Gorilla Cookies Auto ViparSpectra P2000

[Ramblinrose1965]

I also had to add in some cal-mag a couple of times. It’s been a learning lesson this grow.

I think my next round might go a little smoother, though this grow hasn’t really been all that difficult honestly, just learning lots

I’m finding I like the idea of water soluble nutes over the “slow release” style that GeoFlora is. Time will only tell on the results but in certainty having a problem getting my feeding schedule in line with what the plants actually need. This is why I’m making the switch over to the MegaCrop

Thanks for the info. For my first 2 grows I used the fox farm trio. Results where ok I guess. I had nothing to base them on. My friends raved about how smooooth and tasty the budz are. But, I really wanted to get away from the synthetic nutes and salts. Decided to try GeoFlora. Other than a calmag deficiency things are good so far.

 

[Ke0ncp]

Thanks for the info. For my first 2 grows I used the fox farm trio. Results where ok I guess. I had nothing to base them on. My friends raved about how smooooth and tasty the budz are. But, I really wanted to get away from the synthetic nutes and salts. Decided to try GeoFlora. Other than a calmag deficiency things are good so far.

That was the same reason I went with the GeoFlora.

This is from the MegaCrop website:
“MEGA CROP and our fertilizer products are Vegan fertilizers, and Organic compatible because they benefit the soil, but do not official have Organic (OMRI) certification.“

So it sounds like they just don’t have the organic cert but are trying to stay organic? And no worms were harmed in the making of their products

 

[Ramblinrose1965]

That was the same reason I went with the GeoFlora.

This is from the MegaCrop website:
“MEGA CROP and our fertilizer products are Vegan fertilizers, and Organic compatible because they benefit the soil, but do not official have Organic (OMRI) certification.“

So it sounds like they just don’t have the organic cert but are trying to stay organic? And no worms were harmed in the making of their products

Thats hilarious!

 

[Ke0ncp]

Quick update on lighting.

I grabbed one of the Uni T UT383B lux meters at the advice of @Delps8. It came in today so I was able to give it a test. Here is what my lighting looks like using that compared to the photone app Ive been using.

Taken from the tallest point using the lux meter:

Now using photone:

I found an online calculator here: Convert Lux to PPFD - Online Calculator | Waveform Lighting

So looks like the lux meter is reading 3217 Ppfd compared to photone reading 2680.

Not sure what to make of all of that yet but those are my findings.

The majority of the canopy of both plants is on average 53,000 lux or 1361 Ppfd which seems a little more where I would expect it to be.

​

 

[Delps8]

53k lux is about 795µmols. That's using a conversion factor of 0.015. Refer back to the table in the PDF that I uploaded and you'll see that's a "middle of the road" value. A light with a lot of red, like the Growcraft flower light and some of the HLG's will be in the 0.016 region while a blue heavy light, will be 0.014'ish.

Other readings are hard to understand - about the only light that can generate 2680µmols at any reasonable hang height is a Growcraft Ultra which was almost a technology demo that Chilled sold for a few years. You're using a Vipar P2000 and the max PPFD that they report at 12" is 1104µmols in one small spot at the center. Other than that one point of light it's just over 1k in the center region.

Where did you get the 53k value versus the 125k and the 2600µmols?

 

[Ke0ncp]

Thanks for the info. I will have to look back at your pdf.

I have 2 of the p2000 lights in there now, I started this grow with 1. 53k values were all at the majority of the canopy, the 125k value came for the top of one that is taller than the other. I will grab measurements tonight.

 

[Delps8]

Thanks for the info. I will have to look back at your pdf.

I have 2 of the p2000 lights in there now, I started this grow with 1. 53k values were all at the majority of the canopy, the 125k value came for the top of one that is taller than the other. I will grab measurements tonight.

Thanks for clarifying — you've got two lights running, I was thinking one. That makes more sense though it's still a "metric shit ton" of light.

 

[Ke0ncp]

Thanks for clarifying — you've got two lights running, I was thinking one. That makes more sense though it's still a "metric shit ton" of light.

