JCool09 Cabinet Hydro Caramelicious 9/2009

Germination progress
Well not much progress to report today. Two of the seedlings have cotyledons above ground and the other three seeds are cracked with taproots but are still underground. Kudos to AMS on the 100% germination rate (5/5). If any of them kick the bucket it's my bad.

Lighting update
I found a replacement for my broken CFL at JSB Mart for $18.95. I also found a really good deal on a 150W HPS fixture at Express Light Bulbs. The fixture with bulb was $77.95 which was the lowest total after considering their $5.99 flat rate shipping policy. I also ordered a spare 150W HPS bulb from JBS Mart for $8.75.

So if I can't WOW you with weed pics hopefully I can help you save $$ on your next light purchase. Thanks for all of your support so far, I really appreciate it.
 
jcool09 said:
Germination progress


Lighting update
I found a replacement for my broken CFL at JSB Mart for $18.95. I also found a really good deal on a 150W HPS fixture at Express Light Bulbs. The fixture with bulb was $77.95 which was the lowest total after considering their $5.99 flat rate shipping policy. I also ordered a spare 150W HPS bulb from JBS Mart for $8.75.

So if I can't WOW you with weed pics hopefully I can help you save $$ on your next light purchase. Thanks for all of your support so far, I really appreciate it.
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way stoked on that find. Thats the cheapest i've seen.I'm buliding a breeding box and i needed a 150. Hell yeah i'm way stoked on that.

+rep
 
spike69 said:
you are looking good on the grow bud,Its going to be cool to watch the jcool grow..:surf:
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Good to have you Spike, and thank you again for the 10 rating on my cabinet pic.

The Butcher said:
way stoked on that find. Thats the cheapest i've seen.I'm buliding a breeding box and i needed a 150. Hell yeah i'm way stoked on that.

+rep
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Butcher glad I could help out and thanks for the rep man, I appreciate it.

The Weed said:
I agree jcool09 just the $5.99 flat rate shipping policy makes it a good < great deal.. TY
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Yes it was a good find. Ballasts are friggin heavy! On a related note I was just shopping for CPU fans and the vendor was looking for 5.99 to ship a 1.99 item!

Bolivar said:
Subscribed. That's a neat cabinet and setup, and I'm watching the STG cubes progress along with an interest in Caramelicious. Already took note of the Root Excelurator and bookmarked a website with a decent price.

Can't wait for updates. :smokin:
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Thanks, Bolivar. The STG cubes have been more of a - than a + so far although it was my inexperience with the medium and seed germination that was the cause of my issues. I'm sure I'll do better next time now that I know what to expect.
 
So I was at Home Depot today and picked up some Nature's Magic Odor Absorbing gel. I have to thank DFW-Guy for this great idea- check out his journal- he is in the last few weeks and has stealthly grown two beautiful ladies indoors on a < $100 budget.

I have deployed one of these in the bathroom nearest to my grow room and one inside my cabinet by the air intake.

Odor absorbing gel
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So my plants just started so of course there is no odor yet. The gel comes in scented varieties so I am trying to lay down a "baseline scent" in and around my grow room. I want people to be used to it to the point that they don't notice it anymore in case I have to crank it up "to eleven" in a couple of months.

I have to say that this product will make my life a lot easier if it really works. I am currently venting out of the back of my cabinet and anticipated having to route the odor out of the room through a wall and up into the attic. I was not looking forward to going up there, dealing with the blown-in insulation, cutting a huge hole in the wall header, etc, etc.
 
Germination update
So I am currently the proud papa of three babies in various stages of above-ground germination. I am confident that all three of these are going to survive. I have posted three pics below with a short description of what is going on.

Here you can see that the taproot is well developed and greening has started. The seed casing has not come off yet and I will likely remove it manually if it is still there on Monday.

Small
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This one had it's seed casing manually removed two days ago. It is greening and the cotyledon are about to open.

Medium
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This is my first born, the one I delivered through c-section the other day. The cotyledon and first set of leaves are beautifully green. The first set of leaves grew overnight last night so I am very pleased that I have at least one healthy specimen.

"Large"
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I may not have mentioned that this is my first grow with CFL lighting. I am very impressed with the quality of light that they deliver to the plants based on my early results and pics from other CFL grows. I don't remember having such dark green foliage with the MH lamps I had used on my last few grows.

Next steps for the seedlings is a relocation to a starter (1gal) bubbler bucket. I will wait for their first set of leaves to develop and/or roots to appear at the bottom of the medium.

