2011 First Time CFL Grow Box

Hey guys, this is me and a mate's first time growing indoors in a box with cfls. we are currently running 3x24w cool whites over about 12 seedlings, which will be reduced to 4-5 plants veg (and we will be adding either another 3-4 of those bulbs in the following weeks or replacing them with a 100-200w single CFL)
the box is only intended for 2 flowering plants, assuming the expected outcome is achieved (2 males and 2 females, but 3 females and 1 male would be sick
There are two 120mm fans running at the moment, one outtake near the lights for heat exhaust and one intake at the bottom which is rustling the leaves of the sprouts (which will hopefully promote good stem growth)
There are currently 2 hydroponic sprouts and about 10 seedlings in dirt (separate ofc) and the lights have been lowered to 2-3 inches above the tops of the seedlings.
We will be going for 4 hydro veg plants under 6-7 24w bulbs (or 1 large CFL as forementioned, depending on the cost) and i will be setting up an automated watering system for the nutrient solution (veg and flowering solutions respectively)

any feedback is much appreciated and pics are below, so enjoy!

Looks neat, How tall is the chamber?

about 5 feet tall, two feet deep and two feet wide
perfect for 2 flowering plants
here is a diagram of the expected finished product (which includes a cupboard door that looks inconspicuous)

kumar420 said:

about 5 feet tall, two feet deep and two feet wide
perfect for 2 flowering plants
here is a diagram of the expected finished product (which includes a cupboard door that looks inconspicuous)
View attachment 1575683

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I cant believe u did that lumen rating diagram ahah sick man like it were gonna be cookin in a few weeks

update: removed all of the sprouts in dirt as they were looking a bit peaky (currently outside) and replaced them with germed seeds in rockwool
suncoast added an 18W 10000K T8 lamp in addition to the 3 existing bulbs (won't hurt to add it in since its way above flowering spectrum) and will be adding a few more CFLs in the weeks to come
nutrients will be started in 3-4 days for the existing sprout, and about 5-10 days for the fresh seeds
outdoor plants have been fed frugally with SeaSol just to give them an extra perk

will be posting pics as soon as i get a decent camera in here

looks good man, I would make a reflector or something to fill that dead air above the plants, with the lights hanging like they are it looks like you might be loosing some of the light up and you can definetly move the lights closer, the cfls have optimum penetration of 2-3 inches.

bill johnson said:

looks good man, I would make a reflector or something to fill that dead air above the plants, with the lights hanging like they are it looks like you might be loosing some of the light up and you can definetly move the lights closer, the cfls have optimum penetration of 2-3 inches.

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yeah what we have done is add another reflector right above the lights that limits the usage if the cab to about 1/2 the vertical space. I don't think i'll need to move the lights, i checked on them this morning and they are about 2.5" from the base of the globes (sprouting a new pair of leaves every day almost!) but thanks for the advice nonetheless

judging by the leaves and plant height, 2 are definitely indica dominant and the other 2 look like a partial indica/sativa combination (unless they happen to shoot up and get stretchier between now and flowering)
any suggestions on vegging time left? as i stated before, cab is 5'x'2'x2 (hopefully will fit 2 flowering plants if i flower them at about 2-2.5 feet right?) they have been growing since the end of april-start of may (started with 3 CFL's, added the fourth a week and a half ago)
personally i thought a month, but at the rate they are growing it might even be three and a half weeks (also depending on how much work i get, and how much money suncoast has, the eventual plan is 7-8 24w globes and another 120mm fan extracting, will be in place for flowering)

id keep em down for a bit veggin at like a foot at most then flower and theyl fill right out mofo

true, i wasnt sure what height i should flower them at since i havent really had any experience with flowering indica's, only sativas

my first grow i let them get to 2 foot in my room,flowered them and they went mental man.Was told by grower buds that i shoulda done it at 1 foot and well bushy.
But every1 is difrnt no right wrong way mofo

Hi just wondered how u connected them lights to that power source Wts the adapter called?

its called a power surge protected adapter, and i think i got it from a hardware store or something
its basically 4 surge protected outlets designed for using power tools with, but it works fairly well in that lighting setup
the disadvantage is that it only has those 4 outlets, but on the plus side it also has a circuit breaker that triggers if there is a surge
when the next lights go in i'll probably be using something similar for the other 4

edit: should probably also mention that i'll probably be LST'ing these suckers very soon, just to keep them nice and short and bushy (and also to help with side and bottom canopy lighting

kumar420 said:

its called a power surge protected adapter, and i think i got it from a hardware store or something
its basically 4 surge protected outlets designed for using power tools with, but it works fairly well in that lighting setup
the disadvantage is that it only has those 4 outlets, but on the plus side it also has a circuit breaker that triggers if there is a surge
when the next lights go in i'll probably be using something similar for the other 4

edit: should probably also mention that i'll probably be LST'ing these suckers very soon, just to keep them nice and short and bushy (and also to help with side and bottom canopy lighting

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nice one! they look healthy

cops rocked up at my house last night and had a look around while me and my mates were all out.... suss shit
the back door was apparently open and one of my mates up the road saw them come in, ran around the back and managed to clear all the bongs and bowls out of the house and take them upstairs while the pigs were poking around trying to open the door to the garage
is this even legal for them to do that? NOBODY was at home and there was nothing suspicious going on at the time.... unless they had a warrant
paranoid as all hell right now

kumar420 said:

cops rocked up at my house last night and had a look around while me and my mates were all out.... suss shit
the back door was apparently open and one of my mates up the road saw them come in, ran around the back and managed to clear all the bongs and bowls out of the house and take them upstairs while the pigs were poking around trying to open the door to the garage
is this even legal for them to do that? NOBODY was at home and there was nothing suspicious going on at the time.... unless they had a warrant
paranoid as all hell right now

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No fuck you should be paranoid. Stop growing now, move it out, DO SOMETHING. They obviously know something is up, if you had bongs and bowls sitting around I'd guess your room/house has SOME marijuana smell.

well the cop interest has died down (apparently) had no trouble for a month or two now
my guess is that they were checking shit out because of the sheer number of noise complaints (had some gnarly events here haha) and there was a complaint about some fuckwits that came round and started harassing the neighbors when they were hell pissed
setup is doing well, i have some new pics to upload, which i will get around to soon

EDIT: PICS! most shots are of the indica, there are 2 sativas in there as well (they are nice but not nearly as impressive haha)

bump, anybody got any idea when that indica is ready to harvest? those last pics are from more than a week ago, the main cola and heads are covered in red hairs and the THC is turning amber (from what i can see with a magnifying glass anyway)
my guess is between 1 and 2 weeks, should i start flushing soon?

Looks great man. Yea i would start flushing if you think you have 2 weeks left. They look really healthy. Good grow man.

update: have pulled down 2/3 plants (both of the sativas) both are unfortunately loaded with seeds (fucking herms!) but there is a decent amount of bud and the kief made some tasty goodies (brownies, yum)
the indica is still going, running it dry now till it yellows out (did the final flush yesterday, with warm water to dissolve any crystallized salts in my hydroton) and the leaves are starting to light green
frosty as hell, covered in red hairs, the heads are now purple and when i rub my fingers on a bud/leaf and sniff it, smells like real chronic lemon
should be good smoke!