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[MEGA] 2010-2011 Community Growing advice, tips, tricks, & experiences

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Well,
I've got two inline fans (8 inch, around 500cfm)
Now, I opened the box, and I'm kind of clueless to how this thing would mount...
it didnt come with mounting brackets or anything like that, no instructions , just the fan, lol...

And my door is solid wood, so , Idk, I guess Ill see if I can get through that...

As for a hole saw, well, I dont have power tools, but I guess I could buy an 8inch hole saw and just spin it with my hands....lolol....

Well, Im off to take back the other fan I bought and buy the correct ducting materials (bought the wrong ones yesterday)

Im really wanting to cut a hole in my closet door and use an 8X8 vent for intake. but, I really dont know how to cut through a solid door...lol..


thanks for all the info, kinda skimmed over it, just got off work, Ill be back to read the rest in a bit (plants doing pretty well btw, accidently left the lights in for 13 hours today :(
 
Well, still dont know how to mount these things, lol, bought all the duct equipment Ill need...

Couldn't really buy a 'hole saw' as I have no power tools, just bought a small blade use for dry wall, now, I was wanting to have the blower that Im using as exhaust hang down from the ceiling about be about 1 - 2 ft above (and to the right of) the hood. and I wanted to just connect an 8to7 and duct the 7 inch into the hole I cut in the ceiling in my closet.

God, I really have no idea what to do, lol...

Im pretty sure the only way Im going to be able to have an intake is to cut a vent through the closet door...blahhh

As for pics,

Well, Its kinda hard to take with the light being so yellow, but , I tried, lol, Ill try to take a pic with diff lights next time.
And yeah, my lights are hooked up to a timer but I just bought a newer one (better) yesterday, just had it on the wrong setting, had to readjust it and it works fine now. And I meant for a thermo to be hooked up to the light, so the light would shut off when the heat got too high, and it would turn off for a bit, let the temp drop, and then turn back on, but that doesnt seem like a good idea come to think of it, as the light would just go on and off if I didnt handle the heating problems properly.

Nl-y.jpg


Oh yeah, and also, I remember back when I did have HID, I kept getting told how useful HID is, and how much better it is compared to CFLs...,
Well, I haven't noticed much difference in speed of growth, but I have noticed a HUGE difference in the health of the plant....
The plant seems to be in much much better condition with that light on it, rather than the CFLs.
Again , want to thank everyone here for taking the time to read my posts, and reply, with useful information , it's greatly appreciated, and I wouldn't have been able to do it with out all of you. Its all very much appreciated...

(Maybe Ill noticed quicker growth when I start a new seedling, I wanna try it and see how long it takes to flower, (I wanna see how diff vegitative growth is with a MH bulb vs CFL, [It is MH for vegging correct?]
 
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Hey I just found the forums so I'm new here. I'm not gonna take the time to read your huge background of weed growing but I would like to offer advice on anything I can. I have a wide range of growing experience and can definitely give some good advice.


Thank you Washington Voters for allowing me to grow this delicious plant!


MH makes your plant kinda bigger and foamier when in veg.

HPS makes them more woodlike. If I can get a camera together I can show you the difference in a little bit because I have both vegging plants now.
 
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hehehe...

"huge backround of weed growing"

On my second grow , first time with HPS lights.
First was with CFLS, plant was a male.
2nd plant, Northern Lights #5, Femle.

But there is TONS of information in this thread if you look for it.
Very nice thread. And it will continue to live, as long as my plant...and my questions...lol...

Thanks to all the people who took the time out to reply and give awesome information & advice ! :D
 
I re examined to make sure I was correct, but HPS makes your internodes closer. So HPS may be preferable for vegging especially if you can top your plant at a short height. You can get some scary bush like beast monsters. I'll post a pic of a plant that vegged under a single 1kMH and it is beastly bushy. I think that if it was under HPS it could of been bushier. If you veg in MH you will get monster sized plants with very fat stalks fast though. Very round stalks often hollow. HPS creates a very woodlike stalk that is never hollow. If a plant is growing slow it will never get this hollow to it no matter the light.

