385w LED/CFL Stealth Hybrid Grow (CoCo, Smartpots)

Ok, so greetings to all! I'm HardCorps420 and this is my 385w LED/CFL Stealth Grow Op. I ordered some seeds but have to wait to name them because I was stoned and forgot!

When I say hybrid I simply mean LED/CFL and that ill be using CoCo and Smartpots(to me that's like hydro-medium), thus, Hybrid Grow. The plan is to grow out of 2-3 Sterlite Bins with 135w Blackstar Led UFO in the center of it all. The 2 CFL's(the other is the same, just different temp) will be the only light initially and then supplemental once the LED is introduced.

So here's the plan:

1. Germinate seeds using regular paper towel method, and transplant into CoCo Pelletes(like the Jiffy Peats only CoCo) to let spout.
2. Transplant sprout into 1(2?)Gallon Smartpot with CoCo medium and introduce to the first 125w 6500K Mini Lotus on a 12/12 schedule.
3. After approx. 1 week, and shortly after LST(gonna try some good ol' Bonsai Magic if my skills allow), introduce second 125w CFL (2700K) to stimulate flower growth.
4. Finally after another approx. week, introduce last light upgrade, the 135w Blackstar UFO LED until harvest.

That, after all, is a general outline. I want this to be a perpetual and I know I read somewhere I could clip from my plants even if my lighting schedule is 12/12 from seed. If anyone can help in this department, +rep will gladly be handed! As far as nutes go, all I grabbed was a bottle of FF Big Bloom seeing as all I'm doing is flowering! Is my logic flawed? Aside from nute deficiencies which I can diagnose as they present themselves, I feel thats all I need for immediate nutes. I also plan on building a diy carbon scrubber duct fan, about 4”-6”.

So that's it for now, all should be set up by next week, and seeds scheduled to arrive at the same time. I'll have some pics by then as well. I hope to see some followers as im still very new to growing and can use all the help RIU is willing to offer!

With that said, any questions, comments and especially concerns are welcome and appreciated! You can follow here, or my journal!

ut

-HC

Hey RIU! Just toked on a fatty from some med grade shit my buddy got from mich, im in the midwest but not in a med state, so that was a nice treat! Just excited me more to grow my own meds! Anyway, my box is coming together quite nicely! About 90% complete. So far I've cut out my bins, modified them, added holes for leccy etc. Uploading pics now to better explain! I also built a homemade carbon scrubber out of a duct fan i modified and a performance air filter! looks sick imo lol, just gotta see if it works! worst case scenario tho, i just buy another booster fan and inline it with the other, or, money permitting, buy a legit setup! The rest of the pics are my coco medium and my smartpots! I also decided to buy some Hesi nutes, so I've got their CoCo blend, PK 13/14, and TNT. Figured Fox Farms is primarily soil me thinks, so maybe ill splash it on my moms tomatoes and not tell her!


Here's the view from outside the box, for added stealth i throw all my shit around it haha.


Here's a birds eye view with both bins connected.



And again with only one bin. Plus my little circulation fan!


My custom ass carbon scrubber! Hope my MacGyver skills pay off! (ps i need to add carbon, but just need to run to the pet store later. edit: noticed the fan needs to be set back further in the casing, the way it is now is significantly reducing my cfm)


My choice in growing medium, CoCo Coir!


And the Smartpots I'll be using.


Things Left To Do:

1. Receive seeds!
2. Order LED!
3. Tighten up grow box to finish state!
4. Get growing!

I do have a few questions I'm trying to answer. With the smart pots, I hear they run a lot, which is obvious haha, but any ideas how i can catch the water while still having it be somewhat easily accessible? or do i just need a tray? How much water would they suck up after a watering? First time using these bad boys!

Thanks in advance!

ut

-HC

A small update, figured out the three Fem seeds i have are 1 - Greenhouse Arjans Haze #3, 1 - Heavyweight Green Ninja, and 1 - Delicoius Fruity Chronic Juice. Then of course the 2 free mystery strain Big Bud #2 reg seeds. Any thoughts on which of these I should attempt first? im kinda thinking of throwing the two Big Buds in there and hoping for a female. As i stated, Id like this to be a one plant perpetual grow, and eventually I'll be adding a mother/clone bin to the collection, but not til I move probably (6 months or so). So a few 12/12 fs should be good practice til then.

Any info on strains or experience growing these would be awesome! I'm doing my own due diligence work, but feel free to comment away!

Thanks Guys!

ut

-HC

Realized a noob mistake in my planning, the LST i was planning on doing is not really possible with my 12/12 schedule. Instead i'll just let them go! Still very interested in training, just not with this grow I suppose.

