Misty Green's Indoor Coco Lemon Potion & LSD Autoflower Grow Journal, 2019

[missty80]

hi guys, i'm starting the journal now because my seeds have popped and they're starting to get going

Bucket Size - 5 gallon air pots
Medium - 70% coco, 30% perlite
Lights - (1) 315w CMH with reflector
Nutrients - Mega Crop, Calmag
Strains - CBD Lemon Potion (hybrid), LSD (sativa), both autoflowers
# of Plants: 2
Yield: N/A
Indoor grow tent, 3x3x6
AC Infinity exhaust fan, 190 CFM
AC Infinity carbon air scrubber
7' of non-insulated ducting
6" clip fan (2), one venting in fresh air, one pointing at (future) canopy and stems


ok guys thanks for joining me...but to tell the truth, i already have a problem :3

my seedlings are about to shed their shells, but the grow tent is HOT. like...REALLY hot. i've been running the lights for 20/4 with the vent fan and both small fans running at full speed, and it's STILL 93 degrees in the tent x.x

i have the window open, but it's summertime and that doesn't really help to cool it off...and the AC is kind of weak in this room, so the room itself is HOT AF.

do i need a stronger exhaust fan? or is the ducting too long? maybe the fan can't handle the carbon scrubber + ducting? i only feel weak air passing through the air scrubber...

everything else seems great, but this heat problem is getting me down, i don't wanna kill my plants before they even have a chance to grow up =/

@Alafornia
@CADBOY
@DrDoob
@NolaGrow

any suggestions guys? i'd be so grateful, because i'm starting to get worried now...everything seemed to be going well, but now it seems like maybe i messed up and got the wrong fan...and small portable AC units are kinda expensive, and my mom is already taxing her electricity bill from all these extra appliances...

thanks guys

<3 misty

 

[Alafornia]

hi guys, i'm starting the journal now because my seeds have popped and they're starting to get going

Bucket Size - 5 gallon air pots
Medium - 70% coco, 30% perlite
Lights - (1) 315w CMH with reflector
Nutrients - Mega Crop, Calmag
Strains - CBD Lemon Potion (hybrid), LSD (sativa)
# of Plants: 2
Yield: N/A
Indoor grow tent, 3x3x6
AC Infinity exhaust fan, 190 CFM
AC Infinity carbon air scrubber
7' of non-insulated ducting
6" clip fan (2), one venting in fresh air, one pointing at (future) canopy and stems


ok guys thanks for joining me...but to tell the truth, i already have a problem :3

my seedlings are about to shed their shells, but the grow tent is HOT. like...REALLY hot. i've been running the lights for 20/4 with the vent fan and both small fans running at full speed, and it's STILL 93 degrees in the tent x.x

i have the window open, but it's summertime and that doesn't really help to cool it off...and the AC is kind of weak in this room, so the room itself is HOT AF.

do i need a stronger exhaust fan? or is the ducting too long? maybe the fan can't handle the carbon scrubber + ducting? i only feel weak air passing through the air scrubber...

everything else seems great, but this heat problem is getting me down, i don't wanna kill my plants before they even have a chance to grow up =/

@Alafornia
@CADBOY
@DrDoob
@NolaGrow

any suggestions guys? i'd be so grateful, because i'm starting to get worried now...everything seemed to be going well, but now it seems like maybe i messed up and got the wrong fan...and small portable AC units are kinda expensive, and my mom is already taxing her electricity bill from all these extra appliances...

thanks guys

<3 misty

Woohoo! Excited for you!

Silly question, but is you filter/fan located at the top of the tent so it gets the hot air? Is the fan pointed the right direction? (easy to point the wrong way) From where are you drawing air into the tent? Do you have a ventilation "window" open or another place to draw air into the tent? Sometimes simple things like that are easy to miss.

P.S. Thanks for tagging me in.

 

[Canuckush]

Welcome, maybe run 18/6 and run the 18 at night time so the lights aren't pushing heat during the day.
Is it possible to not use the carbon filter yet? Probably more so once the plants are older.

 

[Alafornia]

To give an example, the filter and fan are mounted up top. The fan is pulling air through the filter and then out through the duct at or near the top of the tent.

