2 x 400w in cupboard

[allhailthebud]

hey

 

i just finished a grow in soil under a 400w, ill post some pics soon, harvest will only be about 4 ounce

 

but anyway, i plan to move onto flood and drain

 

the table will be the 200cmL X 100W in a cupboard just a smidge bigger.

 

i want to have 4 plants, and start from clones.

 

I was thinking, since the room im growing in isnt very well ventilated half the day until my mate comes home and unlocks the room n shit, could i have a air pump running to the roots constantly.. so the roots get more oxygen ?

[Taipan]

A good flood and drain system is self aerating. When the tray floods it forces all the stale air out from the root zone, and when the tray drains it draws fresh air into the root zone. So I wouldn't say adding an aerator is essential but certainly wouldn't hurt. Ideally you would have the air pump outside the cupboard so it was pumping fresh air into the root zone.

 

If the cupboard has to stay locked up for half the day, then I would make that the time the lights are off. You will need some ventilation when the lights are on. If you don;t have fans or anything else, leaving the door open will usually suffice. But the fact that the ventilation isn't good shouldn't hurt the roots. If anything it would possibly help promote air borne fungi due to heat and humidity building up.

 

If you are going to the trouble of installing a flood and drain system, I would highly recommend installing some ventilation. An inline fan and some ducting can be easily hidden. Put some holes in the bottom of the cupboard where cool air will enter, and use the fan to suck out of the top to remove the heat. This will create a nice flow through effect.

[allhailthebud]

hey taipan,

 

yeh i got 3 x 12cm inlet fans, 3 x exhaust

 

and ive got 2 of the same fan, one for each light as a light cool.

 

if i got a peice of glass and put it infront of the light globe, would my plants be able to get closer to the light due to not so much heat.

 

i have the ventilation for the plants, but if the door to the room isnt open its just brething the same air all day.

 

im hoping my mate will let me cut a hole in the way for the exhaust fans, it'd help alot.

 

ill post a diagram of what my next grow

 

would 8oz a plant be too much to expect if they were veged for 1 1/2 months from clone ?

 

ta

 

i also plan to do what i saw lukeskywalker do, he reveged his plants after they budded, i plan to chop them inhalf, take all the big buds and leave the little fellas, change back to 18/6 for a few weeks, then back to 12/12 and get a 2nd harvest... does anyone know if this can work more then twice on 1 plant ?

 

cheers - ill post some pics of my last grow soon

Edited December 23, 2006 by allhailthebud

[Taipan]

Sounds like you have it planned out nicely. Yes, recycling the air from a single room through a cupboard is a problem that a lot of cupboard growers don't even consider. Especially now you are considering air cooling your lights, some way of ventilating the outer room will definitely help.

 

For the glass barrier to work well you usually need to completely isolate the lamp from the growroom with the air cooling system. Once you have done this you will find you can lower the lights right down to the plants. Most air cooled lights use 4mm tempered glass which you can get made up at most glass shops. Normal glass may be OK but is prone to cracking from the temperature changes.

 

As far as expected yields, it will depend on the strain, and a lot of other variables. 8oz a plant is easily doable, but I would expect less so that you are not dissapointed if you don't get that much.

 

If your plant is never pollinated by a male, ie never grows a seed, you can harvest and regrow it many times over. But ... and you won't really know this till you do it, I have had some strains that continue to partially bud for up to 6 weeks after applying the 24 hour a day light. Then they decide to reveg. By this time new clones will have easily have caught up. I found they will turn back to veg quicker with 24 hours light, and as soon as they throw new veg shoots you go back to 12/12. No real need to veg them for a few weeks. It will definitely work but I have had mixed reports. When I have done it the 2nd yield hasn't been that great, but I have had mates who have had exceptional yields in the 2nd and 3rd harvest. It's all a bit of experimenting which is a big part of the fun of growing indoors.

 

Good luck with it.

[bufo marinus]

G'day allhailthebud, after reading what you plan on doing and checking out that excellent diagram you posted, I thought I'd give you a few ideas from problems I've had to deal with.

Taipan has covered a lot of issues for you and there are lots of good tips in his post

If your table is a true flood and drain and not a recirculating system it is true you can get away without aerating your res, but without getting too techo for you just put an air stone in your res if your in doubt, though more importantly make sure you use a good sterilising agent with H202 (Hy-San is good, Pyth Off from Flairform does the same job but a little differently) which will increase the oxygen in the solution and keep things sterile in the all important root zone,...

which would lead me to my next bit on revegging a large plant, make sure you don't end up with a root bound monster, it will infuriate you. Look at how some others trim the roots between grows for better results

400w are a great light to use and not near as hot as a 600. Yes you could put some glass to break up the heat transfer but if you can get airflow from a fan between the top of the plants and the lamp you can get pretty close anyway....... 6 inches roughly. If you have the money and are just setting up cool tubes are worth it.

But you still need to exhaust them and draw fresh air in. Why does the room need to stay closed? I run my lights during the day with the door to the room open. If it is a cupboard inside a bedroom I wouldn't worry about half a day though

8oz a plant sounds achievable in a healthy system. 60 litre res will be just big enough but your going to have to keep an eye on it and top it up mid week and change weekly when they start getting thirsty. Don't get slack on your weekly flush or measuring of nutes etc etc as the attention to detail is where an average setup will perform like a pros

Get the basics right and yield will take care of itself

[allhailthebud]

hey all

 

the grow is no longer to be at my mates place, as he doesnt understand why hydro 'needs' all thease little small factors, which inturn makes it better. Like, he turns the fans off for no reason some times all day, doesnt use ph adj water. He even turns off the lights when he heres a chopper fly over. All i can say is how the fark can a plant survive under the conditions he was giving them... 3 weeks later, 2 dead clones, 10 seeds which didnt even sprout. waste of my time ehh..

 

Everything is moved to my place, where it'll be re-setup within a week or two.

 

heres what ive figured so far.

 

3 x exhaust fan (12cm fans)

3 x intake

2 x 400w hps

f&d table & fittings, water pumps, timers, heaters, air pumps.

5 x clones..

truncheon, ph tester

60L res

fan spd controller

 

i figured 5 plants, 2 months veg, 2 months flower.

 

size of cupboard from a guess... 280cm x 100 x 200 - i will build this myself. basic framing with just reflective film.

 

2 months veg should overgrow my cupboard lyk crazy.

 

i need to get myself another 400w HPS kit, truncheon, and fan spd controller..

 

oh yeh, and lyk my last grow my folks caught me out on the electric bill, and that was only a 400w.

 

i guarentee they will bust me again, about 3/4 of the way through. Im just going to convince them to let me finish the grow. I was surprised how chill they were about my last grow. (over a year ago now)

 

cheers all, any tips or help please post

[auspamp]

i figured 5 plants, 2 months veg, 2 months flower.

 

size of cupboard from a guess... 280cm x 100 x 200

 

2 months veg should overgrow my cupboard lyk crazy.

 

That sounds like you are going to way overgrow the space. I wouldn't plan on how long to veg for, I would wait and see how they grow first, and then take the stretch into consideration.

 

Most important thing is to remove the heat in a small space like that. You have to get the lights as close as possible to the plants with out burning them.