1' x 2' Micro Grow Box

ktownlegend · Aug 7, 2007

this is quite an interesting grow, hope it turns out good, looks great already.

Pot Belly · Aug 8, 2007

Welcome back Haze......

Out in the Carribean, taking in the sights, sipping on an island drink, maybe sneakin a little puff in if your lucky to "hook up":hubba: ..... Sounds very good. Way to go.

Glad your plant survived while gone. Hey the growbox is looking great. I agree with your idea of the string. I am doing an LST now with no cutting. She's spreading out well.

Sheet metal between your light and wood is a great idea. When I said "radiant" barrrier, I meant "thermal" barrier. Technically, a world of difference in meaning.

A small amount of loose batt insulation 1/4" or something like that sandwiched between your sheet metal plate and box top. Have you noticed when you get a light fixture for like your interior hall, there is some insulation with foil where it meets the ceiling? That is the general idea.......... Keeps the heat from starting a fire.

I've been working on my box some more, fine tuning it. Am remote mounting my ballasts outside my flowerbox to my veg side to get more room. (3 @ 70 Watts) Heat issue as well. Also tidying up the electrical.

Are you running flouros 24-7 while vegging? When are you going to switch?

hazewarrior · Aug 9, 2007

Thanks Pot, I had a great time. The herb there was brown though so I had to pass. I brought enough with me to last, barely.

Ive been using the 70 watt HPS for a couple of days and I think I can see a difference in the growth rate. I think I'll leave the CFL's in there though. I can use them for clonning and seeding or something. I've always done veg 24/7 and bloom 12/12. I use a differant light cycle with larger gardens as they can get expensive.

Keeping the ballast outside of the grow box makes a huge difference in heat. The exhaust fan I use creates a wind tunnel in box when the door is shut. Temps where I live can get up to 115 so I make sure the room my box is in stays at 75-85. Anything over that and the box start to heat up. The air exchange system I created keeps the box at the same temp as the room it is in.

Im not to sure when I am going to start flowering. I will be moving to another county in two weeks and need to find a place for my box at first. Dont worry, I have a plan.

hazewarrior · Aug 9, 2007

Here are the current specs on the box. There have been a couple changes since this post was started.

GROW BOX
Box dimensions 24"X12"X16"
4" - 15.5 watt US TOYO FAN (exhaust)
3" - 20 watt CLIMATE KEEPER FAN (circulation)
70 watt MAGNETECH HPS lamp (24/7 veg, 12/12 bloom)
4 - 13 watt CFL's (cloning & seedlings)
Mylar with foil tape around the edges to seal the box
6mil black plastic on the floor of the box
3" Digital SPRINGFEILD PRECISE TEMP (temp & humid)

PLANT
5" square pot filled with a combination of Rockwool mini cubes & perlite; then topped with 1" of Geolite grow balls.
1 - White Russian clone in a 2" Rockwool cube from a mother plant I keep outdoors.

NUTES
Vigoro all purpose 24-8-16 w/Nitroform (first time trying it / experimenting)
Advanced Nutrient 35% HyOx aqueous solution
Mad Farmer PH Down
SUPERthrive (veg only)
Botanicare Hydroplex .5-4-10 bloom enhancer (bloom only)
Bush Mater version 3.0 lateral growth stopper (bloom only, not on mothers)

Mutt · Aug 9, 2007

hey haze where'd you get the bush mater 3.0? have you used it before?
nice grow man.

hazewarrior · Aug 9, 2007

Thanks Mutt,
I got the Bush Master 3.0 from a local hydro store. I didn't know about it until I was is jeopardy of overgrowing one of my closet grows. I told a buddy about my dilemma and he laced me up. I only apply it once and it did the trick. I figured it was perfect for this type of grow.

