Mini Cab/SCROG Build

[420toYuma]

I was checking out your grow thread too and read about the heat problems. Sorry to hear about that. The good news is you have somewhere to stick the girls while you are making modifications. It sounds like you are on the right path though. I know you already have an investment in the MH fixture, but have you thought about vegging with CFLs. Less power and less heat. I have had some nice results so far but I am still on my first grow. Just a thought. Keep on rockin'. You are doing great.

PotPie, it was my initial intention to run (6) 23w 6500k CFL's but opted for the MH. I still have the "make-shift" light bar (3/4" x 1.5" wood strip LOL) with the 6 outlets attached so it wouldn't be a problem switching over.

I'm just high strung on using the MH but if I can't get the temps below @ least 80*, that's what I'll use.

Thanks for the encouragement.

AND BTW, I checked out your cab build as well... AWESOME

 

[deffedtx]

looks great!!! you do very nice work. you must have some construction experience. How much was the cost.

 

[420toYuma]

I was checking out your grow thread too and read about the heat problems. Sorry to hear about that. The good news is you have somewhere to stick the girls while you are making modifications. It sounds like you are on the right path though. I know you already have an investment in the MH fixture, but have you thought about vegging with CFLs. Less power and less heat. I have had some nice results so far but I am still on my first grow. Just a thought. Keep on rockin'. You are doing great.

Hey PotPie, been thinking long and hard on your suggestion of running CFLs and wanted to get your opinion on an idea.

I'm leaning toward running (8) 23w CFLs, (5) which would be 6500k and (3) which would be around 3200k, on an 18/6 schedule.

Now here's my idea:
-I would run the 3200k bulbs on one timer and the 6500k bulbs on another timer.
-The 3200's would come on first and run for a few hours before the 6500's kicked on.
-Then I'd run all the lights at once up until a few hours before the end of the 18 hour cycle.
-At which point, the 6500's would kick off and the 3200's would run for the remaining few hours.

My reasoning is trying to emulate dusk/dawn periods, as well as, provide a wider spectrum which I can't achieve with the MH fixture.

What do you think???

As far as the MH light, I think I'll set up a small grow tent to house my mother plants and clones.

 

[PotPie]

Hey Yuma,

Now here's my idea:
-I would run the 3200k bulbs on one timer and the 6500k bulbs on another timer.
-The 3200's would come on first and run for a few hours before the 6500's kicked on.
-Then I'd run all the lights at once up until a few hours before the end of the 18 hour cycle.
-At which point, the 6500's would kick off and the 3200's would run for the remaining few hours.

My reasoning is trying to emulate dusk/dawn periods, as well as, provide a wider spectrum which I can't achieve with the MH fixture.

What do you think???

As far as the MH light, I think I'll set up a small grow tent to house my mother plants and clones.

I think you will be satisfied with the results of the CFL's in veg. I think I saw that you have 3 plants at this time. I think you should run all 6 of them for 18-24 hours. I had similar thoughts to yours about trying to simulate a dawn/dusk cycle but I wound up just putting everything on an 18/6 schedule. I had mine on 24/7 originally but the plants were vegging in my bedroom closet with the door cracked. I couldn't sleep through the night with all that light so I cut it back to 18/6. I have read in several places that people who tried to mimic nature in the lighting schedules did not really notice any benefit to doing it. I've also read that they don't need a rest/dark period. I may go back to a 24/7 schedule for my next grow if I ever get the veg side of my cabinet done because I've read that you can actually put them into flower a little bit quicker. I think this mainly applies to clones since the clone is already at the same maturity as the parent/donor. plants from seeds need 3-4 weeks in veg and maybe 1-2 weeks in flower before they will show sex. The only real problem I had was I let my plants get too big in veg. Because of that I had to add more lighting near the bottom because I wasn't getting the penetration to the lower branches. Check out the first page or two of my grow journal (in my sig.) and you'll see details of my light setup. I ran 2700k and 5600k lights in my veg setup.

Regarding the MH, I just read an article by Ed Rosenthal that said you can supplement or replace the HPS with the MH in the ;last two weeks before harvest. I don't remember all the details but it had something to do with the MH putting out more UV-B which helps with increased THC production. So you can use it at the end of harvest if it isn't busy with your clones.

Hope this helps.