First PC Grow Case LST Journal

braker642

braker642

Member
First wanted to say hello members of RIU! this is my first grow and im going to need and want help so feel free to post. Now on to the Pc grow case i have 2 exaust fans and 1 intake fan 2 26watt cfls hanging. im going to LST my 2 plants if they are ladies. for those who dont know what LST means is Low Stress Training. this will be done with a custom locker rack shelf i will start at one end and end at the other weaving the plant throught the rack to maximum the plant growth in the short space. i started 24/0 for 3 days until it started to grow the first "real" leaf then switched to 12/12 till harvest. the temps when the lights are on is mid to high 70's, but when the case is off its getting as low as 55 degrees!!!:wall: not good at all, i think the cold temps have stunted the plants.. what do yall think? any help on how to raise the temps when lights are off? going to start putting blankets over the case when off. its now week 2 day 5 into flower. do yall think the stunting makes it really only 1 week old? tell me what you think. more to come:bigjoint: peace and happy rolling
 

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braker642

braker642

Member
week 2 day 6 the blankets arent working and the temps still getting down to 55 degrees!! i lifted the plants off the floor of the case and their starting to grow a lil bigger, just starting their 3rd leaf set. the weirdest thing happened the 2nd leaf set has like 3 fingers very weird. whats that mean? ill post pic tonight when the light come on. peace and happy rolling
 
past times

past times

Well-Known Member
hey man. how often are you watering with that much air flow? If you could can u should try to get rid of 1 or even 2 of those fans. A plexi glass sheet can be used as a heat barrier. as far as lights off time, move your box to some place warmer...

this is a pc a did about a year ago. https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/164898-pc-scrog-6-week-flower.html

as far as bloom nutes try to find a hydro shop around you. google it man, take a road trip, then jsut start asking the guys there what they think, fox farms bloom is pretty popular. hope this helps
 
braker642

braker642

Member
past times said:
hey man. how often are you watering with that much air flow? If you could can u should try to get rid of 1 or even 2 of those fans. A plexi glass sheet can be used as a heat barrier. as far as lights off time, move your box to some place warmer...

this is a pc a did about a year ago. https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/164898-pc-scrog-6-week-flower.html

as far as bloom nutes try to find a hydro shop around you. google it man, take a road trip, then jsut start asking the guys there what they think, fox farms bloom is pretty popular. hope this helps
Click to expand...
hey man nice pc case by the way. i water when the soil get dry just about every 2 days. if i take a fan out the temps get in the high 80's. i cant really move it to a warmer place bc its a stealth grow from my room mate. whats this plexi glass sheet ur talking about? does it go on the bottom under the plants? the closest hydro shop is 200 miles away
 
hazyintentions

hazyintentions

Well-Known Member
hey man, why don't you get a splitter and put your fans on the same timer as the lights so that when the lights shut off and stop producing heat the fans stop turning and they'll retain heat during the dark. I think he either means that you should use plexi glass between the lights and the plants or use plexiglass to seal the case up to make it better insulated.

Why do the temps drop so low? Is the being placed outside or in a garage with no heat/air?
 
braker642

braker642

Member
hey hazy, i have the fans and light on a 6 way and the timer on the end turning them all on and off at same time. it runs from 8pm to 8am. its winter here and cold outside and since this is a steath grow i have it by my bed next to the window (only place for it) on the floor so maybe thats why. i put sheets in the window to stop the cold more and sheets over the case from 8am till 8pm (hasnt helped). next im thinking about raising the case off the floor?! i dont get the plexi glass how would that help to stick it between the lights its not getting to hot...
 
hazyintentions

hazyintentions

Well-Known Member
braker642 said:
hey hazy, i have the fans and light on a 6 way and the timer on the end turning them all on and off at same time. it runs from 8pm to 8am. its winter here and cold outside and since this is a steath grow i have it by my bed next to the window (only place for it) on the floor so maybe thats why. i put sheets in the window to stop the cold more and sheets over the case from 8am till 8pm (hasnt helped). next im thinking about raising the case off the floor?! i dont get the plexi glass how would that help to stick it between the lights its not getting to hot...
Click to expand...

Woahhhh....

Wait, your plants are in flowering? They are way to undeveloped to even consider flowering my man. OK you need to at least let them get 6 or 7 true nodes going before flowering, those are tiny seedlings my friend. That's why they are stunted.

Ok first thing you need to do is upgrade those dixie cups to say a 4" pot 6" would be preferable for your plants.

Second put your timer on 18/6 for at least 2 or 3 weeks, let those poor plants mature some before you stick them under 12/12.

I'm no expert but that can't be good for them.

Is your whole room that cold or just that side of your room?

Is it's your whole room invest in a space heater my friend. You could score a small one for $30 and just place it in a inconspicuous place near by the PC case. And what past times is getting at is that you need to isolate your lights from the plants with a piece of plexiglass, although if I was you I'd find a hardware store and see if you can't get a small piece custom cut. I got a Lowe's down the road and it cost me like $3 + tax to do a piece for my light.

After looking at your set up I would suggest flipping your case upside down from how it is so that the fans are on top AWAY from the plants. Then place plexiglass or whatever you choose to use on the grate you've made to at least somewhat isolate the lights. See you facing multiple problems, the colder it gets the drier it gets, and marijuana doesn't like dry. You want to aim for at least 35% to 45% humidity. So this way you can mist your plants and maintain and better humidity for your seedlings.