I checked the tracking of my beans and they should be in the mail today. Now the problem is deciding which to germ first! Pretty sure i'll try the 2 big buds i got as freebies, seeing as their regular seeds it'll be a good practice run. Luckily all the seeds I got are said to be shorter plants and should be ok on my 12/12 fs schedule. I'm very excited to get all this underway, this passion has been burning in me since my first attempt and this time will be a great feeling, i just know it!

I'll update later with news on germination and hopefully a fully assembled box!

ut

-HC

HardCorps420 said:

Hey RIU! Just toked on a fatty from some med grade shit my buddy got from mich, im in the midwest but not in a med state, so that was a nice treat! Just excited me more to grow my own meds! Anyway, my box is coming together quite nicely! About 90% complete. So far I've cut out my bins, modified them, added holes for leccy etc. Uploading pics now to better explain! I also built a homemade carbon scrubber out of a duct fan i modified and a performance air filter! looks sick imo lol, just gotta see if it works! worst case scenario tho, i just buy another booster fan and inline it with the other, or, money permitting, buy a legit setup! The rest of the pics are my coco medium and my smartpots! I also decided to buy some Hesi nutes, so I've got their CoCo blend, PK 13/14, and TNT. Figured Fox Farms is primarily soil me thinks, so maybe ill splash it on my moms tomatoes and not tell her!


Here's the view from outside the box, for added stealth i throw all my shit around it haha.

Here's a birds eye view with both bins connected.

And again with only one bin. Plus my little circulation fan!

My custom ass carbon scrubber! Hope my MacGyver skills pay off! (ps i need to add carbon, but just need to run to the pet store later. edit: noticed the fan needs to be set back further in the casing, the way it is now is significantly reducing my cfm)

My choice in growing medium, CoCo Coir!

And the Smartpots I'll be using.

Things Left To Do:

1. Receive seeds!
2. Order LED!
3. Tighten up grow box to finish state!
4. Get growing!

I do have a few questions I'm trying to answer. With the smart pots, I hear they run a lot, which is obvious haha, but any ideas how i can catch the water while still having it be somewhat easily accessible? or do i just need a tray? How much water would they suck up after a watering? First time using these bad boys!

Thanks in advance!

ut

-HC

Click to expand...

Pot's are bigger than necessary...I use 3 gal prune pot's and grow 4-5 foot plant's!!Lst'd dence!!but will work fine just if you replace go for a smaller pot will fit in space better! You will need catcher's under your pot's so the water can run freely through to give the root's the necessary oxygen!..You will do fine!! just try to plan the WHOLE GROW..and don't trip up on any one part! Wishing you the best my friend!! Jack...Kidney stoner a good friend does 12/12 all the time and I'am going to listen to him and lady J...you will need a tray 4" deep or so and either put a fitting on for a hose to run to a bucket...or vaccum wet or dry to remove the excess water and nute's..not a big deal you could even make an area where you put them when you water they won't be that big!! Make it simple or it will be a pain in the ass! Lighting looks great(gave a ufo to a girl on here in finland..doesn't even answer when I hit her up! oh well she got what she wanted and dropped me like a hot potatoe!! Live and learn...)wasn't looking for anything but i guess she well i don't understand...desn't matter any way..so media is fine you will need to pick up some CaMg...give early to stop deficiency when plant's go into the streech!! Keep air circulating so you replace Co2 and move leave's so they can asperate breath..should be awesome!! no lst no topping as you will have only one cola!! jack not like this! plant wen't crazy grew over 33" after 12/12...too much!

Hey jack, great to see ya stopped by! So 1gal pots might be easier eh? Yea been tin to decide how to water with these. Maybe the bath, and just keep the excess to reuse later/let run down the drain. I agree, im a plan it out kinda guy, so I want everything in order first, but ifeel once I get it under way things will fall into place. certain things anyway.

Yes they will and you will modify some plan's but..try to stick to your main outline for grow....I had each week planned..first two grow's now it's just on auto..till i switch to 12/12 from seed my next venture!!get your timeline down as to the species growing 12/12 week one opening phase the streech!! week2-7 bud swell!! week 7-8 finishing...Opening is actually just after the streech...Plant's rooting as fast as possible to ready for massive flowering! This is where the sugar's go from the branches that do not become top's..and are stored untill the growth spurt..Pay particular attention to this timeline or you WILL PICK IT EARLY!...net loss 20% potency and yield just one week early!!! 1/8 of total flower time lost and the last two week's is the biggest increse of both potency and bulk!! don't rush no matter the size...I was blown away from a 22" plant grown in a cupboard the smoke was primo...size doesn't matter to potency!!or age of plant! be verry cautious when harvesting to time perfectly!! Size color smell, the plant tell's you when the flouressence(Sparkle), and the change in the strenght of the odor, other thing's of course the color of the tric's(I've grown for year's but never used a scope to see!) which show's in the overall color of the bud look's darker richer the leav's should be dying and change's of color all indicate ripeness!! occasionaly on some varietie's you will see a male flower or two in the cluster's indicating she's ready to come down!! patience pay's!! jack these look to some as ready but still a week out!! look so you have a better understanding of what you want...they look ready but are not!!!wishing you the best with your grow I know you will be successfull! looking foreward to your post's and pic's of the babbie's! semper fidelis! jack,.

