Keep Truckin!
Ready to quit growing due to low quality & smell
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- #102
SauronBlue
Well-Known Member
Ok, good to know. I don't even expect to agree with everything that people will say, but I still appreciate anyone taking the time to contribute. I don't want to create an atmosphere of hostility because it might turn off the person that was about to give a really great comment because they don't want to deal with the drama. I'm only on here to learn, and you can't learn anything new if you only hear the same opinions, so I try to accept all input with open ears. I can definitely admit to getting frustrated countless times over the years, so please assume any future "attitude" I might give is only that
I feel your frustration mateand you are right, my math was off 10x, blame it on the smoke
See if I can ease some of it
When I refer to organics and LOS (living organic soil) we are relying on microbes to break down the nutrients needed. Without getting too technical, plants absorb nutrients differently in organics than they do with bottled/chemical nutes.
Biology lesson next
In the case of manufactured nutes, these are absorbed as salt ions and this is where burn can happen. Nutrients are absorbed through osmosis. For those that don’t remember or didn’t take high school biology, water will always move from a purer source to a impure source. So when the concentration of nutes in the plant cells is lower than the tank, water (and nutes) move into the cell. If the concentration is too high in the tank, it causes too many nutes to enter the cells and literally dehydrates them, nute burn.
This is why you cannot put enough nutrients into your reservoir, all at once, for the complete grow.
Now in LOS, a very different process is used to absorb nutrients and is why nute burn in organics is rare. The process for nitrogen uptake was only recently discovered/proven and I will go over its process.
It’s been long known that plants share a symbiotic relationship with certain bacteria and fungi (mycos). It turns out that for the nitrogen process, the plant actually “breeds” these bacteria in organic systems. The roots release an enzyme that attracts these bacteria and the root actually sucks them in. The root cells are designed in such a way that they can pull the bacteria through the cell wall, but contain them in a space between the wall and the actual cell so they don’t hurt the cell. In this space, the cell releases an acid (might be a base) that dissolves the outer layer on the bacteria shell containing N which is absorbed by the cell. At the same time it breaks up the bacteria’s genetic material and at some point ejects this genetic material back into the soil where it grows (multiplies) into more bacteria. I recently read the paper and watched an electron microscope video of the process, was quite interesting.
As this process involves no salt ions, it’s rare to get burn in organic grows.
In regards to terp boosters, sweeteners, etc, one of the main components in these are often carbohydrates (sugars) and they do provide benefits. Plants do use sugars, especially during flowering, but again it can be over done. I really don’t know the process by which sugars are absorbed, so I wonder about their use with non organic feeds, I really don’t know as I have, until this year, always grown in LOS.
Other “bloom” supplements are mostly PK boosters with high levels of K and little no N. This is fine if the K doesn’t climb too high and cause MagCal issues. Plants do use more K when in flower but they still need the N. As long as the plant is growing, it needs N. Nitrogen is a component of chlorophyll.
The reason MegaCrop works as a one part, start-to-finish feed is because it has very high K, but not high enough to cause lockout issues in a buffered medium like ProMix. You can add PK booster, but I am not sure you gain anything by doing so. You can also add the terp boosters, sweeteners etc, but again, not being an organic medium and because I don’t know if organics are required for the plant to make use of them, I can’t tell you one way or the other if they make a difference
I’ll end it there for now, getting quite fried and likely to start ramblingIf I missed anything or you have questions, give a shout, I’ll do my best to help before my meds mess too much with my ability to type
I've watched videos on all of this as well; how the myco actually help the plant reach the nutes by forming a fibrous structure between the roots that is finer than the roots to reach every nook and cranny of the soil. I got so excited about nitrogen fixers that I bought a 5lb bag of clover seeds before I realized that there's really no point in growing them in my little 5gal pots that were still getting synthetic nutes - not to mention I had sand over my pots at the time to drive away thrips. It's all is part of what had me so interested in LOS, but I decided that I'd better just focus on how to get a good result with the setup I already had, before trying to go a whole different direction, and learn everything all over. I had been using Happy Frog or Ocean Forest, but I was having to water less often to keep from over-watering, and people in video grows that I was watching were using coco and watering every day or multiple times a day, so I kept mixing coco in until I just switched over to HP CC. I keep seeing people treat coco just like soil, and it seemed more of a lateral move, compared to the differences in LOS. I just recently (like days ago) realized that I knew all along that coco was considered hydro, and needs a different ph than soil, and my new seedlings and 2nd week bloom plants all look much happier after giving them an adjusted ph and a dose of cal/mag.
