ThatSpudGuy
Well-Known Member
Verrrry nice dude, awesome setup
My Magical Mobile Micro Medical Marijuana Machine
- Thread starter MrFlatbush
- Start date
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
Here is a previous shot of a Double Grape that ran, an auto from Mephisto. 
Fortunately she remained small, as advertised, and as desired. Not being able to control the flip was a roll of the dice, I know.
However, running autos was a huge help for me during the design and build stage. I never had to give a shit about light leaks, which was a relief. I was constantly messing around with the lights, the doors, the fit, the finish, whenever I had free time. I didn't have the luxury of waiting until lights on. I was redoing and rethinking everything while settling on a final build.
DG rewarded me with 3.1 ounces of some nice, dense buds.
I mostly run photos now but during another hardware upgrade another auto will have to do.
Cheers
Fortunately she remained small, as advertised, and as desired. Not being able to control the flip was a roll of the dice, I know.
However, running autos was a huge help for me during the design and build stage. I never had to give a shit about light leaks, which was a relief. I was constantly messing around with the lights, the doors, the fit, the finish, whenever I had free time. I didn't have the luxury of waiting until lights on. I was redoing and rethinking everything while settling on a final build.
DG rewarded me with 3.1 ounces of some nice, dense buds.
I mostly run photos now but during another hardware upgrade another auto will have to do.
Cheers
GarageGardener69
Well-Known Member
Damn that looks nice. I have a double grape running too 60 days in Hope mine looks half as nice as yours!
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by. I appreciate it.
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
There are many great hydro systems out there. Each one has is it's pros and cons. After trying out a few for my small box I settled on a modified flood and drain system.
When things go right, and every once in a while they don't, I get rewarded with great buds. Along with the weed, I also get rewarded with a nice bone-white container of roots. Kinda looks like a bowl of ramen noodles.
When things go right, and every once in a while they don't, I get rewarded with great buds. Along with the weed, I also get rewarded with a nice bone-white container of roots. Kinda looks like a bowl of ramen noodles.
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
Below are 2 of the 4 QB288's (R-specs) that I use for side lighting. They magnetically attach to the sides of my box. This allows me to easily move them up or down or remove them if I don't need them.
If you run a QB288 below 60 or so watts you do not need a heatsink. Not needing a heatsink meant I could just use magnetic tape on the back.
LEDs don't produce a lot of heat, relatively speaking, but they are always hot to the touch. In such a small space my plants are always touching the side walls, and of course, the QB's. Making some acrylic QB covers was essential. My plants can rub up against these all day long and not feel a thing.
The acrylic covers also allowed me to basically bypass the fragile connectors found on all QB's (and most board and strip LED's). I wanted to add DC connectors to the boards but doing so would have placed too much strain on the QB connectors. By mounting some new connectors (I forgot their name) and rerouting the wiring, the QB connectors are now completely isolated from any strain. The DC connectors are a great convenience.
If you run a QB288 below 60 or so watts you do not need a heatsink. Not needing a heatsink meant I could just use magnetic tape on the back.
LEDs don't produce a lot of heat, relatively speaking, but they are always hot to the touch. In such a small space my plants are always touching the side walls, and of course, the QB's. Making some acrylic QB covers was essential. My plants can rub up against these all day long and not feel a thing.
The acrylic covers also allowed me to basically bypass the fragile connectors found on all QB's (and most board and strip LED's). I wanted to add DC connectors to the boards but doing so would have placed too much strain on the QB connectors. By mounting some new connectors (I forgot their name) and rerouting the wiring, the QB connectors are now completely isolated from any strain. The DC connectors are a great convenience.
GarageGardener69
Well-Known Member
You’ve inspired me to make a new spot in the house. A bit of an odd ball situation but it’s triangular, (a right one to be exact lol)
48” high, about 72” wide and 60” deep (base)
Trying to find a light to go up tight-ish to the top and cast light down on an angle and give myself a 4x2 area and grow it, I guess, stadium style? Lol
These QB type builds and kits are great..
48” high, about 72” wide and 60” deep (base)
Trying to find a light to go up tight-ish to the top and cast light down on an angle and give myself a 4x2 area and grow it, I guess, stadium style? Lol
These QB type builds and kits are great..
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
You should be able to mount a QB very "tight-ish", even with a heatsink. The heatsink I have on my top QB is just over 1/4" thick
GarageGardener69
Well-Known Member
Right on man.. great ideas and set up you got going.. magnets, acrylic shields etc..
I have a hlg 135 kit in my 3x now. Doing good things with it so far
I have a hlg 135 kit in my 3x now. Doing good things with it so far
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
A not quite finished bud snuggling up to my side lighting
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
This is a strain named Violet Femme. The seed was likely 10+ years old when I germinated her. I was pleasantly surprised when she popped and even more pleased with how she turned out.
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
This is a bit winded, sorry.
I have a surprising amount of custom, laser cut acrylic in Nostromo (the nerd codename for my box - long story).
The laser cut parts include a magnetic front door cover, a matching magnetic frame, an internal exhaust vent, 4 QB side light protectors, a frame to hold the upper QB and it's heatsink, potentiometer dials for my dual dimmer box, and my plant training platform and cage, something I call Flatbush.
WTF is Flatbush? Flatbush is both plant trainer and a 3D scrog. Did that help?
Flatbush is an acrylic baseplate with a training system made up of bolts, eyehooks, and a lattice of fishing line. This gives me a huge array of anchor points below, essential for manipulating in a tiny space. I'm scrogging from below.
