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150 HPS SCROG Cab Thread - Mother's Finest

m.steelers

Enlightened
Veteran
Hi Folks,

I wanted to document my latest grow for everyone. This is a new space for me as I am used to 1000W 9 plant type deal. I got married and there were some, cough, :wink: "compromises". I let my old partner take all the old gear up to his place, and I decided to make this 150 cab. But hey, it was fun to build and when it's all said and done this should be able to keep me happy.

The dimensions on this box are 31in H X 13 Deep x 32 W.

Since I don't have much headroom I am going to use the SCROG technique to limit heighth and maximize yields in this small space. According to my research, I think the top end could be around 4.5 oz. I am going to shoot for 3 oz this time as the goal. I think I may also look into some sort of SWC to boost the yields. Don't want to get too scientific until I run this box successfully a few times.

The plants in here are mother's finest clones - I received them when they were in full flower, so it has been a challenge getting them back in veg and growing normally. They were only growing one leaf blade at a time and they are finally back to some multi bladed leaves. That's why they may look a little wierd. This odd growth tripped me out as I have never had to bring a plant that was so far in to flower back to veg. I goofed and overfert'd them trying to speed the process but that has been corrected and we are getting back on track.

Anyway, here are some shots of the cab:


This is the bottom of an old microwave cart



Here's the passive intakes and the exhaust - I have a bunch of aquarium charcoal inside the exhaust tube to help mask the smell. I also run an O3 generator in an adjancent room, which helps the most


Doors open






I used a bathroom fan for the exhaust - velcro on the fake drawer so that I can get access to the light and fan if need be. The problem with the bathroom fan is that it is kinda loud. I will probably pull that out and get another muffin fan which will be mounted to a PVC tube/carbon filter type deal. Those little muffin fans can torque so I dont think I will lose any ventilation effect.


Another shot through the fake drawer. Note the muffin fan I have mounted on top of the 150 HPS. These can still put out some radiant heat and with a 150 you need to be as close as possible. The fan really helps pull heat away from the bulb. This is just exhausting hot air away from the bulb and right up to the ceiling, the bathroom fan then sucks that hot air right out of the box. No need for dryer duct in this small space.


Here's an up close of the power center and timers


CO2 system isn't mounted yet. I'm waiting till I get into flower to use the gas. I will have the tank outside the box and am going to drill holes in the back and pipe in some tubing to drop gas on top of the screens.



Here is a shot of the homeade screens - one for each plant. A you can see in the back that white container will be my final pot. It holds about 2.75 gallons. I plan on cutting the covers open leaving small sections in the corner with holes drilled in them. The dowel rods to hold the screens will be inserted through these holes. Most likely I will just duct tape them down as this isnt rocket science. The screens will be about 7inches above the containers.




Well folks that's about all for now. I am going to Amsterdam next week so I hope to be putting the screens on when I get back. I was going to top the plants but an interesting trait has developed from the flowered clones - they get really branchy, throwing a shoot out of every old pistil site almost. I could almost classify it as too bushy. So I don't think topping will be necessary (thanks Cap for the tip)

Temps in the box don't get above 78F, humidity is fairly low usually around 30-50. It's like a wind tunnel in there. Current Nutes are Fox Farm Grow Big. pH is adjusted to 6.4 and I am using Pro Mix and the medium. I have some FF Bloom formula left from my last grow, but I think I am going to get some of the AN organic nutes and their Carbo Load for the flowering stage. I usually go all organic, but I have been looking at their Bud Blood as a supplement. A little synthetic wont be noticable if used as an additive in early flowering...

Well that's it, I'll update later and if anyone has any questions please let me know :canabis:

MSteel
 
G

Guest

Well thats a good looking stealth grow. Reminds me of the old OG days and NewGanjaBoy's Drawer Grow. I hope that suffices. The negative pressure in your grow is great. You may not even need the recirculating fan. Looking good Mang. Keep us updated.

So we know what your comprimise was. What was hers? Just curious.

Blatant :wave:
 

m.steelers

Enlightened
Veteran
Thanks guys.

Oh yeah she knows. I had 1000W in our attic before and it really tripped her out. We're under a flight path of helicopters (hospital near by), so that can make ya really paranoid. Shit I was even nervous. I moved everything over to a buddy's place but you know how it is when you can't be around the shit all the time. It's just not the same. I understand her concern as she doesnt blaze anymore.... I just explained it in logical terms and wore her down. 2 plants under a 150 just doesn't look as ANYWHERE near as dangerous as a massive 1000W fixture with CO2 tubes hanging down and silver dryer duct everywhere. Ya know? Deep down I miss it though as I want to grow more variety at once.

I think this can get me enough to last between cycles. I am setting up a little mini veg/ banzai mother chamber, maybe in a big rubbermaid with some floruos or something. I haven't started on that yet, but will when I get back from my trip. I've got some Sour Bubble BX2 up next and I am picking up my Sour Diesel BX2.5 in Amsterdam next week. Dutch was kind enough to deliver my seedbay purchase to the store over there. I plan on doing some impulse buying too.

