Hey guys, im starting this journal as documentation of my first auto grow, please feel free to post with any comments, suggestions, critiques, and if you like what you see don't be afraid to ask how i did it! my entire setup is built of very inexpensive, but still plenty durable, materials. And the best part is its a breeze for me to modify it if needed!
-The purpose of my grow is simply self supply so it is only 1 plant at a time, plus who doesn't love a good horticulture hobby
im going to start by going over my setup and then we'll get to the actual growing!
-I began by constructing a 2x2x4 pvc frame out of 1/2 pvc (others who have built pvc frames will tell you 3/4 is the smallest size you want to use but for a tent as small as mine 1/2in is plenty durable especially with my particular structural design, i weight about 175 and i can sit on top of the frame without it bending very much at all)
-So i have my frame, next i cut, stretched, and taped black/white poly (panda film) around 3 walls and the bottom of the frame using poly specific tape. Then i cut the last wall section with about 6in extra on the height and used the soft side of my velcro tape around the sides and bottom of the white side (inside) and the opposing side of the velcro tape on the outside of the pvc frame excluding the top section, lined up the bottom and sides of the door to the pvc frame, so that all the velcro was sticking where it should when closed, and then taped the extra 6inchs very well over the top of the box so it can be flipped up without worrying about it possibly falling off. Lastly i cut the piece for the top and sealed it up completely. i did the top last so you would only see the square of tape holding that piece on rather than a bunch of tape lines all over.
-Inside of the tent we have a 150watt HPS lamp hanging from chains (i will never use those stupid ratchet things, after watching a 1000w hood come crashing down destroying 6 of the most beautiful plants id ever seen, because of them). and a 4gal pot with coco/perlite mixed 60/40.
-I have a DIY carbon filter that is constructed of a 1.5in x 15in pvc pipe, capped on one end, with 6 columns (columns go the length of the pipe) of holes drilled, since my filter hangs vertically i cut 4 rows (rows go around the pipe) of 3/8inch holes at the capped end which is the bottom, and then went to 1/4inch holes the rest of the way up it to where my flange connects, this decrease in hole size towards the fan makes it so the fan doesn't have to work as hard and ensures the entire filter will be used to potential rather than just the half of it closer to the fan. this pipe is then wrapped with 1 layer of fine mesh and 1 layer of pre-filter (i used household floor vent filters they work great in a single layer for the inner pipe). after that pipe was finished i took a 3in x 13in piece of pvc pipe, again capped on 1 end, with 11 columns and 12 rows of 1/2in holes drilled, again the reason for bigger holes on the outer pipe just like the lower end of the inner pipe, is so the fan has less restriction from the container itself and only has to work through the restriction of the carbon and pre-filters which is where your scrubbing takes place,extra restriction from the canister in small filters such as this will only result in your fan working harder, once that pipes done it is wrapped in 1 layer of fine mesh and then wrapped in a double layer of the vent filters as they are pretty thin. Once both pipes are constructed i insert the capped end of the 1.5in pipe inside of the 3in pipe so both end caps are at one end, then i use a funnel to carefully add the carbon (i used crushed although i hear pellets work better so im gonna try those next time i refill it, went with the crushed because it was readily available), i make sure to shake the hell out of it while doing this and pack it in semi-gently with a shim or something as i add more until its full leaving just enough space to wadd in 1 of those vent filters at the top in between the 3in and 1.5in pipe, then a 3in to 2in coupler is slipped onto the open end of the 3in pipe, assuming you measured correctly (your measurements may be different than mine for your own needs) then the 2in end of the coupler is sitting at the same hieght as the 1.5in pipe sticking out of the center of it. I had to search long and hard for the flange i needed to do this but its a 6in square top drainage flange, with a 4.75in wide 2.5in deep bevel (the bowl shaped space between the drain grate and actual drain pipe hole), that accepts 1.5in pvc on the inside of the flange and accepts 2in pvc over the outside of the same flange, so that flange slips over/into your 1.5in pipe/2in coupler. viola! you now have a 20$ refillable carbon filter that can be pulled through with a 120mm PC FAN! The reason i mentioned the specifics on the bevel is because it gives my 120mm fan enough vortex space to effectively suck through the 1.5in pipe (im already waiting for the haters to jump on me about how pc fans cannot successfully move air through a scrubber. haters gon' hate but it works for me so
) Since my tent is only 16cft and i only want to replace air once every 3-5mins its better to have a filter with less canister restriction for proper ventilation and odor filtration IF your gonna use pc fans. Pc fans only have so much power behind them, cfm specs for them are only true if they have an open airflow, adding restriction to them slows them down considerably therefore slowing down the cfm it can move, but if you make sure you construct your filter so that really the only restriction is the carbon and prefilter material then the fans will power through! The canister alone should have enough airflow to not restrict the fan at all or very very very little, let the carbon handle that part! This is the secret to pc fan-carbon filters that most people cant figure out. So just to satisfy the haters,NO a pc fan is not enough to pull through a manufactured carbon filter properly, however if you go through some trial and error of your own like i did and keep track of what you did on the attempts that failed, eventually you'll get your math right and you can make one yourself that's just as effective as the real deal! Dont let anyone tell you it cant be done! 
