SPARKI's Grow (closet 600w/400w Soil vs DWC)

Check it out,

So here is my current indoor grow setup....

the GrowRoom is a storage closet in a garage that has been divided into two spaces to accomidate for veg and flower growth.

Dimensions: veg space- 2.5' x 3'
flower space- 3.5' x 3'
Height-7'
Lighting: veg space - 400W MH
flower space- 600W HPS

Ventelation:
intake: 4" 140CFM inline fan
exhaust: (2) 6" 70 CFM booster duct fan

Nutrients:Advanced nutrients

The GrowRoom is built on a design-build basis due to limited funding but to get growing as soon as possible. There are a few more things i have to get but ill get them based on priority.

Wish list:
CO2
climate controller
carbon filter with another inline fan

The GrowRoom is a basic setup that I am hoping to be able to grow a satisfying yeild. My previous grow attempts have left me unsatisfied and dissapointed really. It has been a few years since my last attempt. I have learned a lot from my previous failures and I am hopefull this time and much more confident. "3rd time the charm" is what I would like to be able to say at the end of this grow. Currently unemployed due to the economic situation so what else better to do than to grow my own medicine.

The Girls:

The first arrivals were Bananna, Sour Deisel x OG Kush, and a mystery clone. I didn't know the strain of the last one because i got too stoned at the clinic and didnt realize what i had picked since my picks were from the bottom of the barrel of the batch and my selection was purely based on checking the botton of the rockrool for roots. The other two had the name of the strain written on the rockwool wrapping thank goodness. Then a few days later their sisters have arrived, 4 afgani kush clones. they only had 4, bought 3 and the guy threw in the last runt that they had. nice guy

6/25/09

Sour D x OG- veg day 10
Banana Kush- veg day 10
Afgani Kush- veg day 5

6.26.09

humidity: 47%
temp: 84 deg f

today is day 11 for the the sour deisel x og kush. This strain is also known as headband and will be refered to it from here on out. The mystery has been solved with the unknown clone...it apprears to be just like the headband. both clones were in flowering and have been triggered back to vegitative growth. notice the fan leaves are now starting to grow out. Due to the size restrictions of my grow space, i wanted to originally grown them with a single stalk with no topping of the plants. This unexpected flower stage of the clones have resulted in a much bushier plant than what i was intending...any suggestions?

The mvp is the bananna..now, i thought that it was a bananna kush strain but the leaves look way to narrow to be a indica...is there a bananna sativa strain that i am unaware of?

the afganis seem to be doing well on day 6...ill be transplanting them into bigger pots as soon as i get some more soil.

soil: fox farm ocean forest

Now its been a while since my last grow.....i think they are doing well...but i would appreciate any feedback from fellow cultivators.

ive been inspired to try hydro again since advanced nutrients are the bomb for hydro and i might not be getting the most use out of them with soil in terms of yield. picked up the net pot lid today along with a bucket. tomorrow i will get grow rocks from my local hydro store. only bought the net pot lid and bucket from this other store today cause the local one doesnt have them. i prefer shopping at my local store cause the owner is so cool and offers me discounts and is very helpful and kind. The store that i went today is actually a bigger well known store, but i think they have very condescending attitudes and seem like assholes.

7/5//09
Hope everyone had a good 4th of july weekend.

So i was having some heat issues last week with the summer weather kicking in. Temperatures were reaching an all time high of 90. Spent 2 days tinkering with the ventalations and added a second 6" booster fan to the inlet of the air cooled reflector since it wasnt being used on the 600 hps yet. temperatures were still around 88 and i discovered that the magnetic ballast is HOT. So here is what was going on im my mind.

Problem: GrowRoom's temperature is above 85 due to magnetic ballast and summer weather.

Solution: Upgrade to digital ballast.

I am very happy with my decision with current temperatures averaging around 83. CO2 was going to cost me close to $300 after taxes. I able to get a new digital 400w ballast for less than $130. a 12" table fan pointed at the heatsinks and the heatsource is eliminated.

Current Status:
Afganis: Day 16
Headband: Day 21

They are done settlin into their new home and are beginning their complete vegging nutrient solution. Theyre are at 700 ppm at a ph of 6.5.