I still can't water every day, so idk how people do that without completely rotting their roots. In coco, I'm watering every 4 days for bloom, because experimentation shows they start to droop at 5 days. I was watering every other day until halfway thru bloom of my recent harvest, which came out much better than the previous. I water the veg even less. I feel that if I can cut the water in half without hurting, then I was hurting them before- at least growing lazy roots, but likely worse. I had this harvest half soil, half coco, and gave them all the same water on the same schedule, but I think the soil could've gone a week between waterings, based on weight (although there was sand on top of the soil pots for thrips. Sand is very heavy, so my weight guesses could be thrown off). Aside from the coco drying faster, to allow me to water more often, I didn't notice any difference between the plants in the different media, so it reinforced the idea that they arent very different, and planned to go all coco this time. On a base level, I prefer soil and have always wanted to grow in soil for the added chemistry that I assume must be making something good happen in there to make things even better. Again, I've had many people equate coco to soil, like the main difference is either coming with some nutrient value or coming as a blank slate, being the main difference. Even ProMix HP CC is pre-loaded with myco, and all the bio-acvtive stuff like recharge seems to say it works in coco, so that's how I ended up here. I don't want to over-water, and I don't want to water once a week, but if I wet all the soil in a pot to follow the best watering instructions, I wont be able to do it frequently in soil. As I'm trying to relate, all of the things I've changed from a simple soil grow have been because it just wasn't working as-is. I'd love to find a better way, but with all my googling and forum-ing, what I'm doing is the best info I've found, that's why I come to ask real growers with experience if they have any experience with the specific issues I'm dealing with. When you grow weed for years that doesn't smell like weed, even after changing, upgrading, redoing everything, you start to think "maybe I just suck at this". That's where I was when I titled this thread. Don't get me wrong, I haven't succeeded or solved my issue completely, but I feel like at least I have a trail to follow, where before I was completely lost and couldn't think of anything else to add or take away that might make the difference I was looking for.
I wanna stop here because I think I run on too much, and I don't want to repeat and reword.
The Celt
Well-Known Member
Well expressed mate and now I might be able to help you with something to try. If you have MegaCrop, coco coir and perlite, this might fit your requirements. I suggest this setup with MegaCrop because it worked well for me outdoors this year, the plants I posted earlier in this thread.
The biggest challenge with this will be watering schedules, they will become more frequent as the plant grows but you can’t over water.
A five gallon bucket works well for this. Drill 1/4” holes in the bucket about 2 1/2“ up from the bottom. Put 3“ of perlite in the bottom and fill the rest with straight coco coir. Now mix the MC according to the plants age and following the guide for increasing dosage according to leaf colour.
Water till you see runoff coming out of the holes. The perlite in the bottom gives about a 1 gallon reservoir so she won’t run out of water until you next water but as she grows and uses more water, you need to water often. You also cannot over water with this method. Every time you water, air is pulled down through the coco keeping O2 levels up and no fear of rot rot. If you want to increase the effectiveness , mix your MC in an reservoir with an air stone in it, then your feed is super oxygenated and adds more O2 to the root zone.
The biggest plant i grew this year was grown this way in a 22 gallon tote with a 5 gallon reservoir. She went in the tote sometime the first week of June, by the first of August she was getting MC at 6g/gal and taking 5 gallons of feed daily to see anything coming out of the drain holes.
This girl on September 25th
She was over 8’ tall and 5’ round and was harvested late October. I put most of her into the hash bin due to mould issues, we had a couple of back to back frosts about a week before I cut her
If not for the mould, she would have given about 2lbs of trimmed bud and 1.5 lbs of small bud and trim for hash and oil.
I had 7 plants outdoors with this setup, 4 in 5gal buckets, 2 in 14 gal totes and the big one. I had a hard time keeping up, over 20 gallons of feed daily from August until late September.
In all honesty, I’ve often heard that organic bud was better, especially in the terpenes, but having grown both MC and LOS this year, 4 Blue Dream in LOS and 5 in the above setup, I am not sure many would notice a big difference. The LOS may be a bit more complex in taste/smell, but not enough the average smoker would notice.
