DJ's LED medical grow

Space: 21.75"x30"x48"
Light: Area 51 SGS-160 LED
Strain: Ministry of Cannabis White Widow (feminized)
Medium: Roots Organic Coco Coir + Black Gold perlite (20-30%)
Pots: Superoots 1L, 3L and 7.5L Airpots
Nutes: Canna Coco A+B, Rhizo, Boost, PK13/14, Cannazym, General Organics CaMg+, SaferGro PH down, and House and Garden Drip Clean.
Location: in a medical state, legal within state guidelines. Besides that, it's basically a closet, but about as big as an upright dresser.
Power: Currently under 210W pulled from the plug.

This is my first medical grow. Guerrilla grows have been unsuccessful, and I don't own property for outdoor. All my acquaintances use HID, and while effective, not appropriate for my use.

SGS-160: ~120w Veg (4000K whites), ~155w Bloom (Whites + Red), all CREE diodes. Current light schedule is 18:6, 18" from "canopy".
In case you missed it, here's some reading material: https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/651424-look-inside-sgs-160-warranty.html

Pretty much everything except the light is DIY. I got in on the last day of introductory pricing, and total have less than a grand into this entire setup. I didn't exactly count my pennies, and in a way it's still incomplete. Incomplete because I need to replace the current scrubber/exhaust fan because it is too loud. I thought it was quiet enough, but it's just too loud. I will try a couple different things to see how much duct flow has an effect on fan noise. The interior walls are non-magnetic whiteboard, pretty reflective, but super easy to clean. With just the whites on and the door open, it's hard to look at, there's a lot of light bouncing around that box.

I was planning on mainlining, or at least one of the two. I had planned to scrog, but with the design of this box, it would make feeding/watering annoying. The door is ~20"x34", so pulling them out would be a PITA.

I appreciate constructive criticism, you may post here, if it gets out of hand I'll just get the BS removed.

Note: If you use an Apollo 9 timer, make sure you follow the directions to ACTIVATE the timer... I had issues for a couple days.

I soaked in a paper towel (72-80F) for 24hrs, planted not quite a cm under, and I'm calling "Day 1" May 15, which is when I first saw green.

Feed schedule has been basically every other day. 60-80ppm CaMg, <100ppm A, <100ppm B, ~100-120ppm Rhizo. My water is 120-160ppm, I'm working on that. pH feed: 5.4-5.7, ppm feed: 350-400 (incl tap)
For those who need to mix micro nutes, or any small amount of nutrients: Go to Walgreens, syringes are <$.50/ea and you don't need the needle. I can dial in PPM to within 10ppm of desired in <1L container.

Now that I got the details out of the way, let me introduce you to Wendy and Wilma. Wendy was the runt out of the gate, Wilma stood up first. Wendy took the lead quickly by firming up her stalk and shedding her seed shell first. Both Wendy and Wilma sprouted higher out of the medium than I expected, and have been a healthy green so far.

(sorry, I still can't find my charger for my real camera, i4s will have to do)

Day 1:

Wendy:


Wilma:


Day 4:

Wendy:


Wilma:


Not anything to brag about yet, but I'm learning and it's only day 4 dammit.

I'm having temp issues, things will change. I can handle 82-86F, but it can hit 90F, and that's no bueno. I have AC in the room, but that light adds more heat than I expected. Exhaust fan is supposedly 100cfm, add the restrictions, and it should still be exchanging the 3x/min, and apparently that's not enough. The room it's in has AC, but the peak of temps is during the middle of the night, not midday.

Subbedd... First row. Nice setup. Good luck

second !!!!!

And the winner is: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/14425/fan-923/SilenX_140x140x25mm_-_12dBA_-_48CFM_Effizio_Series_Quiet_Fan_EFX-14-12.html

3x of these pulling air out should do the trick. I think I'll use one to straight vent, and two to pull through the scrubber. I bought four, I'll either replace the intake fan with one, or just add it to the current... if that's not good enough, I'll use all four to pull air out, and figure something else for the intake.

Current: should be about 65-70cfm in while the light is on, and 70ish cfm out 24:7
After: should be about 90cfm through the scrubber, 45cfm straight out, and 115-120cfm in (70cfm 24:7, add the 45cfm during lights on).

I'm in. Let's see the new light with some soil.

Count me in M8.

