Micro grow setup phase

Merrykushmush · Dec 15, 2015

Hi all!

I was wondering if anyone had any comments on my current build. I've got this small cabinet:

I'm using my Advanced Platinum P150 or 80w Hans panel. S&P td-100 fan to pull air out and through a 4x12 carbon filter since it would take up too much space internally (it's inside a half version of the same cab resting on top).

I have had good results hand dunking small coco pots so I am thinking of 8-10 2L pop bottles. Internal dimensions of the box are 10"w x 22"l x 27"h. I am going to secure the light as high as possible and there is a cabinet cooling fan with two 120mm pc fans pulling air in.

Is there any advice that will make this grow more efficient? I'll be going perpetual with a small mother/clones in another spot. Should I use larger pot/fewer plants and scrog instead? Will the extra weight be worth the extra wait?

Any ideal strain for this short height? Any good ideas to seal the light leaks around the door?

Any and all comments/advice appreciated!

HuffnPufferfish · Dec 15, 2015

sog works best

Merrykushmush · Dec 15, 2015

Thanks, HuffnPufferfish, do you think I should go with the 2L bottles or the smaller bottles cut to 16oz kind since I'm short on height?

blynx · Dec 16, 2015

It depends if you want a variety of smoke.

If you want, or only have, one strain, I would run one plant in a single container. I would veg the plant out for a couple weeks then flower it.

If you have multiple strains, then use 2L bottles, 1/2gal milk jugs or really any smaller size container putting one plant in each. When I did smaller containers, I liked a week veg in the containers to get the roots going before flowering them.

That cab is pretty much the same size as the two that I run and I've been running single plants in them. Overall average for the runs is a bit over 2oz with a couple almost hitting 3oz.

Merrykushmush · Dec 16, 2015

Thanks blynx! Was just rereading one of your threads earlier today for some ideas. I really appreciate the advice. I'd like a variety of strains if I can get it to work for me with my limited space. These little Closetmaid cabs aren't too bad, prob $40 on amazon and you can cut the back with just about anything. I'm thinking of adding another on top and then it becomes a slender LED Dr. Bud style rig.

A while back I was using a tent horizontally :dance013:

with solo cups and coco but just wasn't getting my effort out of it I guess.

I folded shop and trying to rethink paying what I do for what I get :moon:

you can't put a price on hand raised coco buds to your specs.

waveguide · Dec 16, 2015

your cab's almost the same dimensions as mine (1'x2'x28" minus 4" for lights).. i generally flower in 32oz cups, 2L or 3L bottles.. occasionally i've tried squeezing a 2 gallon pot in there, fitting in whatever i can.. i say 3L is a good max, the big cans were usually a waste for the amount of growth my suffocated plants do.

i think i've done 10-12 plants but generally, i veg say 6-8 weeks (to maybe 8"-10"??), top to get some branches, train with weights, and flower 6 at a time. six is still pretty crowded.

i don't have any great pics of the cab and my grow has been shit this year (phytoplasma). my cab also has poor ventilation because it's stashed.. on good harvests, maybe a quarter per plant, usually much less because crap has happened.

several strains seem to be pretty good with just 32 oz on flower, but you know, so many variables, it's hard to say for sure. do your best! but yeah, 2L bottles, most seem pretty good with that. (caveat.. may want to drill the "feet" of the soda bottles, some plants don't like water that sits in those, or just water carefully)

chronosync · Dec 16, 2015

i have a low tent so its not exactly micro but seeing some of the setups here it sure feels like it! i posted about low containers, maybe this will give you some ideas. i'm using regular pots right now and thats fine too.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=316022

some good info there regardless, thanks to the knowledgeable folks here

waveguide · Dec 16, 2015

(ok these kinda show the space if that helps.. the cab is framed in 1"x2" firring, the walls are pasteboard or corrugated plastic, all easy to cut and make the "reflector" and vents et c. but the pasteboard door is a bit warped after years of misting..)

(and it looks a bit smaller with the photography..)

(one 120mm?? fan in the cab to move air, another sits above the lights to suck heat out and push it through my crappy "carbon filter" which is of course just cardboard with a net bag of carbon stuffed in it)

Merrykushmush · Dec 16, 2015

Thanks waveguide, that's really good advice. I'm thinking 6 well trained 2L plants is sensible. Sometimes I get greedy and pack more in and curse myself for it in work and yield afterwards. Sometimes you're just on autopilot and prep 20 clones after a good smoke and you don't know why, at least that's my experience.

Thanks chronosync! I did a cheap planter bed that was around 10" x 24" and probably 6.5" deep coco with a fabric lining. Worked well but would never mix strains like I did.

it's the one in the front.

Ganesh Spirit
CBD Blue Shark
Euforia

Merrykushmush · Dec 16, 2015

That's a solid setup waveguide, how do you power those leds?

Merrykushmush · Dec 16, 2015

I'd be curious to figure out how to wire one of these cabs up with a cheap diy LED. I bet that would be useful to some people since these are so widely available. I have a few of them.

I've tried a few ways to secure them. The baby proof mag locks work well, you can leave the handles off. I wrap mylar around foam core board and put them in as panels. You can pull them out and it becomes a regular cab again if need be. Velcro tabs or screws.

Thinking a piece of panda film or tarp that drops down to velcro or magnets would be the best way to stop light leaks...I've tried the foam tape and still had some purple glow no matter what.

