Back after a year or two

gvr4 · 05-22-2010, 06:10 PM

Hey guys it's been a loooonnnnnng time, but I used to lurk here all the time. I'm a medical patient in Colorado and have my first grow going. I've done a lot of research and have a trusty book for reference, but there's just something I can't get right... I know I need to get a ppm meter, and a res thermometer, and that will help stabilize....

man... everyone whos had a successful grow gets my props. im having a hard time stabilizing my closet. temps go from 85 to 100° humidity is struggling to stay around 40%. I have moved my fans around in almost every possible arrangement and cant get temps to drop below 85°. i have both windows in the room open, the damn doors are off the closet, i have a 50cfm fan hangin right to the left of my hood with 3 inch ducting running about 5 ft out of the closet, as close to a window as i can get it. I dont have much for intake. but i have a box fan tilted up at my light which I was hoping would blow hot air away from the plants and bulb. then i have a 8 in. oscilating fan kinda close to a window blowing towards the closet

HYDRO
Strain - 3 "sadhu" Indica dominant /1 "blue moonshine" Indica dominant BAGSEED*
# of Plants - 4
Grow Type - Hydro
Grow Stage - Veg
Setup - Bubbles
Light - 400W MH
Nutrients - General Hydronponics Floragrow, Florabloom *I still need to buy Micro*
Medium - Rockwool, placed in hydroton
PPM - unknown
PH - 6
RH - 20% during day 35% at night
Room Temperature -81* night 85* during day
Solution Temperature -Unknown, need to get a suction cup, thermo for my tote
Room Square Footage - closet, 2 ft deep 7ft wide 5ft tall ish
Pests - None Known

Problem: I have a pretty high temp, and pretty low RH readings, considering I have a humidifier, 50 CFM exhaust fan placed directly left of my hood, a box fan blowing at my light, and an 8 inch oscilating fan in the middle of the room, just moving air, albeit not much. I have 4 styrofoam cups on my tote's lid, and I've been misting the plants every day. I can't seem to get the humidity much above 35% which is much lower than I'd like.. Ideally I'd like to be able to close the door to the room the closet is in, right now I have to leave it open as much as possible because otherwise it just gets super hot and dry, which clearly means I'm not moving enough air. I would rather not cut intake and exhaust holes in my closet doors to move the air if I could avoid it. Maybe I could look into a portable ac unit for the room itself? Any thoughts on that?

farmergiles · 05-23-2010, 01:11 AM

MH bulbs run hot. A bigger exhaust fan is needed, 100 cfm or preferably more.

Mount the exhaust fan at the top of the closet- this will be where the hottest air rises to.

What are the temperatures outside in the shade?

I think part of your problem may be air recirculating and getting hotter and hotter. A longer ducting run might help.
Ideally you'd want the exhaust to vent outside or well away from the intake. Can you put the exhaust fan through the closet wall and have a passive intake in the door or something?
I know you said you didn't want to butcher the closet but that will work out cheaper to fix than AC is to set up. Also I'm not sure how well ac will work if you have the door open- don't you need ducting and a closed space for it to work?

The way you have a fan pointing at the light is a good thing- this will stop the shade itself getting too hot and projecting hot spots onto the plants.
Again, it sounds as if you have the oscillating fan set up good so it moves the air around the plants.

AC is expensive to set up and run. Have you thought about an air cooled hood?

Are you running the light 24hrs in veg? If so you could change to 18hrs on 6 off with the light off at midday and on through the night- this will keep temps down a bit although veg will take a little longer this way.

An air cooled reflector will address this problem better than AC I think, unless you just happen to have an ac unit lying around spare. I'd be looking at 5" in line fans and cooltubes or something similar.

Is stealth an issue? A carbon filter can easily be added to an exhaust fan set up to remove smells.

Humidity should rise a little if you get the temperature under control.

