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Big Twinn's PLL Grow Cab Journal: 360 degrees of light

big twinn

Super Member
Veteran
UPDATED PICTURES ON PAGE: 3


So here is where I will document my first indoor grow. Although this is my first indoor grow, I have grown outdoors in the past. Unfortunately, despite having a healthy fast vigorous growing plant, within 1 day a swarm of grasshoppers took out my 3 foot tree to be, despite organic pest spray=(

So, after lurking here and there for roughly a year I am finally starting my indoor adventure. Currently I am in a temporary location, so my actual grow operation wont take shape until the fall.

Today my task was to pull out the best looking seeds for propagation. Before ordering strong genetics, I am starting with bag seed from a friend (both fortunately and unfortunately I have not found a single seed in any of my own cannabis purchases I have had in nearly a year).

Most of the seeds were not viable and didn’t crack, but I managed to get 3 to sprout
Expecting 3 different growth patterns and most likely a mix of genders, I am hoping to find a few healthy and prosperous mothers.

Germinating the seeds, I scuffed the edges of the seam along the seeds, and then moisten in a warm bagged paper towel for germination contained in a light proof box with a lamp on it to stay warm.

Sorry for not having pictures of this…

After some time (4 weeks almost 5..i think?) I finally have my cabinet almost finished.
I need to add a door system, ventilation arrives Monday (had to send back the fan they first received because of a broken fan blade), the bottom needs to be added as well as a carbon scrubber and light proofing.

During the times without, the seeds after germination were placed outside in an upside down clear plastic storage container, where the received warm south eastern summer heat/humidity…after those three seeds broke surface ( 2 potted in beer pong plastic cups and one in a jiffy pot buried in the surface of Jiffy seedling soil) I then moved them into a temp. closet home. With 2 CFL 13 watt lamps right above them and 1 incandescent (I didn’t want to spend the money on another CFL as I was placing orders for my cabinet current almost finished). First I used white paper to surround them for light reflection, then once the mylar arrived first, I used that.

Growth was fast despite crappy lighting, 2 of the plants (all of them are random genetics)had green stems, while the third had a bright purple stem. All leaves began lush and green, until 1 seedling early on began to yellow out and with a dull brown watercolorish tinge on the leaves (at this time, plants were only watered with plain tap water that was let sit out 48hours prior (ph reading around 6.5-7 I think?). at this point I really was not impressed with the soil and began researching my implications. During this time, I began 1/4th the instructed dose of miracle grow fert. To my larger plant (it popped soil a week before I germed the other 2)
As far as the soil went, I added a teaspoon of bone meal and blood meal hoping for some improvement….the yellowing seedling improved a lot and after stripping away its brown dry dead 1st set of fan leaves (I cut them around 80% completely off as most of the leaf was dead) all the rest have been deep lush green…in fact in the pictures it’s the best looking one….and the largest now although the stem has greened out.

The next issue arisen, when the 1st plant 3-4weeks old ish began having what looked like was the same prob. the other seedling had…though it may be that I nute burned it, i purchased fox farm ocean forest and transplanted all the plants into larger pots. The soil mix contains pebbles from a pebble garden outside (I boiled the pebbles for 12min to avoid contamination) filling the bottom inch of the pot for drainage, followed by ocean forest and then more pebbles to support the stems better. Before the oldest got nute burned I had began experimenting with lst and slight stem mutilation…all which it took too nicely and I saw improvements in the plant….up until the nute burn….now that they have been transplanted they all look WAY happier…in fact, none of them got stressed during the transplant. I flushed the oldest all the way to the root ball and even it showed no signs of stress. After a few days I FIM the larger nute burned plant (at this point all new growth is lush green) and as of know I believe I may have done it correctly with 4+ new shoots, all though I cant quite tell yet as the plant is being extensively LSTed…so far its showing the fastest shoot growth coming from the horizontal LSTed merristem.

