SciFi's Bunkrupt Durban X ? Hybrid, First Grow Ever 2010

[SciFi]

What strain is it? Well.. It's a long story. I had a friend who was a grower. He committed suicide due to smoking cessation drugs (F*CK YOU CH*NTIX) side effects. Before he passed away he handed me the bottom of his seed crop.. And said here.. pick through this, it's my next batch, return the seeds to me when you're done. He grew three strains, Durban X Black Widow, Durban X Skunk, and Durban X Northern Lights, indoors, for seven years. So, I don't know which of the three I have, or if it's all three.. The seeds came from his last mother he grew. I guess we'll wait and see. Due to quite a passing of time, I had very low germination rates with the seeds, around 2 of 5 would sprout.

Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? Harry's Last Seed Crop.. The leaves are fat, and the plants look like they're going to squat. Not much stretching at all in two weeks, but I had the lights super tight for 12 days (.5").
Is it in Veg or Flower stage? Veggy!
If in Veg... For how long? 2 weeks
Indoor or outdoor? Bankrupt poor man's grow...
Soil or Hydro? Seed-starting Jiffy-Mix
If soil... what is in your mix? Sphagnum peat moss, and vermiculite and a touch of lime.
If soil... What size pot? 5oz, 18oz, and small pots
Size of light? 10 x 24w CFLs 6 2700, 4 5600s for a total of 12,000 lumens
Is it aircooled? ~ 225CFM of cold air pumped in via standard PC fan
Temp of Room/cab? ~80-84F
RH of Room/cab? ~ 16-24%
PH of media or res? No tools yet.. Poorman's
Any Pests ? None
How often are you watering? Everyday, the medium tends to dry out quick with that much heat and airflow.. I added water pan under six to see if it made a difference.
Type and strength of ferts used? ... Don't laugh.. I said bankrupt. I meant it. Standard Miracle grow, using the indoor feeding strength at ~1/4 now.


This one's for you Harry. I hope I make you proud.

 

[SciFi]

Entrance to the bankrupt stealth cabinet... It's temporary until I can build a bigger cabinet in a week or so. I used that R-4 Corning-owens foam board to insulate everything.. outside of the cabinet, the ambient temps are about 20F-30F. I then coated it all with a mylar safety blanket.

If I did the math right.. That's 16K lumens, for 230w for about $25.
Mounted in two rows of five on the 1.3'x1.5' on the mylar covered ghetto air cooled hood I made, which the plants all sit snugly under. So 1.95 sq ft, that's roughly 8200 lumens per sq ft. I'm moving roughly 225 cubic feet per minute of cold air in to this puppy.. a few of the starter leafs showed a bit of stress from the heat I believe, before I added the fan, but none of it progressed after I added it.

Hey Laaadies... Get funky.

Wish me luck.

 

[SciFi]

Bah, my lights fell and mashed/burned two plants and a third got one leaf singed. I'll post pictures later, but the rest of the ladies look fine.

 

[SciFi]

Yup looks, like the two are a lost cause.. I picked up a GH set of Micro, bloom and gro today, some cal-mag, PH adjusters, hydroton and got a ph meter. Now to get a tub, and figure out how to wash out the soilless without damaging the roots too much.

 

[obliviconsent]

Sorry about your crushed girls SciFi
Crazy story on how you obtained your seeds. Sorry to hear about your friend.
I'm a complete newbie and have no advise, but I will be following your grow. Good luck

 

[SciFi]

obliviconsent: Thanks.. yea, he was a hell of a guy.. Just goes to show what poorly tested "legal" drugs can do to you. Since all of the suicide reports linked to this drug, the FDA has slapped it's highest warning on the drug, but I still think it should have been pulled. The side-effects of consumer drugs shouldn't be worse then what you're curing. "Gee, if I take this, it'll cure my rash, but it can cause rectal bleeding... "

Yup.. Looks like the two are toast, but on an upside, I think I'll use them to experiment with washing off the soilless, and figuring out the best way to stick them in the hydroton for a dwc.

 

[CocoJoe]

Sorry about your crushed girls SciFi
Crazy story on how you obtained your seeds. Sorry to hear about your friend.
Good luck

Yes, your friend what a shame! Sounds like he knew cannabis. Your girls should recover.

Ps. nice to see you obliviconsent

 

[Aberration]

What cute little girls you have!

You will not regret going with better nutrients than MG. And the pH meter is worth it's weight in gold. Learn how to use it and take care of it.

 

[SciFi]

Abberation: LOL.. I hope they're girls. Got back from Wally world and picked up.. Get this.. An oil pan reservoir. Wait till you guys, see this bankrupt DWC scrog I'm cookin' up. Hehe. So when I went looking for a tub, I had a few requirement.. I wanted it already opaque, I don't want to paint at 4AM. I wanted square because it's more efficient.. I got both of those and before you point it out.. I know it's not easily washed, but it was 6 bucks, and I wanted to show everyone how easily you could also make a flow table with one.. In fact.. I think I'm going to use one for a cloning tray, when I get a mother.

Oh yea.. Anyone know water? My tap water is about 180PPM from mag and cal and a 5.5ish on PH. Is that safe to use in a res? Would seem the PPMs would just keep increasing if the plant didn't uptake any of it. Rather then wait for someone to answer, I went ahead and got some distilled just in case, I'll start with that.