I wonder if the meter isn’t calibrated? Anyway of testing against a known light value to see if it is off?

Going off of an estimated distance the tallest point is about 8” away from the light but positioned at the edge of where the 2 lights meet, I think.

The general canopy is probably closer to 14” away.

My tent set up is a bit wonky at the moment as it is crammed into a space that it is about 1” to large for. So I can’t really hang the lights the way I want to. I have some adjustable bars that I am installing this weekend and will then be able to fix the lighting in a way that each plant has its “own” light so I can adjust distances a little better.

 

[Delps8]

I wonder if the meter isn’t calibrated? Anyway of testing against a known light value to see if it is off?

Going off of an estimated distance the tallest point is about 8” away from the light but positioned at the edge of where the 2 lights meet, I think.

The general canopy is probably closer to 14” away.

My tent set up is a bit wonky at the moment as it is crammed into a space that it is about 1” to large for. So I can’t really hang the lights the way I want to. I have some adjustable bars that I am installing this weekend and will then be able to fix the lighting in a way that each plant has its “own” light so I can adjust distances a little better.

I didn't see anything in the Amazon blurb about calibration but I did not read the docs. I have an older model, without Bluetooth, and it doesn't offer that feature.

Having said that, I can think of a couple of ways to get there from here.

One way is to get a "known good" light source and you've got two of them hanging in your tent. Between Vipar and Coco for Cannabis, we've got a pretty good idea of what PPFD to expect from your P2000's so you could calibrate comparing your values to theirs. I'd use the newer of your two lights for testing.

Both sources have PPFD values taken in a tent and that's germane for higher hang heights but, at 12" HH in a 3' or 4' tent, the number of photons hitting a tent wall and bouncing 1.5' or 2' to the tent center will be low and the angle with which they come in ("the angle of incidence") is so low that even a PAR meter sensor, which slightly curved to be able to sense those low angle photons, wouldn't be pick anything up.

The low angle of incidence is why the Uni-T and a PAR meter have a rounded sensor - to pick up the photons that have a low angle of incidence. I had no idea about that until I talked to tech support at Apogee and they told me that the sensor is the big cost item vs the display, which is a volt meter with a pretty face.

The other method to calibrate would be to use the app that Apogee publishes called "Clear Sky Calculator". It's available for iOS and/or you can use the web site at this link. I used that in June 2022. I followed the instructions step by step and came out with consistent results over the course of a couple of days.

@CharlieWaffles - sorry to hijack the thread but, in my defense, it's good info.

 

[Ke0ncp]

I should have been a little more clear in the calibration topic. It does not have the ability to be calibrated, at least I do think so. I was speaking on calibration from the factory and trying to determine where my unit is at.

I will play around with it and see what I come up with.

And no worries about hijacking @CharlieWaffles thread as this is all in my grow journal

 

[Delps8]

I should have been a little more clear in the calibration topic. It does not have the ability to be calibrated, at least I do think so. I was speaking on calibration from the factory and trying to determine where my unit is at.

On Amazon and on their site, they state "High accuracy of ±(4%+8)". That description was new to me and it turns out that it does mean what it says as in the range between 8 units less than -4% and eight units more than 4%. Learn sumthin every day.

I will play around with it and see what I come up with.

And no worries about hijacking @CharlieWaffles thread as this is all in my grow journal

Thanks for point that out - I needed the laugh!

 

[Ke0ncp]

Day 65 and Day 36 of flower

Still cruising. Lots of things I’m noticing here.

Tips of leaves take a fast turn towards the ground. From what the internet says this is called “the claw” and can be cause by to much N or using veg nutes during flower, which I did do to try and darken the leaves up a bit.

Also seeing some purple starting to creep into some of the leaves, havent read about that just yet.

Calcium issues I had before seem to be gone.

The light green plant might start to be darkening a little but it is hard to tell. That plant also drinks like a champ! I watered yesterday and today it’s dry, but the plant next to it is not, might have to do with the way air flows in the tent and that plant getting more direct air blown across the bottom portion of the plant?

I have been feeding with MegaCrop every watering for the last 4 at a watering of every other day with 1/2 gallon each.

