First closet grow

Hello, I just started a closet grow with 2x White Widow from cannabisseeds.com. they sprouted on Oct 28, and now one looks healthy but one looks like it's struggling. I'm using miraclegro soil and 2x 12 watt LED red blue spectrum grow lights. I'm using 24/0 lighting from seed and for veg stage. I plan to switch to 12/12 lighting in about a week. Any tips greatly appreciated, as i am a beginner. One question I had is should I order the 24w led red blue grow lights or will 12w be enough to flower? Thanks

Pictures taken Nov. 9

Pictures taken November 13, 2015. Plant 1 growing vigorously. Plant 2 looks small and mutated.

I would consider switching to a couple 42w cfls. 50w/square foot is a general rule of thumb. for flower (I recommend) to mix your spectrum 2-3:1, 2700K and 6500K cfls. If 42w is a bit much, consider going to 23 watters. throw a small fan in there to keep a nice airflow around the plants. Your not going to want to flower those things with 12w blurple ufos.

Morbid Angel said:

I would consider switching to a couple 42w cfls. 50w/square foot is a general rule of thumb. for flower (I recommend) to mix your spectrum 2-3:1, 2700K and 6500K cfls. If 42w is a bit much, consider going to 23 watters. throw a small fan in there to keep a nice airflow around the plants. Your not going to want to flower those things with 12w blurple ufos.

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I took your advice and switched the LED blurples out for 2x 23W 3500K CFLs but I will go buy some 42W tomorrow. Here is a couple pictures of my grow tent in my closet. I have 1 small fan and 2 hanging light sockets. I need to buy one more light socker in order to do a mixed spectrum setup. Thanks for the tips

I switched the lights again to 2x 42Watt 2700k CFLs, that's all the store had. Will these suffice until I can get a 6000k? Here is the current setup.

Update Nov 17, 2015 (day 20 of growth)
400w HPS/MH on the way.

Update Nov 27 still using 2x cfl 42w

This upcoming week I will be setting my tent to 12/12 and I will be opening up my home made veg chamber for clones and seedlings. The veg chamber is a rubber maid 35gal container it seals light and air almost completely, lined with tin foil. Since it is air tight, will the lack of airflow kill my seedlings and clones via suffocation, or are air tight veg chambers a popular system? Will it work? Thanks. Going to run 4x 42w cfls in it

You haven't thought about heat.

4x42w cfl lights are still going to kick out a fair bit of heat, I am running 5x30w cfls in a small cupboard and even with an extractor fan I am nudging 30c on a mild day ( I grow in a concrete unheated garage, so same air temp as outside)

If you are growing indoors you will end up cooking your seedlings without some way for the heat to escape

It's not oregano said:

You haven't thought about heat.

4x42w cfl lights are still going to kick out a fair bit of heat, I am running 5x30w cfls in a small cupboard and even with an extractor fan I am nudging 30c on a mild day ( I grow in a concrete unheated garage, so same air temp as outside)

If you are growing indoors you will end up cooking your seedlings without some way for the heat to escape

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Good point, so I might use 2x 42w Cfls, but should they be able to grow in there or would they die from no air?

I am still on my first grow, so in no way an expert, but most grows have some form of air exchange going on. I would imagine no air is not advisable, but I am happy to be proved wrong.

Could you put a PC fan at the top and a hole at the bottom as a passive intake. Better than nothing and cheap.

It's not oregano said:

Could you put a PC fan at the top and a hole at the bottom as a passive intake. Better than nothing and cheap.

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This would be possible, but I think it depends on how much light seepage it would create

I have an old PC laying around and I had the idea that I could use it as a veg chamber instead of the rubber maid. It measures 16"x7.5"x15"tall. Would this old computer work? I haven't even finished taking it all apart yet.

Oregano's point about heat is very valid. Four 40w cfls had my wardrobe at 85°F before i installed my exhaust fan (and i still have 8 more to go in...plus 2 T5 fixtures!). In that small of a space with no exhaust/intake you'll be looking at critically high temps and humidity. There are a few ways to block light from escaping through your vents, it'll depend on if you want to keep it low budget or spend 30-40 bucks on making a small carbon filter with a vent fan and ducting (works really nice).

There are some cool ways to block light at a passive intake (just Google or search it here), or you can always put a few small holes in a place that will face a wall and put something on the interior in front of them to block most light.

Ill definitely check back on this to see what you've come up with.

TJ baba said:

I have an old PC laying around and I had the idea that I could use it as a veg chamber instead of the rubber maid. It measures 16"x7.5"x15"tall. Would this old computer work? I haven't even finished taking it all apart yet. View attachment 3554015

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My opinion, it'll be a bit small but it could work. Here is what my veg/clone room looks line from the outside. Can probably find some of these on craigslist for cheap.

What exactly is that? Also how many mothers can you fit in it?

Im probably going to end up using the computer cab for seedlings and new cuttings, but I will also set up and use the rubber maid to house Mother Plants Only.

I need to incorporate whisper quiet fans to my system particularly the rubber maid, are either of these viable?
I don't mind it being stanky, but cannot be noisy!

It's a stereo speaker with a dummy plate in place of the 15" woofer and a louvered vent in place of the 4" driver. The 4" vent is the exhaust, and the 2" port on the speaker is an intake.

It's dependant on size, my mothers I'm keeping small. So 1 mom and 2 clones in each is the max.

Using the pc case for cuttings and Rubbermaid for moms should be good in my novice opinion. Lol.

I got my computer cab set up, and I'm planning to use solo cups or cut in half solo cups (for more vertical growth room) it looks like I can stuff 6-8 cups in there if I need to