(( LoKey's 1020 tray, 161w cfl micro closet cab ))

[SoMeGuY1337]

Right, I can see where you are going with that. I use a 12/12 cycle from seed and I try to keep mine smaller because I go for just the main top colas, as opposed to manipulating the plant so it spreads its energies between different smaller bud spots. Both great ways to go, you have to do whats right for you.

It has been shown, though, that cfl's drop by almost half efficiency in the transition for 3"-6" as far the amount of lumens that are delivered at those distances. I would say if stretching is what you want out of them that is fine, but I would at least put some more cfls lower as well when they are older in order to make sure that you are getting enough light to the lower buds.

Also after you begin flowering... are you still using a mix of the blue spectrum and red spectrum cfls? Or are you switching primarily to the 2500k-3000k rating?

 

[LoKey]

im using a mix currently of 2700k and 6500k (more 2700k), just to cover both sides of the spectrum efficiently.

and lumens are measured at a distance of 12" spread across a 1sqft area so i effectively have around 7400 lumens/sqft at 12", my soil level though is at 16-17", and because of the inverse square rule for light loss over a distance, if unobstructed i would effectively be getting around 4700 lumen/sqft at soil level, but that not including any reflected light due to it being contained in a reflective box. So everything is within acceptable range as far as light intensity goes.

Mind you lumens don't really mean squat as PAR value is whats more accurate for us.

as for stretching, its not necessary what i want, its just when growing in this style (micro high density sog) its what needs to be done, cause squat fat bushes wont be as productive as taller, skinner, Soild bud colas that go from soil all the way to the light, some good examples are anti, tilt, Thundurkel (in his one thread that he doesn't have the pics for anymore), and drbudgreengenes of course.

so even if its not perfectly dialed and the plants end up being 16" tall but the top 10" is all bud, i definitely wont complain.


My overall goal (for something to try to achieve) is to be able to grow 1Gram for every kWh used (which includes flower lights, veg lights, fans, power supply, everything needed or used to run this cab) which over a 60 day time frame works out to be 147kWh = 147Grams

so we will see, as that means i approximately would need to produce roughly 8.17g per plant if they all took 60days to finish, but in reality me producing a little bit of bud to smoke is good enough for me cause im a very light/occasional smoker, one full cycle would probably be good enough for atleast a year for how much i smoke.


So saying that a scrog, or low number larger plant grow, would probably be more effective for me, but im a sucker for efficiency, and like to see what im capable of.

 

[diamondmine]

if you look at my past posts, that what i have done, but supercropping, aka bending over the top, i only do if the plant grows too tall and starts hitting the lexan.

Also the objective for me is to have them stretch to the light and filling in that space with bud, but if you raise them up to the light, they wont stretch as much (more concentrated light source)which is a bonus, but at the same time once you put them back on the floor they are further away from the lights.

As the plants will grow to their surrounding environment, so if its getting all this intense light and then you take it away by lowering it, its gonna stretch like mad to get that much light again.

its kinda a toss up to either way you go. Get more compact growth, but not as tall (not as good for light to the lower sections), or let it stretch a bit but allowing more access to light over all. That perfect balance is very hard to find

Following your grow, how much are you aiming for per plant?

 

[LoKey]

Following your grow, how much are you aiming for per plant?

we will see, as that means i approximately would need to produce roughly 8.17g per plant if they all took 60days to finish,

i talk alot so its easy to pass over information

 

[diamondmine]

Sweet cause that's what I'm aiming for to.

 

[LoKey]

another week another update this should be about week 4, not including the stalling.

But there doing good and are putting on hairs/calyx's and resin now and at a quick pace, it exciting seeing them change more and more everyday.
For information purposes I am doing slight "defoliation" just to open up the canopy and allow light to the lower areas.

Also one of my seedling a couple weeks back just as it was starting to produce hairs and determine its self as being a girl, it produced one ball that i missed, but i caught it just in time to not cause problem with the rest of the cab, but when i took it out and pluck it off, it accidentally self pollinated the two nodes bellow it, so there are about 15-20 seeds growing now, but im just leaving them and will possibly toss them once i chop it.