Flatbush also includes a mid and upper level 3D training cage. I'm not managing a 2D canopy, I am managing a 3D canopy so that I can best light my plant from the sides as well as the top. I didn't always have side lighting in Nostromo. I'm glad I went through the effort. It has made an astounding difference.
My ultimate, but still unachieved goal is to have every square inch of my box producing bud, zero waste. I'm not there yet but on my last grow I got pretty damn close. To achieve this I need to be able to easily pull branches down flat, to grow them horizontally whenever possible. I also need to be able to precisely position (and often reposition) branches and buds, regardless of where they are on the plant. This is especially important during the 2-3 weeks after I flip. During this time I am basically doing bonsai, using Flatbush and the cage. After 2-3 weeks I'm mostly repositioning buds as they get fat.
In the very first photo on this post you can see Flatbush in use ( the photo with the lighter in it). If you look close you can see the two tiers of clear acrylic at mid level and near the top of my plant. This is just a fancy tomato cage, with anchor points. Unlike a tomato cage, these two upper platforms allow me to pull branches in any direction, inward, outward, diagonally, etc.
The bottom Flatbush platform is actually 2 layers of laser cut acrylic. Flatbush sits on top of, and in, my flood tray. White acrylic, unfortunately, is translucent but black acrylic is opaque. The top layer is 1/4" thick white acrylic. The bottom layer is an identically cut sheet if 1/8" black acrylic, providing 100% light block. The bolts around the perimeter hold the sandwich together and are also the anchor points for the "scrog".
Below is a picture of Flatbush, sitting outside of Nostromo. One of the two clear acrylic training cages is installed. The top level cage can be easily added as the plant grows.
Cheers if you made it this far
I have a surprising amount of custom, laser cut acrylic in Nostromo (the nerd codename for my box - long story).
The laser cut parts include a magnetic front door cover, a matching magnetic frame, an internal exhaust vent, 4 QB side light protectors, a frame to hold the upper QB and it's heatsink, potentiometer dials for my dual dimmer box, and my plant training platform and cage, something I call Flatbush.
WTF is Flatbush? Flatbush is both plant trainer and a 3D scrog. Did that help?
Flatbush is an acrylic baseplate with a training system made up of bolts, eyehooks, and a lattice of fishing line. This gives me a huge array of anchor points below, essential for manipulating in a tiny space. I'm scrogging from below.
Flatbush also includes a mid and upper level 3D training cage. I'm not managing a 2D canopy, I am managing a 3D canopy so that I can best light my plant from the sides as well as the top. I didn't always have side lighting in Nostromo. I'm glad I went through the effort. It has made an astounding difference.
My ultimate, but still unachieved goal is to have every square inch of my box producing bud, zero waste. I'm not there yet but on my last grow I got pretty damn close. To achieve this I need to be able to easily pull branches down flat, to grow them horizontally whenever possible. I also need to be able to precisely position (and often reposition) branches and buds, regardless of where they are on the plant. This is especially important during the 2-3 weeks after I flip. During this time I am basically doing bonsai, using Flatbush and the cage. After 2-3 weeks I'm mostly repositioning buds as they get fat.
In the very first photo on this post you can see Flatbush in use ( the photo with the lighter in it). If you look close you can see the two tiers of clear acrylic at mid level and near the top of my plant. This is just a fancy tomato cage, with anchor points. Unlike a tomato cage, these two upper platforms allow me to pull branches in any direction, inward, outward, diagonally, etc.
The bottom Flatbush platform is actually 2 layers of laser cut acrylic. Flatbush sits on top of, and in, my flood tray. White acrylic, unfortunately, is translucent but black acrylic is opaque. The top layer is 1/4" thick white acrylic. The bottom layer is an identically cut sheet if 1/8" black acrylic, providing 100% light block. The bolts around the perimeter hold the sandwich together and are also the anchor points for the "scrog".
Below is a picture of Flatbush, sitting outside of Nostromo. One of the two clear acrylic training cages is installed. The top level cage can be easily added as the plant grows.
Cheers if you made it this far
GarageGardener69
Well-Known Member
That’s really slick man… I like it Well thought out for sure.
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
This is one of the fatter, chunkier colas I have grown in a while. She is as thick as a mango.
Nostromo has a 22" inch grow chamber from her lower baseplate to the surface of the upper QB288. It's 20" if I have the glass QB shield installed.
By the time this little beast stopped stretching she was about 1.5" from the surface of the QB, running at 60W. I got lucky that she stopped where she did.
The top 1" or so of this bud wound up getting bleached by the light. This is the first time I have ever bleached a bud. I now know about the upper limits of Nostromo.
Frankenbud
Nostromo has a 22" inch grow chamber from her lower baseplate to the surface of the upper QB288. It's 20" if I have the glass QB shield installed.
By the time this little beast stopped stretching she was about 1.5" from the surface of the QB, running at 60W. I got lucky that she stopped where she did.
The top 1" or so of this bud wound up getting bleached by the light. This is the first time I have ever bleached a bud. I now know about the upper limits of Nostromo.
Frankenbud
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
I really love these colors.....
GarageGardener69
Well-Known Member
Btw you inspired me to get another QB kit lol. Got a 320w going in my 3x soon Going to use the 135 kit for new seeds/first 1.5 months of new stuff. Not sure
MrFlatbush
Well-Known Member
Sweet. Which QB did you get?
GarageGardener69
Well-Known Member
HLG 320W XL