She looks super healthy, keep doing what you're doing.
Homer's Legal 4-Plant Max Perpetual Minimalist Garden In Ontario
- Thread starter Homer Simpson
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- #942
I figured it was.lol
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- #944
I got my electricity usage meter today!!! I had been running my MegaLight at what I thought was about 2/3 power so out of the 650W max I figured I was drawing about 400W of power but to my delight my meter tells me I was only at about 170W!!
Bearing in mind my plant seems to love the light at 170W I actually think I can get away with not using more power than my old 260W blurple light. My MegaLight says it is good for a flowering area of 5'x5' which is 25sq/ft and my grow area is about 3'x3' so that is 9sq/ft so if I multiply the 650W max of my grow light by 9/25th's the amount of proportional power I should need for my 3'x3' area is 234W which is actually less than my old blurple light of 260W.
I always complained about my old LED light because it is about 12"x16" so about half the light fell on the area directly beneath it but my MegaLight because of its large footprint gives me a nice even illumination. I really love this monster even more now knowing I will be able to use the same or even less power than my burple light with much better coverage; being 600W I just figured I would be spending more on electricity but it looks like I will be spending less with better results. NextLight claims this light, "coming in at 2.15 PPF/Watt, the Mega is the most efficient full spectrum LED, period", and seeing how little power it draws and how bright it is I tend to believe it.
I raised the power a bit to about 200W. The more I get accustomed to my MegaLight the happier I am with it. Thanks again NextLight!!
Bearing in mind my plant seems to love the light at 170W I actually think I can get away with not using more power than my old 260W blurple light. My MegaLight says it is good for a flowering area of 5'x5' which is 25sq/ft and my grow area is about 3'x3' so that is 9sq/ft so if I multiply the 650W max of my grow light by 9/25th's the amount of proportional power I should need for my 3'x3' area is 234W which is actually less than my old blurple light of 260W.
I always complained about my old LED light because it is about 12"x16" so about half the light fell on the area directly beneath it but my MegaLight because of its large footprint gives me a nice even illumination. I really love this monster even more now knowing I will be able to use the same or even less power than my burple light with much better coverage; being 600W I just figured I would be spending more on electricity but it looks like I will be spending less with better results. NextLight claims this light, "coming in at 2.15 PPF/Watt, the Mega is the most efficient full spectrum LED, period", and seeing how little power it draws and how bright it is I tend to believe it.
I raised the power a bit to about 200W. The more I get accustomed to my MegaLight the happier I am with it. Thanks again NextLight!!
I love my kill a watt for dialing in the correct numbers on my Samsung strip light in the shed. Turn screw, watch numbers, done!
Sorry about the sudden death and shite harvest, and I am really surprised by the size of those roots. That's what my spog® roots look like and they're under 12" tall. Onward and upward!
Sorry about the sudden death and shite harvest, and I am really surprised by the size of those roots. That's what my spog® roots look like and they're under 12" tall. Onward and upward!
I think it's a good bet that your root system couldn't handle the needs of the plant. The roots grabbed what they could, but it wasn't enough. Because of this, I think the plant also used all its internal water and nutrients to mature the flowers.
The roots need to be trained to fill the container. My first grow, I had the same problem, at harvest a 4" (10cm) root ball in a 9" (22.5cm) square grow bag. I had always watered near the stem. In my subsequent grows, I tried to water away from the stem, about half way to the edge of the pot. It seems to be working.
Roots Growing Out of the Grow Bag (Typical Plant)
Do the new Kill-a-Watts have battery backup? Mine's 15 years old and does not. That;s my only complaint about them.
I think they have two versions now, one with a battery and one without.
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- #949
Yes, I love my Kill a Watt because I was just guessing about my wattage before it came and I was off by a factor of 100% so I was way off.
Yes, onward and upward, To Infinity and Beyond!!! I hate losing a plant but in the overall scheme, it doesn't really matter especially if it doesn't happen again.
Hey homer
Wheres the adjustment on the megalight? I'm gonna be putting mine up here soon.
Wheres the adjustment on the megalight? I'm gonna be putting mine up here soon.
I've switched from measuring the power to measuring the light intensity with an app on my smart phone. I like the Kill-a-Watt for long term measurements, but mine loses it every time there's a power interruption.
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- #952
I think it's a good bet that your root system couldn't handle the needs of the plant. The roots grabbed what they could, but it wasn't enough. Because of this, I think the plant also used all its internal water and nutrients to mature the flowers.
The roots need to be trained to fill the container. My first grow, I had the same problem, at harvest a 4" (10cm) root ball in a 9" (22.5cm) square grow bag. I had always watered near the stem. In my subsequent grows, I tried to water away from the stem, about half way to the edge of the pot. It seems to be working.
Roots Growing Out of the Grow Bag (Typical Plant)
I was fortunate that @MrSauga I think on my first grow led me to read the great thread @Emilya posted about proper watering techniques for max root growth so I have been following her techniques, mostly. I had my old pot that contained my Critical plant I harvested a few weeks ago and had a look at its roots today to compare and the roots on it were a lot better bigger than my Dinamed that died. Being such an old dry root ball I didn't include a pic because it mostly fell apart but I could see the roots.
