And so it begins...

This is my first post on RU, but I've been trolling around for months. Thank you all for your insight, journals, questions, and comments that have lead me down the right paths.

This will be my first grow with Aeroponics, and the first crop in 12 years. My previous experiance was not with cabinet systems, so the heat will be an issue I can see. I have limited space, and saw the opportunity to expand my growing knowledge. The money has run out, so besides general maintence, bills, and small items...the purchases are over.

Also let me say I know I'm no carpenter, but the cabinet is functional. Trust me.

Here is a rundown of the cabinet.

Materials: 1/4" plywood, 2"x 2" pine, and lots of screws/glue. and castors for easy moving.

Reflective material placed on all surfaces, but top.

Dimensions: Total: 54H x 28W x 21D

Grow Area: 29H" w/ 6" clearance for HPS light from tips of mature plants

Lights: 8 x 23w daylight CFL's (All adjustable heighth)

150w HPS w/ remote balast from HTG Supply

Ventilation: 4 x 3"computer fans w/ RPM controls. 2 for exhaust, and 2 for intake

4" fan 5 lb carbon scrubber. Will become main exhaust durring flowering/smelly phase.

Resivior: 10 Gallon Sterilite. Painted black on the outside, and reflective tape for the lid. 4 site DWC. A pour/test hole has been added to the lid for easier access as well.

3" net pots wit grow rocks/1"rockwool

2 x air pumps w/ 10" airstones under each set of plants

Extras:

TDS Meter, PH Meter, Thermometer

Well here is the pics of my cabinet. My next post will be the beginning of the grow journal.

Thank you for anyone that wants to give comments, CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms, and suggestions. You guys have a great community/service here, and I hope to be a part of it. Best of luck to all.


sticky.n.green

Hello to all!!!

Here is my first journal entry of what will hopefully be a successfull 100 days of cultivation.

The skinny:

WATER:
7 Galons from tap: PH=9.6! PPM=120
*Began to aeriate the resivor for 24 hours to evaporate chlorine from tap water
*Added Mother Earth organic nutes from Advanced Nutrients. Total 3.5 tspns (1/4 strength)
*Added General Hydropnics flora series. Total 1.5 tspns of each
*Added ph down. Total 2.25 tspns
*Soaked rockwool for 24 hours in 5.1 PH balanced water. Finished with a PH of 6.1
*Rinsed all growrock in PH balanced water for 12 hours to remove dust and contaminents
7 Gallons from tap TREATED:
PH: 6.1
PPM: 210

SEEDS:
Aurora Indica: 2 has germinated, and has been placed in the PH balanced rockwool
Bubblegum: 2 have begun to germinate, and will placed in the rockwool at the end of the day
*The Aurora Indicas are now under light, and in a greenhouse environment until first leaves show on the Bubblebum.

TEMPRATURE:
Have fixed the issue of heat up to the vegative phase by reversing the upper 2 door fans to pull air outout from the top with the carbon scrubber.
Maximum Temp: 87.4*F
Minimum Temp: 72.1*F

***Once the 150 HPS is added the room climbs to 102.3*F Maximum Temp. Must find solution within 4 weeks***
*Opening door lowered temp to 96.7*F, but still need 10*F reduction minimum*

Also I'm planning on using Iguana Juice for the flowering phase. My plan is to have some fun with training philosophies. I have 2 of each strain...Bubblegum (BG) (Thank you to the nice friend that donated these genetically enhanced seeds) and Aurora Indica (AI) I bought on-line.
My plan is to lst one AI, and FIMM the others since I've heard BG isn't as high of yeilder as AI. Plus I want to see the difference between lst and fimm on my AI strain

My only immediate problem is the future issues of the temprature I stated earlier. Any pointers?

Well heres to a safe, healthy, happy grow!

sticky.n.green

Edit to Bxke1414: I need to give props and respect to bxke1414. I have followed your posts since September, and I have modeled my system after yours. I can only hope to have as much luck with my grow as yours. I'll be a happy man with even half the grms wet when April rolls around that you have now. Once I figure out how to give rep...I most certianly will. You deserve all of it. The only differences is I'm using aeroponics and I have less cfl wattage I think. If you check out this post...please give me any pointers you see I'm missing.

Nice set up - I am subscribed - I caught this from the post on the 312W grow cab.

