Grooster's 1st Grow (top-drip, bato-bucket hydro) AK47 Clones

Grooster said:
Thanks Joe. You're right the tent has improved my temps and humids already by just sticking the plants in there. I am still gathering the temps and humids in different states and times. (lights on/lights off, fan on/off etc) I will use that info to try and dial-in the best temp/humid ratio for the gals.
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I have convinced myself that my grow would be improved if I enclosed my plants. They do fine in the basement at 72F but I bet they would grow a lot better if the temp was in the 80's and they had more humidity. I stopped giving my plants light 24/7 back in October and now go 16/8.
 
Stakkur said:
Your setup has improved quite alot, your plants are starting to look good there.
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social smoker said:
no problem on the rep u deserve it!!!!
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MountainHigh said:
Your ladies are really starting to look nice Grooster!:cheertwo:
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Thanks Guys.

Joe Coffee said:
I have convinced myself that my grow would be improved if I enclosed my plants. They do fine in the basement at 72F but I bet they would grow a lot better if the temp was in the 80's and they had more humidity. I stopped giving my plants light 24/7 back in October and now go 16/8.
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Interesting light change there Joe. What have you observed since changing your light cycle?

I left my tent sealed with no active exhaust and the light on (small fan on inside for circulation) for 2 hrs as a test and I got 72deg and 95%humidity LOL. When I open the front a bit by folding down a corner I get back to around 71deg 32% humidity. Now I have installed an inline fan and duct to vent to the outer room (large basement). I will see what the temps and humids are in this config both night (no light and sealed) and day (light and sealed). I will probably need to cycle the fan for optimum temp/humid. How much are those fan controllers? I wanna stay cheap hehe. Thanks all.

L8ER
 
Grooster said:
Thanks Guys.



Interesting light change there Joe. What have you observed since changing your light cycle?

I left my tent sealed with no active exhaust and the light on (small fan on inside for circulation) for 2 hrs as a test and I got 72deg and 95%humidity LOL. When I open the front a bit by folding down a corner I get back to around 71deg 32% humidity. Now I have installed an inline fan and duct to vent to the outer room (large basement). I will see what the temps and humids are in this config both night (no light and sealed) and day (light and sealed). I will probably need to cycle the fan for optimum temp/humid. How much are those fan controllers? I wanna stay cheap hehe. Thanks all.

L8ER
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You can probably get a pair of cheap digital timers for 6-8 bucks somewhere. Mine had the possibility to store 20 diffrent on/off programs and cost like 7 bucks or so.
 
Grooster said:
Interesting light change there Joe. What have you observed since changing your light cycle?

I left my tent sealed with no active exhaust and the light on (small fan on inside for circulation) for 2 hrs as a test and I got 72deg and 95%humidity LOL. When I open the front a bit by folding down a corner I get back to around 71deg 32% humidity. Now I have installed an inline fan and duct to vent to the outer room (large basement). I will see what the temps and humids are in this config both night (no light and sealed) and day (light and sealed). I will probably need to cycle the fan for optimum temp/humid. How much are those fan controllers? I wanna stay cheap hehe. Thanks all.
L8ER
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By cutting back 8 hours on the light I was able to increase that amount of light the plant received and not increase my utility bill. IMO I figured the plants would be less stressed and prefer additional brighter lighting for a shorter period of time. In my crazy mind it all seems to make sense... LOL!

In my mind I still think the plants prefer warmer temps than 72F.
I know I do.....
 
Joe Coffee said:
By cutting back 8 hours on the light I was able to increase that amount of light the plant received and not increase my utility bill. IMO I figured the plants would be less stressed and prefer additional brighter lighting for a shorter period of time. In my crazy mind it all seems to make sense... LOL!

In my mind I still think the plants prefer warmer temps than 72F.
I know I do.....
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Yea I agree Joe, warmer is better. How about growth rates? I hear the debate for 24/0 20/4 and 18/6. I chose 18/6 for this grow. Might try 20/4 next time. Gives a couple days of extra light by 5-6 weeks. Might get a wee bit more growth in the same amount of time but is it worth the electrical cost? Good question I think.

Stakkur said:
You can probably get a pair of cheap digital timers for 6-8 bucks somewhere. Mine had the possibility to store 20 diffrent on/off programs and cost like 7 bucks or so.
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Good call Stakkur, I think that will do nicely.

Stizz1e said:
plants are coming along great man. nice job!
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Thanks a ton Stizz1e!! I hope they go all the way to budville.
 
Grooster said:
Yea I agree Joe, warmer is better. How about growth rates? I hear the debate for 24/0 20/4 and 18/6. I chose 18/6 for this grow. Might try 20/4 next time. Gives a couple days of extra light by 5-6 weeks. Might get a wee bit more growth in the same amount of time but is it worth the electrical cost? Good question I think.
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I am sure you would get some growers to argue that the "lights out" period or "nightime simulation" would help the plant develop better root growth. Any way I look at it I think it is good for the plants to have a little bit of "down" time...:snooze:
 
Joe Coffee said:
I am sure you would get some growers to argue that the "lights out" period or "nightime simulation" would help the plant develop better root growth. Any way I look at it I think it is good for the plants to have a little bit of "down" time...:snooze:
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i agree thats y after my seeds sprout they go on 20/4 until flower time.
 
