First of I would like to thank you for publishing your experiments, builds, grow tips and the all the other vast info you and everyone else has contributed in this thread.
It took me a week to read all 148 pages and take notes. Along with reading your other grow journals. I have a few questions and tips I would like to address.
1) on your first run I was confused about the length of time you ran clearex... I dont recall if you ran it for 8 hours or 24. I know in your second run you say 24. Maybe it was Earl that put out the 8 hour number and thats whats confusing me.
I ran clearex for 24 hours both times. That was the final flush. Another way to use clearex is durring a grow. Like when you switch frow veg to flower nutes. Thats when you want to run it for a shorter amount of time like 8 to 16 hours. But when you add nutes again, be sure to go real light like 1/4 strength for the first week because the plants will be real hungry and too much nutrients will burn them.
2)on your diagram of how you are going to set up a vertical cab grow you have the lights place vertically. I believe Earl mentioned that MH lights dont run great positioned that way and may burn out. I dont know if your CMH can be set up vertically and run like it should. I would hate to see you lose 2 lights, and suggest you investigate this because I dont know the answer.
I found when I purchase a bulb they have horizontial hang and vertical hang bulbs. The CMH I got is designed to go horizontal. The argosun can be mounted both ways. Thats what I plan to use. (once my greenhouse is done)
3)on your curing rack/ and in place of the terrarium heaters you had in your cab, could you add a few packets of those things you find in shoe boxes that suck up the moisture and prevent mold and mildew? Would be a cheap solution if it works. And when you cure in brown paper bags you could toss one or two of those packets in to help dry. Maybe you could also move one of those terrarium heaters to your curing rack. This might dry your buds too fast though.
Yea those silicon packs may work very well. I have only seen small ones and not in quanity but I assume they could be ordered. I have one of my 4" fans under the buds blowing on an angle so its not right on them. I have also wadded up newspaper in balls and put them in there and they helped.
4)on your first cut ducting reflector could you just hammer small divots into it to disburse the light more indirectly or scratch up the reflective surface with some steal wool? I know you've painted them white since then but was just curious.
I think if you go floros a metal reflector will be fine. I have seen journal where there was no burn. However with a HID lighting it should be painted wight or rippeled like you sugguested.
5)on your LED lights in the close up picture in the post where you question if you can fix it you are assuming there is a problem with the resistor or capacitor. That is not a capacitor in the picture you show. It is a BJT or MOSFET. Im willing to bet its not a problem with the resistor and instead you burnt out that BJT/MOSFET under the resistor. Most semiconductor and micro-controller companies (TI, LT, Microchip) will send you up to 3 devices for free as samples of 5. I suggest you look up the device name/serial on that BJT that you burnt out and request free samples from one of the Co. I listed. Or you can try Fry's or Radioshack for the BJT. If you cant find the exact BJT to match the one you burnt out get a BJT with similar current rating and the same beta value. You will probably have to look up the data sheet for the BJT you burnt out.
Thats some good info, I will do that. Thank you.
6)on your first run did you top any of those plants? I think you said you topped a few on the second run and that alone may have contributed to the higher yield and not just the change in lights and reflectors.
Yes, I just went back and checked. I topped them about a week before I went 12/12
7)Is a metal reflector better then Mylar? 99cent stores sell Mylar balloons. I like to get the biggest ones they have and split them down the seems and use the inside non-colored or patterned side as a reflector. Probably the cheapest source of Mylar you will ever find.
I love your ideas. Im not sure of the cost of ballons but you can get mylar at greentrees for pretty cheap. 13.42 plus shipping for 25 feet of the thin stuff. link
8 ) on your aero set up; is your PVC sprinkler system mounted or just resting in the tub?
It rests on a lip, I didnt glue it either and that was a good idea cause I found I like to twist the pipe and adjust the sprinklers when the root system is small.
9)Is it beneficial to paint/tape red and blue strips on top of your seedling heat pad. I noticed the tray you have under your mothers is a red orange, and was wondering if the color was chosen for a reason. Maybe if you added red and blue strips to the remaining area in your grow cab that is still black you could get closer node spacing.
I never thought of the color of the tray. I just had a couple red ones from years ago. You have a good point, red would reflect all the colors of the spectrum a plant would use as opposed to another color wouldnt it.
10)Ive never tried this, but was thinking that human saliva or spit kills most mold and mildew and might work, but Im unsure about the application because of the Ph of human saliva. I would worry about it burning the leaves, so maybe just a wipe with saliva, and then a wipe with a wet paper towel.
Hum, interesting. I like my girls but I dont think I want to lick them.
11)A simple solution to your humidifier causing water drops to form on the inside of the cab could be to place a thin cloth over the humidifier out jet, or to tape off the out jet partially.
So basiclly limit the output huh? Now theres an idea.
12)on the tub you spray painted black Im not sure if you placed Mylar over the top and forgot to mention it or if thats a completely different tub. You probably just didnt mention it because your first run has its same set up, but if you forgot to put the Mylar on this time i just want to bring that to your attention.
Well, I spray painted both of them black now. The HID cab is mylar but I ran out so I used reflective insulation on the floro cab top of the tub.
13) For my spider mites i used ortho outdoor insect killer from walmart $4.50 (im in dirt out side). It killed them good but it left purple marks where the solution dried on the leaves and dried the leaves out a little. Been a week and no new spider mites, and the tiny beetles/ predator bugs lived through the spray, but my lady bugs flew away.
Good to know, I plan on getting some ladybugs for the greenhouse and im sure at some point I will have to deal with spidermites.
I hope at least one of these things can help your grow and hasnt wasted your time.
Well - usually, anyways. lol