They still seem to be healthy overall. But seeing all of these beautiful plants you all post makes mine look not so healthy haha. I know the buds are growing and getting beefy though!

Not sure how much longer the shorter of the two has left to go, my plan is to let her go until the trichrome heads start to turn amber in color.

 

[Carcass]

But seeing all of these beautiful plants you all post makes mine look not so healthy haha.

I think they look just fine- maybe the color is off a little, but you're not gonna be smokin' the leaves anyhow..

I know the buds are growing and getting beefy though!

They sure are, and they look damn good doing it, too...

 

[Virgin Ground]

Hey,
For working between two fertilizers,they look pretty darn good.
How much MC are you using per gallon?

Keep an eye on the one that dries faster. You may want to either up your feedings or wrap the air pot with a plastic bag to slow down how fast it's drying out. You can always poke a few holes in the bag if you're worried about lack of circulation.

 

[Ke0ncp]

Hey,
For working between two fertilizers,they look pretty darn good.
How much MC are you using per gallon?

Keep an eye on the one that dries faster. You may want to either up your feedings or wrap the air pot with a plastic bag to slow down how fast it's drying out. You can always poke a few holes in the bag if you're worried about lack of circulation.

I’m am using 5.5g per gallon of MC.

Good idea on the plastic wrap. And maybe I just cover the front of it where the fans are blowing from. Or I can adjust my fans. Might take a look at it this weekend.

 

[Delps8]

"veg nutes in flower" - this thread convinced me to switch to a dry fert and run one mixture from seed to chop. The author also mixes his own nutes and things turn out pretty well.

The light green color in the veins of the leaves looks like interveinal chlorosis.

 

[Virgin Ground]

I’m am using 5.5g per gallon of MC.

If your leaves are clawing it could be that you are at the high end for MC. My big Za-Za Og and Hindsight are only on 4gr/gallon. It does depend upon how heavy a feeder each plants is and how much light you are supplying. I've had some go up to 6gr/gallon.
You may want to dial that back a bit.

Purple could be from cooler temps at night. It brings out the anthocyanins in the plant. Some plants naturally contain more than others,it can even vary between phenotypes.
Some growers call it late flower fade.

Purple could also be P deficiency.

 

[Ke0ncp]

If your leaves are clawing it could be that you are at the high end for MC. My big Za-Za Og and Hindsight are only on 4gr/gallon. It does depend upon how heavy a feeder each plants is and how much light you are supplying. I've had some go up to 6gr/gallon.
You may want to dial that back a bit.

Purple could be from cooler temps at night. It brings out the anthocyanins in the plant. Some plants naturally contain more than others,it can even vary between phenotypes.
Some growers call it late flower fade.

Purple could also be P deficiency.

Good to know. I will dial back to 5gr/gl and go from there.

I was reading about cooler temps at night as well but I don’t think that tent is getting below 65° but I could be wrong.

Will continue to keep an eye on things and make small adjustments.

 

[Virgin Ground]

was reading about cooler temps at night as well but I don’t think that tent is getting below 65° but I could be wrong.

The ambient temp of your tent may be above 65° but what are your root temps like? I've personally seen my root temps (moist soil) be 8-9 degrees cooler than the ambient air temp.


I use a digital meat thermometer to check soil temps in winter here. Occasionally I have to run heating mats in the winter ,mostly for the babies.

 

[Ke0ncp]

The ambient temp of your tent may be above 65° but what are your root temps like? I've personally seen my root temps (moist soil) be 8-9 degrees cooler than the ambient air temp.


I use a digital meat thermometer to check soil temps in winter here. Occasionally I have to run heating mats in the winter ,mostly for the babies.

Ahh that’s a good call. I have several temp probes that I can use. I will set that up this weekend if I have time. The next few weeks are crazy around here. In-laws coming from over seas for 80th bday and thanksgiving so won’t be able to keep as close an eye on them though the mother in law and brother in law are most certainly going to be interested in them and they are both very knowledgeable in all things growing so they might have some old tricks up their sleeves as well