My Grow Setup (NEED TIPS/OPINIONS)

Hey Mabe,

Those CFL's will do you alright for your first set-up, just ensure you place them properly around the plant, and anywhere from 1-4" from your plant, but make sure that you are constantly checking on your plant to make sure the light is never touching your plant.

You can use both types of bulbs in each, to even out the light spectrum, but I'd probably stick with the 6500K's for vegging.

As for soil, I go out of my way to avoid Miracle Grow, only because of the many stories on here deeming it sub-par for growing. Why not just spend $20 for some Fox Farm Ocean Forest, which I understand to be one of the best soil's to use.

Ventiation is key. Where is this grow going down? your apt? house? either way, you should invest in a good fan (something with 200 CFM+) and use it for exhaust, and make your box have passive intake (holes in your box which allow air to come in, which is pulled in by the exhaust fan)

Nutrients, after looking on this website, Fox Farm Nutes seem to do wonders, and I'll follow in that path. They have a complete fox farm nutrients pack for an entire grow for like $30 online.
FOX FARMS ~ ALL THE NUTRIENTS IN 1 Small PACKAGE ~ SOIL | eBay

 

cant stress enough how much trouble you will prevent by getting fox farms soil. especially for first timers, it is the way to go.

also what are your plans for smell? with that fan you will have trouble using a carbon filter. those types of PC fans dont have the "torque" to push air through a carbon filter. could use a tub of ona gel, but that is far short of full proof. if you have neighbors close-by or frequent visitors, they will notice the smell come flowering time.

looks like a good plan otherwise! gl

 

use both for exhaust. passive intake. not sure about the wiring for pc fans.

 

if the fans run on 12volts you need a 12volt ac,dc adapter cut and strip the wires and connect the adapter to the fan wires if there is a yellow wire on the fans forget it exist it controls fan speed which you wont even need

 

If I were you, I'd take a look at MicroGrow420's box as a great example of what to base your box around (I'm doing the same thing). He used PVC for his passive intake, im sure around the 1 1/2 or 2 inch size. He blacked out the inside of his PVC in order to not allow any light in/out. One thing I'm not sure of, is whether he has a screen or something on the bottom of the box where the intake is, just to ensure that bugs dont fly in or anything.

I would not mess with any CFL's that arent 23W+, its not that much more expensive. 6 23W bulbs will probably get 4 plants to veg decently, but nothing phenomenal. Focusing on 2 plants may be more appropriate, unless your willing to upgrade your lights.

 

about passive intakes: all you need is a hole that is smaller than the hole you will cut for the exhaust fans. This is because you want to achieve negative pressure. if you cut an intake hole that is half the size of the exhaust hole, you should be good. once you have everything installed, you can test how much negative pressure you have and if you have a lot then you can increase the size of the intake hole to increase air flow.

to tell if you have negative pressure: install your fans, cut intake hole, close all doors to cabinet; then take a piece of toilet paper or tissue and place it up to the intake hole; the paper should be sucked up against (or through!) the intake hole, holding itself there. hope that makes sense!

I would go with just 2 plants because 1) you are a first time grower and two is easier to manage than four, and 2) you only have 108 watts of light and it is recommended to have at least 50 watts per plant. Also think of it this way- the amount of bud you get depends on the amount of light; if you do four plants you will have little airy buds on each plant; if you do two plants you will likely have the same weight of buds but they will be denser and better smoking buds. you probably would even get more weight with just two because they will be more healthy plants, as opposed to four sickly under-lighted plants.

some food for thought

 

oh ya, and like citeneg explained the PVC pipes are simply used to light trap the intake holes. buy two 90 degree elbows, connect them together, and paint the insides of them black to prevent light from reflecting into your box. if you want to save money you can make a light trap with cardboard, by making two 90 degree angles, paint insides black.

 

If your not concerned with stealth, you can get a PC exhaust fan that lights up completely green. Go for one that the plastic is green also. The green light will saturate any light that may leak in the whole box (intake, leaks etc.) tricking the plant into thinking its in pitch black. You may have read that green light is bad for your plants as I have but, that is only if your trying to grow them with green light. Green light has no effect on your plants during their night cycle. It also makes a good way to check your grow during the dark cycle such as temperature, moisture, bugs etc.

Since your growing in a small area, your best bet would to control the temperature of the whole room it is in before controlling the temperature inside your grow.

As far as the lights you plan on using, I would think about changing them to LED Grow Lights eventually. Those bulbs you got have murcury inside them. Its in a gas form to so, as soon as it breaks, its all over your plants. murcury is highly toxic. Not to say your clumbsy or anything but they can break just screwing them into the light socket. One crack in the base will not make them stop working but they will run extremely hot and slowly leak out the murcury gas.

 

Hey Mabe, you may want to start posting pictures, it will attract more people to your grow, and also peak our interest.

Sounds good so far, can't wait for the start, as im sure you cant either.