Serenity's First Grow

Serenity420 said:
Yea man I'm very excited about it. Your plants look quite healthy too! I was curious about trying LED but decided against it for now just to keep prices down for my first attempt.

I'm honestly a bit surprised at how well the CFLs are working so far haha. Just a little bit of nurture and it really does grow like a weed lol.
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I hear yah on the price situation. I ran into a fair amount of extra cash and decided to start my new hobby the proper way. Not cheaping out and only using some of the better equipment, whilst looking for the deals!
After I calculated everything for a really nice cfl setup, it was only 30$ cheaper than the HPS equipment I started with(factoring in reflectors, adapters, everything).

Only did I realize into my grow that HPS was way too hot for me, so I shelled out the extra $$ for the LED(wasn't easy, I'll admit), and man, it's great so far. I would highly recommend LED in the future for you. It keeps the temps down a bit, the fans blow the hot air out the top and the sides. I love it.
 
I'm at room temp now in the closet with lights off. Roughly 68 or 69 degrees. With lights on the area under the bulbs is around 82, but ambient room temp never gets above 77 or 78 max. Just curious if this is an acceptable difference in temperature? Mostly wanting to make sure it isn't getting too cold in dark hours. Particularly when I'm trying to keep the dome warm over the second seed.
 
Your temps are right in the pocket. Nice job.

/Obi
 
Good to hear. So since my setup produces very little heat(as opposed to HID), will I need to work on outfitting some kind of intake/exhaust setup? Or is the airflow from the fan enough?

Also down the line I'm wondering about smell? I have an air purifier/deodorizer that is fairly small but it's hardly used so the filter is very new still. I live alone so it isn't a huge issue but I don't want the smell of dank to punch guests in the face if I have family over for dinner or anything.

Do you all think the small air purifier and maybe a couple glade plugins in that bedroom would eliminate or at least cover the smell?
 
Serenity420 said:
Good to hear. So since my setup produces very little heat(as opposed to HID), will I need to work on outfitting some kind of intake/exhaust setup? Or is the airflow from the fan enough?

Also down the line I'm wondering about smell? I have an air purifier/deodorizer that is fairly small but it's hardly used so the filter is very new still. I live alone so it isn't a huge issue but I don't want the smell of dank to punch guests in the face if I have family over for dinner or anything.

Do you all think the small air purifier and maybe a couple glade plugins in that bedroom would eliminate or at least cover the smell?
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You don't generally want those kinds of air purifiers in the same room as the buds, because they make the buds taste different in the long run.

I'd look into a small-medium sized carbon filter, and while you're at it, set up an extraction system. You'll be happier in the long run.

But if you really don't want to do that, if you can keep the doors sealed to the room it's in, you could just put some Ona blocks out in the living room or something; just not in the same room as the buds. One-two are generally enough for a typical house. You can either leave them out all the time, or just put one out when you're expecting company.

Prefer to knock out two birds with one stone and do a carbon scrubber with an extraction fan. Just my 0.02
 
Totally understandable. My one hold back is that everything looks inconspicuous now. I feel like adding ventilation and duct work will totally draw attention lol.

And I wasn't necessarily saying to have the air purifier in the closet with the grow, just in the bedroom where the closet is located. I completely understand what you're saying about the taste though. The thing definitely creates a pocket of strangely clean smelling air haha

I'll look into the blocks you suggested as well. Anyone by chance know a store off the top of their head that would sell these blocks? Like is something I'd have a good likelihood to find at Lowe's or Walmart?

And Xenon, just a shout out in general. I appreciate your help greatly, even this short into my grow lol. I just hope I'm not bugging you with questions that are likely foolish
 
Serenity420 said:
Totally understandable. My one hold back is that everything looks inconspicuous now. I feel like adding ventilation and duct work will totally draw attention lol.

And I wasn't necessarily saying to have the air purifier in the closet with the grow, just in the bedroom where the closet is located. I completely understand what you're saying about the taste though. The thing definitely creates a pocket of strangely clean smelling air haha

I'll look into the blocks you suggested as well. Anyone by chance know a store off the top of their head that would sell these blocks? Like is something I'd have a good likelihood to find at Lowe's or Walmart?

And Xenon, just a shout out in general. I appreciate your help greatly, even this short into my grow lol. I just hope I'm not bugging you with questions that are likely foolish
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They are in no way foolish by any means! Hell, everyone, including myself, has these questions.

