First grow well underway, HELP and a few tips please from the PRO'S !!

Hi and thanks in advance for any help.
Newbie, 3 outside since august in a greenhouse, all good - sent inside yesterday, set up is.......

1 x DR80 Dark Room Grow Tent
1 x 250 watt Lighting System
1 x 250 watt Metal Halide Bulb
1 x 250 watt Son T Plus Bulb
2 x Easy Roll Light Hangers
1 x 2 Way Contactor
1 x Grasslin Analogue Timer
1 x RVK100 Extraction Fan
1 x 100mm Rhino Carbon Filter
5 x metres 100mm Ducting
3 x 100mm Ducting Clips
1 x BioBizz Grow 1 litre
1 x BioBizz Bloom 1 litre
1 x 50 litres BioBizz All-Mix Soil
1 x Square Tray
4 x 11 litres Square Pots

So,these are on a 12/12 just now, (had a very unfortunate break on one of them the whole top broke off, snipped it back and 2 tops growing or 2 shoots? will see what happens to that). Been using biobizz grow, now with bloom and topmax according to the chart, and hopefully these babies will be ready in 6/8 weeks. I want to get some more on the go now, what would you suggest, as I want to get others going simultaneously, but worried that the 12/12 and the flowering bulb will not be sufficient for many of my choice strains, big bud, kush etc, or can I get away with lowryders/autoflowering, or do they need more than 12/12 ?? Obviously I want to time it right so xmas will be a good one if you get my drift ! I wanna get some autoflowering 8 week complete quick seeds to run alongside.
There are 3 on the go, 1 broken top, 1 is 99% ok with a couple of burn marks I think on a few leaves, nothing major, the other seems to be perfect. Crap pic I know but camera image flickers with the light on so hard to show, busted one in front, best one back left, should I put foil over the soil for reflection, will this help at all? Also, temps seem to be a tad low, right now with lights on it is reading 69.8 f, humidity63%, outside tent room tent is 79.8f, my sensor is hanging at back middle at canopy level, i have one of the air flaps open at the bottom of the tent, as the negative pressure is too much when sealed from the extract fan. I have a desk fan in there on floor on 24/7. is an inlet fan that imperative or am I ok with what I have? Is it right that I need to get humidity down to 30% during flowering stage? if so, easiest way to do that would be? Any help guys would be well appreciated, thanks in advance, and so much respect to all the peeps on here, learnt sooo much

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Hey Ron, welcome to RUI!

"should I put foil over the soil for reflection, will this help at all?"

No, it's overkill for reflection. It will make things a bit brighter but the trade off of developing mould in your bucket's always moist soil isn't worth the trade. There are better, easier ways to improve reflection. Your tent will take care of reflection fine.

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"temps seem to be a tad low, right now with lights on it is reading 69.8 f, humidity63%, outside tent room tent is 79.8f, my sensor is hanging at back middle at canopy level, i have one of the air flaps open at the bottom of the tent, as the negative pressure is too much when sealed from the extract fan."

That's good. Not too cold and most importantly not too hot.

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"I have a desk fan in there on floor on 24/7. is an inlet fan that imperative or am I ok with what I have?"

An air inlet is important to reduce risk of mould by changing the moist air continuously and to feed fresh CO2 from your house to your plants. See Equipment - Ventilation in the Weed Science ebook download at the bottom of this post. I find it better to draw air from the roof rather than push it from the floor.

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"Is it right that I need to get humidity down to 30% during flowering stage? if so, easiest way to do that would be?"

There is a theory that low humidity causes more trichome production to protect the leaves, sound but not widely tested.

Lower humidity will reduce risk of mould in your buds.

The easiest way to control humidity is to make a ventilation system that draws air from your grow room and pulls CO2 rich air in from your living area. 2X the CO2 as outdoors. Have your air inlet under an air floor (Weed Science again - equipment - air floor) so the CO2 is fed to the stoma under the leaves and the stale air under the canopy is pushed up and then pulled out of the grow room through your inline vortex fan.

