150w HPS Club and Resource Guide......

[bounty29]

They are very heavily inspired by Red_Greenery's design, which you can see here. Instead of mounting the fan on the lid though, the fan will be mounted directly to the back wall of the cabinet. And instead of mounting one Sterlite tub in another, I'm going to cut the end of the sterlite container off and have it attach to the ceiling of the grow room, by velcro possible, or maybe zip-ties, I'm not quite sure yet. The two main objectives of this design will be minimal space use, and ease of taking out and refilling, which I think I'll be able to accomplish.

For ventilation, there will be four 4" holes along the bottom of the back, acting as passive intakes. There will be three 4" computer fans mounted along the top, one in each corner and one right in the middle. The two in the corners will be pulling air through one of the carbon scrubbers, and the one in the middle will be pulling air through the hood for the light. My goal is to have the temp inside be no greater than 10*f above ambient, but I'd love to have it be less than that.

Can anyone tell me what the length is of a 150w HPS, from the bottom of the socket to the top of the bulb? Thanks a lot!

 

[Pipedream]

There's no definitive answer. Both the socket and bulb are available in various sizes and shapes. Untill you have the actual items in your hand, keep your plans flexible.

Also, be sure that there are no airleaks between your cooled hood and the actual growing area. If there are you will be defeating the purpose of the carbon scrubber by venting uncleaned air to the outside.

 

[Guest]

Hey Bounty. That's a nice looking cabinet.

I have an idea that will use that open space and give you a few inches in height.

Get a sheet of glass and mount it above the doors. Use the entire upper section for your lights. Take a piece of veneer plywood and cover the big open space. With the right stain and varnish, you can make the cover to match the doors for super stealth!

This way you'd get a built in air cooled hood and a few more inches for buddage!

 

[bounty29]

That's an awesome idea, but I don't think it's going to make it for this grow. This cab only cost me $30, and I don't even know if I'll be able to get it out of my apartment when I move next year. Once this thing is together, taking it apart is a major pain in the ass and majorly damages it's structural integrety. I forgot to add a piece to it and had to go back a few steps and now the thing is extremely wobbly, which I hope to fix when I mount the back to it. I just got finished light proofing it for the most part, and let me just say what a nuisance it was. I ended up using a lot of foil tape, and just a little bit of weather stripping. The weather stripping wasn't cooperative at all, but the foil tape actually worked quite well. I know it may create some hotspots but it's not really in an area that will be getting a lot of light. Here's everything I got and accomplished today:





I've got 30qt of the Transplanting Mix, and 12qt of Perlite, so it's about a 70/30 mix. I think I might try to make a little cloner with the extra perlite, and use it for sexing. I'm really interested to see how these ferts turn out, it doesn't look like many people here have used them, if any.

 

[Pipedream]

You hear many growers talk about hot-spots. Many even go as far as to tell others not to use aluminum foil or similar material to line their grows to prevent them. Don't worry about them. They are only a concern when working with high-wattage lamps such as the 600 or 1000. Bulbs in the 60 to 200 range don't have enough power to create one from basic reflection, even if the surface is slightly concaved.

 

[pittbull]

how long does it take to sprout seeds under 150 watt hps anyone ?2

 

[Pipedream]

Many of us sprout using the wet paper-towel method. In this situation, you usually see the sprout in 4 to 7 days. When placed directly into a soil-type mix, it will likely take a few additional days for the sprout to pop out the top of your medium. Additionally, some of the 150 members prefer to start their seedlings off with a bit of flouroescent light and allow them to remain there for a while before they move them under the 150. When growing from seed, I personally use the 150HPS from sprouting right thru harvest. If cloning, I usually use a bit of CFL till the root mass is established.

 

[bounty29]

What should I do to those smaller sterlite containers for drainage? Do I need to put a layer of anything on the bottom besides my mix, or will that be fine? Also, what kind of/how many holes should I put in the bottom of the containers?

I have all three of the smaller containers in a large one so that any water that goes out of the bottom will be contained, I might end up putting a little valve on the large container so I can drain it without moving it.



Also, I assume I should use some foil tape to black out the smaller containers so to keep light off of the roots once they get to the edges right?

 

[Bulénath]

Whats up Bounty,

I drilled about 13-15 regular sized holes on the bottom of my five-gallon pots...Dosent have to be perfect. Try glueing some rubber stopers on the bottom to prop the pots up so the holes can drain. You can find a variety at most hardware stores. Get the thick ones with out much height. Should find a four pack for about $1.

For the bottom of the pots, just use the medium you made, and NOTHING else. No rocks, perlite, etc... Actually, rocks will prevent addequate drainage, when they would seem to increase it! This is beause the medium will trap itself very well between the rocks, plugging the drainage.

If you have some extra alminum tape, use it to lightproof the pots! It should increase some efficiency!

If your using the BIG sterilite to hold a SCROG, then its understandable that you would want a drain for the big pot. But it seems like it would be a tight fit and a pain to make...What about just using the lids the sterilites came with as a runoff trap, and making a modular aka SSScrog?

Here is an example of the pots, but LST, not SSScrog.

 

[bounty29]

Wow I love the use of those eyehook screw things. I never was sure how I was going to set up my screen, but if I can get a lot of those hooks to screw in around my bins then I might just do that. I always kinda wanted to do a combination of FIM and LST. I'm just worried I won't be able to keep the plants short enough without the actual screen there.