The new seedling are going good, and they are liking the new soil mix as well, and the new batch of clones will probably be ready to flower come mid week to next monday, as there starting to take off now that they're in new and more soil.

as for the mother plants repotted them all with new soil and chopped there roots back, there loving it so far, as for the decrepit M#1 mother still looking very rough, but because i transplanted it too new soil and trimmed its roots, im actually starting to see some promising new growth, so it might pull out of it.

here's the pics (im just gonna insert them from now on as a linked thumbnail instead of having them big)

 

[DrFraiserCrane]

you have a very nice grow box man. It looks just very efficient. Im looking to build something for myself. I dont sell or anything so everything I grow would be just for myself. Do you think it would be possible to grow maybe 4 ozs every 2 months with this box? Id like to be able to smoke around 14g a week so that should cover it. How much did it cost to build your box? I know you said you build the whole thing outa 1 - 1/2x4x8 that's very impressive. Im not sure if you listed the exact cutting measurements or not but if you haven't would it be at all possible to do so. Id love to build a box like this. Would you be able to put a 150w in the flowering area and there wouldnt be a heat issue? Thanks for any help your able to give and great job on the grow bud, its very inspiring. Could you maybe post more pictures of the top and back of the box as well as the sides. How is your door set-up so that you can open the veg without disrupting the flowering cycle? Thanks again man
Keep Growin & Be Safe

 

[LoKey]

you have a very nice grow box man. It looks just very efficient.

Do you think it would be possible to grow maybe 4 ozs every 2 months with this box?

How much did it cost to build your box?

I know you said you build the whole thing outa 1 - 1/2x4x8 that's very impressive. Im not sure if you listed the exact cutting measurements or not but if you haven't would it be at all possible to do so. Id love to build a box like this.

Would you be able to put a 150w in the flowering area and there wouldnt be a heat issue?

How is your door set-up so that you can open the veg without disrupting the flowering cycle? Thanks again man
Keep Growin & Be Safe

Thanks i like to try and make things as efficient as i can (well with the parts and materials i had at hand)

Yield wise my goal is to get 147grams total every 60 days (that's 1 gram for every kWh the whole cab consumes) others are getting comparable yields (actually more) but im confident its possible, just needs to be dialed in a bit. So it should be capable of what you need/want but its nice to have some leeway, for myself it will allow me to not have to grow during the busier spring and summer months, as i smoke very little.

Total cost of the build probably would of been around $200 (quick estimate) but the majority of all of it i already had from past builds.

As for cutting dimensions, no i didn't list any, but i could list some up for a similar cab, as you can make one slightly bigger out of a full 4x8 sheet (couple inch's more in every direction), its just that i had some space restrictions so i built it specifically for where i put it. (its has about 1/2" clearance on each side so its a Very tight fit)

The bonus (but what i designed it somewhat around) is it fits a standard 1020 nursery tray so you dont have to worry about any drainage water running out the cab after watering, (mine fits a tad tighter than i wanted due to those space restrictions, but works great)


As for a 150w hps or cmh , if i didn't already have a bunch of cfl's and sockets on hand that's what would be in there, but if i had one it would be mounted in a DIY cooltube setup just to keep everything cool.

As for the door its just one main door, so to avoid having the veg section effect the flower section, you just dont open it when you know its lights off time for the flower section, (i have it running 7am to 7pm, as it can run in stealth mode at night when everything else around is quiet and dark) But it extremely stealthy anyways.


and i could post more pics but i presume you want to see how the intakes look on the one side, and how the exhaust comes out ?

