Experimental Micro Grow CFL's - 1st time grower

oh... and the way i'd imagin'd it ... 2 timers... 1 for light and other for heater cable... alternate them ... it should take about half hour for the heat to mostly escape from your grow box after your light goes off... and about the same amount of time for the cable to heatup and take the strain ... so it should if my guess is anywhere near correct not involve having to run both light and heater cable at the same time .... .... "Every little helps™"

growone said:

on the water jugs, you can keep them sealed, might be the better choice
electrical connections and water that can spill can be a bad combination

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The heated cables are actually water proof as they're also used in aquariums, but I'm now in two minds about water jugs, as Troutie says, there's a lot of water in the English air anyways.

troutie said:

oh... and the way i'd imagin'd it ... 2 timers... 1 for light and other for heater cable... alternate them ... it should take about half hour for the heat to mostly escape from your grow box after your light goes off... and about the same amount of time for the cable to heatup and take the strain ... so it should if my guess is anywhere near correct not involve having to run both light and heater cable at the same time .... .... "Every little helps™"

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Yes I'd imagined that I'd need two timers (or one more), and I'd imagined that I'd need to take some tests with my thermometer before actually putting the heated cable in.
I haven't actually got it yet but once I do; I'll take a reading during lights on, the a reading for lights off. Then I'll do it again, but record the time it takes for cooling between ambient temps. Then a third set of data must be taken with the heated cable to determine what temp and how quickly it takes to reach that temp.
Then I'll have a better understanding of whether or not I'll need to stagger my timers with an overlap, or whether there should be a gap and how long it should be.

:-S

Science in action folks! lol

It's a couple of days since the pics - my wee girls have grown an inch since And I'm now considering my options for my scrog screen.

yeah ... now thats what i'm talking about... i'll let you run your tests and standby with my debit card in hand.... but i got a feeling little to no timer overlap with that 80w cable.... oh and while we're on the subject what about white limestone chipping used for flat roofing would be fairly good at reflecting light back up as thats what its used for when applied to flat roofs.... cheap as chips £3 a bag and it would look pretty covering up that cable

your right collecting and recording data, science and maths ............... feels like being back at school... i might not turn up tomorrow lol

sealed containers won't affect your humidity, seems like you're making progress
the cables sound good, they may be just the trick you need

troutie said:

yeah ... now thats what i'm talking about... i'll let you run your tests and standby with my debit card in hand.... but i got a feeling little to no timer overlap with that 80w cable.... oh and while we're on the subject what about white limestone chipping used for flat roofing would be fairly good at reflecting light back up as thats what its used for when applied to flat roofs.... cheap as chips £3 a bag and it would look pretty covering up that cable

your right collecting and recording data, science and maths ............... feels like being back at school... i might not turn up tomorrow lol

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LoL that's detention talk son! You'll be forced to sit in an empty classroom and smoke a whole ounce of red seal in half an hour and then be forced to play 5-a-side footy in the gym. In your pants! lol

Yes, with the recordings. I can only do it once eBay deliveries have arrived
I found a good one that I want, it's a pair off 4m length cables for under a tenner. I have no idea of the wattage though. It's the cheapest on there, so it'll either work or not. But surely it can't NOT work. We live for this kind of patience lol

growone said:

sealed containers won't affect your humidity, seems like you're making progress
the cables sound good, they may be just the trick you need

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I wonder if...
having said cables running through the water would be more ideal...
It would heat the water quicker. Although probably more trouble than it's worth - I want this to be simple, not a nightmare lol
I'll have to leave the water idea for now, at least until I've carried out my tests on the temps and cables.

Fingers crossed, that my deliveries come before the weekend - else there may be another week of vegging on the cards while I run my tests...

Thanks for your continued interest in my thread guys

cables in water, that is an interesting thought
since you probably want to keep a sealed water setup, cables in them might be a bit complicated
jugs of water will tend to even out your temps, reduce the highs and raise the lows
but the heating cables if adjusted properly should keep a nice temp
keep it simple as possible

Simple is the name of the game, growone
I think if the temps are still too temperamental after cable installation, then I'll consider using some water.

I Just bought a pair of heated cables for £15

Can't wait to try them out!

I think I did alright (famous last words), I've seen these for sale at £30 each, new and at only half the length. These are 4m long each and I have no idea of the wattage.