You don't need a ppm meter as long as you err on the side of caution with the nutes and change the reservoir frequently enough but if you can get one it takes some of the guessing away.

gvr4 · 05-23-2010, 08:56 AM

cool i have decided to run cfls in place of my MH and HPS bulbs until I can figure out how to properly vent my room. farmergiles o think you are correct sir about hot air just recirculating in the room. the dimensions of the closet are 5'high x 5'wide x 2'deep there is a shelf that cuts the height off at 5ft otherwise i could 8 or 9 ft of height to work with if shelf removed. hmmm so i can just cut a three onch hole on the closet and stick the ducting through it and i could attach a filter to that... so the air would just get pumped inbetween the walls is that safe? stealth is an ossue i dont want someone whos in my house to smell it. ive read charcoal is the professional way. i am using 24 hour lights.

farmergiles · 05-23-2010, 09:19 AM

Usually you have the carbon filter inside the cabinet. Most carbon filters are designed to have air sucked through them.
I think Odorsock filters are designed to be used both ways but I havn't used them myself.

I can't think of any safety issues venting into a drywall cavity except maybe humidity but ideally you want to vent to somewhere separate or you may end up with recirculation again.
Also the air has to go somewhere- I guess it would end up coming out under the skirting or through light fittings on the drywall.

First thing I'd do is switch to 18 hrs of light and 6 of darkness or maybe 20/4. If the dark period is at the hottest part of the day your peak temperature will be lower. If your plants get 18 or more hrs of light per day they should keep vegging.

How are they getting on with the low humidity? 20-35 is low but humidity is most critical with small plants- once they have a good root system going they can cope better.

gvr4 · 05-23-2010, 10:06 AM

okay well i have 4, 27w 5000k hanging over them now bssically one above each plant and im getting a stable 74-77° temps and humidity is now staying around 44%.

I wish I knew how to upload pics but im using my phone. sigh.

Is there any type of legit odor control that I wouldnt have to hook up any ducting to?

I'm thinkin about just using CFL's for my first go at it, the plants are still small, maybe recovering from some heat stress still? One of them is starting to shrivel.

Also how far down in the hydroton should the rockwool be placed? I buried them about an inch from the bottom of the net cups thinkin they wouldnt get any water if they were closer to the top.

Lastly should there be a gap between my net cups and water in my tub or should the bottom of the net cups be submerged?

thanks so much for any help I can get !

gvr4 · 05-23-2010, 07:16 PM

yay

**Mafoo** · 05-23-2010, 07:28 PM

thats a clean little container you have set up there. i could be wrong but i think those lights are a bit close to the plants. the one on the left is looking good

gvr4 · 05-23-2010, 10:27 PM

ah thanks for coming by! Those lights are babies 25w I can hold them and be cool. It's my first grow and I am really torn on what to do with my setup. I have a 400 watt hps setup and a 400w MH conversions bulb for veg. I was having heat issues and couldn't get proper venting going so now im debating just using CFL's all the way through. we shall see! good lookin out though Mafoo thanks!

farmergiles · 05-24-2010, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gvr4

Also how far down in the hydroton should the rockwool be placed? I buried them about an inch from the bottom of the net cups thinkin they wouldnt get any water if they were closer to the top.

Lastly should there be a gap between my net cups and water in my tub or should the bottom of the net cups be submerged?

What kind of a set up is that, ebb and flow, aeroponic or what? Looks like a nice tidy set up.

gvr4 · 05-24-2010, 08:57 AM

Yea slunt, great addition to the thread and welcome! ive calculated my area to have 15 square feet. im thinking of making the left side a clone/veg area, and turn the right side into my bloomer. I'll need approximately 75000 lumens for my to imitate the sun.

farmergiles, it is actually a dwc bubble setup. 18 gallon tote(I chose white to help reflect any light and hopefully help with any algae that might wanna grow)

gvr4 · 05-24-2010, 09:43 AM

better pictures, look at the shriveled one

I dont think he's goin to make it sigh, if anyone has questions or tips let me know! I check this thing like 30 times a day Hehe.

gvr4 · 05-24-2010, 11:53 AM

I am now debating buying a mylar tent for flower because I cannot modify my house for proper ventilation. I will use the closet for clones /vegetative. hopefully with the tent I will be able to run my 400w bulbs. thoughts?

gvr4 · 05-25-2010, 01:19 PM

got my first roots coming through the bottom of my net cups.

farmergiles · 05-25-2010, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gvr4

I am now debating buying a mylar tent for flower because I cannot modify my house for proper ventilation. I will use the closet for clones /vegetative. hopefully with the tent I will be able to run my 400w bulbs. thoughts?