Dam Jack! Glad to have you on board here! Just got my beans and nutes in the mail today so as soon as i rig up my lighting and put in my order for my LED ill be underway! I have to say im pretty confident knowing I've got a grower like you on my side! My only real concerns are my nute schedule. Running 12/12 with CoCo i picked up the Hesi Nute line which includes their Hesi CoCo(Flowering), Hesi TNT(Veg/Starting Nutes), and Hesi PK 13/14(Flower Boost). So that should do me good for a few grows i hope. Harvest time was a bit of a worry, since determining chop time is what its all about, but the pics and explanation helped tremendously! I can't wait to get some pics of my girls up here for you to throw opinions at em!

Semper Fi Jack!

ut

-HC

Great nute's!! schedule isn't hard just allway's remember you can allway's add more but a burn mean's loss of bud!!Go slow you have a game plan write it down and follow it check every once in a while to make sure nothing slipped through the crack's...I would suggest some CaMg by General organic's it has molasses and cane sugar for the soil also! Never had a problem but when plant's jump over 16" in a week and a half..ran out of stores I use fox farm but all the same shit...Make sure you have a reliable PPM meter as that and a good Ph meter are invaluable!!soil test kit's work fine for lower cost!...are you going to use a "green pad" or Co2 Boost bucket?? if not get real good circulation going so as not to slow you down!! Pad's are great they will do a small space good! Don't try some yeast fermantation crap that will draw bug's!! Hope you have a good camera so we can all see the result's!! Good luck my brother!!jack

CaMg, ill look for some, Havnt seen much on it with coco. Havnt decidied fully on a co2 solution yet. Hoping the consent checking will replenish what co2 is ised. Plus, Il have intake exhausts in place. Right now all I have is the carbon scrubber and a passive intake, although im gonna pick up a case fan later this week for intake, dont want that duct fan burning out too quick. ill give alook into those pads tho, sounds perfect. Thanks again jack! Too bad I cant give ya more rep yet! Haha

Let me know if you want to try the "the green pad" my friend can get them cheaper than on line I'll talk to him and find out how. jack

Deffinetly interested! pm me with the info if ya can! Hey any suggestions on a ppm meter? Cant seem to find one that suits my needs, by that I mean small and not $300 haha. Also, ive decided on watering in the tub, ill try to catch what runoff ican to reusr. Seeing as im using smartpots and coco, the water will run through fast, almost like a hybrid hydro setup haha,.minus all the automation! I suppose itll take afew waterings to get a feel for how fast.itll really run, and how much itll soak up! Perhaps I could place a simple water tray under it to gage how much waters coming out and just how much it soaks back up? What ya think jack? Since its just us in here! No bud porn, no subbers haha.ut-HC

Set it up like a disk rack so it DOESN'T soak back up! water enough to pull the oxygen through to thr root's and make sure you have no dry pocket's! Root's in that case will die...catch and reuse is fine! a 5 gal pail with a grid over it will work use two and just swap back and forth put the same water through multiple time's slowly..

Brilliant sir! Thank you very much for that advice! I swear, sometimes I over think things so freakin much!

That was an excellent tip about the watering Jack! I have air pots so am probably going to have to use that advice. As for the 2 gallon pots, they should be good! More space for roots = bigger buds. Del666666 uses 6.5 - 7 liters to help contain the plants but he looks to grow several in one area. Since you're looking to only grow one at a time, it is probably ideal to have a larger size since you can swing it. I would start them in smaller containers however, and then transplant up. The plants grow much better that way.

As for Co2, I've read a few articles that say it is not only unnecessary, but not useful for a small area like the bins. Supposedly won't notice a difference with or without it. It's much more beneficial for larger grow ops.

I love how you stacked the bins, they look completely stealth. I didn't realize when I kept suggesting the tent to you that you had already got the stuff set up! Thought you were still waiting to piece everything together.

You don't have many adoring fans because we didn't know you had a thread going already . I run my mouth a lot so I'll probably help to keep your page bumped up lol. I see a lot of potential here and I'm excited to see what comes out of that baby!

Lady.J said:

That was an excellent tip about the watering Jack! I have air pots so am probably going to have to use that advice. As for the 2 gallon pots, they should be good! More space for roots = bigger buds. Del666666 uses 6.5 - 7 liters to help contain the plants but he looks to grow several in one area. Since you're looking to only grow one at a time, it is probably ideal to have a larger size since you can swing it. I would start them in smaller containers however, and then transplant up. The plants grow much better that way.

