B&K's First Grow-LED and T5 HO Floro 30 Plants-10 The Dope-20 Endless Sky

bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
Update!

Klyde decided today that he needs to start watering every day. The plants are really soaking it all up.

The clones are doing amazing, very strong and healthy. Watering them every other day at this point. Mommie has a bigger room now so that she can grow to her full potential. I'm going to cut more clones on Monday so I will post more pictures of the clones then and Mommie then.

We will be 2 weeks into flowering on Monday. This is so exciting now. Everything is getting to be so beautiful and the smell is amazing. About 4 days ago we took all the plants out and trimmed them up in hopes that this would be the last time we needed to do this.
 

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bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
More pictures! I forgot to mention...but you can see it in our pics, we put up a net for our buds to be well supported when they get just a little bit taller. I also tied a few branches up to the main stalk on one of the plants, so that he continued to reach for the light.
 

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bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
I have been looking around on this site and noticed that most people with The Dope strain are just beginning to grow. I am not sure how we got this strain so early. We just called and talked to him, this was what he recommended. I am kind of bummed that some other people got their seeds for free though to do test grows when we are very far ahead of the game on it so to speak. I guess we couldn't tell you that this is better than another strain or company but we can give you facts on our results and you could make up your own mind from there.

If there are any seed companies out there that would want us to do test grows, we would be more than happy. Not sure how you get on that elite list but if someone wants to tell me I would appreciate it.
 
bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
ALL THE TECHNICAL SHIT!

OK! Bonnie has been posting all of our journal and photos so far, but i told you guys i would get on here and post every single item we are using in our grow.... our water system, air, nutes, lights, trays, containers, fans, light film, tools etc..... I'm going to tell you everything as it sits right now, to let you get a better idea of how we have this grow structured. along the way im going to try and comment on the things i like and the items i dislike, and what i would do to resolve the problems I'm having with that particular item.

hope you have your reading glasses on, i have a feeling its going to be a stupidly long post!!:lol:

CONTAINERS AND TRAYS:
Bonnie and I started this grow off in a store bought propagation tray. it had a humidome, and a reservoir underneath that used a mat that hung down in the res, to wick up water and transfer it to the tray. THIS WAS BAD!! the prop tray is cool, but the water res that is automatically wicking up water.... bad!... it kept them moist, but too moist. i would rather hand water
but after researching online, and knowing that from now on, we are going to be cloning instead of growing from seed, we are definitely going to buy an aeroponic cloner.

as for the larger containers, we ended up getting the best square pots we could find.
the clones are now starting off in 7" high 1gallon pots and full size plants are in 3.1 gallon "maxi-pots"..... we love these pots, and they were really inexpensive, sturdy and reusable. the only thing i would change, is that next time i order them, I'm getting white.
our trays are 2ft x 4ft hydro trays from botanicare. i really like them, because they are big enough but not too big. we have four of them on the floor, the floor is covered in black 5mil visquene plastic. the trays are about $100 a piece and well worth not cleaning up all the run-off. also, if we decide to go hydro, we can use them in that facet too.
next time: we are going to build carts for them to get them off the ground a bit... bending over sux!

WATER PURIFICATION AND DELIVERY:

OK, just going to list the system the way we have it set up at present from water inlet all the way to the plants....


  • Merlin Garden Pro reverse osmosis system ($550)
  • Merlin Pressure Booster Pump ($240)
  • Merlin Dual Inline TDS monitor ($100)
  • Merlin Electronic Shut-Off Kit ($150)
  • Blue Lab Combo meter, PH-TDS-EC-TEMP-PPM and cleaning and calibration kits.... total ($450)
  • Botanicare 20 Gal reservoir w/lid and port hole cover ($130)
  • Res Heater ($40)
  • Power Head mixing pump ($40)
  • Dual Output Air Pump ($40)
  • 2- long air stones in res ($10)
  • Garden Power 120 Pump ($100)
  • In-line 10w UV light ($80)
  • Flexible black poly tubing- 3/4"-1/2"-1/4" ($45)
  • 60- Adjustable flow 360degree micro-sprinklers ($1.50ea- ($90))

alright, i had a hell of a time perfecting this system, but it insures the long life of the RO system, insures that i can monitor the total dissolved solids before and after the RO, so i can know that it is working, and so i know when to change the filters and membranes. it ensures that my res constantly stays full of pure, sterile water even if I'm not there, and it delivers the nute solution equally to all plants hooked up to it.
the whole system is powered through a speedster controller and a timer, so i can tell it when to water and exactly how much to water.

