Ajagunle's NFT White Widow Auto X Sweet Afghani Delicious Under CFL - Closet Grow

[ajagunle]

Day 6 of flowering and there are less empty holes in the screen. An inch or so of stretch every 24hrs,

I have reverted to the veg nutes for the last res fill and again today, will revert to the bloom nutes at day 8, or when signs of flowering show.

Grooming is starting to follow a set routine, worrying the numerous growing tips up to the surface, pulling fan leaves below any branches and removing half a dozen awkward 'fingers' each gardening session.

The first 2 gallons of wine had almost stopped producing co2 after 14 days and I have replaced 2 more, not quite up to maximum production yet, probably tomorrow. Produced 228l of co2 over 14 days, not sure if that is adequate but it must be helping , temps have hit 100f today and plants show no adverse effects, touch wood .

 

[GigaGrew]

just an idle observation. i noticed you used the word imagineering...a man after my own heart, lol

this isnt a suggestion, more just an idea for another mind to look at.

im wondering if there was a sheet of double or triple glazing between the lights and the plants if it would drasticly alter the temprature enviroment. the only heat that should pass through is in the light waves, not from the heated air on the light side.(since the vacuum in the glazing should prevent this.

this might work for all light types.

im a fan of the idea of splitting the enviroment into 3 layers.

sub soil (high oxygen, low light zone)
foliage (hi Co2 low humidity e.t.c)
Lights level (high air extraction rate)

anyways, will be interested to see your thoughts on the matter.

 

[ajagunle]

A cunning plan!

Thoughts;
I am fairly sure that photosynthesis produces thermal energy, and this would be trapped by the extra glazing, not sure how much is produced but it would continually build up; so the 'plant zone' would need some venting, maybe thermostatically controlled, then there is the smell, so any venting would need to be through a CF, but the light zone would no longer need filtered extraction, the extraction, when it cuts-in, would also remove the added co2.

Not sure this moves your thoughts on at all but it has planted a seed, so to speak, that I think is worth nurturing, the logic all makes perfect sense apart from the potential heat in the plant zone, and it may only produce negligible heat, but some air exchange will surely be needed.

Beginning the Canna waffle so I'll cogitate some more.

 

[GigaGrew]

light zone would have a high volume extraction that needs low drag, could be a big quiet fan.

plant zone would have a carbon filtered exhaust and a co2 enriched intake on the other, the pressure of the room and the cfm of the air flow can be determined by the heat of the grow area.

sub soil air could be a few degrees cooler than the plant area and could come as several modules, could be soil based, will have to water/feed with a drip system (as you would have difficulty getting in there), hydro,dwc,nft and airo e.t.c would all have their own ways to manage the stats, but and air intake that is maybe 50% humid and loaded with o2 and air born nutrients.

 

[ajagunle]

Fantastic target. So many possible combinations of variables that I feel the route to the target will inevitably be bespoke. For instance, I use cfl’s and little heat is produced above the shade, so I will move my cf to below the bulbs. Would not have reached this conclusion without you prompting me to think, or maybe that was your very polite strategy all along?

Definitely going to re-assess my space to try and include your ‘zoning’, huge

 

[GigaGrew]

ideas are like logs on a fire. on their own the burn ok, but put them together and they feed each other producing more heat than they ever could on their own

Im using a special dual spectrum t5 for my grow atm, its even cooler than cfl's 1 bulb is feeding 3 plants and 2 cloones now and virtually no excessive stretch. oh and the leaves can touch the bulb withuot burning =D

 

[ajagunle]

Good analogy, not sure how often I get mine lit

I like the idea of what google says is a T5, not what I see in your journal, or do you have another? T5 at the Hydro shop I use is a bank of thin tubes,2,4 or 8, but only for propergation and veg, or am I missing something? I've got 600w of cfl, the output is only OK and the heat is a constant issue.

Any ideas?

 

[GigaGrew]

the bulb i have is specifically for growing and aquariums, its from regular gardening not just weed culture. i buy from a propper lights shop.

even if a hydro had this light it would be more expensive thn i got mine im sure.

t5-t8-t12 is the thickness of thee tube.

t5 works out the most efficient for heat vs light, but t8 is the most common and therefor probably cheapest.

they can come anywhere from like 10 inches long to 6 ft.

other than the fact my bulb is specially created to produce the blue and red light plants need and waste no energy on multispectrum white light and produces a lot less heat that a normal bulb of the same class/wattage...no its no different to a normal t5

 

[ajagunle]

Flowering day 9.
Max temperatures have reduced down to a more reasonable 93f, and stretch has slowed down, barely an inch in the last 24hrs. My initial plan was to keep everything under the screen for 14 days, but I have lowered the screen 2” so may risk letting them go for it slightly earlier, will decide when I check stretch tomorrow.

