Smokey Raven's "Space Oven to Gnarnia" first time grow

[Smokey Raven]

Hello everyone. Let me start off by saying that this is my first post and first ever attempt to grow and I figured I would share it with you all because it was other journals on this forum that inspired me to undertake this little experiment. Many thanks to users like Aerohead and ScrubNinja whose posts I have found every educational.

And So...
Ive decide to take a minimalists approach to this grow concerning space, lighting, materials etc. my goal is to complete this grow with a system that consumes less than 50 watts and for this first round I well be using bag seed. My light is The 21X-PRO LED Grow Light http://www.hydrogrowled.com/21X-PRO---36W-LED-Grow-Light-P96C60.aspx and I am using PC fans for my ventilation. Ive also bought a heating pad for cold nights. I have an old box for an amplifier which I put a piece of plywood on top to be used as a table and is a very discreet grow chamber that's detentions are 15"w 20"l 22"h. the light sits on top of the box in a my Trailer Park Boys cheese burger locker which holes cut to accommodate.

I didn't know what to expect from my collection of 10 bagseeds of which I forget exactly which batches I pulled them from. Anyways with luck 9/10 germinated within 24hrs and where planted in 2L milk jugs cut in half with drainage holes and covered with aluminum tape ( later I recovered them with black gorilla tape cause the aluminum was cold to the touch). All seeds sprouted within 3 days but unfortunately one was buried too deep and didnt make it...
day of sprout:


For the first week they were on 24hr light and grew very quickly


soon it became obvious that some girls weren't keeping up to the rest and were sickly so went from nine to six plants. For second week switch to 16/8 lighting because I heard a little less light promotes more female sexing. Also bought first fertz which are all organic fish juice 5-1-1, sea weed juice .1-.04.-6.5 and blood and bone meal (very stinky!)
heres day 14 from sprout

and heres my #1 girl!


Now its getting a bit cramped in there so I am itching to switch to 12/12 so I can find and remove any male plants and prioritize on just one or two girls and move the rest into a separate veg chamber. Im looking for some constructive input here, is it too soon to switch to 12/12? all girls have sprouted 4th or 5th node and are starting to grow leafs at the node. also if I switch to 12/12 well I be able to re-veg and re-pot one or two of the girls so i can begin to LST and ScrOG? or is it still possible to train for a bushy plant under 12/12?

 

[Smokey Raven]

heres a few more pics for yalls
12v power adapter for fans with many voltage options (very handy)

First iteration of carbon filter which I quickly slapped together after applying first organic fertz (they very smelly, the filter works perfect for that!)

and #1 from the top

grow art

 

[Smokey Raven]

Artsy close ups from days 7 and 14 from sprout

Also germination pic. I labelled the girls by which order they sprouted their tap root judging by how long they were so #1 is the one on the far right. (isn't it odd the one seed thats out of focus is the only one that didnt germ!)

 

[Smokey Raven]

Im thinking that since I want to play it safe regarding ventilation and odor control, that maybe I should order this in-line fan
http://www.amazon.com/TD-Mixvent-TD...rds=S&P+4"+TD-Mixvent+TD-100+In-Line+Duct+Fan
Ive read good things on this forum about it and it sound like it would suit my needs, anyone think it might be over kill?
also
I have bought a bulk container of "Laboratory-Quality" activated carbon that so far Im using to remove the smell of the fertz. But soon I well need to build a much more heavy duty filter for flower. I am assuming that since this grow is on the smaller end of the scale that a DIY filter would work just fine. Ive read lots of post on this but does anyone have and educated and experienced suggestions on the best way to go abouts building one of these? any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[touchofgrey]

Im thinking that since I want to play it safe regarding ventilation and odor control, that maybe I should order this in-line fan
http://www.amazon.com/TD-Mixvent-TD...rds=S&P+4"+TD-Mixvent+TD-100+In-Line+Duct+Fan
Ive read good things on this forum about it and it sound like it would suit my needs, anyone think it might be over kill?
also
I have bought a bulk container of "Laboratory-Quality" activated carbon that so far Im using to remove the smell of the fertz. But soon I well need to build a much more heavy duty filter for flower. I am assuming that since this grow is on the smaller end of the scale that a DIY filter would work just fine. Ive read lots of post on this but does anyone have and educated and experienced suggestions on the best way to go abouts building one of these? any input would be greatly appreciated!

IMO if you only have 36W of lighting then 100 CFM is more than you need for cooling. Plant respiration will be fine with 2 AC/M and your volume is 3.8 CF so that doesn't require too much air. I think too much air movement (wind) stresses plants out. We're trying to create the perfect environment.

The formula for cooling by air exchange is CFM=3.16*Total Watts/Temp Diff. so if you just have 36 watts plus a 17 watt heat mat and want a 10 degree temperature rise in the cabinet you would only need 3.16*53/10=16.74 CFM. Not much, eh?

For this size setup I think you'd do fine with a computer fan. Look for about double your minimum requirement to account for filter losses and the potential to reduce speed and therefore noise. I know some come with a built in speed control. I haven't used these in a long while so I don't know what's out there these days but I'm sure if you research the PC threads you can get good info.

 

[Smokey Raven]

Thanks for the reply touchofgrey! very reassuring information, I was just made paranoid by threads like https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=270491 Though my PC fan on the outtake is rated at 70.5CFM on max and has performed adequately on half power so far. Soon my chief concern well be odor control because I want no smell! Ive been researching many DIY carbon filter options an Im sure Ill be able to come up with something functional, even if it means installing a second PC fan to the end of the filter.

 

[tube dude]

The filter you have now is probably good enough. It looks about like mine and I have no smell during flower. I do however pull air through the filter instead of trying to push the air through the filter.

