WW's 1st Grow - 2x2 Tent - Single Plant - LED - Borderliner XTRM - Soil - Reveg

[PurpleGunRack]

You might be able to push the fan back in place, if it keeps coming off you can give it some glue.
I have one from Pure Factory, and it's nice and pretty cheap too.

 

[spacef]

Nice setup!
It's colder and colder here too. Winter is coming and we must take measures (haha, they don't have heaters in "Game of throne"... their life would be much simpler with heaters).

Anyway, I was thinking about a heating cable (30€/30watts) that i could wrap on half a cylinder, and that i would insert in the tent just after the intraction. So it would work whether the intraction is on or off (because it is inside the tent). The heating cable also look easy to couple with a timer. But i don't know if they are efficient or not.

Hi everyone!
It got a lot colder for two days now so I definitely got this little device right on time :

It was pretty easy to set and it has an integrated timer so I could put my lights on it as well, it's always good to save a spot on the power strip.

The little heater is working fairly good I must say, even though it's got a nasty plastic smell. Let's hope it'll go away soon. Not sure I'll be using this thing forever since it has a rather high consumption. I've seen these little green heating tubes that seem to be quite good consumption wise.

 

[spacef]

oh yes, about the plant size. The buds are bigger with a mars 400 if the panel is 60 cm from the canopy. Your goal of 1.20 meter is really the limit. I also think it is more a matter of strain than veg time (my Lemon HB is the tallest and the one that vegged less than 4 weeks instead of 5 like my other photos).

 

[wwhateley]

You might be able to push the fan back in place, if it keeps coming off you can give it some glue.
I have one from Pure Factory, and it's nice and pretty cheap too.

I looked up the Typhoon model from Pure Factory and I'm pretty sure it's exactly the same as the one from Secret Jardin (found the user instructions).
The blade went off the motor shaft because I was probably trying to see what speed would be the best for my tent and when you switch from a high speed to a low one that's usually what can occur. If it happens again I'll glue it but I was actually looking for a second one. Not sure I need it but then I have a second one if the SJ one dies.

Nice setup!
It's colder and colder here too. Winter is coming and we must take measures (haha, they don't have heaters in "Game of throne"... their life would be much simpler with heaters).

Anyway, I was thinking about a heating cable (30€/30watts) that i could wrap on half a cylinder, and that i would insert in the tent just after the intraction. So it would work whether the intraction is on or off (because it is inside the tent). The heating cable also look easy to couple with a timer. But i don't know if they are efficient or not.

Haha yeah I've seen these cables but very little is said about the consumption and efficiency.

oh yes, about the plant size. The buds are bigger with a mars 400 if the panel is 60 cm from the canopy. Your goal of 1.20 meter is really the limit. I also think it is more a matter of strain than veg time (my Lemon HB is the tallest and the one that vegged less than 4 weeks instead of 5 like my other photos).

My LED panel isn't as powerful as the Mars 400 and I can get much closer according to other people using the same. My tent being 190cm high I think I'll be fine!
I posted a link of a journal from a guy growing the same strain and he got his plants at 40cm when switching to flowering, in 7L pots and all that in a month and a half...
So I'm pretty sure I can reach the same but whatever happens at the end of the month I'll switch to flowering.

Today update about my plant : I'm kinda scared!
Yesterday I lowered the LED panel for about 15cm and today was supposed to be the watering day. I opened the tent and the plant was a bit droopy. Not the kind of over-watering droopy where the leaves are still kinda firm but much softer. I didn't have a clue and I watered with pHed water and it's all quite firm again. It was mostly leaves from lower branches or new growths but I got mixed feelings about it.
Maybe it was because it was very thirsty? Let's hope so! Anyway I put the LED panel where it was yesterday, I don't really feel like taking any chance on something was working well so far!

 

[spacef]

The best distance with leds is found when the upper leaves are pointing up, but not too much, in search for light.

A bit like this (jack47 auto from a previous grow)

 

[wwhateley]

Well with my plant/LED panel distance, I should be having this or even worse but it's totally not the case. I'm really far from the plant (95cm).

By the way, I've been reading an article about a Lyme decease medical grow and the guy wrote that : "I also use Canna Mono Magnesium due to the fact that the water here is high in calcium which tends to lock out the magnesium."

The tap water here is also high in calcium so I'm curious about what he's saying. Do you think he uses the Mag+ when there's a deficiency or is he adding it once in a while with his watering?
Didn't know it could cause a magnesium lockout!

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Well with my plant/LED panel distance, I should be having this or even worse but it's totally not the case. I'm really far from the plant (95cm).