I'm really big on eliminating the radiant heat, that's the reason for the reciculating fan. I am trying to blow the heat from directly under the bulb over to the exhaust fan. I usually have the plants closer but I took their stands out to make the shots look better. Definitely got a lot of ideas for this from OG. Ganjaboys thread included.

I'm looking forward to getting those screens on!

MS
 

immortal

Active member
Hey man good luck. My cab is almost the exact same size as yours. I may not go scrog depending on how many females I get and how long it takes for them to show after I switch to 12 12. I may just use this grow to practice training and find a good mother and reveg her. then scrog the clones. Who know what ill do but its sure gonna be fun growin these babies and even more fun schmokin em. Again good luck. Suck that you had to compromise but so did I. Stop bye my thread I post pics every 3 days. LInk in signature.
 

immortal

Active member
Im kinda lazy and honestly dont wanna spend money on a veg chamber right now. I have read that You can take clones and keep them in the fridge for at least 4 weeks though. So I may just take clones and not worry bout em till after havest.
 

m.steelers

Enlightened
Veteran
Let the training begin!

Let the training begin!

Update:

The final transplants are done, the screens are on and the light schedule has been cut back. I'm still looking for a cheap CO2 tank to replace my old one. I hope to get that all sorted in the next couple weeks tops.

Here's some photos of the container/screen devices as I was putting them together.









Next, in go the plants





Here's one that has been situated under the screen



And placed in the Cabinet







Let the fun begin ----- Sorry the pics aren't more clear, I think I am using the first digital cam ever made!

If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

Later,
MSTEEL :joint:
 

m.steelers

Enlightened
Veteran
7th inning, uh I mean day stretch....

7th inning, uh I mean day stretch....

OK - Here is the update at day 7 of the flowering cycle. Tucking and repositioning the branches and node sites on a daily basis. I need to thin out the leaf this afternoon to allow more light to budsites. I do this almost daily.

I still have them on FoX Farm Grow Big, and will give them one more watering with that before I cut over the FF Bloom nutes. Next crop I am going to try the AN organic stuff. I will probably also give these a last small dose of supplemental Mg too. I also started CO2 injections at the beginning of 12/12 and the plants obviously love that shit. Overall I am really happy with the way these are filling out. I am anticipating the buds being set by about this time next week, maybe a few days later. Then I will take clones from the growth underneath the screen - and remove the rest of thevegetation to ensure mold isnt an issue. I've got my eye on a couple nice branches that probably wont make it up top, so those are the clones, for now. We'll see if I keep them as I have a lot of other projects on deck, and space is limited. I am looking in to another small enclosure for some bonzai mothers. I would like to have room in the new box for 5 small bushes for clones only. This is my game plan for the rest of the year (mothers finest, sour bubble2, sour diesel2, warlock and then basic diesel)

Here are the updated shots of the fill:










Any questions lemme know~

Kind Regards,
MS
 

immortal

Active member
I hope the big one is a fem it is definetly a keeper if it is. The short one was bigger for a while then it outgrew a little and seems to have responded to the topping a little better.

Oh wait this isnt my thread.
 

m.steelers

Enlightened
Veteran
Updated: Day 14 12/12

Updated: Day 14 12/12

Alrighty - things are progressing nicely, although I can see that the smaller of the 2 plants doesnt look like it will fill the screen entirely. It was about 3 inches shorter than the tall one when the screens went on. That's OK this is a learning experience as I've never grown Mother's Finest before. Now I know how long to let them go next time. That probably wont be till next year as I gotta a lot of other cool shit on deck before these get another spin.

Today, I hit them with a large dose of Fox Farm Bloom (1/2 Cup per gallon). I had fed the Fox Farm Grow up until now. Going forward, it will be the FFB and when my AN stuff arrives this week I will hit them with some Carbo Load. Going to save all the other shit I bought for the next mission. I also added a 150W (I think it is actually 43W, but the output is supposed to equal 150) Red Spectrum Fluorescent to the one corner of my box. The footprint on the HPS wasnt covering the right corner so I had to supplement. More light the better. Temps did not increase. Running at 79, but the humidity has been up a bit staying constant at about 65-70.

I also trimmed a lot of fan leaf that was blocking bud sites and removed most of the growth under the screen. I left a few shoots that might still make it up top. Anyway, here are the photos:













Any questions let me know, things are getting interesting now at least :canabis:
 

immortal

Active member
Looking good. Looks like I ended up with two ladies perfect for the space im in. They havent quite kicked into flowering yet although they have been on 12/12 for 2 weeks. Later.
 

m.steelers

Enlightened
Veteran
Update: 21 Daze

Update: 21 Daze

Looking good so far. I tied a few of the buds down that were reaching out above the canopy. Steady feeding with Fox Farm Bloom and just supplemented with Carbo Load. ph 6.3. CO2 injections at lights on and mid day which bring the temps up to about 90F. After exhausting it heads back down to about 81F. No complaints here :canabis:

Here are the latest pics:














Any questions lemme know.
MS :joint:
 
G

Guest

Wicked. MF looks like a very good strain for scrog. You've done a good job.
 

m.steelers

Enlightened
Veteran
Thanks for checkin in Sal. I'm excited to see how big these buds end up getting. Hopefully, they start looking like yours next week or so-->
 

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