Still feeding with veg nutes as there are no real signs of flowering yet, apart from stretch obviously. The girls are drinking about 4 litres every day. I should have mentioned that I reduced day length by 20 minutes yesterday.

Some squares in the screen are getting crowded and the stems are not long enough to separate, yet.

Roots have reached the edge of the tray and are dangling in the res, but not as white as some I have seen in other journals.

There are no bits of leaf or other organic debris on the tray or in the res and for the first time ph has gone up, to 6.4 requiring 1.5ml of down to return to 5.8. I think it would be prudent to change the res tomorrow and double dose of Oxyplus. The poor roots may be due to the raising of res temp to 74f due to outside temps. This will be an ideal time to remove the polystyrene insulation below the tank, it will give me an extra inch of valuable room, and lower the res temp, they will need to be replaced before the start of Winter.

 

[ajagunle]

the bulb i have is specifically for growing and aquariums, its from regular gardening not just weed culture. i buy from a propper lights shop.

even if a hydro had this light it would be more expensive thn i got mine im sure.

t5-t8-t12 is the thickness of thee tube.

t5 works out the most efficient for heat vs light, but t8 is the most common and therefor probably cheapest.

they can come anywhere from like 10 inches long to 6 ft.

other than the fact my bulb is specially created to produce the blue and red light plants need and waste no energy on multispectrum white light and produces a lot less heat that a normal bulb of the same class/wattage...no its no different to a normal t5

I have read up some more and think I now know what I can't afford, yet. Still working on creating zones for the next 'season' and,

 

[GigaGrew]

cfl's work just fine. the tubes are the same thing, just not compact.

might even be able to get my bulb type as a cfl, thats worth a look!

bulbs start at about £10 ($15) depending on length of bulb.

i will look into the cfl version, i have a dozen fixtures i could use.

 

[ajagunle]

Having looked at yesterdays' photos I am concerned with the paleness of some of them, looked at;

Cannabis Plant and Pest Problem Solver - Pictorial

and

Cannabis Nutrient And Deficiency Table - Great!

some key words jump out, like 'leaves stay narrower than normal. Can also have small mutated leaves,' and 'Sulfur plays an important role in root growth' and I have decided that if anything is wrong it is likely to be sulphur deficiency, and the suggested solution of 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts per gallon of water will not appear to be harmful if there is no deficiency.

1 gallon = 4.5l and each res is charged with 6l so I will add ½ teaspoon per res charge (roughly half strength)

Complete res change and rinsed the tank, checked the tray for any leaf stuff and cleaned the pump, filter was partially blocked with green threads of algae, just at the point that all the water for the plants goes through, clean twice weekly from now on!!

Still on veg nutes as there is still now signs of flowering. Removed the polystyrene from under the tank but this did not lower the screen , as any fool nu. The lowering has eased the tension in all the plants and I will risk letting them go from now, I mean might.

 

[ajagunle]

cfl's work just fine. the tubes are the same thing, just not compact.

might even be able to get my bulb type as a cfl, thats worth a look!

bulbs start at about £10 ($15) depending on length of bulb.

i will look into the cfl version, i have a dozen fixtures i could use.

I will research, decide and purchase before these ones' clones go into the veg room, Octoberish.

I think a panal of T5 24" tubes would be good, I've got 600w actual ATM so an increase would be ideal

 

[ajagunle]

If you can’t read the legend;
• Gap between tank and screen is 5”
• Lights are at their lowest point with current fans
o Fans need to be on LHS , blowing hot air into CF
• 19” available to raise the ligts7
• Not enough room for lights to pass CF, by an inch!
• When light raised 6” will put CF below the lights
• 3 * 30w blue cfl to fit when light raised (?)

I stopped tucking grow tops on day 11 of flowering, my first grow I stopped on day 14 and the tallest buds grew to touching the bulb, but I am able to raise the lights 5” higher this time. Apologies for being obsessed by inches but this is the most limiting success factor I can’t change. Real life can be such a drag, but we all learn to work with what we’ve got.

