My attempt on building a semi-stealth cabinet (pix inside)

[born2killspam]

Remember pH is about ion concentration in water, with x amount of ions the shift will be more drastic as water is depleted because concentration can go up by adding ions, or removing water.. Kind of like boiling off salt water.. Alot of unusable ions can build up in the soil as chemical reactions occur, and they stay till flushed (diluted out)..

 

[DocBrown]

I see what you mean. Thanks man. Plant is looking a lot better day by day.

 

[DocBrown]

Here is what I have after 1 week of flowering. One and a half feet tall. Suggestions & comments welcomed.

 

[Shackleford.R]

your plants are pretty... i wish my plants were pretty like that... they are just tangled messes of branches... i look forward to going soil my next grow as well as growing indica, instead of the sativa. granted the smoke is good. i just don't enjoy the level of training and such. nice compact, little christmas trees. thats what they look like... that and i think CFL growing is better suited for soil, given the growth rate is a little slower compared to hydro...

this message brought you by bong hits


Shack

 

[born2killspam]

They do look nice from that angle, but a side shot is always nice to see as well.. Are they still perky or drinking too much you think??
Also, its natural for plants to droop a bit just prior to lights out.. IIRC you had your routine pretty much pegged so I'm probably overly paranoid..

 

[DocBrown]

The soil is still really moist from that last watering so we'll see how it is by the end of the week. I try to get side shots but it's a bitch to get up in there because it looks like jungle. There's all sorts of jouvinile growth right under the canopy and the whole plant as a whole is perking up.

 

[born2killspam]

Did you make a big size jump when you transplanted?? That can do it.. Transplant shock be damned, I learned to scale up 4-5 times if going for a bigger plant.. No biggie though, its pegged and temporary..

 

[DocBrown]

No transplant, I've been using the same pot since I planted the seed. It's fascinating watching this plants growth on a daily basis.

 

[DCBudz]

Hey man, I ended up getting the same wardrobe for my first grow...thanks for the inspiration. The two plants in the pic are just some bagseed I've been experimenting with. I have some Papaya beans on the way and will start an official journal when I start them. My buddy is willing to sell me a 400 watt HPS Ballast and Reflector for dirt cheap, although I'm concerned I won't be able to keep the heat down enough in the cab. You think the exhaust fan you bought would be enough to cool a 400 watter, and if not what do ya recommend? Plant looks good man keep up the good work.

 

[DocBrown]

Awesome, you even got the same lock . The fan I have is adequate to cool a 400 watter IF you use a cool tube or if the reflector has an exhaust hole for the fan to suck the heat out. Unfortunately mine doesn't have neither so I had to install an AC unit in my room. In the mean time I would advise some more CFLs. What size are those pots you got in there? 3 gallons? If it's a personal grow you'll be satisfied with the cab. Good luck and keep us posted with your progress, I'd love to see how you put the same cab I have to use so we can compare results.

 

[DCBudz]

I'm pretty sure he said it was a maxwing reflector which is just an aluminum half circle type (no exhaust hole or cooltube) but money isn't too much of an issue so I could just buy another reflector. I've only seen a couple cooltube grows, so not too sure how I would set that up...but don't you need an in-take fan going straight to reflector, and exhaust going straight out from it? How would you keep the cab itself circulating air with a cooltube? Run another exhaust fan, and cut your intake holes as well? I do have Central Air in the house...dunno how much that will help.

I have two 2' two bulb T5 fixtures on their way to add to the CFL's, and yea they're 3 gallon pots. I started those plants in a smaller dresser type cab that I had (Will use for clones when I grow from good beans that I ordered), but that's the biggest pots I could use for them to fit side by side in the cab. It is a personal grow, so yea I figured this cab would do just fine. Thanks again for the inspiration, will definately keep in touch.

 

[DocBrown]

Oh so you'll be getting a wing, honestly I'm not sure how you'll be able to cool that since a 400w will expel a lot of heat, I'd say a reflector that you can exhaust heat out of will be more suitable for this cab. I believe you just need one fan exhausting the heat out of the reflector.I tried the central AC thing before I installed a wall unit. It (kindda) helped I guess, my temps were around 85 with the doors open but with the doors closed, shit forget about it bro. In our situation I think the best thing to do is cooling that bulb, I would advise you to just get a reflector that will let you do that. If I had issues with just 150w I can only imagine how much more heat 400w is gonna give you in there. Keep those 3 gallon pots in there, I went with 5 gallon pots due to some info I read while doing research but honestly I don't think it'll differ if I use 3 gallons next time. Any questions you have I'll be more the glad to help you, don't want you to make the same mistakes I did and spend cash you don't have to.

 

[DocBrown]

Need some help diagnosing the correct deficiency. I cant figure out what it is.

