First CFL Grow Using 30 Watt CFLs

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

right for the computer fans, i had loads of computer parts lying around and had the power pack out of a computer and it had 2 fans in it, so i took these 2 fans out, then net i had a look around at home for a 12v adaptor, you know the types that convert the house voltage down to something else, so for me the mains voltage is 240volts so i found an adaptor that converted it down to 10volts, not sure what the charger was off possible a fone, anyway all i did was stripped the 2 wires back on both the fans and fitted push fit connectors on to them, then i got the adaptor, you know the black adaptors that you use for laptops and phones etc and i found one that put out 10volts, so i stripped the 2 wires back and fitted push connectors, i then connected these wires to the fans and turned the plug on, now it dont matter if you wire it the wrong way because all that will happen is the fan will spin the other way round, so all i needed to do was swap the leads around so the fans spun the right way, so thats how i made my fans, i have got 2 fans wired up to one power lead and the power lead only puts out 10volts so for now its not running at full speed but its just enough to keep the air moving and a gentle breeze on the plants, so thats how i wired up the computer fans

@ jadre2k, thats the exact same model as mine and i have them settings, i dont need to worry about the timer on it just yet asi have bypassed it and jut using the hood on its own without any base at all, but when i get some more cfl's in grow room illl take it out and use the aerogrow to veg the clones till i have flowered these off.

ive also ordered a berry bomb seeds to see what its like

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

and if you google berry bomb you will see why i decided to buy some seeds, its a bright purple plant, i know this depends on temps and as long as the temps are cool at night it should give this purple color, it looks amazing and ive never had nothing like it before.

cant wait

 

[Aaron Quix]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

Just wanted to add, regarding the fans... Its a good idea to look closely at the adapters you use, and make sure the the MaH, (miliampiers) or miliamps dont come up short of those on the fans. In other words, if your fan says 12 volts @ 500 mah, make sure your fan is 12 @ 500 or less mah. I buy my fans at a local computer shop for 5-10 dollars, and the local thrift store has a huge bin of old phone chargers and adapters for 2 bucks each! You can even run more than obe fan off of one adapter, as long as the sum of the mah on the two or more fans does not exceed that of the adapters alowance...I try to find adapters with ad high a rating as possible, like 1 amp or so. But mos of mine are like 750 mah or so, so I just run one for each fan...Hope that helps

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

thats great advice about the fans, ive got 2 fans running off the one lead the adaptor is putting out less than the fan needs plus your better off using the brushless motor fans as they have no friction and wont over heat even if the fan blades get caught and stop spinning, their spun using magnets and not motors so they dont produce any heat at all, they use the same motor system in the water pumps for hydro grows and fishtank filters as it dont matter if water gets into where the contacts are so they are a lot safer and less likely to burn out. saying that you need to make sure that where you join the wires to the fan is secure and use electric tape to cover any loose wires or connectors, its better been safe than sorry.

these 12v computer fans put out a lot less air than the bigger free standing fans so these 12v fans are better suited to newly planted and sprouted plants as it dont stress them, mine are strong enough to blow the plants over to much so i dont direct them directly onto the plants i direct them towards the lights and my plants then get a gentle breeze, i found out if their blowing on the plants direct then this causes to much water loss in the leaves due to it evapin and probably would kill the plant over time, these 12v fans can be used for the whole grow if you only have 1 or 2 plants, any more and i would only use them at start of grow and then use the bigger fans, also you can get speed controllers for the computer fans as long as the fans run at different speeds in the computer so it is possible to control the fans if they are of the right type, im not using speed controllers as i dont need 2, i have found these smaller fans are easy to move around to control exactly where you want the air blowing, also if your only growing one plant then these fans would also be ideal for making a carbon filter with to prevent the smell spreading and causing problems with the neighbours,

 

[Mr Mud-Pie]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

Hey paul got a question, I got a fan at my other house it loooks like 16 inch fan ill show u a pic in min tell me if it work


Please and thanks

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

no probs mate,

please dont forget to vote in the monthly comps ie bud of the month and member of the month, would of nominates tesmp for member of the month but didnt know i could nominate someone, so ill nominating when this months is over, you may recognise some names in this months comps so use the link below and vote people, its all for the cause and all deserve it,

here is the link for the competition page
420 Contests - 420 Magazine

 

[Xlr8]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

Hey there DonPaul/PaulDon

Just wanted to reiterate my thanks for the kind words in my journal in regards to MOTM. I'm happy to try to help or bounce ideas off of if I can. Good luck with your grow!