-lastly the frame is built with a set of bars in the side walls that are specifically there to tie my scrog to. they hold the screen 7in above the lip of my pot and my soil is about 1-1.5in below the lip giving me a total of 8-8.5in before hitting the screen and i begin spreading out.
-one more thing thats noteworthy, i use a pc fan speed controller wired with a ac/dc wall adapter to control my exhaust, intake, and wind simulation fans, this controller allows me to control each fan individually and to scale the fan up/down in 10% increments. also has 5 temp sensors to it that i use to check for hot spots so i can adjust my fans accordingly to deal with them.
Again this is a 1 plant grow for self supply only, i may end up swapping my light for like a 250w and go to 2 plants if i decide i need a little more yield per run but that would be my max, i'm not looking to sell or keep myself smoking an oz a day, so please dont tell me to "shove 600w and 8 plants in there". i just want enough to get me by, keep me busy with a hobby, and save me from giving my money to the local scumbags pushing Mexican ditch weed at prices higher than cali's ditch weed, which is still double the thc content of the crap they have where i am.
Now finally lets get to the growin!
So my seed began germ on feb-21st, my strain is F1 Black Jack by SweetSeeds, it is an auto flowering strain. it popped out of the dirt Today! Feb 24th. hasn't fully shed its casing but im sure it will sometime tomorrow
Sorry i don't have any pics to throw up at the moment, phones camera is smashed
new phone on friday though so ill be sure to update then!
-The purpose of my grow is simply self supply so it is only 1 plant at a time, plus who doesn't love a good horticulture hobby
im going to start by going over my setup and then we'll get to the actual growing!-I began by constructing a 2x2x4 pvc frame out of 1/2 pvc (others who have built pvc frames will tell you 3/4 is the smallest size you want to use but for a tent as small as mine 1/2in is plenty durable especially with my particular structural design, i weight about 175 and i can sit on top of the frame without it bending very much at all)
-So i have my frame, next i cut, stretched, and taped black/white poly (panda film) around 3 walls and the bottom of the frame using poly specific tape. Then i cut the last wall section with about 6in extra on the height and used the soft side of my velcro tape around the sides and bottom of the white side (inside) and the opposing side of the velcro tape on the outside of the pvc frame excluding the top section, lined up the bottom and sides of the door to the pvc frame, so that all the velcro was sticking where it should when closed, and then taped the extra 6inchs very well over the top of the box so it can be flipped up without worrying about it possibly falling off. Lastly i cut the piece for the top and sealed it up completely. i did the top last so you would only see the square of tape holding that piece on rather than a bunch of tape lines all over.
-Inside of the tent we have a 150watt HPS lamp hanging from chains (i will never use those stupid ratchet things, after watching a 1000w hood come crashing down destroying 6 of the most beautiful plants id ever seen, because of them). and a 4gal pot with coco/perlite mixed 60/40.
