cbr1000rr18
Member
Awesome grow man. Do you mind going into detail about your setup?
3rd CFL Closet Grow - single AK-47 - Waterfarm - 2x125W Envirolites
- Thread starter SunnyJim
- Start date
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Thanks bud. Yeah, she's really looking good. I'm hesitant to start a ScrOG with her, and might just keep LSTing her. She's begging to be switched into flower, though, because she's getting really big. Another week at most unless I set up a ScrOG screen for her to fill.
As for the Super Lemon Haze, I'm also worried about how big they might get, so I probably won't veg them for nearly as long. I'm still really keen to try to grow one or two though..
What are your thoughts on Jack Herer?
I'll tell my friend to do his homework on LEDs before he takes the plunge. He's looking at a 600W Blackstar on eBay.
Thanks! Sure, I'm happy to go into detail. What would you like to know?
A brief description of this grow:
It's a single AK-47 from Serious Seeds, growing in a Waterfarm hydroponic unit which is a DWC (meaning that the roots are submerged in the reservoir and constantly fed Vitalink Max hydro nutes).
I use an airstone (on 24 hours a day) to make sure the roots don't drown and are getting enough oxygen.
She is growing under two 125W envirolites, and I'm trying down her branches and main stem almost daily now to make her grow in the direction I want her to (LST) to ensure as much of the plant is exposed to the two light bulbs as possible.
Feel free to ask specific questions and I'll try to answer them as best I can.
Peace
Matchbox
Well-Known Member
Never really had jack herer, I've only really read that it's quite short and a good strong smoke.
600w blackstar would be awesome, I'd look for a specific ratio of blues and reds, for a high wattage I'd use it for flower and get a cheap ol 90w UFO for veg.
I only vegged my SLH for 3 or 4 weeks she wasnt even a foot tall (I topped her), when I flowered she's now about 3.5feet tall just had to tie her down a lot.
600w blackstar would be awesome, I'd look for a specific ratio of blues and reds, for a high wattage I'd use it for flower and get a cheap ol 90w UFO for veg.
I only vegged my SLH for 3 or 4 weeks she wasnt even a foot tall (I topped her), when I flowered she's now about 3.5feet tall just had to tie her down a lot.
ClaytheWhite
Member
Yo dudes, gonna comandeer your thread for a minute sorry Sunny! The model/s im looking at (600w or 240w blackstar) both cover reds at 660 and 630nm blues at 425 and 450, heavily stacked toward the reds, also (apparently) infrared, ultraviolet and white. Do you think either of these (preferably the 600, dependant on price) would be sufficient for a smallish cabinet about the size of sunny's, maybe a little bigger, holding 2-3 plants from seed to harvest.
Thanks for any advice and good luck Sunny, Ill be watcing this one with anticipation ; )
Peace Out.
pimkins
Active Member
Matchbox
Well-Known Member
What are you using it for, veg or flower? The 240w would be perfect for vegging 3 plants even a 90w UFO is fine for vegging 3 EASILY... if your using it for flower the 240w will do but might fall short and need a bit of side lighting. There's a grower on here tdooda who flowered 2 plants with a 90w UFO (I think that was all he used) and be harvested 2oz dry. Personally if I had the money I'd go for the 600w. The best lights have the 660nm and 630nm reds and a good mix with the blues will be ace.
A side note, uv is good for trichs. Dont know about Infrared isn't that just heat?
And the reason there are a lot more blues than reds is because the blues are a lot brighter. Just an interesting fact
Also check out the led growers thread somewhere on this site.
ClaytheWhite
Member
Thanks for the input bro. Gonna go with the 240w flowering BS, i think it should do quite nicely for veg also however i will be installing light fittings for CFL's, I dont want to but if absolutely nescesary I can smash in a couple low wat fluros.What are you using it for, veg or flower? The 240w would be perfect for vegging 3 plants even a 90w UFO is fine for vegging 3 EASILY... if your using it for flower the 240w will do but might fall short and need a bit of side lighting. There's a grower on here tdooda who flowered 2 plants with a 90w UFO (I think that was all he used) and be harvested 2oz dry. Personally if I had the money I'd go for the 600w. The best lights have the 660nm and 630nm reds and a good mix with the blues will be ace.
