4X4 1200w V-ScrOG Cage of Green

[Webbdtoez]

Just thought I would share my long awaited grow. Ive been wanting to test this method out for awhile now. & its relatively hard to find good information on this type of setup and technique, so i will try to post every detail to help future v-scroggers.

3-Berry Bomb & 3-Cinderella 99
2- 600w MH/HPS
4X4 tent
6- 5 gallon buckets circled around each other with 5 ft wielded wire attached

Currently germinating seeds but will post pics once I turn the lights on

This is going to be fun!

 

[Ammastor]

Cant wait to see what everything looks like and how it works for ya. Keep us posted.

 

[whodatnation]

Be sure to keep us posted What info are you having trouble finding?

 

[Webbdtoez]

Heres a couple pics


Hoping you guys can help me with my setup in order to get my temps down and humidity up.
Current temps are 90-95 and Rh is 15%-20%.

My setup:

-1 6" intake fan pulling air from outside through a small opening in my window(trying to keep a low profile)(on the left top of tent)
-1 12" fan zip tied in front of the intake fan to help pull air in(not much room to stand the fan up anywhere and let it oscillate)
-1 6" exhaust fan connected to a stiro-foam cooler(best i could come up with)(I dont want to exhaust directly outside)(on the top right)
-1 12" fan zip tied 2 feet below the exhaust fan, blowing air through the middle area of the tent.
-1 8" fan sitting on the floor, cooling the lights.
-1 5-gallon cooler of water to help with humidity(not helping much at all)

Temps outside are 50 at night 35-40 during the day
very low humidity

What can i do?

 

[Prawn Connery]

One thing that will help with humidity is growing in drain-to-waste coco. With large, moist pots (coco should be watered frequently, unlike soil) there will be a lot of evaporation and increased humidity in your room. In fact, this causes problems with mold sometimes in my grows - especially during the humid months.

If you are planning on growing in soil, have a think about it: those little soil cups can drop straight into bigger coco pots without any problems. Your yeilds will be better with coco compared to soil, and you can hand-water initially until you get the hang of automatic watering or drip-feeding. Plenty of info on this site.

Another thing that can help is to grow indica varieties or hybrids, as they actually like drier conditions and are more prone to mold than sativas. Indicas originate from the Hindu Kush and high-altitude areas of Central Asia, so are naturally grown in very dry conditions. Sativas originate from the tropics, so do better with a little more humidity.

As for being a little dry, I wouldn't worry about it too much: it may be a blessing when it comes time to harvest and you have no mold! We Aussie growers have been growing in much drier conditions than yours forever. It's not uncommon to have 5-10% humidity during the drier months here. It is dry, dry, dry!

 

[Webbdtoez]

Alright guys, heres my scenario-

I need to exhaust either outside my bedroom window or exhaust into my adjoining bathroom.

I live on the second floor of an apartment building, facing the back of the property, no other neighbors. My question is, is how safe would it be to exhaust out of my window?
I plan on making a box for my window to keep it low profile if i do this.

My bathroom has a fan in it but no easy way to route the duct to the closed room.

The only thing i have for odor control is a gallon of Ona gel. It works very well, but i am assuming that if i did vent outside, i would need to position the ona gel to where it would be in front of the exhaust fan.

amirite? what are your thought RIU?

 

[Webbdtoez]

As I said before, theres still problems finding a middle ground with managing temps.
Intake is coming from the outside. Temps are varying between high 40's during the day and low 30's during the night.
My light turns off at midnight and on at 6am. I know now that i should have had lights on at night to balance the chilly weather instead of during the day.

Is there anyway to adjust my schedule? I was thinking of running for 24 hours on and then adjusting within a day to 18/6 (on at 6pm-12pm. off at 12pm-6pm)

The exhaust is just venting into the room, with a fan directing it towards the bathroom, where the fart fan there slowly exhausts out.

Also, with endless searching and no results, im wondering what to do about my second 600w. How would having two 600w lights on during veg cycle differ from only having one? Would it only be beneficial if the second light was turned on during the flower cycle? (I like to understand things scientifically, so if anyone could explain it that way that's be awesome.

Pics-sry they're sideways :/

 

[Prawn Connery]

You can reschedule your lights no problem at all. Run them 24 if you need to, and then have them off during the warmest time of day. Be sure to give them 4-6 hours of dark period to allow time for respiration and sugar transfer within the plant.

You probably won't need the second light during veg, as you can veg as long as you like. Flowering is more critical, as you only have a finite amount of time (8-9 weeks or so, depending on strain) to grow.

If you're worried about odour, then you really need a carbon filter. Having said that, I grew in an apartment for a while with a bathroom ceiling fan blowing straight into the eves with no carbon scrubber and no-one ever complained about the smell!

But if you're in doubt, play it safe

Your system is very similar to mine - 4'x4 and 1200w inline vertical - so you can certainly be successful as long as you have good ventilation. A slightly bigger floor fan might be in order, and if that's nylon rope I can se in the first pic holding the bulb, I would replace it with metal chain or wire - nylon can melt and if the bulb falls and breaks, it could start a fire.