we have the drainage pumped out by an auxiliary in-line pump that's connected to drain tubes i installed in each tray.... we manually switch this on when drainage builds up and pump it all to a 5gallon bucket which we dispose of down the drain.... basically an elaborate top feed drain to waste setup!
It takes 30 seconds a day to use

AIR AND CLIMATE CONTROL:

K, Here's the list

  • 4" Phresh in-line exhaust fan ($150)
  • 4"x14" Phresh carbon filter ($120)
  • 2- Infinite Breeze 12" bi-directional ('W' pattern) oscillating wall mount fans ($130)
  • 16" floor mounted oscillating fan
  • small digital thermostat controlled window A/C mounted and sealed in the wall ($120)
  • medium sized oscillating electric heater with digital thermostat and internal fans ($100)
  • Humidifier w/digital controls and timer ($100)
  • 2-HEPA filtration units with internal fans ($220)
  • wireless temp/humidity monitoring system ($65)
  • Inlet hole cut out at bottom of wall w/ a hepa filter sealed into the port
  • Hydrofarm CO2 controller mounted to a 20# bottle and released 360 degrees around the top of the canopy- total ($300)
The air that is pulled into the room through the inlet hole is filtered by the hepa filter and circulated by the three oscillating fans i have strategically placed throughout the room. the moving air is constantly filtered by the two additional hepa units i have at opposite sides of the room. it is heated and cooled to a constant 79 degrees during the day and 73 degrees during the night. the CO2 falls onto the canopy via tubes and a timed regulator during the day and shuts off completely at night.
The air is finally evacuated through the carbon filter and into the attic via the exhaust fan which i mounted towards the ceiling and away from the CO2, A/C, and the heater.

NUTRIENTS AND ADDITIVES:

  • GH Flora Nova grow
  • GH Flora Nova Bloom
  • GH Micro
  • GH ph up
  • GH ph down
  • GH Diamond Nectar
  • GH Bio Root
  • GH CalMag
  • GH Kool Bloom
  • GH FloraKleen
  • GH FloraShield
  • Atomi Bloombastic
  • Mega Wet
  • Einstein Oil
  • Zero Tolerance
  • Superthrive
We all have our different nute regimens, so i wont go into that, but i will say that even though Einstein Oil smells like corrosive vomit, it is amazing at keeping these plants pest free. the zero tolerance is an awesome barrier spray, and smells a lot better!


LIGHTS AND ACCESSORIES

There is a ton of lighting experiments i would love to do with led's, but here is what is in the room as i type-


  • 2- Sunblaze 48 T-5 HO 432W fixtures ($275ea ($550))
  • 3- 90W Quad spectrum led ufo's from ebay ($140ea ($425))
  • Stealth Grow SG602 327W (2W led's) led panel ($1600)
  • 6- 62W CFL's ($17ea ($105)
  • timer 20amp digital ($55)
  • Diamond Fusion Light Film ($165)
  • Heavy Duty ratcheting light hangers total-($100)
  • Light Intensity/PAR meter ($125)
I am totally psyched about 2watt led's! the fixtures are outrageous but they fucking perform.... that being said, there is definitely a huge difference between quality expensive led fixtures, and the ones that are sold on EBAY. one of the ufo's we are currently using has lost power to its internal fans, within a week of purchase! so I'm constantly looking for lights that are the quality I've seen from the stealth grow.
The t-5 fixtures are awesome, but they would be a hell of a lot better if they had the internal fans like the led fixtures do.... they don't run hot enough to evacuate the heat with fans, but too hot to get really close to the canopy, that's the next design I'm going to work on!
The big CFL's i am undoubtedly going to replace with high quality ufo's or similar led fixtures, but they are doing for now for the use of filling in gaps in the canopy where light isnt as strong. i would not, after using them, suggest a professional grow room to include cfl's.

TOOLS, ETC.-


There is a basic selection of hand and power tools on my rack in our grow room.... hammer, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, pruners, power drills, bits, saws, tape of all kinds sizes and colors, zip ties...etc. these things are absolutely necessary to combat daily routine and obstacles that arise in the grow room. nuff said!

