Looking for help (first time grower)

kumar420

kumar420

Member
here are the basics of my setup (btw i live in queensland australia, so no snowy winters here!)
i have got 5 plants going right now, all from bagseed (quality genetics seem to be hard to come by in this part of the world)
the biggest plant i started about a month ago, its been outdoors in winter weather (temps never go below 15 degrees celcius at the very lowest, and 30-32 at the highest)
about 8-10 hours of sun a day

i originally planted the first one as a growing experiment, but when i found out my parents are cool with a bit of cultivation, i planted a few more.
seeds were started in rockwool with tap water (tap water is 6.5 here, i tested it with an aquarium kit)
i've been using green dream two part vegetative growth formula in full doses (yes this sounds stupid, but my first plant took off- about 4mL of part A and 4mL of part B in a gallon of water)
substrate is 2/3 perlite and 1/3 vermiculite, and i only give them nutes in the morning.

i'm planning to move them inside into a CFL box setup (one box for veg and another for 1-2 flowering plants)
i was thinking 7 or 8 23W 6500K CFL's for the veg box (one on each vertical side of the box, and three hanging an inch above the foliage) and 7 or 8 2700K CFL's for the flowering box, with more or less the same arrangement of lights

is this a good idea? i heard that CFL's lose most of their power more than an inch from the foliage, so i figured a few lamps on the side would help

obviously the walls will be coated in mylar (emergency blanket mylar if i can find it) and i'll have a carbon filtered extraction fan on the flowering box and a small intake fan on both boxes (and a small extractor for the veg box)

the box is roughly 3 feet tall, 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep (cardboard dishwasher box)
will this be big enough to flower 1-2 decent sized plants in? and will i need to get special flowering nutes when i flower them?

help is much appreciated, and pictures are attached (most recent shot of the big plant is ~4 weeks, the rest are barely 5-6 days old)
sorry about the size.

PS- i originally got the nutrients for a biology experiment with pak choi, which is going quite well- that is why its veg nutrients, since the guy at the hydro shop recommended it
 

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Sr. Verde

Sr. Verde

Well-Known Member
Yo man I just cut two plants I grew in a box with about those dimensions. I used CFL's and mylar just like your talking about. I'm working on a journal right now. You can check it out when I post it.


The question is, how big of plants are you trying to grow?
 
kumar420

kumar420

Member
i was thinking around 3-4 feet at the very highest when they finish flowering, but i might just throw out the box and build myself a grow cab of sorts
i need it to be semi-stealthy, just so it isnt plainly visible when i have people over at my house (i have alot of parties, haha)
i'm mostly going to be growing for personal use, maybe deal occasionally to friends
i'll check out the journal though, thanks for the heads up
 
Arrid

Arrid

Well-Known Member
View this thread to see what CFLs can really grow.

I'd definitely suggest throwing out that cardboard box and building up your own cab.

What kind of space have you got to utilize?

You could look into getting a small 150 watt hps light.
 
kumar420

kumar420

Member
HPS is an option, but i'd like to keep it fairly low key and low cost
since i wont be dealing very much (maybe the odd 50$ bag to mates) i wont turn over all that much, so the system isn't going to pay itself off until i stop buying bags
the hydroponics shop near me is a ripoff, the guy quoted close to 500 for a 400W HPS, ballast and fans.... i guess i could order it off ebay for fairly cheap
i'll definitely look into it, faster and better harvest is never a bad thing
thanks for the link, reading now
 
Sr. Verde

Sr. Verde

Well-Known Member
Arrid said:
View this thread to see what CFLs can really grow.
Click to expand...
Thats 1000w + of CFL's. Why would you even use CFLs for 1000w? I thought 400w of CFLs was ridiculous but god damn.




But yo man I tried posting my journal but my internet SUCKS ASS right now, so I have to wait for it to work well again. What fucking bullshit.


Anyway here's my lady after 75 days of 12/12. if you want your plant 3 or 4 feet your going to probably need some side lighting. Cardboard boxes aren't really good for that.