I am going to monitor my roots from now on but from my Critical roots I think it is this Dimamed strain more than my watering technique. As I have said before I think since cannabis was mostly bred for THC now that the benefits of CBD are known there is a big incentive for breeders to sell CBD strains but I think there is a lot of junk seeds being sold because there just isn't a big pool of genetically sound CBD strains around.
Since all the rest of my plants made it to maturity I am hoping the fault for this plant dying and its poor roots are genetic and not my system but time will tell. One thing I noticed was when I chopped it the bark seemed to fall off the trunk and it felt a little slimy so I am thinking that may have come from watering too much?? No idea that is true but is just a suspicion.
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- #953
No, mine does not have a battery back up. P3 P3IP4400, Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor, Tools & Home Improvement - Amazon Canada
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- #954
There are 2 versions of the MegaLight and one comes with a NextLight Com Port that is compatible with most 0-10v dimmers. So they sent me the MegaLight without the Com Port as a prize but when I asked about dimming they sent the com port and dimmer. So you probably have the MegaLight without the com port or dimmer like I originally had but your unit does have dimmable LED's and dimmable power supplies so if you can get a com port and dimmer you are all set.
Here is the page. LED Grow Lights where you can see the two versions of the MegaLight, one with the com port and one without.
I don't see the dimmer they sent me anywhere on their site but this is a pic of the one they sent me which plugs into the com port I wired into the unit.
I just found this old pic of mine showing the com port and dimmer hooked up before I mounted the unit.
- Thread starter
- #955
Since I am going to be trying to make female seeds soon yesterday I had another look at your post about mixing up the solutions and I must say you did a damn fine job. I also ordered the same scale you have so I can mix up some 200ml concentrates so I can make several small batches.
JCTJ
Well-Known Member
I got my electricity usage meter today!!! I had been running my MegaLight at what I thought was about 2/3 power so out of the 650W max I figured I was drawing about 400W of power but to my delight my meter tells me I was only at about 170W!!
Bearing in mind my plant seems to love the light at 170W I actually think I can get away with not using more power than my old 260W blurple light. My MegaLight says it is good for a flowering area of 5'x5' which is 25sq/ft and my grow area is about 3'x3' so that is 9sq/ft so if I multiply the 650W max of my grow light by 9/25th's the amount of proportional power I should need for my 3'x3' area is 234W which is actually less than my old blurple light of 260W.
I always complained about my old LED light because it is about 12"x16" so about half the light fell on the area directly beneath it but my MegaLight because of its large footprint gives me a nice even illumination. I really love this monster even more now knowing I will be able to use the same or even less power than my burple light with much better coverage; being 600W I just figured I would be spending more on electricity but it looks like I will be spending less with better results. NextLight claims this light, "coming in at 2.15 PPF/Watt, the Mega is the most efficient full spectrum LED, period", and seeing how little power it draws and how bright it is I tend to believe it.
I raised the power a bit to about 200W. The more I get accustomed to my MegaLight the happier I am with it. Thanks again NextLight!!
I've had one of these in my Amazon cart for a year but now with adjustable drivers I think it's time to pull the trigger. Ordered! Sorry to hear about the Dinamed too
F.Y.I, I contacted Greenleaf Nutrients about Mega Crop with some questions.
When mixed with water the nutrient solution is good for "Several weeks/months."
They don't know how much to use in a drain-to-waste hydroponics system. I'll try to discover the values for the drain to waste, at least in coco/perlite during my next grow.
It's good to know that you can mix at least two weeks worth of the nutrient solution. This, with automatic watering, allows me to leave the house for a few days.
When mixed with water the nutrient solution is good for "Several weeks/months."
They don't know how much to use in a drain-to-waste hydroponics system. I'll try to discover the values for the drain to waste, at least in coco/perlite during my next grow.
It's good to know that you can mix at least two weeks worth of the nutrient solution. This, with automatic watering, allows me to leave the house for a few days.
West Hippie is using it now in his E&F grow and loves it. His thread is here.
West Hippie 420 OG Clones LED Hydro
This grow of clones we are going after MC nutrients in hydro. The tent is the 5’x5’ x7’ can’t use the extension because the ceiling height in the building is only 7’8” got ripped off . Don’t buy a building with a big G on it! Can’t run the the hps so I will put 9 amps back in the tent. The Kind...
www.420magazine.com
Ask him questions, he'd be happy to talk hydro with you!
I contacted them originally when I was looking at setting up my automated watering system to make sure the PH will be stable if I keep it mixed with a second pump. They told me the same thing then. The solution should be stable for up to 2 weeks at a time possibly longer.
This led me to set my watering limits up to go for about a week on each reservoir!!
His plants seem to be loving it so I’m eager to set my watering system up !
Keep in mind that aeration tends to raise the pH of water over time.