Since my grows are overlapping and I can't be bothered to keep starting and stopping journals, I'm just gonna go with an ongoing journal of whatever I have going on.
For those of you just joining my ravings, here's the important details.
Main overhead lights:
-1x 200w (actual watts, not equivalent, this thing is a beast) Sunblaster cfl at 6400k center hung.
-2x home-made 8-socket cfl array, each currently sporting a mix of 25-27w bulbs in 5000k, 3000k, and 2700k, approx 200w each for 400w total, 1 on each side of the Sunblaster.
600 true watts total.
Supplemental lights:
4x vertically mounted 32w 4' tubes, 2 in each front corner, currently all 6500k. 2 shown below.
1x vertically mounted 54w Sunblaster 2' tube+nanoreflector, center of rear wall, height adjusts up and down on sliding mount. Also 2x 32w 4' tube horizontally hung over rear area, currently in 2700k
246 true watts total.
Overall light in box around 850w, all fluoros.
Ventilation:
-exhaust is handled by my 280 cfm Vortex 4" fan combined with my new Phresh activated carbon filter, ducted to another floor to save house heating costs.
-new air is brought in from outdoors (canadian winter air) via disguised dryer exhaust, which is rigged to an UGLY, Apollo13-worthy kludge involving a repurposed 50cfm bathroom exhaust fan, a heavily modified thick plastic shopping bag, and ALOT of duct tape. It lets out around the lights and gets caught and mixed by the circulation fans inside. This is on same timer as lights so it stops cooling at lights off.
Also have some passive intake from house, box is not air-tight and exhaust keeps it at just slightly negative pressure in there relative to house, which is exactly what I wanted.
Lights on temps hover around 70-75 F,as high as 80 F when outside air is warmer, lights off around 65-70 F
My growth medium is a hand-mixed "soil-less" blend, similar to SuperSoil but different enough:
-%33 Sphagnum Peat Moss (provides structure, water retention, capillary action, and Ph regulation.
-%33 Vermiculite (pretty much same thing as Perlite, for porosity and water retention)
-%33 mixed organic composts, cow, sheep, chicken, deer, shrimp and fish, general vegetable matter, worm castings, etc.
-%1 various amendments, powdered eggshell, used uncomposted coffee grinds, blood meal, bone meal, epsom salts.
For those of you just joining my ravings, here's the important details.
Main overhead lights:
-1x 200w (actual watts, not equivalent, this thing is a beast) Sunblaster cfl at 6400k center hung.
-2x home-made 8-socket cfl array, each currently sporting a mix of 25-27w bulbs in 5000k, 3000k, and 2700k, approx 200w each for 400w total, 1 on each side of the Sunblaster.
600 true watts total.
Supplemental lights:
4x vertically mounted 32w 4' tubes, 2 in each front corner, currently all 6500k. 2 shown below.
1x vertically mounted 54w Sunblaster 2' tube+nanoreflector, center of rear wall, height adjusts up and down on sliding mount. Also 2x 32w 4' tube horizontally hung over rear area, currently in 2700k
246 true watts total.
Overall light in box around 850w, all fluoros.
Ventilation:
-exhaust is handled by my 280 cfm Vortex 4" fan combined with my new Phresh activated carbon filter, ducted to another floor to save house heating costs.
-new air is brought in from outdoors (canadian winter air) via disguised dryer exhaust, which is rigged to an UGLY, Apollo13-worthy kludge involving a repurposed 50cfm bathroom exhaust fan, a heavily modified thick plastic shopping bag, and ALOT of duct tape. It lets out around the lights and gets caught and mixed by the circulation fans inside. This is on same timer as lights so it stops cooling at lights off.
Also have some passive intake from house, box is not air-tight and exhaust keeps it at just slightly negative pressure in there relative to house, which is exactly what I wanted.
Lights on temps hover around 70-75 F,as high as 80 F when outside air is warmer, lights off around 65-70 F
My growth medium is a hand-mixed "soil-less" blend, similar to SuperSoil but different enough:
-%33 Sphagnum Peat Moss (provides structure, water retention, capillary action, and Ph regulation.
-%33 Vermiculite (pretty much same thing as Perlite, for porosity and water retention)
-%33 mixed organic composts, cow, sheep, chicken, deer, shrimp and fish, general vegetable matter, worm castings, etc.
-%1 various amendments, powdered eggshell, used uncomposted coffee grinds, blood meal, bone meal, epsom salts.
