Troy's First Grow - Animal Cookies & Platinum OG Clones - DWC & Soil - 2017

[Troy01]

Testing signature

 

[Troy01]

I decided to make a couple changes to my Grow Tent today.

I had really been a cheapskate and bought a cheap inline fan 100CFM

The fan did a decent job but started having problems with both cooling during recent heat spells and the Girls are getting a bit pungent. I don't think the current fan is pulling enough through the Carbon Filter.

I upgraded to a Can Max Fan Mixed Flow Inline Fan, 6-Inch 334 Cubic Feet Per Minute. She has a variable power switch and is relatively quiet. If it is too noisy I will be following Velik's insulation method.

New fan seems to have good suction and dropped temps with Full Spectrum switched on to about 2 degrees over ambient temps.

 

[JayCseed]

Looks like your first grow is coming along nicely and your girls are looking great! Glad to see that when you had a issue you were quick to notice and find a solution, this site is great for bringing together the seasoned and novice grower and sharing the wealth of information there is out there.

Nice upgrade on the exhaust fan, sounds like its working already. I use my inline fan to help push air into my tent, just a thought since you have it might as well use it.lol

I'll be following along to watch the girls fatten up!

 

[OldSchool1965]

Thanks for following along.

I think the light is working well for a 3x3 tent. I mostly only using with the Grow switch on. I was using full spectrum but was creating too much heat. I've purchased a new fan (380 CFM) and will try her out this weekend. I'm mostly adding to help control the odor as the carbon filter isn't really working well with the 100 CFM

I'll post a picture of it soon.

Just my thought process, I dont have a grow as YET...lol.
Your light has an actual draw of 240w.
240w / 9sqft = 26.6 w per sqft

If you added a second light of the same type you'd get ~53 w per sqft (I hear in the low 50's is optimal)
Understand that I'm not doggin your method by any means. Did you or have you considered doubling you watt output?

Apologies if I come off the wrong way ... just gathering info.

 

[Troy01]

Looks like your first grow is coming along nicely and your girls are looking great! Glad to see that when you had a issue you were quick to notice and find a solution, this site is great for bringing together the seasoned and novice grower and sharing the wealth of information there is out there.

Nice upgrade on the exhaust fan, sounds like its working already. I use my inline fan to help push air into my tent, just a thought since you have it might as well use it.lol

I'll be following along to watch the girls fatten up!

I have one of my two inline fans blowing in also. It really helps with air circulation as well as adding additional air. My other one that was in the tent attached to the Carbon Filter I left in place for now and just unplugged it. The new fan is powerful enough to cause it to windmill. I'll probably leave it in place until after chop as it is in the back of the tent and hard to get to.

 

[Troy01]

Just my thought process, I dont have a grow as YET...lol.
Your light has an actual draw of 240w.
240w / 9sqft = 26.6 w per sqft

If you added a second light of the same type you'd get ~53 w per sqft (I hear in the low 50's is optimal)
Understand that I'm not doggin your method by any means. Did you or have you considered doubling you watt output?

Apologies if I come off the wrong way ... just gathering info.

Definitely not coming off wrong - I appreciate the input. I have been thinking the same way - not sure if I will add a second light on this grow or wait for my next one. I was initially not going that route as I was having trouble controlling the temps but this new fan really does the trick.

Do you think adding a second light 3-4 weeks before harvest would increase yield? I'm only one click away from buying a second light. LOL I also wish that I had gotten a bigger tent.

 

[Velk]

Thanks Velk

Pest have been eradicated and keeping an eye out for any intruders. PH has stabilized but last night I ran a flush and replaced my DWC tank with my normal nutes less the Molasses. The PH has been sticking solid at 6.2.

Been having a cool spell the last couple days so been running the lights on dual and temperatures stayed under 80. Yea.

What type of fan did you get for your grow. I bought a new Can Max Mixed Flow Inline Fan and it arrived this evening. She is a 6 inch fan rated at 334 CFM. Since I have a 4 inch Carbon Filter I used a reducer.

I saw the noise reduction method you describe on youtube and was thinking of giving it a try. Currently the noise isn't bad running on low speed. I'm going to see how the temps run tomorrow and if I need to crank her up I'm planning on using your method to quiet her down.