As for Co2, I've read a few articles that say it is not only unnecessary, but not useful for a small area like the bins. Supposedly won't notice a difference with or without it. It's much more beneficial for larger grow ops.

I love how you stacked the bins, they look completely stealth. I didn't realize when I kept suggesting the tent to you that you had already got the stuff set up! Thought you were still waiting to piece everything together.

You don't have many adoring fans because we didn't know you had a thread going already . I run my mouth a lot so I'll probably help to keep your page bumped up lol. I see a lot of potential here and I'm excited to see what comes out of that baby!

Click to expand...

Hey lady j! glad you could stop by! not looking for a million fans! only a few awesome peeps to help a noob along! Thanks for the input! Like ive mentioned to you, I plan on upgrading pretty regular, so keeping all these things, even just in mind, will help me later on! I think i will stick with the pots i have, simply because i have them, and co2 exchange should be alright with what i have for now (i like to talk to my plants a lot, so the co2 im breathing on them will help a very small bit ).

My only concern right now is the heat ill be facing. I can imagine itll get a bit hot in there! I remember before when i had my closet going, i just stuck tubs of ice in there, it helped considerably, and also raised humidity, that might be an option, might not. never worked in such a small area! Hopefully the intake/outtake should be adequate, along with the circulation fan i have. I'm good at troubleshooting so it shouldn't be so bad.

Thanks again for the advice! and i hope things go as well as YOU hope!

ut!

-HC

HardCorps420 said:

Hey lady j! glad you could stop by! not looking for a million fans! only a few awesome peeps to help a noob along! Thanks for the input! Like ive mentioned to you, I plan on upgrading pretty regular, so keeping all these things, even just in mind, will help me later on! I think i will stick with the pots i have, simply because i have them, and co2 exchange should be alright with what i have for now (i like to talk to my plants a lot, so the co2 im breathing on them will help a very small bit ).

My only concern right now is the heat ill be facing. I can imagine itll get a bit hot in there! I remember before when i had my closet going, i just stuck tubs of ice in there, it helped considerably, and also raised humidity, that might be an option, might not. never worked in such a small area! Hopefully the intake/outtake should be adequate, along with the circulation fan i have. I'm good at troubleshooting so it shouldn't be so bad.

Thanks again for the advice! and i hope things go as well as YOU hope!

ut!

-HC

Click to expand...

DON"T underestimate "Breathing on your plant's!!!You know if you have as much hot air as me...your plant's love your visit's!!jack

sandiegojack2 said:

DON"T underestimate "Breathing on your plant's!!!You know if you have as much hot air as me...your plant's love your visit's!!jack

Click to expand...

Meditation. Although you should learn 'how' to meditate before trying it while under the influence of anything other than your mind.

I have finished setting up my box. Only a few adjustments will be made to it within the next few weeks such as a more stable light bar to hang all of my lights (the current one works for both cfls but i doubt it will support the led), and more complete light sealing (there's a few leaks you can spot in the pics, but not too bad and i have a daytime light schedule anyway). Here's a few pics of the box: the first is the outside view once again, the second a birdseye, and the third the clearance i have behind the box that i hope is enough for my carbon filter!



Not much left to do except germ, pot, and growwww! Gonna go grab some distilled water later and begin the process.

Sorry JACK! couldnt get my hands on a ppm/ph meter, all i found were too expensive! i shall go and purchase a water ph meter tho. im using coco so its pretty neutral, all im concerned with is the water, which ill be using distilled (or R/O) either way their about as neutral as you can get as well!

Starting the beans the good ol paper towel method, then ill put em in a coco peat pellet if my hydro shop has em, otherwise ill just plant directly into a solo cup for a few weeks until the next transplant into 1gal smartpots.

My nutes will be 1/4 strength Hesi TNT from start followed by 1/4, 1/2, full Hesi CoCo at 2,4,6 weeks respectively from bloom. Finally ill use the Hesi PK 13/14 throughout the final weeks of bloom. I'm using CoCo so ill have quite frequent waterings, but i like to think im good at reading my girls, so ill watch and listen to them closely.

I dont know if im missing anything, oh in the second pic you can see the passive intake ive installed on the bottom, hopefully this will be adequate, although im not sure what to cover it with to prevent buggies! I'm sure ive got something layign around here/work that'll do the trick.

Alright guys, so that's the plan, hopefully germination will begin tonight if not tomorrow! Excited to hear any comments and opinions! Ready, aim, FIRE!

ut!

-HC

Looking good HC! Everything looks very well thought out. As for covering the intake, try women's stockings. I bought a box with 2 XL stockings for a dollar at Family dollar and just cut out the dimensions I needed...replace when it seems like it's getting dirty .