If you can go HPS for flowering that would be better as HPS light penetrates into the canopy whereas CFL's really dont.




edit:

Check this site out http://www.discount-hydro.com/
 

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kumar420

kumar420

Member
very nice buds man, making me envious (i havent got any weed right now, my dealer got raided; hence the need for stealth, since he lives barely 10min down the road)
i think i might just go with a 400W HPS in the flowering box and maybe a few CFL's for the veg box?
it wont be a constant swap out, i'll probably harvest a couple of plants and sit back until my bud starts to run out before planting again

as i said earlier, i live in AU so i'm skeptical on whether most companies would ship here
and flyovers are unlikely, and in any case the cabinet will be inside the house... should be plenty to camouflage the heat signature

EDIT: also, would 400W HPS be too much/too little for a 4'x3'x3' grow cab?
i think those are the dimensions that would fit in a closet in my house
if i can fit more plants in for flower, then i will lol
no such thing as too much weed.....i think
 
Sr. Verde

Sr. Verde

Well-Known Member
kumar420 said:
very nice buds man, making me envious (i havent got any weed right now, my dealer got raided; hence the need for stealth, since he lives barely 10min down the road)
i think i might just go with a 400W HPS in the flowering box and maybe a few CFL's for the veg box?
it wont be a constant swap out, i'll probably harvest a couple of plants and sit back until my bud starts to run out before planting again

as i said earlier, i live in AU so i'm skeptical on whether most companies would ship here
and flyovers are unlikely, and in any case the cabinet will be inside the house... should be plenty to camouflage the heat signature

EDIT: also, would 400W HPS be too much/too little for a 4'x3'x3' grow cab?
i think those are the dimensions that would fit in a closet in my house
if i can fit more plants in for flower, then i will lol
no such thing as too much weed.....i think
Click to expand...
Hmmm dude it sounds like you need to do some research before you make choices and start buying things no offence :peace:

I wouldn't worry about the flyovers, they see BIG heat signatures from thousands of watts, not just one 400w light.

Yes 400w HPS would be too much for a 4x3x3 cabnet. HID lights run hot. 250w of CFL's is borderline too much for my 4x3x3 caibnet. If your going to use a 400w HPS I would say you should grow in closet, if your REALLY worried about an infared(heat) signature, they make a film/material that blocks most of the IR radiation (what the choppers see). I mean I wouldn't bother with it but piece of mind is worth the money. Up to you. Nothing like no worries.

On the waiting part, if you could set up a few plants in veg, and a few in flower and keep it like that all year you'd be golden. Figure it takes a month at least for veg, and like 2.5 months for flower, then a month for drying/curing. That's 4.5 months from seed to smoke. I don't know how much you medicate but that's a long time to sit on a few plant's worth of meds.

ps: I'm talking ft, I don't know what measurements your using but I figured I'd point that out
 
kumar420

kumar420

Member
i wasnt sure about the hps power, as i said before i'm a fairly noob grower
i have done a fair bit of research on the matter though, i figured experience would outweigh anything i can read online (after a certain point of course)
i dont smoke every day, usually 3-4 days a week (fridays and weekends mostly) and i can make 3.5g last a few days, so a few ounces should keep me set for at least a couple of months
and yeah i'm using ft as well
so maybe like a 150w hps at the most powerful for a 4'x3'x3'? would i need ducting attatched with a fan to extract the heat or would a decent fan suffice? i am clueless when it comes to estimating the fan strength, all i know is that it is measured in cfm
 
kumar420

kumar420

Member
well i just gave the hydro shop a call to ask for some quotes, and i am shocked
the guy quoted 530$ for a 175W HPS+ballast (they dont stock the 150 for some reason) which is a total rip, might as well get it off ebay....
575$ for a 150mm centrifugal fan with carbon filter, supports, etc
90$ for a 1.2 metre x 15 metre roll of mylar
and 38$ for some xanax flowering powder (enough for 1000L of solution)

i'll probably be buying the stuff online.... those prices are totally ridiculous (except for the flowering nutes)
 
kumar420

kumar420

Member
once was enough man, but thanks for the link
edit: just checked it out, they only ship to the US, damn
wasnt on the main site, had to check the ebay site to find that out
 
kumar420

kumar420

Member
sorry about the very delayed reply, been busy studying for exams and completing assignments
plants are doing quite well outside, and i've had a look at some of the sites you guys have recommended
craiglist had nothing except a 1000W HPS/MH cooltube, which is obviously far too much power (this is in AU)
that hydrowholesale site looks good, except they only ship INSIDE THE US
please keep in mind that i live halfway across the world from most of you guys

ebay looks like the best option at the moment, in terms of pricing and shipping
unfortunately i haven't been able to do much work this week (got a nasty cold) but i should be able to get the money by the end of this month
 
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