Hmmm, I am quite fried now and may have wandered off topic, if so, give a shout, I’ll find my way back eventually
and now I might be able to help you with something to try. If you have MegaCrop, coco coir and perlite, this might fit your requirements. I suggest this setup with MegaCrop because it worked well for me outdoors this year, the plants I posted earlier in this thread.The biggest challenge with this will be watering schedules, they will become more frequent as the plant grows but you can’t over water.
A five gallon bucket works well for this. Drill 1/4” holes in the bucket about 2 1/2“ up from the bottom. Put 3“ of perlite in the bottom and fill the rest with straight coco coir. Now mix the MC according to the plants age and following the guide for increasing dosage according to leaf colour.
Water till you see runoff coming out of the holes. The perlite in the bottom gives about a 1 gallon reservoir so she won’t run out of water until you next water but as she grows and uses more water, you need to water often. You also cannot over water with this method. Every time you water, air is pulled down through the coco keeping O2 levels up and no fear of rot rot. If you want to increase the effectiveness , mix your MC in an reservoir with an air stone in it, then your feed is super oxygenated and adds more O2 to the root zone.
The biggest plant i grew this year was grown this way in a 22 gallon tote with a 5 gallon reservoir. She went in the tote sometime the first week of June, by the first of August she was getting MC at 6g/gal and taking 5 gallons of feed daily to see anything coming out of the drain holes.
This girl on September 25th
She was over 8’ tall and 5’ round and was harvested late October. I put most of her into the hash bin due to mould issues, we had a couple of back to back frosts about a week before I cut her
If not for the mould, she would have given about 2lbs of trimmed bud and 1.5 lbs of small bud and trim for hash and oil.I had 7 plants outdoors with this setup, 4 in 5gal buckets, 2 in 14 gal totes and the big one. I had a hard time keeping up, over 20 gallons of feed daily from August until late September.
In all honesty, I’ve often heard that organic bud was better, especially in the terpenes, but having grown both MC and LOS this year, 4 Blue Dream in LOS and 5 in the above setup, I am not sure many would notice a big difference. The LOS may be a bit more complex in taste/smell, but not enough the average smoker would notice.
Hmmm, I am quite fried now and may have wandered off topic, if so, give a shout, I’ll find my way back eventually
MotaMan420
Well-Known Member
I do not believe that I have shown any air of superiority -- I've been growin since 14 -- full time the last 15 years.. I am just telling you how I do it and I'm 60. .for all the energy that you put into typing a gripe you should put that into relaxing..
No one here can pinpoint your problem for you -- we are here and you there... This is a trial and error hobby. You will find your way just do not give up.. I do confess to owning a fancy qizmo -- a $5 thermometer / hydrometer combo.. Hasn't failed me yet -- unless you are in a fully automated grow house with climate control you will always have to monitor the heat and humidity manually and make the necessary adjustments - sorry, this is a manual hobby and requires our constant attention..
So please do not give up -- and do not take someone's description of ease as an attitude buddy -- this took me over 40 years and if it's second nature to me so be it... so please no exhaustive reply --
Motaman -- be safe all
No one here can pinpoint your problem for you -- we are here and you there... This is a trial and error hobby. You will find your way just do not give up.. I do confess to owning a fancy qizmo -- a $5 thermometer / hydrometer combo.. Hasn't failed me yet -- unless you are in a fully automated grow house with climate control you will always have to monitor the heat and humidity manually and make the necessary adjustments - sorry, this is a manual hobby and requires our constant attention..
So please do not give up -- and do not take someone's description of ease as an attitude buddy -- this took me over 40 years and if it's second nature to me so be it... so please no exhaustive reply --
Motaman -- be safe all
MotaMan420
Well-Known Member
And that is a beauuuuuuuuuutiful plant Celt -- that's what is so great about the outdoors.. I just couldn't handle the helicopters and buzz planes all the time .. I live just outside (10 mi) from an airport.. So I went inside 5 yrs ago and continue the grow..
MotaMan
MotaMan
Mayne
Well-Known Member
man, Same here, PAR = PPMs, weekly value, 350 par = 350-400 PPMs, coco, 400Divided by 7 = 55-60 PPM per watering daily. Soil, would get the whole value if once a week watering, break into 2 if twice a week watering.
