First Time Indoor SCROG - CFL Maybe

siscokid said:
Just fyi I found that my grow room may have put 40 bucks ontop of our monthly bill, but has not moved higher since I switched to HPS, and added a blower.

Good to be here and take care.
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Thanks siscokid, I am starting to get it. I have been running 8 100w pretty much not stop for veg for the last 2 years. Getting rid of those and putting in a 400w hps would probably lower my bill. The issue is the wife and the initial cost. I will have to take baby steps and will most likely cost more money in the long run but a lot less in yelling in the short. I did get a 150w that is running at 13000 lumens. So I am running less watts and getting twice as many lumens. So like I said baby steps. Thanks for stopping in...
 
whitey78 said:
If you think about it even a 1000 watter, thats 10 100 watt bulbs.. Not that its cheap to run that many 100 watters all the time but if its that or not growing.........

This is how I rationalize every piece of electric equipment, thats 100 watt bulb, thats a 60 ok that isnt too bad....
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Yes, whitey78, I am getting it slowly but surly. Thanks for you advise and stopping in...
 
sonzor said:
Thanks siscokid, I am starting to get it. I have been running 8 100w pretty much not stop for veg for the last 2 years. Getting rid of those and putting in a 400w hps would probably lower my bill. The issue is the wife and the initial cost. I will have to take baby steps and will most likely cost more money in the long run but a lot less in yelling in the short. I did get a 150w that is running at 13000 lumens. So I am running less watts and getting twice as many lumens. So like I said baby steps. Thanks for stopping in...
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I know what you mean about the wife, baby steps. I just told her yesterday that I maybe switching to LED. Higher cost but short payback in energy savings.
 
placerville said:
I know what you mean about the wife, baby steps. I just told her yesterday that I maybe switching to LED. Higher cost but short payback in energy savings.
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Gosh, I would have loved to go in the direction but the an initial cost of those LED's would cause a divorce for sure.
 
placerville said:
My daughter works for a co-op and I can sell my 400 watter's to offset the cost, and with the donations I get from my people it looks like my next indoor will be with LED's.
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Lucky you, all my meds I grow go to me whatever is left goes to the compost so all lights and the cost of running lights put me in the neg. That's mainly why I have always grown out side. The cost if very little. That's also why indoor equipment is a hard sell to the wife.
 
sonzor said:
Lucky you, all my meds I grow go to me whatever is left goes to the compost so all lights and the cost of running lights put me in the neg. That's mainly why I have always grown out side. The cost if very little. That's also why indoor equipment is a hard sell to the wife.
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your next outdoor sell some meds and tell the wife it to offset a few indoor items you need. I started 0ff selling a radial arm saw and planer for my first lights.
 
placerville said:
your next outdoor sell some meds and tell the wife it to offset a few indoor items you need. I started 0ff selling a radial arm saw and planer for my first lights.
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That would be nice, but not sure that's an option for me. I know there are all sorts of loop holes but with my luck the co-op would raided by the feds at the same time I brought my donation in. Just not worth the risk for me...
 
Hi sonzor. ;)

Better safe than sorry....so I agree with you. Your a man after my own heart. Lighting should be measured in lumens. You already know I like CFLs, but I will probably go bigger soon. This grow I have now will be finished with CFLs so maybe we can see just how good they are. If you do get a light, be sure to give us the details. I may copy you. :rasta:
 
OldMedMan said:
Hi sonzor. ;)

Better safe than sorry....so I agree with you. Your a man after my own heart. Lighting should be measured in lumens. You already know I like CFLs, but I will probably go bigger soon. This grow I have now will be finished with CFLs so maybe we can see just how good they are. If you do get a light, be sure to give us the details. I may copy you. :rasta:
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Hello OMM, safety first, just way to much to lose. As for the lights, I did go the cheaper way and in the long run it will bite me in the rear I am sure but for now it is what it is. I bought 150w hps with reflector and ballast and fan built in to the unit. It puts out 16,000 lumens which is more than double what I was getting using my 8 100w cfls. The only issue I see at this point with the light is coverage. I put it a little higher than what some would recommend. I think 8 inches is ideal but I have it at 13 to get a little more coverage but the drop off of light around the outside happens pretty darn fast. The outside of the screen is still getting more light than they where with the cfls. But the difference between the light that the middle of the screen gets and the amount the outside get is about half.

With that said, I got the light for $79.00. I found it online for $59.95 so I could have even got it cheaper. At the store where I purchased the light the next one up the 400w was around $250 so it was an easy choice for me. I might even get another one and still would be cheaper than the 400. I think with the 400w I would also be dealing with heat issues which would have been a additional expense.

In the long run if I stick with the indoor grow I think I would get a better end result with the 400w but for the cost of the light and the running cost, I think the choice of the 150w was the correct one for now anyway..

Thanks for stopping in and you comments.
 
placerville said:
I think all of us grower dream of the perfect grow room and unlimited funds to have fun with, but most of us use what we can scroung and afford.
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Very true.
 
Check this out, We had a terrible winter up here in the NE, Very cold and lots of snow. I've had the baseboard heaters set to 60 after our first winter here. I'm now not using as much power as I was in the begining of me growing with cfl's.