The cutting that i had taken from one of the headbands has been in rockwool for about 8 days now. i have been checkin on it daily with no roots seen yet. The clone was placed in a cup with a lid. i noticed there was a smell of stinky sneakers and initially thought it was developing mold issues. so i took it out of the cup and placed it under one of the other plants. this was a big mistake. the lack of humidity made it begin to shrivel up. it was a good thing i checked on it 4 hours later, longer and it was prob gonna be fried. i put it back into the cup and it is making a good recovery. No roots showing yet.


**All members are invited to post questions, comments, critiques, etc.

Im planning on starting to flower these when they hit 18" in height. im concerned about running out of room if i let them get to 2'. Any sugestions or comments on this?

So i wired my 600W HPS for my growspace of 9SF. Man is it freakin bright!! my temperatures are hovering around 99. It causin my veg room to go up to 91. Here are some pictures of my rooms. All help will be very much appreciated.

sparki

Those temps are way too high man

Thanks for commenting. But i am still here without a resolution...any ideas on this problem?

What type of exhaust fan are you using besides the 6 inch booster fan? And also, how are you running your ventilation for each room?

for the 600W im using a 4" inline fan. The 400W has a booster fan in both the intake and exhaust. Both are exhausted out of the reflectors and out of the rooms through holes i cut out of the ceiling. Its pretty much venting into the floor above me.

I would suggest getting a 6 inch inline fan for that 600 watter. I had to get one for my 250 watt air cooled light. You could use the 4 inch inline on the 400 watt and it would make things cooler in both rooms. I can link you to some good ones if you would like

I paniced with the high temps and went to home depot and bought a 5000 btu air conditioning unit. Well like it said in the owner's manual, the a/c unit keeps tripping the breaker. plus it generated a lot of heat so its pretty much became counterproductive. wiring the ac unit to another circuit would be either ugly(run a cord up the stairs) or a lot of work (cut through floor and walls). how loud is your 6" inline? links would be great.

This is the inline fan that I have, it is a little loud but inside my growbox it isn't half as loud as a window a/c
http://www.hydroponics.net/i/133758
This one is cheaper priced but a nice bit stronger so I think it might fit your needs better
http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=52583

anxiety level is lower now thanks to you. looks like im going to be making a trip tomorrow to return the a/c unit and getting that inline fan. will follow up with the results. looks like my plants will get to veg a some more. i think i might be a impatient though and wanting to flower them asap anyways.

Post the results, I hope everything turns out good

So here is an update. They are all in Day 2 of flowering. The temperature is at 90 with the light on and 85 when its off. I am pretty much stumped on how to get it lower without an a/c unit. temps reach 93 at times. But they are still growing but have started to have some stretch in them. The two headband are pretty stretchy. the afganis are still doing well. but the growroom has a lot of circulation since they are still growing. Humidity reaches 50% is that ok? attached photos are from last days of vegging. But the heat is still an issue. Anyone in a similar situation? any help is appreciated.

ahh...so i really tried everything to deal with this heat issue in the growroom. so i bought a 8000 btu portable air conditioner. im planning on just venting the hot air into the wall...if this doesnt work i give up...2 weeks of heat issues and my mind is getting tired of this issue. Help

still waiting for the a/c unit, i ordered from portableair.com. not having a very good experience with them so far. they switched the billing and shipping address and charged me twice leading to an overdraft fee..i called them and the ignorant customer service just blabbed on about pending transactions. their billing department is all screwed up. to make things worse one of my fans fell of the cooling unit and crushed one of the headbands and lost like 75% of the plant............hopefully the a/c unit arrives, i get the temperature needed and they thrive and make everything better

So it has been a long time since ive posted. ive been a lil dissapointed with the grow so wasnt as motivated to post...but i think ive got a lot of issues resolved and they are growing still. the sativa plant is almost dried out cause its sitting right in front of the ac vent. the afgahnis are doing well still. they seem to be handling the high heat pretty well. Im using advanced nutrients so i was kinda hoping for more growth. im pretty sure that the high temps are hurting thr growth. realized that it was just too much for me to try to do a pepetual grow. after this harvest ill be tearing down the center wall and just have a single room......oh well. the temperatures were much better during the veg cycle where i was very happy with the development...a lil unsure at the moment, any FEEDBACKS AND COMMENTS PLEASE. thanks in advance

sparki

DOH hit submit before attaching pics...

Omg im too stoned...

some more pics