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Snow Crash

Snow Crash

Well-Known Member
BigGreenSplang said:
ok so i have a question. i have a small grow box and i dont have a fan. well i have a small one but it is alittle to loud. also my plant is about 2 and a half inches tall with 4 leaves on it. 2 rigid and 2 round. how high should i put the lights ( cfl ) not to bright cant remember the watts but average anyway. its been about 5 days since planted. how much water should i give them and is it possible to grow without a fan? what are complications i may face? i do not know my strain.
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The fan is extremely important. You are going to have to figure out something. If the noise is an issue look into the simple clip on fans. The heat will build up. Your plant fibers are 80% Carbon that they get from the air. Without a gentle breeze to replace the exhaled air the plants can suffocate. Think of it like living in a room without any ventilation that has a big light and heat source directly above you. Would you want to live like that?

Until the fan is present keep your bulb about 2 inches from the top of your seedling. Once the fan is present you will be able to keep it as close as 2 centimeters away

Young plants need very, very little water. Most of what you add is going to be lost to evaporation. The tap root of your seedling will stretch to the bottom of the planter in search of moisture, and it stays very moist down there.

What I like to do is keep the media saturated until the seedling is above ground. Then I allow the media go almost dry before I saturate the media again. Then I'll add maybe 2 ounces of water/nutrients for a plant every 2-3 days (depending on the dryness of the top soil) and lift the planter often to feel the weight. When the media is dry I then saturate to run off (20% of what you add comes out the bottom). At this point the plant has established a moderate network of roots and it more difficult to over water. Depending on the aeration material in you media you can begin fully saturating the planter every 2-3 days (rather than a few ounces).

Every Gallon of media that you use is good for more or less 1 month of growth (1 week per liter). You'll probably want at least a 2 gallon planter to transplant in eventually. You will also need 3 or 4 more 25ish watt cfl bulbs, maybe some clamp light reflectors, before it is all over.

You need to read up a little bit. Growing just one seed is a pretty big gamble. Understanding why that is, is important and you need to do some research to figure out why that is.
 
P

p thomas

Member
hope this goes to " who needs help" because i do. completely starting from scratch. i have a couple of t5 4x4s that id like to use for veg.the t5 bulbs i have were used for industrial lighting. can iuse them for the veg state or r there other grow blubs i should use? the local grow shop has me sold on a 1000w hps package,seems like a good idea vs the 2 400w hps i was considering....my questions

1) starting with soil..any reccomendation?
2)how long should my clones stay in the veg cycle?
3)looking for an active carbon filter to rid tap water of CL
4) ideas about nutrients to add when watering?
5)hood vs paraboltic? does paraboltic hoods create a problem with heat removal?
6)do you recommenend mylar on the walls and if i use paint flat or high gloss?

bottom line is id hope for some guidance before going out and dropping a ton of money on worthless ideas. the smoke really helps with my wifes back surgery and since shes unable to work anymore and has a forrest green thumb ill be helping her help herself and regain some self..any and all help and guidance wont be wasted. i value your time and realize im asking alot. i do have many years in the electrical field so if i can give back in what i know please feel free.............thanks everyone
 
F

Frank West

Member
rastadred22

rastadred22

Well-Known Member
ok well check out riddleme thread called balls to the wall grow...and then after lookin through there and seeing what he pulled his last harvest then come tell us whats really good
 
F

Frank West

Member
rastadred22 said:
ok well check out riddleme thread called balls to the wall grow...and then after lookin through there and seeing what he pulled his last harvest then come tell us whats really good
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Oh that looks nice and it would be much easier to just keep the same light the whole time (I was just going off what other people have said), But I still need to know if that light would go with that ballast, and if that CMH bulb is sufficient for a grow?
 
Danielsgb

Danielsgb

Well-Known Member
Frank West said:
Because I have read a few posts saying HPS is better, CMH has a large blue light spectrum and is not as good for flowering?
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I gotta tell you, I have several CMH's in varying wattages. They are great for flowering as much as vegging. They have more blue than a HPS, but more in the reds too.
Daniels
 
Danielsgb

Danielsgb

Well-Known Member
Frank West said:
Oh that looks nice and it would be much easier to just keep the same light the whole time (I was just going off what other people have said), But I still need to know if that light would go with that ballast, and if that CMH bulb is sufficient for a grow?
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I think that one would be OK, but switching from HPS to MH is unnecessary maybe bad. You can get a cheaper one that would be as good probably better. Ansi code is S51 the ballast code it needs. They work great all the way through.
Daniels
 
F

Frank West

Member
Danielsgb said:
I think that one would be OK, but switching from HPS to MH is unnecessary maybe bad. You can get a cheaper one that would be as good probably better. Ansi code is S51 the ballast code it needs. They work great all the way through.
Daniels
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I don' think I ever talked about switching from HPS to MH? But thanks a lot for the info. I'm pretty sold on CMH, just a bit worried about the UV but I guess Ill just ware gloves and glasses when I work. I read a post about someone using a CMH bulb and it was doing UV damage to his plants? Any info on this and how to avoid it? Also how far should I keep CMH lights away during veg? I heard as long as you are not burning the back of your hand you are good but the idea of UV burn scares me.