By the way, I've been reading an article about a Lyme decease medical grow and the guy wrote that : "I also use Canna Mono Magnesium due to the fact that the water here is high in calcium which tends to lock out the magnesium."

The tap water here is also high of calcium so I'm curious about what he's saying. Do you think he uses the Mag+ when there's a deficiency or is he adding it once in a while with his watering?

If your plant is looking good, don't add anything that could disturb the balance.
I bought both the Mono Mg and Ca when I thought I had Mg deficiency, but it was mainly pH and also feeding regime that was wrong.
If you lower yout pH and add nutes with Mg in it(pretty much all have some) you should be fine.
You could get a bottle so you have it in case you need it

 

[wwhateley]

Oh okay, thanks for clearing that up! I already got some Mg mono nutrient just in case! What I didn't understand was why a water high in calcium would lock out magnesium. It should all be fine as long as you aim for the good pH, right?

Little update on my plant : I'm almost 100% sure that the droopiness was because the plant was thirsty. With the heating on, the medium tends to dry out faster and with the intraction fan blowing right into the airpot, it all makes sense. It still felt humid at a knuckle deep so I didn't bother watering but the medium at the top is completely protected by the plant itself, that's why it still felt humid.

Gonna switch to pot lifting!

 

[wwhateley]

Hey guys! Little update on the first half of the last month of veg :

28cm high! I think I'm gonna reach my goal by the end of the month. The plant is super healthy and I've gotten better at knowing when it needs watering. Still doubting about drainage because I get runoff in about 1,5 minute (which isn't so bad) but I water 2,2L every 5-6 days so it still feels like it's not drinking as fast as it should. Maybe it's because the plant is still pretty small?

I'm now getting prepared for flowering; having my setup in my bathroom, my biggest enemy is humidity and even though I have a pretty good dehumidifier it remains a challenge. The new improvement is that I'm going to install a permanent 95m3/h extraction fan in my bathroom. The tent manufacturer's recommendation for that tent model is 60m3/h so at least I'm going to be extracting enough "dirty air" to the outside world.

Yesterday I noticed that my lights were on when they shouldn't have so the new temperature controller is doing its job well when it comes to temperature but its integrated timer isn't doing that much of a great job so I switched my lights to the old timer.

Next step will be a can fan extractor and a carbon filter. I'm still not sure about what I should be buying but I read that the extraction should be the same as the carbon filter extraction capacity. What I'd like to do is get a 400m3/h fan, dim it down to half its speed (for the noise) and couple it with a 200m3/h carbon filter.
What do you guys think?
Cheers!

 

[spacef]

you should get something between 250 and 300 for your box. Don't go above 400 m3/h or 150 mm, it becomes too noisy even with a compatible variator. The vent 400/500 is quite nice (my best extractor, low noise at 400) - but i use it in the big room (4*4*7 - 120*120*200) . I have a bigger one but I will have to resell it because too noisy, even at low speed with a variator.
I was looking toward the brand RAM which is said to be very silent to replace the old and lousy TT125 i have in the small box.
Just got a Bull Filter myself, they are pretty efficient. I never tried Can.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Rule of thumb the filter capacity should be higher than the fan's maximum flow, but in my first setup(complete tent kit...) it was the other way around and it worked fine.
Though if you have a fan sucking more air through a carbon filter than it can handle, the air isn't cleaned properly and you could get an odour problem.

I use the S&P TD-Silent fans and they are very nice, but rather big in size because of the acoustic housing.

 

[spacef]

Yes, you need a filter which capacity is above the extractor speed. For my 420 m3/h extractor, the filter can go up to 600/650 m3, so i can also use the other speed of the extractor if i ever need, but i don't (500 something).

if your extractor+filters are too powerful for the room size, you will see that the walls of the tent are "sucked inside" ie they will bend inside the tent, and you can loose like 5/7cm on each side, and you will have to get an intractor to make the balance, or lower the speed of the extractor.

For a 60*60 box you need around 200. Then, if it is really smelly, you may want to rise the speed, like 250-280. That's where a speed controller is also useful. Pay attention to Speed Controllers, some are not compatible with some extractors and make a noise (condensator make noise). I have bought myself the Vents RS-1 N that you cable between the extractor and wall plug (and the 2 speed button of the extractor still works, and become like having "2 maximum speeds" ). i think they make simpler ones.

The point is to make sure that filter+extractor+speed controller are compatible and give you a bit of headroom for future upgrades or particular conditions (heat, humidity, odors...).