Anyone try silicone around the seam then vaseline the door and shut until dry? I would bet that works.

chronosync · Dec 16, 2015

cool. how many plants and what yield did you get from that tray? did the strains seem to fight? i thought that bit about clones being compatible was really useful information. good luck keep us posted.

Merrykushmush · Dec 16, 2015

I think there was fourteen or more plants in the planter box chronosync. The yield could have been better. Some got taller than others and the indica was getting eclipsed. Indica finished faster than the others too. I was stuck with unused well lit real estate while I waited for the others to finish. I would do it again for sure, next time I'll pick a container with a similar size to my max light footprint, coco without perlite, one strain from clone.

chronosync · Dec 16, 2015

oh man! thats alot of plants for a small tray.

how come straight coco? i think i like it better too. i ran out of perlite and potted some up and they seem to like it just fine, if not better. def pick a strain. i was given three different clones and thats great because i have a veg tent so why not keep some mothers around? i would have rathered three of the same but you gotta start somewhere. flowering out the three now and we will see what one will SOG the best. im thinking of doing a SOG next too.

waveguide · Dec 16, 2015

i use a dark towel for light leak areas. hitech. (also had a roll of "metal foil tape" which is a solid light block). led parted from rapidled.com, except a far red (not deep red, far red at 740nm) from mouser, but i think rapid picked up a 730nm red recently. supposed to help with bloom onset. i dunno.. plants grow towards the lights..

Merrykushmush · Dec 17, 2015

Call me crazy chronosync but I though straight coco tasted better and looked better, maybe bigger but no serious weighing was ever done. Perlite messy for dunking and disposing if you're in a small living environment or doing a bedroom or pc grow. Seems to drain better and I had pretty much 100% clone rate with straight coco and a clear cup taped on top. I've been using Superthrive, Plant Success Revolution, GH Flora and pet store plantation soil coco, so it keeps things simple and cheap.

A dark towel sounds like a good inexpensive fix Waveguide, thanks. I will probably end up doing that with some velcro. Definitely getting onboard with the DIY LEDs soon, been reading and shopping. Would like to experiment adding the deep red and the 10,000k at end of flower.

chronosync · Dec 17, 2015

well i def. think it looks really nice in a black bucket. its just that two plants that i was kind of just mercy growing seemed to really really like the straight coco. i ran out of perlite so i thought to would be o.k. it was. ive had some people tell me that perlite just complicates things for no reason and they do better with straight coco. fair enough. i agree.

dark towel and velcro to block light? thats a great idea! i got a leaky tent myself.

Merrykushmush · Jan 1, 2016

Sorry for the delayed updates...it's been the holidays so I'm sure we've all been busy. Surprising new developments with outdoor grows come 2016! Got some ol' buck's teaching this youngin' how it's done! Open to strain suggestions for cold wet climate (44-47Deg_North):

thinking Barney's Pineapple Chunk for box and would work well outside, alternatives: HSO Blue Dream, ACE Bangi, Delicious Sugar Black Rose...anyone willing to talk me out of Frisian Dew please stand up!!!

Decided to demolish my desk and slap the cabs under the desk counter top to add a slight element of stealth to my project (perhaps a curtain will be in the future). Managed to setup my fan to pull air from filter and have a 4" dryer vent; the fan is inside a 1/2 cab split with mums on the bottom. Any ideas to cut sound or light leaks are welcome. Thinking bike tube tires or a Velcro black towel for light leaks and perhaps DIY silencer in the top part of half cab. Pics coming soon.

Merrykushmush · Jan 15, 2016

Still working on the box. It's a desk now and coming along nicely. Always room to tweak sh*t though... Going with Sweet Seed Snow Fruit first and in small tubs of clones w/coco. Pictures say more than I can but I will mention I've used these boxes before so they are pretty much swiss cheese/target practice in the back and did patch em best i could. If this project works I'll rip the backs off and slap a single board over the whole backside...which should improve sound proofing over the cardboard it has now.

The green leafs you see in pics are test cucumber seeds. I'm bored and wanted to see if my DIY clone light would get too hot, ended up needing an extra 80mm fan. Stuff is sloppy, I know, but I'll tidy and it up as I go per results, it's kind of a scrapyard prototype so far.

I have a few filters, pc fans and a S&P td-100 but I'd rather leave that and a vantech carbon filter for heavy duty situations during this modest low noise grow and stick to the smaller fans. Any one have good luck with 12V dc negative ion generators at the end of the exhaust? Particularly adding carbon fiber tips inside the end of the exhaust.

I'm thinking of a DIY device with a generic charcoal filter pad wrapped around a small cage or feed a pc fan to an odor filter like a AER1.....I also have an old 4"x8" I could refill with charcoal and feed a high CFM pc fan into with some 4" vent. I'd love input for odor control.

Merrykushmush · Jan 22, 2016

A brief update:

Popped one Snow Fruit from Sweet Seeds hopefully she pulls through to motherhood. Been using black duct tape to fix my light leaks and some things have worked out well, others need a second hack at it.

Currently have one 80mm pc fan exhausting through a short length of 4 inch aluminum hose onto another 80mm fan that is sealed at the other end over the 4"x12" carbon filter, which is tucked behind my desk. Another 80mm fan is in the top clone section and a 12v blower down in the mother section. Fans are connected to a speed controller externally. Not sure if pushing air into the filter will be successful but I'm ready to change things if it doesn't work.

Will post some more pics once I have some green leaves.

Micro grow setup phase

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