DJ’s 2x2.5 LED Shenanigans

djwimbo

Well-Known Member
Ok so this is basically “Round 2” for me.

Link to “Round 1”:
https://www.rollitup.org/t/djs-led-medical-grow.656712/

Things have changed, life was interesting for a bit, and now I’m back. As always, I’m sure I’m going to learn something, and I might be able to help others learn. I try to be “scientific” about things, and no I don’t mind some chatter in the thread. My DM’s are open, just please don’t make me delete unnecessary comments or rude behavior.

Important things...
1st attempt at soil, attempting to keep it as close to “organic” as possible, but we all know how that can be a challenge on the scale that I’m working with.
1st Sativa I’ve tried personally.
2nd time running the SGS-160, 120W whites, 35W reds, CREE LEDs, Area51 lighting(pretty sure they’re out of business now).
... although at the moment it’s under a HydroFarm 2bulb T5, my wife has been using my grow light for her succulents and house plants, so I’m replacing that with some HLG stuff, but I haven’t ordered it yet.

There will be Bonsai! But not full mainlining.

Currently in a mix of HappyFrog and perlite. Probably going to be buying some bottled goodies, but haven’t yet, and haven’t needed to yet.

I was late to sprout, so outdoor season was basically off the table, and for security reasons that’s not really an option right now.

Growing in a Gorilla 2x2.5x7’ tent, so thankfully better suited than my last run.(read the link above)

Strain: Super Lemon Haze, Canuk seedbank, feminized.

I germed it in a wet paper towel, and went straight to solo cup, yesterday it got transplanted to a 5x5x7 square container (~1.75qt ?). Roots looked pretty good, not crazy awesome, but you’ll see in the pics to come.
I put more perlite in the bottom of the solo cup than I meant to, and obviously realized it after it was planted, so yes... I know that was a mistake, but I fixed it at the transplant.
Trying to “stack” the roots a bit, next pot should be 1gal, some weeks out... don’t have a date planned, but for now let’s just say a 3-4 weeks out.

Uhh... things subject to change, but if there’s actions that vary from the plans, there will be an explanation and hopefully adequate research before doing anything.

This lady has been named Letty, because all my girls get names. And yes, just one... hopefully she’s a fat lady, I can tell she’s going to be a stinker.
 

djwimbo

Well-Known Member
End of week 2 inside. (Last pic is a comparison of 6/8 to 6/22)
https://imgur.com/a/boHYd7O

She has been topped.
Still just being given pH’d water.
Still under the 2-Bulb T5.
Nothing special to report other than I need a new pH meter, dropped mine in water and now it won’t calibrate correctly.
 

djwimbo

Well-Known Member
Two quick pics.
First one is less than a day and a half apart.
Second one is June 7 to June 24.

https://imgur.com/a/K5bcIAB

Leaf edges/sawtooth sides are just a bit curled.
I think it’s a slight deficiency(K), since I’m fairly certain it’s not a heat problem. It’s been 72-78F in my place, and they usually don’t show “heat tacos” until 88+F in my experience.

Anyways, nothing serious going on yet, but since tipping the side branches are responding as expected.
 

djwimbo

Well-Known Member
As of today, she’s been under 18:6 lighting for 3 full weeks 6/8-6/29.

Been topped once and recovering well.

Still just getting pH’d water. Should be transplanted into the next pot sometime in the next 7 days. Next one is a “#3” pot, or basically a gallon size... I think it’s like 1.2gal, but it’s not real big, just next size up that I have(that’s not an AirPot). I still need to pick up a final pot, I’m thinking a 10gal SmartPot.

Training starts with the next transplant.

Pic shows the growth from end of week to to today, end of week 3.

https://imgur.com/a/fEpUiAt

EDIT: upon further inspection a “#3” pot is supposedly 2.6gal.
 
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djwimbo

Well-Known Member
https://imgur.com/a/EZQSBei

Been topped twice.
Still 18:6 under the T5/2-bulb
Bonsai is underway.
Transplant should be tomorrow, 2.6 gal pot... keep forgetting to stop by the store to pick up some Myco’s(probably GreatWhite).

Happy 4th of July!
 

djwimbo

Well-Known Member
Today was transplant day!
This is transplant number 2.
Solo cup -> 2qt -> 2.6 gal ... next goes into 10gal SmartPot.

Got a new pH meter, hooray! This one shouldn’t die if I drop it in water, extra hooray!