Peace and Great Grows

Asmallvoice

End of Week 1 Update (Day 7)

Canna's feed graph that I have is in teaspoons per gal... not what I need. There are approximately 4.93mL in 1tsp. So, if you want to do some math every time, you can... or you can make a conversion factor(much easier). With 2x 1L airpots, I mix about 21-22oz of nutrient mixture. This is approximately 1/6th of a gallon. I don't feed full strength, so for me, I take the tsp/gal rating, and turn it into mL per "cup". I mix in a painters mixing cup (1 quart). When it says feed 4tsp of Rhizo, I feed 3.5-4mL of Rhizo. Instead of 1.8tsp Coco A, I add 1.2-1.5mL, and so on.
FYI, Coco A is a stronger solution than Coco B. Do not try to balance them by PPM, they are meant to be used in equal volume.

Last feed: 5.8pH, 623ppm, 20% runoff, 120ppm filtered tap(~500ppm of nutrients added)
1.4mL A
1.4mL B
3.5mL Rhizo
0.5mL Drip clean
???mL G/O CaMg+ (100ppm)

I will be feeding at 5.4-5.6pH now, my runoff indicates that my pH'd water soak was not very effective.

Debating on when to cut their heads off. So far they're staying nice and tight.

I'm still having heat issues (see pics), but I have parts for a solution, and hopefully time tomorrow to fix it.




So that should help the problem that I'm having.
It started with Wendy, and then Wilma. Wendy is still the track star, but Wilma is healthy(usually the better shade of green). My leaves are curling/canoeing, but I'm pretty sure it will be handled ASAP.

Wendy, Day 7:



Wilma, Day 7:



Tip of the measuring tape is magnetic, and stuck to the SGS. Light is ~17.5" above.



Wendy is fatter than she is tall, stay seated.



RH is not very consistent, but stays in the 22-45% range.
Temps are the problem. Still peaks at 91F, but that's when it's 86F outside, I'm not home, and my AC is not on. The house is like 78-79F at that point and high humidity. On top of that, my South facing wall feels like an oven from noon-sunset.




All in all, I'm quite happy with the results I've had. Each feed brought on a healthy response, and I should be able to handle the heat issue within a day or two. I'm excited to see the next two weeks.

I will for sure update again in a week, maybe sooner but not until construction is done.

Subbed.

Agreed, it is definitely overkill for veg at this stage. Since I knew I was starting from scratch, I figured I would just run it full cycle and see what happens. It helps that I can find out the heat issue now, rather than a week or two before flowering.

I mocked up a light trap to two of the new fans last night, I need more supplies before attempting to build the second light trap.

The new fans definitely don't move a ton of air (45cfm each), but they are definitely "silent". I had to get my ear within 4" to actually hear it. Now I'm not sure if they will flow enough.

Edit: I said I wouldn't update until I had all the shenanigans fixed, but I'm here now...
Both Wendy and Wilma experienced some bondage last night. They got a feeding and I tried my hand at LST'ing them. Lights are off for another 10min, but last I saw them, the first 5-leaf fans had just popped. Leaf growth went 1-leaf, 3-leaf, 5-leaf. The first 5-leaf was only about 8mm long total when I saw them last. And looking from straight above, they're "square".

Lights on: They're looking a tad pale, but I fed them "strong", and temps have been down 10F on average.

They took to the training well, hopefully by end of week 2 I'll have enough there to actually top them.

FWIW: I contacted Titan Controls, they told me to seek a warranty replacement from the seller (Amazon seller).

You would need to return it to the original retailer.

I'm sorry that you are having trouble with the Apollo 9 it is not recommended for the digital ballasts.
Digital ballasts have a huge initial in-rush of power (from 10 to 40 times the input power) when they strike the bulb. This initial power surge wreaks havoc on the timer. The contactors inside the timer are small and can be adversely affected by this power surge. The best answer to this situation is to consider using the Apollo 4 to run your ballast. It has a heavy duty relay built into the Apollo 4 that is intended to handle a power load like this from ballasts.


Thanks,

Enjoy the day!

Heath Oliver
Technical Service specialist
Ideal-Air/Titan Controls

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Thank you for the response, but there is no ballast. I run an LED light, max draw is 155W, and the Apollo 9 is rated for 1725watts.

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Then you have one that is defective and it needs to be returned

Thanks,

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I appreciate the quick response and all, but definitely not what I'd call great customer service.

Subbed Wimbo, be chillin in the corner if needed ... . Nice smart pots to brother,

KC

Thank you for the advice too.