The cabinet is now being built, the specs are:
-18in wide x 16 inches deep x 26in tall. Purchased for $10 at His House where it was donated.
-the cabinet covered in 2mil Mylar that was glued using spray adhesive on the correct sized cut foam board. The foam board allows easier cleaning and easier mounting of the mylar as well as providing a slight extra light trapping/insulation…and hopefully a little sound blocking.)
-I have 1 Fulham WorkHorse 8 2G11 ballast mounted on the back
-4 PL-L lights will be running in the cab (1 on each side for 360 degree lighting...ill prob. add an additional light on the very top.
- 2 4100K PL-L bulbs as seen in the "High Pod" are being used for both veg. and flower.-
for an additional more specific spectrum i also am using 2 3000K bulbs for flower and 6400K for veg. ( the cab will have 2x 4100k and 2x 6400k for veg, and when i flower, the 2x 6400k bulbs will be swapped with for the 2 3000k bulbs)…as it sits, I need to figure out a door system, this cabs layout is really shitty for doing this with all the craftsmanship on the side and shit…debating on hinging the whole front panel (but the front legs are attached to that and it makes it more of a PITA, tho more stealth I guess…the other option is weather stripping both front drawer pieces and sliding them in….less secure and maybe harder or easier to light proof but this I am still trying to sort out…he biggest issue with that idea though is, it makes it very difficult to mount the 4th light.

The fan I have is:
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/sidewindercomputers_2110_5608910

Controlled by:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/sidewindercomputers/25watt1.jpg

figuring out wiring was difficult at first because the fan had 3 wires and the controller 4 wires (2 black, 1 yellow, and a red…the 2 black threw me off)…finally got it sorted out , until I realized the 25dollar power adapter I ordered had the ground wire INSIDE the hot wire…seriously…plastic tugging surrounded 1 wire, while a mess of stringy copper covered the outside….frustrated I managed to find a spare adapter from a roommate…(UGH waste of money on the adapter) that had a much friendlier wiring system…got everything wired up and working and then I noticed the broken fan blade….so I sent that back and the new one should be here Monday…I still need to light proof everything, finish ventilation, put in the fan and place the bottom in the cab with the cool tubes leading into the passive intake surrounded by blacked out PVC light trap intake inlets, the door needs to be sorted, and the 4th light needs to be wired and mounted….as of right now the plants couldn’t be happier with the new lighting and reflection…been checking every 30min just to make sure I didn’t eff up on wiring and start a fire….paranoid.

Now for the pictures! Sorry for all the words, I wish I had more pictures but im stuck here with only a cam. Phone…so if its to much to read, I apologize, if this is not for you, it is certainly for me to hopefully further my experience and to be able to reflect on the ins and outs of my gardening skills.…more to follow as things progress!
**high as shit so I will edit this tomorrow for errors**


0626002310.jpg





0626002311-1.jpg

the plant with the yellow tipped leaves showed the fastest growth, 3 weeks old i introduced miracle grow fert. (only a 1/4 of a dose mixed in a gallon jug)..well that and the shitty jiffy peat starter seedling soil caused massive burn...i since, have transplanted them all into fox farm ocean forest with an inch of those pebble (all boiled to prevent contamination) on the bottom for drainage...all plants are being LST, and the nute burned one has been FIM...soon to be the rest as well...so far they LOVE the new soil and lights/reflection! All are showing healthy new growth

0626002311a-1.jpg

The cab is obviously not finished...alot of work still needs to take place, but atleast i can use these lights for the time being!

how do u guys light proof the entry that all the wires go through (my ballast is attached to the back out of site, keeping the temps a little lower

0626002312.jpg

without the lights on...a little bit more of a view of the micro cab without the glare of the lights...sorry for the shitty cam. phone picks...but it at least gives the right idea


Damn anyone else notice how bright these are...when i first plugged it in i almost blinded myself...saw green spot for 15min lol....im going to be great friends with my polarized sunglasses these lights Rock!
 

BC Chronic

Paging Dr.Greenthumb
Veteran
looking great big twinn!! remember don't use any intake fan..
you can still use that power adapter..just use something like shrink wrap for both wires and it can be fixed...
cab looks VERy promising with those lights..great work bro...
take care and keep asking questions..
 

City Twin

Member
Lookin' good BT.

Thanks for the pix. Interested in temps as well as I am putting a High-Pod inspired unit together for the cooler weather season.

Stay Safe
 

big twinn

Super Member
Veteran
taking summer classes so that makes fabrication SLOW...but that is ending this week, so real progress should be underway soon.

