Balactus - Return of the Grow Journal - Bagseed Edition.

balactus

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone this is my 2nd attempt and creating a grow journal. I tried doing it the way the site intended but it was too complicated for me and before someone starts telling me "Oh but all you gotta do is..." Its fine I am here now and sticking with this. After seeing cl!cks grow journal I wanted to do the same thing.

Anyways so what I have done is created a PC Grow Box from scratch that I have been working on for the past week. Last night I did a lot of electrical work and changing the set up a bit. I had a light trap inside but it was a fail and I didn't wanna build another one. It had tiny leaks that were hard to get to with how I put it together. I installed 2 more fans into it because the heat was simply getting too high in there. The other day I came home and it was at about 100 in there. I'm glad they are still small while I was having the problems. Now with only 1 new exhaust fan it is running at a nice 85 degrees in there. I used the old exhaust that came with the case and taped it to the front to blow air over my bulbs towards the exhaust. I haven't even turned on the 2nd new fan that I stacked onto the exhaust. There was some minor problems with that that I will have to deal with when I get home from work later.


There is the rear, I fit on the aluminum tubing to use as a way to block light, but obviously still not done yet with that. The exhaust fans were from Micro Center and are Aero Cool Shark 120mm fans. Since the sprouts are still on 24/0 I am not too concerned about that. Also the intake is still wide open with no light proofing. But I have it facing into my closet with a black shirt draped over the front.


Here is what the inside looks like at the moment. And yeah I am aware of the books I am using to stack with...I've read a bit of them all. My intake is a 200mm Cooler Master and the fan above it is a 140mm Cooler Master. The lights I am using are 3 CFLs which I don't think is enough for the 3 plants I have in there. I really only planned on growing one and was hoping germinating 3 would save me some time and hopefully because they are 3+ year old seeds they wouldn't work...but they did -__- so now I am probably gonna have to think fast and move flowering up. I dunno how long I should veg. I know they are gonna shoot up with flowering. I am thinking a ScOG would be best. The CFLs btw I am using are 2 6500K 23w and 1 2700K 26w. Depending on how well my 2nd fan does when I run it later. I may look at adding another bulb into there if possible.


I am using Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil and FF Grow Big and Tiger Bloom. I still haven't used any of the Grow Big, not sure when I should. I am not sure if I need more nutrients than this either. I've watched a couple Jorge Cervantes vids as well as have the Grow Bible handy but I haven't read through too much of it yet since I got it in the mail after I started growing and everything.


And this is the first one that had germinated. Already turning a nice green and showing those signature leaves. The others still only have their seed leaves.


And here is some bud and keef I've saved up that I've been smoking while doing this little project. Straight sativa, dunno the name but it keeps me focused and wired..which is why I only had 5 hours of sleeping working on this damn thing all night.


That is the majority of what I can think of putting here right now. If anyone has any questions or comments they would be greatly appreciated. Blaze on

:eyesmoke:
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
Alright time for another lazy update and I say lazy because I really haven't done much since I got home but I just toked and I'm feeling ready to go mess with that electrical again. One fan is still not connected which is awesome because the single exhaust is keeping it at a steady 85 but the PC sitting near the AC all day may have contributed to that a little bit but at least the inside is perfect.

I'm no expert but I felt like they were starting to stretch so I moved them closer to the light a bit. Arrangement of the pots may also be the case because there was an odd man out that wasn't sitting under a bulb. The dish its sitting on kind of makes it difficult but it was the best thing I could find in the house at the time. The 2 in the dixie cups still have the seed wrapping around them below its leaves. Can't seem to break em off myself so I'll just let em do it themselves.


Ah yes my favorite youngling. Getting greener every time I look at it. I was concerned about stretching but I think I've solved it now cause the stem stopped reaching and the leaves are spreading out.


I should have another update sometime tonight/early morning. I gotta do the exhaust but I'm feeling kind of lazy now and don't feel like it. Once I get started it will be okay. I didn't realize how fast these plants grow which is a good thing :). Blaze on.:eyesmoke:
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
awesome ... im tuned in :D
Thanks, your journal helped me get the confidence to build my own. It was a bitch putting it all together but I'm an overachiever/perfectionist with things so I kept looking at details that I probably didn't need. And I STILL have light leaks. Hopefully will have that solved before I go 18/6.
 

Flaming Pie

Well-Known Member
DYNAMITE, DYNAMITE!! It gives you OOOOOOHHH! LITTLE RICHARDS!

Hope you solve your light leaks. have you tried tape? you know you can put a vent hood on.vent hood.jpg
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
Hm what about hermies though? I thought if you give them interrupted darkness at anytime they will hermie? If I am wrong please tell me right away please.

UPDATE: Should have some updated pics of the case. It isn't really much of an update but it took me time to do the exhaust so you must see. Its 2 fans stacked and it sounds like a mini vacuum. I am hoping that when its closed and when the exhaust is fitted on the back with the 2 layers of carbon filtering it will be better muffled. Otherwise I'll probably have to go and get a regulator for voltage and hook them up to that. I haven't let it run yet but I will let it run awhile after I am done and hopefully it doesn't get too cool in there. It was doing a great job. My house is cool though also with the AC blasting all day..even though it was actually a really nice day today.