I think I'll wait until the shock of topping is over, then transplant into the bigger pots. I wanted to go from the 1L to the 3L, then to the 7.5L. I think I'll be going to the 7.5L in about 10 days. Let them get situated and get it all ready to move into 12/12. They're still on 18/6 now, I might drop them to 16/8 for a week after the transplant.
I've been happy with the airpots so far, I didn't mix quite as much perlite in as I thought. I aimed for 30% and probably got 15%. Obviously this will be fixed once I transplant.

... I said I wouldn't, but here's an update.
Week 2, Day 10

Wendy and Wilma got their first taste of light bondage. Didn't go too crazy on tension, just enough to open up and let the new leaves push out more easily. Both Wendy and Wilma are about 1.75" tall, and working on pushing out their 4th nodes.

Wendy:



Wilma:



A closer look at Wendy

So many options, I want to try them all.

For now I'm going to try and keep it as simple as I can. I might end up doing perpetual 12/12 and crop every 4-6 weeks. I have room for 6x 3L, and I feel like the intensity of the light would make it work. Even at 30" it should veg plenty, and the ones 12" taller would be at the prime height.

I will bring the light up once the current set of leaves push out far enough for me to pull them down/apart. I want enough stretch to use the space, but not so much that I run out. Obviously a longer veg means a healthier flower, but I'm curious what they would turn out like if I flipped them without topping and just LST from here. That's not going to happen, but I'm always curious.

I was around for the end of the light cycle yesterday, and the timer didn't turn the light off at the correct time either. I'm officially annoyed. I did get a response from the amazon seller, or an automated one, they said they would respond on Tues (after the holiday).

They were fed again at lights on, on Canna's Week 2-4 regimen, except I made Rhizo stronger than Cannazym.
Adjusted amounts to my quantity of water(21oz @ 108ppm)
2mL A
2mL B
2.5mL Rhizo
2ml Cannazym
0.2mL Drip Clean
120ppm CaMg+
PPM total: 913
pH: 5.5

8hrs into the light cycle and the pale hue has subsided, they both are back to their normal green.

3 days ago(the previous feed) was the first at "week 2" quantities. If I went by the ratio I'm supposed to, it would have been 2mL Rhizo and 2.5mL Cannazym. I still feel like they need as much boost in the roots as possible, so I tried it. I don't think 0.5mL will change the world, but it sounded like a good idea at the time. They want me at 1190ppm, and I'm not going that high yet.

EDIT: The stalks on both have "opened". There is or was a thin layer around the stalk that turned red/purple-ish. During week two that layer split, and green swelled out. Not really out but the stalks thickened up.

ReEDIT: info on the strain

Sex: Feminized Seed
Indoor/Outdoor
60% Sativa 40% Indica
Flowering Time: 8-10 weeks
Yield: 450 gr per sq. mt. indoor, up to 300 gr outdoor
THC: 18%

The Original Sensible Seed Co present - Ministry of Cannabis White Widow
Ministry of Cannabis White Widow: a name, a legend. This plant has appeared on the market in 1995 and it has been the dominator of the scene ever since. White Widow is a cross between Indian and Brazilian, medium height, excellent taste with notes of fruit. The subtle aroma reminds you of the fresh pine cones when they are still on the trees. The high is strong both on the mind and on the body, but not at all lethargic. It performs well in sea of green and it doesn't dislike it if you reduce the amount of light in the last days of flowering to further stimulate the resin production.

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I decided to go with a White Widow for a few reasons. First and foremost, it's a good beginner strain. Pretty tough strains (any WW), resistance to mold/PM, 8-10week flowering cycle, and is great universal smoke. Not sure how it will take to mainlining/topping, but we'll find out in a month.

I had forgotten that it was considered 40% indica, that might explain why it's short and fat. I don't tell her this, but I want her to be fat right now.

The Widow will take nicely to both Mainline and/or topping mate. I have a NLxWW going I just topped instead of ML like the others, loves it. Easy to handle strain, nice choice

KC

My limiting factor is the height. I only have 48" total, or about 18-20" tall of a plant off the top of a 7.5L airpot.

Like I said, I have a lot of options, but I'm on a quest to see how much I can pull with only 2ft of "real" grow space.

I have 3x beans of the WW left, and a couple freebies that I'm actually excited about. I might pop the freebies once I get these transplanted and switched to 12/12, but I don't want to get ahead of myself just yet.

I don't like the idea of Auto's (cars or cannabis), but I have a space that would be ideal for them.

Looking very nice so far! I dig it.
Best of luck on this grow, my friend...I am certainly subbed.

Have fun!

Your grow space perfect for 2L hempy grow..if you have an another room for mothers, clones. Just an idea