"Skylight Box" 1st Run- NYCD & Cheese

HeyHey!! It's time to Celebrate! The Skylight Box is now in place and the Girls have moved in. You can see the build pics with more comments in my Album and check out 'Please Critique my Plans, or Blow It Out Your Skylight' and the 'FrijolFlector' threads.
I checked out the box temps and here's that info-
With the Swamp Cooler (SC) off all day-
3PM- in box 85*, upstairs 80*, downstairs 77*,outside 82*
3:15- turn on the SC, low speed
4:30- downstairs and upstairs 74*
5:00- in box 82*
The next day was 83* outside- mild summer temp for our area- I turned on the SC at 12:30 and the in box temp maxed at 81*.
The Girls look super happy in there. Will have to see if the exposed vertical tubes get hot enough to harm the close by leaves.
I have a question for those with T5's- I have never seen a T5 in operation and am ignorant. Look at the vertical tube in the closeup pic- can you see that it's brownish grey for about the last inch or so? All 10 tubes are like that-I have checked everything out and am not sure if they are fully lit??
All wiring is per Fulham Workhorse diagrams, and ballasts and reflectors are grounded. I just don't know it all is OK.

So here are some photos to check out

Great idea, makes me want to chop some holes in my roof in strategic locations. Those T5s shouldnt do any harm to the leaves, wont get that hot.

Definitely gonna keep an eye on this thread.

Watered and fed the Girls this AM so I was able to take a picture looking up at the lights. It doesn't look like the 3M tape is doing anything special, in fact it looks kinda darker. Included also are a few pics of when I built the reflectors, the jigs I used to hold the bullnose and the tube while the RTV setup.
I added two sash latches to the main door to assist the magnetic catch- now I can snug down the top and bottom corners just enough to stop leaks without totally crushing the door insulation- works really well!!
Oh, and the Girls got lowered (block removed) 1.5 inches and got their 4th or 5th haircut per the defoliation thread.
Still no answer on if these tubes are fully lit- Anyone??? Thanks

this is a really cool idea

Lights look fine. Mine do the exact same thing. Its just where gasses arent and such.

What kind of skylight is it?! Do you have one of those mirrored finish ones that can bend and such?!

Very nice setup.. You can grow some drank buds with T5's i have seen it done many times. there is a grow some place where they just use a 2x2 8 bulb mix spectrum t5 setup in a closet.
Cant wait to see how it turns out

Hi folks, thank you for checking in and for the kind words also. Icon, you have some nice stuff posted- liked that Joey Weed Blueberry X C99 grow, might try that one!! Cannarado, I am really relieved to know that the dim ends are normal!! Here I'm thinkin' 'Man, now what do I do?' and it turns out OK!! The skylight isn't anything fancy- just a fixed glass unit that is propped open- I want to replace it with something better if I am to use this box in the winter. There is a picture of the skylight in my Album. Tripsick, I saw that thread on the 2X2 fixture about 3/4 way thru my build and thought that fixture was really nice but probably puts out some pretty good heat- something I tried to deal with by having a separate light venting fan. Today it was 88* outside, 75* inside and 84* in the box, so not a lot of room for extra heat. Thanks for the Respect, sir.

FrijolElVerde said:

Cannarado, I am really relieved to know that the dim ends are normal!! Here I'm thinkin' 'Man, now what do I do?' and it turns out OK!! The skylight isn't anything fancy- just a fixed glass unit that is propped open- I want to replace it with something better if I am to use this box in the winter.

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Yea, took me a good minute and a few questions to figure out how to wire the Workhorses. But now that i have, i will not buy anything but! Doesnt get any better then being able to configure the lights however i wish!

And i wished i could remember the name of the product but i got fired from my retail job before getting a change to speak with a rep as well as patron of them. If i didnt have a crap ton of school and such i'd spend the next hour searching till i found it. But basically its a skylight that can come in many shapes and sizes, but can refract light so that you can point the skylight in the best position, and focus the light where you want it. It had some insane lumen output, was insulated, and so simple to install. It was pricey, but after reading about them a little i thought how well it may work as a indoor greenhouse of some sort.

Hi Cannarado, That skylight sounds like an interesting idea for sure. What with Smart Meters going in everywhere indoor grows might need to get even more stealthy. Imagine you could locate your box under a South facing roof using natural sunlight with some CFL's for a few hours morning and night and a blackout screen for when you want 12/12. As for me, I'm just using my skylight for an exhaust- it's on a North facing roof. I like the way you're thinkin'!! Frijol