Other than all that, if i was to rebuild it there are a couple things i would change though but i can get into that later if need be (different air path, and fan configuration)

 

[coloradomedical]

I always hate that, when you get everything done... Always something wrong or at least not quite right... lol

 

[DrFraiserCrane]

thank you very much for the quick reply. That is exactly why I wanted the pics haha I was trying to get a better understanding of the boxes intakes and exhausts. I had to read the whole grow 2x to understand the exhaust for the flowering chamber. I live on my own so stealth isnt a problem. Im just going to throw it into the corner of my bedroom and call it a day. Thank you very much for getting the measurements for me as Id like to sit down and start sketching sometimes out on paper to find the best route for me. Thanks again for the help. I hope you have a great day.

Keep Growin & Be Safe

 

[LoKey]

Cm - yeah i hate that, and the thing is the way i did this one was so that the veg chamber stayed cooler instead of getting warmed by the flowering lights like in past designs ive done while having the veg chamber on top, but in reality how its designed it needs its own exhaust fan cause there isn't as much airflow as i would like (have to run a thinner carbon filter so the veg chamber stays cool) , but going with one air path, just a higher volume fan, would have possibly provided the same temps anyways, which they seem to enjoy apart from really hot days (no ac in the house).



and drfrasiercrain here is a pic of the intakes and exhaust i pulled it out of the closet a bit for you, so you could get a better look at it, as normal the closet door blocks the view of the intake, even when the doors are open, but if i redid it it would only have the white intake at the very bottom and only one exhaust hole on the top, or where ever it would work best for where your putting it



Also a cut layout for a box using a fullsheet of 1/2" 4x8 plywood.



the only thing is the one cut is determined by how tall you want your veg chamber to be (well flower chamber and veg as it will determine both) but you have to figure out the usable range of light for your flower chamber and the height of your containers and how much the light/lights take up as far as height goes, my case i still get roughly 5000lumens a sqft at my soil line(inverse square law)

but i say 12.5" in the pic as it will allow two wall partions but in reality thats even if you would want to include a wall partion or just one, so consider that piece extra material for if you want a wall partion or two for the veg chamber.

the striped pieces are scraps, but can be useful for say making a little holder for glass to sit on or mounting blocks or whatever you need, so keep them

and the two pieces at the top is what would be the back of the cab and the door, the reason they are 47" instead of 48" is with the way you put the cab together, it will allow the cabs flower chamber floor and the door to sit 1/2" off the ground (so it doesn't sit uneven on the ground, and doesn't allow the door to scrape the ground when trying to open it).


But yeah other than that, i dont think it needs to be 48" tall overall but this cut layout will maximize the use of a full sheet of plywood.

oh the only piece this layout doesn't take into consideration is the little drop wall i have for mounting the lights on the front side of the flower chamber (but because my cab is smaller i had enough extra scrap material from my cuts to make one) and if you ran a 150w hps or ran with 42w cfls you wouldn't need it anyways as the light can be mounted on the back and and sides.

 

[DrFraiserCrane]

Thank you so much for the quick reply and Im actually going to try to start building tomorrow. Your grow looks great and Ill keep checking in on everything

 

[LoKey]

Dr good luck in your project


even though its mid week took a couple closer/more detailed shots to show them.

They're at what i would say to be the start of week 5 so about 28-30days total, and they are just starting to throw on crystals, calyx's, and hairs with good pace, its amazing seeing them change every day.

Some are starting to show some shades of red, burgundy, and purple on their leafs and calyx's which i wasn't expecting but its not a total surprise. So we will see how much they color up.

i gave them a decent leaf trim yesterday as things where getting shady, but i should not have to touch them again for at least another week or two and dont want to now there starting to put on mass. Im also still dialing in my feeding schedule (was trying to go pre fertilized for the whole grow, but the small containers definitely limits them) so been trying something new for the last couple weeks and so far all the girls are really liking it, but im going light right now till i see how often and how heavy they like it (better safe than sorry).

Also i swapped my veg chamber circulation fan for a Very tiny 40mm fan (just think how small that is) reason why i did was the one i had in there was a older noisy salvaged fan i had kicking around, but this new one is damn near dead silent (14dba) i was worried when i first tested it, if it would move enough air from what i felt (rated 4.1cfm) but after i wired it up and mounted it, it works great. So now my cab uses a tiny bit less power and will be alot quieter at night.

anyways here are some pics, first one is of a seedling that ive been impressed by so far, especially after my treatment of them, and the next is of a clone that's about 14" tall and just starting to put on flowers.