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Your 250 watt lights will have very little penetration into the canopy (6"-8"), keep your plants very short with stem training or your yield and potency will be reduced. Stem Training and Light chapters.

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Is your Grasslin timer for heavy duty wattage or a house unit?

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For more yield and potency, less watering, consider 5 gallon buckets (20 litre) instead of 11 litre containers. I prefer round to square because the buckets are taller with less surface area on the top for evaporation through the soil and there is slightly more usable space (moist) for the root ball. Root pruning chapter.

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Weed Science download

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Dude, what a response, thank you ! Will now be reading through that, grasslin timer is only on light, came with the kit so it must be ok, contacter has ballast.......how much difference would a 400w hps make? thanks again, I am sure will have more queries ! Ez

double post

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- Your tent is 31" x 31" outside, fits a 24" x 24" tray perfectly.

- 4 - 5 square feet

- we need 50 watts HID per square foot for best flowering

- Your 250 watt will do fine if you keep your plants 12" - 14" tall, easy to do

- You need a vortex fan to draw heat out, with that small area even a 250 watt HID will cook your plants.

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You're set up looks good, except for needing an inline vortex fan.



http://www.nehydro.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5_19

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DarkRoom DR80 Dimensions:
Assembled 31" wide x 31" deep x 63" tall
Dismantled and bagged 0.4' wide x 1.0' deep x 2.8' tall
Weight 16 lbs.

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I beleive you should change your exhaust fan into an intake fan and channel it in over the lighting where most of the heat is. Be sure they're is no danger of water droplets falling on your light by placing the intake vent accordingly. Then you can leave the flap down but not fastened to serve as the exhaust port. The increased air pressure will help your plants breath easier. Another 250w of hps lighting could be recommended, otherwise with your present configuration you could have your new growth buds turn a bit yellow towards the end of the grow. And one more thing; "should I put foil over the soil for reflection?" In high tech grow-ops white reflective plastic is placed around the base of the plants because might eggs are highly sensitive to light and these places use clay gravel and lava rock to grow their weed so there is no problem with fungus and mold by doing this.

Thanks bird, what about the carbon filter though? If i understand you right, if i use the fan sucking air from out the tent via ducting through top blowing onto light (which btw is not that hot), where is carbon used? I think I need another inline fan to suck in co2 at the bottom. would it suffice at the moment to just have another duct going out of the tent by itself, would that be ok
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what about leaving the door of the tent open for half hour a few times a day,or with all four flaps open would that suffice for air intake or is that pointless?

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Ron you need to build a ducting system to draw air out of your air filter - the air filter is in a container - air is drawn into your container from your tent. It's a way to use the carbon filter properly while drawing air from the top of the tent rather than pushing it in. Download the Equipment chapter from Weed Science.



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A good ducting system will allow you to control the temp instead of letting it control you. I always want to control as many variables as possible when i'm playing mother nature. It's all going to help in the end.

thanks guys, if i get some new seeds germinated next week, can i put them straight into 12/12? at the back of the grow tent, in a propogator, or would it be better to have a sep veg room? at the moment i have filter set up to fan sucking air and blowing out of duct of tent, desk fan on floor at mo, all i need is inline for the bottom, would it be ok just have a piece of duct on the floor from tent for inline air, or is another inline fan crucial?

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"can i put them straight into 12/12? at the back of the grow tent, in a propogator, or would it be better to have a sep veg room?"

A separate grow room. Plants from seed take around 5 weeks to sexually mature (most strains), until then you are vegging inefficiently under an hps on 12/12.

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"at the moment i have filter set up to fan sucking air and blowing out of duct of tent, desk fan on floor at mo, all i need is inline for the bottom, would it be ok just have a piece of duct on the floor from tent for inline air, or is another inline fan crucial?"

One fan on the outlet is perfect, the inlet is passive. An air floor will rid the need of your desk fan.

