My first grow in CFL box

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deeexit

Active Member
Hello everybody! Let me first say that this forum is fantastic. Very resourceful and educational. Well...after reading for a few weeks, i've decided that I shall build myself a CFL box. Just for hobby, nothing special..two or three plants max. Measurements are 60cm x 80cm x 60 cm (23.6 in x 31.5 in x 23.6 in). I've installed 10 23W CFL lamps and 1 osram fluora 18W tube. Total wattage is about 238 W. Just something over 50 W per square feet. I've also installed some PC vents to keep air circulating. Odor control is not really needed. So how do you think this cab will work? Can I expect any decent results or is it just a kick in the dark :) Anyway...hope to grow some nice buds :) Happy growing :)
 

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On3Tim3OnLy

On3Tim3OnLy

Well-Known Member
yh you sould be ok for some nice bud but you main problem is having all the light so far away from the plant as the cfls lose lumen intentisty ...
 
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deeexit

Active Member
hello. thanks for a quick answer! Well i was thinking to put plants on some bricks or something. When they grew larger i would lower it.

edit: i forgot to say, that i've measured the luminosity on the floor and the meter said its 8500 lux per sq.m. Is this ok?
 
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On3Tim3OnLy

On3Tim3OnLy

Well-Known Member
yh it should be ok man yh .... but theres 125w cfls which are 12000 lumens just on its own .... but the sun is around 10,000 lumens on a normal day
 
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deeexit

Active Member
well if i sum the lumens inside the box, i come up with something close to 16000 lumens. I guess it will be ok...have to give it a try :) veging for at least a month i beleive as the plants are from seed and about 4 days from sprouting. wish me luck ;)
 
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deeexit

Active Member
two or three maybe. i am trying the standard method for my first indoor grow. Maybe if that goes ok, i'll consider moving the side lamps a bit higher and try scrog. Anyway...my goal is to become self-sufficient and to pull about 30-50g per three months. I know i will have to learn and get to know my box for maximum yield...but hey, i've got time :)
 
crooked

crooked

Well-Known Member
u dident give so much thoughts to that box b4 u made it hu :-?
looks kinda messy but still pretty nice :)


:peace:
 
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deeexit

Active Member
hehe crooked i agree :) i didn't give it a lot of thought because I didn't think that i'll go through with it at the time :) anyway its here with me now(i've bought all the things myself...wood, screws, lights, electrical material...and i've put it together with my own tools :) That's why i like it so much...but i guess you're right...it looks a bit messy and i should take care of that in the future. All those wires need to be fixed tight and i need some proper reflectors, not "diy from beer can" ones. But hey, thanks for thinking it still looks nice ;)
 
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kailiwela44

Active Member
I used to have my wall painted white like yours. To maximize the lights you should try to put up panda film or mylar. Reflection and temperature wise, the before and after difference is noticable.
I would try to get the wires organized and have it laying under the film, looks a lot cleaner and easy to clean. only hard part i had with the film is it does create a 'speed bump' where it lays over the wires. Other than that, looks promising.
 
crooked

crooked

Well-Known Member
theres nothing bad in using beer cans as reflectors u just need to do em right

heres one i made and is verry useful as a side lightning

i dont know if its good that its dimpeled tho..

:peace:
 
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deeexit

Active Member
wow thats great! i will definetly try to do this...i just hope i don't cut all my fingers off. Need some glowes first for such a masterpiece :D
 
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deeexit

Active Member
hello

here is a little update on my plants. They seem to like the lights very much as they have grown more than 70% bigger in one day. Strains are one orange bud and two bagseed(worried that they will be hermies cause there were only two seeds in a really superior bud). I am very satisfied atm :) thank you all for helping me out a bit ;)

:joint: :hump:
 

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deeexit

Active Member
ok..so here we are one week later at day 10. Seedlings have now finished the germination state and are now almost in veg. They look nice, OB is the prettiest(i've burned the tip, when it grew into the cfl light. Luckily i've seen it soon enough.), other bagseed are showing some strange curly symptoms.

Anyway...here are the pics :) Another update in a week when they are about to get transplanted into larger pots.:)

peace!
 

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deeexit

Active Member
Hei fellow growers ;)

Weekly update...now at day 17.

The plants did pick up in growth quite a lot. They seem to like my light setup, cause i can see almost no streching. Did not start on any nutes yet, don't think i will for another week. They will go in sexing in about a week too. Hope you like them ;)
 

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slage

slage

Active Member
nice :D they are looking really good

im still learning so im wondering what light cycle are they are on? also what kind of soil?

goodluck!
 
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