 

[BoB91]

Hey 150 club! how is everybody doing tonight, this morning, this evening? Well, tonight I did a final transplant into 3 gallon pots. The first one was tramatic because I couldnt shake the plant loose at first, soil got everywhere, the plant got shaken a whole lot. The second one went fine. Before the transplant I broke one of the plants necks but I broke it almost all the way through. I dont think you can see it on any of these pics but I am a little worried. Hopefully it will heal itself.






This last pic is the one I broke the neck almost completely through. "It will survive,it will survive!" She also stinks for being so young. I might have to get rid of this one later on if it gets any more robust(which I believe it will!)
Oh yeah this is only my 2nd grow and last until after my little girl(human girl that is) is born!!!!! We also might move next year. Sick of this place.

 

[trikromeking]

nice plants but dont you think your containers are a litte big?

 

[bounty29]

Well he just did his final transplant. If you wait until it's bigger and in flower, a transplant won't do as much as if you transplant it when it's still in veg, and can focus on spreading it's roots out.

 

[Pipedream]

I assure you BoB91 you are not the first to snap a stem during a container change. However, these plants of ours have a woody fiberous stem that can grow roots at any point. Hence the ability to clone them. If a good portion of the outer stem is still intact, try this to remeady the situation.......

Take a very small amount of sphagnum moss, peat moss, rockwool, or even shreaded cotton fiber and wrap it loosely around the injury. Now replant the paitent so that the injured area is well under the surface of the soil or growing medium. Water as usual, but twice every day, add just a teaspoon of water directly around the stem so it runs down and keeps the bandage damp. Make sure she has 24x7 light. The combination of 24 hr lighting, and constant dampness and darkness near the injured area will encourage root development in that spot. Meanwhile, the old root-mass will be supplying nutrients to the plant and the high soil level will provide support. With a little luck you'll wind up with a healthy strong girl with a great root-mass.

 

[Bulénath]

Bob 91,
Good luck with your grow, hope she gets better!
Your pots aint to small man, shit.. chceck this out..

I go from 3 week veg in a 4-5" square pot (you know those flimsy plastic black ones)

Straight to five gallons of soil! Works fine for me!

As BOG would teach, going trough three transplants will help increase the growth rate, for the roots will strech faster in a smaller pot, opposed to taking its time to find its srroundings... At the sime time, its a pain in the ass and perhaps micro grows can be an exception on three transplants, after all we are not going commercial with these small ass 150's and there are ALWAYS exceptions when dealing with Micro Grows...
I wouldent try a tripple transplant, even though 4-6" tall vegging plants look very out of place in the 5 gallon!!
Heres she is, the day of the transplant, about 1 hour into floweing, day 0.



Now look at her only 13 days later!




But as of day 18 flower, they have OVERGROWN my cabinet and hooked on FULL STRENGTH PBP. Day 18... damn...
Pics to come...

 

[Bulénath]

Pipedream,
You think the best option for Bob's plant is to:
Air Layer and immediately burry the Air Layer into the medium? Just to understand correctly.

Also, heres a serious question for you PipeDream, and everyone....

Since I will be cloning today or tomorow, I have to ask in reguards to PipeDream's suggestion of 24/7 lighting.... Dont roots and branches strech during the NIGHT cycle, and grow slowly during the day, because in the day our plants are too busy with Photosynthesis...??? Or are your resting your suggestions SOLEY on the contrast between 24/7 light and total darkness within the Air Layer and all thats Below the dark soil..... I dont understand how the contrast alone makes the difference, as I was almost sure 18/6 is more natural and promotes root growth faster...

Shit, should know this crap by now! Argh...
(<----lazy stoner)

Please let me know your opinions on this, everyone. Aloha

Bom Boleeeenath!

 

[BoB91]

Thanks for the replies everyone! .Pipedream I think I am just going to leave the plant alone for now . She is supporting the weight,for now anyways, and new growth is fine so far. However, tonight I found a slight problem. I havent posted it yet I still need to take pictures and take a look at Stitches thread to possibly identify the problem. It might be from the snapped neck. Well see, enough with my problems. hey Bule, damn that plant blew up.NICE

 

[sugabear_II]

i clone under24 hours of light - one less timer to worry about

 

[BoB91]

Well last night I snapped the neck completely by mistake. I dont have anymore soil or moss etc... So I just stuck next to the decapitated one and moistened the soil around the stem. I know it will probably not survive. It sucks. Dont thnik this is goign to go as well as my first grow but will have to see. Gotta go to work talk to ya laters!

 

[Pipedream]

Bule - The plants do grow and stretch both at night and during the day. And many varieties will show a larger stretch-gain during the dark cooler period. In fact, one of the best ways to limit stretch and keep your internodal lengths as short as possible is to keep your day and night temps as close as possible. As far as the Air Layering you mentioned, it is a good way to establish a second root-mass above the soil level on a healthy plant you want to clone. However, I've never had great success with it and prefer the standard cloning method. Also, it is basically the same process I suggested for BoB91's problem with the exception of the burying of it in the soil. The 24 hours of light is to assure that the plant remains in a full vegetative state state during this stressful period and concentrates its energy on root development.

After all these years of growing and trying different things, and reading all I could find, I've settled on only 2 lighting periods. 24/0 for cloning and veg, and 12/12 for flowering. The only exception is the changeover which I do in three or four steps to also help reduce stretch. Of course, I'm no growing guru, I only know what has worked for me. I'm sure there are other methods that are just as productive if not even more so.