I really need to find my camera or acquire a new one I'm getting anxious to show some stuff off.



Oh yeah. Try to get your temp down to the 70-80s at canopy level. I keep check of temperature at canopy because it is way higher usually than temperature of room and it is what you need to be going off of. Heat variances are really bad its not good to have it go from 60 degrees to 100 degrees. It's preferable to keep the variance below 14 degrees. Also the colder the temperature the tastier and denser your buds will be. Some strains have to be grown as cold as 54 degrees to express their true magnificence.
 
^^ MH are better for veg. Compared to HPS plants under MH will have much tighter nodes, and generally more compact plants as the blue spectrum is closer to that of early summer(veg) and HPS is closer to autumn (bloom).

Also most bigger plants their stalks will be more solid then smaller plants. But generally in all plants there will be hollow stems. Wheather be under HPS, MH or outdoors.
 
Grow both right next to each other and you will see what I mean. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.

MH in veg makes farther internodes and longer growth of stems.


Also hollow stems are a problem they aren't what you want. If you grow better you won't get hollow stems.

I think the common belief is since under MH you get bigger plants with nicer looking leaves and bigger stalks they grow better. I agree that they grow more but they grow different. I've been able to get internodes smaller under MH by throwing some UFOs in with them.

I've grown hydro and I would get hollow stems under insufficient light and sometimes with poorly balanced nutrients. Hydro always grows way to much and it can be a problem.
 
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^ that's right but it's worth saying that with improvements in HPS technology e.g. dual spec bulbs, a lot of people are using HPS throughout with okay results. Stretching is more of an issue but this can be controlled to a certain extent with training (e.g. topping etc.). I personally use MH in veg and HPS in flower but ideally I'd like to be using a combination of both for a more ideal spectrum. It is worth noting tht HPS is more efficient than MH so you get more lumens for a given wattage.

A really good technology now available in the US is ceramic metal halide. These run cooler and have a better spectrum I believe.

Prelude, you need to have safety as your number one priority. Using HID lights and other grow equipment indoors can be a dangerous thing as I'm sure you're aware. One thing you must do, if you haven't done so already, is put your ballast on a piece of concrete or a brick so that if it over heats it is less likely to cause a fire. I would also recommend installing a smoke alarm and a small fire extinguisher in your grow room.

As for cutting a hole in the wall, can't you just borrow a power drill temporarily from someone? If you buy a hole saw it just fits on and you can then cut a hole so easily and it'll look very professional. This is what I would personally do if you can't manage to do it another way. A circular hole would work with a square passive vent.

Prelude2TragedyII said:
Well,
I've got two inline fans (8 inch, around 500cfm)
Now, I opened the box, and I'm kind of clueless to how this thing would mount...
it didnt come with mounting brackets or anything like that, no instructions , just the fan, lol...

And my door is solid wood, so , Idk, I guess Ill see if I can get through that...

As for a hole saw, well, I dont have power tools, but I guess I could buy an 8inch hole saw and just spin it with my hands....lolol....

Well, Im off to take back the other fan I bought and buy the correct ducting materials (bought the wrong ones yesterday)

Im really wanting to cut a hole in my closet door and use an 8X8 vent for intake. but, I really dont know how to cut through a solid door...lol..


thanks for all the info, kinda skimmed over it, just got off work, Ill be back to read the rest in a bit (plants doing pretty well btw, accidently left the lights in for 13 hours today :(
Click to expand...

Using a mounting bracket is a very good way to mount the fan. This simply screws onto the fan with simple screws using a Phillips head screw driver and mounts easily on the wall or ceiling. The only problem with this method is that it shunts the vibrations/noise into the surface it rests against and the rest of the house so with a large fan everyone in the house will be aware of it! This mounting bracket is cheap but is bought separately from the fan.