Now when I’m putting the girls threw veg I raise the amount of Ppms as they age and get them ready to go into the flower room and happy with more ppms as I increase the lights intensity and ppfd/par/lux. Which ever method your using. I honestly just use lux and divert into ppfd/umol, because the devices to buy for reading the ppfd/umol are wayyy to expensive at the moment. So I’ll just use the cheaper electronics until they decide to lower there prices on a decent ppfd/umol device!! Good to know tho that I’m not crazy haha. For a while there I was thinking I’m the only one that uses this method to grow lol.
Mayne
Well-Known Member
right on. Plant will tell ya. I made my own PAR meter using a Dr. Lux meter. I then bought a HydroFarm Par meter, drilled a hole in my lid of my lux meter, and calibrated it to the hydrofarm PA meter using scotch tape as a diffuser.
Works perfectly, and its exact. Then sent hydrofarm meter back for refund,haha.
Yup if you inert-act with your ladies they seem to let ya know what they needing haha! Kinda like in the human world ya know haha! All love for the women that might read this lol!
I too use dr. Lux lol works like a charm. I had a buddy try to prove my device inaccurate and it’s right on point with his $400 go go gadget!!
That’s a pretty ingenious way to set all that up lol I might have to ask ya a couple questions if I want to set mine up like that as well!
Mayne
Well-Known Member
no doubt man,
I did have a thread when i made it here somewhere, and comparison PARvsLux with it side by side with the hydrofarm. see if i can dig it up.
Right on brotha much appreciated I’ll be throwing a book mark on that one if you can dig it up. If not I’ll do some digging threw your page to see if I can find anything. But either way thank you for the idea. I was thinking about just getting one of them apogee meters to use and have it stay permanently in the garden, but I’ve just been using my good ol shaky self to try and get a good reading. But I’m sure the way you have yours set up you get a much precise reading every time! What about using something that can adjust the meter as the tops reach there growth peak!!!? Like something that can adjust and also relocate the device in the garden if need be!! Been smoking on my strawberry cough this morning so apologize if I’m rambling haha!!!!
Mayne
Well-Known Member
I actually have a Idea i created that i would like to get manufactured, along the lines of what you said. It will tell you PAR, Moisture Level, and PPMs of nutes that should be feed.
Its just a small scale grow rooms, non-sense paying $500 for something you literally use for 30 seconds. My meter gets me a good idea of light intensity on the fly, for cheap.
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- #114
SauronBlue
Well-Known Member
That plant is a beastWell expressed mate
The biggest challenge with this will be watering schedules, they will become more frequent as the plant grows but you can’t over water.
A five gallon bucket works well for this. Drill 1/4” holes in the bucket about 2 1/2“ up from the bottom. Put 3“ of perlite in the bottom and fill the rest with straight coco coir. Now mix the MC according to the plants age and following the guide for increasing dosage according to leaf colour.
Water till you see runoff coming out of the holes. The perlite in the bottom gives about a 1 gallon reservoir so she won’t run out of water until you next water but as she grows and uses more water, you need to water often. You also cannot over water with this method. Every time you water, air is pulled down through the coco keeping O2 levels up and no fear of rot rot. If you want to increase the effectiveness , mix your MC in an reservoir with an air stone in it, then your feed is super oxygenated and adds more O2 to the root zone.
The biggest plant i grew this year was grown this way in a 22 gallon tote with a 5 gallon reservoir. She went in the tote sometime the first week of June, by the first of August she was getting MC at 6g/gal and taking 5 gallons of feed daily to see anything coming out of the drain holes.
This girl on September 25th
She was over 8’ tall and 5’ round and was harvested late October. I put most of her into the hash bin due to mould issues, we had a couple of back to back frosts about a week before I cut her
I had 7 plants outdoors with this setup, 4 in 5gal buckets, 2 in 14 gal totes and the big one. I had a hard time keeping up, over 20 gallons of feed daily from August until late September.
In all honesty, I’ve often heard that organic bud was better, especially in the terpenes, but having grown both MC and LOS this year, 4 Blue Dream in LOS and 5 in the above setup, I am not sure many would notice a big difference. The LOS may be a bit more complex in taste/smell, but not enough the average smoker would notice.
Hmmm, I am quite fried now and may have wandered off topic, if so, give a shout, I’ll find my way back eventually
! Do you have any issues with growth getting too thick on a plant that big and bushy? I've lollipopped each stem on my Purple Diesel plants this time around, because they were so bushy and blocking air that I think the buds might harden up a bit if they have more circulation and less larf draining the dank juice.I had no idea there was an MC guide to dosing by leaf color...
