Quazi
Member
Hello ICMag!
Welcome to my new grow thread.
After having some success in my 150W, DIY cabinet, I really felt it was time to upgrade. I had a ton of fun building it and learned a lot. Coming from basement grows and fluoros, it was a whole new ballgame:
Don't get me wrong, I had a really good time with every harvest I pulled from there with the most recent providing me with almost a gram per watt! Here are some pics of some of the good stuff along the way:
-Chocolate Thai
-The Purps
-Robin's Revenge
Ultimately: I just didn't feel like I could really see all the potential plants had to offer in such a small space with such a limited spectrum. Having now gained experience in setting up many larger grows, I felt it was time to upgrade my grow too.
Since quality is by far my goal, the CMH seemed like a no-brainer for me:
I won't go on about the merits of the lamp because you can find the best source of information for it online in our forums here:
Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)
Having assisted others with setting up grow tents, I decided to pick one up for myself. The space I had to work with was about 3' x 3' so I went with the DR80 tent and am more than pleased with my purchase. For ~ $170, it's extremely well built and worth the money.
But, let's get to guts of the operation!
I present to you:
Quazi's Movin' on Up - 400W of CMH in a DR80
The ballast is a good ol' magnetic Xtrasun Sodium 400W Ballast:
I'm rocking the 4" vortex and have it running so that the air is blowing directly on the ballast giving it some extra cooling ability. These are both positioned on a shelf above the grow tent and, thanks to the physics of heat, it all blows out pretty well:
I'm using a DIY cool tube because I can't justify paying so much for them and it works out wonderfully. It's just a regular 5" Hurricane Glass tube that would normally be used for candles. You can find it at your local craft store:
The filter is the Elf carbon filter. It's amazingly compact and dense. I chose it because it is already setup for 4" connectors, it's a great size and the CFM rating is really nice considering how small it is. It's only around 7 lbs, it's 6" x 10" and it's got a CFM rating of 150-265. The 4" Vortex sits at 172 CFM making this filter optimal. For only around 60 bucks, it seems like it was worth it. I guess we'll know soon won't we?:
Here's everything working together in the top of the tent:
I know, it may look simple but it takes a hell of a lot of sweat and work to get things looking nice and clean up there like that
Of course, the reflector is DIY as well. It's not quite finished yet. Here it is drying after it's second coat of paint -- titanium white. It'll get one more coat and then be cut and folded so it fits in the tent:
Again: I just can't justify the cost of purchasing a reflector. This galvanized sheet metal cost me about 10 bucks and the paint was about 6.
Here's a shot of everything working together:
And a final shot of the tent:
The little wire hanging down is just a thermometer hanging so I can get a decent reading near the canopy.
With the lights on and everything rocking, it's around 78-80 degrees in there. Yes, there is an air conditioner in the room where the air is being passively drawn from. I might try turning it down a bit to see if I can drop the temp a couple degrees, but overall I'm very happy.
As soon as the reflector is complete and installed, there will be Afghooey, RGD, PK, Bubble & Squeak and Headband going in to play. They're vegging now and still need to be repotted. Good thing we've got the long weekend!
Oh and, just for educational purposes, there were some mishaps along the way:
1) I didn't put the socket back far enough in the cool tube so the lamp wasn't positioned in the center of the tube very well. Pain in the butt to move.
2) The first CMH lamp I picked up was jingling and jangling a lot more than it seemed like it should whenever it was bumped and moved. Before I left the shop I asked the shopkeeper if he would be sure to give me a new lamp if this one wouldn't fire. I got it home, hooked it up, turned it on and after about 15 seconds of watching an arc move back and forth, it fired. Huzzah! -- I thought. Got everything all hooked up and working, ventilation all sealed. Fired everything up, the lamp came on after 15-20 seconds of the arc moving again, then it shut itself off after another 15 seconds. Waited the prescribed 20-30 minutes before trying to re-fire it and it wouldn't go. The arc just kept jumping around the in the lamp but it wouldn't fire. Took it back to the shop and exchanged it. Got the other one home. Not only did it fire, there was little-to-no delay in firing; no watching the arc move around in the tube at all.
3) Hemp string makes an excellent hanging medium. Even the thin stuff is very, very strong.
4) This wouldn't be possible in it's enclosed location (ie. closet) without an A/C in the room.
More pics soon... hope you enjoy the show!
