Longtime member, new grow box!

Long time inactive forum member here, maybe some of you will remember me? Anyways, built myself a new box and took things pretty seriously this time. Closetmaid 30" wardrobe, the new C13 alternative... Mostly stock, some reinforcements here and there, mounted on wheels that are hidden. Everything went nearly perfect, working out the kinks now. Definitely tough cooling a 400w ushio in the heat of the summer, but I'm able to keep air temps around 84-86 and still have another notch left on my 3 speed 6" maxfan. Been having some PH problems that I never ran into before with FFOF, perhaps because I started this girl outside and lots of heavy rain caused leaching of buffering agents. I also didn't realize how low the PH of the water I've been using was, it was around 6 ...Here is the box and couple opening shots, I later added PVC extension and elbows for the inlets... VERY little light leak below the box, and none coming in from the room during dark cycle. Also have already added a carbon scrubber inside the utility chamber, the smell was too strong already. I used an old "potty patch" for the tray, it fit perfectly and holds almost 2 gallons of water(I tested it) let me know what you think! View attachment 19342 And shortly after bringing her indoors, she's a bonzai Spicy White Devil that's never been topped and was outside for 6-8 weeks. View attachment 19343 And now 2 weeks later after working out some PH/nutrient issues? I believe low PH and overfeeding caused some lockout and burning which has pretty much resolved, still slightly yellow though. Planning to take some cuttings tomorrow and start 12/12 View attachment 19344







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Looks pretty healthy in general. Plenty of tops and bud sites. Is that box going to be able to contain her when she takes off? I've never seen a bonsai.


It'd be nice to see those temps come down in the 70s. But the weather is cooling down somewhat, here anyway, so that might help.


Keep us up on that bonsai. I love to see how she grows. Looks great!!


Be Cool, CG

 

Pretty similar to the small 400w cab I ran in college. Yours looks a little better though. My temps were about the same. Used a 6" centrifugal. Even tried an 8" but could never get it to stay lower than 80-82. Looks good. Thanks for sharing.


Oh and what Scrubber did you try using? What size?

 

Thanks! The scrubber was branded as "iPower" and is 16" long, barely able to fit it in the utility chamber. With regard to the temps, I know they sound high but I'm in the deep south and the ambient temperature in my house is about 76 right now, so I'm 8-10 degrees over ambient. She grew quite well outdoors in 95 degree heat this whole time, so fingers crossed. I don't think I would be able to get into the 70's without an extra air conditioner in that room, and that wasn't really part of the plan. I personally feel that mid 80's is completely normal for a lot of strains, especially when there's a lot of airflow.


And yea I'm kinda nervous about how much stretching will occur, might have to manhandle her a bit to keep her contained. I have about another 12-14" of upward movement on the light itself, the plan is for it to end up at the top of the box with a nice plane of colas, so many bud sites on this one I'm hoping for minimal stretch... But I'm kinda nervous because there's some sativa in her, I was planning on using a screen for more control but I'm gonna save that for next time. I am really just using her for a test run, but hoping for the best during stretch!

 

Thanks RR, tying girls down used to be my thing :roffl:


You can call me BS


Initially I tied her down, but after everything started to harden I released most of the zip ties and she took on a more natural bushy look. Unfortunately I also lost a lot of height in the process, time will tell if it works out.


It's probably hard for you to tell but the main branch kinda curves around from the front of the bucket to the right side, and is the tallest point to the right.

 

Nice set up, looks clean. As far as temps, I see an exhaust out of the grow chamber to your scrubber, but no intake, If it's inside in the a/c, have an intake fan blowing your cool 76deg air across your plants and have a separate intake tube for the light so that it has cool air flowing across it. I bet that would bring the temps down a little.

 

Maybe you can't see clearly but there are 4 x 3" holes in the bottom left of the box itself, which is where the cold air is coming in. And yes the box is in an A/C environment, but not much I can do. I will update soon with pics of the scrubber so you can see how it's attached and oriented.

 

i see them now that I'm on the computer. you still might think about incorporating a small fan to blow across the plantsasssit:

 

Nice to have you back on GK BarnabyStones. :thumbsup:


Grown in Tx has the right idea by suggesting a small fan for air movment across the top of your plants. :bong-2:

 

I've actually been using a small fan but pulled it out because it was an awkward fit, I need one of those mini box fans.

 

Still trying to get this thing more spread out, so I did some more training last night. Also adding a pic to show how the scrubber is installed.I have a folded blanket wrapped around the duct where it was making the most noise, really helps to muffle the sound of the rushing air. It's currently exhausting into the room, but I might end up running it into the attic to silence everything completely and help lower the room temps a little.Thanks for all the advice guys! I'm looking for a nice low profile mini box fan that won't take up too much of my grow area and a way to adjust it up and down, any advice? View attachment 19345 View attachment 19346





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There are some guys on here that use the little computer fans in their cabs. Maybe put one in each of your inlets, that should be plenty of cool air flowing in keeping the plants and lights cooler


Look in the diy section

 

I use computer fans in my veg cabinet.

 

I'm familiar with DC fans, they really aren't powerful enough. And my intake air is already quite forceful, my intention is not to improve the airflow as I'm already pushing a 6" inline fan through everything... I'm just looking for something to move air across the top of the canopy between the light, I used to have a mini box fan which was quite nice... I could potentially just hang some 120mm computer fans from their cords, but I'd like to have something that's actually directing the airflow across the canopy towards the cool tubes intake.


EDIT: I found something ideal on amazon, took some clones tonight and set the timer for 12/12! Update soon with my $3 world class cloning machine.

 

Just wanted to add a quick shot of my new $3 world class cloning machine, which is the cheapest and simplest cloner I've ever made. Basically it's just an ice tube tray from walmart, designed to make ice cubes that will go into water bottles. Drill a small hole in the bottom of each tube, and in my case it then fit perfectly into the top of a velveeta storage container that will act as the reservoir. Fill tubes with fine grade vermiculite, add an inch or two of water to the reservoir, and voila! After about 2 minutes the water had already wicked all the way up into the tubes and the verm was wet on top. Add clones and we are rockin' and rollin'! I'm hoping for some success because I want to throw some girls outside for fun and this would really jump start things, but if it fails I will try again! Credit for this design goes to a post I saw over at icmag, not sure if anyone here has tried this idea? Sure beats a perlite cloner as no wicking material required, and MUCH simpler than the cheapo aero cloners I used to build. Let me know what you think guys! View attachment 19353



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Hey Barnaby, looks cool man. :redbong:


Thanks for posting. :thumbsup:

 

Well the $3 world class cloner walmart special has turned out to be an incredible device, the first one that i checked has roots! I'm interested to find out my success rate for this batch, will probably give them another day or two. View attachment 19387 Homegirl is looking pretty decent, recently got ahold of some LK and she seems to like it! Also have switched to flower nutes. Working on my stealth veg desk now, update later. View attachment 19388





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Looking Healthy.:thumbsup: Is the cab where the scrubber is in sealed once closed? Wondering if sealing that cab will benefit the grow cab. Will a passive intake placed across from the exhaust, just above the canopy but below the light, help with air flow across the top without a negative impact on the intake already there?