timers. So figured I would just update it let you know how it's going. Peace.
Glad to hear your stuff came. Better late than never eh. Sounds like you're ready to rock 'n roll. When it comes time to pot mine i plan on using an Eco-bag or 2. Kno what i mean ? Those reusable shopping bags. Sides & bottom are porous to let air in & allow excess water to drain then re-absorb as needed. They work great outdoors w/ veggies. Same thing as those pricey Smart pots. But @ $1. ea. at the most, i got a couple free. Been using 'em for years.
Too many lumens No such thing. You can never have enough light. There's a minimum, but no maximum. Long as you have heat under control, the more light the better.
I agree with the lumens on nevr having enough. But as far as the eco bags go. I have never tried growing in them I might give it a go though now that u brought it up. Sounds like it could be a good grow. How are they for drainage and do they suck up water well when they need it? More info on them would be nice and maybe some pics of your previous grows if you got.
Already pricing out a new T5 lighting and a complete over haul of my 5th bedroom. Wife says I'm crazy but hey I got a full spare bedrom I plan to make the most of it. Already drew up plans fo the complete over haul. Got my veg area mapped out and my flowering area along with clones / momma's and drying. I o have to admit it's addicting. I used to be a mason before I fractured my back 10 years ago. So building stuff is super fun to me. I'll get a pict posted of imensions ASAP. This won't be happeneing any time soon though. Prolly be 6months or so before I can afford to remodell my room. But gives me something to look forward to.
I'd have to really dig for those pics when i was growing tomatoes in them but they work just fine. Gotta keep an eye on the watering, but that comes w/ the job as we know. As I said these were grown outside and therefor any excess water would just drain to soil. Also sandbags work the same way. Not burlap but the poly ones. Cheap ! Update. I've checked & the only pics i have are taken just after i planted the starts, wouldn't show anything of value.
Yea gunna use 3 carbon filters to help kep the smell under controll and vent it outside ... I was gunna ask you how many gallons are those eco bags roughly? cause ventually I am gunna make roll away ScrOG settup 4' x 3' ... But that like I said won;t be till I remodell my grow room.
Sure, something to think about anyway. I haven't actually measured the volume as i fill them up but i think about 9 to 12 quarts should fill it depending on how high you fill it. I was contemplating a SOG w/ 4 plants in each bag, then put each bag in a dishpan to catch runoff. There's also a smaller bag made for wine bottles. It holds 6 bottles & measures 6 x 9 x 8" tall. Perfect for a 6 pack of really small plants in a micro gro. Trader Joe's has 'em. 3 carbon scrubbers GOOD. I'd also look at Ona buckets (even DIY) and ozone generators.
I have a question maybe some1 can answer it for me. I want to introuce a home made CO2 generator to my grow. Question I have is this. When should I introduce it and should I use it during the flower of my plants?
3 carbon filters will be plenty ona gel will be pointless. Kinda like having 3 1000w lights, then adding a 15w cfl, it's not really going to do anything.
I got to thinking today and decided to put reflectors on my lights. I didn't like the idea of it just bouncing all around the box when i want the light down anyways on my scrog. so I changed my light design and this is what i now am useing. This gives me a way better downward light footprint on my screens. I feel this will be a better result.
Got almost everything today to finish up my box. Just waiting for the final touches the fan and Carb filter. Then it's off to the growers.
The screen size is 16" x 20" can fit 4 total in there each with their own lights. 4 light fixtures 6 bulbs per fixture. 23 watt's each (138 actual wattag a light) rated at 100 watt (equivelant) per bulb 9600 lumens total per plant. Should make for good ScrOG grow.
Well got my DIY carbon filter and fan done and new problem arrised. The fan is not sucking enough air to effectively keep the temp down in my box. Sooo gunna have to use alternitive method of cooling. Thinking of ditching the CF for now till I can make a new one that will fit an 8"fan. In the meantime I am thinking of making a few odor buckets useing polypropolite pellets and fabreze with a turbo style desktop fan on top. Also useing a 9" turbo fan for the exhaust to draw the heat out. As it is right now the temp won't get down below 93* and that won't do. Room is a constant 72* so problem is not enough exhaust flow to get fresh air in.
Hmmm. Not seeing the setup as it is now I hav to make a lot of assumptions. You're not using HID's right ? So the heat is not coming from that. The only heat source is from the CFL's correct ? That shouldn't be excessive but if the carbon filter is too restrictive it will keep the stale air in and not allow fresh air in. If the fan(s) bog down it will create more heat also and shorten their life if done for too long. For a cabinet as large as yours I'd certainly consider 2 fans to blow in and 2 to blow out through large and unrestricted filters. The other additions you speak of are good but you still need to BLOW the air out not suck it out as you've stated. Can you get a pic of the DIY filter you have ? What's the CFM rating for the fans ? 93 is way too much for the plants. Does the temp go down if you take off the filter ? I've been kicking around a few ideas for filters so maybe this is a good time to roll 'em out. If you're willing to do the work I'll share what i have. Best of luck Bro.
Yeah air moves more freely with the DIY filter off ... So just gunna leave it off for now. Here is the fan I am useing 4 in. In-Line Duct Fan-DB204 at The Home Depot I am noticing it is just to low for what i was trying to use it for. Soooo what i am gunna do is get a 9" tabletop turbo force fan and with 8" to 6" reducer for a new DIY CF. Gunna build a brand new filter the one i tried is way to restricted ... Got the Filter off right now fan on pushing air out to see if placement of the fan helps. Will update soon but am thinking gunna need more powerful fan.
Removed the filter temp dropped 8* so I need bigger fan to get the heat out once I do that I'll be good
OK, got some progress there. Earlier you stated the box was 4 x 8 x 4'. That's 128 cubic feet. That fan only moves 1/2 of that in a minute (65CFM) I'd like to see the air exchanged 3X a min. That's a 384CFM fan blowing unrestricted, meaning after the filter is installed. By comparison the HD fan moves the same amount of air as a computer muffin fan. Simply not enough. That's why it got hot in there. The Turbo fan is rated at 185, that's an improvement.