Al B. FAQt

Al B. Fuct said:

Your temps are moderating rather well, but when air cooled lighting sources its cooling air from inside the room airmass, room airmass temp stability can suffer.

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Whats the most affordable brand inline or blower fan that you've came across and what numbers should I be looking for (cfm)? My hoods arnt as efficient as a tube so obviously Id need a little extra juice. Ill have to cut 4 in holes in my hoods, since they only came with one. That way Ill be able to run a sparate cooling system for the lights, which Ive been wanting for some time now. An addition of cooltubes down the line, that juice will make it ever more efficient. That way I can have a thermostat running my fans eliminating temperature fluctuations due to changing day/night temps.
Thanks once again you magical marijuana wizard.
(ps, is it better to blow, or suck air threw a scrubber & cool tubes series? Your diagram shows blowing? Any reasons.)

bleezyg420 said:

Whats the most affordable brand inline or blower fan that you've came across and what numbers should I be looking for (cfm)? My hoods arnt as efficient as a tube so obviously Id need a little extra juice. Ill have to cut 4 in holes in my hoods, since they only came with one. That way Ill be able to run a sparate cooling system for the lights, which Ive been wanting for some time now. An addition of cooltubes down the line, that juice will make it ever more efficient. That way I can have a thermostat running my fans eliminating temperature fluctuations due to changing day/night temps.
Thanks once again you magical marijuana wizard.
(ps, is it better to blow, or suck air threw a scrubber or cool tubes series? Your diagram shows blowing? Any reasons.)

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Unless it is attached to a filter - blow, dont suck...

Keeps the fan cooler...

exhaust has a carbon filter, and the inline hoods would be free flowing.

Al B. Fuct said:

You should not be able to shake any water out of a cube which is just damp.

If you were using the same size and type of cubes I am, I could give you very precise watering information, but your cubes are a bit different. I'm using plastic wrapped 40mm cubes. They weigh 5g dry and 20-25g when just damp. When using these for cloning in my clonebox with 30C heatmat and thermostatic control to 30C, when supporting a rather large cutting, these cubes need about 8-10ml of water 2x/day. The plastic wrap slows down evaporation from the cube.

Your cubes appear to be smaller, perhaps 25mm and unwrapped. They ought to weigh about 15-18g when just damp. The lack of wrapping may cause them to dry out faster than my cubes, but you are trying to raise seedlings, not clones, which need a lot more water by comparison. I would use a syringe to give your cubes about 10ml of water, check to be sure that you can not shake any water out with a snap of the wrist (like flicking a yoyo). Put them on the heatmat and check them about every 6h until you get an idea of when 50% of the water weight is gone.

You should be using H2O2, 50% grade at 1ml/L in your watering solution.



well, um, thanks for that, but I sure wouldn't take a bullet in the ass for me.

'Thanks Al' is plenty, mkay?

yep, fine.

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Thanks again Al I think Ive got the idea now of how the environment for the seeds should be Ill do exactly as youve instructed. About the H2O2 its difficult to purchase this in U.K., we had a discussion about this in a recent post (https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/110660-u-k-growers-where-can-2.html)

Since then Ive purchased H2O2 at the strength of 17.5% its the highest I could find from the web (Liquid Oxygen h2o2 - Hydrohobby Hydroponics UK)

But is it ok to use this for the seeds at this stage?
And how much?

iloveit said:

Since then Ive purchased H2O2 at the strength of 17.5% its the highest I could find from the web (Liquid Oxygen h2o2 - Hydrohobby Hydroponics UK)

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If you email this guy Philip at [email protected] , he will sell you big 25 litre drums of 35% grade for £54 plus vat. I paid via bank transfer, and had the drum in 2 days. I would recommend this company. I used to use that 17.5%. I used to buy it through Ebay, but this 25L drum works out far far cheaper.

Al, sorry for answering questions on your thread, i thought i'd like to help this guy out.

I forgot to add that i'm from the UK as well

bleezyg420 said:

Whats the most affordable brand inline or blower fan that you've came across and what numbers should I be looking for (cfm)?

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You need a 150mm blower that delivers about 200CFM. Prices vary, shop around. The 'duct fans' as found at hdwe stores are cheap but not terribly efficient nor durable due to cheap stamped impeller blades and sleeve-bearing motors. Look for fans with ball-bearing motors.

