First Grow - Indoor Tent

[justpassitbro]

Hi everyone,

Here is my first attempt at growing ever. So I might need some tips. My english isnt also amazing, so sorry for that.
Being stealth is really important also.

Setup:
80x80x160 tent
400w hps light
Open refletor
2 speed 100mm extractor 145-187 m3/h
intake 100mm fan 107m3/h
text pots 10L (need to confirm later)

seeds i used 3 days ago:

1x critical soma fem from advanced seeds
3x white widow 00 fem
2x Sexbud fem

I will only grow 3 of them. I really want the critical soma to work out and a white widow. The 3rd one i still not sure if ill use the strongest sexbud or choose the 2 strongest ww. I wanted to go with 3 diferent plants, but since ill use the tent to dry it too, i am not sure if i can dry one and finish the others or if i need them to be ready by the same week (not sure if that is even possible).


Goals:

My goal is to learn a much as possible, make as much yield as possible, so i can have my smoke to help with my anxiety and sleep issues. 200grs would be a rly big victory, I wouldnt need to grow again for a few months. Half of that is pretty good too!

How are things going?
Seeds are doing good, both sexbuds I put in water for 24h and later in wet papper towel, another 24h and both germinated already, transfered to plastic cups with soil with lots of holes at the bottom. The critical soma and whites are in 35 to 40mm jiffis (not sure).
Took one of the whites and the critical soma out the jiffis since i was afraid the seed wasnt getting enough air, both where germinated pretty much like the paper towell ones so I got it on plastic cups too.

Today I did the first test and I am worried about how hot it will be when the plants get there and summer closes up, wasnt expecting those 400w hps to make so much heat.
My extractor is out of stock, they say isnt going to take long but with only the intake working as extract and the intake hole simple open. I get as high as 34 with empy tent. Ive already choose the cool hours to turn on the lights.
Ill make sure the extractor gets here fast (maybe get the 125mm instead of the 100mm, and get another fan for inside the tent, then test it again.

Thinking about setting a small fan blowing at the lamp towards the carbon filter too, since ive reached my limit of money to invest in a cool tube or AC, and space isnt that much too.

I suffer a bit from a anxiety and paranoia, remember that and pls be gentle to me c:
Thanks for all the tips and feedback.
Ill post pics soon, since there isnt much to see now.
cheers

edited xd

 

[TorturedSoul]

My english isnt also amazing, so sorry for that.

Seems to be better than half the people I talk to in real life - and all of them were born in a country that (supposedly) has English as its language. You're doing fine. The only correction I would offer is that we abbreviate high pressure sodium lamps as HPS.

Everything looks good except for having both an exhaust fan and an intake one, In my opinion. Most of the time, if a person decides that he/she needs to add an intake fan, what it really means is that their exhaust fan is not properly sized.

If you want to run two separate fans for moving air into and out of your tent, get an air-cooled reflector, set up ventilation runs so that the air passing through it comes from somewhere else and goes somewhere else - without ever directly entering the general grow space - and place one of your fans (the larger) on that. Depending on how much air you're moving, you should in theory be able to come very close to ambient temperature in your grow room.

 

[Bonsaiweed]

Welcome to the forum

Your English seems great like TS stated. You communicate clearly, so that helps immensely.

We hope you participate and ask questions. It is why the forum is here.

 

[AKgramma]

Carefully-placed fans will vent your heated air and draw in cooler air. I don't use any fancy equipment. Just desk fans.

To vent heat, the fan pointed out should be near the top. (heat rises). To draw in cool air, the fan facing inward should be on the floor of your grow area.

 

[justpassitbro]

Thanks everyone for the tips, ive been reading a lot.
I am using the holes on the hydroshot, so the location of the holes must be good. Adjusted the top fan (the only one that arrived yet) to pull hot air on top of the space and around the lamp, and it droped to 31/32, also took out a gopro (more like growpro) that i was using to check on the temps without having to go there that was heating a little bit.
I think ill be okay when the TT dual arrives, meanwhile trying hard to squeeze extra 35$ for a cooling tube and maybe co2 to help them deal with heat. In despair I may end up changing to 250w bulb if it works with my ballast, getting a used portable ac, or ghetto an ice box for the intake, depending on the money.
I was also thinking, what you guys think about the black texpots absorbing a lot a heat? I hear they are really good but i dont want my ladies to suffer from heat since i really hate it myself. tottaly going back to the good vintage ones if it helps. Remember looking at white ones and asking "why?!"