Thanks for the help :)
 
Danielsgb

Danielsgb

Well-Known Member
Frank West said:
I don' think I ever talked about switching from HPS to MH? But thanks a lot for the info. I'm pretty sold on CMH, just a bit worried about the UV but I guess Ill just ware gloves and glasses when I work. I read a post about someone using a CMH bulb and it was doing UV damage to his plants? Any info on this and how to avoid it? Also how far should I keep CMH lights away during veg? I heard as long as you are not burning the back of your hand you are good but the idea of UV burn scares me.

Thanks for the help :)
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For a ballast like that. The switch to use a HPS instead of a MH has the ignitor engaged. So if the HPS was running fine with your CMH and someone flipped it to MH I don't know what would happen. My guess would be a burnt bulb. You know, but say someone was looking at it and you were saying how you have a Ceramic Metal Halide. They flip it saying how it's on the 'wrong' one. Pop. Bulb fried.

For the UV, from these it's not significant. My opinion but seems true. I was wondering at first too. It may have been one of my posts you saw. Gloves aren't necessary. Long sleeves maybe if you had many and were working for a couple hours under them. I don't stare at mine or hang out around it but I don't think they are that intense for the UV.:-P

If the plants are too close they get a 'sunburn'. You can tell if you are paying attention. I had to go out of town for 10 days with plants at 22 days flowering. They stretched and I wasn't around. My helper can feed and water but that was past her for noticing soon enough. It was 12" or maybe 14" from a 250W. I had another experiment running with Infrared I blame more. I had one stretch too close to my 400W too one time. 18" to 24" from a 400W is good for the UV IMO.
Don't let the UV scare you.:leaf: Don't you want your Ladies to get a nice tan.:fire:
I'm using a UV-B bulb for 15 min after lights go out in an experiment. Resin is the defense for UV-B damage overnight is my plan.:-P
Daniels:weed:
 
F

Frank West

Member
Danielsgb said:
For a ballast like that. The switch to use a HPS instead of a MH has the ignitor engaged. So if the HPS was running fine with your CMH and someone flipped it to MH I don't know what would happen. My guess would be a burnt bulb. You know, but say someone was looking at it and you were saying how you have a Ceramic Metal Halide. They flip it saying how it's on the 'wrong' one. Pop. Bulb fried.

For the UV, from these it's not significant. My opinion but seems true. I was wondering at first too. It may have been one of my posts you saw. Gloves aren't necessary. Long sleeves maybe if you had many and were working for a couple hours under them. I don't stare at mine or hang out around it but I don't think they are that intense for the UV.:-P

If the plants are too close they get a 'sunburn'. You can tell if you are paying attention. I had to go out of town for 10 days with plants at 22 days flowering. They stretched and I wasn't around. My helper can feed and water but that was past her for noticing soon enough. It was 12" or maybe 14" from a 250W. I had another experiment running with Infrared I blame more. I had one stretch too close to my 400W too one time. 18" to 24" from a 400W is good for the UV IMO.
Don't let the UV scare you.:leaf: Don't you want your Ladies to get a nice tan.:fire:
I'm using a UV-B bulb for 15 min after lights go out in an experiment. Resin is the defense for UV-B damage overnight is my plan.:-P
Daniels:weed:
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Awesome thanks for the help, I was reading around and got saw that this ballast works with CMH bulbs so Ill probably get it.
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-400-watt-High-Pressure-Sodium-Grow-Light.asp

I appreciate the info!
 
Danielsgb

Danielsgb

Well-Known Member
Frank West said:
Awesome thanks for the help, I was reading around and got saw that this ballast works with CMH bulbs so Ill probably get it.
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-400-watt-High-Pressure-Sodium-Grow-Light.asp

I appreciate the info!
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I was gonna ask if you found a better deal as that was the 'un-necessary' I meant as it's cheaper. I've used them before, shipped quickly. I'll PM you a guy to ask for. Maybe get you a discount. Glad to bring another to the CMH club.
Daniels:weed:
 
Rando

Rando

Member
I got a question for you, Streetlegal:
Since Buds don't begin to show until about 2 weeks under 12/12 lighting, and I am trying to save on electricity costs, Can I use florescent lights for the first 2 weeks of 12/12, before moving them under the HPS with out reducing my final harvest weight?
 
DB&ST

DB&ST

Well-Known Member
If my soil is at 5 pH, and my tap water are 8 pH, is it ok to just water it with the tap water and the pH will adjust?
or should i get my water to 6.5 and the soil will adjust when time pass?
 
G

goalie1dad

Member
Looking for advice. I let my plants go to 30" above soil before I flipped to bloom this morning. 7' x 10' room 1000w HPS with mover, 12 plants. I had 6 plants like 2 weeks behind and kept the light over them not using mover to try and even them out. 8' ceiling this room is full! My plants look way bigger than most when they are turning to bloom. Cap ebb n' grow system. I thought I had a big enough room, max for 1 -1000w with mover. Did I screw up?
 
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