 

[wwhateley]

Hey guys! Wow thanks for the great answers!
Alright, so according to the tent's manufacturer, I need 60m3/h, it's probably a little bit low so I'm aiming for 200m3/h.
Bullfilter has a 200m3/h one which is perfect because I'd like to put the carbon filter outside the tent to have the maximum amount of height inside and that filter is only 15cm high! After that it's all about noise. I looked at the RAM fans and they seem to be pretty damn good and there's no wiring to do! They got a 125mm one providing 378m3/h and if it'd dim it down to 180m3/h-200m3/h that'd be perfect to couple it with the Bullfilter.
What do you guys think? I know I should be looking for a fan that is closer to 200m3/h but it'll be way to noisy and it'd be an issue since my bedroom is right next to the bathroom.

 

[spacef]

the small ram and the small bull filter are perfect. The 378 is too big for you.
I have that small bull filter too, here as an extraction filter, in a 60*60*100 tent (to give you an idea of the size)

 

[wwhateley]

Yeah these filters look really good! What if I dim it down to 200m3/h, would it still be too big? The 100mm extractor from RAM is 278m3/h but I'm just scared it'd be too noisy at full speed... That's why I thought about a too big fan dimmed down to half its speed.

The problem with these filters is that it's either 200m3/h or 400m3/h which is total overkill for my setup.

 

[spacef]

400 is not overkill for several reasons.

The 278 m3/h is given without filter. Remove 20 / 30 with a filter. so we have a 240/250. That's enough for flowering.

A filter will silence the extractor on the filter's side.
The larger the filter (for a smaller intractor), the better filtration ! there is more surface to treat the air.
The larger filter will last much longer, because there is more surface, the same thickness of coal, it will not let you down during flowering, you may not even have to use the fast speed.
at 29/33 dB (factory specs of the ram) , you should not even need a silencer box, i would use the card box of the extractor itself, and put a few cloth in it.

 

[wwhateley]

I once read that having a filter with a much bigger extraction capacity than the fan can lead to odor leaks. Any experience with that?
I like the idea of having a long lasting carbon filter so a 400m3/h one which is 30cm high is a good idea but if I couple it with a fan extracting between 150m3/h and 200m3/h I want to be sure I won't have any problems!

So here's the options I got :

RAM fan :

- 100mm : 277m3/h
- 125mm : 378m3/h

Bullfilter :

- 100mm : 200m3/h
- 125mm : 400m3/h

If I do a 277m3/h fan with the 200m3/h filter, I gotta be careful not to have it full speed otherwise I'll have a smell problem and the filter will have to be replaced sooner because of its short height.

If I do a 277m3/h fan with the 400m3/h filter I'll have an longer lasting odor treatment but I'll have to get a 125mm-100mm adapter. The downside is that the fan will have to turn full speed to avoid too much odor leaks (maybe it's a myth?).

If I do a 378m3/h fan dimmed down to 200-250m3/h with the 400m3/h filter, I need no adapter, it'll be very quiet and I'll have a long lasting carbon filter.

Still don't know what would be the best

 

[spacef]

of course, if someone puts a 100mm 100 m3/ extractor on a 1500 filter 300mm diameter, there might be a problem
I can't really say about putting a 400 filter on a 200 extractor. It sound a bit oversized. But 277 on 400 looks fine.
Many people use Phresh or Can filter so, may be you get better options than bull ? I don't see a problem using an 100 to 125 adaptor. I use those all the time, but i have a bit of pipe between the filters and extractors (40/50 cm if possible). I never used the RAMs personnally, just a seller at a shop who said they were great.

I once read that having a filter with a much bigger extraction capacity than the fan can lead to odor leaks. Any experience with that?
I like the idea of having a long lasting carbon filter so a 400m3/h one which is 30cm high is a good idea but if I couple it with a fan extracting between 150m3/h and 200m3/h I want to be sure I won't have any problems!

 

[wwhateley]

Thanks for the reply spacef! Alright I'm going to get the 277m3/h fan with the 400m3/h filter.
I looked up some filters called Mountainair and they seemed to be great but then I read that the Phresh filters were better and then I read that the Bullfilters were much better than the Phresh and the Can

I'd like to build it like a chimney with a curved pipe at the end to blow the dirty air straight at the bathroom extractor. I was going to avoid adapters because I'm a bit afraid I won't have enough room between the tent and the ceiling! Should be fine. It's going to look stupid but I don't care

 

[ewilan947]

So .. how things going on in here ? I see you are all into technical stuff..
how are the plants looking ?
Ewilan-