Is it safe to have a small fan blowing the hot air of the bulb towards the filter? This bulbs are tinny personal suns lol love it

 

[AKgramma]

Thanks everyone for the tips, ive been reading a lot.
I am using the holes on the hydroshot, so the location of the holes must be good. Adjusted the top fan (the only one that arrived yet) to pull hot air on top of the space and around the lamp, and it droped to 31/32, also took out a gopro (more like growpro) that i was using to check on the temps without having to go there that was heating a little bit.
I think ill be okay when the TT dual arrives, meanwhile trying hard to squeeze extra 35$ for a cooling tube and maybe co2 to help them deal with heat. In despair I may end up changing to 250w bulb if it works with my ballast, getting a used portable ac, or ghetto an ice box for the intake, depending on the money.
I was also thinking, what you guys think about the black texpots absorbing a lot a heat? I hear they are really good but i dont want my ladies to suffer from heat since i really hate it myself. tottaly going back to the good vintage ones if it helps. Remember looking at white ones and asking "why?!"

Is it safe to have a small fan blowing the hot air of the bulb towards the filter? This bulbs are tinny personal suns lol love it

Yes. Just not too close. You dont want a fan to hit a light if there is any movement in the tent, or the house (wind, earthquake, UFO landing on the roof, etc)

 

[Advocate420]

Pictures help me. Sounds like you have all the right things in mind. Tweaking the environment is always step one. And as you mentioned be sure your equipment is rated for what you are running to keep things safe.

 

[Old Salt]

to the forum...

You can remove your filter until your plants start flowering, or you get your intake fan. There won't be much odor until then. This will increase your airflow, and help keep the grow tent cooler. Make sure the ventilation openings in the bottom of the tent are fully open. That will reduce resistance to air flow into the tent and help with cooling as well.

65% of the power for your 400W HPS is converted to heat, only 35% is converted to light. It is the same as having a 260W heater in your tent. A 250W MH bulb would probably be better for the plants until they flower.

Something else you might want to consider is a GFI receptacle for all the power you use in the tent. It's an extra layer of safety.

I wish you the best of luck with your grow...

 

[justpassitbro]

I am not sure about GFI, but if it is something to protect me from shocks I think we already have it on almost all sockets. But ill check it. Safety is important since is hard to keep things stealth if they are on fire.
Meanwhile first breath of life in sight!
First seed out of the soil, it is a sexbud that was the last i put to germinate, but was a huge seed. 60h after here she is.

00001

• justpassitbro
• Apr 16, 2018

Took the #2 and #3 white widow that where on jiffis to the wet papper towel since they didnt germinate yet.
Really wanted to see that critical soma doing as the sexbud.
Ill probably not use jiffis again.

edit1: yep the filter still in the box since isnt needed yet. BTW, last test was with lights off and the lonely fan on. drop to 12º. Next test is too see how much its drops after lights off and fan off.
edit2: the TT dual is arriving tomorrow *airflow liked this edit*

 

[justpassitbro]

Sup people!
Got the temps under control, 23-24º AVG. 28-29º max and 18-19º min. But the extractor didnt arrived yet -.-
Meanwhile i only see another Sexbud out of the ground
Critical soma as been showing me her ass for the last day, but doesnt want to show some green color.

Yesterday left 500ml of tap water out for 24+ hours without a lid to try for the first time getting the right ph on my water.
added 1ml of ph down to 500ml of water and the test showed 5 daamn noob, ill try again tomorrow

How much electricity does the 400w hps uses compared to lets say, a gaming PC?
What you think about the strains I choose guys?

cheers

 

[Bonsaiweed]

How much electricity does the 400w hps uses compared to lets say, a gaming PC?

cheers

I would say about twice the power. A gaming PC usually has about 400-700w power supply. But it doesn't draw that power all the time, only when gaming heavily. So you could figure about twice the power. Maybe three times.

But this is all a guess. You may be an uber gamer that rarely sleeps, then the light would pull less.

 

[justpassitbro]

Thank sir! ill expect double what my pc with 800w power supply and OC on GPU and CPU pulls.
What are the best techniques to reduce the total grow time? I think I already choose pretty fast strains but the summer is stupid hot in June is already 35º ambient. Something that doesnt compromise yield too much. I still prefer to wait a week more for a few more grams.

edit: got myself a bit of sound proof foam, so expect a DIY silencer for the extractor in the next 2 weeks.