It gonna be exciting to see how much mass they put on in the next 4-6weeks.

 

[#1cheesebuds]

wow they r looking great.

 

[diamondmine]

Hell yea looking good. How are you watering btw? I'm thinking about putting mine in one big container and doing an ebb flow watering by hand though. So how long has it taken you to get the sweet spot down because your making it look easy. Sorry if I ask the same question twice, reading all the grows on here it's hard to keep track.

 

[LoKey]

thanks , that first plant, actually put on Alot more color this morn, so we will see how she looks in a week or two.

as for dialing it in, i still don't have it dialed yet as there are some mothers that i haven't had their clones run through yet.

But it will only take one run, heck three weeks to know if you hit the right starting point (my one plant i have dialed now).

If you have plenty of clones/cuttings just throw them in at different starting heights based around a 3times stretch, so in my case where i have 17" of grow space from soil to glass, i know to start them at 5-6" and under, so throw three in, one at 5-6" one 4-3" and one at 2". and in three weeks you will know which one was the ideal start height, or even if you have to start them bigger or smaller, but if you figure in a 3 times stretch you should be fairly accurate apart from having an almost pure sativa(very stretchy) or pure indica(doesn't stretch much, mabey 2x).

And if your limited on space but have plenty of clones, just cull the little ones that weren't the ideal start height, and throw clones that are the appropriate size in there, as you will get more yeild from them just it will take an extra couple weeks, but sets you up better for perpetual harvest in the end.

(its actually what i did, ended up kill two clones for space, and will probably be killing a third come time my other close are ready, cause its gonna produce next to nothing with the size it is, plus it wasn't back to full veg mode yet)



Oh and the watering right now im just doing a drbud style dunk and drain, but when the water gets low in my bucket then i just pour it into the top of the bottles, as there is no point in wasting extra water/nutes/tea, they seem to be going through about 4 liters every 5 or so days right now, and i only water them when the bigger plants start to dry up a bit more, but i only partially dunk the smaller ones just cause by doing it that way, they aren't over watered and by the time the big plants need water again and the little ones wont complain about another watering at that time.
You will figure it out, just takes time

 

[LoKey]

oh another thing, i have no idea approximately what these girls will yield once there done, so here's to hoping i can keep them happy till harvest, and they will really plump up in that time, im excited to see

 

[LoKey]

another week another update.

Threw three clones into flower today, they're all starting at around 5", and gave everything a water.

the first batch of seedlings are throwing on the resin, and producing more smell, and its neat to see the phenotype differences between the lot, some their leaves are starting to turn a burgandy/purple color, others i know will probably change color as there showing signs that they will just a bit later in flower, and some are just packing on the resin, one looks to be an ideal hash plant just cause its mainly only producing the stalked resin glands and a good amount of them, so its becoming white and fuzzy, as for the flowering clones, they're abit slower than the seedlings, but i do believe the mother they came from was a longer flowering girl, so we will see approximately how long she will take.


As for the new seedlings, two started showing balls so they got culled (7 out of 9 left), and the rest are undetermined, but i should know by the end of the week, whats what.

By then i should be able to throw another set of three clones into flower, and then i will have a full cab. Also took some clones around thursday just cause the mothers were getting rather bushy and needed a trim, and culled the one mandala #1 mother as it wasn't recovering.

So now its just a waiting game.

 

[LoKey]

well i took a bunch of cuttings around thursday last week, there all dead, dampening off and mold.
So i know that the method i was trying to limit light doesn't work for me, and that the new mix of soil might be a bit more prone to mold, oh well, gonna take a couple more cuttings today and go back to the old method.

 

[DrFraiserCrane]

well good luck and just try to move on and get past that method and try another that works for you. Everything is lookin good, cant wait to see the ladies start packin on that weight