My 1st Grow! 5 CFLs in two 26 Gallon Rubbermaid Cab!

[lolraymond]

Hey guys. This, obviously, is my first grow. I just recently decided, after seeing Hella's awesome thread about his Rubbermaid grow box(Hella's Grow), that I wanted to grow my own. I appreciate any opinions, information, or criticism anyone would like to share with me. Let me know what you think! I need to know, considering it my first grow!

Here's what I used to construct my grow box:

2 x 26 Gallon Rubbermaid Containers
2 x generic power strips
6 x Electrical outlet to Lampholder socket adapter
6 x (3) warm CFLs (3) cool CFLs (Approximately 200W or so)
1 x Elbow Bend PVC pipe
1 x T-Bend PVC pipe
1 x 92mm Computer Case fan (powered by adapted power supply)
Foam Weather stripping (1/2 inch thickness)

So far, as for plants, I've got only 1 Bubba Gum clone in the box (for now). Planning on getting about 4 more, or so, to fill the box.

As of yesterday, 2/28/10 @ approximately 8 p.m., the strong little clone has been under the light. I'm going 18 on, 6 off for now. She measured in at ~ 3 inches tall.

Here's a picture of the little lady:

Day 1, 2/28/10:


Pretty nice contrast backdrop, right?! Makes 'dem leaves look purple!


I'll get some pictures of my grow box up later. For some reason, Photobucket is being a bitch.





Can't wait to see where this goes!

 

[SnowRider221]

Your images will get deleted if you host them externally. Upload them to your gallery here on ICmag instead. It will limit the size to 800px but uploads are fast and adding pictures to posts is extremely simple once they're in your gallery.

Good luck with your grow! I'll be poppin in and out as I'm in the moddle of my own micro grow right now 3x Chemdawg 91 clones put right in 12/12 and a Blackberry which was vegged for a month. there's a link in my sig to my grow, some of my cabinet construction and supplies posted on the first page may help you with your own setup!

 

[kinger]

Good luck on your first grow,this is my first time using a rubbermaid tub setup and I like them so far.

 

[JustaGuy420]

Good luck bro, hell yeah now i got a partner.

 

[lolraymond]

Thanks for checking this out homies! Hell yeah, I'm stoked! I'll get the pictures of the box itself, and an update in the following days. Justaguy, let's compare! Should be done just about the same time.

 

[JustaGuy420]

Hell Yeah bro, I still have some light seals to deal with, and some light traps for my fan. Should get done on my days off this next couple days.

 

[lolraymond]

Bitchinnn'. Yeah, I dunno how well I did in regards to trapping light inside the box. I know there are still spots that could use mylar, and the PVC pipe I used to for the top exhaust hole, that needs some work. Also, the adapters I used to power the bulbs straight from the power strip, well they don't stay in very well, and 2 of them just dropped straight out, right onto the floor of the bottom tub; busted the lights. Dang. Hahahah. There are still a TON of things I need to work on still, not to mention my single 90mm fan might not be enough pressure when I've got the thing full of plants. I'm kinda stressin' about that, but those fans are easy enough to come by.


I'll post an update, and hopefully the pictures of the box within the day. Thanks guys!

 

[lolraymond]

Here are some pictures, finally.

Top:


Bottom:



Complete:


Top Lighting:

 

[JustaGuy420]

I cant few your pics close up but your light seals look way better than mine. I'm still being lazy and need to fix my light holes, it will happen soon. Take it easy.

 

[lolraymond]

Yeahh, I got kinda lazy on the whole, sealing-in-the-light thing. I'm thinkin' about adding another layer of mylar. I only got 1 mil, so the light shines through the inside layer. In spots where I had overlapped, it is completely dark. Prolly should fix that... but what ever. I'll deal with it.

As for an update on the little buggers growin', I don't really have one. My friend borrowed the box to keep some clones living so he can flower his other plants. I guess I'm getting it back sometime this week (he's loading it with clones for me, too!). I'll add a photo update as soon as I get the beasties back. Stayyyy tuned.

 

[lolraymond]

Alright, well, I have a partial update. No pictures cause I don't have my box back yet. I went over to my friends, who has my box, and checked out how the clone was doing. It's completely loaded with about 6 or 7 clones. Approximately a week ago, the single clone I had in the box was about 3.5 inches tall. Now, it's grown to about 5 inches. All the clones in the box look incredibly healthy and are growing like crazy!

They are still going on 18/6, but I'm about to start flowering. Getting stoked! Should be ready within a few weeks! Can't wait! I'll get a picture or two later today.

Thanks for everyone that has checked the thread out!