A side note, uv is good for trichs. Dont know about Infrared isn't that just heat?
And the reason there are a lot more blues than reds is because the blues are a lot brighter. Just an interesting fact
Also check out the led growers thread somewhere on this site.
Interesting about the blues, I though there were more reds because plants make better use of red? Already been following the LED thread, some good information over there if you can sift through all the trash talking and bullshit.
Anyhow thanks again, and apologies Sunny, good luck duder. Peace out.
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Just changed the two 6400K blue CFLs for my two 2700K red CFLs. I've also amended the timers so she's now on the last few hours of her 18/6 light cycle. She goes to sleep tonight and won't wake up for 12 hours to begin her flowering cycle. Expecting preflowers in a week or two, and a whole lot of stretch..
She had also just about drunk the 10L reservoir dry, so I refilled it - this time with a half-strength dose of flowering nutes.
I'm concerned I let her veg for too long, but we'll see. I've also decided against the ScrOG this time and I'll just stick to LST. We'll see how much bud she throws me in a couple months, but I'm hoping for a couple ounces. She looks healthy, so I'm optimistic.
Does anyone here have an opinion on pruning? I've read both positive and negative feedback. Good for allowing maximum light to reach the buds, bad because it can stress the plant.. I'd like to know what people think.
Clay, good luck with your LED grow. I'm super eager to compare the results of my grow (250 watts of CFL) with yours (240 watt Blackstar LED). Also, since we're using a really similar setup (similar sized box, similar PC fan cooling, Waterfarm, and the same nutes) it should be interesting.
Matchbox, thanks for the advice once again on the SLH. I still have plenty of time to decide what my next grow will be, so I'll read some more and keep you posted.
Pimkins, I agree - Launch Boxes are terrific little portable vapes. The only weak link for me is the battery life, so I'm investing in 8 Eneloop batteries. I've read they hold a great charge and dispense a steady stream of power until they run flat.
Here's the photo shoot - my lady loves posing for the camera:
Peace
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Thanks! I hope I get some beast sized buds too!
Matchbox
Well-Known Member
No worries XD
My opinion on pruning:
Prune whenever you feel the need to, if there's fan leaves not getting much light but blocking buds chop em off, which should promote the previously shaded top to level out with the rest of the canopy, though LST helps with this too. I even cut off lower popcorn sites to allow more energy to go into the top buds generally they can easily take it, I've pruned heavily in both my grows and not had any hermies or stress really.
I primarily do it because I dont have much space so its the easiest way to control plant size.
My opinion on pruning:
Prune whenever you feel the need to, if there's fan leaves not getting much light but blocking buds chop em off, which should promote the previously shaded top to level out with the rest of the canopy, though LST helps with this too. I even cut off lower popcorn sites to allow more energy to go into the top buds generally they can easily take it, I've pruned heavily in both my grows and not had any hermies or stress really.
I primarily do it because I dont have much space so its the easiest way to control plant size.
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Thanks again for the advice, Matchbox. I think I might lightly prune her in a week or so. I definitely vegged this lady for at least a week too long - she's really huge, and will no doubt stretch much more than she has thus far. Once I start seeing buds appear, I'll have a better idea of the areas I need to prune.
Still, I'm stoked with the grow. She looks healthy. A few of the lower fan leaves are starting to whither and die, but that's expected. I just pull the dead leaves off when I find them. I keep checking her for potential bud sites, so I hope she throws me a decent yield. I'll be sure to weigh the crop so I know for sure.
Tying her down is a daily battle, too. I wish I had a slightly bigger box. If I grow a SLH next time around, I'll make sure I only veg her for a month, or she'll most likely outgrow her little home.
