First Grow: DR40 Grow Tent, 150 Watt HPS, Hempy Bucket, White Widow

Hello Everyone.

So this is kind of my first grow... Kind of only because I just started my actual first grow about three weeks ago. Didn't really take any photos primarily because I was too busy worrying about getting everything done for the first time. Being that that plant is now well on it's way, I figure I should start another one in the event that something goes wrong with the first. I should have time to correct anything that may have went wrong with the first plant (such as over/under nuting, mold, etc.).

White Widow
-She was 6" tall after I planted her in the Hempy Bucket. One fresh leaf and three-chopped leaves from rooting process.

I'm running the 4" fan but having a little bit of temp problems with the tent in the closet. I have an additional fan blowing cool air into the temp and this seems to solve the problem, so I'm probably going to get a CPU fan and have it setup at one of the intakes.

Nutes:

Cutting Edge Solutions Three-Part system
Botanicare Cal-Mag
Atami: Bloombastic

Being that I am new, I have no idea how these nutrients will perform... The bloombastic was free and so I'm using it with the Cal-Mag to hopefully replace the other three additives that Cutting Edge Solutions provides.

My goal with this grow was to try and control--as best I could--lighting, temp, humidity and air-flow. Don't want to get to crazy with nutrients and have to deal with a bunch of crazy factors I don't know anything about if/when something goes wrong. One thing at a time, one step at a time...

After she grows a bit I'm going to bend and tie her down. Right I'm twisting her so that once she bends, all her nodes will be on top (most of them already were).

Best...

PS: ADVICE!!! TIPS!!! SECRETS!!! Anything I missed?!?!?!?!

PPS: I'm about a week into Veg right now...

Here are pics of the first couple of ties that I made...

And a "top" and another "tie." This node was one, topped it and now it's starting to be two... You can see the growth. This is about two-days after the cut.

hey ive also got a dr40 except i went down the cfl route for fear of high temps even with a 150 hps so il be following this very closely, good luck

I use CFLs for Veg and believe me... It's harder to keep it cool with the CFLs than it is the HPS. In the end, in such a small space, CFLs (at least running the amount of wattage you would need) generate close to the same amount of heat as the HPS.

I think the problem is the overall ventilation on the Cab. Such a small space means it's easy to cool BUT also easy to heat-up really quickly. Air flow seems to be the problem. The outlet at the top can't really hold a 6" booster fan, and there isn't enough room for a 4" in-line fan (a good one, not a booster). So I've ordered some PC fans to run at the bottom vents... Not sure whether or not they'll work better as an extra exhaust or as an intake, but I guess I can just play around with that and see what works better.

tsky said:

hey ive also got a dr40 except i went down the cfl route for fear of high temps even with a 150 hps so il be following this very closely, good luck

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yea ive only got a 4 inch on the outlet, what kinda temps you getting with your cfls?

tsky said:

yea ive only got a 4 inch on the outlet, what kinda temps you getting with your cfls?

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During the day it can get up to 90 degrees in there, sometimes a bit hotter when it's in the closet. That's why I have some extra fans on the way and I've been running the tent with the door a quarter of the way open to help get more air.

With the 150 watt HPS in the same closet, 10 inches away from the light it's about 88... That's without the extra fan on its way, in the same closet. CFLs don't radiate as much heat, but over time they sure can generate a lot. In a small cabinet like the DR40, the heat--again since ventilation seems to be a problem in these tents--gets trapped quite easily.

My next project is to try and find a way to vent the closet without tearing it open (cutting through the walls, doors, etc.). I'm thinking of using a duct tube hooked up to a 6" fan, then rig-up some sort of attachment that will allow me to funnel the air under the door crack (I have almost a two inch gap). I figure if anything, I can slim-up the duct tube somehow and maybe even slide it under the door part way (keep it hidden of course).

yea below the cfls is cool but alot of heat goes upwards, you say ther isnt enough room for a good inline fan? im sure an rvk or a similer design can be put ontop with the intake sort of sitting into the hole on the top of the tent prehaps duct tape it down if u think it may fall off but im certain it would fit i had my fan ontop for awhile and that fitted just fine

You are definitely right... You could easily do that and have a good 4" inline, and maybe even a 6" if you just connect it using duct tubing. Maybe I'll try using a 6" fan and have it pull from both of my tents. Mount the 6" fan somewhere in the closet, use a Y-Adapter to run to hoses pulling exhaust out of each DR40.