The tents work fine, they tend to get knackered after a grow or two though.

Congrats on the roots

.

gvr4 · 05-25-2010, 04:12 PM

hey farmergiles thanks for checking in on me! ya I was wondering how long those tents would hold up.

gvr4 · 05-25-2010, 08:52 PM

Can someone move this to the journal thread? Or should I just start a new one? All the info is here though, from start to current.

gvr4 · 05-26-2010, 03:57 PM

moved my 2 survivors into their own 5 gallon dwc buckets. started them on some half strength nutrients today when I gave them fresh water. still under 24 hour CFL's. now we just gotta keep our fingers crossed that they are female!

I attached some pictures, hopefully they can help someone out there. let me know if you have a question about anything guys.

farmergiles · 05-26-2010, 04:14 PM

Good luck with this, I like the lab style.

gvr4 · 05-26-2010, 11:53 PM

water temp read from outside bucket, plant shots and bubbles!

In my little bit of experience, its better to buy the 5 inch circular air stone with a 5 gallon bucket setup.

The "girls" are looking better in my opinion. I gave them just under a tsp "2.5ml" ish of GH Floragro and Floramicro tonight . haven't seen any negatives reactions yet.

Trying to learn about ppm now. I have a meter and I tested my bucket water by just sticking the meter in there and it was reading 175 I believe? next time im going to take a sample out. I took 2 oz of tap water and left it out for a few hours and I got an 85 ppm reading when I tested it.

I'll post again soon, enjoy!

gvr4 · 05-31-2010, 06:00 PM

Have the babes back under 400w MH now. Moved out of the closet so hopefully that helps with temps. I still don't have much options for ventilation but I will post some pictures of the setup soon!

05-22-2010, 06:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	Back after a year or two Hey guys it's been a loooonnnnnng time, but I used to lurk here all the time. I'm a medical patient in Colorado and have my first grow going. I've done a lot of research and have a trusty book for reference, but there's just something I can't get right... I know I need to get a ppm meter, and a res thermometer, and that will help stabilize.... man... everyone whos had a successful grow gets my props. im having a hard time stabilizing my closet. temps go from 85 to 100° humidity is struggling to stay around 40%. I have moved my fans around in almost every possible arrangement and cant get temps to drop below 85°. i have both windows in the room open, the damn doors are off the closet, i have a 50cfm fan hangin right to the left of my hood with 3 inch ducting running about 5 ft out of the closet, as close to a window as i can get it. I dont have much for intake. but i have a box fan tilted up at my light which I was hoping would blow hot air away from the plants and bulb. then i have a 8 in. oscilating fan kinda close to a window blowing towards the closet HYDRO Strain - 3 "sadhu" Indica dominant /1 "blue moonshine" Indica dominant BAGSEED* # of Plants - 4 Grow Type - Hydro Grow Stage - Veg Setup - Bubbles Light - 400W MH Nutrients - General Hydronponics Floragrow, Florabloom I still need to buy Micro Medium - Rockwool, placed in hydroton PPM - unknown PH - 6 RH - 20% during day 35% at night Room Temperature -81* night 85* during day Solution Temperature -Unknown, need to get a suction cup, thermo for my tote Room Square Footage - closet, 2 ft deep 7ft wide 5ft tall ish Pests - None Known Problem: I have a pretty high temp, and pretty low RH readings, considering I have a humidifier, 50 CFM exhaust fan placed directly left of my hood, a box fan blowing at my light, and an 8 inch oscilating fan in the middle of the room, just moving air, albeit not much. I have 4 styrofoam cups on my tote's lid, and I've been misting the plants every day. I can't seem to get the humidity much above 35% which is much lower than I'd like.. Ideally I'd like to be able to close the door to the room the closet is in, right now I have to leave it open as much as possible because otherwise it just gets super hot and dry, which clearly means I'm not moving enough air. I would rather not cut intake and exhaust holes in my closet doors to move the air if I could avoid it. Maybe I could look into a portable ac unit for the room itself? Any thoughts on that?