 

[sFish]

Lookin good, I've got a little rubbermaid goin' myself..It's had one test run before this, and right now I'm still trying to get everything dialed in, No mylar, no paint, and my exhaust fans glow blue...But hey, got all females last time, so far 2fems 2waiting..

I was just thinking, idk if 1 case fan will be able to do the trick.
For my exhaust, I'm working with 2 80mm comp case fans on one 90* bend of PVC at the top of the box, and two 'T' PVC connections for passive intake at the base of the box..Temps stay pretty regular, (even when 4-23watts and 1-42 runnin')

If you don't LST like I did, you can probly fit a whole bunch of plants in the box. (I think we're the same size)..But I've found that four fit perfectly well.

Anyways, Looking good, I'm gonna take my first chair here

 

[lolraymond]

Sup sFish! Thanks for checkin' my thread out! Funny you say your fan is blue. Mine is red. Lol. My single fan has been keeping the temperature relatively stable, and that's with about 7 cups with clones in 'em. Like I said before, when I get the box back from my friend, it's going to have about 5 or 6 clones in it. I may need to add a fan once I get it back, since I only have 3 bulbs right now. It did get a little warmer when I had 5 bulbs in it, but it's doing okay so far with 3. I guess we will see how it turns out.

Stay tuned!

 

[lolraymond]

The box is home, finally.

I got the box back last night, fools! My friend used it to keep his clones goin' while he sexed his big ol' plants. For letting him use the box, he added 4 clones to my collection. That makes a total of 5!

So now, the grow list is 2 Bubba Kush x Bubble Gum, 2 Nor-Cal, 1 Big Girl.

Woop! Switched the lighting over to 24. The new clones haven't gotten their roots yet, so I'll probably leave it for a couple weeks. Siickk. Well, I'll have an update soon with more pictures, but for now, take a peek at these:


Here's the complete stock. The three on the right are the babies of the bunch.



Here is the original clone! It's way more bushy and full. The picture doesn't look very good, but the clone is doing great. She's ~5 inches tall now! 2+ inches in about a week and a half.




Here's the first plant I had. She's got some browning on the top leaves. : /



Hopefully I'll have some better pictures up soon. I'm going to try and get at my friends good digital camera to take some 'glamour shots'. Lol. Stay up!

 

[pacoveli]

The pics not showing I sure would love to see those lovely ladies.

 

[lolraymond]

Fix'd! Have a gander at them now, Pacoveli. Thanks for checking my thread.

 

[lolraymond]

Update time!

I decided to move my box from my closet in my bedroom to a closet with a key lock out in the front room. Much more space, plus, my clothes won't start smelling like dank ass green bud. Hahah. I also rigged up a primitive 'lift' system, consisting of Velcro straps, zip ties, and clothes hangers. Lol.

I added a fan as well. It's an exhaust fan, attached to the top PVC pipe, blowing out. I'm only not too sure about the two fans being the same speed. I'm pretty sure the one blowing in on the bottom, is faster than the one blowing out, so it might be pretty counter-productive. We will see. I still don't have a thermometer, but I'm getting one this weekend, hopefully. Seriously, I need one. I can't tell if my box is getting too cool or too warm. I've got only 3 bulbs in it right now too, so when the bottom fan was on, the air coming out the top exhaust is warm, but not too warm. I'd say around 80. Hopefully I'm right.

As for the plants, they are doing well. I'm not very experienced in growing much of anything, so I completely disregarded the fact that they need water. Hahaha. I woke up this morning, ran to my tub, checked the ladies, and found the two Bubba Gum clones wilted and sad looking. I didn't know what the shit was happening, so I just watered em. They perked right up after I checked them later. Learn something new every day, hahah. The other clones are looking measly. They are only about a week old, so I'm pretty sure they haven't rooted very much yet. They are drooping like a mother, hopefully I don't kill them off. I'll get some pictures up tomorrow! Thanks for checkin' in guys. Stay high, stay up!

 

[JustaGuy420]

Thats why I finally started the grow, cause you learn so much more from doing. Can't wait to see some pics of the babies. Hopefully mine bounce back too, which they will.

 

[lolraymond]

Yeah man! I'm learning so much more than I was by reading shit online all day. My clones are looking pretty pathetic. I think they were too small of clippings so it's hard for them to have enough leaves to get the light it needs, but the other two are doing well. I'm just worried about my Big Girl. ): Don't want her to die! I switched back to 24 hrs of light again in hopes that it would pick my babies back up. I dunno, but I think I might change the lighting too much, and I don't want to stress the plants out hardcore like. I dunno, we will see. Pictures to come.

 

[Bill Murray]

Can't wait to see how everything turns out! Good luck.