Dumpy's First 1000 Watt Soil Grow

[Dumpy]

Well... here goes.. My first shot at BC Big bud hybrid.

- 4.3x4.4x7 (My Hydro Home) Grow tent
- 1000 watt Electronic adjustable ballast. (600, 750, 1000, 110%)
- Emperor 1000 watt MH lamp, Hortilux 1000 watt HPS lamp.
- Air cooled light tube with reflector, 6" inline fan, speed control, electronic timer.
- Carbon filter, 4" inline fan, speed control venting outside through an abandoned B-vent 30 feet in the air.
- Sentinel chhc-4 greenhouse controller controlling temp, humidity and Co2.
- Growing medium (ProMix BX)

Sentinel controller settings. (Temp 72 - 80)(Humidity 50%)(Co2 1000 ppm)

Light schedule (Veg. 20/4)(Flower 12/12)

Plants BC Big Bud x 8 Sativa 65/Indica 35 Hybrid.(Feminized)

Nutrients: Dutch Nutrient Formula Grow A+B, Dutch Nutrient Formula Bloom A+B, DNF Ph Down, Root Excel, Organicare Seaplex, Grotek Pro Silicate, TripTonic B1 and a grotek ph kit.

Well... I took 8 seeds and put them in some folded damp paper towel and placed them in a ziplock bag. i came back 3 days later and like magic they had all sprouted. I planted them in a seedling terrarium, put the light at the top of the tent, turned my light down to 600 w on the ballast and let them grow for a week. transplanted them to a red solo cup with a hole for another week and then put them in their current pots. I made the mistake of misting them with a low nutrient solution too early and got some brown leaves. they seemed unhappy so that stopped. They are recovering from that right now. We are currently in our 2nd week of veg feeding and seem to be getting better every day. I'll post some pics.

 

[Dumpy]

 

[Dumpy]

 

[Dumpy]

There are some pic. Glad i did this. Went down stairs to take some pics and found the controller had quit. Temp was at 78 and humidity was a little high, but caught it before there was any trouble. Sentinel has already contacted me about warranty as well. just left a email with them 1/2 hr ago on a Sunday night. We'll see what happens.

 

[Dumpy]

Well... looks like Sentinel is a service oriented company. They contacted me today, took a description of what occurred and shipped the part out overnight express.

 

[dragontoker]

Looks to be a nice setup Dumpy (feel funny calling you that).What is the controller controlling for heat, cooling and humidity. Does it control a space heater, ac and a humidifier? I can make out a solenoid and water line, I take it that its connected to a humidifier or is it for Co2?

 

[IGrowGrass]

Nice start....everything looks great....I am a big fan of pro mix bx....Been using it for a couple few years and saved myself a lot of troubles. The stuff holds water great, is ph neutral....lets air to roots easy...so green stays green...just all around great product.
I am pulling up a seat for this grow

 

[Dumpy]

Hey Puffpuff, The controller in this case monitors the environment inside the tent and adjusts accordingly. The tent constantly has a minute negative pressure in order to keep smells from entering my home. the controller kicks the fan into high when temps or humidity rise above predetermined set points.
It also injects co into the environment and keeps it at 1000 to 1100 ppm when the light is on. When the light is off it stops injecting Co2 as there is no need for it.
So for cooling it kicks up the exhaust fan and expels the warm air outside and the same for humidity. When this is happening it also stops injecting co. When the fan slows it begins injecting co again. That is what that little tube you spotted is. A dishwasher solenoid attached to low pressure co2 regulator. That took a few beers to set up. It kept overshooting the mark because it's such a small space even though the controller utilizes fuzzy logic and slows input as it approaches the set point. I also put a vent check valve in to contain the co.
At the start of the week after watering it seems to cycle the air based on excess humidity. Later on in the week it cycles due to temp increases from the light.

 

[Dumpy]

I know.... Dumpy..... just call me Dum for short. he he

 

[Dumpy]

Glad to see you're here IgrowGrass. this is my first kick at the cat so to speak so i welcome whatever input anyone can contribute. I have some bc big bud seed on the go right now. I also have some white widows and some bc god bud seeds to try later. Always wanted to try this but never had a secure quiet place until recently. As far as the promix is concerned i find it easy to tell when its time to water again. Wet = heavy Dry = unbelievably light. I still ph the water though although I've read you don't have to.

 

[dragontoker]

So you have nothing extra setup on the controller besides the Co2. The controller controls fan on/off and variable speed, utilizing ambient from outside the tent?

Been thinking about setting up a old omron controller I used to control hood fans and a water heater I had setup for a reef tank I built. Now your setup is giving me the push.

Again nice setup.

 

[Dumpy]

The variable speed is controlled by a motor control providing slow state. The Sentinel controller basically provides power to a relay that tells the motor controller to kick the fan up when cooling or humidity reduction is needed.
The Sentinel controller is capable of all heating, cooling, humidity and co functions and has separate set points for day and night mode. No speed control. I had a little heater in there, but it was never turning on so i yanked it out. Oh...and yes, ambient air outside the tent. Gonna find a filter for the intake as well. If the controller pooches again I'll probably do the same, but for now it's easy. Some of its logic is convenient as well.

Nice fish tank.

 

[Dumpy]

There is the vent check valve and the second is garden security

 

[Heisenberg]

Looks good. I'll watch this one.

 

[dragontoker]

Your garden security looks like a killer like mine. My pup would lick a intruder into submission. Of course he would beg for beef jerky first

 

[Dumpy]

jack is the same. Friendly, fun, retarded, and kind of OCD. If he thinks theres a mouse under something, he'll sit there staring for days. There has never been a mouse in our house, but if you pay attention to him, the place is totally infested. I can't count how many times i have had to move the coffee table or pull the fridge out to show him.. No mouse. When i first brought him home from the pound i thought i purchased the rear end of a dog because he would bury his head in the corner of the couch. Must've been a mouse in there. See the lighter spot on his nose... he wore the black off his nose because he had it pressed up against the house for 5 hours until i got home and lifted a flower pot so he could see nothing was there. When i got home my wife pointed and said he had been there for 5 hrs. He's pretty quirky but i wouldn't trade him for the world. He takes his role around here pretty seriously and prides himself on keeping our home mouse free i think. We have a second dog named Jasper as well. He's a heinz 57 and pretty normal. He is a rescue as well.

 

[Dumpy]

They really don't care to listen if you call unless they hear biscuit, walk or car ride. crap you could yell their names and if they felt like coming they might saunter over, but whisper biscuit or car ride and they can hear that 100 yards away and come running. Selective hearing. I'm the same way though. blah blah blah Beer blah blah blah Sex blah blah blah Food.

 

[dragontoker]

Too funny. My pup is also a rescue dog, smart for the most part, dumb as door nails at other times...........Yell greenie bone and he tears ass from the back yard to the door........

 

[dragontoker]

I'm going look into a sentinel controller for my grow. I see a smaller version of yours for $239 on amazon. Its the EVC-2. My temps get down to 60f at night and only 72 when lights are on and exhaust is on.

 

[Dumpy]

Nice dog.