Now to find that old decorative fountain and see if I can get a re-circulating pump out.

 

[SciFi]

Oh and before I forget... Anyone seen a decent storage cabinet in a US store, and if so point me that way? I'm looking to convert one for my next cab in about a week.

 

[obliviconsent]

Just goes to show the government has a choke hold on pharm. "drugs" and too many side effects too numerous to mention. The illmitable spirit knows the right meds come from Mother Nature. You can find numerous cabs on the net for pennies, even on ebay. or wallyworld if needed. Thanks for rec. cocoJoe, I respect you. Ironrider. I'm not into DWC but I will be following your grow. I'm using MG ferts but my girls are about 14in. or so and doing decent.

 

[SciFi]

Muhaha... Rehung the lights with proper hardware, added a 235CFM output fan (might need to build a baffle for that.. it's f'ing loud now) and it was a pain in the ass to wash the jiffy-mix out of the roots, but I did it. Hopefully the 5oz cups will hold up for a scrog. Waiting for the temperatures to settle now, then I'm off to bed. I'll post the rebuild pics tomorrow. Need a new pump thou, the bubble curtain I bought is under powered.

 

[Green Utopia]

Muhaha... Rehung the lights with proper hardware, added a 235CFM output fan (might need to build a baffle for that.. it's f'ing loud now) and it was a pain in the ass to wash the jiffy-mix out of the roots, but I did it. Hopefully the 5oz cups will hold up for a scrog. Waiting for the temperatures to settle now, then I'm off to bed. I'll post the rebuild pics tomorrow. Need a new pump thou, the bubble curtain I bought is under powered.

Looking good. Sorry about your friend, my brother died from similar circumstances.

Re the Water. I think you are right on the line. I think for you the deciding factor would be how much Chlorine or Flourine they put in the water. The ppm is actually not a bad thing. If its less than 150 you're safe, and most would say less than 250. In fact, the bible even says that its good - better than distilled - IF it doesn't have too much Chlorine.

Re the cups. I think the cups will hold up fine, but how about your roots? Is that enough room for 3-4 months? Its nigh impossible to transplant once you're under the scrog.

They're looking great so far. Power to ya. Keep it up.

 

[SciFi]

Well, 2 gallons should be okay for a short scrog, if I keep it down to two plants per container. This setup was till I can find a multi-shelf can in the next week or so, and I'll make two or three more of these.

 

[CocoJoe]

Just goes to show the government has a choke hold on pharm. "drugs" and too many side effects too numerous to mention. The illmitable spirit knows the right meds come from Mother Nature. You can find numerous cabs on the net for pennies, even on ebay. or wallyworld if needed. Thanks for rec. cocoJoe, I respect you. Ironrider. I'm not into DWC but I will be following your grow. I'm using MG ferts but my girls are about 14in. or so and doing decent.

Hey eveyone that is the truth!

SciFi, I'll be here watching! Much luck in your all endenvers.

 

[kailpot]

Good luck on your grow...I'll be watching! Sorry to hear about your friend. I've seen what these smoking cessation drugs can do, and am glad I was around when my partner had what can only be described as a psychotic reaction to them. I'm sure your buddy would be happy knowing his seed stock lives on in your grow room!

 

[SciFi]

kailpot: Thanks. Yea, it's weird.. Smoking cessation drugs have one of the highest reported suicide rates for recent years, and have cause a wide array of side effects, from passing out at the wheel/work, to night terrors.

Anyways, I got a new pump and the curtain is rocking like no tomorrow now. I'll be setting up a DIY CO2 next, and have a cab setup in 5 to 6 days. I also have a friend investigating DIY 175W and 400W HPS ballasts for me, so we'll see how that goes.

I'll be back around later, and I'll be uploading more pictures of this tub I built. It's pretty neat, and I figure if I stay with the 2" home made net pots, AKA 5oz plastic cups, it'll work out no matter how many tubs I build.

 

[SciFi]

My empty table, during prep for the transplant. (It's a $5.95 oil change pan.. lol) If I'd had a use for it, I could have made it into a Ebb/Flow type table with a timer and a small submersible pump. I like simple.. DWC seems simple to me.

The ladies.. Catchin' some rays, and staving off the tan-lines.

Bubbles!

I'd like to thank Link for his ghetto fabulous low cost start up guide, and for inspiring this bankrupt grow. In addition I'd like to thank Roseman for offering his expertise and pushing the envelope.

 

[SciFi]

Jeeez... a few plants are pissed. Their lowest sets of leaves next to the cots have petrified into oblivion. I'm thinking since those are the lowest leaves, perhaps the top of the ballroots are not getting wet enough? I'm going to hand water them for a few days.. PH is sitting right around 6 (This meter is awful thou.. :| ) and the tank is staying around 68F.

I'll be around with pics once again.

 

[CocoJoe]

I'm going to hand water them for a few days.. PH is sitting right around 6 (This meter is awful thou.. :| ) and the tank is staying around 68F.

I'll be around with pics once again.

Hand water, can't hurt and maybe a good idea too!