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ok, nice one, i have no space for separate room, so as this is first day of flowering cycle for my 3, shall i go back to veg tomorrow, wait until next week to get new seeds, germ them etc for a few weeks on 18/6 all in the same place? should i transplant to the biggest pot/bucket available? does it work that the bigger the pot, the bigger the yield? i have kept them in the ones from greenhouse, not used the 11L ones yet, see pic at top of posting....nice one again for your help, your ebook is incredibley helpful !!

dude, would it suffice to use a small wardrobe with a t5 fluro bulb and no fan etc or is a full set up and fan again crucial for clones and seedling room?
the biobizz chart shows what u need per litre of water. is tap water a no no? should i boil water then leave it t cool down, is that better? is a litre mix used per pot/plant, or do i use one litre for all 3 ? i know these are prob really dumb questions but you are the man and I am a mere noobie !! thanks so much man

would this be okay for the dehumidifier, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-x-Interior-...ooling_Air&hash=item4147b810d4#ht_1607wt_2420

sorry loading you now with quickies I hope !! can i have my inline fan hanging to the bottom of tent, attach duct and feed out for the incoming air? I cannot do airfloor as i have tent, so will have to stick with deskfan on floor of tent..........

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"I cannot do airfloor as i have tent, so will have to stick with deskfan on floor of tent"

4 plastic milk crates in the tent for the air floor, the air inlet below the crate tops.

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"can i have my inline fan hanging to the bottom of tent, attach duct and feed out for the incoming air?"

I'm not sure what you mean. Suck the air out of the bottom of the tent?

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"would it suffice to use a small wardrobe with a t5 fluro bulb and no fan etc or is a full set up and fan again crucial for clones and seedling room?"

Yes, that would be perfect. A light proof cabinet isn't necessary, just good light reflection.

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"a full set up and fan again crucial for clones and seedling room?"

No, not near so important as veg. You could even get away with LED for veg.

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"the biobizz chart shows what u need per litre of water. is tap water a no no? should i boil water then leave it t cool down, is that better? is a litre mix used per pot/plant, or do i use one litre for all 3 ?"

Any water is good so long as you vent the chlorine and there is no mineral build up. Reverse Osmosis water is the best, boiling tap water will not help other than to vent chlorine.

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"i have no space for separate room, so as this is first day of flowering cycle for my 3, shall i go back to veg tomorrow, wait until next week to get new seeds, germ them etc for a few weeks on 18/6 all in the same place?"

"3 outside since august in a greenhouse, all good - sent inside yesterday"

I'd leave them in flower if they're large enough for flower, and veg the new ones in a separate area.

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"should i transplant to the biggest pot/bucket available? does it work that the bigger the pot, the bigger the yield?"

Yes, I like 5 gallon buckets for veg. The bigger the root system (to within reason) the bigger the yield. The root system is your mining operation for raw materials, the plant the factory, the bud your product. The plant's genetics works to balance the three, larger roots will result in more potent and more bud.

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nice one thanks, few more below hopefully in purple !!!

Hobbes said:

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"I cannot do airfloor as i have tent, so will have to stick with deskfan on floor of tent"

4 plastic milk crates in the tent for the air floor, the air inlet below the crate tops.

Do I put these on the tray then plants on top of crates, or tray with pots on crates, sos for being dumbo here !


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"can i have my inline fan hanging to the bottom of tent, attach duct and feed out for the incoming air?"

I'm not sure what you mean. Suck the air out of the bottom of the tent?

.nope, i have extract up top, I am confused about having to have an inline fan that sucks air in from outside the tent, or can I leave all 4 air flaps open at bottom of tent instead, just trying to work out if I have to by another fan.

"would it suffice to use a small wardrobe with a t5 fluro bulb and no fan etc or is a full set up and fan again crucial for clones and seedling room?"

Yes, that would be perfect. A light proof cabinet isn't necessary, just good light reflection.

.

"a full set up and fan again crucial for clones and seedling room?"

No, not near so important as veg. You could even get away with LED for veg.

.

"the biobizz chart shows what u need per litre of water. is tap water a no no? should i boil water then leave it t cool down, is that better? is a litre mix used per pot/plant, or do i use one litre for all 3 ?"

Any water is good so long as you vent the chlorine and there is no mineral build up. Reverse Osmosis water is the best, boiling tap water will not help other than to vent chlorine.

