First Grow - CFL Micro Grow - Northern Lights Auto

What's up guys?

I'm around 30 days into my first grow, and just been a stalker on the forums until now

Been reading and learning a lot from you guys and thought it was a good time to create a grow journal of my own now. Any input is appreciated!

Anyway, here's my set up:

-small cabinet (1 sq. ft., 30in height)
-4 CFL bulbs, 136W total (2 45w 5500k bulbs and 2 23w 1700k bulbs)
-4" inline duct fan for an intake on the bottom
-4" inline duct fan for an exhaust on the top that connects to a carbon filter sitting on the top of the cabinet

My main goal for this grow is to harvest at least 1 oz of top-notch bud within 70 days from seed to harvest. I've spent enough time in CO the past few years visiting several times to get used to legal, easily accessible and awesome weed, and being back on the east coast now, it occurred to me that I can grow my own

So far I haven't had many problems, except a major shortage of space and some watering issues at first (had to transplant them to smart pots). Have 3 plants going now. Giving 1 away soon, but next grow I'll definitely be doing only one.

The plants have been doing great and started pre-flowering last week. I fed them for the first time 3 days ago and started noticing today some brownish spots and what I'm guessing is some minor nute burn or a pH issue. Going to go back to only using distilled water with no nutes for a while and see if it helps.

The hardest part by far has been patience. I'm ready to harvest already lol

Anyway, here's some pictures from day 0 to day 30. I'll start taking more from now on and posting them here.

Looking good man! This grow is the most micro I've seen and I love it. How are the temps in there?

Kretzlord said:

Looking good man! This grow is the most micro I've seen and I love it. How are the temps in there?

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Thanks! It’s actually a very similar set up to another micro grow I saw on here from a while back.

Temps are excellent. Consistently between 69-73.

It was a little hot in there when I first put in the 2 23w 2700k lights, so I removed a couple of the flaps on the dryer vent that’s connected to the intake to let more fresh air in. That did the trick.

I'm a nube using CFL 1x true 300w warm white and 100w of of cool white.
The youngest is under more of the cool white bulb and seems to produce a lot more tricomes early on. It's a learning curve but I'm liking the low power consumption and cooler working temperatures. My 1 grow begun flowering in 30° heat so I believe with HPS the heat would have been too much to handle.
I think for small grows CFL is the way forward but the HPS will cover more plants and penetrate the canopy deeper. I plan on some low level t5 or 30 watt CFL to try boost the popcorn under the canopy.

NoobieNugs said:

I'm a nube using CFL 1x true 300w warm white and 100w of of cool white.
The youngest is under more of the cool white bulb and seems to produce a lot more tricomes early on. It's a learning curve but I'm liking the low power consumption and cooler working temperatures. My 1 grow begun flowering in 30° heat so I believe with HPS the heat would have been too much to handle.
I think for small grows CFL is the way forward but the HPS will cover more plants and penetrate the canopy deeper. I plan on some low level t5 or 30 watt CFL to try boost the popcorn under the canopy.

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Looking good!

I'm guessing mine are probably only 1-2 weeks from looking like that.

What strain are yours and how far along?

Man, i wish you had more space. My first grows were CFL and while i got good results could've been way better. $185 you could get 135 true watts of led Quantum Board from HGL.com and it would fill 2x2 perfect and really high quality lighting. Led you need atleast 8-12" feom tops of plants though and you don't seem to have the height.

MATTYMATT726 said:

Man, i wish you had more space. My first grows were CFL and while i got good results could've been way better. $185 you could get 135 true watts of led Quantum Board from and it would fill 2x2 perfect and really high quality lighting. Led you need atleast 8-12" feom tops of plants though and you don't seem to have the height.

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Yeah, I definitely could use more space. Unfortunately, although it probably wouldn't be a huge deal, there's other people in the house I'd prefer didn't know about my new hobby lol. So I'm growing in the closet for now.

