New to rollitup.org - New CFL Grower - Think I may have issues already. Help!

Kart0oN said:

i think your next step should be building some sort of wall to contain all those lumens you are now putting out you can do something as simple and "ghetto rigged" as taking a sun blocker for a car putting it around the lights maybe get some kinda foil above the light to get it to bounce back down i think that should increase your yeild and will be better for plant growth in general because you must get as much light penetration as possible with cfl's because the lumens dont reach that far ... just tryin to help man good luck cant wait to see more updates....

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No, thanks a lot man, I appreciate all of your help! I was actually thinking the same thing about making a shield of some sort with the light.

You mean like a hood like thing lol, pretty sure they sell bowl reflectors for like super cheap at the depot... Or you can construct something but i would just not smoke a bowl and invest in the hood just my two cents, not that anyone asked.

natro.hydro said:

You mean like a hood like thing lol, pretty sure they sell bowl reflectors for like super cheap at the depot... Or you can construct something but i would just not smoke a bowl and invest in the hood just my two cents, not that anyone asked.

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Yeah they have a reflector hood at the hydro store a couple blocks away for like $30 I think I'll go grab that. Thanks.

nuckyt said:

Thanks bro it is sincere. I was acting like some who get on my threads and act that way but that don't mean I have to be the same way its not a good look

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I like this man, you were really different when you came back after a couple months off, and it took a lot of self control to keep from saying something about it.

I know the main objective would be to get a reflector hood for the light and thats a great start and should be #1 priority but that wasn't what i was really addressing ... i think you should get the reflective walls not just that blue tarp and a bunch of open space i really think that would optimize your lumens for CFL's because there is not a whole lot of light depth on them so the more reflective you get the better off you are just a thought

Kart0oN said:

I know the main objective would be to get a reflector hood for the light and thats a great start and should be #1 priority but that wasn't what i was really addressing ... i think you should get the reflective walls not just that blue tarp and a bunch of open space i really think that would optimize your lumens for CFL's because there is not a whole lot of light depth on them so the more reflective you get the better off you are just a thought

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The emergency blankets that are like 6'x5' are only 3 bucks in the camping dept. at Wally World.

That or if you have a menards around you, I know I just saw thermal bubble insulation stuff on sale at there cuz end of season and all. Really wanna work towards total reflectiveness, except on the ground that is bad.... With that hood and wrap you are def on the right track, even if it is just something white instead of a blue tarp (visqueen plastic) you will get more reflection. Sorry to give you a shopping list but it really is not cheap to make a legit setup indoors, and by cheap I mean less than $200 cus not all of us are harvesting every month yet lol.


Oh and nuckyt and bigv if you guys are paying attention still, just to troll a lil here is a grow I have been following, he said what made him go full scale with these apache led's was when he got 1.4 g/w, so ya 1 g/w and then some lol, just so you guys find what strides led's have made since you may have first looked at them.
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/630619-apache-tech-led-grow-8x12.html
As always know hate, do not even know why I am trying anymore since its not like I sell the damn things, guess I just feel the need to defend something that can not show its proof to you itself...

Bakatare666 said:

The emergency blankets that are like 6'x5' are only 3 bucks in the camping dept. at Wally World.

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thats what im sayin you get a tri-fold you put it right around the light in front of the tarp as close to the light as possible and you are ahead of the game alot for less than $5 you really cant go wrong you already have a white wall so your only losing like 2% reflectivness vs. the blanket but its still acceptable for a cheap setup with maximizing results ... well come to think about it a blanket does not have the ability to stand up by its self so you would hafta go to the dollar store and get a tri-fold project board (those foam 1's we use to use in schools for projects) staple it to that prop it up around the lights/wall/plants and your good to go so make that $6 total lol

OK! Got a solar blanket and lined the blue tarp with it and also made myself a little makeshift hood. I also got a fan blowing in to keep air circulation and temps cool, although I am still sitting around 76-79 degrees F in there. I might have to make an exhaust fan soon:



Now I have like 3-4 feet of the solar blanket left, should I just go ahead and line the white wall part with it?

I've also realized that duct tape is my friend! lol

BTW, I woke up to these babies this morning I now have 4 plants in full effect!

you might as well put it on the wall true flat white paint has like a 90% reflectiveness to it and things like solar blankets and panda film are like 93-95% i believe dont quote me on it so an extra 3-4% isn't going to hurt thats for sure... BUT when/if you do put it up make sure its as flat as possible the less wrinckles in the film the more reflective it is and the more evenly distributed the light is this is coming along good

Kart0oN said:

you might as well put it on the wall true flat white paint has like a 90% reflectiveness to it and things like solar blankets and panda film are like 93-95% i believe dont quote me on it so an extra 3-4% isn't going to hurt thats for sure... BUT when/if you do put it up make sure its as flat as possible the less wrinckles in the film the more reflective it is and the more evenly distributed the light is this is coming along good

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Good suggestion man, but with CFL's it isn't quite as important as with more intense lighting.