.

"i have no space for separate room, so as this is first day of flowering cycle for my 3, shall i go back to veg tomorrow, wait until next week to get new seeds, germ them etc for a few weeks on 18/6 all in the same place?"

"3 outside since august in a greenhouse, all good - sent inside yesterday"

I'd leave them in flower if they're large enough for flower, and veg the new ones in a separate area.

.
ok

"should i transplant to the biggest pot/bucket available? does it work that the bigger the pot, the bigger the yield?"

Yes, I like 5 gallon buckets for veg. The bigger the root system (to within reason) the bigger the yield. The root system is your mining operation for raw materials, the plant the factory, the bud your product. The plant's genetics works to balance the three, larger roots will result in more potent and more bud.

is it too late to transplant now as started flowering? main thing I am worried about is lack of 2 rooms, only one room, with one veg light and one flower light, looks like i gotta get another sorted..............

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Click to expand...

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"I cannot do airfloor as i have tent, so will have to stick with deskfan on floor of tent"

4 plastic milk crates in the tent for the air floor, the air inlet below the crate tops.

"Do I put these on the tray then plants on top of crates, or tray with pots on crates"

Put the milk crate on the floor of your tent, upside down, so the plants can sit on the base of the crates. They make a natural air floor, if you need to raise and lower buckets to level your canopy you can add and subtract crates.

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"can i have my inline fan hanging to the bottom of tent, attach duct and feed out for the incoming air?"

I'm not sure what you mean. Suck the air out of the bottom of the tent?

".nope, i have extract up top, I am confused about having to have an inline fan that sucks air in from outside the tent, or can I leave all 4 air flaps open at bottom of tent instead, just trying to work out if I have to by another fan."

Yes just leave all 4 air flaps open so long as they are under the air floor.

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"would it suffice to use a small wardrobe with a t5 fluro bulb and no fan etc or is a full set up and fan again crucial for clones and seedling room?"

Yes, that would be perfect. A light proof cabinet isn't necessary, just good light reflection.

.

"a full set up and fan again crucial for clones and seedling room?"

No, not near so important as veg. You could even get away with LED for veg.

.

"the biobizz chart shows what u need per litre of water. is tap water a no no? should i boil water then leave it t cool down, is that better? is a litre mix used per pot/plant, or do i use one litre for all 3 ?"

Any water is good so long as you vent the chlorine and there is no mineral build up. Reverse Osmosis water is the best, boiling tap water will not help other than to vent chlorine.

.

"i have no space for separate room, so as this is first day of flowering cycle for my 3, shall i go back to veg tomorrow, wait until next week to get new seeds, germ them etc for a few weeks on 18/6 all in the same place?"

"3 outside since august in a greenhouse, all good - sent inside yesterday"

I'd leave them in flower if they're large enough for flower, and veg the new ones in a separate area.

.
ok

"should i transplant to the biggest pot/bucket available? does it work that the bigger the pot, the bigger the yield?"

Yes, I like 5 gallon buckets for veg. The bigger the root system (to within reason) the bigger the yield. The root system is your mining operation for raw materials, the plant the factory, the bud your product. The plant's genetics works to balance the three, larger roots will result in more potent and more bud.

"is it too late to transplant now as started flowering? main thing I am worried about is lack of 2 rooms, only one room, with one veg light and one flower light, looks like i gotta get another sorted.............."

No not too late. Root growth slows after the first two weeks of flower, but you will get some and the larger bucket will make watering easier.

Check out the Root Pruning pots in Weed Science <<< click , 5 gallon do it yourself buckets that will improve your yield and potency.

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Ron this info is going in my ebook, it's post 256 in this thread: Grow Lab. Thanks for the help writing the ebook!

Dude, the least i can do for you after all your help, thank you so much, will keep you posted, as I am so excited, info overload though, one idea I have is this, please confirm if this is cool, All four vents at bottom of tent open 24/7, extractor fan removing air from top of tent routed toward vent area so there is a loop system going, as long as milk crates are above vent area, is that gonna help drastically?