05-23-2010, 01:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
farmergiles Yahookan Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sick of the hatred and the lies Posts: 7,807 Thanks: 2,285 Thanked 3,750 Times in 2,554 Posts	MH bulbs run hot. A bigger exhaust fan is needed, 100 cfm or preferably more. Mount the exhaust fan at the top of the closet- this will be where the hottest air rises to. What are the temperatures outside in the shade? I think part of your problem may be air recirculating and getting hotter and hotter. A longer ducting run might help. Ideally you'd want the exhaust to vent outside or well away from the intake. Can you put the exhaust fan through the closet wall and have a passive intake in the door or something? I know you said you didn't want to butcher the closet but that will work out cheaper to fix than AC is to set up. Also I'm not sure how well ac will work if you have the door open- don't you need ducting and a closed space for it to work? The way you have a fan pointing at the light is a good thing- this will stop the shade itself getting too hot and projecting hot spots onto the plants. Again, it sounds as if you have the oscillating fan set up good so it moves the air around the plants. AC is expensive to set up and run. Have you thought about an air cooled hood? Are you running the light 24hrs in veg? If so you could change to 18hrs on 6 off with the light off at midday and on through the night- this will keep temps down a bit although veg will take a little longer this way. An air cooled reflector will address this problem better than AC I think, unless you just happen to have an ac unit lying around spare. I'd be looking at 5" in line fans and cooltubes or something similar. Is stealth an issue? A carbon filter can easily be added to an exhaust fan set up to remove smells. Humidity should rise a little if you get the temperature under control. You don't need a ppm meter as long as you err on the side of caution with the nutes and change the reservoir frequently enough but if you can get one it takes some of the guessing away. __________________ Cultivate a stoic calmness *Fuck the Monkeys* Every Kind of Vice

05-23-2010, 08:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	cool i have decided to run cfls in place of my MH and HPS bulbs until I can figure out how to properly vent my room. farmergiles o think you are correct sir about hot air just recirculating in the room. the dimensions of the closet are 5'high x 5'wide x 2'deep there is a shelf that cuts the height off at 5ft otherwise i could 8 or 9 ft of height to work with if shelf removed. hmmm so i can just cut a three onch hole on the closet and stick the ducting through it and i could attach a filter to that... so the air would just get pumped inbetween the walls is that safe? stealth is an ossue i dont want someone whos in my house to smell it. ive read charcoal is the professional way. i am using 24 hour lights. __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-23-2010, 09:19 AM	#4 (permalink)
farmergiles Yahookan Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sick of the hatred and the lies Posts: 7,807 Thanks: 2,285 Thanked 3,750 Times in 2,554 Posts	Usually you have the carbon filter inside the cabinet. Most carbon filters are designed to have air sucked through them. I think Odorsock filters are designed to be used both ways but I havn't used them myself. I can't think of any safety issues venting into a drywall cavity except maybe humidity but ideally you want to vent to somewhere separate or you may end up with recirculation again. Also the air has to go somewhere- I guess it would end up coming out under the skirting or through light fittings on the drywall. First thing I'd do is switch to 18 hrs of light and 6 of darkness or maybe 20/4. If the dark period is at the hottest part of the day your peak temperature will be lower. If your plants get 18 or more hrs of light per day they should keep vegging. How are they getting on with the low humidity? 20-35 is low but humidity is most critical with small plants- once they have a good root system going they can cope better. __________________ Cultivate a stoic calmness *Fuck the Monkeys* Every Kind of Vice

05-23-2010, 10:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	okay well i have 4, 27w 5000k hanging over them now bssically one above each plant and im getting a stable 74-77° temps and humidity is now staying around 44%. I wish I knew how to upload pics but im using my phone. sigh. Is there any type of legit odor control that I wouldnt have to hook up any ducting to? I'm thinkin about just using CFL's for my first go at it, the plants are still small, maybe recovering from some heat stress still? One of them is starting to shrivel. Also how far down in the hydroton should the rockwool be placed? I buried them about an inch from the bottom of the net cups thinkin they wouldnt get any water if they were closer to the top. Lastly should there be a gap between my net cups and water in my tub or should the bottom of the net cups be submerged? thanks so much for any help I can get ! __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html Last edited by gvr4; 05-23-2010 at 02:34 PM. Reason: clean up / typos

