Growing in a 4-tier Indoor Greenhouse

[Daemon]

Hey y'all....

Thanks to the help from some great folks on here I now have almost everything I need for my grow. I have two 4-tier greenhouses and I am planning(I think), to place them in my closet and grow in them. I have 5 little babies about 3 weeks along under a 2ft 2lamp T5 in one of the greenhouses, which is wrapped in 3mil panda film. The greenhouses look like this:

Now, I will list the supplies I have thus far and then go onto my questions. I have:

- a 2ft 2lamp T5 for vegging
- a 250w HPS light
- the 2 4 tier greenhouses which measure 5' 3" high x 2' 3" wide x 19" deep
- a 6" inline fan(250cfm)
- timers, temp/humidity gauge
- 3mil panda film

Now, I have a closet in my room that is roughly 10' high x 6' wide x 2' deep. There is also a shelf that could easily make the height of the room about 6' tall. I was originally thinking of just lining the closet with panda film and hanging the light in there but since it's only a 250w I opted to use the greenhouses. I also live in an apt so the greenhouses will make it easier to contain the smell and vent it out the window(I live on the 2nd floor). The greenhouses will fit in the closet(side by side), very nicely. So, what do y'all think about using one for vegging and one for flowering? I was originally thinking of connecting them(side by side), but that would make the area 4' 6" wide x 19' deep, which I think is a bit much for the 250w. What you y'all think? As it stands now I have one greenhouse for flowering and one for vegging.

Also, I still have a few questions regarding smell, ph and light:

1. The closet is right by a window and I have the 6" inline duct fan and some flexible ducting. Since I live on the 2nd floor and will be growing in a (semi)sealed greenhouse I am wondering if simply having an intake hole on one side and the inline fan attached to ducting leading out the window on the other side will be enough for odor control? No one lives in the apt below me(it's used for storage), and my apt does not butt right up against another one(i.e. there is a stairway in between). If not I will have to either make or buy a carbon scrubber, or possibly buy one of those odor socks, anyone used them?

2. As far as light leaks go I am pretty much clueless. I have done a ton of reading but have been unable to get a definitive answer on this. I gather that for vegging it doesn't matter but for flowering it needs to be completely dark(I mean like pitch black), correct? If this is the case I am unsure how to do the vent holes, especially the intake hole. I have seen some stuff about light traps but since I am using a greenhouse with a flexible plastic cover I'm not sure how to do it. Since the greenhouses will be sitting in a dark closet light won't be too much of an issue but I don't know to make a 9" intake hole without allowing some ambient light in. Will this really screw my flowering up?

3. Finally, I have no ph meters or anything. I cannot afford the electronic deals so I was thinking of getting the $6.99 little test kit. I've seen some reports on them being fairly accurate. I'm using FoxFarm OF soil and FoxFarm 3 part nutes and only plan on flowering around 4 plants at a time, how necessary is the ph test kit?


Sorry for the long post and I hope I correctly asked my questions. I've been doing a TON of reading and searching and whatnot so hopefully I'm not asking stupid questions! This is a great community and I look forward to giving a little back once I get a few grows under my belt!

As a side note, does anyone know of a good, affordable digital camera? I've found a ton of cheap ones but I want a halfway decent camera. Thanks!!

 

[Daemon]

Anyone?

 

[Daemon]

No one eh? Should this be in a different forum? (I'm still new here so please forgive me if it is in the wrong forum).

 

[m@rg]

first of all id test that 250 w in that green house , with all that thin plastic about
do some test runs,take notes on the temps and humidity
and make sure ur not gonna burn the place down
carbon filter is a must if living near other folk
swan neck the ducting works pretty well for stopping light in
after saftey is sorted ,ph test kit is essential,shut ur eyes cause thats how ull be growing without one .....blind
..keep searching the site and ull be fine
best of luck
stay safe

 

[The _Selecta]

i would probally ditch that greenhouse and build some sort of box/cabinet, their are many threads in the micro grow section that would work well. as for the ph the super cheep test droppers are the way to go no need for a ph pen at this stage . also not entirely sure what you dont understand about light leaks ? how to seal off your area or just light leaks in general?

 

[tleaf jr.]

i lik the greenhouse

 

[BadKarma]

I would deffanatly do a test on that before I left it unattended. An apartment grow can be risky for a lot of people. If it works I would do a test grow of Tomatoes or something see if I could pull it off. jmo
Good Luck BK

 

[Daemon]

Thanks for the advice. I've been searching and reading and whatnot so I think I have a fairly good idea of what to do. My plants are doing wonderfully, they're about 8" tall and very bushy. I just got my Kaya seeds and I'll be germing those tomorrow. I've also got Big Bang and Lowryder #2 on the way.

I am a bit concerned about having a 250w light inside a plastic greenhouse covered in panda film. I have good ventilation(a 250cfm inline duct fan pulling air and a 10" flat fan inside) but it still kind of freaks me out when I go to work - I currently have my herb under a T5 and a bunch of radishes, tomatoes, lettuce, and poppies under my HPS). I wonder if I should invest in a bigger fan?


As far as the light leaks go, I think I am still confused on both aspects. How much will having some minor light leaks affect the flowering? Since the greenhouse is sitting in a dark closet it's no problem EXCEPT for the intake hole(s). I have no idea how to do it on this plastic greenhouse so that it blocks any light leak??


I have a carbon filter en route and it's a good thing because they really are stinking already. I've started LST on them and it's going well, and I love the Fox Farm Nutes - very easy to use. I have one little plant that looks to be 100% sativa so I'm hoping for a female!!


I will go get a ph test kit and some ph adjuster tomorrow as well.


Thanks again everyone for the advice everyone!!

 

[Pirate]

Sup Deamon ??

Thought i would chime in on a couple of your questions.

1) you do not want ANY light leakage into your blooming chamber. If you do it will either slow, reduce or stop production. The biggest concern might be that light leaks could cause hermies to develop.

2) Panda film is great but I have discovered it is not light proof like they claim. You may need to throw a second layer (double it up). I found that the cheapest way to handle this is to use the panda on layer one and then a second layer (neatly duct taped) of Black Visqueen Plastic for the second layer. This will block 100% of any light coming in or out. Check Home Depot, Lowes, or any hardware store. The darker you can make it the better.

3) As long as your ventalation is good and heat isn't building up inside the greenhouse then their isn't much concern as far as fire goes. Just make sure the plastic stays a good distance away from the bulb. One option might be to run your lighting schedule so the the lights are ON when your home and OFF when at work. This will help reduce fears and wonder all day. (been there, done that) NOTE: I have panda film approx. 12 inches away from a vertically hung 400 watt metal halide with no ventalation around the lamp itself. This has not been a problem. In the photos below you can see the lamp hanging and how close it is to the Panda when I close the room up.





Looking Good !!

Happy Growing
Pirate

 

[Daemon]

Excellent advice, thank you!!