 

[Mr Mud-Pie]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

That's the fan I'm bringing up 2mmarow

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

@ x no probs mate.

right now for that fan, i tried using a fan similar to that but it didnt have the big stand on it mine was a desktop one, how ever when i switched my fan on the lowest setting i soon found out it was to powerfull for small plants and it would of snapped the stems and possibly blew the pots over, so from my oppinion a fan that size and powerfull would be ok if you have say 10 plants or more, but just having around 5 plants that fan would be to powerfull in a small grow space.

i may be wrong but the one i tried was to powerfull, but if height wasnt a problem and you could have that fan blowing a lot above the plants so it was say blowing onto the wall or ceiling then it should be ok as this would circulate loads of air and should cause enough of a breeze to blow the plants, but having the fan near the plants and blowing on them or close to them would be way to much, but if you could get the fan blowing upwards or to one of the walls then you might get away with it, when the plants get so big anyway the 12v fans just wont be powerfull enough so ill use my desktop fans then and direct the fan to the wall or ceiling making sure the plants are getting a bit of breeze on them to prevent mould when flowering and to stop any mould forming on top of the pots, so i think your fan would be ok if you didnt have it near the plants while their small and directed it upwards or to a wall, the only problem i also found was with the noise of them fans running, they seem very noisy to me,

the best fans i have seen look round and the motor is built in with the fan, so to look at the fan and housing is totally sealed in a round casing, so it would fit into a bucket to make and extraction unit to vent air through a carbon filter, which you may need to do if you want to prevent the plants from stinking the place out and bringing attention to your grow, if you use google and search for how to make a carbon filter and hit search you should see the type of fan im talking about, their is a name for them but cant think of it.

its either that or use a load of 12v fans, chances are i will end up using a desktop fan similar to the one you have the picture of but i wont be using it till the plants are in flower stage, while the plants are small you wont need to worry about a fan to much so youve got a while to get it sorted out, the last thing you want is to put a powerfull fan in and it snaps the plant or dries the leaves out to much, or if its possible for you to leave the door open to your grow room when the lights are on then you could have the fan outside the grow room blowing in, this way you could make sure the plants are only getting a gentle breeze.

i found even using the small 12v computer fans was to powerfull if i had them directly blowing on the plants, it was starting to dry the leaves out in the biggest plant so i had to move the fans to direct the air sort of away from the plants and now its set up so ive got a gentle breeze on them, and after 2 days i noticed the stems had got thicker and the plant seems to be better for it.

@ tesmp or x can you give any more advice, im no expert and chances are you both have better ideas.

now as for these 12v fans these are really cheap to get hold of, either look for someone throwing a computer away and take the case off and take the fan off the cpu chip, the fans are just clipped on, then take the fan out it will have 2 wires coming from it, then find an adaptor thats 12v or no les than 10 and cut the connectore off the end, now you have the 2 wires coming from the fan and 2 wires coming from the adaptor, so just join them up, either solder them or tape them making sure you have it sealed up to stop it touching and shorting out, you can wire 2 or upto 4 fans to the same mains adaptor just joing the wires from the fans together, it dont matter what way round you get the wires connected cuz it really dont matter it will just mean the fan will spin the other way round thats all.

you can buy these 12v fans for next to nothing off ebay or amazon just look for 12v computer fan, or 12v cpu fan, or pop into your local computer repair shop and they may give you a couple that they was throwing out as they will hava loads lying around
as for the adaptor just look around or pop into any hardware store and buy a mains adaptor that converts your mains electric into 12 volts or no less than 10, check on the adaptor for the writing, also check the amps as well and make sure the adaptor is putting out less amps than the fan needs, then you can plug this into the plug with the lights and have it coming on with the timer, im using computer fans running at 10 volts and ive been away for a couple of days and i know that i can leave these fans on as they are not like the bigger fans that use friction motors most computer fans use frictionless motors which basically means that the fan spins without the parts actually touching each other, its done using magnets, this prevents friction and reduces the fail rate drastically, plus if for some reason the fan gets jammed and stops spinning it wont cause the fan or the adaptor to over heat as their are not parts been foced to stop,

someone else might be able to advise you a bit better,

ill post pictures of my plants tomorrow on my journal and ill post pictures of my fans and how i connected them, ill show you a picture of what your looking for on the adaptor and show you how i wired it up, that way you will be able to use my how to guide if you want to build your own fans, ive just been away for few days as i was my bday on the 13th so ive been away to my moms with my kids for few days and went back and watered my plants yesterday and will go back and water tomorrow so ill drop you a msg when ive taken and posted the pics and you can look for yourself, these computer fans will pretty much run for ever without breaking down, also they use the friction less fans in fishtank pumps as you can submerge the fan in water and as long as the electrics are covered the connection between the fan itself and the magnet bit that spins it can work under water without shorting plus they produce no or very little heat when running

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

i just found that the desktop fan i used was to powerful at this stage in the grow, it would of been over kill for my plants at this stage and as my plants will fill up the space their in i wouldnt be able to put a big fan at the side of the plants but i suppose a tall fan like that would be above the plants so might be ok, its juts my desktop one was a big fan like that and it was the same height as my fans so it was no good for me at this stage, plus it was a bit noisy and i live in a flat so get neighbours above and below and they might here the fan running in the night and id rather not take the risk, in the day i could leave the door open and have the fan outside blowing in, my desktop also turns as well but unless i mounted it above the plants blowing agains a wall i found it was way to powerfull, if i directed my 2 12v fans onto the plants it would be to much for them the one fan was to much when it was directed onto the plant so the desktop fan was way to much for my grow at this stage