Transplanted into 1:1 mix of Happy Frog and Ocean Forest, then added some perlite.
I think technically if you’re going by ratios, it would be like 3:3:1 (HF:OF: Perlite), measured in scoops.
Added Great White as well with the transplant.
Also, first time I added any “bottle nutes” as well. FF GrowBig at 10mL/gal, pH’d to 6.3 (my first time using it, was NOT expecting that to be 1100ppm!).

She took about 3quarts of the 1gal I mixed up for her.

Changed some minor stuff on the bonsai, nothing crazy. Last post should have a pic of the cage I’m trying to fill out. I assume that’s about a week away, maybe two. Depending on how fast she fills in will determine when I do the next transplant(10gal SmartPot).

... still under the T5, I’m thinking next week I’ll order the HLG stuff and reclaim my SGS160 from my wife. Right now it’s over a cactus and a boatload of succulents.

It’s been HOT and humid here in MI. Temps in the room are regularly 80+F, humidity 40-55%. I’m a tad concerned about the August heat and not enough AC in this place.

Pics for clicks...
https://imgur.com/a/edyMuQV

Y’all can see those on Imgur right??
 

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djwimbo

Well-Known Member
I’ve been doing weekend updates, so here we are at day 1 of week 5 vegging indoors.

She got topped again, so she should be pushing 8 main heads here in the next couple days.
I wanted to make sure the stress of the transplant didn’t get her too mad before the next haircut.
Still has a decent amount of weight yet from the initial watering/feeding after the transplant, so I’m thinking tomorrow night will be time for next watering.
Bonsai has been adjusted a bit, stems are still nice and flexible.

She’ll probably get some fan leaves trimmed next weekend(end of week 5 veg).

I plan to pull fan leaves on day 1 of flower flip too, and probably day 21-ish of flower too.

Anyways, nothing dramatic or crazy this week, just moving along according to plan... reminder it’s my first time in soil, so I’m more used to coco/hydro growth rates, seems like it’s a little slow, but she’s moving along.
 

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djwimbo

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End of week 5 / day 1 or week 6, veg.
If I had 2 or 3 in there, a week or two from now would be the time to flip to flower, but it’s just one lady, so we keep on truckin.
The round cage should be going in soon, but that’s not the final deal, there should be a scrog net above that... but that’s right before, or after a week into flower.
I defoliated a bit, what shows right now is about as invasive as I like to go during Veg.
There’s still a lot of space available for canopy, and I plan to use it. I’m not in a rush, so I’ll take my time. I’d call this a 2oz plant if I flipped it now, and that would be fine if there were three in there... I want to see if I can get 6-8 cropped(2x2.5ft, 5sq.ft, I know it’s possible). (Got basically 5 last time I used the SGS-160, that was a smaller space and less headroom) I won’t hold my breath, and I won’t be disappointed if I don’t, but if I don’t set a goal, I’ll get impatient.
... plus I still have to get some clones off this for a friend/caregiver.

Definitely smells like a cannabis plant when I open the tent now. It’s refreshing and delightful.
 

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djwimbo

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End of “week 6”.. it’s in quotes because we’re somewhere around day 47 from seed, but been 6 weeks under 18:6 lighting, 2-Bulb T5.

https://imgur.com/a/kqPLxAf

She’ll probably get fed again tomorrow.
This morning I did a little bit of supercropping.

Specs on the cage are 12” diameter and about 17.2” tall (includes the pot, legs are bottomed out in the pot).

It’s been hot AF and humid in MI, but been able to maintain 78-83F pretty much in the tent, with decent humidity 40-55%(mostly).

I feel like I should have waited for another node or two on the last topping, and maybe slowed/stunted it more than I’d like, but she’s acting healthy, just slower than I hoped.

Still only been fed FF Grow Big and pH’d water, but I should be picking up Big Bloom soon as well. Feeds have been about 1000ppm or a touch more.
 

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djwimbo

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End of week 7 Veg, 18:6, 2-Bulb T5

11” Tall off the top of the soil, about 19” wide(fan leaves).

Defoliated and topped again today. Trying to keep it level-ish across the canopy. She’s looking a bit like umbrella at this point, so I’m happy. I’m sure some people would be a bit more aggressive on pulling fan leaves, but this is about how I like it.

Last feeding was full strength Grow Big and Big Bloom, I’d say that was a tad foolish, got some nute burn/distorted leaves from it. I’ll go weaker on next feed. Previous feeds were 1,000-1,150ppm, that last one was double that.

Off the main top-most topping/split there’s 13 top chutes, including the side branches it’s over 20 “tops”.