I don't want to start out sounding like a critic but one safety factor jumped out. You might want to mount the strip a little higher - an inch or two higher than the top of the tote. Just in case you end up with a little water on the wires they don't run down into the outlets.

Where are you drawing your air in from? What's the room temp? Maybe if you draw in from the bottom of the cabinet and exhaust from the top it might drop the temp a bit.

looks nice!

good luck!

looks like you wont need much luck as it seems you have actually done some research.

Dam sticky icky. Ya def got ur info down! Now we are all watching u put ur skills to work! Good luck

Westmich...By all means be a critic. Especially if safety is concerned. I will raise the power strips tonight. I was actually wondering if I went a little low on those. Dont want to start a fire. I do have the entire system on 2 fuses (one in the power strip, and one in the cord) though just incase, but I prefer to error on the side of caution. Also, I am pulling air from a second bedroom that has poor a/c ventillation. The room can get warm (80*F), but I will probally just leave the door open for the veg stage. Once I switch to 12/12 though...I don't think an ocillating fan will cut it, and I'll need to keep the door wide open loosing lumens I think, right? hmmmmm Thanks again! I'm pondering making my own cool tube, but that may be beyond my expertise.

burlingo...Thank you for the support. Without this site, then I'd never have gotten off the ground. Well I would of, but with issues a lot of begginers have. I'm no novice to growing bud, but I'm new to the cabinet/stealth/aeroponic grows. Thanks to people like you I can feel confident I can learn to grow my medicine "quietly". If only I lived in a mmj friendly state.

DewyKox...Thanks man. I'm sure I'll need your guy's help through this, but it has gone well so far. I've been researching for 4 months, and took my time rounding up everything to be safe. All the information I learned from kind growers like yourself. Thanks.

I hope you all enjoy the grow as I'm sure I will. I love being self-sustaining when I can. Hell I grow my own veggies, herbs, and fruits, then why not my medication.

A little update...After reading bxke1414 grow journal again I've realized I need more light to match his wattage (which will add to temp), so I'm adding 1 more 23w clf daylight. (161w cfl and 150w hps for future) Still 1w of cfl less than his, but close enough for the dank/dense buds he got. Home depot it is tomorrow.

Thanks to all,

S.n.G

Quick question...All the seeds germinated in 72 hours and are in the rockwool now. What I have done is make a greenhouse type environment for them the startout in. It is made from those plastic bags the bed comfortors come in. How long do I leave them in the greenhouse? The AI have already shead their seed hauls, for they started cracking a day earilier than the BG. The BG have a tap root of course, but are still in place in the rockwool (not fully above ground). Should I take out the AI sprouts, and leave the seedlings of the BG in the greenhouse? I always used dirt, and planted them from the begining. The whole what to do with the rockwool stage is new to me.

Thanks in advance,

S.n.G

sticky.n.green said:

Quick question...All the seeds germinated in 72 hours and are in the rockwool now. What I have done is make a greenhouse type environment for them the startout in. It is made from those plastic bags the bed comfortors come in. How long do I leave them in the greenhouse? The AI have already shead their seed hauls, for they started cracking a day earilier than the BG. The BG have a tap root of course, but are still in place in the rockwool (not fully above ground). Should I take out the AI sprouts, and leave the seedlings of the BG in the greenhouse? I always used dirt, and planted them from the begining. The whole what to do with the rockwool stage is new to me.

Thanks in advance,

S.n.G

Click to expand...

I would leave in there until you see the roots coming through the bottom of the rockwool. Does your bag/greenhouse have some ventilation?

As far as heat, that is a toughy. If you are already having issues with CFL, the heat goes way up with HPS but it sounds like you already know that. Can you put a window AC in the room so the cabinet is pulling in much cooler air to start with? Another option might be to think about CO2 - my understanding (not actually doing it) is that under CO2 plants will grow in the higher temps - like high 80's - and have a lot more growth overall.

I put holes in the plastic for ventilation. The AI is really taking off. Id say a 1/4 inch since I put them in the rockwool about 10 hours ago. The bubblegum is slow to sprout, but it germ'd slower as well. I'm going to build my own cool tube to take care of the heat from the hps. I think I remember a tutorial in the lighting section here on RIU. Also a cold front is bound to cool off the area eventually. I should have a few months of cold weather by then. Thanks for the input.

