Pirate Grows Pot

[Pirate]

AAARRRGGG Maties !!

I thought I would do a little update. I've been waiting for photos to be approved so some of these are a little behind. Its been taking about 2 or 3 days for approval.

My little babies are going to be a whopping 21 days old Saturday. That's 21 days from seeds in a mailbox.

Here is a photo of a couple White Widows taken 3 days ago.

Here is a Northern Lights. This plant is the fastest grower in my garden so far. The leaves are beginning to show their Indica strain. Again. This photo is 4 days old so there has been a big change since then.

I built a 250 watt Metal Halide fixture totally from scratch. all material came from Home Depot except for the Ballast. I am an electrician and had the ballast laying around collecting dust.
Materials I used were: 1 48x48 flat sheet metal, 2 lengths of ext. cord, 1 8x8x4 inch box, 1 handy box, 1 receptacle, 1 Mogul socket (bought at Hydro store) 1 250 watt Lamp, 1 can of high heat white paint and misc. hardware. Total cost was 75 bucks. (not including the ballast which I had already)
Here is the fixture right after I finished wiring it. The inside of the fixture is bright white.

Notice the receptacle mounted at the bottom of the ballast box. Half that receptacle is strait off the ballast and the light socket / hood plugs into that. The other half is for plugging in anything else that would be on the same timer as the light fixture. I made the light to be able to plug into the ballast so I can move them around separate from each other. (if needed)

HINT: Don't stare at a 250 watt Metal Halide Light Bulb !!! Talk about retna burn. Holy Shit.

Anyway, when I first put the light up I didn't want to burn my fragile little babies so I hung it about 2 feet above and gradually lowered it over the course of 3 days. Its now hanging at 12 inches from the plant tops. I eventually eliminated the side lights. They were CFLs. Now I am just using the 250 watt MH. With noticeable results.

Here is the Light fixture in action before I eventually lowered it.

Here is a photo just for kicks and giggles.

Nuff fur now !!

 

[blowin.endo]

wow.... nice light fixture... very nice

 

[highlifeisdalif]

thats awesome that yoiu built that light...
where are the updated pix? my friend has plants really close to the same germ date as yours...a race for sexings.....

 

[Pirate]

Ahoy there !!
I am still here.

To update my grow a bit. These little bad boys are taking off fast!! Right about day 21 they really started to grow with obvious daily changes. I figure its partly due to the lighting upgrade and 1/4 dose of nutes per feeding. A few of the plants are starting to show tiny ass little branches and all the leaves are getting quite large. Things are beginning to happen fast and I am getting excited to see their daily growth. I am still hand feeding as of today but am going to the hydro set up and upgrading to a 1/2 does of nutes this weekend due to the amount of water they are starting to consume. Roots are sticking out of the bottom of the 4 inch root cubes. I could not believe how fat one of the roots was when it poked out. Thick !! Gonna make for a nice strong mama. (assuming I get girls)

Photos will be up once approved.
Rock on

 

[highlifeisdalif]

sucks for the unablitily to access the site..lookin forward to see them pix...

 

[Pirate]

25 day update: I ma waiting for my 30 day photos to be approved. There is a huge difference from day 25 to day 30. Not shown in these photos is the branches beginning to sprout. Juts about every node has a branch coming out on almost all plants.

Here are some 25 day photos:

Like I said. There is a huge daily change on these bad boys (girls I hope). And the diference from day 25 to day 30 is nice. Day 25 shows the forth set of leaves. By day 30 we are looking at the sixth set plus side branches. I am full hydro as of day 30 with 1/2 nutes. I'll be increasing nutes to 3/4 dose in 10 days when I change out the nutrient solution.

 

[Bagzgroove]

Looking good man. . .!

 

[highlifeisdalif]

very cool...

 

[Pirate]

Well, I am having problems with the uploads again. Seems every file I try to input says its to big. When I know its not. Plus, Its only giving me one link to add a photo to when normally it gives me 5 to upload. I'll try later tonight.

Any of you out there know how many fingers I should have on plants that are 30 days old today. I'm on the 5 and sith set of leaves and 99% are still 3 fingered. A weird thing is that some are 4 fingered but lopsided with one finger WAY smaller than all others. So there are 3 large fingers and 1 tiny one. Any ideas? Bad genetics maybe?

Here are some 28 day photos: Are these guys a little small for 28 days? I see some on here that are 3 times that size in less time. (which I find hard to believe)

28 days:

When they fix the upload center..........You'll see huge change from the last couple days.

Rock-On !!

 

[highlifeisdalif]

wow....i know ive seen plants with 4 fingers...but never more then one set of nodes....trippy

 

[Akornpatch]

They're coming along nicely!

There have been recent changes to the Gallery...FYI.

 

[Pirate]

Akorn,
Thanks for the compliments.

 

[highlifeisdalif]

they all end up their crop, get stoned and forgot all about us...

 

[Lilstinky420]

That's kinda weird considering your plants look really healthy. What kind of light are you using? I remember one time I took in a sad looking plant with all 3-leaf sets on it, gave it some light, and it went from 3 to 5 to 7. Mine had 3 leaf set for it's first pair of real leaves, but now it's up to 11 leaves.

They look good and green though. Nice work so far.

 

[Pirate]

Hey there Stinky. I am using a 250 watt MH. Been using that for about 2 weeks. The first 2 weeks I was using about 200 watts of Flor. light.

They do look very healthy. Growing very fast. Everyday I am amazed at the obvious growth. But like I said...........5th and 6th set of leaves is still 3 fingered. 7th set is poking out as we speak and all the plants are into the streching stage. Lots of branches starting to pop out at virtually every intersection. (nodes ??)

Asta for now.

 

[Pirate]

Anybody ever seen algae growing on rockwool cubes? How does one go about rectifying that situation? Is there some kind of algaecide that won't harm the plants? It seems to be growing only on the top surface but it is starting to get me worried. There is no algie in my resevior. Juts the top surface of the rockwool.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

 

[Brett2theMax]

I don't know anything about hydro but I was wondering if you have considered closing the box on your MH fixture and putting a peace of plexy glass on the bottom with some fans running through it, you could keep the light closer giving the plants more intense light. Does any one else know what I'm talking about? You might have to double pane the Plexy but I think you could do it, it would cut down on the radiant heat, just pump it out of the box.

Like this

 

[Pirate]

hey there 2themax,
I built the fixture myself. I could put some glass on it but I already have the light only 8 inches off the top of the plants. In reality, any closer and I'll deminish the lights at the outer edges. I am gonna build a 400 watt light over the weekend. Maybe I'll do glass on that one.................OR............screw the hassle and buy a reflector premade and just build the ballast box.

I am gonna re-ask this question because i don't want it to get lost. I really need an answer to this one fast.
Anybody ever seen algae growing on rockwool cubes? How does one go about rectifying that situation? Is there some kind of algaecide that won't harm the plants? It seems to be growing only on the top surface but it is starting to get me worried. There is no algie in my resevior. Just the top surface of the rockwool.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

 

[Brett2theMax]

I didn't realize you moved it so close, I thought I read that you had it 15" away. Don't worry, a mod will be along to answer the question any moment now.

 

[Pirate]

I suppose I should consult my "BIBLE" before asking. I found my answer right in my own library;


Just in case soemone out there runs across the same problem. Jorge Cervantes says, ' rockwool can grow algea due to being damp and lit with high intensity light. Cover the top of the cube to block light and / or use an algecide in the solution or when watering" Thanks Jorge.

Guess I'll do both....................Now, to find algicide. Hydro store, here I come.