First CFL Cabinet Grow C99 and Shark Attack

Starting my first grow from seed. I germ'd 4 fem seeds (Jan 31, but only 2 have sprouted on Feb 4). One C99 (Grapefruit hybrid) and one Shark Attack sprouted. One C99 and my only UFO Sweet Deep Grapefruit did not sprout (yet). Very sad about the SDG, I was so excited when it was added to my order. But I figure starting with two decent strains will be enough to manage, and hopefully the C99 will be somewhat grapefruit/pina flavored and a good smoke. I know it is supposed to be good for beginner grow. The Shark Attack finishes pretty quickly and is a heavy body stone from what I have read, so a good evening smoke and pain killer, I was happy about this one too.

Due to rushing a bit, before having my cabinet space finished, it has started as a very ghetto grow, but now that things are moving along, my focus will be to get my cabinet finished (paint, reflectors, vents, fans, etc.)

Specs as of now: Cabinet is 33W X 24D X 30H (will be painting inside white tomorrow). I currently have 1 23W 2700k and two 25W 6500K going about 3 inches from the seedlings on 18/6. I started the lights at 5", then 4", and now 3" and they are as of now 3 days old. I read somewhere not to put them to 1 to 2 inches at first. I assume in a few days, they will be able to handle 1 to 2 inches. I am also adding light bulbs as the seedlings grow. Temp is pretty steady at 75 and humidity ranges from 50 to 60%.


C99 is front


C99


Shark Attack

Bulbs I have at the ready, are 2 more 25W 6500K, I think 3 or 4 more 23W 2700k, 8 13W 6500k and just bought 4 40W 2700K. I know that is heavy on the red spectrum, but I figure since the cabinet is small and it is my first grow, and I am wanting to finish this grow as reasonably quick as possible. I will be switching to 12/12 at maybe 2 to 3 weeks of Veg (Advice on this issue will be greatly appreciated). I would also like opinions as to what rate I should add bulbs/wattage. All the bulbs I have on hand = 200W of 6500k and 260W of 2700k, was wondering if I end up with 2 reflector hoods, if about 200W for each plant would be about right when they are ready for it.

Anyway, right now my concern is the upcoming transplant and soil/pot recommendations. I started the seeds in some cheap organic mix I had on hand, pots are about 2 cup volume.

From the Hydro store, I just purchased:

1) Large bag Roots Organic
2) 30# Earthworm Castings
3) Large bag Perlite
4) 2 small free samples of Green Gro Mycorrhizae
5) Two 3 gallon Smart Pots (figure this is perfect size for final transplant)

The main things I could use help with right now are should I transplant the seedlings into 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon regular pot (basically step up transplanting slowly), or go ahead and put them into the 3 gallon Air Pots in a few days?

The other question: I am definitely trying to get as close to Subcool's Super Soil as I can, esp. for the final flowering pots. But for now, I have the items listed above, plus a huge bale of Sphagnum Peat Moss from big box store. So what ratios of the soil ingredients should I use. I am basically trying to mimic a Light Warrior mix for the next transplant, as I am assuming pure Roots Organic soil is pretty hot. I was thinking somewhere around 20% Peat Moss, 40% Roots Organic, 10 to 20% Worm Castings and 20% Perlite.

Please help me out here with any ideas on my next soil mix. I was also thinking of going even lighter on the Roots Organic up high in the pot, and maybe putting it mixed with 10% Peat and 10% Perlite as a separate mix at the bottom of the next container so the roots can grow into it over the next couple of weeks. I plan to get some guano, bone meal and kelp meal and dolomite lime, Epsom salts and the remainder of the Super Soil Recipe for the final transplant.

Thanks again for all the advice I have already recieved from RIU and for any advice to come

I would transplant as little as possible, so go to your final POTs early. Keep us updated man G/L

p.s. I always use FF happy frog and perlite.

i would just let em sit where they are at until you make your super soil, by then they will have a few sets of true leaves and a nice rootball to go into the 3 gal air pots.

them little solo cup sized pots will be fine for another week while you wait for the rest of your ingridients, you dont want to transplant the before they have developed a solid root system anyways

Okay, thanks for the info on transplanting. I have read on here over and over, esp. by Uncle Ben, to keep things simple and not get retarded complicating stuff.