Hard to say how time yet to flower flip, but I’d say somewhere between a month from now, ‘til Labor Day-ish. I’m not in a rush, to me the canopy needs to be where I want it, and as full as I want it before I flip, I don’t want to rush it. Definitely making progress on speed of growth, but still not as fast as coco/hydro(what I’m most experienced with).

Did have one goofy day in there where we almost lost power, all the lights in the house were “half lit”. According to the power company, it wasn’t all day, just part of it, but I’d say I lost a day of progress because it was far too little light to keep a plant happy.

Breeder says it’s a 70-day flower cycle, so at this point I’m thinking it’ll be chopped and dried for Friendsgiving. Would be nice to have the stench in jars by then. So the flip around Labor Day seems about right.

Anyways, everybody likes pics, so here ya go...
 

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djwimbo

Well-Known Member
Switched from the orange cord over to some adjustable ties that I normally use for the tomato plants(found I had a fresh unused pack), cleaned up a bit in the tent, and of course accidentally smashed one of the bulbs when putting things back in the tent.
So until Tuesday, when I get my Amazon Prime delivery, it’s a 1-bulb T5. Plenty of grow stores around, even one or two of the big names, but nobody with a T5HO 24W bulb, and it would just plain drive me insane to have a 13W in its place.

Anyways, as of Tuesday it should be under a HLG65 for 2-3 weeks, then the SGS-160 will get hung. My wife has my SGS-160 over her succulents and cacti at the moment, I’m replacing that with HLG stuff. Should be 2x HLG65’s replacing my SGS-160 ... so she’s going up 10W(130W), the whites are 120W 4000K on the SGS-160. But she will never use the 35W reds that are switchable on the SGS-160, and I will in the tent(2x2.5ft).

I am really excited to see how that thing does in that space. If it doesn’t have enough penetration, I have a couple ideas, but let’s hope we don’t have to do that. 155W / 5 sq.ft = 31W/Sq.ft ... a bit less than ideal. It’s supposed to be ideal for a 2x3 flowering, personally I think it’ll be ok/decent, but I’m not afraid to do trimming to boost light penetration.

I have a ClosetCase100 from SpectrumKing too... which is also being used for my wife’s plants, but I’ve considered using two of those, or two HLG100’s (both would put me at 40W/Sq.ft, more ideal). SpectrumKing says the 100W is good for flowering “up to” 2.5x2.5, but I think that’s a bit of a stretch. I think it’s a great veg light, but I’d go for the CC140 for a 2x2 flowering. (They also say the 400 is good for a 4x4, but the 600 is better ... Look up LiquidJade on YouTube if you’re not familiar).
Full disclosure, I love the CC100, I bought it with the idea to basically do comparisons grows against myself to see what I could do with 100watts(they pull like 96-98W). BUT, for the time and efforts involved, I want more than 100watts would be expected to deliver. Aside from the HLG100, I wasn’t very impressed with the options available at the 100W mark, a couple COBs looked good, but didn’t convince me for my own $.
... anyways, long story short, we have 5x growlights going in the house and only one for cannabis, and it’s the least powerful one at the moment.
 

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djwimbo

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HLG 65 is in!

Not going to lie, I thought it was DOA.
I had it shipped to my work since our packages get stolen, arrived just before my lunch break, plugged it in... and nothing.
Tried both sides with the plug, tried flipping the AC plug, tried different wall plugs... nothing.
Ok, as annoying as that is, I have a DMM at home, I’ll figure out if the board or the power supply is wonky, and when I complain I’ll have helpful info.

I’ve had bad luck all week, so why act surprised right?

Got home, tried it again, nothing.

Dig out my multimeter and checked the DC power plug for Voltage... nothing.
Checked ohms on the board and connectivity across two power plug terminals, good to go.
Tried plugging it back in, boom, power... WTF?

Anyways, only thing that makes sense is the internal pin in the power supply(+) was wonky and needed to get “loosened” by me sticking a multimeter lead in it. I made sure it wasn’t too big before I tried it, but it “clicked” when I tested it, and seems to fit tighter in the plug mounted on the board.

Long story short, didn’t work on first couple tries, now it works fine, I’ll keep an eye on it.

Came with the bolts/nuts to mount the power supply too, so that was nice.

Now that it’s hung and functioning, holy F .. WAY more light than the “48W” HydroFarm 2-Bulb T5HO.
Since I have other options, I don’t plan to flower with it, but I could definitely see why so many people like these for Veg lights.