I plan to post more pics, a list of parts, and a step-by-step guide to building my DIY bubbler buckets early next week. I have put a lot of thought into their design and I am looking forward to sharing the details with you.
 
I had a great idea today about how to simplify the installation and add flexibility to placement of the CPU fans that we use for our cabinets and grow boxes.

I think an appropriate name for this idea is the "BatFan". Using a 9V battery you can create multiple stand-alone units can be placed anywhere in the cabinet or even suspended by the mounting holes found in the corners.

The BatFan
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Here is a shot of the + and - connections. A strip of double-sided masking tape is used to affix the battery to the fan case.

How to wire BatFan
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A shot of the first BatFan in my cabinet. I will keep track of the battery life to validate if this is a cost-effective alternative to using a DC adapter. I have to say that from a fire safety perspective I do feel more comfortable using a battery than a spliced DC adapter.

Batfan in JCool's Cabinet
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CPU fans are dirt cheap too. Here is a link to where you can buy 33 CFM CPU Fans for $1.99 each.
 
jcool09 said:
That is my concern as well. I started one today on a fresh battery and will update the original post when I have an answer.
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The Butcher said:
cool thanx for the info.i'm building a lil stelth set up for a buddie and if those work well like that then its on.If the batteries dies out fast try a stronger voltage.
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OK so this was not such a good idea after all. The battery did not even last 24 hours. I went back to Home Depot today and bought an AC powered 50 CFM bathroom fan and installed it in the cabinet. It's a little loud but for $14 I was willing to give it a try.
 
Duhhh...
So I had my seeds out on the counter the other day and I thought to myself "self, you should put those away before you forget and someone sees them" so I did. Today I wanted them and I could not remember where I put them. Fortunately after 30 minutes of looking I finally found them. Dumbass.

Here is a pic of the card and the seeds. Would anyone care to translate what the card says?

Fat baby with cool beans
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My guess: "I would like to applaud your choice of Carmelicious seeds. I hope your yield will be greater than the load in my diaper"
 
Germination update
So I'm pretty sure I'm going to have one maybe two viable plants from the first batch of five that I tried to kil^h^h^h germinate. I have discovered that my skills in this area are very rusty so I need more practice before I murder any more expensive seeds. AMS was nice enough with 20 free seeds so it's time to try a new germination method.

Everything I have read says start by soaking them overnight in water. So I put three of the freebies in a cup of water this afternoon. I also read that you should not use tap water so (dont laugh) I used Crystal Springs from my water cooler. I get the 5 gal bottles delivered so I have plenty on hand and this is what my plants will be drinking from start to finish.

I have read that the next step is to put them in a paper towel until the taproot shows. After that I'm not 100% confident on what to do. I plan to use the STG cubes that I have shown earlier in this thread. I would like to hear some germination tips from the group and any suggestions that you may have after the taproots appear in the paper towels.
 
spike69 said:
Man you did such a good jod on that cabinet-you should go into bus. doing that for people,unreal nice bro :surf::goodjob:I cant wait to see it all going.
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:thankyou:

Thanks Spike, so nice of you to say that. The cabinet is off-the-shelf from Lowes (30" Wardrobe) - all I did was put it together and drill some ventilation holes in it.
 
jcool09 said:
Germination updateI have read that the next step is to put them in a paper towel until the taproot shows. After that I'm not 100% confident on what to do. I plan to use the STG cubes that I have shown earlier in this thread. I would like to hear some germination tips from the group and any suggestions that you may have after the taproots appear in the paper towels.
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I don't bother with a cup of water, I start in a soaking wet paper towel. Once the tap root shows, I drop it in the medium about 1/4 inch down. Make sure the root is touching the medium or it will try out. Keep it in the dark until it sprouts. Then under the light.
 
The Butcher said:
If i'm correct the card is a Happy birthday card in dutch. lol..fat baby with fat seeds..:rofl::rofl::rofl:
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Yes a fat baby girl... just what I am hoping for in my cab.

boxpipe said:
I don't bother with a cup of water, I start in a soaking wet paper towel. Once the tap root shows, I drop it in the medium about 1/4 inch down. Make sure the root is touching the medium or it will try out. Keep it in the dark until it sprouts. Then under the light.
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Boxpipe- good to hear from you. Thank you for sharing your tip. I think a mistake I have made thus far is to put the media under (distant) light before they sprout. The media I am using is white and likely translucent to some degree. I have seen greening "undergound" which I don't think helped matters. The latest batch of seeds are now in a wet paper towel in a drawer.
 
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