But if anything else please for the sake of those plants get back on 18/6 or 20/4 lighting, which ever is your poison.
 
braker642

braker642

Member
hazyintentions said:
Woahhhh....

Wait, your plants are in flowering? They are way to undeveloped to even consider flowering my man. OK you need to at least let them get 6 or 7 true nodes going before flowering, those are tiny seedlings my friend. That's why they are stunted.

Ok first thing you need to do is upgrade those dixie cups to say a 4" pot 6" would be preferable for your plants.

Second put your timer on 18/6 for at least 2 or 3 weeks, let those poor plants mature some before you stick them under 12/12.

I'm no expert but that can't be good for them.

Is your whole room that cold or just that side of your room?

Is it's your whole room invest in a space heater my friend. You could score a small one for $30 and just place it in a inconspicuous place near by the PC case. And what past times is getting at is that you need to isolate your lights from the plants with a piece of plexiglass, although if I was you I'd find a hardware store and see if you can't get a small piece custom cut. I got a Lowe's down the road and it cost me like $3 + tax to do a piece for my light.

After looking at your set up I would suggest flipping your case upside down from how it is so that the fans are on top AWAY from the plants. Then place plexiglass or whatever you choose to use on the grate you've made to at least somewhat isolate the lights. See you facing multiple problems, the colder it gets the drier it gets, and marijuana doesn't like dry. You want to aim for at least 35% to 45% humidity. So this way you can mist your plants and maintain and better humidity for your seedlings.

But if anything else please for the sake of those plants get back on 18/6 or 20/4 lighting, which ever is your poison.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the help but i know what im doing im on 12/12 so early bc the pc is so small by the time im at week 9 it will be at the top of the case almost burning the buds and thats not good. im LSTing it so it can grow to fill the whole case (explained in the 1st post). it is perfectly fine to do a grow from seed to harvest on 12/12 light, search 12/12 from seed to flower and read.
about the fans i have 3 one at top left blowing out (heat rises...) then 2 on the bottom left one blowing out to keep my temp down from 80-100 to 75-79 perfect and right fan blowing air on the plant giving them wind like outside.
Right before the plants reach the shelf is when ill switch them from the party cups to a bigger soil container.
high humidity is bad for flowering and can cause ur buds to mold and kill the whole crop
 
braker642

braker642

Member
so heres the pic update as promised. its week 2 day 6 they are both looking like female has 2 pistals no sacks. in the close-ups see what i mean it looks like its growing weird, maybe not. so checked temps and with the blankets in window the lowest it got was 57 degrees :-P!! not perfect and still a few degrees too cold but hey its a start. looking alot better. keep rolling :bigjoint:
 

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hazyintentions

hazyintentions

Well-Known Member
braker642 said:
Thanks for the help but i know what im doing im on 12/12 so early bc the pc is so small by the time im at week 9 it will be at the top of the case almost burning the buds and thats not good. im LSTing it so it can grow to fill the whole case (explained in the 1st post). it is perfectly fine to do a grow from seed to harvest on 12/12 light, search 12/12 from seed to flower and read.
about the fans i have 3 one at top left blowing out (heat rises...) then 2 on the bottom left one blowing out to keep my temp down from 80-100 to 75-79 perfect and right fan blowing air on the plant giving them wind like outside.
Right before the plants reach the shelf is when ill switch them from the party cups to a bigger soil container.
high humidity is bad for flowering and can cause ur buds to mold and kill the whole crop
Click to expand...
well hey if that's your plan then go far it.
ii wouldnt deem 35% high humidity.

anyways im sure a heat barrier ill help you out.

iwould try and help more bt the on screen keyboard is hard to use. lol

good luck
 
braker642

braker642

Member
i just dont see how a heat barrier would help my plants stay warmer? but im not doughting it just doesnt add up.. bc the heat is contained in the upper area by the light not down by the plants so how are the plants getting warmer?
 
v12xjs

v12xjs

Well-Known Member
Have a look in your local petstore for a heat mat or a basking mat, they use them for small tropical animals. I looked on fleabay and found heat mats for plant propagators that should be ok to.
I've found it best to mount mine on the inside front of the case rather than underfloor. When it was under the plants the bottom of the pots dried out but the tops were still a bit damp so it didn't look like they needed feeding. With the heat on the front wall the fans distribute it evenly around the case which seems to work a lot better. It's obviously a bit safer off the floor as well.
Not sure those babies are ready to show sex just yet.
Good luck with the grow.
 
braker642

braker642

Member
v12xjs said:
Have a look in your local petstore for a heat mat or a basking mat, they use them for small tropical animals. I looked on fleabay and found heat mats for plant propagators that should be ok to.
I've found it best to mount mine on the inside front of the case rather than underfloor. When it was under the plants the bottom of the pots dried out but the tops were still a bit damp so it didn't look like they needed feeding. With the heat on the front wall the fans distribute it evenly around the case which seems to work a lot better. It's obviously a bit safer off the floor as well.
Not sure those babies are ready to show sex just yet.
Good luck with the grow.
Click to expand...
hey man, could you give me a link or something and price range?

on the sex well im just exciteted i guess:bigjoint: the temp is not going lower than 59 so just need a few more degrees to be perfect
 
v12xjs

v12xjs

Well-Known Member
Hey braker
As it only adds a few degrees I've been leaving it on all the time. Temps are still low enough with the lights on in this weather and the mats are designed for constant use.
 
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