 

[Smokey Raven]

Really now? there is currently about an inch of carbon for the air to be filtered through. I might just redesign then to made the carbon sit horizontal instead of vertical and replace the fan so it is pulling. Thanks for the tip Tube Dude!

 

[touchofgrey]

If the fan has enough power it should work the same pushing or pulling. I've done it both ways. The problem with pc fans is most don't have enough strength to push through a filter. In this post https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=138074&page=2 you can see how I tested my setup to be sure it was pushing enough air.

 

[Smokey Raven]

Very nice construction you have shown in your post! unfortunately my present circumstances do not allow for such a magnificent build but hopefully in the future I well look to yours for inspiration when making my own cabinet! I plan on a redesign for my filter soon so after that's done I well do your bag test idea to see how it stands up. One of my friends whose more experienced and better researched than me was over and gave me some helpful tips so now the girls well be getting at least 1.5-2 weeks more veg time. The tallest is only 3" tall so Im going to wait til there at least twice as tall before hitting 12/12. Buddy helped me find a good design for a CO2 generator using apple juice, yeast and a fermentation valve connected to a hose. Ive read neat things about the benefits of adding CO2 so i figured experimenting with a simple device with my simple set up would be fun. Well have pics of the new upgrades soon...

 

[Smokey Raven]

Heres a pic of the girls from today!

Temps are running at around 22.5-25 degrees Celsius during the day hitting the lowest at 16-18 or so degrees at night. Have hardly needed to use the heating pad, the girls seem very comfortable in this box! in the pic the two plants in the far front are not quite as healthy as the rest and so they are not getting priority when it comes to the most concentrated light. Fingers crossed that the Four beautiful health plants I have now are girls!!

 

[#1cheesebuds]

nice indica's u got.

 

[Smokey Raven]

Indeed #1cheesebuds! Im feeln pretty lucky here cause I was hesitant to use my bagseed collection but now I have no regrets. Upon close inspection it seems to me I have at least 2 maybe 3 different strains in my top four, judging on growth characteristics, leaf shape and even by rubbing their leafs between two fingers I am smelling different minty and slightly skunky aromas!

 

[Smokey Raven]

Carbon filter plan

Carbon filter plan

Here is what Im planning to do regarding my carbon filter,

Im just about to head out and pick me the supplies to build one of these https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=29402
The design makes a little more sense in 3D space but essentially Im just adding a second intake on the opposite side to the other, attaching a sealed box (a tall one for a bong I bought) with a 4"w by 8"t carbon filter hanging inside with my PC fan pulling air through it. Anyone think I should add a second fan to have one pulling + one pushing?

 

[touchofgrey]

essentially Im just adding a second intake on the opposite side to the other, attaching a sealed box (a tall one for a bong I bought) with a 4"w by 8"t carbon filter hanging inside with my PC fan pulling air through it. Anyone think I should add a second fan to have one pulling + one pushing?

If you read the ventilation 101 thread you will learn the danger of an intake fan is that it can have a greater capacity than the exhaust fan (with filter) and result in pressurizing the box and smell escaping. IMO they are generally not necessary unless you have to draw intake air from far away. Passive intake at 2x exhaust fan diameter should work fine.

You should setup a test with your fan hooked up to the filter before you build. Make sure you can feel a breeze with it drawing through the filter. I've always thought a DIY filter should have a 1" carbon thickness, I see this link uses a 6 to 7 reducer so it will have a 1/2" thickness. With a 4" outside diameter I guess you could use 3 to 4 reducer but still only a 1/2" thickness. Might not be too effective.

 

[Smokey Raven]

Yes the 1" thick layer sounds like the safer option. Im thinkin that the inner part of my filter should be 4" as to much the the size of my intake and fan, making the outside 6". Imma have ta find a bigger box to fit it in. no bigy. Im happy I didnt pick up all the materials yet, my gut was telln me to slow down and think it over more. Smell isnt an issue yet, the most pressing matter currently is whether or not I have any girls in my space oven! Im down to 5 plants now and with the extra room Im doing a lil LST, only for the next week to keep em short and make those branchy limbs pop out more. One of the girls I think is starting to show signs of pre-flower, but it is still to early to distinguish detail.

 

[tube dude]

Flat filters work very well and are easier to build IMHO.

 

[touchofgrey]

Yes the 1" thick layer sounds like the safer option. .

I don't want to say that design won't work bc I don't have experience with it. But my understanding of filters is they are rated by carbon contact area which includes thickness. It seems people have built that model with 1/2" thickness and feel it works for them but the commercial units all seem to use a 1" thickness.

Flat filters work very well and are easier to build IMHO.

I agree if you have the space. And trays are easier to replace the carbon, just dump out the old and pour in the new. I've seen people make flat filters out of letter trays or small plastic bins. But a cylindrical design gives you more surface area in a compact space. Personally, I run a 10 x 20 flat nursery tray with 1" of carbon in it. It works well but gets a bit overwhelmed at the end of flower with 2 sq ft of stinky bud canopy (about 4 oz dried) inside. So I have 200 sq in of 1 " filter thickness. A 4" diameter x 8" long will have 100 sq in on the inside face so you could build a 10"x10' or 8"x12" tray that would give the same area. You could also get 125 sq in by just making the cylinder 10" instead of 8". The area needed for a particular setup is somewhat a trial and error process.

 

[DrZin978]

I like your design! With the CFL's you won't have to worry too much about heat in the compact space.

For a vent fan, consider buying a bathroom ventilation fan and retrofitting it so it can pull air thru your filter. you could simply put it over a hole on the outside of the box there, and have it ducted out into a 4" tube. These run in the 40 to 100 to even more CFM range, and are way cheaper than inline fans.

just a thought, I used a bathroom fan fitted to a carbon filter on my micro grow and it seems to be working great..