Bakatare666 said:

Good suggestion man, but with CFL's it isn't quite as important as with more intense lighting.

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yea i know anything outside of like 1ft and thats pushing it there really isn't much lumens to reflect with CFL's but its still a good rule of thumb for any grow and should be practiced regardless of lights and it cant hurt lol

Kart0oN said:

yea i know anything outside of like 1ft and thats pushing it there really isn't much lumens to reflect with CFL's but its still a good rule of thumb for any grow and should be practiced regardless of lights and it cant hurt lol

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Actually, with CFL's, beyond a few inches is ineffective, but what I was referring to, was wrinkles in mylar with an HPS would/ could be detrimental, but with CFL's not so much.

Good thread, opening post had me rubbing my eyes I have also had some hit or miss with MG soil - I hear fox farms and organic jungle growth are good Probably good low maintenance soils for growing and gentle enough to start seedlings in also. Good luck man!

i was being extremely generous on the lumen penetration i was just trying to provide some sort of example to keep in mind but bak you are right, outside of like 4-5 inches cfl penetration is terrible but you should still try and reflective all the light you can even if it is 5% and yes the wrinkle effect in mylar can be very detrimental to your situation thats why i suggested putting it on that tri-fold foam board where you can make it nice and flat and get a nice clean solid surface you can glue/staple it to so you can get a maximum reflectivness out of your mylar but for a first time grow everything is a learning process this is a solid grow that where its a non-stop learning process and this is where you learn / hone your skills for the next season and or cycle thats why i realy like following these grows where people really take the initiative and learn and apply the information that has been given to them love = fat buds cant wait to see the end result! :Leaf:

EasyPound said:

Good thread, opening post had me rubbing my eyes I have also had some hit or miss with MG soil - I hear fox farms and organic jungle growth are good Probably good low maintenance soils for growing and gentle enough to start seedlings in also. Good luck man!

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i have yet to have a horrible experience with MG soil like so many others have claimed to have, MG soil as long as you have the right NPK ratio there is really nothing wrong with it, 2 seasons ago i grew with MG soil and set up my buddy with MG soil and a grow (outdoors) between the both of us we had about 7 plants all above 5feet with no problems other than the fact i waited to long to trans them out of there pots and they got a little root-locked i had next to no problems soil related than any other grow i ever done... everyone fronts on MG but it works just as good as the rest in my experience...

Kart0oN said:

i have yet to have a horrible experience with MG soil like so many others have claimed to have, MG soil as long as you have the right NPK ratio there is really nothing wrong with it, 2 seasons ago i grew with MG soil and set up my buddy with MG soil and a grow (outdoors) between the both of us we had about 7 plants all above 5feet with no problems other than the fact i waited to long to trans them out of there pots and they got a little root-locked i had next to no problems soil related than any other grow i ever done... everyone fronts on MG but it works just as good as the rest in my experience...

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You pulled off outdoor cannabis in MG without the plants being bbq'd? Do you live in an area where it doesn't rain 4x a week?

Figong said:

You pulled off outdoor cannabis in MG without the plants being bbq'd? Do you live in an area where it doesn't rain 4x a week?

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Yea MG has never done me wrong yet i live up in NE wanna hear even more mind boggling information? is use tap water also... just leave it out for 24hours let the chlorine evaporate adjust PH BARELY bc it comes out of the faucet at around 5.5 and good to go never had a problem lol i know it completely contradicts most posts on RIU but i could with confidence grow a whole season with MG soil and tap water and have it not cause any issues unless i mess up something by neglect or going heavy on the nutes everyon's situation is different gotta find what works for you and go with it

Kart0oN said:

Yea MG has never done me wrong yet i live up in NE wanna hear even more mind boggling information? is use tap water also... just leave it out for 24hours let the chlorine evaporate adjust PH BARELY bc it comes out of the faucet at around 5.5 and good to go never had a problem lol i know it completely contradicts most posts on RIU but i could with confidence grow a whole season with MG soil and tap water and have it not cause any issues unless i mess up something by neglect or going heavy on the nutes everyon's situation is different gotta find what works for you and go with it

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And with tap water too! Somebody spread the word, weed requires no special care! Who fucking knew?! Lol
I know someone has a tiny green thumb if they start up on pH'ing water and how MG soil kills weed.
They look for any excuse possible to explain why things didn't go perfectly... Oh yeah, it was the pH of your water that really fucked you. Sure it was. Sure it was...

I think I'm finally growing some plants guys!



The only thing that I actually just realized was the fact that 2 of them are older than the other 2 obviously. What am I going to do about light schedules when it comes time for veg? Do I start nutes now for the older ones? The oldest two were so stunted, I don't even know if it's veg time for them yet. I saw first sign of seedling on 3/10 for the big guys and first sign of seedling on 3/24 for the little ones, so it's been 17 days for the bigger guys.

This page in this book I've been reading says this is what they look like in the beginning of vegetative stage at 14 days old. My older ones are 17 days old....But then it says day 9 at the top-right.....wtf?