Might buy a 16x16 tent that's 4ft high and invest in a quality 300w LED for my next grow and do a single plant at a time. Should allow me to easily net 2-3 oz.

I'm pleased with the CFL's though for now as I don't really need a huge yield. It's actually time to check on my ladies now, I'll post an update soon

Again, any input from you guys is appreciated!

qfog said:

Yeah, I definitely could use more space. Unfortunately, although it probably wouldn't be a huge deal, there's other people in the house I'd prefer didn't know about my new hobby lol. So I'm growing in the closet for now.

Might buy a 16x16 tent that's 4ft high and invest in a quality 300w LED for my next grow and do a single plant at a time. Should allow me to easily net 2-3 oz.

I'm pleased with the CFL's though for now as I don't really need a huge yield. It's actually time to check on my ladies now, I'll post an update soon

Again, any input from you guys is appreciated!

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Well, that tent would be nice for 1 at a time especially with autos but 300 watts would be overkill unless it was a cheaper burple(red/blue/purple Chinese made light, though they will work) that lists wattage at 300 but is really only half if youre lucky. Honestly 16x16 is just over 1 sq foot in space. For led 30-35 watts per sq foot is good amount without wasting so id shoot for a smaller 50 watt untill you get a bigger tent/space to grow in. This in 3000k color temp would be perfect and is a top tier brand of lights if you research them. I have a 135 watt light for 2x2 of my 4x4 tent that i obviously dont use all of yet. The light is amazing.

https://growerslights.com/products/horticulture-lighting-group-65-watt-quantum-board-led-kit

MATTYMATT726 said:

Well, that tent would be nice for 1 at a time especially with autos but 300 watts would be overkill unless it was a cheaper burple(red/blue/purple Chinese made light, though they will work) that lists wattage at 300 but is really only half if youre lucky. Honestly 16x16 is just over 1 sq foot in space. For led 30-35 watts per sq foot is good amount without wasting so id shoot for a smaller 50 watt untill you get a bigger tent/space to grow in. This in 3000k color temp would be perfect and is a top tier brand of lights if you research them. I have a 135 watt light for 2x2 of my 4x4 tent that i obviously dont use all of yet. The light is amazing.

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Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely look into it! I honestly haven't really done a ton of research into LED's yet.

The light I was referring to probably is one of the Chinese-made lights you mentioned. It's the 300w ViparSpectra LED light on Amazon:

Search ASIN B01B4GQ6MO on Amazon (can't post links yet )

The product page says the actual wattage is 136w, it says it can replace a 250w HPS, and the reviews are pretty good. I figured this should allow me to get the 2-3 oz in a 16x16 tent I was shooting for.

I also don't see myself growing anything other than autos in the near future, and if I can pull 2-3 oz every 3 months from them, I'd be a happy man.

qfog said:

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely look into it! I honestly haven't really done a ton of research into LED's yet.

The light I was referring to probably is one of the Chinese-made lights you mentioned. It's the 300w ViparSpectra LED light on Amazon:

Search ASIN B01B4GQ6MO on Amazon (can't post links yet )

The product page says the actual wattage is 136w, it says it can replace a 250w HPS, and the reviews are pretty good. I figured this should allow me to get the 2-3 oz in a 16x16 tent I was shooting for.

I also don't see myself growing anything other than autos in the near future, and if I can pull 2-3 oz every 3 months from them, I'd be a happy man.

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Ues, it is one one the cheaper led ligjts but one of the better cheaper ones. People do very well with it as long as not cramming a buch of plants under it. Though i still wouldn't go that many watts in what is essentially a 1.5x1.5 sq ft area. Usually the burples put out alot of heat and if you only have 4 feet in height, led needs to be no closer than 12" from bud tops for most lights and your plant pot height will come in play as well. Your looking alot of heat in that little space. Just my opinion, with the Viperspectra at 135, id get a 2x2 tent or keep the one you got and look at the 65 watt HGL. It might not seem like alot, but 65 watts of real good led will kill it on 1 plant depending on how good the strain, nutes and soil/coco you use plus how good a grower you are.