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sonzor said:
Hello OMM, safety first, just way to much to lose. As for the lights, I did go the cheaper way and in the long run it will bite me in the rear I am sure but for now it is what it is. I bought 150w hps with reflector and ballast and fan built in to the unit. It puts out 16,000 lumens which is more than double what I was getting using my 8 100w cfls. The only issue I see at this point with the light is coverage. I put it a little higher than what some would recommend. I think 8 inches is ideal but I have it at 13 to get a little more coverage but the drop off of light around the outside happens pretty darn fast. The outside of the screen is still getting more light than they where with the cfls. But the difference between the light that the middle of the screen gets and the amount the outside get is about half.

With that said, I got the light for $79.00. I found it online for $59.95 so I could have even got it cheaper. At the store where I purchased the light the next one up the 400w was around $250 so it was an easy choice for me. I might even get another one and still would be cheaper than the 400. I think with the 400w I would also be dealing with heat issues which would have been a additional expense.

In the long run if I stick with the indoor grow I think I would get a better end result with the 400w but for the cost of the light and the running cost, I think the choice of the 150w was the correct one for now anyway..

Thanks for stopping in and you comments.
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I hear you on the light.....it will do for now.....I've been eying the 400 myself,
but like you heat maybe a problem. If you didn't have the screen, those CFLs could help with filling in what it doesn't cover. Can't wait to see how it helps you. It's got to help with all those lumens! :thumb:
 
siscokid said:
Check this out, We had a terrible winter up here in the NE, Very cold and lots of snow. I've had the baseboard heaters set to 60 after our first winter here. I'm now not using as much power as I was in the begining of me growing with cfl's.

004536.JPG
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Very interesting, I have been under the assumption for some time now that I was saving with the CFL's. I am pretty sure I could not have been anymore wrong. Thanks for the info..

OldMedMan said:
I hear you on the light.....it will do for now.....I've been eying the 400 myself,
but like you heat maybe a problem. If you didn't have the screen, those CFLs could help with filling in what it doesn't cover. Can't wait to see how it helps you. It's got to help with all those lumens! :thumb:
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The difference in growth has been pretty amazing. I think the light will have to do for now. I think it already has made a big difference. I think mostly in the penetration into the canopy. I can only imagine what the 400 would do. But if it's triple the heat I think I would have a big issue.

Thanks both of you for stopping in and your comments...
 
Hello all, update time.

I think the new light is doing very well, it does not put off much heat and it seems to be doing the job. Lot and lots of new growth. I did have to move it over a little cause there was a noticeable difference in the amount of light on the right side compared to the left. There still is way more light in the middle than the outside but with the size of the light I don't think there is anything I can do about it.

I did tuck everything down for what I think will be the last time but I keep changing my mind. I think I might keep tucking until all the bud sites are pretty much the same size.

I put a 2 tablespoon topping of bat guano and will continue this every couple weeks I also started to feed them BioThrive Bloom, Liquid Karma, and Seaweed Extract at a teaspoon of each per gallon of water. I know that the BioThrive is not organic but the guy at the hydro store told me that it is their organic line whatever that means and he said its pretty darn close to organic. He said it will not do any harm to the microbes, so I am going with that for now. I would be using teas but it has gotten way too cold and I don't want to make the teas indoors it just too messy.

Anyway, take a look.
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Here is a little pictorial time line of the last 15 day of growth, not too shaby
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I also took the ladies I did not use in the scrog and put them outside. These photo are of the plant I put in a 15 gallon container filled with fresh compost. I did a top dressing of Bat Guano and I will see how she turns out. I am not going to spend too much time on her. I just want to see how she will do in the fresh compost. She is a LBH and the purple is from the cold temps we have been having at night around here. She has been flowering since around Feb. 15th

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Thanks again all for your comments and suggestions. They are appreciated and needed.
 
Great update sonzor, the timeline shots really highlight the growth.:thumb: Quickly becoming a very nice screen. Nice healthy looking girls, showing their stuff pretty fast, they like what you're feeding them.

Once they've slowed from the stretch, I'd let 'em be. Does the strain tend to grow much during flower?
I've allowed mine to turn up too soon because I ran too many plants, ran out of room, but you might have better success with the timing.

Do you have any room to hang a couple of cfls at the sides to help even out the lighting, or would that generate a little too much heat?

That outdoor plant is cranking out the purple, should be some trippy lookin' bud.

Always great updates. I enjoy your journals, my friend. nice pics!!

5 stars and reps if I can.
 
Mmmmick said:
Great update sonzor, the timeline shots really highlight the growth.:thumb: Quickly becoming a very nice screen. Nice healthy looking girls, showing their stuff pretty fast, they like what you're feeding them.

Once they've slowed from the stretch, I'd let 'em be. Does the strain tend to grow much during flower?
I've allowed mine to turn up too soon because I ran too many plants, ran out of room, but you might have better success with the timing.

Do you have any room to hang a couple of cfls at the sides to help even out the lighting, or would that generate a little too much heat?

That outdoor plant is cranking out the purple, should be some trippy lookin' bud.

Always great updates. I enjoy your journals, my friend. nice pics!!

5 stars and reps if I can.
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Thanks Mmmmick, the stretch on the LBH has been pretty close to doubling in size, so I think I have a little time. That is one of my main concerns. I don't want to keep tucking these under and they stop growing. Pretty sure that would not be a good thing.

I do have room to put a few in the corners and it probably would be a good idea. I think on this run I am going to just let it go and see how the outside of the screen develops compared to the middle and make corrections on the next run.

I'm pretty surprised how purple they have gotten. On the last run my other strains turned purple but the LBH stayed green as can be. Its warming up a bit so we will see how they turn out.

thanks again for stopping in and you comments and suggestion are always appreciated.
 
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