My hoods arnt as efficient as a tube so obviously Id need a little extra juice. Ill have to cut 4 in holes in my hoods

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I'd use 6" (150mm) fans & ducting instead of 4" (100mm).

(ps, is it better to blow, or suck air threw a scrubber & cool tubes series? Your diagram shows blowing? Any reasons.)

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yep, as I said a page back...

Al B. Fuct said:

If your air cooled lighting has no inlet duct, the fan must be on the outlet, placing the fan motor in the warm air stream. It's better for the fan motor's longer term reliability to push air into the lighting so the fan's motor is running in a cool air stream.

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bleezyg420 said:

exhaust has a carbon filter, and the inline hoods would be free flowing.

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The filter will need a centrifugal blower. Axials don't do well pushing into a high static pressure load caused by obstructions. Pressure leaks backward through the gaps between an axial's impeller blades. You will not get anywhere near an axial's CFM rating if it is pushing into a high static pressure. Centrifs are designed to develop some pressurejust for the purpose of filters and long ducts, or those with more tahn a couple 90 deg bends.

iloveit said:

About the H2O2

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see fitzy's comment (thanks fitzy. )

But is it ok to use this for the seeds at this stage?
And how much?

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yes, fine to use. Use the 35% grade at 1.7ml/L. Keep a bucket of watering soln, dose the soln with H2O2 when filling the bucket and again every 3-4 days to keep it pathogen free.

fitzyno1 said:

i thought i'd like to help this guy out.

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Helps if you know which way he came in.

Thanks for the local availability data.

Hey Al, i got my flood and drain system yesterday an put it together if u fancy commenting on it have a look at my journal. I handwatered yesterday about 4 hours before lights off and i also gave them a little squirt this morning about an hour into lights on.

Should i be floodig as well as handwatering to get some moisture i there?? And if so 3x during lights o sound ok to start with??

Also, im gonna do my tank of sauce in a bit how much nutes u think i should start off with?? I was thinikin bout 0.4ec which is about 600ppm, does this sound ok???

Also al if u dont mind lending your opinion how do i wire up this primair fan controller?? I know how to wire stuff up i just dont know how to get to the wiring, i think i just need to unscrew the connector on the box but i dont wanna break it, any ideas??



Whe u get a min al if you could try and assist me,thanks

fitzyno1 said:

If you email this guy Philip at [email protected] , he will sell you big 25 litre drums of 35% grade for £54 plus vat. I paid via bank transfer, and had the drum in 2 days. I would recommend this company. I used to use that 17.5%. I used to buy it through Ebay, but this 25L drum works out far far cheaper.

Al, sorry for answering questions on your thread, i thought i'd like to help this guy out.

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Ive been looking for a higher concentrate and have been unsucessful in doing so until now thanks a mil, sales are gonna be through the roof for Philip now that its mentioned on RIU.

By the way now that I already have the 17.5% H2O2 I just want to finish it off, how many ml per Litre did you use in your grow?

Cheers mate.

Al B. Fuct said:

You need a 150mm blower that delivers about 200CFM. Prices vary, shop around. The 'duct fans' as found at hdwe stores are cheap but not terribly efficient nor durable due to cheap stamped impeller blades and sleeve-bearing motors. Look for fans with ball-bearing motors.


I'd use 6" (150mm) fans & ducting instead of 4" (100mm).



yep, as I said a page back...





The filter will need a centrifugal blower. Axials don't do well pushing into a high static pressure load caused by obstructions. Pressure leaks backward through the gaps between an axial's impeller blades. You will not get anywhere near an axial's CFM rating if it is pushing into a high static pressure. Centrifs are designed to develop some pressurejust for the purpose of filters and long ducts, or those with more tahn a couple 90 deg bends.

see fitzy's comment (thanks fitzy. )


yes, fine to use. Use the 35% grade at 1.7ml/L. Keep a bucket of watering soln, dose the soln with H2O2 when filling the bucket and again every 3-4 days to keep it pathogen free.



Helps if you know which way he came in.

Thanks for the local availability data.

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Nice one Al Ill let you know how it goes cheers.

