First Grow, Rubbermaid and cfls... let's see where this goes...

H

headssstash

Member
Hellllllo all

Current set up is a 35 gal rubbermaid with 5 23 (65k) cfl's with 3 plants on day 7 in the veg cycle in it.
Currently the soil is only miracle grow organic soil... but some perlite and vermiculite will be mixed in when they are transplanted...
Humidity was at 55 yesterday, but today it was at 45... the temp seems to stay at 78 - 81 degrees...
The Ph of the soil looks to be between 6.5 and 7.5.... but not very experienced with the ph test kits... (also have n-p-k soil test tubes... haven't used them yet)

Any suggestions, questions or help is highly welcome and greatly appreciated.... hopefully pictures will come soon....

Stay tuned:leaf:
 
H

headssstash

Member
The humidity seems like it is getting worse and worse... today is day 8 is it's at 40%, day 7 was 45% and day 6 was 55%... seems like it is dropping as time goes on..
Will this be an issue and what can be done to help raise it up??, i've read that it should be no lower than 50% during veg with 60-65 being ideal....
 
stoned.gnome

stoned.gnome

Member
I'm about to do the same thing man! The roommate and I got a 31gal rubbermaid. It'll be our first time as well. We're going out today to get almost all the materials.

As far as humidity this is taken from The Cannabis Grow Bible (4th ed) by Greg Green:

"Cannabis plants work best in the 40 - 80 percent relative humidity area. rH (relative humidity) is the amount of water in the air. Fresh air always is the best way to control humidity. If you have a rH measuring kit you can judge for yourself how much fresh air you need before hitting the optimum 60% level."
 
G

gplayerz

Member
headssstash said:
Hellllllo all

Current set up is a 35 gal rubbermaid with 5 23 (65k) cfl's with 3 plants on day 7 in the veg cycle in it.
Currently the soil is only miracle grow organic soil... but some perlite and vermiculite will be mixed in when they are transplanted...
Humidity was at 55 yesterday, but today it was at 45... the temp seems to stay at 78 - 81 degrees...
The Ph of the soil looks to be between 6.5 and 7.5.... but not very experienced with the ph test kits... (also have n-p-k soil test tubes... haven't used them yet)

Any suggestions, questions or help is highly welcome and greatly appreciated.... hopefully pictures will come soon....

Stay tuned:leaf:
Click to expand...
Hey man, congrats on starting a new grow. first off no need to add the vermiculite, just add some perlite to the mix when u transplant and also every watering make sure that your ph is correct... Very Important.. monitor it. Are you going to be putting up any pics in the near future for us to see how they are doing as well? Peace.
 
H

headssstash

Member
Is the vermiculite pointless? Was planning on having the soil mix 1/2 part verm, 1 part perlite and 2 part soil (mg organic has nothing in it that i can tell for good aeration or anything like that, that's why i grabbed verm. and perlite)... Also from some reading seems like MG organic is pretty low in nutrients... so grabbed some MG blood meal for vegging, it's npk is 12-0-0. Was thinking about feeding around day 14/2weeks but only a little bit...
Also i do not have water ph test kits... but can get some, what kind would you recommend, will spend extra money for a more precise reader... But i can test the soil for ph and n-p-k, already have those test kits
and yes pics soon. but camera is m.i.a. at the moment
 
D

doode

Member
I've done a few rubbermaid grows myself in the past currently on my third grow. Just a tip I thought of for my most recent grow is to cut out the bottom of the container so the pots sit flush in the container maximizing space.
 
bblzs

bblzs

Active Member
I agree with doode, I myself did a rubbermaid grow, my first grow. Only 2 plants. AfghanKush X WhiteWidow and a Paradise Acid. The Acid has already been harvested, dried & cured. The Afghan has about 6 more days I think.

These pics are a few weeks old..
I have 10 26w 2700K cfls in there now. & had 10 26w 5000k cfls in during veg.
I got 1 1/2 ounces off the Acid :) & the Afghan is triple that now!!:leaf::leaf:


goodgrowing with your ladies!
 

Attachments

G

gplayerz

Member
headssstash said:
Is the vermiculite pointless? Was planning on having the soil mix 1/2 part verm, 1 part perlite and 2 part soil (mg organic has nothing in it that i can tell for good aeration or anything like that, that's why i grabbed verm. and perlite)... Also from some reading seems like MG organic is pretty low in nutrients... so grabbed some MG blood meal for vegging, it's npk is 12-0-0. Was thinking about feeding around day 14/2weeks but only a little bit...
Also i do not have water ph test kits... but can get some, what kind would you recommend, will spend extra money for a more precise reader... But i can test the soil for ph and n-p-k, already have those test kits
and yes pics soon. but camera is m.i.a. at the moment
Click to expand...
In this case yes the vermiculite is pointless. Just add the perlite to the soil that you are using. As far as the nutrients go, i would recommend that you try and get some proper nutrients like fox farms line up etc. Dont even worry about the nutrients to heavily because whatever is in the soil will hold the seedling up until its about 2.5 to 3 weeks. i would suggest getting a ph pen the one i bought was about $20.00 and is great. Peace.
 
H

headssstash

Member
bblzs said:
I agree with doode, I myself did a rubbermaid grow, my first grow. Only 2 plants. AfghanKush X WhiteWidow and a Paradise Acid. The Acid has already been harvested, dried & cured. The Afghan has about 6 more days I think.

These pics are a few weeks old..
I have 10 26w 2700K cfls in there now. & had 10 26w 5000k cfls in during veg.
I got 1 1/2 ounces off the Acid :) & the Afghan is triple that now!!:leaf::leaf:


goodgrowing with your ladies!
Click to expand...
Awesome i'm hoping to get at least 1 from each since it is my first... but 1 1/2 - 2 from each and i would be very happy... do you even have mylar or anything reflective inside yours? Also all the lights are 65k for my vegging but i was thinking of mixing 50k and 65k... good idea you think or would it really matter?
Thanks for checking it out!
 