There's nothing wrong with running just one light - 600w - for your first grow until you get the hang of things. That's what I did before going to 1200w. It wil give you an idea of how to handle things like heat, humidity and ventilation. It's good to be ambitious, but skill comes with experience.

 

[Prawn Connery]

I don't know if you've seen my set-up, but here's a glimpse if you haven't.

 

[Webbdtoez]

Prawn, you da man!

I plan on going 24 hours today and try to dial the 2nd HID in. Heres what im thinkin: Start by putting in another 6" exhaust fan (my intake), but leave the duct to have a passive flow of outside air while 2 6" fans are exhausting. Then start to tinker with the 2nd HID. Start with it on 25% for a few hours, record temps, turn till 100% and see where it sits with the new ventilation setup. Thoughts?

Awesome cage! Thats alotta potsicles!
What was your distance between the light and buds during flowering? The cage looks smaller than mine and i was kinda freakin out over if my lights would be too close.

Would they veg faster with two lights or is it just not worth it overall to turn on until flowering? considering electric costs vs. faster growth

 

[Prawn Connery]

Obviously they'll veg faster with two bulbs, but it's not the most efficient use of light until the plants get big enough to take real advantage of all that light. I veg under 250w MH before putting my plants under 1200w to flower.

Having said that, I don't think there's any harm in trying it to see how it produces.

My cage is about 2' in diameter, so about 1' at any point from the plants leaning against it. You need a good floor fan and overhead ventilation to get a column of cool air going past the lights to get your plants that close.

 

[Webbdtoez]

So my girls are a little slow considering this is their 19th day of veg, but im assuming thats just from the extreme temp fluctuations i had early on.


However, my temps have been really consistent the last week or so, as well as humidity. Ive noticed a little new growth and all have healthy green colors.


Im watering every other day 1 2/3 cups.


Question: being that ive cut out 6 holes on the bottom of each bucket for drainage, should i prop the buckets up on pieces of wood to move air under the buckets? Would this deliver more O2 to the roots?

The first pic is the fastest grower, all the others are a little smaller and slower, similar to the second pic.

 

[Canon]

Too much light. Plants are too compact because of light.
Decrease or raise the light. Better yet, set them to the side light. You want some stretch there sport. LOL

Remember.. vertical. No flat canopy. stretch it out some for the screen.

 

[Webbdtoez]

Ok i raised the light 2 ft. Giving about 3-3.5 ft from plants.
I also propped each bucket up to allow airflow underneath.

Thinking of sticking numerous straws about 6" into soil to aid in O2 flow to roots.

Also toying with the idea of building a turn table for all the plants to sit on. This way, when training ensues, the plants in the back wont be such a pain to manage. Anyone have any good leads i could look into that would do the trick?

 

[Canon]

Did that.
48" Lazy Suzan. Works great too.

Metal piece in middle picture bolts to floor and the table's hole nestles around it for pivot. All wheels 90 deg. off centerline. 3/4 inch ply.
Also mount 26w X 40"tall welded wire fence screen to outside pot rim. All turns together. Light and fan in center are hung to avoid twisting. (V-SCROG style)

 

[Webbdtoez]

Only problem is the bolting part. Without being able to bolt the center down, the lazy susana would not work.

i was thinking of something that could turn within itself. Like a merch rack contraption. Heavy duty plastic full circle one hollow so a slightly smaller full circle can fit. With beebres or something to provide a smooth surface slide.

 

[Canon]

Mount the pin on the other half piece of ply.
48 X 48 square base, 48" diameter table = 1 piece of ply.

 

[Webbdtoez]

How much longer do you think for veg?

i started training the 25th.

 

[Prawn Connery]

I think one of your problems is your soil may be too wet. Small plants in big pots don't need that much water. In fact, you need to dry the soil out a little in-between waterings to promote vigorous root growth. I see you have used perlite, but really - in soil - your pots should be almost dry before each watering.

When I grow in soil, I always put my seedlings in smaller pots to begin with to promote root growth. Smaller pots dry out faster. As you water, you introduce fresh oxygen into the root zone (which is pulled in by the capiliary action of watering). As soil dries, it again draws air into the root zone. This constant wet-dry-wet-dry action is what promotes healthy, oxygenated root growth. If the soil remains wet, the roots suffocate as the water stagnates.

Once the plant is root-bound, you can then transfer it to a bigger pot and watch it take off!

There are two rules to growing in soil: don't overwater, and don't overfeed (soil already contains a lot of nutrient).

 

[Cousined]

View attachment 2929258View attachment 2929259View attachment 2929260

Did that.
48" Lazy Suzan. Works great too.

Metal piece in middle picture bolts to floor and the table's hole nestles around it for pivot. All wheels 90 deg. off centerline. 3/4 inch ply.
Also mount 26w X 40"tall welded wire fence screen to outside pot rim. All turns together. Light and fan in center are hung to avoid twisting. (V-SCROG style)

View attachment 2929269

like your idea but its useless. the parts of the plant facing the light are always facing the light. whats the point to spin the plant around the bulb with one side always facing the bulb? lol. good idea but each plant needs to spin 360deg not stay stationary and spin around the bulb.

anyone pick up on something i dont?

edit: i see, its for access to back plants. good idea. i thought it was a plant mover style thing. sorry