Hello and welcome, When I last fed the Girls on Sunday AM, Aug. 15, I found Powdery Mildew, and a pretty good infestation at that, mostly on the larger, lower fan leaves. The conidia rising above the leaf almost like trichomes were clearly visible under a 16X loupe. I immediately defoliated all the fan leaves even tho it was about a week early. And I began to research my options. Having been in agriculture for many years I am familiar with PM and knew that JMS Stylet Oil had been the best eradicant in years past and found it is still the best for actually killing PM.
So I picked up some oil and a nice little Giros VAP-1001 sprayer ($10) and mixed up 500ml of 1.5% solution.
There was a problem with good coverage because the soil had settled about 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the rim of the pots. I decided to slide the plants out, give them a light root pruning after teasing out the circling roots in the bottom 1 inch of soil. I mixed up 3 parts FFOF, 1 part organic compost and a little organic powder ferts and put about 2 inches of this mix in the bottom of the pots. Before blasting from below I cleaned around the trunk and pipe cleaners for better access. My sweety-pie held the plants and took the pics while I blasted away- what a gal!! Please Note: I am spraying the underside of the leaves and NOT threrootball .Then back in their pots adding more soil as required to get about 1/2 inch below the rim and slid some soil down the sides too. Then a good blast from the top-and a soak in 1/4 strength neuts. They will spend the rest of today in the dappled sunlight under the oaks then back in the box.

These were cuts on June 6 and began veg on June 13. Seven week veg, 18/6 under 2 tube T12 fixture and 3 defoliation haircuts then 12/12 on August 5.

I Googled IC Magazine & Stylet Oil and found only a couple of posts so maybe this should be in the Infirmary Thread with a name like 'Powdery Mildew vs. JMS Stylet Oil'? I will keep posting this first run in the new box with all it's ups and downs so check back and we'll all see if this oil works to knock out my PM.

Lookin real smooooth



Smiley

Ditto

Good afternoon friends, Time for an update on the Skylight Box and the JMS Stylet Oil vs PM experiment. No sign of PM at all, Ojala!! There is some tip burn on the sun leaves with the NYCD being more apparent- I think the burn is from the powdered meat and bone meal that was added at the 'lifting', and I used normal nutes after that. Probably should have used the same weight in whole pellets and not have used only the dust. If it was the oil, I would gladly trade that small tip burn problem to wipeout PM!! Today they got a double soak and drain in plain water. All the bud sites are fuzzy and covered in trichomes-they look happy.

Last week with a heat wave predicted and in an effort to reduce the temps, the Girls now wake up at 11PM and it's lights out at 11AM. Now have lows about 72*F and highs about 83*F. Previous record high was 88*F. I can work outside watering and feeding from sunup 'til 11AM- that work out well.

I'll be back next week with an update on the PM vs Oil and perhaps some before and after defoliation photos if the timing looks right. This photo is from this AM, you can see a few discolored tips. Cheese in front and the taller NYCD in back at day 23 of flowering 12/ 12.
Questions/ ideas? See ya next time.

I got an idea for ya... keep it up !! Good job man... lookin good.

Howdy, Here's an update from yesterday AM, 9/01/10. It's day #28 of 12/12. The JMS Stylet Oil is still working as there is zero PM. The tip burn is somewhat worst on the oldest fan leaves, more so on the NYCD. In the spirit of Defoliation I removed some fans that were blocking lower bud sites. These are funny, little dwarf bonsai plants- could fit these in a PC case. NYCD got water only and The Cheese got 1/2 strength nutes.

Before and after photos of the NYCD and her new haircut.

super slick!

Wait I'm sorry I'm not sure if its ignorance or the fact that I'm just drowsy. But whys it called a "skylight" box and whats the design entail and what makes it different from other grow boxes? Again I'm sorry I just don't fully understand and I'm rather curious.

-S.E.

StoneElemental said:

Wait I'm sorry I'm not sure if its ignorance or the fact that I'm just drowsy. But whys it called a "skylight" box and whats the design entail and what makes it different from other grow boxes? Again I'm sorry I just don't fully understand and I'm rather curious.

-S.E.

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The space all fits in within a skylight. So he can get Actual sunlight into the box, and he uses lights to supplement.

Good Morning Stone and Ninja, thanks for checking in on the trial run. I wish my box used Actual sunlight, but that's just an idea that Cannarado and I discussed earlier in this thread. My box is under a skylight that faces North- that skylight is original construction- but if one were building or remodeling a South facing skylight box might work out. S.E.- if you have a few minutes AND you are awake LOL check out all the photos and compare them to the plan, it all might make more sense. Check out my Album for photos with comments. I'm only using my skylight to exhaust hot air. If you have specific questions about the design I'll be happy to try to answer.

I've played with the thought of something like that myself, I think I'll be lurking about on this one. I'll definately be considering if I can implement any of what I've learned in the future. 2 last questions for now. Is there a glass or plexi-glass kind of barrier, is it UV shielded if so? How is the heat fluctuation affecting it and being dealt with?

-S.E.

NinjaCS said:

The space all fits in within a skylight. So he can get Actual sunlight into the box, and he uses lights to supplement.

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