-I have a DIY carbon filter that is constructed of a 1.5in x 15in pvc pipe, capped on one end, with 6 columns (columns go the length of the pipe) of holes drilled, since my filter hangs vertically i cut 4 rows (rows go around the pipe) of 3/8inch holes at the capped end which is the bottom, and then went to 1/4inch holes the rest of the way up it to where my flange connects, this decrease in hole size towards the fan makes it so the fan doesn't have to work as hard and ensures the entire filter will be used to potential rather than just the half of it closer to the fan. this pipe is then wrapped with 1 layer of fine mesh and 1 layer of pre-filter (i used household floor vent filters they work great in a single layer for the inner pipe). after that pipe was finished i took a 3in x 13in piece of pvc pipe, again capped on 1 end, with 11 columns and 12 rows of 1/2in holes drilled, again the reason for bigger holes on the outer pipe just like the lower end of the inner pipe, is so the fan has less restriction from the container itself and only has to work through the restriction of the carbon and pre-filters which is where your scrubbing takes place,extra restriction from the canister in small filters such as this will only result in your fan working harder, once that pipes done it is wrapped in 1 layer of fine mesh and then wrapped in a double layer of the vent filters as they are pretty thin. Once both pipes are constructed i insert the capped end of the 1.5in pipe inside of the 3in pipe so both end caps are at one end, then i use a funnel to carefully add the carbon (i used crushed although i hear pellets work better so im gonna try those next time i refill it, went with the crushed because it was readily available), i make sure to shake the hell out of it while doing this and pack it in semi-gently with a shim or something as i add more until its full leaving just enough space to wadd in 1 of those vent filters at the top in between the 3in and 1.5in pipe, then a 3in to 2in coupler is slipped onto the open end of the 3in pipe, assuming you measured correctly (your measurements may be different than mine for your own needs) then the 2in end of the coupler is sitting at the same hieght as the 1.5in pipe sticking out of the center of it. I had to search long and hard for the flange i needed to do this but its a 6in square top drainage flange, with a 4.75in wide 2.5in deep bevel (the bowl shaped space between the drain grate and actual drain pipe hole), that accepts 1.5in pvc on the inside of the flange and accepts 2in pvc over the outside of the same flange, so that flange slips over/into your 1.5in pipe/2in coupler. viola! you now have a 20$ refillable carbon filter that can be pulled through with a 120mm PC FAN! The reason i mentioned the specifics on the bevel is because it gives my 120mm fan enough vortex space to effectively suck through the 1.5in pipe (im already waiting for the haters to jump on me about how pc fans cannot successfully move air through a scrubber. haters gon' hate but it works for me so
) Since my tent is only 16cft and i only want to replace air once every 3-5mins its better to have a filter with less canister restriction for proper ventilation and odor filtration IF your gonna use pc fans. Pc fans only have so much power behind them, cfm specs for them are only true if they have an open airflow, adding restriction to them slows them down considerably therefore slowing down the cfm it can move, but if you make sure you construct your filter so that really the only restriction is the carbon and prefilter material then the fans will power through! The canister alone should have enough airflow to not restrict the fan at all or very very very little, let the carbon handle that part! This is the secret to pc fan-carbon filters that most people cant figure out. So just to satisfy the haters,NO a pc fan is not enough to pull through a manufactured carbon filter properly, however if you go through some trial and error of your own like i did and keep track of what you did on the attempts that failed, eventually you'll get your math right and you can make one yourself that's just as effective as the real deal! Dont let anyone tell you it cant be done! -lastly the frame is built with a set of bars in the side walls that are specifically there to tie my scrog to. they hold the screen 7in above the lip of my pot and my soil is about 1-1.5in below the lip giving me a total of 8-8.5in before hitting the screen and i begin spreading out.
-one more thing thats noteworthy, i use a pc fan speed controller wired with a ac/dc wall adapter to control my exhaust, intake, and wind simulation fans, this controller allows me to control each fan individually and to scale the fan up/down in 10% increments. also has 5 temp sensors to it that i use to check for hot spots so i can adjust my fans accordingly to deal with them.
Again this is a 1 plant grow for self supply only, i may end up swapping my light for like a 250w and go to 2 plants if i decide i need a little more yield per run but that would be my max, i'm not looking to sell or keep myself smoking an oz a day, so please dont tell me to "shove 600w and 8 plants in there". i just want enough to get me by, keep me busy with a hobby, and save me from giving my money to the local scumbags pushing Mexican ditch weed at prices higher than cali's ditch weed, which is still double the thc content of the crap they have where i am.
Now finally lets get to the growin!
So my seed began germ on feb-21st, my strain is F1 Black Jack by SweetSeeds, it is an auto flowering strain. it popped out of the dirt Today! Feb 24th. hasn't fully shed its casing but im sure it will sometime tomorrow
Sorry i don't have any pics to throw up at the moment, phones camera is smashed
new phone on friday though so ill be sure to update then!