Also want to have as few turns in the ducting as is possible .

 

[missty80]

To give an example, the filter and fan are mounted up top. The fan is pulling air through the filter and then out through the duct at or near the top of the tent.

Also want to have as few turns in the ducting as is possible .

i have the fan mounted right beside the light, on the same horizontal level...i thought it would help vent the heat given off by the light.

the fan then vents the air through the tent port, through the duct and through the filter, which is sitting vertically on the window ledge. i suppose i should open the window and let it vent as much hot air outside as possible, but because it's summer, i'm concerned about letting in more hot air that way. the AC in that room isn't very strong, unfortunately x.X

prob is, i can't stick the open duct out the window...it's too suspicious looking. the filter is covered with a plain black prefilter, so you can't see anything from the ground but the bottom 1/3 of a black tube...but a silver duct is pretty obvious.

yeah, i guess i don't need the filter/prefilter right now, but i'm concerned because what happens to the tent temp when i DO put the filter back on? :3 these are autoflowers, so i'm thinking they'll start budding around early october...maybe i'll get lucky and it'll be chilly outside by then, and the room will cool off too...

guess i'll try taking off the filter for now and shortening the duct as much as possible, and placing it on the ledge a few inches back from the window, hoping to vent as much of the hot air as i can...i just hope the open window doesn't let in more hot air than i'm trying to vent out.

i wish someone would invent an electric cooling filter that would cool the air as it passed through it...that would be such a great solution...sigh....

BTW, i have a 6" fan facing toward the pots that's drawing fresh air into the tent. it's about 6" off the floor and pointing slightly upward, so as the plants grow it'll (hopefully) pass fresh air between the stems from below.

i also have another of the same fan clipped to the top corner facing down toward the (future) canopy, which isn't running right now.

anyhow, thanks for the tips.

<3 misty

 

[missty80]

Welcome, maybe run 18/6 and run the 18 at night time so the lights aren't pushing heat during the day.
Is it possible to not use the carbon filter yet? Probably more so once the plants are older.

i probably should go back and edit the original post bc i forgot to mention these are autoflowers.

so i'm running on a 20/4 light schedule for the moment, and the back room is like a frickin SAUNA x.x

 

[CADBOY]

Hey @Missty

Im so excited for you Cant wait to see some photos of your set up and see how things go from here on in.

As fas as cooling your tent.
Exhaust fan at top of tent, suckin air from inside to out via the silver hose out the top of tent as possible.

When your exhaust fan is on, it will make negative air pressure on the tent, the tent sides will suck in a little. Or alot depends on how low/med/high that fan is running.

For myself. I closed all vents except 1 port at the bottom, put fan on med/low and I get negative air pressure.. Im also venting air into the same room. Just like you are. The key is to get fresh air into the room with the grow tent in it and get old hot air out.

Autos will be wondering when using 18hrs/6hrs lighting, this will help cut the heat down.

Close the blinds or curtains in the room you have the grow tent in also.

In the extreme if you have no choice, take a few water bottles, maybe 10 ish and freeze them all soild. Then get a styrofoam cooler, place bottles inside. Cut hole in lid for your 6" fan to sit on and blow inside of. Make a 2nd hole in lid for air to come out. DIY Air conditioning/ swamp cooler its called if you google it.

Hopefully the heat comes down for ya and its comfortable...

Also look up how a portable AC connects to a window. You can also have the hot air in your tent venting out the window the same way. Just make sure that if your venting out a window the air filter is attached

Double check to make sure the exhaust fan is sucking air through the filter and not blowing air into it, make a good difference.

Chat anytime.

 

[CADBOY]

All the equipment you listed is straight up baller status, its all good stuff. Your grow is going to be sweet, great job.

 

[Alafornia]

Something else you can do right now is to put the light about 18" above the plants and lower the wattage to the lower setting (195 watts?). That will cut down on the heat.

 

[DrDoob]

Some filters are made to go before the fan and some after the fan. Not sure what difference it makes but yours could be backwards. Seedlings and vegging plants can take a lot of heat.

Good luck, have fun!