Also i have some back-ups on hand like extra pumps, extension cords, surge protectors, timers and rope.... things of that nature, which have come in really handy in multiple situations

well, that about wraps up the large room that we have going currently.... we have a clone closet setup now with remnants from the large grow room, and our mother plant now has her own room setup too.... if i only had about $50K!!!!! lol, anyway, as i add things, ill keep you posted now that you know exactly whats in the room.... PHEW!! that took FUCKING FOREVER!!

cheers- Klyde


 
mared juwan

mared juwan

Well-Known Member
Wow that's one helluva post there klyde. Nice, very detailed. I am intrigued by these LED growlights. They have been trashed on these forums in the past, mostly because of what you said about the cheap eBay lights, but it seems like the quality ones are gaining more and more users so they must work. I also like that net setup. You guys are thinking everything through and I am very excited for you and your first grow. It's going great.
 
bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
Pupu said:
+1

Indeed very detailed post. I'm to in to the t5.. so is nice to see your grow.

Can I propose that you flower some of the plants only under t5 so we can compare with led only?
Click to expand...
I would love to do a full on segregated comparison and the next flowering cycle I just might do that. What would you propose the control group be? 2 plants under mixed cool and warm T5's, 2 plants warm, 2 plants cool, and 2 plants LED's? How does that sound?
 
bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
Okay so we hit our second week of flowering on Sunday (I was off on the previous post) and they are looking great! I'm so excited. I have started looking for all the different recipes for what I can do with all of this! I think I am going to try to make Jolly Ranchers or as I like to say Bonnie Ranchers. There isn't much I could find on that so it will be purely experimental. I will post my findings if I come up with something great.

Anywho, I cloned 5 more little ones yesterday! Mommie is still looking awesome and getting huge. I wish I had taken pics of me cloning but I will have to do that next time.

I have updated pics on how our clones are doing from 2 weeks ago and pics of the new guys that went in yesterday.

I have started to give the first batch of clones 1/4 teaspoon fertilizer to 1 gallon water and of course I am still giving them superthrive, hydrogen peroxide, wetting agent, and a little Diamond Nectar.


***First 2 pics-
The back row in the pics is the first batch and the front row is the new guys!

***3rd pic is 1st batch of clones H1
***4th Pic is 2nd batch of clones H3

 

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bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
DAY 17 OF FLOWERING

The plants are doing phenomenally well, no signs of deficiencies, more calyxes every day, no stunting.... they look GREAT!

One problem though.... because Bonnie and i waited so long to flower, our plants are quite a bit bigger than what we had anticipated. so with 30x3ft plants growing in a 32 sq. ft. area, we decided to expand the footprint. we have them all (if you can recall) in 4 2x4ft trays and we have decided to add 2 more trays of the same size and spread them out..... For that we need more lights! :-P

Bonnie wasn't too happy about spending the extra money, but we went ahead and did it. 2 more led lights, this time we went with two 120w rectangular fixtures off of ebay. I dont expect that the quality of the fixtures will be any better than that of the 3 90w ufo's we purchased, but i wanted to see how the fixtures performed anyway! (I think i'm just going to keep buying lights from different companies until i can test like 10 different kinds against each other!!!)

To go along with the extra led's, we got 3 more t5 ho fixtures (1- New Wave 4ft four bulb fixture, and 2- New wave 4ft two bulb fixtures) so basically another 8x54w t5ho bulbs and 240 watts of led's are going to be introduced to the room. We have so many side buds sprouting through the canopy, we thought that we should be able to harvest another pound or so with the addition of so much more light and increased growing area for better penetration.

WE WILL SEE:hump:

+++Pics of today will follow in a few minutes when the lights come on+++
 
luckyskindaguy

luckyskindaguy

Active Member
I am looking forward to the yield you guys come up with. Why did you two decide to go so big with this grow? How did you guys go from needing to sell a car to spending thousands on grow such as this??? just curious. + rep!
 
bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
luckyskindaguy said:
I am looking forward to the yield you guys come up with. Why did you two decide to go so big with this grow? How did you guys go from needing to sell a car to spending thousands on grow such as this??? just curious. + rep!
Click to expand...
We are excited too! When we first planned on starting our grow we couldn't find anyone saying how much a plant yielded on average. The numbers we found were very low and we had a certain number in our head, so we thought we would grow 30. We had no idea they would get this big!

We didn't need to sell the car we would have just needed to sell it to get the warehouse space. We ended up not going that direction and instead decided to move after this grow is done.