Thermometer with a probe is on it's way too!

While I'm waiting, I'm sorting out my second light reflector with three more CFL's. A little better than my previous use of a barbeque tray (I think I'll still use those to line my enclosure) - This one is composed of a cut out cereal box covered in tin foil, with a small garden wire frame, cable-tied to it and the bulb fittings attached to the frame. I'm hoping there will be better light spread with this mod.
I'll also update the previous reflector, for consistency and then eventually buy some bulbs that all match in wattage lol!

Oooh its all exciting lol

growone said:

cables in water, that is an interesting thought
since you probably want to keep a sealed water setup, cables in them might be a bit complicated
jugs of water will tend to even out your temps, reduce the highs and raise the lows
but the heating cables if adjusted properly should keep a nice temp
keep it simple as possible

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Have you thought about the insulated electric tape stuff you wrap around pipes to keep them from freezing?

rockinriggin said:

Have you thought about the insulated electric tape stuff you wrap around pipes to keep them from freezing?

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i think that's pretty much what the OP has purchased, heating cable/heating tape, pretty similar
but i see what you're saying, wrapping water jugs with heating tape, that could work, another wrinkle

sorted fella!.... you move fast for a stoner!!


ok ... so have you managed to seal your light leaks yet?..... and what are you going to do if all them plants are girls?.... its going to get pretty busy in there

well i'm still tinkering with my grow ... picture update friday 28/11/2011

troutie said:

sorted fella!.... you move fast for a stoner!!


ok ... so have you managed to seal your light leaks yet?..... and what are you going to do if all them plants are girls?.... its going to get pretty busy in there

well i'm still tinkering with my grow ... picture update friday 28/11/2011

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LoL there's only a few things that can make me move that fast
Light leaks. No. I intend to leave them be for the now. Once I've got the cables laid, I'll have to get the fans put in and so having these cracks there may be ideal for use with them. I'll will have to pick some for venting and seal the rest.

As for them all being girls...
Well, that would be ok. I think. I would just have to deal with it with some skillful scrogging/LSTing. I'm actually a bit worried about said techniques anyway but I can only really do anything about it when the time comes, until then I worry not I'm expecting at most, for three to be females. My mate germinated 25 of these same seeds, and ended up with 11 ladies so the ratio is pretty good in my favour.
However, one of them is decidedly ill, it would seem. The growth rate is much lower than the others and its baby leaves are turning yellow. The other four are perfectly fine, in fact more-so. They're flourishing I'm going to leave it for the now though, in case it perks up any. But I reckon I'm going to have to remove it soon for fear of it being diseased in some way and also to make room for the others stretch out some more.

They're also almost ready for topping too! Was going to do it already but I think by the end of the week should be enough time to get a good grip to pinch those tops off.
The longer I continue, I feel I'm going to have to veg for another week.

According to what I've read, at least a week more veg should be given after topping for recovery purposes - is that about right?

Can't wait to see your pics, Troutie!
btw, how are your seedlings coming so far? They must be over a week old by now?

LoL I wasn't expecting to have 4 pages here already!

Can't thank you enough, Troutie and Growone for your input so far

If I get bored later, I may take some more pics hehe

Ok I got bored lol

well you can see the little scraggly one. It actually looks better in the pic than it does for real, but you can definitely see the difference in size from the others, but you can't really make out all the yellowing. I think it's not going to last much longer and it's got to go...

Also here you can see my new custom light fitting/reflector. It hasn't quite got the spread of the other one, but then that could be to do with the bulbs being a lower wattage - 6 new, equal, bulbs is on my list for when I can afford them. Or less brighter ones, we'll have to see.
Either way, I'm going to build a second one tomorrow to replace my barbeque light mod.
They're not easily balanced so I've used a few props on top to spread the balance. Finding a better way to hang them with good balance would be ideal, if anyone has any ideas for me.

You can also see here, as per growone's recommendation, a 2L bottle of water in the enclosure
I don't think I need it at the mo, but as a tester, it certainly does hold some warmth in it. Albeit not very much. But it does work. I expect once it's resting over the heated cable on the gravel it'll be much warmer and be much more effective when it needs to be - during lights off.
Apparently this cable shouldn't be touching itself through risk of melting, so I'm making a mental note to keep my plastic water bottle slightly above the cable.