An alternative is to screw hooks into the ceiling and literally suspend it with bungee ropes. This buffers the noisy vibrations, significantly reducing the noise, except it's more fiddly and less neat than using a mounting bracket.

You've probably got this sorted, but you need to have your lights on for say 18-20 hours per day, not 24 h/day (there are benefits to having a lights off period as well as saving electricity. For this you need a timer (I would recommend a Grasslin segmental timer, which is the most common - don't get a poor quality one) and a contactor (relay device) as the current going through the light is so big you would fuse the contacts in the timer rendering it useless. The timer and contactor is not particularly expensive but is an essential piece of kit IMO.

Edit: sorry I just saw that you've got the timer. But do you have a contactor that you're using along with the timer? Any light above 250W needs a contactor otherwise the timer won't last. In fact it might not work full stop.

Also, sorry I wanted to say that theoretically you can use a normal thermostat with your fans but that really you should use a speed controller at the very least (these are reasonably priced). A proper automatically controlled system that controlls the fan speed according to the temperature rather than switching it on and off would be ideal. The Primair model is good, as is the SMS COM speed controller, which is what I use. You can in the mean time just plug the fan straight into the mains but this will be extremely loud, especially with your 8" fan which is massive.
 
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I can't find cord for my camera but I'm gonna get some pics up probably by tomorrow and they gonna blow you guys away for real. I really wish I could find this cord but gonna have to go to somebody with a card reader. Darn
 
Hey A.E., had a quick question, you had told me to get an 8 inch hole saw, are you sure they even make them that large? I can't even find them on google, the largest I've found is 6 inch. Kinda weird. ...

And if your going to post pics of past grows, then post them on weed porn thread...
If its a current grow and you want to show or it and ask for help or explain the way you grow personally then go for it.
Just dont want this thread to turn into a dick sizing.
 
Prelude2TragedyII said:
Hey A.E., had a quick question, you had told me to get an 8 inch hole saw, are you sure they even make them that large? I can't even find them on google, the largest I've found is 6 inch. Kinda weird. ...

And if your going to post pics of past grows, then post them on weed porn thread...
If its a current grow and you want to show or it and ask for help or explain the way you grow personally then go for it.
Just dont want this thread to turn into a dick sizing.
Click to expand...

That's a good point - I don't know if they make them. I've only used a six inch one but one thing you could do is use a ducting reducer (although this wouldn't be ideal but would definitely work okay). This would reduce the hole from eight to six inches. As long as you're not reducing the ducting more than this it shouldn't be muh of a problem. Ducting reducers are dirt cheap.
 
Well, I was hoping to be able to use the whole 8 inches, at it seems ., when I use the reducer, much less air is being pushed through the ducting. I have 7 inch duct, which is pretty much as low as I want to go (though I do have 8 to 6 reducers, and 6 inch duct, Id rather use as much airflow as I can,

Called my boss from work, asked if he had a hole saw, he said the largest he has is 4 inch, so I'd have to use a jig saw to cut the hole I want, But, Im thinking , it would be hard to use a jigsaw on the ceiling in my closet, and make a perfect circle to the point the duct can fit in...?

Anywho, Any ideas on how to get this done?
Or how to make a hole in a closet door, lol
It's a very , Light door, I could probably punch a hole through it(maybe, maybe not, Ive never hit it...), but it is ...or seems to be , solid...

Well, Ive got all these fans and duct work laying around, im just trying to figure out how I want to sent it up properly before I start making holes I dont want in the wall....

Plant seems to be doing very nice. Not as much pistil/bud growth as I thought I'd see in the first few days of Flowering, but I guess that'll take a while? idk...
It doesnt seem to be doing much different than it was on its 12/12 scheduel with Fox Farms Big Bloom Instant nutes..
How long does it take to be able to notice new growth specific to growth in flowering?
 
Just use the jigsaw and do a good job you won't even be able to tell.

You gotta get that ventilation going mang, your girls will reward you with much love for it.

Any chance we got some Washington growers in the house?



