JP's cabinet grow: Planning stage

J

justparanoid

Guest
Thanks, I'm planning to finish up taping the inside of the cabinet. I still have a couple spots to go. I installed weatherstripping to the doors and sealed them nice. No more glowing box.. The added insulation is making the tempatures interesting to deal with. I may need to add an additional exhaust to cool things down. temp is around 88 with the doors closed and all fans running.

I will be doing more reading on venting the cabinet, Just in case i missed something. Thanks a million to those that came before me, the search tool is an awesome resource. I have learned so much by reading old posts, Thanks again!




To be continued..

JP
 
J

justparanoid

Guest
I am starting to think i bought to large of bulbs for my application. I have an intake and exhaust fans both 120mm fans.
Temps are through the roof since i lightproofed it. Should i use (3) 42 watt bulbs instead?

Rep for all that help!
JP
 
dirtydrukqs

dirtydrukqs

Member
do they make a fan controller that can also function as a power supply? i just saw some people talking about this at the top of thread. maybe random.
 
J

justparanoid

Guest
Should i use (3) 42 watt bulbs instead of my big bulbs, temps are too high even with two 105 actual watts.

Rep for all that help!
JP
 
J

justparanoid

Guest
Well I'm using just one 105 watt bulb and have one seedling that's showing its first true leaves. They are nice and fat, My short rider i think has failed, Im going to sprout another one, giving me one bag seed and one short rider.

Temps are still a problem, Im buying a clip on fan to replace the fan i have in there now. It doesnt push much air around for being the size it is..

Should i get another comp fan for an exhaust? It's all i can think of to reduce the heat in my cabinet. that would give me two exhausts and one intake.

REP for all!
JP
 

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Malenki

Malenki

Well-Known Member
Can you tell us what your tub/bucket is converted from? and the measurements of it?Im just trying to get a picture for how deep the water is basically.
 
J

justparanoid

Guest
It's a 4 gallon res. No drip tubes, just air stones wetting the medium. the baskets are 5 inch net cups and im using Park seed bio dome starter plugs in the clay medium.

heres a couple pictures of my experimental batch.
 

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J

justparanoid

Guest
Temps are still out of control, I'm waiting on a 140mm fan and hoping that will work better as an exhaust. I have two three inch holes in my cabinet now but the comp fans seem to do little for actual temps.

I removed the intake fan, but it had little effect. Should i make this one an exhaust too?
 

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123grow

123grow

Active Member
If i could have a set-up of my choosing (not knowing what your situation is really...) I would put 2 exhaust fans high in your grow box, somewhere venting air right off the lights. Remember, warm air rises. One intake on the bottom of your box, opposite side of the exhaust fans. Then a fan installed inside your box, same side as intake fan, but higher up blowing air over the tops of your plants (for when they get bigger)

You get a nice circular motion. Air starting at say... bottom left, cooler than the rest, naturally being heated by lights and moved by your inside fan, than out through the exhaust on the top right. If that doesn't help... then you probably are using too large of bulbs for your grow.

my two cents
1...2...3...GROW!
 
J

justparanoid

Guest
I really appreciate the suggestions, I plan to keep working on the vent issues
I replaced the 105 watt bulbs with some 42 watt bulbs but still 90 degrees. I have read that in small grows cabinets can be +10 degrees higher than ambient and its an un-air conditioned closet.

It may turn out I simply cannot grow at this time which will be fine if it is. I swear though, i will try everything before i give up. I'm so tired of shitty brick weed.

What happens when weed is grown in a 90 degree cabinet? guess i will find out if i don't solve this. hehe

JP
 
123grow

123grow

Active Member
90 degrees... it's plausible. It's definitely not impossible, when low to mid 80's are closer to ideal. Chances are, you'll be watering more. If you were to just keep a fan on the plants at all times you would probably be ok to do it. But then again i'm not too sure.

MAybe slightly slower growth, but i don't have any evidence at the moment to support that. l0l

Hey man, the way i see it there is no better information then the kind you got yourself. My first grow was a disaster! Your conditions are much better than mine were. I think it'll work, but i'm known at times to be a major optimist!
 
J

justparanoid

Guest
I tell you what, the one seedling i do have has no problems with growth. I was reading Jorge Cervantes book that MJ grows 1-2 inches per day and i can believe that.

I have the seedling on a light mix of general hydroponics flora series. I grow a lot of peppers and tomatoes indoors so I'm hoping that will come in handy later as the grow continues. its a seedling mix of 440 ppm and the plant really seems to like it.

I have a fan blowing directly on the plants, giving them nice movement strengthening the stems as well as the vent fans. I have some named seeds but am saving those for when i get the kinks worked out.

JP
 
J

justparanoid

Guest
Temperatures are still too high, I'm working on that still. Although i switched to 42 watt bulbs, the temps are still 90 degrees. I believe this is a sign i should change bulbs but not sure what to do in this situation. I discovered a little nutrient burn on my largest plant so i added plain water and brought the solution down.

I saw on Google someone on another site made a cabinet just like mine but used a 200 watt bulb and had temps of 80. So far i have no idea how to duplicate it. So work continues until i can try out my named seeds.

first picture is bag seed
second is short rider
third is bag seed

Thanks for following along.
 

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J

justparanoid

Guest
I thought about that, but i have to light proof it some how and painting the plastic didnt work out so well.Without the reflectors, this cabinet glows like a lantern.

Now that i have the light proofing taken care of the temps are higher. its holding in more heat than it should which makes me think i need a larger exhaust fan. problem with that is, cpu fans do not suck very well, leaving me to wonder what else can be used in a stealth setting.
 
123grow

123grow

Active Member
alternatives to light proofing. Use duct tape or black trash bags or something. I'm sure you could probably find some alternative to the insulation.
 
J

justparanoid

Guest
Yeah, That might be an idea. I wonder if IR blocking tape and aluminum tape would work.. the IR blocking stuff is supposed to block light pretty well from forward looking heat vision. its 4 feet wide and has adhesive on the back. I may rip out the car reflectors and try the tape instead. Its certainly thinner than the reflectors and shouldn't hold heat since its blocking Infra red.

I bought some, just have to pick it up from the office, lazy fedex...
 
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