Reservoir temp?

hey... i had a dissapointing harvest last time and have been trying to figure out what is up. basically the buds were all leaf with very little calyx formation in the middle.

i am wondering if reservoir temp has anything to do with that. i just put heaters in my reservoirs so hopefully that helps. when i measured the temps the other day (before the heaters) they were about 53 degrees. i have managed to get them up to 63 degrees with the heaters...

any info?

Thats degrees Faranhight.

53 would be a bit low and may stunt growth. 63 is pretty good.

Have you ruled out other factors?
The most obvious being what sort of lights you are using and how far away where they.

this set up is similar to my other setup as far as lights, nutes, etc. the only differences is the low yielding set up (room 1) had a low room temp range - low 40s to low 70s (yes, degrees F). room 2 has a room temp range from low 50s to upper 80s. water temps in room 1 were 53, water temps in room 2 were 64. both rooms are 1000 W HPS hortilux over a 4x4 tray. lights range from about 12 to 18 inches to a little over 2 feet (i raise them up towards to end to discourage foxtails). same strains - white russian... room 1 i got about 7 to 12 ounces per 4x4 tray, room 2 i got just under 2lbs from a 4x4 tray. room 1 is a larger room - about 12ft x 10ft (with a 5x5 corner taken out for the door, so the room is "L" shaped) room 2 is 6ft by 5 ft. same 6" HO Can Fan for exhaust for both rooms. both rooms have two 4" passive air intakes - one from outside, one from the room next door.

so really the only difference is the room and reservoir water temps....

i thought it may be a CO2 issue too - i sure hope not!

i met a friend today and they said they had read that low res temps will make the buds leafy, so i am hoping that is the case... i just bought aquarium heaters for the reservoirs and got the temps up to 65 and just started a new round....

thanks!

Well I know that the roots don't like growing in water with a temp below 60F so at 53F I gess they really didn't want to be in there. which would addversly effect every other part of the plant.

I think you have a good diegnosis. Keeping a stedy Rez temp will really help plant development.

As for the CO2. I didn't quite understand. you are going.

Outside - 4 inch Vent (into room one) - 4 inch vent (between room 1 and 2) - Extraction fans in both rooms.

In which case CO2 may be an issue also the levels would almost certanly be lower in room two. but that should be easy and cheap to fix.

Calyx to leaf ratio is determined by genetic variation,
so you might consider growing a different strain.

You should be able to make tight nuggs with 1000w of light.

What type of bulbs are you using?
The Eye Hortilux is a good wide spectrum bulb.

How old are your bulbs?
They lose 20% during the first grow.

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If nutes are consistently below 60 degrees f, the solution can't hold enough oxygen, and you can get a heater for 20 bucks or less, and it uses about as much electricity as a light bulb.

thanks for all the input. i put heaters in the reservoirs and the next round seems to be looking good.

as for the strain - it is white russian and yes it is leafy a bit. but in another grow location where the temps are better i get very very very good results! this one grow area is in a basement and it would get very very cold in there.... i have since run a heater duct in there and put in a space heater. but summer approaches, so hopefully all is well.

i am using hortilux super blue bulbs and they were brand new for that first round.

i've been quizzing fellow growers and the people at the grow store and we all think it was the low temps... so hopefully the heaters will do the job.

The blue bulbs will decrease the calyx to leaf ratio.



The 2100K hps is better for flower
but can burn the flavour up,
if they are used too close to the plant.

I mix HPS and MH cool deluxe.

I was checking out a program about growing water melons,
and they said the melons grown under wide temperature swings,
had the most sugar. The temp swing for the sweetest melons,
was from 60-100ºF, the 40º swing causing the increased sugar, so they said.

I keep my rez temp at 66º,
but it fluctuates between 66-68º

I let my grow room temp fluctuate from 59-85º


.

It is presently believed that the correct temperature where roots will thrive the best is 67f.

Thanks. I am glad I'm doing it right.


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No problem earl... glad i could help.