I'll definitely have to do some research into LED's here. That will be my next light for sure. Thanks again for the tips.

My next 2 grows will also be NL auto as I have 2 more seeds left (bought from ILGM btw) and haven't seen anything more appealing yet.

Anyway, with this grow, I'll probably be giving one of the plants away (which was the plan from the start), which would leave me with 2. With the remaining 2 though, only 1 is showing significant promise. It is flowering rather nicely, and the other is seems to have barely started.

I'll post pictures later, but I'm thinking of just ditching the one that's behind and just focusing on the 1 best plant moving forward.

I think I may have stunted the growth of the one too much when I transplanted it. Or maybe I should just give it more time and it'll come through...

Any advice on this?

qfog said:

I'll definitely have to do some research into LED's here. That will be my next light for sure. Thanks again for the tips.

My next 2 grows will also be NL auto as I have 2 more seeds left (bought from ILGM btw) and haven't seen anything more appealing yet.

Anyway, with this grow, I'll probably be giving one of the plants away (which was the plan from the start), which would leave me with 2. With the remaining 2 though, only 1 is showing significant promise. It is flowering rather nicely, and the other is seems to have barely started.

I'll post pictures later, but I'm thinking of just ditching the one that's behind and just focusing on the 1 best plant moving forward.

I think I may have stunted the growth of the one too much when I transplanted it. Or maybe I should just give it more time and it'll come through...

Any advice on this?

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2 things. As for seeds, check out Mephistogenetics.com they are easily 1 of if THE top breeder at the moment in autos. Dinafem, Sweet Seeds, Fast Buds and Dutch Passion are all legit. I wouldn't stray too far from the above as others do make autos they most of the time will not be up to par with the above that specialize in setting the auto market. As for the plants. The fact you have 3 plants in 1.5x1.5 is something i mustve overlooked. In that area, 1 plant(and even that can be tight) is rhe most you should have to get a decent plant. Most people will tell you rule of thumb is 1 plant per 1 sq foot. If 1 is way under what youre leading girl is definatley ditch her or plant somewhere outside and hope for something is better than nothing with her. The longer you push 2 plants under CFL in such a small space the longer the best one will lose out.

MATTYMATT726 said:

2 things. As for seeds, check out Mephistogenetics.com they are easily 1 of if THE top breeder at the moment in autos. Dinafem, Sweet Seeds, Fast Buds and Dutch Passion are all legit. I wouldn't stray too far from the above as others do make autos they most of the time will not be up to par with the above that specialize in setting the auto market. As for the plants. The fact you have 3 plants in 1.5x1.5 is something i mustve overlooked. In that area, 1 plant(and even that can be tight) is rhe most you should have to get a decent plant. Most people will tell you rule of thumb is 1 plant per 1 sq foot. If 1 is way under what youre leading girl is definatley ditch her or plant somewhere outside and hope for something is better than nothing with her. The longer you push 2 plants under CFL in such a small space the longer the best one will lose out.

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I actually removed that one as soon as I finished posting that - it was definitely the right thing to do. I had originally planned to only do 1 plant. I planted 2 at first and figured I was going to give 1 away, and then planted another a few days afterwards because one took a while to sprout and I was a little skeptical it'd pull through. So I ended up with 3 lol

I'll have to check them out for autos. I haven't heard of them or any of their strains, but I'm open to trying it.

Time to see how my lady thrives on her own now

The only other thing im going to add at the moment is that you have 90 watts at 5500k and 46 at 1700k. This is fine for veg but flower you need more 1700k. The 5500k has deep blue which makes the plant grow thick and sturdy for veg. It adds almost nothing for flowering buds. Thats what the 1700k does is flower the buds. 1700k can also be used in veg as a way to keep plants short. If you want to stay balanced id go 1/3 Blue and 2/3 Red. So keep 1 45 watt at 5500k if you must but get 1 out and 2 more 23 watts at 1700k.