Joe Coffee said:
I am sure you would get some growers to argue that the "lights out" period or "nightime simulation" would help the plant develop better root growth. Any way I look at it I think it is good for the plants to have a little bit of "down" time...:snooze:
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kinda gives them a break who wants 2 work 24/7 im an 8hr a day type of guy lol
 
Joe Coffee said:
I am sure you would get some growers to argue that the "lights out" period or "nightime simulation" would help the plant develop better root growth. Any way I look at it I think it is good for the plants to have a little bit of "down" time...:snooze:
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social smoker said:
i agree thats y after my seeds sprout they go on 20/4 until flower time.
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social smoker said:
kinda gives them a break who wants 2 work 24/7 im an 8hr a day type of guy lol
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Yep I agree, I am just curious which might be "better" for overall yield vs cost when it comes to 18/6 and 20/4. You basically get 2 hours more light per day. Each week thats 14 hours and in two weeks you got 24. Sounds like it adds up if you do 6 weeks of veg thats 72 extra hours (hope I did that right). So basically three extra days in six weeks. But then mebbe root growth suffers...I dunno LOL, prolly gonna try the 20/4 next grow.

Good discussion.

L8ER
 
Grooster said:
Yep I agree, I am just curious which might be "better" for overall yield vs cost when it comes to 18/6 and 20/4. You basically get 2 hours more light per day. Each week thats 14 hours and in two weeks you got 24. Sounds like it adds up if you do 6 weeks of veg thats 72 extra hours (hope I did that right). So basically three extra days in six weeks. But then mebbe root growth suffers...I dunno LOL, prolly gonna try the 20/4 next grow.
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OK, Now I'm gonna play Devil's Advocate.....
You can't smoke the extra root growth.... LOL!!!

Nobody really knows what is right but I think it's a good idea to give them some sort of shut eye....
 
Totally fun discussion, cause I don't think anyone really knows a real answer. It's like saying who's the greatest basketball player of all time - everyone knows its Jerry West.

I agree the plants need their sleep. I like the good ol fashioned 18. Some strains are better with longer hours. but if I were gonna experiment...

I'll throw one other tidbit in the mix - both you guys were talking 24 hours - what about a 6/12 or 16/4 - then you're actually picking up hours in the day.
 
Very nice looking plant you got there. I agree with letting you plants get a little rest. I have tried both and both work obviously but I think the plant do much better and are much healthier with a few ours of rest per night. Just an opinion. Keep up the great work.. + rep
 
Whiskey Papa said:
Totally fun discussion, cause I don't think anyone really knows a real answer. It's like saying who's the greatest basketball player of all time - everyone knows its Jerry West.

I agree the plants need their sleep. I like the good ol fashioned 18. Some strains are better with longer hours. but if I were gonna experiment...

I'll throw one other tidbit in the mix - both you guys were talking 24 hours - what about a 6/12 or 16/4 - then you're actually picking up hours in the day.
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That's not a bad idea basing the sleep time on a 16 or 20 hour day. I just never thought of it... reps ++ ;)
 
Joe Coffee said:
OK, Now I'm gonna play Devil's Advocate.....
You can't smoke the extra root growth.... LOL!!!

Nobody really knows what is right but I think it's a good idea to give them some sort of shut eye....
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Good point, you can't smoke the roots, but I have read bigger roots = bigger buds hehe.

Whiskey Papa said:
Totally fun discussion, cause I don't think anyone really knows a real answer. It's like saying who's the greatest basketball player of all time - everyone knows its Jerry West.

I agree the plants need their sleep. I like the good ol fashioned 18. Some strains are better with longer hours. but if I were gonna experiment...

I'll throw one other tidbit in the mix - both you guys were talking 24 hours - what about a 6/12 or 16/4 - then you're actually picking up hours in the day.
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Whoa that hurts my brain. I guess theres no reason you couldn't though I don't know if you would get any benefits from it. You could do 24/12 then 12/6. Is it just the ratio that matters then? Interesting.

sonzor said:
Very nice looking plant you got there. I agree with letting you plants get a little rest. I have tried both and both work obviously but I think the plant do much better and are much healthier with a few ours of rest per night. Just an opinion. Keep up the great work.. + rep
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I like your opinion Sonzor because its based on experience. That means something around here!

Joe Coffee said:
That's not a bad idea basing the sleep time on a 16 or 20 hour day. I just never thought of it... reps ++ ;)
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That would make them think they are on Mars or something hehe.
 
Actually, I don't think its the ratio of light to dark. They just need 12 hours uninterrupted dark to know that its flowering time. So the idea is you give them 12 hrs dark, then only what they need for light. Or in veg, you know they want lots of light, but only however much dark they need to keep up with the light.

Anyways - there are people who do it. The hard part is getting timers that can do it. I think it yields less, but obviously if you're running an 18-20 hr day you're getting 20-25% faster harvests.

I had thought about it in relation to the controller, since I see a very slight droop of the plants by the end of the day, and a very slight perking up before the lights come on - I fugured maybe someday I'd try shaving an hour or two here or there.
 
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