 

[Bonsaiweed]

I do not know of a reliable way to reduce growing time. Plants do what they do on their own time. I know some of the soil guys use a malted barley flour soil amendment, which they say will reduce flower time.....

Sorry, I can't help you with the grow time.

 

[justpassitbro]

I see, and how about ways to make them be ready at the same time? Because I only have the tent to dry it and i am not sure if can dry one plant while others finish.
I have the hps on standby while i wait for the extractor, now i have them under a small bed lamp 24/7 just to keep the temps, trying to give time to the other seeds to pop out of the soil. Not sure if am not making a mistake here.
Is it normal that in 8 seeds only the 2 sexbuds are out of the soil yet?

 

[Bonsaiweed]

I see, and how about ways to make them be ready at the same time? Because I only have the tent to dry it and i am not sure if can dry one plant while others finish.
I have the hps on standby while i wait for the extractor, now i have them under a small bed lamp 24/7 just to keep the temps, trying to give time to the other seeds to pop out of the soil. Not sure if am not making a mistake here.
Is it normal that in 8 seeds only the 2 sexbuds are out of the soil yet?

There are a few things that make a successful seedling. The environment is a big deal. The root zone should be seeing 70-80 deg F. The soil should be moist, but not wet.

Most people germinate by the paper towel method. That ensures you put a viable seed with a taproot into the soil.

Not sure 2 out of 8 is normal. But this depends on environment.

You will probably have more popup if you went directly into soil.

 

[Old Salt]

I started germinating some seeds Sunday. The three Nightingale seeds have sprouted. One of my V.C.D.C. seeds has sprouted. Some take longer than others.

The method I use is:
Put the seeds in a shot glass with water pH adjusted to 5.8 and 1/4 strength GH CaliMagic until they sink
Put the seeds between paper towel dampened with the same water until they sprout
Plant the seeds in my medium.

The tap roots are about 1/2" to 3/4" (10- 20mm) long when I plant them in my medium. When I transplant the seedlings into the next pot, I bury them to half way between the first and second node, after removing any foliage at the first node. This is ONLY done during the first transplant.

 

[justpassitbro]

Day 7
It was just me being that noob on his first grow ever. Because pretty much almost all other seeds sprout. Only one WW didnt germinate, and another ww that was born root first, did a small operation to try save it, not sure if worked yet.

I am soo happy I have all 3 streains to work with

Old Salt, I did the same as you, even the pH was 5.8 (+/-0.2) (the shop sugested a brand of water that is perfect for germination)
Why bury them between the first and second node? Make them shorter?
I still not sure, but i think my plants can go a max of 80cm before having troubles with heat from the lamp.

Next pair of days Ill bring some photos so you can help me choose the stronger seedlings. Dont want you guys to get bored.

Meanwhile ill give a sneak peek into my mind these days :

Me: You need to check them every day.
inner me: CHECK THEM EVERY HOUR!

Me: Careful to not overwater.
Inner me: MORE WATER FASTER GROW BRO!

Me: Its ok, these things take time.
Inner me: You f*cked up really bad somewhere.

its 26º and rising
Me: its okey, until 30º there isnt problems.
Inner me: IS THAT FIRE IN YOUR TENT BRO?!

Cheers guys

 

[Bonsaiweed]

^^^^^^ this is new father syndrome..... everyone has it until the 100-150th grow or so....

 

[Old Salt]

Why bury them between the first and second node? Make them shorter?

Not really. Roots will grow out horizontally from the node, and then go deeper. It's to get a larger root mass faster, although I don't know for sure that it works that way with cannabis. Here's a root ball from my grow that I rescued to show you. Those thick green roots you see are coming from the first node.

Rootball from First Grow, Showing Roots from First Node​

 

[justpassitbro]

My first 2 seedlings have been only getting a few hours of light now and then, and ive put a black tex pot on top to block light while I waited for the other seeds to show some green. Now i think this wasnt a good idea. But will afect my plants in any ways?

I am not sure if i should keep them cover and started them with the rest of the seedlings, this means 13 more hours of dark for them. What should i do? lights are only on now to control temps. The light cycle i want starts in for vege 13 hours, ends in 7h.
keep them in dark start like should have started with in 13h?
uncover them and keep with things normally?
How hard did i messed up?
thanks again people