Hopefully Letty will soak up these lumens and be a happy lady.

Currently at 16” above canopy.
 

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djwimbo

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End of Week 8.

HLG 65 is doing its thang. To the touch, it’s a bit warmer than I expected, but it doesn’t seem to radiate heat that much. Had that funky fluke when Infirst tried to power it up, but hasn’t failed to fire up since I got it home/had it in the tent.

Last feed was “light”, something like 2/3 strength, maybe a little less. That one feeding at full scared me a bit, and I wanted to give her some time before trying that again. According to the chart I should be able to go up to 2000-2100ppm, and I’m not doing that again.

To be honest, I’m not terribly impressed with the growth rate of this strain. I feel like I’ve pushed it off as “meh, it’s soil, it’s not like coco/hydro” but I don’t have full blown environmental controls, and I don’t even know what my CO2 readings are. On top of that, I only had one bean of this strain, and I meant to have two plants. So I still have to leave some things as unknowns, and just keep going. This is just a itty-bitty tent off in the corner, and not supposed to be a rush or a production thing. I still stand by quality is better than quantity. I feel like if I had two plants in there, I’d be a lot more happy with how the canopy is filling in, and the original intent was two anyways. (2 in 5gal airpots)
I’m not convinced going with the big 10gal SmartPot is the best option right now, I’ll probably pick up a 7gal instead. I plan to flip at the end of this month regardless, unless of course she’s ready and filled in before then. Based on what I’m seeing for growth, seems like that timeline is about solid.

If you’re keeping track of the topping, side branches and all that, she’s pretty well spread out, topped 4x on the mains, and now I’m forgetting on side branches... 16x mains(4x toppings), second node down has been topped a couple times, third node down once, and 4th/bottom node has not been topped. I don’t have my notes in front of me, but I think it came out to 34 “tops” if you include the side branches. And the side branches off of those stems almost all have been lollipopped to like 3-4 nodes from their current tops. Basically if it’s below the cage, it’s been trimmed off, very few exceptions, and there’s a pic I’ll post to show what’s going on under her canopy. The bottom node has one branch that’s made the canopy, and one that’s lagging. That little lagger I’ve thought about trimming off MANY times. Pretty much haven’t in the name of balance, but then I’m conflicted because it’s under performing. Since the canopy will be pretty darn flat when I flip to flower, I’m pretty confident it’ll stretch up, I’ll lollipop it some more, and it’ll at least be worth keeping. Who knows, maybe I’ll be wrong... I guess we’ll see and call it science.

Still in the “#3” pot(2.6gal), still Fox Farm BigBloom+GrowBig, started in HappyFrog, last transplant was a mix of HappyFrog+OceanForest+Perlite+(a little bit of Coco) ... mostly been 6.0-6.4pH on watering/feeding, but last one was lower than that... I need to get some pH+ honestly, it was within the happy zone, but at the bottom of it. I’m used to having to lower it, not raise it, but there’s a first time for everything I guess.

4 weeks to go before the flip... Aug 31 should be last day in Veg. Me personally, I like to drop it one hour per day on the final week. 18:6, 17:7, 16:8, 15:9, 14:10, 13:11, 12:12. Some people say it’s not needed, but that’s just how I like to do it.
Should be veg’d for 12weeks, there’s a couple “bonus days in there of sprouting the seed, but I also lost some productivity from breaking a light, and almost losing power. So to me, it’s at 8, and will go 12. Add in the “70 days” to flower, we’re talking 22 weeks, give or take a little bit. If it was just about getting some smoke, I’d rock some autos and not be so picky. (The thought has crossed my mind many times) It’s a little bonkers to me to think it’ll take so dang long and the plant really isn’t that big, at least not now, but I haven’t flowered a full Sativa yet, so I’m not sure how leggy she’ll get when I flip. (My 4x8 tent a friend is borrowing has Sativas in it, and they’re almost 6ft tall, but they’re under Gavitas... totally different setup though ... and holy sh*t there’s a lotta nugs in there!)

I’ll stop rambling, here’s some pics...
 

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djwimbo

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End of week 9.

I have a calcium deficiency.
Planning to pick up Cal-Mag additive today. I’m thinking the “Rasta” CalMag, but I haven’t 100% decided yet.

Been feeding 1:1 GrowBig and BigBloom, “week 4” feed strength (3tsp/gal, each), last two weeks have been distilled water, previously aerated tap water.

Plant seems to really like the HLG65.
 