Some eye candy:
Jman305
Active Member
Hey bud been watching your grow. Great job so far! Got a couple of suggestions/comments relating to the LED thingy. UVC is a good source of light helping with trich development but you only need very little of it for it to be beneficial. I would ask lighthouse hydro what kind of UV it uses. IR I've heard helps plants detect when to switch to flower but Idk because going 12/12 will tell them to flower. It might help with some kinda of regulatory processes but I'm not positive. I have yet to see a full grow with a blackstar but I have been looking into getting one myself. I saw a thread on here from Irishboy though and he's pretty much got me convinced that growledhydro is the best way to go. He got 4.8 oz/plant from 4 plants using 600 watts of lighting. That was just 2, 300 watt LEDs and 0 supplemental lighting. He also achieved this using soil. Not knocking soil but from what I've seen, DWC has faster and stronger growth. There was also no scrogging or much LST from what I remember so I'm sure you could come up with about 6 oz/plant if you were to run a scrog setup. The lights are very expensive but when you see his plants I think you'll be convinced they are worth their weight. I've seen grows though that have used a 90 watt UFO in a SoG and yielded 2-3 ozs using nothing but 1 gal buckets and regular pH'd water. The guy didn't even use nutes and it was some of the best looking bud I've ever seen. Just my 2 centsWhat are you using it for, veg or flower? The 240w would be perfect for vegging 3 plants even a 90w UFO is fine for vegging 3 EASILY... if your using it for flower the 240w will do but might fall short and need a bit of side lighting. There's a grower on here tdooda who flowered 2 plants with a 90w UFO (I think that was all he used) and be harvested 2oz dry. Personally if I had the money I'd go for the 600w. The best lights have the 660nm and 630nm reds and a good mix with the blues will be ace.
A side note, uv is good for trichs. Dont know about Infrared isn't that just heat?
And the reason there are a lot more blues than reds is because the blues are a lot brighter. Just an interesting fact
Also check out the led growers thread somewhere on this site.
Bongtok4u
Well-Known Member
Looks great bro keep it up. Check my girl out 4-5 weeks flower gd purps.View attachment 1729951View attachment 1729953
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
Officially a female, well it was official about five days ago when I saw the first pistils shoot out.
She is looking really good - I can see at least ten decent bud sites, so I'm hoping that each bud site will produce a healthy bud. I'm stoked that the canopy is pretty even, and that she isn't growing/vegging out much any more. I gave her a fresh tank and batch of bloom nutes today.
I've trimmed a few of the dying fan leaves from the bottom of the plant, which receive next to no light at all. I'm tucking the large upper fan leaves under the bud sites rather than clipping them off, but I guess I'll have to grow a pair of balls soon and just go ahead and cut them off. Still worried about stressing this sexy lady..
Anyway, I can see buds starting to develop, but like early veg, early flowering is also a slow process. I doubt there will be much to look at for the next week or so, but it there is any significant progress or developments I'll post some more pics.
In the meantime, take a look:
Jim out
SunnyJim
Well-Known Member
I don't use a carbon scrubber, unfortunately, so I can't comment on how effective they are. Odor isn't really an issue for me because I smoke in my apartment on a daily basis. I can tell you that without a carbon scrubber, the smell of marijuana fills the air, even while it's vegging but gets much more pungent once it starts to flower.
Thanks! My cab is about 3.5 ft high by 2 ft wide by 1.3 ft deep, so not huge but just enough to fit two plants in it. Right now it's just one lady in there, but I vegged her for ages. She's outgrowing her home, but I'm pretty sure she'll just make it with the available space. I LST'd the hell out of her, so all the bud sites are sitting nicely on the top of the canopy receiving as much light as possible. I'll post some pics later today.
I'm using two 12cm PC fans for ventilation - one intake near the bottom of the cab, and one exhaust at the top. They run 24/7, and the temps and humidity stay consistent. No odor control, I'm afraid.