As far as placing the blocks in the room with the closet in it, I wouldn't; just to be on the safe side(I'm really funny about this kind of stuff, though.. Potentially ruin a 1/2 pound harvest would be devastating.)

If you check out my journal, you can see how I have my extraction/scrubber set up. You can't tell I have one from the outside; everything's at the top. It has changed a little bit since I got my LED, I'll throw some pictures in there of my current setup once the lights come on in a few minutes..

Using straps, I have my carbon scrubber hanging at the top of my tent, very short piece of ducting connected to a fan hanging by bungees(eliminates rattle and vibes) and more ducting connected, leading to the outside of the tent. People prefer to have it venting out of a window, but you don't need it. Just get it out of the closet and even use a box fan or something to help pull the hot air away from the tent, if it's even necessary. At this point, you just want to have the carbon scrubber pulling the hot air(and mainly the smell) from the top of the closet, and just lay it outside.

Check your local hydro store for Ona blocks. I don't believe walmart has them. Check amazon if you don't wanna walk into the store.

very good luck! I can't wait to see how everything goes! :D
:lot-o-toke:

Edit: Another word. If you're worried about sound coming from the fan, do reviews before you purchase. There's multiple ways you can elimnate the sound. As for me, i'm int he same position as you. Stealthy and inconspicuous. you can totally play off the sound of the extraction fan, as a standing oscillating fan, on medium. People don't think twice.
 
Serenity420 said:
Yea if you could share a couple pics of your ventilation that'd be awesome. I'm decent with words, but pictures will describe it to me a whole lot better lol
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Plants are loving this led, lol.
Up front is my auto ak, 19 days old, topped.
In the back is my LSD25 auto, 20 days old, topped.
Over off to the side in the circle pot is my blue dream auto; sprouted on Valentines day. Two weeks old exactly spose.
 
That's a pretty nice setup right there, Xenonrae.
 
Obi Wan said:
That's a pretty nice setup right there.
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That compliment means a bit more to me than you probably think.
It's been a pretty difficult 3+ weeks just getting everything right, fitment, as well as temperature and different lighting setups; let alone the multiple years it took for me to pull the trigger to do this.


Thank you for that, Obi! :Namaste:
 
I'm contemplating topping the 2nd girl when her time comes. I know topping Autos is a grey area with most people saying to avoid it, but the temptation and possibility of more bud makes me curious. Perhaps I'll save that lesson for when I try some photoperiod strains lol

I see the exhaust setup now, looks really nice. I just looked up carbon filters and most are a bit out of my current budget. But luckily I have a couple weeks to save money before too much smell builds up.
 
So I just got home too....

The first plant EXPLODED today/last night. Tons of under growth at the base of the leaves where they meet the main stem. I'm guessing these will become other branches and nodes where flowers will (hopefully) bloom?

The second bucket has a noticeable bump in the middle where I believe little lady is trying to break through. Not gonna mess with it, just misting the dome and continuing as is. Maybe tomorrow she will say hello to the world!

I'm still blown away at the new growth on the older plant. I'll throw some new pics up tomorrow if the little one makes her appearance.

EDIT: upon further inspection when I picked my jaw off the floor, Big girls bottom 2 leaves(the single fingers) look sickly. A bit wilted and darker green compared to the rest of the plant. Those same leaves also have light green/yellow vein lines. Not terribly concerned on the whole, she is obviously healthy. I just don't want this to cause any bigger issues or maybe it's a signal I'm not doing something right. Thoughts?
 
Thinking about smell, my plants took about 3 to 4 weeks to put out a detectable scent from a couple feet away. I really enjoy the changing fragrances throughout the grow. The rest of my family, not so much.

From my experience, odor masks and air fresheners may be enough during veg and very early flower. During full bloom these plants put out an unmistakable scent that will most likely permeate your entire living space.

I would keep a carbon filter option open for further consideration down the road.

I'm pretty sure I've seen some pretty crafty stealth, external fan/filter boxes somewhere around here that might get the creative ideas flowing.

/Obi
 
It's definitely worth investing in. I'll just have to save some money in the next few weeks.

I also took a picture of the bottom leaves before lights out. In case it helps with any possible diagnosis of the dark coloration. Thanks everyone and I hope you're all having a good evening!
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Topping autos is not a bad idea mate. ive done them with these two.
theres an auto topping thread on this forum actually. plenty of really good info!
 
Im not first but wont be last. Whats up. Im subbed in homie. Lets do this. :rollit:
 
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