So my next question is... Would the best way to cool a closet (containing two grow tents inside) to get air IN, or get air OUT of the closet. The closet stays at temps around 78-81 during the day, and 70-72 at night. So in effect the tents are running in 80 degree weather. Best way to cool a room? Intake or Exhaust?

hmm id say to get air out that way you keep a strong negative pressure so stink dosnt escape from the open flap (like you i leave the front semi open for airflow as its in a wardrobe) if its possible and a cheap wardrobe prehaps cut a hole in the back and vent air outside of it, mines just venting into the wardrobe as iv only got one tent in there and i know if i put my hand in ther its certainly warmer than ambient temp, id def go with a proper inline fan tho iv got a vents tt100 and its ok but once connected to a carbon filter its not so good im planing to upgrade in future, rvk are decent but i think the best fans are ruck they seem to move alot more air than rvk or others looking at data sheets

I definitely will look into those fans... You got a link to any of your grows?

PS: More pics tonight.

na iv not got one going atm in dr40 using 65w 2700k cfl, and som small led boards 4.5w each with one red, one blue and 1 royal blue chip so each one is 1.25w and i have 5 of those. atm im scroging 5 lowryder #1

I've been thinking about doing a multi-plant scrog for my next grow... How is that turning out? I assume you get one or two big colas from each plant?

tsky said:

na iv not got one going atm in dr40 using 65w 2700k cfl, and som small led boards 4.5w each with one red, one blue and 1 royal blue chip so each one is 1.25w and i have 5 of those. atm im scroging 5 lowryder #1

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well atm iv around 8-9 colas starting to poke thru the netting 2 of which are alot larger than the others. They flowering started around the 08-10th of this month, just gota train it so maximise the number im hoping to get a few more yet.

Installed the new fans last night... CPU fans I just attached with velcro to the passive vents, which aren't so passive anymore

With the closet door cracked an inch, I the hottest it is getting inside is 84 degrees. I'm assuming that will drop once both of the tents are running 12/12 at night. As it is, one tent is 12/12 (night) for flower, but the other is still 24/7 for this clone. So there is always heat being generated in the closet at the moment.

I'm thinking of getting one of those window fans that you throw sandwich in-between your windows and throwing it in-between the door sills. When I close the door, the fan will basically be two-inches away from the door, but venting most of the hot air against the door and hopefully down to the door crack (it's about two inches tall). Worth a try...

Pics soon... promise.

tsky... how many grows have you done in the dr40? how many plants, etc? I'm sticking with one, as I figured it was probably the most I could run in there but have since learned otherwise. I'm thinking of trying to do a SOG with 2-Litter bottles in the DR40... Maybe five plants...

on number 2 atm and helped a mate with another one as he used the tent and fan before me, what ive done is got a 50ltr fruit tree planter 38x38cm or something so basicly the entire tent floorspace is being used so no wasted room in there.
atm iv got 5 plants and thats scroging up nicely especially considering one is abit of a runt and there only small plants to start with.
Really tho it depends what you want to grow if you want dwarf autos go with 4/5 or if you want larger plants then 1-3 and just train then then scrog it, personally i dont like the idea of 2ltr pots as i just dnt think its really enough rootspace to maximise yield and you'l have to add more nutes, whereas with a massive pot and some good quality soil you need to add very little really.

The larger planter is a really good idea. I was thinking of maybe getting some 5" pvc pipe and making my own pots (bigger than the 2-liter bottles) to hold more soil, etc. I like the idea of LST for my first couple of grows because I really like diving in and getting my hands dirty, but I'm sure at some point I'll might get a little tired of constantly making ties.

Next grow I'm going to try and get four/five plants in one tent (SOG or SCROG), then I want to grow a single plant with a monster cola (or at least try for a monster cola... here's to hoping) in the other. I figure some really bushy indica strains might be hard to grow four or five in there without having to do some major training or cutting, so I'd like to see what I can get with a single, big cola plant. Again, I've never grown before so I'm trying to try out all the different growing techniques.

Alright... Going to take some pics...

tsky said:

on number 2 atm and helped a mate with another one as he used the tent and fan before me, what ive done is got a 50ltr fruit tree planter 38x38cm or something so basicly the entire tent floorspace is being used so no wasted room in there.
atm iv got 5 plants and thats scroging up nicely especially considering one is abit of a runt and there only small plants to start with.
Really tho it depends what you want to grow if you want dwarf autos go with 4/5 or if you want larger plants then 1-3 and just train then then scrog it, personally i dont like the idea of 2ltr pots as i just dnt think its really enough rootspace to maximise yield and you'l have to add more nutes, whereas with a massive pot and some good quality soil you need to add very little really.

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http://www.selections.com/GF2832/fruit-tree-planter/?utm_source=googlebase&of_tid=Zd-uHczWsTRK9X_BX9yI4l7AuSVekSnWQ1HVezuzt_zxegk2JGEpggwQHM7Clbk5
thats what im using