Flowering growth is largely strain dependent but is drastically altered by it's access to nutrients. Like CO2 while lights are on and oxygen along with water on roots. I use GH nutes and I just give them at about 50% strength nutes at every watering. A few weeks in to flower I will start to give them water once a week. I believe this can help prevent male parts from setting in early but I have no proof of this.

Within 2 weeks of switching to flower you should have a huge amount of stretching and tiny buds everywhere. I usually end up cutting off about 3 feet of plant growth in this stage because it just goes nuts with the stretch.

HID lights have a certain range where the buds grow big and you want the most budsites in that range. If your plants stretch and you have to raise your lights then all the other stuff is doomed to be light green more fluffy.
 
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Well, just got a compass cutter, 7 inch, and I got a drill from work, so, all should go smoothly.

As for my lights, well, I plan on keeping them 12-18 inches from the plant once I get everything settled. Right now its about 18 inches, I want to get it as close to the plant without burning as I can...

As for HPS , I know it causes stretching, hence why I'd use a MH bulb to Veg, and if at all Possible Im going to try to mix HPS with MH spectrum during flowering, as I've heard it can help bud production.

I don't really plan on cutting any of the plant back until its dont flowering, I dont care if I get light fluffy bud, its my first female plant, whether it comes out bomb or just average, no big deal to me, just glad to be growing, enjoying it so far :)
Hopefully these SkunkXHaze seeds are good, Ive got 5 more Northern Lights #5 seeds, Gonna plant two, and take clones and make that last a while, Maybe plant one SkunkXhaze, as they aren't femmed , and I dont wanna get hermies..

Well, Wish me luck setting this all up tonight lol
 
Don't be scared of training it (topping it etc.). If you're too worried about it you can just try FIM'ing.

Also these days is you get female seeds from a reputable reeder hermaphrodites aren't an issue since they use improved techniques.
 
I'm telling you that HPS causes less stretching than MH while in veg. MH is like crack for the plant while in veg. I find after about 2 weeks in flower that the HPS causes the crack affect a bit.


What kind of lights and reflectors are you using?

Also I recommend Chopping everything down to the same height about 2 weeks in to bud so that you have an even canopy of buds. If you can take a recent pic from the side I can maybe tell you more of what I would do. But that depends on your responses to my questions.

Have you painted your area flat white? If your growing area is about the size that your light fills then you will get very good benefit from painting everything flat white. People say to use Mylar but I don't recommend it. It's a huge hassle and a good coat of flat white paint works better. Mylar also gets dirty and then doesn't work good. Flat white paint is real cheap per gallon. REAL CHEAP. So apply about 4 or 5 good coats and every couple grows apply a new one.

I'm happy to be scoping your grow setup keep it up!
 
HPS doesn't cause less stretching than MH during veg. I think you've got confused. It's the other way round.

This is my experience and what the vast majority of people will agree on!

I personally wouldn't recommend chopping your plants down to the same level in flower, but each to their own.

IMO the best way to get an even canopy of buds is to SCROG the plants.

Please don't get annoyed with me for disagreeing with you BigSteve, I'm just offering my two pence.
 
Im pretty sure HPS causes MORE stretching than MH in Veg, If I'm correct MH is used for vegging and HPS is used for Flowering. But to each his own.

I dont plan on chopping my plants....

As for topping , well, my outdoor plant is topped, and Im pretty sure this one indoor got topped ( just very late)

Got my outtake and exhaust setup today, didn't do much for temps though...brought it down from 91 to 89...lol Still debating on whether to cut a hole in my closet or no...hmm...decisions decisions

lol, Yes, my walls are flat white.

I will be doing SCROG next grow, If I get the time to get around to it...

BigSteve, I know you didnt want to 'read up' the whole thread, but most of this has been covered in the earlier pages, though I know its a bitch to read through and find, there is lots of useful information. Thanks for bringing some info & opinions to the thread, do you have any proof of MH causing more stretching than HPS?
 
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