Hey Al, I hope this message finds you doing well. As ussual I am having a problem that I think I know the answer to. You know me your royal pain in the ass. My seedlings have been doing well until yesterday when I noticed some small brown spots on one of the leaves actually I think it is on 2 leaves on the same plant the other one looks to be ok. I think I have been over watering and that is what has caused this problem so I transfered them to my hydro unit and have not yet turned on the water to them. I will tell you that the roots are nice and white but the cubes are really moist so I am waiting till they dry out to turn on water I have them now under my haylide bulb so hopefully it won't take long for them too dry out will check them every 3 hours to see how they are doing. Well have a good one bro and burn one for me the Ole Hippy DUGOUT

iloveit said:

sales are gonna be through the roof for Philip now that its mentioned on RIU.

By the way now that I already have the 17.5% H2O2 I just want to finish it off, how many ml per Litre did you use in your grow?

Cheers mate.

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Yeah, tell Philip i sent you and the next time he might knock off a bit of commission for me LOL, only joking.

I used 3ml/L of 17.5%, i now use 1.5ml/L of 35%. The 35% H202 is very strong, it burns your hands and leaves a white residue thats hard to get off. Wear gloves!
Now that i have this 35%, i fill as if i had been ripped off by purchasing the 17.5% gear, cause it would last no time.

Al, i know you said to use 1.7ml/L, but the 1.5ml/L is easy to work out, and it's doing the job for me. It's money very well spent.

Hi Al,

I am trying to figure out the ventilation for my closet grow. The cubic feet are 120 (3'x5'x8'). I am going to have a 200cfm exhaust fan at the top of the closet venting out into the attic. I don't have the ability to put a passive intake in the wall or closet door because I need the grow room to be totally stealth. I thought originally that I could just let air get sucked in under the door, but in order to control light leaks I have darkroom cloth covering the inside of the door jam, so I am pretty sure that will restrict the necessary amount of air from getting into the closet. My plan is to have an intake fan bringing air in from the outside of the house, through a vent in the attic, pulled through ducting and then down into the bottom of my closet from the top. The total length of the ducting will be 25 feet. I was thinking of getting a 170 cfm can fan, but then thought the length of the ducting would reduce the efficiency of the fan to a point that wouldn't work. I am going to be using a 400 watt hps for a 2'x3' grow area.

What cfm fan do you think I would need in order to blow air through the duct and into the closet? Would an inline can fan or squirrel cage fan be better for this? Would prefer the sound to be quiet as possible as well. I don't want to lose the vacum and have any odor leak out into the room either.

Al Thanks for the cool tube and venting diagram my question is I have a shelf above the cool tubes that I want to put the carbon filter there instead of having exposed can I still run a intake fan on the bottom of the closet and then cut a hole under the shelf can i put my exhaust fan and filter there will I still have that negative static pressure and most important will it be effective.

The cool tube fan I also need it inside the closet can I hang it with a bungee? and also would I have to connect the the other side if the cool tube to the filter also or can it vent outside worried about smell

What size res should i use have a 2x2 tray. I was reading one of your post saying your having problems with the canna nutes what nutes would you recommend me using? how high/and time should I flood the trays using perlite thanks again Al

ldnsharkkid said:

Hey Al, i got my flood and drain system yesterday an put it together if u fancy commenting on it have a look at my journal.

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I had a look; don't use netpots in this system. Replace them with standard solid wall pots with drain holes, as you might use for soil.

Should i be floodig as well as handwatering to get some moisture i there?? And if so 3x during lights o sound ok to start with??

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If the RW cubes with roots poking out of their bottoms are 1/2" above the flood level, the roots will find the damp pellets with no problems.

I'd flood 5x/lights-on initially, increasing to every 2h, for as long as it takes to raise the flood level to the overflow, avoiding watering in the last 2h of lights-on unless the plants are so large that they will wilt without being watered in the last 2h.

600ppm, does this sound ok???

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yep, fine.

Also al if u dont mind lending your opinion how do i wire up this primair fan controller?? I know how to wire stuff up i just dont know how to get to the wiring, i think i just need to unscrew the connector on the box but i dont wanna break it, any ideas??

