Mole's 150 HPS Stealth Micro SWC Grow - White Berry

[NOKUY]

good luck man

 

[twistedtree]

Hey, Mole! Lookin' good. Off to a good start, yeah? Been a few days...how's the new growth lookin?

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Hey everyone. twistedtree and nokuy - thanks for stopping by!

I've been busy this week and haven't had a lot of time for posting and reading, but I have some time now, so I'm ready to rumble.

Update 9/7/07

Finally got paid, so ordered 150 watt HPS floralux mini from HTG. Should get it mid-week next week. Yeah!

I figure since the girls' only light right now is two 30-watt 5500k CFLs, I will wait to put the three girls in the rockwool and perlite wick starter into their 10-gallon DWC tub. I could put them into DWC now, but the the light isn't strong enough to light up the width of the 10-gallon tub.

I also have these two "extra" girls I germed and put in rapid rooters when I got paranoid the rockwool girls were going to die. These are the girls I will veg until the rockwool girls are finished flowering. I made a small DWC 1-gallon tub for them with an old rubbermaid tub I had lying around, bought an airstone, and put them in it yesterday.

Yesterday I mixed up my first batch of nutes. I made a very light solution of floranova grow with hydroguard. I finished by PH testing it and adjusting it with GH PH down till it reached 5.8. I put the weak nute solution into the 1-gallon DWC and into the rockwool-perlite wick starter. So far, they all seem to like it, and I have no nute burn. Crossing my fingers.

Here are pics I just finished taking:

All 5 of the girls in their new cabinet.


A second view of all the girls



Top view of the girls in perlite



Front view of the girls in perlite



Front view of the 2 girls in their 1-gallon DWC tub



Next up: Tonight I'm going to switch the lighting from 24/24 to 18/6.

Thanks again to everyone for stopping by. I'll give another update over the weekend.

P.S. - Yesterday I bought an eighth of mid-grade for $50. I smiled thinking it was one of the last bags I would ever buy.

 

[Guest]

MOLEMCHENRY,

HEY I NO YOU COULD PICK UP THOSE FANS FOR CMEMORY AT GRAINGER.COM OR GO BY AND PICK IT UP.

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Update

Everything is good in the cab and the girls are all happy. I changed the lights to 18/6 yesterday. All the pics were taken an hour ago.

I'll start with some group shots





Now the girls in dwc






Now the girls in rockwool and perlite



Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you think.

 

[Guest]

LOOKS GOOD !

 

[Guest]

very nice this far in man, keep it up

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Big update! Got my grow lamp today!

Today UPS delivered my 150 watt HPS from HTGsupply.com! I set it up right away, and now have all 5 White Berry girls chilling out in their DWC hydro tubs.

It was fun getting the big tub ready for its first run. First I filled it up with water I let sit out overnight. Then I added small measurements of HydroGuard and FloraNova Grow (man, that FN is thick and goopy!). I PH'd the water, then added the girls to the hydroton net cups. The seedlings had developed quite a lot of roots, and were growing into the wick. Glad I got finally em out of that perlite. I can't wait to see them grow up.

When the light is on and the doors to the cab are closed, I can tell the cab gets warm. Definately warmer than the CFL's. But I don't have a thermometer or fan yet, so will leave 1 cab door open to make sure I don't give them heat stress. The cab is inside a closet, so it will be light proof.

Here are the pics







Sorry about how orange these pics are. From now on, I'll take em with the HPS off and closet lights on.

I'll update again soon, and any advice or feedback you can give me are appreciated.

Mole

PS- rkrone and PIFFDADDY thanks for stopping by!

 

[D Rock]

Nice looking grow so far, good luck to your future growing endevours.

 

[vintner]

Mole: Nice grow and set up man. Your first grow! That exitment doesn't go away. You're hooked on growing bro. Welcome! If I read correctly, you've got 5 fem seeds germed? Learn to clone. Each plant is gonna be a little different. Do you plan to flower them all at once?
Have you got your exhaust fan figured out yet? You can get a 75 cfm bathroom exhaust fan for less than 20 at HD. It's 120, and all you have to do is plug it into an extention cord. I popped the motor out and screwed the housing right to the top of my cab so that the exhaust vent is sicking out a hole in the side of the cab. put a piece of carpet between the housing and the top of your cab and it will cut down on noise a bit, but if you want a quiet fan, you're gonna have to spend some money. Passive intake on the other side at floor level is about all you need for one or a few small plants.
good luck, and safe growing

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Thanks for stopping by D-Rock and vintner - Glad to have you here!

Next Day - Better Pics

All of em


One of the rockwool girls


rapid rooter girl


the other rapid rooter girl


Their leaves look healthier than they did last night. Checked PH in the big tub and it was fine, and changed out and PHd the water in the small tub. The roots in the small tub are getting some serious branches. I'll have to post some pics of it next time.