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djwimbo

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Day 1 of Week 10.

Added Gringo Rasta CalMag at 1tsp/gal as recommended, pretty sure that’s about 200ppm.
Fed at my normal 3tsp/gal both GrowBig and BigBloom.
Feed/watering has seen plenty of runoff only making batches of 3qts, so in reality it’s 11.25mL of BB & GB. Added 4mL of the CalMag this time, so it was just over 1300ppm, 5.9pH.

Did some lollipopping on some of the side branches that are at main canopy height, pulled some more fan leaves. Trying to maximize light exposure/penetration to the specific branches I’m keeping. Most of what’s left on there is top 3-4 nodes ... pretty sure the experienced people know what I mean, if you’re new you’ll get a better idea once I do a final update before the flip to flower.

If you’ve been reading along, that one runt under the canopy from my main stem is still struggling, and definitely getting more blocked out. I don’t know if it’ll reach the canopy on the flower flip or not, but at this point I’m keeping it just to see.

2 weeks to transplant, then light schedule drops ~1hr per day until full flip. 3 weeks to flip today (Sept 1 will be first day at 12:12).

By flip to flower the fan leaves showing any signs of the calcium deficiency should be ready to be defoliated, AND I’m going to be a bit more aggressive on the defoliation this time around. Plan is week 1, week 3, and possibly week 5, in flower. Not sure on week 5, depends how she grows. “Strip and flip” as some call it. Everyone has their own theory and technique, I’ve heard arguments on both sides... I defoliate.

LAST PIC shows the worst leaf... not proud, just showing for science/documentation/information. Majority of the leaves weren’t showing any signs.
 

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djwimbo

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End of week 10.

Life has been a little busy, so my notes aren’t quite as complete as normal.

Last feed with Gringo Rasta CalMag, GrowBig, & BigBloom, was like 1810ppm, 6.2pH. I had forgotten that calcium uptake is more ideal at 6.0+ ... on top of switching to distilled water, that would partially explain the calcium issue. (I was using aerated tap water, which had a base of 165ppm before aeration and about 148-150ppm after)

Next weekend she gets her last transplant, I still think I’ll get a 7gal instead of a 10gal for the final, but I have the 10gal ready to go, so I’m not sure.

Today she’s looking bright and healthy. A lot of the leaves effected by the calcium deficiency were due to get trimmed, not THAT many still remain.

I’ve trimmed/lollipopped a lot of the slower growing side branches. Anything I’ve kept along the way so far has been specifically selected for location and vigor. I’m excited to see it under the scrog net during/after the flower stretch, I really think there will be a lot of good lookin nugs in there.
 

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horribleherk

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Nice thread I'm doing a single plant in a 3x3 using royal gold basement mix in av3 gal smart pot started with a clone on June 20 & flipped Aug 12 you've gotta veg single plants a bit longer but it works good especially with a sativa dominant hybrid I'm wanting 2 of those 65 w. QB boards to supplement the 200w. Led in another 3x3 I'm putting together , how do you think that would work this tent has a 340w. cob light IMG_20190817_065321.jpg
 

djwimbo

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I'm wanting 2 of those 65 w. QB boards to supplement the 200w. Led in another 3x3 I'm putting together , how do you think that would work this tent has a 340w. cob light View attachment 4381035
I think you’d be ok with 340w, but a bit more ideal around 375-450 Watts total. My understanding is that you want to be about 40-50w/sq.ft with LED for the nice dense nugs and depth of light penetration. So far I’ve been super happy with my HLG65, I’d totally get it again, or any of their other products. If I didn’t already have the SGS-160, I’d probably go with two HLG100’s in my 2x2.5 (or I suppose two ClosetCase100’s from Spectrum King).
 

horribleherk

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I think you’d be ok with 340w, but a bit more ideal around 375-450 Watts total. My understanding is that you want to be about 40-50w/sq.ft with LED for the nice dense nugs and depth of light penetration. So far I’ve been super happy with my HLG65, I’d totally get it again, or any of their other products. If I didn’t already have the SGS-160, I’d probably go with two HLG100’s in my 2x2.5 (or I suppose two ClosetCase100’s from Spectrum King).
The light in this tent is a Johnson c-x 6 that uses cree cobs its working out @ 340 watts but for my other tent I have a calif light works as 275 that's a bit weak for a 3x3 I'm running 27x27 scrog to keep the canopy centered under the cobs this is round #2 IMG_20190817_220116.jpg IMG_20190817_220532.jpg
 
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