The first picture is of a middle leaf, there are a total of 2 leafs on the plant that look like this. They are also a bit crunchy.

This second picture below is the only leaf out of the whole plant that looks like this. It is towards the bottom of the plant.

And this last picture is of 2 leafs I cut which where way at the bottom of the plant.

Other then that maybe half a dozen leafs with minor dark brown spots at the tips around the blades. Hope it doesn't escalate. 3 weeks ago I flushed due to some over nute and last week I fed the plant some fox farm tiger bloom and big bloom. PH going in was at 6.8 and PPM was 400. I checked the run off water and the PH was at 6.5 and PPM at 850.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Shackleford.R]

picture 2 looks like nitrogen, it's SOMEWHAT expected when you flower.
she is using different nutrients right now, and drawing on the leaves for energy stores.

picture 3.. same story, as she grows older, and flowers more, they use up their stored energy.
they die but, don't worry about that too much.

pictures 4&5 you have a VERY healthy looking girl!!

picture 1... not sure! BUT!! i sometimes notice condensation on my leaves
could be some condensation under that high power light, and burned the leaf. like a magnifying glass to an ant.
if it is a deficiency my guess is magnesium or iron..
but i'm not sure, i'm learning to play doctor myself right now.. have a photo update tomorrow.. looking rough!


Shack

 

[DocBrown]

You suggest leaving it alone Shack and just continue with the regular feeding schedule?

 

[Shackleford.R]

well i'm not a soil grower.. so i don't know exactly what the composition yadda yadda yadda...

let's just figure this out.. does your soil have any type of time release fertilizer? or have you been fert'ing?


Shack

 

[born2killspam]

I'd say its likely localized damage if its not widespread, and the bleached leaves the remnants of your over-dampness/pH issues.. They look generally healthy now to me..

 

[DocBrown]

does your soil have any type of time release fertilizer? or have you been fert'ing?

Nope... Just some fox farms ocean forest soil which I only added nutes to twice.

I'd say its likely localized damage if its not widespread, and the bleached leaves the remnants of your over-dampness/pH issues.. They look generally healthy now to me..

This is what I was leaning towards as well since I had some PH issues 3 weeks ago.

 

[BlasphemyFloyd]

Hey man, I ended up getting the same wardrobe for my first grow...thanks for the inspiration. The two plants in the pic are just some bagseed I've been experimenting with. I have some Papaya beans on the way and will start an official journal when I start them. My buddy is willing to sell me a 400 watt HPS Ballast and Reflector for dirt cheap, although I'm concerned I won't be able to keep the heat down enough in the cab. You think the exhaust fan you bought would be enough to cool a 400 watter, and if not what do ya recommend? Plant looks good man keep up the good work.

Hey DCBUDZ Your cab setup is good. I think you should go to your local Home Depot and buy four 300 watt equivalent cfl bulbs. They are about $14 each and are 2600k (good for flowering) They are huge and just one will give out as much light output as those four 75w cfls (i am assuming they are 75w equiv). Best part is they will barely raise the temps up even with the doors closed. And you don't need to vent anything. I know what people say about cfls in general, mostly negative stuff but if you know how to use them they can meet (sometimes even beat) hps lights. That coming from someone that has used both. I currently use cfls and hps but my closet is better suited for it than that cab. You might burn the house down with a 400w hps if that stuff is made of compressed particle wood (like the stuff from ikea). Hope this helps.

 

[DCBudz]

Hey DCBUDZ Your cab setup is good. I think you should go to your local Home Depot and buy four 300 watt equivalent cfl bulbs. They are about $14 each and are 2600k (good for flowering) They are huge and just one will give out as much light output as those four 75w cfls (i am assuming they are 75w equiv). Best part is they will barely raise the temps up even with the doors closed. And you don't need to vent anything. I know what people say about cfls in general, mostly negative stuff but if you know how to use them they can meet (sometimes even beat) hps lights. That coming from someone that has used both. I currently use cfls and hps but my closet is better suited for it than that cab. You might burn the house down with a 400w hps if that stuff is made of compressed particle wood (like the stuff from ikea). Hope this helps.

Hey man, thanks a lot for the advice. The CFL's I'm using in those pics are 150W Equivs, but either way, I know for sure it's not enough light for the plants. I already bought that 400W Ballast from my buddy...it's digital, barely used, and he only wanted $50 for it so I figured what the hell. The cab IS made of cheap pressed particle wood, and the whole burning the house down comment scares me lol. Even with some in-take vents cut and a strong enough exhaust fan, you don't think I could cool the cab enough with a 400W HPS? My buddy used to have a hydro tent smaller than that cab and ran a 600W HPS with 77-82 degree temps. Are these 300W Equiv CFL's mogul socket bulbs or just normal socket? Thanks again for the help bud.