BC Chronic: Thanks for all your help, none of this would have come together without your help! the intake will be passive, and im hoping to draw enough passive air through those cool tubes (if i need more intake, i will add those separate from those that enter through the cool tubes. as far a temps. go...so far the ballast is hot to the touch but not too hot to where i cant hold on to it. i have that mounted on the rear of the cabinet to reduce chamber temps. the lights them selves are fairly warm, but i can still grab and hold onto each of them without too much discomfort. mind you this is WITHOUT ventilation added. i still have a lot of work needed to complete this but for now i have a tower fan blowing on it and id say the pc fan i had wired before i noticed it was faulty wayyyyyy out blows the large tower fan....CRAZY! so temps should be fairly stable....though my box isnt completely sealed up so that also plays affect to how the temps currently are atm.

Cuberkid: i dont have a thermometer in there yet, as too much other work needs to be done on it first...but i can say even as it sits the cooltubes and ballast are able to be touched without burning myself or too much discomfort...the temps around the plants (open space in the box) dont see much different then ambient temps, this may be because the bottom and 1 side are still opened and a tower fan blowing on it. mylar really heats a space up though with how reflective it is!
 

BC Chronic

Paging Dr.Greenthumb
Veteran
Nice to hear that the cab is coming along and I am grateful to be of help...
Can you mount the ballast OUTSIDE of your cab? That would help with temps too...just a thought...
yeah those Delta fans are incredible huh!!! yours is in the 151 cfm range is it not??
that will work wonders sucking air out!!
best wishes on your build and grow and please keep asking questions..we all learn that way!!!
take care
 

big twinn

Super Member
Veteran
haha no joke...fan was supposed to be here today...but the guy closed shop early friday and it wasnt shipped out...supposed to be shipped tomorrow...ughhh
 
yeah, i had my fans delivered by fedex once. apparently they make you sign for everything, so my plants suffered in the heat for two days more than necessary.
 

BC Chronic

Paging Dr.Greenthumb
Veteran
They sure can take our money fast enough though huh?!hope it gets there in perfect condition..it will blow your mind at how powerful those Delta fans are that your'e getting..please watch your fingers..I am totally serious...trust me in when I say it hurts alot:comfort:
take care bro!!
 

big twinn

Super Member
Veteran
hahahahaaa....i almost took my finger off too....shhhhh thats how the blade broke...luckly they are replacing it!
 

BC Chronic

Paging Dr.Greenthumb
Veteran
As it says in my avatar, " I am not knowing"...lol...your secret is safe...
i did the exact same thing!!
take care!!
 

big twinn

Super Member
Veteran
So, a little update. the cab is nearly finished. the ventilation is installed, the door is installed...i have made my carbon filter and just need to mount it and finish the remaining light proofing...

Need to return my hygrometer, its faulty ughhh.

so my question for all of you. I have been FIMing the tops, should i FIM the other budsites growing? I have been LSTing them like mad so i have quite a few bud sites.
the vertical 360 degree lighting is working great! the plants are getting very bushy, with short internodes and TONS of branching.

i have been removing some of the larger fan leaves blocking the lower bud sites, is that ok? defoliating this early in veg?

is there anyway to utilize a SCROG to increase bud sites when flowering since instead the lighting is vertical and surrounding and not from above?

just had an idea, i may be able to two small shelves along 2 sides of the cab to add a few extra small beer cups to increase plant count/yield....but like i said this just popped up as an idea so i have'nt figured out how realistic it will be for how small my cab is.
 

yesum

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Interesting! I have a LED grow going and will likely add a vertical 55 watt pll to the center of 2x2' tent. What kind of tubes cover the light and where do you get them?

If you could get some reflectors for the lights in corners it would help a lot.
 

big twinn

Super Member
Veteran
Yesum: thinking back, i prob. should have put the lights on the four corner spots. i may take the bottom off and redo it tomorrow actually. wouldnt take but an hour and that may be better. any suggestions on reflectors for the corners if i end up keeping them where they are?

the cool tubes are flourecent light bulb tubes found in lowes. i just cut them too size. they are found near the floro tubes and such. i think like 2 bucks. i bought 2 and cut them in half, then found the proper PVC fittings that squeezed on perfectly.
 

BC Chronic

Paging Dr.Greenthumb
Veteran
Hey bro!! sounds like things were going so well...did you figure out what happened to the indica? once you fimm the top, I don't think you do that anymore after, LST is still a great option for the other branches..just don't cut too many leaves because thats the plants food..
hope to hear some great updates!!!
take care
 

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