Got a question for ya. My 150 watt Floralux mini came with a glass pane, and I removed it, thinking the benefit of cooler plants was outweighed by the cost in lost lumens. I have about 25 inches vertical height in a cab that's 30w x 15 d. What do you think? Should I put the glass back on the light, or keep it off?

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[alphacat]

Only way to be sure is to take it off and see. I think the lumen loss from tempered glass averages around 10%, give or take (depending on quality, thickness, etc.)

If the ambient temperature where you live runs on the high side - and depending on your cab's outtake/exhaust fan setup - then probably not worthwhile to remove it. If your area's cooler and the fan setup is decent, give it a go.

 

[memetic]

looking good mole here's a whiteberry grow:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=560755&highlight=whiteberry#post560755

this dewd had some plants that looked exactly like those pictured on the seedpacks, so i am thinking your in for a treat! i am debating a few paradise fem beans at the moment myself.... hope you have good luck with yours bro.

cheers!

btw alphacat.... that avatar has got me lmao!!!

 

[MoleMcHenry]

alphacat and memetic - thanks for stopping by, and make yourselves at home.

alphacat, thanks for the link to the other white berry grow. I am excited about trying paradise seeds. I did a bit of research and they had some pretty good recommendations. I think I'll buy some mandala beans next, though.

memetic - I think you're right. After I get a thermometer, I'll spend some time seeing what's the better option with the glass.

I checked the girls this morning and they were definately larger. Especially the girls in the rapid rooters. Their leaves are getting really broad. The cubes of the rockwool girls were a little dry, and I checked the water level, and it was coming up over the bottom of the net pots about 2-3 cms. Guess I'll add some water and check PH later this afternoon.

I'll do a pic update soon.

Cheers,
Mole

 

[MoleMcHenry]

A quick pic update for today

A quick pic update for today

Just took these pics 10 minutes ago.

All of em


The rapid rooter ladies


the rockwool ladies






When I look at these pics, I can really see the importance of large, healthy roots. The ones with big roots--the rapid rooter girls--have broad, healthy leaf development. The ones with small roots--the rockwool girls--have shorter stems and smaller leaves.

I think the rockwool girls are having a harder time adjusting to the new cab and light. None of their roots are showing through the net pot yet, even though the hydroton is submerged a few centimeters under the water level.

I adjusted the PH of the water earlier. It was a little high, 6.5 or so. I also lowered my apt thermostat. When I opened their cab door, it felt warm.

Quick question
Also, when I open their cab doors, a strange musty smell--like lake water--wafts out. I've never done DWC before, so does that smell just come with the territory, or does it signal something else? Or does it come from the hydroguard or floranova grow?

Check ya later.

 

[hardhat22]

Hey man.Congrats on getting the 150.And welcome to the club.You'll have alot of fun and as Vintner said you're already hooked,Lol.I bought my 150 from HTG 2 years ago and it has more than paid for itself.Do yourself a favor and go ahead and buy a back-up bulb just in case.I didn't and ended up going a couple of weeks without my hps.If you want to buy from HTG you'll have to call the 1-800 number.I went with econolite and had my replacement in just 3 or 4 days I think.I'll enjoying watching your grow.Good Luck.
Peace

 

[British_Bulldog]

Have a good grow

 

[Connoisseur300]

can't wait to see this

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Hi everyone - Well it's been a week or so since my update, and there's lots of new growth and good stuff to report. I changed out both reservoirs Thursday afternoon, then went to the bf's house for the weekend. This time I used enough nutes for early growth rather than seedlings.

When I got back this morning, the little tub had only an inch or two of water left in it! They must have needed all that juice for their massive leaf growth. The girls in the small tub were beginning to get leaf curl and a spot or two of yellow. The big tub was an inch or so lower than when I left it. Both had really high PH, so I added new nutes/water to the small tub and I adjusted PH for both. Here are some pics.

All the girls


The girls in the big tub


Side view of the girl in the front of the big tub.


Overhead view of the girls in the small tub--they're huge!


Side view of the girls in the small tub.



This weekend I'll put in a screen, top the girls in the big tub, and move the small tub girls into a veg cab. I think the big tub girls might go into 12/12 in the next week.

Waddya think?

PS- thanks for stopping by hardhat22, brutush bulldog and connoisseur. Pull up a chair and make yourselves at home!

 

[vintner]

Hey Mole: If you plan to flower all those ladies at the same time, I'd consider topping them, or putting them into 12/12 very soon. That's a really small space, and a 150 is a pretty small lamp for 5 plants. Like I said: Learn to clone, and keep a mother of each one. They all look very well loved though. Keep up the good work, and safe growing.