Kush Roller

Kush Roller

Member
Sounds like a great start, cant wait to see some pics.You should check out my grow in my sig. Im using a tub too! I dont know how big it is though, as i got it out of the garage.
One Love
 
H

headssstash

Member
gplayerz said:
In this case yes the vermiculite is pointless. Just add the perlite to the soil that you are using. As far as the nutrients go, i would recommend that you try and get some proper nutrients like fox farms line up etc. Dont even worry about the nutrients to heavily because whatever is in the soil will hold the seedling up until its about 2.5 to 3 weeks. i would suggest getting a ph pen the one i bought was about $20.00 and is great. Peace.
Click to expand...
MG organic has very very little fertilizer compared to most soils (0.10 - 0.05 - 0.05) and i can't get fox farms around here and shipping is way too much... if i ever see it around i will grab it. Is this what you mean by ph pen? Will this one work just fine? http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-Instruments-PH600AQ-Tester-Calibration/dp/B005H78ZI0/ref=sr_1_50?s=industrial&ie=UTF8
 
bblzs

bblzs

Active Member
No reflectives, it was my first grow.. My second will be much better.
Much more efficient box also, with the mylar this time! I have two fans, 1 exhaust. The humidity and temp stayed perfect with cfls for a little grow space.
 
H

headssstash

Member
They are 10 days old today and looking great so far(I think). They are working on their 3rd set of leaves.
Still just 5 23 watters on them. Going to add a 6th light(150 watts total), so it'll be 3 fixtures with 2 lights on each by the time they hit 2 weeks.
Watered them yesterday, didn't touch them today... HUMIDITY is STILL at 40... trying to get it back up to 50 but am having trouble doing that.
Germinating some more seeds, gonna plant those within 5 days.
.....still no pictures...... sorry.... gotta find this camera!
 
H

headssstash

Member
Please help: the computer fans for the intake/exhaust of the rubbermaid box came in today... i know it's possible to wire them because i've done it before but now it won't work... it probably has something to do with the volts or amps or something...
The one and only charger i had to use is a phone charger that's 5.0V 0.7A and the comp fans are 12V 0.16A
I assume that the charger simply can not supply power to the fans. What do i need to get so that they will have power? Do i need to buy a power cord/supply/charger that is 12V so that the volts of the supply match the fans?
 
jr22hockey

jr22hockey

Well-Known Member
If I could give you a bit of advice since it's your first grow, it would be to grow more than 3 seeds. Start with 10-15. If you start with 10, you'll probably have 7 still alive by the time you flower, 2-5 of which would be females. If you successfully flower 4 females under cfl's, you would probably get 1.5-2 ounces. Fill that space up. The plants get bigger, but many die off so you'll have space.
 
G

gplayerz

Member
headssstash said:
Please help: the computer fans for the intake/exhaust of the rubbermaid box came in today... i know it's possible to wire them because i've done it before but now it won't work... it probably has something to do with the volts or amps or something...
The one and only charger i had to use is a phone charger that's 5.0V 0.7A and the comp fans are 12V 0.16A
I assume that the charger simply can not supply power to the fans. What do i need to get so that they will have power? Do i need to buy a power cord/supply/charger that is 12V so that the volts of the supply match the fans?
Click to expand...
i would suggest getting an old computer power supply, thats your most desirable option. Secondly you can go out to the mall or somewere like radio shack and get a charger that has the different volt settings and make sure that it doesnt exceed the amperage of the fans or else they will fry. Hope i helped..
 
H

headssstash

Member
gplayerz said:
i would suggest getting an old computer power supply, thats your most desirable option. Secondly you can go out to the mall or somewere like radio shack and get a charger that has the different volt settings and make sure that it doesnt exceed the amperage of the fans or else they will fry. Hope i helped..
Click to expand...
Yeah that makes. Just didn't really know what the volts and amps mean... so i should be able to find a 12V power adapter somewhere around .3 or .4A since two fans that are .16A will be connected right?
Just thought about this - goodwill always has boxes of old power supplys and stuff for cheap cheap. I bet i can find what i need there.

Girls just woke up... Humid-46 Temp-76. Seeing nothing but progress in them so far.
 
H

headssstash

Member
jr22hockey said:
If I could give you a bit of advice since it's your first grow, it would be to grow more than 3 seeds. Start with 10-15. If you start with 10, you'll probably have 7 still alive by the time you flower, 2-5 of which would be females. If you successfully flower 4 females under cfl's, you would probably get 1.5-2 ounces. Fill that space up. The plants get bigger, but many die off so you'll have space.
Click to expand...
Yeah actually started the grow with 6 plants but 2 died off within 3 days because the grow wasn't entirely set up yet (seeds had germinated so much had to pop them in soil) and the 3rd just didn't quite make it(really slow growth, tossed it to reuse pot). Now that the setup is to the point where humidity and temp is checked daily and ph of soil is checked weekly, i don't expect to lose any more plants except to males. Gonna pop 3 more seeds in today or tomorrow. (whenever i have time)
And regarding weight, I'm hoping for a 14g/half from each on average... 21g or a full oz from each on average and i would be extremely happy.
 
B

Bleezyboy1990

Active Member
Go to newegg.com and they have a 4pin molex adapter that plugs into the wall and can power pc fans. Only about 5 bucks. I personally found an adapter at frys electronics that had two 12v plugs and wired my two fans in my pc build to it and only took up one plug. In these small builds its all about saving space! If you haven't id try your hand at wiring the lights vs using the power strip. More lights with less space and money.
 
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