Notice the bottle says," More Is Not Better! "

If you can't make out the address PM me and I'll give it to you. If they can't ship it to you PM me and as long as no rules or laws are broken I'll send it to you. I paid $36.95 US for 236ml.

ktownlegend · Aug 10, 2007

i was wondering about that stuff, my hydro shops got it too. along with some other humbolt county stuff, called purple max and something else. but regardless keep up the good work, look forward to some updated pics

hazewarrior · Aug 10, 2007

I just can't help myself. I'm working on the lower cabinet now. I took some cuts from my mother plants and needed a place to start them. It's still a work in progress but it will look similar to the top box when Im finished.

I threw in a photo of my mothers also. I keep them outside cause it's cheaper and easier. They are NYCSD (sour diesel) and White Russian.

Pot Belly · Aug 10, 2007

Great little set-up with your new veg chamber. I know you'll have that thing looking like a NASA experiment soon.

You are making me get my butt in gear to finish all the "stuff" that has to be done to get mine 100% complete. I want to take pics of mine as it is just about parallel to yours. Testing results, harvest, etc. will be great for comparison.

If your inside dimensions are what you posted, then you are at 1.33 ft2. I'm sure your HPS lamp is 6,300 lumens, so that puts you at about 4,740 lumens per ft2.

You could opt to power up the flouros to supplement more lumens if ya wanted. 5,000 is target around these here parts. I'm at 6,300 lumens per ft2 in my 3 ft2 flowerbox.

My veg box is 1.7 ft2 and has (1) 70 watt HPS. That puts me at 3,700 lumens per ft2. My mother and clones are very happy and green with that.

More later........

2007Goingon1984 · Aug 12, 2007

Those boxes are just amazing.. wouldn't have even thought...!

MJ20 · Aug 12, 2007

Hazewarrior, what did you use to hold those CFL's in place??Im getting a hard time wiring up by just twisting wires around.

hazewarrior · Aug 12, 2007

Hey caribbean, I'm not sure I completely understand your question. Hopefully these pictures will help.

The CFL's I have consist of three overall components. The ballast, the bulb and a type of base or socket for the bulb. I don't know the proper name for it. All I did was mount the base/socket at the top of the grow box. One screw was sufficient enough and I used foil tape to run the wires though out the box. The ballasts are mounted to the bottom of the box.

I cut off some of the fan leaves to open up the canpoy and shed some light on the lower sites. So far so good.

MJ20 · Aug 12, 2007

I now see that it's a socket

I need to find those..

hazewarrior · Aug 12, 2007

I found the ones I have in 2000 and never had a use for them until now. They were sitting in the garage until I got bored a month ago.

hazewarrior · Aug 15, 2007

For those of you who are interested, I had a small problem. You can read up on it by going here: http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?p=138259#post138259

Everything is ok but your opinions are welcome. Thanks.

haze

hazewarrior · Aug 20, 2007

Well, the plant is recovering nicely from the Malathion burn and it's almost time to flower. I'm thinking another week and I'll but them on 12/12. I might take a clone or two before I do so.

Mutt · Aug 20, 2007

Glad it worked out for you. Keep up the great work.

Oaklandish · Aug 21, 2007

I love small grows, I can't wait to see pictures of this in flowering!

hazewarrior · Aug 27, 2007

Ok, I finished the clone/veg box and the plants are 5 days into flowering and already starting to stretch. I have tired the plant down many times and I haven't added the Bushmaters yet but I think I will the next watering. When the lights and exhaust fan turn off the circulation fan remains on so the air doesn't go stail.

When the malathion damaged the tops of the plant it work as if I had topped it. The tops that were effected turned into multiple grow sites. I will try and get some pics of them tonight and post.

Here are the specs on the clone/veg box:
The grow box dimensions are same as the top box but the grow space dimensions are - 16" x 12" x 18". The 4 CFL ballasts, power strip, bloom timer and HPS ballast are all in the bottom of the clone/veg box. This heats up the shelf that the clones sit on which eliminates the need for a heating mat.:aok:

The box is lined with mylar
4 - 13watt CFL's @ 900 lumens each (3600 total)
4" Dayton exhaust fan
5 - 3/4" holes drilled at the bottom for fresh air intake
I am still looking for a circulation fan but may not need it

Does anyone think I should add more light? It is a pritty small grow area.