Hello to all...

Lots of growth today. I put 1/4 strength nutes (220 ppm) water with a ph of 6.2 on the rockwool before going to bed, and this morning I had leaves on the 2 AI, and the BG's are on the move!

With recent vitality...I've placed the 4 plants into the net pots about a 1/4 from the bottom. The water is about a 1/2" above the bottom of the net pot. The cfl's are in actiion, but I've decided to stay with 6 instead of getting one more. Mainly due to my already existing heat problem. I think 24 cfl watts less shouldn't effect total harvest weight too much, and will help keep my temp reasonable.

Stats:

Foilar and additive solution:

Mixed a gallon of 1/4 strength nutes (1 tspn Mother Earth and 1/4 tspn of each GH flora) to moisten the rockwool and to add to the res when needed.

ph: 6.2
ppm: 226

Resivior:

ph: 6.1
ppm: 210

Nothing was added. Has been aeriated for 24 hours now to remove chlorine. I will continue the oxygen to prevent stagnation.

Max Temp: 83.4*F
Min Temp: 79.1*F

Here is some pictures. They are boaring, but as you all know this is the slow part of the process. I'm not going to post durring these boaring stages everyday, and will update twice a week until my girls (hopefully) start to take-off. Probally Wed and Sun, but I am a stoner...I'll leave it at twice a week.

See you all in a few days,

S.n.G

Wait till week 3 and 4, they will explode with growth!

And they're off!

i remember when mine got big enough to be placed under my HPS, they grew at such an incrediblr rate.

you could see the difference each day

keep up the good work!

Thanks fpr posting and your support Dewey and burlingo.

I am having a real problem with heat. I thought I was doing fine until I move the thermometer sensor closer to the level of the lights. I can't get the temp below 90* with the door closed to the closet, and down to 83.7 with it wide open. Realistically I can't leave the thing open all the time. Kind of defeats the stealth part of the grow. I knew I'd have problems with heat in a small space, but I haven't even added the hps yet. Granted it will only be on night hours, but that is all the reason to get his under control now. I want to buy an oscillating fan, but I don't think that is enough. I need to rethink my ventillation system. I'm pretty close to the max amount of wattage I can use without raising eyebrows, so I'm worried about finding a reasonable cooling idea with out adding a a/c. Maybe I'll move it to the corner with the dribbling a/c, and run a vent directly into the cabinet. It isn't a strong flow, but it is 76* all the time. Damn I wish we'd get a cold front...

Well I hope this isn't an ominus beggining to my first cabinet grow. We'll see. The are all doing great right now. Water is around 6.0 ph. ppm is about 300 right now. cfl's are bout 1 -2 inches above the plants. I'll do a real update when I figure out this heat problem.

Later,

S.n.G

Remember, ventilation. 75 degrees is the sweet spot. But I grew and hit 90 a lot this summer and still managed to get some good harvest. Just crank up those fans! Get the heat out and fresh air in, and circulate it......

Can you move the cabinet closer to the AC unit - put the intake next to where the AC blows out - and the exhaust fans at the top, the actual roof. That might shave another 5 or 10 degrees. If you end up operating in the 80 degree range try adding a little CO2 - you can do a DIY CO2 and not cost you anything.

Westmich and Dewey...I think I'll take your advise. I am going to buy some black-out curtians, and move the cabinet to the oppisite corner where the a/c vent is, so to have the cold air blowing directly at the cabinet. Then I'll move the exhaust to the top. I'm worried about stink in the future, but for now it will do. Then I'll use the 4 fans I have in the fron of the cabinet as intake holes. With an oscillating fan inside the cabinet, then I think those 4 things should be enough to keep the temp down. We'll be getting cooler soon, so my babies can get a breath of cold air soon. Thank goodness. Well thanks for the advise guys...I'll keep you posted. Not much to show, but Ill put up pics this weekend to keep up the routine.

thanks again,

S.n.G

Edit: Also I was going to use the yeast mixtures I've seen on the web, but they all say to shut off exhaust while useing co2. I imagine for such a small period of time...I could turn off lights and exhaust for 4 hours a day for co2 treatment. What do you all think? I was thinking of shutting off the lights for the 4 hottest hours of the day anyways. I think it will be ok, and it will give the babies a chance to rest comfortablly...Good idea?