 

[missty80]

Something else you can do right now is to put the light about 18" above the plants and lower the wattage to the lower setting (195 watts?). That will cut down on the heat.

really? that's news to me...how do you lower the wattage?

won't lowering the wattage reduce the light's effectiveness, though? the seedlings are still tiny, but once they get bigger won't they need that extra light and power?

the real prob is, the ballast is attached to the light, i think that's where most of the heat is coming from, urgh...

for now, i moved the tent closer to the window, so the duct is shorter, but i'm taking the duct off right now anyway. i won't need the filter until later, bc right now there's no bud odor.

i just hope i can control the heat. i'd hate to get halfway through vegging just to find out i can't cool my tent down, and i lose the whole crop =/

<3 misty

 

[missty80]

yeah, so i turned the fan all the way up and removed the carbon filter, have the duct surreptitiously venting the warm air through the open window, the door is closed, the central AC is on, both interior 6" fans are running full speed, all the tent vents are open, and the room overhead fan is running on high...

after 10 hours of these changes, i'm still registering 87-89 degrees and 40% humidity in there x.x

the ambient temp is definitely better while venting out the warm air, keeping the window open, and running the overhead fan...but 87-89 is still too hot...idk how in the world i'm gonna get it down to 75-80 at this point, and the plants are still tiny =/

idk, the seedlings don't seem too happy either...they're in plastic cups in rapid rooters + coco, this afternoon i gave them something like a cup each of 255 ppm mega crop in ph'd water. the LSD seed has cracked and rooted a tiny bit, but it still hasn't starting stemming. the Lemon Potion seed is on a stem, but it's so weak it can barely stand up straight...

damn guys, i guess i'm not very good at this...i can't even manage these seedlings...i got the light about 2' above them, and the soil is still moist from this afternoon...not sure what else i can do...

sad to say, my first grow doesn't seem like it's getting off to a very good start =/

any advice would be lovely...

<3 misty

 

[VetSmoke85]

Hey Misty! You've already got some knowledgeable folk chipping in so don't panic just yet. You'll get it cracked. As mentioned before a lot of the filters perform best having the fan pull air through them rather than blowing the air out of it. Having it setup like that when you start using it again may make a big difference to the airflow. Seedlings don't need blasting with light so as already mentioned try to dim the light if you can and that will lower the temps. I've used frozen water bottles to help in my first grow and it did bring things down a couple of degrees. I've not grown in coco so can't comment on nutrients at this stage apart from to say autoflowers don't need much especially early on. Also be very careful not to over water. Give the roots a chance to branch out finding the moisture. Some pics may help. You'll get it cracked.

 

[DrDoob]

I don’t know anything about CMH lights but I think 2’ is probably too close for seedlings.

 

[Alafornia]

2" is too close. 18 inches is going to be better. Especially if the light has no wattage control. This is not an LED.

 

[Alafornia]

What is the ambient temp in the room the tent is in?

 

[DrDoob]

2" is too close. 18 inches is going to be better. Especially if the light has no wattage control. This is not an LED.

Think she said 2' (feet) not 2" (inches).

 

[Alafornia]

Think she said 2' (feet) not 2" (inches).

Ahhh, Thanks, DrDoob. 2 feet is even better.

 

[missty80]

hi guys, updates.

well, the lemon is getting a bit taller but the stem seems weak. the LSD is still in its shell...looks like it's trying to push out, but it looks weak :3

i put the humidifier in there, now the temp is about 79, humidity about 52%. still a little warmer than i'd like but i'll take it for now...ofc the thermometer is also sitting in the shade, not sure if that matters.

@VetSmoke85 i'm not sure what you mean. i have the fan pulling air out. how could i make the air "pass through" the filter? the filter is where the ducting ends

at least the fan is blowing strong through the ducting, and you can't see or hear it from outside...but i'm still worried about what's gonna happen with the tent heat when i need to reattach the filter.

well, here are some pics...i'll let you guys decide, you're the experts.

also, i forgot to tag @Mayne in this thread...sorry Mayne :3

 

[VetSmoke85]

I mean the fan and filter need to be setup so that the fan is pulling air through the filter which is inside the tent also (before the extraction fan) pumping it out. Not blowing out of the tent and through the filter. It needs to be pulling air into the filter. Hope that makes sense.