I mentally prepared for something I can no longer avoid, I minimised all risk areas, imagined the successful completion of a task I thought I had been incapable of for the past year, and when I was in the zone, I changed the blue bulb for a red one. Blue light produces about 2” less final bud height, which I had learned to live with, but will be too embarrassed to photo now I am sharing pictures.


I have prepared 3 supplementary lights, once fitted and CF below the screen some bud space will be the price, not sure the extra lights will be worth it, unless any strong opinions against I will find out in several long weeks.
There are some grow tips that are struggling in the shade, but this is the focus of gardening time, removing as few leaves that I cannot tuck away as possible.

Keeping a journal is certainly changing my limited growing habits. It started with cloning these plants, I took the clones having read so many journals of routine success. Took the cuttings with the donors in 5th week of flowering, and then I read that taking clones at day 21 is routine and some say beneficial. If I take the next generation at day 21, I do not have the space to keep them whilst the donors finish flowering.
I harvested last time, what now seems like a very long time ago, without seeing many amber trichs but it was week 12 and the clones needed the room. The breeder says that 8 weeks flowering, I now realise this is under optimal conditions, and my limiting success factor is CFL, but wallet and nervesnous of not having enough ventilation currently prohibits any significicant change. So the main variable I can influence is harvest time and I need to accommodate 12wks+ for flowering to finish and possible extra week or so for the lower or secondary canopy to get the full light after first harvest.

Following GiGaBaNes zoning idea, HT;

Root zone; Temps controlled to minimum 69f with aquarium heater, cooling, only required for 6 wks so far during the last year, provided by freezer blocks, can change 4 times every 24 hrs. Not sure what the max should be but I am working on 77f.
O2 supplied chemically with oxyplus, and an air stone for a 2m aquarium in the reservoir.
Plant zone; CO2 provided at a rate of 124l every 14 days, but max temp is now 89f so probably not required or made use of. I need to minimise CO2 leakage into root zone.
No need to warm the grow space at all last winter and do not choose the extra expense to keep at optimal.
When I replace CF filter, this fall, I will get a smaller one that can fit below the light shade for the whole grow time, fans on the LHS next time, rising temps can be thermostatically controlled, but not lowering temps.
Light zone; Temps are actually lower above lights than below so only minimal air exchange required.

The meds have taken me to that 'just rambling' stage and I’ve just realised so I will explain about the journals another time, and finish the update.

 

[TaylorMade420]

sub'd

 

[GigaGrew]

definatly subbed friend, i feel honoured to be credited. tho i would like to point out the individual ideas were around allready, i only claim to be good at building bridges between the ideas to make a cohesive system =)

 

[ajagunle]

Day 14 of flower and 3 days of growth above the screen.

The first big decision I have to make, after choosing strain, is when to stop tucking. 4 days earlier this run, and another week or so before I can check the wisdom of that decision.

I have removed a fan and max temp is only 88f due to drop in outside temps, concentrating effort on working as many tops to the grow surface as I can, some holes or stations still have multiple tops.

When I noted all the various variables, ph had dropped to 5.4 and required 6ml of up and when I started to type this I got up and cleaned the pump and its filter and sure enough green algae, again, quickly. I suspect this is a predictable draw-back of harvested rain water in an NFT tank, but it must shorten my Med Miles, or CannaFootprint, so daily pump cleaning it is then.

 

[ajagunle]

Good to have you along TM20,

GiGaBaNe, don't be so modest, in my little world you were a superior catalyst at least

 

[ajagunle]

Supplementary Lights

The shoulder end of the bulbs emits no light, this is about 1/3 of the canopy not under lights. The plan was to fit 3 30w blue bulbs just above the screen to offer more wattage to the girls, but offer a wide spectrum. Now that I see how much of the canopy is not benefitting from the main lights thinking of using 45w red lights concentrated at the shoulder end, they will take twice the bud space than the blue bulbs.

So, suggestions please on 30w blue or 45w red?

 

[GigaGrew]

i try to run around a 20/80 colour scheme, 20% 2700k during veg and 20% 6500k during flower, just to make sure its getting a balanced diet.


there are only 3 considerations worth a snot when adding more lights.

1 can you afford it
2 can you keep it cool
3 do you have so much light your in danger of bleaching the plants.

In my humble opinion, if you can work in your grow room without sunglasses, its not enough light =D