I need a more powerful fan to also help with the smell. In the past couple days the smell has gotten to a noticeable level, I suspect it is because I'm not pulling enough air through it with the 100 CFM vent fan I was using. It really taught me to not be a cheapskate as in the end it will only cost me more.

glad to hear no more bugs! 80 is ideal temps also if you have cool temps later on in flower it helps colour the plants more .
i think my extractor fan is a fan flow its 550m3/h witch is about 323cfm if the smell is becoming a problem you should grab another fan the one i got cost about 60 and intake will be 175 cfm about $20-$30 .
the sound proofing methods are quite good and work well i do need to get a fan speed controller thats next on the list

 

[JayCseed]

Do you think adding a second light 3-4 weeks before harvest would increase yield? I'm only one click away from buying a second light. LOL I also wish that I had gotten a bigger tent.

It couldn't hurt
Seriously though, if you're ready and willing adding more light will def help increase your yield.

 

[Troy01]

JayC - I bit the bullet and bought a second light last night. Gotta luv Amazon they will deliver it tomorrow.

It will be a good test of my new fan as the temps are suppose to get into the 90's next week.

 

[Troy01]

Some days it seems like nothing is happening. Checked out the girls this morning. Fall is in the air and outdoors temps dropped to mid 50's. The garage dropped to 62 last night but with the lights on temps are running at 68.

Sept 23 - Day 45

AnimalCookies

Platinum OG

 

[Troy01]

 

[Troy01]

I guess I'm getting anxious and checking trics daily. They still look clear to me. I'm guessing I have 3-4 more weeks. Both have a 9-10 week bloom cycle, currently at 6.5 weeks.

 

[JayCseed]

JayC - I bit the bullet and bought a second light last night. Gotta luv Amazon they will deliver it tomorrow.

It will be a good test of my new fan as the temps are suppose to get into the 90's next week.

Sweet! You gotta love Amazon, I'd say I've purchased 99% of my equipment from them!
Not looking forward to the heat but at least it's not 110+, I can deal with the 90s as long as it cools down at night.

 

[OldSchool1965]

Definitely not coming off wrong - I appreciate the input. I have been thinking the same way - not sure if I will add a second light on this grow or wait for my next one. I was initially not going that route as I was having trouble controlling the temps but this new fan really does the trick.

Do you think adding a second light 3-4 weeks before harvest would increase yield? I'm only one click away from buying a second light. LOL I also wish that I had gotten a bigger tent.

I'm definately not the one to advise as have don't have the first hand experience but,since ya pulled the trigger already ... guess we'll find out. I do think it's possible to have too much light but, everything I've read suggests the 50's sqft and you are now in that range.

Best of luck Sir...can't wait to see the results.

 

[Troy01]

I'm sure the girls will like the extra light. If too much I can always switch them down to Flower spectrum.

I was surprised this morning when I checked on the girls today. I guess I forgot to turn the light switches back on yesterday after turning them off to take some pix. Oh well they got an extra long sleep yesterday.

 

[Troy01]

New light arrived this morning. I love Amazon! Setup was quick.

I set a the new light a bit lower as Platinum is a shorter plant

 

[Troy01]

I was surprised the temps shot up to 83F (28C). I went back to the garage to crank up the fan and found I had accidently knocked the vent hose off the fan. Duh.... At least I caught it after just 30 minutes. Temps are dropping but not sure if I will have a good gauge on it this afternoon as the night cycle begins in 5 minutes. Temps have dropped to 78F with an ambient temp of 70F.

I'm going to clear my min-max thermometers to see how she does tonight.

 

[Troy01]

Something New - Backbuiding

I came across a really interesting thread today by Light Addict on Backbubuilding.

LA's Quick Guide To Simple Backbuilding Technique For Buds!

After reading 30 pages I was convinced it had merit. I'm exactly at the point of recommended for giving the bud heads a slight hair cut. I did this to about 75% of my buds and left some for comparison. Will be interesting to see if it work for me.

Picture credit to Light Addict from the thread above.

 

[Troy01]

Photo of one of the cola's after backbuilding will be our interesting to see how she performs.

 

[Troy01]

9/25 - Day 46 Flower

Still clear. I suspect I need 3-4 weeks more. Strains are 9-10 week.