The temp has increased significantly since adding three new bulbs, so getting those fans up and running is now critical to get that air circulating, before flowering is even considered.
My idea for this; to have one fan as an intake with an air hole at the opposite side utilising a natural vacuum system and another fan inside the enclosure for circulation directly onto the plants, below roughly where I think my canopy is going to sit.

Phew! Lots to organise for a first grow eh lol

looks good, or at least good enough for the moment
heating/cooling is always a major issue, most setups are different and have to be tweaked some

the sick one might just be a due to the fert being a little strong... maybe a rich bit of soil in that pot... sometimes results in burnt seedlings, i got john innes seeding soil.. got enough ferts for 3 weeks .... but they'll be moving into 11ltr pots between weeks 2-3 so they have tonnes of new soil to munch there way through... i'm not expecting to use any nutes untill flowering really....

i'd go for at least two- three weeks veg.. a little recovery and a week to grow on new shoots before the flip to 12/12

mine are doing ok bruv.... 10 days since seed ... update was gonna be friday... might be tomorrow dunno .. got to fly ... got a job to price, seeya soon
ONLY

troutie said:

the sick one might just be a due to the fert being a little strong... maybe a rich bit of soil in that pot... sometimes results in burnt seedlings, i got john innes seeding soil.. got enough ferts for 3 weeks .... but they'll be moving into 11ltr pots between weeks 2-3 so they have tonnes of new soil to munch there way through... i'm not expecting to use any nutes untill flowering really....

i'd go for at least two- three weeks veg.. a little recovery and a week to grow on new shoots before the flip to 12/12

mine are doing ok bruv.... 10 days since seed ... update was gonna be friday... might be tomorrow dunno .. got to fly ... got a job to price, seeya soon
ONLY

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I think you may be right there, Troutie. A little more vegging time, I'm just really impatient and want it flowered already lol
Aye again, little sproglets problems could be to do with the soil, but then it's the same soil as the others and it's just basic cheap top soil so I dunno. Maybe I'll leave it until I can sex the rest of them. Who know's, maybe I'll be low on females and need this little cheeky one to boost yields.

Don't be afraid to take pictures early
I'm actually aiming to take pics every Monday, for growth records. But am happy to take more when upgrading or adding new bits to the enclosure. The experiment, after all, is the enclosure itself and using bits from round the house to make it. The more I've recorded here is the more I'll remember next time round lol (tokers memory).

haha.... well i added a little circular vent thinggie to the inside of my cab ... covering the passive intake.... was in bed last night ...and i suddenly thought (what if a mouse got in!) ... so added a plastic ventilated cover, guess mice would just chew straight through it ... but it has blocked all light escaping from the rear... so starting to fall back into stealth mode

well its 9 days from seed ... 6 days as seedlings i think??? (i'll have to check lol) but yeah second set of leaves are coming... very slowly, first leaves are actually much bigger then they seemed yesterday... but on the whole still little, my hopes are there busy rooting like crazy and next 3 weeks will show major growth ...fingers crossed... pic's tomorrow

Yes that's right I actually found a charger and did it!
And I got bored so I cleared some space in my shed so I can actually stand in there now and maybe even have a second person too! Woo lol

It's quite breezy in there now. Tomorrow I'll have a good idea if it's working inside by feeling the air exiting through my out-vent. It should be warm compared to the external ambient temps.

troutie said:

my hopes are there busy rooting like crazy and next 3 weeks will show major growth ...fingers crossed... pic's tomorrow

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My hopes too for mine!
Looking forward to the pics



I'm actually rethinking my scrogging and flowering timing.
Instead of just going for another week of veg, I'm considering going another few weeks to max out my screen (when I eventually get one).
People say, 50% - 75% coverage of the screen before flowering and this makes more sense to me, rather than trying to stress free train them while they're flowering.
Best to just train them while vegging, then let them go wild through the scrog?
This may take another three or four weeks for that kind of coverage!
I can only hope it works for me as I know they're sativa and will probably be tall and scrawny. But it's probably better than switching to flowering now, or next week, then pissing around with my scrog system potentially causing hermying...

Tell me what you think?

Thanks for reading peeps