Since i got busted by my Dad last time trying to grow under my desk, Ive decided to give it another go so i bought a plastic storage box Ive cut out holes for the ventilation and i made a ventilated reflector and light holder.Im only using 2 compact flourescents(2400 lumens) and the plants are gonna be really small but hey its something right? Im Gonna paint the inside white instead of alu-foil this time, cos it makes too much noise with the ventilation. I also got 4 small pc fans for intake and 1 bigger one for out,and the cooled reflector system should take the temp down a few degrees as well. I Should have a pic by tomorrow, A Friend gave me a bulb he said he took from a lamp post and i dunno if its a hps or wot? Its made by Philips and says "SON 70w E" on it.The glass isnt clear but the filament in it looks like a hps or mh bulb,like below,Does any1 Know if this is a hps bulb or not? I should have a pic of it as well tomorrow, Since its 5 in the morning i think im gonna go to sleep,gotta get up early tomorrow and paint the box, So for now goodnight y'all,
The compact flouros are 18w each so its only 36w in total, Im gonna wait and see how well the ventilation works before i think about putting in maybe 2 more compact flouros, I have a pic below of the cooled reflector i was talking about, If it works right, it should push the hot air around the bulbs towards the exhaust fan on the other side, wotcha think? not bad considering i made it out of plastic clothes hanger's and superglue!
If it has a tube inside and not a filament chances are it's HPS or MH. The attached pic is an HPS bulb. Philips make a SON standard and SON T range of HPS bulbs so you may well have stumbled on a phosphor coated HPS.
yeah i heard of the "son t" bulbs around here before, i just checked it there and it doesnt have a filament it has a white tube like the pic, Does this mean that i have to get a ballast and crap for it or can i just plug it straight in? Cheers for the help man, CWL
you need a ballest. check 1000bulbs.com to pick one up but there is allittle more then to just connect it to the wall socket you have to wire it up in line with the bulb.when you have it right it lights the lamp. good luck
Dont worry about the hps, you will fry your plants with a 70 watter in such a low box. Also you will have to train it around the light so the plnats dont grow to close to it in the middle. And heat will be a big problem in a plastic container (meltdown). Your forgeting one crucial thing needed for any grow, A carbon filter. Those babys will stink after 2 weeks and it only gets worse. For lighting i would reccomend buying 2 warm spectrum 42 watt compact floros rated at 2600 lumens each, and replace the ones you have for flower. They will have much more penetration then the 18 watters, but the 18 watters will do fine for veg. You can also consider buying a daylight bulb and place it in the center of the grow box for more of the blue spectrum. Height will be a problem so flower early, about 6", and i would reccomend filling the container with about 8" of poting soil insted of using pots. Thatway they wont get rootbound but the soil wont be as high so elevation wont be a problem. Dont forget to drill holes in the bottom for drainage and put an extra lid below it to water through (you are using rubermaid type container right?). For your first grow just buy some poting soil, some 10-10-10 veg ferts and miracle grow 15-30-15 for flower. And dont check on your plants too much, twice a week at max, and water about once a week. My personal experience with stealt growing around parrents: I tried 4 times to grow around my parents and i got cought 3 out of the 4. The last grow that went uncought is becuause i brought them ouside and shut down and destroyed the cardborad box I started them in. Now there in the middle of the woods and up to my chin and im 6'1". Im going to get at least 3 oz plant (a bit conservitive i think) http://forum.grasscity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21597&pagenumber=4 I would say try outdoor next year, its a bit more risky if you get busted but connecting it to you is hard. Start them in any box you can find, your rubermaind setup would do fine. Start about 6 plants in early march and and make them bonzai, take about 12 clones (try watercloning) and bring the bonzai plants outdoors after the last frost. Replace the box with the clones and put them on a 12/12 light cyle to sex, kill males clones and bonzai dad (unless you want to save a male clone and place it far away with a female to make seeds for futrure grows). Then have the clones go back to veg, transplant once rooted grow to 8" and bring them outside. You will yeild more in one outdoor grow then 2 years of year round production with that small cf box, that will eventualy be discovered. http://www.overgrow.com/iss3/mums.htm
i know growing in ure parents gaff is hard but thats the fun! if i really wanted big juicy buds that bad i would move out in the morning but i can wait another year or so till i move out, in the meantime i just wanna grow mini-plants for the sake of it, Maybe next year ill look back on it and laugh and ask myself wot was i thinkin? i just love doing something involving MJ cos i luv it, I had all this stuff left over from last time's grow(WHICH WAS TOO BIG!!) so i said ill give it another try, this time main priority is STEALTH! its small enough to fit under my bed, it wont be heard cos theres like 3 noisy computers in my room, it wont be seen cos its light tight! c wot i mean? lol CWL
looks like ur really gettin it together m8, thats cool as fuck. ur lamp is a HPS and yes u wud need a balast, do u know if the lamp is any good or is it a worthless old cast out? u may wanna "safty wire" ur CFs b4 u use them in anger. the holders r gonna get hot and the supa glu will harden, go brittle and may let the whole lot drop on ur plants. mite happen in a week, mite take a year but sooner or later..... fiberglass.... gr8 4 stickin things together. u got a car parts store by u? have a look at isopon p40 (not p38) and some matting. if the worst does happen then thats as good a fix as any and betta than most.
I was worrying about the superglue giving way myself! aaagghhh! cheers for the tip m8! ill have a look around town tomoro! I dunno if the bulb works or not, i got it off a m8 and he said he took it off a street lamp in a B&B sumwhere! when i do use hps and the whole 9 yards! ill invest a bit of cash and get me one of those fancy set-ups ive been drooling at lately! Ive wired up the fans today and its a bit too noisy so im gonna take drastic measures and remove the 4 intake fans and just leave the reflector fan and exhaust fan there! hopefully that should be quiet enough under a bed and keep the temp down! Instead of lowering the lights im gonna raise the pots to the lights so its easier to build! CWL
K the exhaust fan was still too noisy so i covered the edge of the hole with rubber and squeezed the fan back in. it seems to have done the trick and the box is standing on a rubber disc to stop vibrations and shit,Im covering the intake hole with a piece of "tights" to stop dust and insects and shit from gettin in.im gonna germinate some seeds tonight, and as soon as they pop ill be posting in the grow journals forum!lol Im gonna germ about 3 of each and hopefully end up with 4 plants and then end up with 2 females(wot would i do if i got 4 females?.....aaaggh)lol Over and out! CWL
good luck man! dod you ever hook up a acrbon filter? im telling you you will need it in about 2 weeks and your better off working on your box before your plants stink so your room dosent smell when you pull your plants for hooking up the carbon filter. Also it may make you rush and make a shoddy filter. Do you need plans to make a small carbon filter?
U have plans to make a small carbon filter? cool Grower u were right about no need for the inlet fans as well as the exhaust fan, I looked around and its called "active exhaust, passive intake" and it works really well. Smell isnt too much of a problem for me cos theres a smell of hash in the room all the time anyway....lol i just love my hash!!! My parents know i smoke but turn a blind eye to it ,ya know? I could use those plans though incase the smell gets stronger than i thought. Cheers, CWL
You underestimate the smell of growing weed, your whole house will smell badly. It will make you sick. heresfaq plans for a carbon filter, you dont need it to be so tall, I dont think the builder undersands airflow well. You can make it about overall 6" tall. I would hook the fan up on top of the filter box thatway if you hose leaks the smell wont get out becasue of the active exhaust effect. I dont know if you already considered this, but you sould do SCROG.
http://www.overgrow.com/growfaq/766 http://www.overgrow.com/growfaq/795 have a read an find out if its wot ur after