Oh, I also have this soil probe, that tests pH and moisture. pH was pretty good, I think 6.5 to 6.8. The moisture was about 4 to 5, on a scale of 1 to 10, and 4 is where it transitions from green to red on the scale. So I assume I should water soon. I know that noobs mess things up by over-watering, so I am trying to avoid that. I think 7 or 8 is the upper end of the green band on the moisture spectrum, so I guess I will add just enough water to get it to 7 or 8. Sounds logical, but advice on this would be appreciated.

Girls are 5 days old now. Still working on cabinet, here is what I have:



This is the cabinet after whitewash. You will see a cutout shelf that is right at 11.5in above the bottom. I was thinking of using this as my ScrOG, but with my 3 gal Smart Pots being 8.5in tall, that would only leave me 3 in space b/t soil and ScrOG. I read on a ScrOG thread that 8in was a good distance. Anyway, I can make another frame for the ScrOG screen. If I use the existing frame at 11.5in, that leaves me about 20in of height to top of cabinet. If I move the Scrog frame to 8in above soil, I will have 16in of height left. I figure that is plenty of space for some well-designed CFL hoods.

For the lighting, I saw recommended 50W per SF of ScrOG space. I will have 2.5 SF of cabinet space for each plant, so that would be minimum 125W per plant. I am planning at least 150W of light per plant, and would like to go up to 200W if I can.

Where I am on the cabinet atm is figuring out what fans to get and where to cut my holes. Planning cooling/exhaust for 300 to 400W of light/heat in my 32W X 24D X 30H cabinet will be the hardest part I think. Any advice on fans would be greatly appreciated. I have a 5000btu A/C in the room this cabinet is in, and this cabinet is in the closet on the other side of room from A/C. I was thinking of putting the intake on the bottom right side of cabinet, but I know for best stealth putting both vents on the back is best. I think on most cabinets I see people using 80 to 120mm comp. fans, Arctic was one brand I think. Please give me some advice here on CFM and number of fans, probably the 120mm (2 for exhaust, 1 for intake?) is what I will get.

Other pics of girls:


SA left and C99 right



C99 is developing leaves just a bit faster than Sharky



Shark Attack coming along nicely though

I cannot wait to get them xplanted out of this ghetto soil and into at least 1 gallon of Roots Organic. One post above said to wait another week or two before xplant. Then I will need advice on topping/fim'ing and LST/ScrOG. Any other comments advice is appreciated.

Thanks for stopping by

Man looking at your CAB and its screaming SOG me, if was you I would find about 40 dollars buy 2 5-6 bulb vanity light fixtures for 20 bux a piece at lowes,home depot or wherever, put one in the front and one in the back, throw some y splitters on them things to get you 20-24 bulbs in there 500-1000watts easy man, and with SOG you dont have to veg very long at all to get a very nice crop going, but its looking good man best of luck

Both of these strains are Indica dominant in their growth pattern. I will just have these 2 plants for now. I also only want 400W max in the cabinet, so 200w per plant should about maximize harvest based on this. From ScrOG, I can spread these following their own growth pattern, I plan to do some topping, and spread them out.

I might try to top and LST the C99 and do a ScrOG on the Shark Attack, just to practice both, we will see.

Not much to report. I keep checking on them, but they grow slowly at first I guess. I assume another couple of weeks before I can transplant into bigger pots and the good Roots Organic soil and amendments I bought?

I just top-dressed those 2-cup pots with about 1.5 inches of Roots Organic mixed with 20% EWC. And then I gave them their first good watering, to hopefully get some organic/tea nutrients going to the roots now.

EDIT: I had bought a bag of Perlite, thinking from all the other "How to build the perfect soil threads" that say to add 10% Perlite. But when I opened the bag of Roots Organic, it had a good bit of Perlite already in it. Once I mixed 20% EWC in, it felt really plush for top dressing anyway. I cannot wait to transplant into some better soil, but how old do seedlings have to be before the organic nutrients will benefit them?

Any updates bro?

Ahh another ufo user lol! i also started the sweet deep grape but it sprouted a tail then shriveled up and died.but i did manage to get the shark attack going and is doing well,ours should be close to same age so be nice to watch your grow and see how it does.I still can't find my camera battery but will post up some pics soon. but our cabinets are about the same size as well but i'm running a 400 digi ballast with halide for veg and sodium for flowering,i would save the money your spending on cfl's and buy a decent light got mine shipped for 140 cool tube and all!

Cab looks great!
how are the plants doing now?

good luck with them!