Help out a first timer

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Cutdown

Active Member
Ok so I got some random seeds a couple of weeks back and because I had a 400W HPS without a job hanging around (leftovers from my old flatmate) I decided to give growing a go.
My growroom is a 50cm x 60cm (base) and 110cm high closet, with the light hooked up at the sealing and plants at the bottom ofc. My babies have been planted straight into a sandy soil without germination, and every single one of them except one has started growing, seeds are Jack Herer & Ed Rosenthal from Sensi Seeds.
I have a normal "tablefan" blowing air from the bottom of the closet inside, gently waving the plants. Door is open of course, the light isn't the prob because I don't have to worry about nosy neighbours.
My problem is that the temperature gets way too high, around 35 degrees celsius, and I can't figure out what to use as extra cooling because the fan clearly isn't enough. Plants are now 15-18cm tall (dunno what that's in inches), 'bout 2 weeks old, and don't seem to be bothered about the heat at least not yet. Or who am I to tell since this is my first time, they could be in agony. But they seem to be ok, healthy colour and all.

Am I doing something horribly wrong here?

Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!
 
Schmidty

Schmidty

Asshole Patrol
1) Where is your fan pointed? If you fan is not pointed directly at the light reflectors, try that. It might help cool down the reflectors before the hot air actually has a chance to rise off of them. Maybe a second fan?
2) What times are you running the light? You want to ensure that you're keeping the area warm at night while its cool, and turning the light off during the day so it doesnt get any warmer than it has to. You should always tweak the lights, timing and temp for about two weeks prior to beginning your grow. That way you can work out these details before you have plants reliant on the lights.
3) You might try a two liter bottle of frozen water right behind your fan (Do be careful of water drippage though... Hate to see someone electricuted or a fire started). The fan will basicall pull the cool air off of the frozen bottle and disperse it around the area. Its not as effective in a larger area, but a closet should work nicely if you keep a frozen bottle in as much as possible.

Aside from that, you might need to look at bringing cooler air in from outside the house...
 
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Active Member
Ok got a 2l frozen bottle behind the fan and the fan blowing directly onto the lamp, managed to bring temp down to 28 celsius, this should be ok for vegetation?
Also got some Widow seeds yesterday, have to put 'em into vegetation at some point as well ^^
Thanks for the tips!
 
VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
Cutdown said:
Ok so I got some random seeds a couple of weeks back and because I had a 400W HPS without a job hanging around (leftovers from my old flatmate) I decided to give growing a go.
My growroom is a 50cm x 60cm (base) and 110cm high closet, with the light hooked up at the sealing and plants at the bottom ofc. My babies have been planted straight into a sandy soil without germination, and every single one of them except one has started growing, seeds are Jack Herer & Ed Rosenthal from Sensi Seeds.

For a fast conversion from cm to inches a meter is just about 40'". So 10cm=4". So your 'grow room' is a box about 20"by24" by 4'. When you do need that 400watt light in that box you will need to air cool it seperate from the rest of your air handling system. You should put the light on the floor and the plants on the ceiling.

I have a normal "tablefan" blowing air from the bottom of the closet inside, gently waving the plants. Door is open of course, the light isn't the prob because I don't have to worry about nosy neighbours.
My problem is that the temperature gets way too high, around 35 degrees celsius, and I can't figure out what to use as extra cooling because the fan clearly isn't enough. Plants are now 15-18cm tall (dunno what that's in inches), 'bout 2 weeks old, and don't seem to be bothered about the heat at least not yet. Or who am I to tell since this is my first time, they could be in agony. But they seem to be ok, healthy colour and all.

Am I doing something horribly wrong here?

NOt horribly wrong, just plain wrong. You will want to read a few journals posted in this forum by folks doing a grow in a small box like that. Its kinda like putting a furnace in a box. Now that you have it there you need to add some ducting to distribute the heat to the rest of the house, not just blow it around in the box, and of course you will want to return some air into the box to replace the hot air you took out.


Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!
Click to expand...
I am confident that you will figure this out. After all you did get this far without any help. Keep it going. VV
 
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Active Member
Actually did some counting, day 13 going on, plants are still at about 8 inches tall, but about as wide as well. Would have to get a cam for some pics, not sure if they look right.
Temp's still an issue even after getting a 2nd fan and using all the tricks, first it seemed it would be a lot lower but nastily hanging around 30 degrees celsius. Took out a couple of leaves that were dried up halfway through, not sure if this hurts them more than it helps.
If I'm this jitterish about every change that happens in my plants I really don't want any kids yet, would drive me bonkers :D
 
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Btw the stems are about 7mm thick, is this okay or should they be stronger?
Trying to get that cam soon, kind of hard to ask any advice without pics..
 
Schmidty

Schmidty

Asshole Patrol
Sounds like you're doing fine. Do what you can to keep the temp a little lower...

If you're paying that close attention to your grow, and you're catching all of the small changes (better and worse) then you're going to be fine in the end.

Look forward to seeing some pics.
 
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Active Member
If I get an additional source of co2 wouldn't that somewhat help with the issue of temperature? I mean growth-wise.
And been goin' over this idea in my head which I wanted to run through you guys before actually doing it; what if I get a coffin-like (one you open at the top) fridge, install all the plants there, drill ventilation holes for fans and attach the HPS to the roof of it, and then keep it on but at lowest setting so it would only chill the air a bit?
Does that sound practical or just insane, I really don't know the difference at this point :D
 
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Active Member
Ok so I mixed sugar & yeast into a 2l container filled with water and placed it next to my plants, and DAMN the growth has been ridicilous after that. My babies are so bushy I can't believe my own eyes.
Getting camera tomorrow to show some pics ^^ I'm a proud daddy.
 
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Active Member
Ok so I took a pic of the closet, just wondering are these too young/small to get into flowering? I know that some strains could be put into 12/12 from the beginning, but since my seeds are unknown I'm not sure what to do.
And I'm only looking for a small harvest (if I get 4oz I'm more than happy, don't smoke a lot) to keep me warm in the warm winternights while I wait my Jack Herers to veg and then put them into flowering.

Anyway, here's the pic, tell me if you need more specifics. (400W HPS, no nutes yet, planted in soil, day 17 going on)

 
GooDGR3EN13

GooDGR3EN13

Well-Known Member
Heat was a problem for me to. I solved the problem with a portable AC I got off ebay ( 175-200 dollars ) there small and you can keep the room at whatever temp you want good investment.
 
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