05-23-2010, 07:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	yay Attached Images __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-23-2010, 07:28 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mafoo nice daze Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: the anguish of anticipated transformation Posts: 5,975 Thanks: 3,776 Thanked 2,652 Times in 1,698 Posts	thats a clean little container you have set up there. i could be wrong but i think those lights are a bit close to the plants. the one on the left is looking good __________________ PLUR For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

05-23-2010, 10:27 PM	#8 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	ah thanks for coming by! Those lights are babies 25w I can hold them and be cool. It's my first grow and I am really torn on what to do with my setup. I have a 400 watt hps setup and a 400w MH conversions bulb for veg. I was having heat issues and couldn't get proper venting going so now im debating just using CFL's all the way through. we shall see! good lookin out though Mafoo thanks! __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-24-2010, 08:57 AM	#10 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	Yea slunt, great addition to the thread and welcome! ive calculated my area to have 15 square feet. im thinking of making the left side a clone/veg area, and turn the right side into my bloomer. I'll need approximately 75000 lumens for my to imitate the sun. farmergiles, it is actually a dwc bubble setup. 18 gallon tote(I chose white to help reflect any light and hopefully help with any algae that might wanna grow) __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-24-2010, 09:43 AM	#11 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	better pictures, look at the shriveled one I dont think he's goin to make it sigh, if anyone has questions or tips let me know! I check this thing like 30 times a day Hehe. Attached Images __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-24-2010, 11:53 AM	#12 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	I am now debating buying a mylar tent for flower because I cannot modify my house for proper ventilation. I will use the closet for clones /vegetative. hopefully with the tent I will be able to run my 400w bulbs. thoughts? __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-25-2010, 01:19 PM	#13 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	got my first roots coming through the bottom of my net cups. __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-25-2010, 04:12 PM	#15 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	hey farmergiles thanks for checking in on me! ya I was wondering how long those tents would hold up. __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-25-2010, 08:52 PM	#16 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	Can someone move this to the journal thread? Or should I just start a new one? All the info is here though, from start to current. __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-26-2010, 03:57 PM	#17 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	update moved my 2 survivors into their own 5 gallon dwc buckets. started them on some half strength nutrients today when I gave them fresh water. still under 24 hour CFL's. now we just gotta keep our fingers crossed that they are female! I attached some pictures, hopefully they can help someone out there. let me know if you have a question about anything guys. Attached Images __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-26-2010, 04:14 PM	#18 (permalink)
farmergiles Yahookan Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sick of the hatred and the lies Posts: 7,807 Thanks: 2,285 Thanked 3,750 Times in 2,554 Posts	Good luck with this, I like the lab style. __________________ Cultivate a stoic calmness *Fuck the Monkeys* Every Kind of Vice

05-26-2010, 11:53 PM	#19 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	water temp read from outside bucket, plant shots and bubbles! In my little bit of experience, its better to buy the 5 inch circular air stone with a 5 gallon bucket setup. The "girls" are looking better in my opinion. I gave them just under a tsp "2.5ml" ish of GH Floragro and Floramicro tonight . haven't seen any negatives reactions yet. Trying to learn about ppm now. I have a meter and I tested my bucket water by just sticking the meter in there and it was reading 175 I believe? next time im going to take a sample out. I took 2 oz of tap water and left it out for a few hours and I got an 85 ppm reading when I tested it. I'll post again soon, enjoy! Attached Images __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

05-31-2010, 06:00 PM	#20 (permalink)
gvr4 YaHookan Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 101 Thanks: 45 Thanked 25 Times in 14 Posts	Have the babes back under 400w MH now. Moved out of the closet so hopefully that helps with temps. I still don't have much options for ventilation but I will post some pictures of the setup soon! __________________ My first grow.http://www.yahooka.com/forum/introdu...-year-two.html

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