QUESTION: How soon will I know whether is is a sativa dominant or indica dominant strain? I know you can tell by the leaves and height with sativa being taller with thinner leaves and indica being shorter with fatter leaves but I am wondering when that will become apparent.
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
DYNAMITE, DYNAMITE!! It gives you OOOOOOHHH! LITTLE RICHARDS!

Hope you solve your light leaks. have you tried tape? you know you can put a vent hood on.View attachment 2246575
Any suggestions for the front intake, its one of those gamer towers so the entire front is exposed at the moment. I am just draping something over it right now but again gonna need to have that down pat for flowering.
 

Flaming Pie

Well-Known Member
i did some research, and it looks like your best bet for the exhaust is to put a carbon filter on it.. still looking into the intake fan
 

Flaming Pie

Well-Known Member
gawd this is a hard problem.light trap is one option, another is to make a vent loop from intake to exhaust. but a loop would stop you from being able to keep temps down.
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
Appreciate the help. I'm thinking of ideas as well. I'm working on fitting the 2 pads of filter with the aluminum tubing you see of the whole PC. I also bought a bending elbow piece to aim it down incase I needed to help with light. The front though idk. I saw a couple ideas in threads. I don't wanna restrict airflow. But its difficult to block something so big. Btw I was thinking of adding another CFL in there since I have the increased cooling. Having 3 plants is too much imo for this size grow. I may just induce flowering much early on to move them along. I have plenty of other bag seeds which is a good and bad thing lol. Most would wish they never got seeds.

Plus I forgot to mention I had ordered seeds from Attitude a week ago or more. 2 G13 Pineapple Express, 1 Ministry Northern Lights, and 1 Mazar x Great White Shark freebie. So hopefully the experience I have from this grow will carry over to the next :).
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
gawd this is a hard problem.light trap is one option, another is to make a vent loop from intake to exhaust. but a loop would stop you from being able to keep temps down.
My last attempt at a light trap didn't work out too well -__-. Trying to avoid that. What if I just tape up the inside part of the front of the PC. It comes off of the body. Would that matter if the intake didn't have that direct line of air flow?

Or better yet if I drape some type of black cloth over the intake on the inside off that piece that comes off. Air can still pass through it and should block the light. What do you think?
 

Flaming Pie

Well-Known Member
There is blackout cloth at joann fabrics. if you put on side of fan that is blowing, it could push it out of the way, and when it stops blowing the fabric would fall back down. ideally. maye get some weak as shit magnets to keep it flat against the pc box when fan is not running. but not strong enough to withstand the fan.
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
Hm what do you mean when the fan isn't running? Isn't the fan supposed to be on 24/7 compared to the light. I mean I couldn't not have it on especially when the smell start kickin like 2 mexicans fishing ya know. I just got up and checked on the babies. They look like they've stunted a little because of the heat. I think the AC was doing the regulating as far as cooling. My people left the AC off and now the box has been sitting at a steady 92 :(. Not happy about that at all. Even with the 2 fans on eachother it didn't do anything. And also I tried fitting a carbon filter pad over the exhaust. And air is barely making it out and most the air was being reflected back into the box. So I'm not sure what I should do now. It's a new day and probably gonna spend most of it on fixing this. Joanns I will probably stop by. I'm leaving over the door a crack so that the temp inside can stay down. Just watered the dry one.

Sorry really lazy about updating pictures, just don't see any type of change.

I'm currently germinating two NL seeds from the Ministry. Second day, one seed sprouted it's tap root.
Definitely keep me updated on those :). If you put pictures up in a journal or something I'll def follow. I am really interested to see how those turn out. I chose the NL for the low odor. But then the pineapple express obviously ignoring the smell for the potency :-P.
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
I've been thinking about how I am going to deal with the heat and I think that getting a stronger adapter for the intake as well as the fan above it will help a bit. And I will reattach the 2nd exhaust to the outside of the case. Also anyone have any ideas on a homemade cooling tube. I seen a cool tube once that wasn't a cool tube but more like a sheet of plexi glass or something clear like that sitting right below the light with the fan above intake blowing air through it. I believe if I can get a stronger adapter then it should but just what I need. And then I'll be back at the light leak problem.

Also Flaming Pie, you never answering my question on whether interrupted light makes a diff during vegging. Obviously during flowering but I know that they grow better when they get some period of darkness. And I was planning to slowly shift into a diff light sched for vegging.
 

balactus

Well-Known Member
UPDATE: Got some real ideas on doing a DIY carbon filter rather than using pads because it seems like there is not enough air flow making it through. Should have pics of that up later as well as an updating pics of the seedlings. This heat issue is really bugging me as well. Gonna grab a stronger AC adapter to have a better pull of air from my intake and light cooling fan.
 

Flaming Pie

Well-Known Member
Doesnt matter in veg. I have turned the light on in my florida room to check on the tomato plant during the night. It doesnt seem bothered at all.

If you have small light leak now its ok I would say. its really gonna matter when you hit flowering.
 
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