MATTYMATT726 said:

The only other thing im going to add at the moment is that you have 90 watts at 5500k and 46 at 1700k. This is fine for veg but flower you need more 1700k. The 5500k has deep blue which makes the plant grow thick and sturdy for veg. It adds almost nothing for flowering buds. Thats what the 1700k does is flower the buds. 1700k can also be used in veg as a way to keep plants short. If you want to stay balanced id go 1/3 Blue and 2/3 Red. So keep 1 45 watt at 5500k if you must but get 1 out and 2 more 23 watts at 1700k.

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I thought about that, but my only option would be to remove the 2 45w 5500k bulbs and replace them with 2 23w 1700k bulbs, and I opted for the higher wattage.

Would you still replace the bulbs even if it meant reducing the wattage?

I only have 4 sockets btw, and don’t have enough space to put anything higher wattage than 23w 1700k’s.

qfog said:

I thought about that, but my only option would be to remove the 2 45w 5500k bulbs and replace them with 2 23w 1700k bulbs, and I opted for the higher wattage.

Would you still replace the bulbs even if it meant reducing the wattage?

I only have 4 sockets btw, and don’t have enough space to put anything higher wattage than 23w 1700k’s.

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Honestly no matter what way you go you're light is lacking. For a full grown plant i used to have 200 watts per plant. And because CFL is only good if its 2-4" close to the buds, big bulbs hurt you. The idea is to have a bunch of small(23/26 watts) surrounding the plants. More wattage isn't really winning if the buds can't use it. Youre already in flower so the blue isnt important like the red is. If me, than yes id still take out the 2 45s and get the 1700s in but youd still need more for a good harvest. CFLs will also make really fluffy buds. Keep the 45s and you still would need more light to have above average harvest and most is not helping the bud growth.

qfog said:

Looking good!

I'm guessing mine are probably only 1-2 weeks from looking like that.

What strain are yours and how far along?

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Strain is Critical Mass Auto by Big Buddha. The due date (according to timings on the package) is today. Its not ready though. I can't wait lol

MATTYMATT726 said:

Honestly no matter what way you go you're light is lacking. For a full grown plant i used to have 200 watts per plant. And because CFL is only good if its 2-4" close to the buds, big bulbs hurt you. The idea is to have a bunch of small(23/26 watts) surrounding the plants. More wattage isn't really winning if the buds can't use it. Youre already in flower so the blue isnt important like the red is. If me, than yes id still take out the 2 45s and get the 1700s in but youd still need more for a good harvest. CFLs will also make really fluffy buds. Keep the 45s and you still would need more light to have above average harvest and most is not helping the bud growth.

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My plant getting the majority of the blue light has more sugar coating than the other.. I'm a noob.. lol just an observation from plant 2.

MATTYMATT726 said:

Honestly no matter what way you go you're light is lacking. For a full grown plant i used to have 200 watts per plant. And because CFL is only good if its 2-4" close to the buds, big bulbs hurt you. The idea is to have a bunch of small(23/26 watts) surrounding the plants. More wattage isn't really winning if the buds can't use it. Youre already in flower so the blue isnt important like the red is. If me, than yes id still take out the 2 45s and get the 1700s in but youd still need more for a good harvest. CFLs will also make really fluffy buds. Keep the 45s and you still would need more light to have above average harvest and most is not helping the bud growth.

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I'm looking towards a Samsung led set of some description when I can afford. Not clued up enough for DIY. I've seen a company in the UK that can make them up to spec.

NoobieNugs said:

My plant getting the majority of the blue light has more sugar coating than the other.. I'm a noob.. lol just an observation from plant 2.

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Im not going to try to force you to do what i believe is right, but if you look into red vs blue spectrum for growing you will see what i explained in short. Im sure you will grow something with the 5500ks, but not what you will get if you give the plant the 1700k which it needs in flower. And also i believe 2700k is the actual spectrum to use for flowering with cfl in the red. I do wish you the best of luck though either way.