Most of the money from this grow was saved up. We ended up needing a few extra things since the plants got so big, so in turn our expenses grew along with it. We are very creative people when it comes to money. Most of the time I couldn't tell you how we have as much as we do. Klyde is a genius!
 
EdGreyfox

EdGreyfox

Well-Known Member
Nice grow folks! You sure don't do things half way, do you? I only grow half as many plants as you do, and i use a staggered schedule so that it's basically a perpetual grow, but i don't have anywhere near the equipment or set up you have going. I especially like the watering system, because I'm getting to the point where I absolutely hate hand watering. I'm a soil grower and i don't really understand how soiless grows in hydroton/coco/etc work, but you sure do seem to be getting good results. :)

I noticed you said that you are spraying with neem every 3 days. I use neem myself, but have had problems with it causing stunted growth and killing leaves if applied more then once a week. Since I started using it only one a week I haven't had those problems and have still managed to keep the pests away, so you might be able to get away with spraying less often then you do.

I have to admit that the LED's intrigue me. I have serious problems with heat, and they would solve most of them. The main objection I have to them is the initial cost, and not knowing which models actually live up to their hype (since all of them claim to be able to replace HID's with 4x the wattage). I'd like to give one a try one of these days, but i hesitate about spending several hundred dollars on a 400w equivelant when I'm not sure it's really going to work as well as the 400w I paid $125 for. I'm also not sure how well they will work for my style of grow, since I prefer to grow a smaller number of large plants and having a wide coverage from a single light is important.
 
bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
EdGreyfox said:
Nice grow folks! You sure don't do things half way, do you? I only grow half as many plants as you do, and i use a staggered schedule so that it's basically a perpetual grow, but i don't have anywhere near the equipment or set up you have going. I especially like the watering system, because I'm getting to the point where I absolutely hate hand watering. I'm a soil grower and i don't really understand how soiless grows in hydroton/coco/etc work, but you sure do seem to be getting good results. :)

I noticed you said that you are spraying with neem every 3 days. I use neem myself, but have had problems with it causing stunted growth and killing leaves if applied more then once a week. Since I started using it only one a week I haven't had those problems and have still managed to keep the pests away, so you might be able to get away with spraying less often then you do.

I have to admit that the LED's intrigue me. I have serious problems with heat, and they would solve most of them. The main objection I have to them is the initial cost, and not knowing which models actually live up to their hype (since all of them claim to be able to replace HID's with 4x the wattage). I'd like to give one a try one of these days, but i hesitate about spending several hundred dollars on a 400w equivelant when I'm not sure it's really going to work as well as the 400w I paid $125 for. I'm also not sure how well they will work for my style of grow, since I prefer to grow a smaller number of large plants and having a wide coverage from a single light is important.
Click to expand...

Lol! Klyde doesn't know how to do things half way. Too be honest if it were left to me I probably would be a fairly novice grower. I mean not that we have a ton of experience...this is our first grow, but we would definitely not have the set up we do without him. I am also a little cheap so when I start to see prices of these things I freak out...he always has to talk me into it.

We are growing in soil as well. It started to get hard to hand water so Klyde built that elaborate setup out of things from Home Depot/Lowes and since then...lets just say I love gardening a lot more. ;-)

We found that if we really water down the neem oil than it doesn't do anything but keep shit away. So far no problems but I will keep that in mind if anything bad starts to happen. We spray the perimeter of our garden with zero tolerance and out of curiosity the other day I took some of that stuff and sprayed it on a spider, the damn thing literally dropped dead within a second....made me a believer (and it is all organic)!!!

As for the lights we have another forum on LED's. In my opinion if you need wide coverage you wont get that with LED's but if you only have a couple plants (depending on the fixture) you could use LED's. So far all of the ones we found on Ebay have been crap. Klyde really wants to design his own more efficient LED. Our Stealth grow 602 light seems to be the best we have found but it still doesn't have a ton of coverage area and is about 1,600 USD.

Here is the link to the LED discussion!
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/314516-real-led-discussion.html
 
Drella

Drella

Well-Known Member
just got your friend request, we are a duo too! were in out second perpetual round, good luck to you, were here to help!
 
bonnie'n'klyde

bonnie'n'klyde

Active Member
its nice to meet another couple! and if we need help, we'll take you up on the invitation gladly! thanks for takin a look, id love you to check out my led discussion and my wife's candy thread, and put in 2 or 3 cents! (they could use it!)
 
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