Good luck in your travels!
-Q
Welcome to my new grow thread.
After having some success in my 150W, DIY cabinet, I really felt it was time to upgrade. I had a ton of fun building it and learned a lot. Coming from basement grows and fluoros, it was a whole new ballgame:
Don't get me wrong, I had a really good time with every harvest I pulled from there with the most recent providing me with almost a gram per watt! Here are some pics of some of the good stuff along the way:
-Chocolate Thai
-The Purps
-Robin's Revenge
Ultimately: I just didn't feel like I could really see all the potential plants had to offer in such a small space with such a limited spectrum. Having now gained experience in setting up many larger grows, I felt it was time to upgrade my grow too.
Since quality is by far my goal, the CMH seemed like a no-brainer for me:
I won't go on about the merits of the lamp because you can find the best source of information for it online in our forums here:
Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)
Having assisted others with setting up grow tents, I decided to pick one up for myself. The space I had to work with was about 3' x 3' so I went with the DR80 tent and am more than pleased with my purchase. For ~ $170, it's extremely well built and worth the money.
But, let's get to guts of the operation!
I present to you:
Quazi's Movin' on Up - 400W of CMH in a DR80
The ballast is a good ol' magnetic Xtrasun Sodium 400W Ballast:
I'm rocking the 4" vortex and have it running so that the air is blowing directly on the ballast giving it some extra cooling ability. These are both positioned on a shelf above the grow tent and, thanks to the physics of heat, it all blows out pretty well:
I'm using a DIY cool tube because I can't justify paying so much for them and it works out wonderfully. It's just a regular 5" Hurricane Glass tube that would normally be used for candles. You can find it at your local craft store:
The filter is the Elf carbon filter. It's amazingly compact and dense. I chose it because it is already setup for 4" connectors, it's a great size and the CFM rating is really nice considering how small it is. It's only around 7 lbs, it's 6" x 10" and it's got a CFM rating of 150-265. The 4" Vortex sits at 172 CFM making this filter optimal. For only around 60 bucks, it seems like it was worth it. I guess we'll know soon won't we?:
Here's everything working together in the top of the tent:
I know, it may look simple but it takes a hell of a lot of sweat and work to get things looking nice and clean up there like that
Of course, the reflector is DIY as well. It's not quite finished yet. Here it is drying after it's second coat of paint -- titanium white. It'll get one more coat and then be cut and folded so it fits in the tent:
Again: I just can't justify the cost of purchasing a reflector. This galvanized sheet metal cost me about 10 bucks and the paint was about 6.
Here's a shot of everything working together:
And a final shot of the tent:
The little wire hanging down is just a thermometer hanging so I can get a decent reading near the canopy.
With the lights on and everything rocking, it's around 78-80 degrees in there. Yes, there is an air conditioner in the room where the air is being passively drawn from. I might try turning it down a bit to see if I can drop the temp a couple degrees, but overall I'm very happy.
As soon as the reflector is complete and installed, there will be Afghooey, RGD, PK, Bubble & Squeak and Headband going in to play. They're vegging now and still need to be repotted. Good thing we've got the long weekend!
Oh and, just for educational purposes, there were some mishaps along the way:
1) I didn't put the socket back far enough in the cool tube so the lamp wasn't positioned in the center of the tube very well. Pain in the butt to move.
2) The first CMH lamp I picked up was jingling and jangling a lot more than it seemed like it should whenever it was bumped and moved. Before I left the shop I asked the shopkeeper if he would be sure to give me a new lamp if this one wouldn't fire. I got it home, hooked it up, turned it on and after about 15 seconds of watching an arc move back and forth, it fired. Huzzah! -- I thought. Got everything all hooked up and working, ventilation all sealed. Fired everything up, the lamp came on after 15-20 seconds of the arc moving again, then it shut itself off after another 15 seconds. Waited the prescribed 20-30 minutes before trying to re-fire it and it wouldn't go. The arc just kept jumping around the in the lamp but it wouldn't fire. Took it back to the shop and exchanged it. Got the other one home. Not only did it fire, there was little-to-no delay in firing; no watching the arc move around in the tube at all.
3) Hemp string makes an excellent hanging medium. Even the thin stuff is very, very strong.
4) This wouldn't be possible in it's enclosed location (ie. closet) without an A/C in the room.
More pics soon... hope you enjoy the show!
Good luck in your travels!
-Q