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

right then, time for todays pics to go on, uploading now,

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

pictures 1,2,3 are big bud at about 1 week old.

pictures 4 and 5 are special kush at about 1 week old

pictures 6 and 7 are the nothern lights cross big bud fem at about 4 days old, it was growing a bit weird at first but it seems to have picked up now and seems to be catching up with the others now, hopefully one of them will be female at least the northern lights x big bud femenised should be, but its never 100% is it, but ill be happy if i get at least 1 fem out of the 3 at the minute, ordered more seeds and my berry bomb was delivered today but i wasnt in so i gota pick it up from sorting office on monday so im going to soak that when i pick it up, cant wait

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

the only thing im concerned about is the big bud leaves felt really dry, i gave them a good watering as the pots where nearly dry so gave them a good water, but im hoping its nothing to worry about, the new leaves that are coming through look really healthy so im hoping its just how its growing, the other 2 plants look really healthy and i have no concerns with them, just this big bud seems a bit dry and the leaves feel dry, but i watered it till it ran out the bottom of the pot so should be ok, ive got some bigger pots to put the plants in next time i go check on my grow,

 

[Mr Mud-Pie]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

WOO WOO sexy lookin girls there
hey paul dou know what the light cycle are and the yeild % like

24/0
18/6
22/2
20/4

idk what one to do, but the less light off the better cuz it will go lights off at 9pm so it is dark outside making it 100% dark in the grow room

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

thanks for all the reps people, cant wait till i pick my berry bomb up, i think the temps where i live are low enough at night to promote the purple gene in the plant, ive heard most strains contain this gene depending on the temps but most only produce purple leaves, i bought the berry bomb as it should give me purple buds if grown right and i know it will amaze me actually having the buds in person if all goes right but i know some of my mates will be amazed to see them as they are not that well up on growing and the strains, so oim hoping i can get a female out of it and some cuttings and try and keep the purple strain going or might even try other strains.

can someone have a look at my big bud plant and tell me if the leaves are looking ok, not sure if they are, to me it looks like their wilting slightly, but its been watered as it should be, maybe im just worrying to much, and it might be how it should be, but a second oppinion would ease my mind a bit,

 

[Aaron Quix]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

The Big Bud looks fine buddy, if it shows signs of curling under, it may be getting TOO much water, which can fool you into thinking its thirsty. You'll come to know the difference between the curling under, and the actual drooping it will get when it needs water. The best way to tell if you need to water, is to lift the pot right after you water, and feel the weight of it...Dont water for a while and you'll feel the pot get much lighter. You shouldn't need to water very often at this stage....Everything looks fine though!

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

thanks mate, that puts my mind at rest, i hadnt watered for 2 days each time due to been away from home so been popping back to water them, ive been stopping at my moms with my daughter as its mothers day over here tomorrow, well now as its 01:17am where i am so its sunday now which is mothers day so been helping my mom out and stopping with my daughter, i have not perlite in the soil but it seems to drain very quick, like when i water it seems to drain through really quick, should it be like this, a couple of times when ive watered ive placed the pots in a dish and watered and let it sit in the run off for about 20 min or just under, i water slow to try and make sure the water is getting into the medium and not just running strait through it, i suppose its better to be like that than to not drain at all, when i transplant to bigger pots in the next day or 2 would i need to add perlite or would you say its draining enough, or to much, should i compress the compost down more when filling the bigger pots up,

ive not got any nutes yet, ive been having contact with corey at bpn he has been helping with what i need nutes wise and whats best to use, ive got to send him a list of products i can get where i am and he will then let me know whats best to use during both stages of grow, i gota admit, corey at bpn is a top bloke, and commited to the cause 100% seems like a genuine bloke,

the nute i have got all ready and had for a while before i decided to grow is called baby bio, not sure if thats any good to use or not, im going to the garden center tomorrow or monday to check what they got,

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

using google ive found baby bio contains the following
10.6% N : 4.4% P : 1.7% K.

Baby Bio is a liquid in form of concentate made from Humus and Seaweed. Its compound is 10.6% N : 4.4% P : 1.7% K.

 

[Aaron Quix]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

Sounds about right. Remember, they like to dry out a bit between waterings. You will want the pot to be light when you water, don't try to keep the soil wet. At this stage the plant is still trying to establish an elaborate root system, and one way to aid the plant in doing this is to let the soil dry a bit, causing the roots to "search" a little for water....
When you transplant, Its fine to add perlite. I personally use 50/50 soil to perlite, for everything, as I like the way it drains...
When I water, I pour just enough to get the soil damp, allow it to soak in a minute or two, then I add more, until it runs off just a bit.