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your guess is as good as mine. Without having it in front of me, I can't really tell you anything you don't already know. Looks like strain reliefs instead of connectors.

iloveit said:

I already have the 17.5% H2O2 I just want to finish it off, how many ml per Litre

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Use the 17.5% H2O2 at 3.4ml/L.

Dugout said:

I noticed some small brown spots on one of the leaves

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got pix?

fitzyno1 said:

it burns your hands and leaves a white residue thats hard to get off. Wear gloves!

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You betcha- and eye protection, too. H2O2 will give you a nasty but temporary burn to skin but could do much worse to your eyes.

The white 'residue' from an H2O2 burn isn't actually a residue. It's oxygen bubbles being formed in the upper layers of the epidermis. It goes away by itself when all the H2O2 is completely reacted with any organic matter it has encountered. If you do get some full strength H2O2 on your skin, flush the area with plain water quickly to reduce the discomfort.

Al, i know you said to use 1.7ml/L, but the 1.5ml/L is easy to work out, and it's doing the job for me. It's money very well spent.

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If that rate works, by all means, use it.

fred1 said:

I am pretty sure that will restrict the necessary amount of air from getting into the closet.

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I'm pretty sure you're right.

My plan is to have an intake fan bringing air in from the outside of the house, through a vent in the attic, pulled through ducting and then down into the bottom of my closet from the top. The total length of the ducting will be 25 feet. I was thinking of getting a 170 cfm can fan, but then thought the length of the ducting would reduce the efficiency of the fan to a point that wouldn't work.

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If your exhaust is a centrifugal, this should work fine when the door is closed. The intake blower will be assisted by the low pressure condition created in the room by the centrif exhaust.

HAZEOHOLIC said:

my question is I have a shelf above the cool tubes that I want to put the carbon filter there instead of having exposed can I still run a intake fan on the bottom of the closet and then cut a hole under the shelf can i put my exhaust fan and filter there will I still have that negative static pressure and most important will it be effective.

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Sorry, you want to put the exhaust and carbon filter under the grow? I don't quite understand what you're saying.

The cool tube fan I also need it inside the closet can I hang it with a bungee?

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sure.

and also would I have to connect the the other side if the cool tube to the filter also or can it vent outside worried about smell

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If the cooltube is sourcing 'unscented' air from outside the room, there's no need for filtration on the cooltube duct line.

What size res should i use have a 2x2 tray.

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about 5L per plant.

I was reading one of your post saying your having problems with the canna nutes

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No problem with the Canna nutes per se; I am having trouble with Canna's PK-13-14 additive and have sought their counsel on dosage.

what nutes would you recommend me using?

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Canna.

how high/and time should I flood the trays using perlite

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to within 1/2" of the bottom of RW cubes if used for cloning.The flood duration should only be long enough to raise the flood level to the overflow, then shut the pump off.

Hey Al sorry no pics don't have a camera yet but they are small brown spots smaller than a pin head and just a couple so far. Do you think it might be the water I know I have over watered hopefully putting them in hydro unit without water till the rockwool cube dries out then turn my drip system on I know you don't like them but it is all I have for now. Anyway I don't know wether you can help or have suggestions without pictures but I thought you might have some ideas or suggestions. Anyway thanks a lot for everything Bro and burn one for me The Ole Hippy DUGOUT

What up Al. Hey, if you don't mind can you hook me up with the vaporizer link...Thanxs.

Still killin it Al, you have the patience of a rock....Or a saint, no a rock will do..Keep up the community service Al, you are the man..or the rock..a speaking rock, that is a rock that can speak. Ok I'm done here.

Dugout said:

Hey Al sorry no pics don't have a camera yet but they are small brown spots smaller than a pin head and just a couple so far. Do you think it might be the water

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Could be, could be other things too, just can't tell without pix, sorry,

Chumlie said:

What up Al. Hey, if you don't mind can you hook me up with the vaporizer link...Thanxs.

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There's no thread for that one, just a post about it:

https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/12079-homemade-vaporizer.html#post119569

daddychrisg said:

Still killin it Al, you have the patience of a rock....Or a saint, no a rock will do..Keep up the community service Al, you are the man..or the rock..a speaking rock, that is a rock that can speak. Ok I'm done here.

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Its cool...Thanks again.