.I dig the tote idea. I tried some outdoor for the first time this year, but it didn't go great. I like the idea of having a tote that I can cut a hole in the lid early on, and cover the soil, so I could make sure it's getting strong feedings, even in rainy weather.
One thing I'm looking into, on the advice of the grow store, is smaller pots in coco. I already feel like I was watering too often, and they say that 5gal is HUGE for coco, and explains why I've seen so many photos online of crazy plants growing in solo cups. They say that my 2 1/2-3' plants should be in a 1-2gal, which would dry out much faster. If I watered my plants every day, the pots would be sopping wet all the time. I have been testing, and I've gone 5-6 days with no drooping leaves. In one sense, I realized I don't mind the longer schedule, since I'm spending a lot of effort to sop up the runoff after each watering (I had been watering just until a trickle came out, now I pull 5gal each 30 I pour). Even now, the pots are not really dry when I water, you can still feel the moisture by digging just a fingertip in the media. I was thinking to maybe try some 3gal pots and see if they get good and dry every 3-4 days. I'll think about watering every day when I find a way to control my runoff better
PS. Have you ever tried that jack's 20-10-20 that the laboratory people all seem to use to grow? I'm thinking of trying that, just to see, but I can only find a 25lb bag
I've been using the ppm readings now, and checking ph and ppm of runoff as best I can. I've been searching for good info/chart on ppfd/co2 relationship, I'm going to look into the nute relationship as well, now. I'm also wondering if my nute schedule is based on recirculated or drain to waste, bc I just heard that makes a difference. More complications around every corner! Always new info to evaluate and integrate into the process. I'm trying to listen as much as possible to university people, as growers just have too much variation to know who to listen to, which is why I've been trying everything
This is everything!
Man, I want to be able to see just how much light is hitting every part of my space! I have some really good LEDs, so I try to rely on the chart that they give for the HLG550r, but I know those can vary a lot, based on your walls and other factors. This is why the current limits on grow size are a pain, because the cost needed to get a decent grow setup cannot be funded by what they allow most people to do. You need thousands of dollars in equipment to get near doing it right, plus crazy electric bills, no matter how many plants you're allowed to put in that room. I just came across a grow light with a PPFD that took my breath away!These are the readings that the company gives in green, and what an independent tester got in yellow:
I don't even have any more space to put anything, but I don't think I can resist the urge to buy at least one of these for $1000
I'm not trying to judge you as a person, but my point is that the comment to keep it simple, "water it, grow it, harvest it", wasn't helpful. When someone is frustrated and searching for help, hearing that what they're failing at is so simple isn't helpful, it's dismissive. If you really want to help, say what exactly needs to be simplified, and how. The fact that you have so much experience is probably why you feel it's all so easy, but if you're going to help others, you need to be able to remember when it wasn't so easy, and break it down for people so that they can understand like you do. The comment was meant to show you another perspective, not start an argument
The Celt
Well-Known Member
Hey @SauronBlue , can you send me a PM with a link to that light? Seems a little too good to be true with the experience I have with lighting in general
Mayne
Well-Known Member
man, if you ichin to spend $1000+, LUMATEK ZEUS PRO 600W LED is best on the market. $1,300 but best light currently on the market,
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- #117
SauronBlue
Well-Known Member
I looked up the light, checked the review my guy did of this one, to compare to the one I love. I was thinking it was gonna blow my mind, bc my guy was going on and on, he didn't even want to say how good it was because he has his own light company, and didn't want to congratulate the competition. The thing is, when I saw what he got for a ppfd chart, it didn't quite explain his excitement. The 2 lights are both the same price, array style, dimmable, daisy chain-able, removable ballast, use samsung and osram diodes, and purty. Mine also has uv and ir leds, adds a smartphone controller for $50, so you can do all the sunrise and timer stuff from ur bedroom, and is 25% off right now, which is why I'm not mentioning the brand until I get my order in, so they don't go out of stock LOL. The only reason I would say that this is considered the best out, would be because the Lumatek dropped in Feb, and mine just came out in Aug, so there hasn't been time for the hype to get around. The link to the tech sheet was broken on the Lumatek site, but my guy got these results in a 5x5, so take out the outer ring of numbers to compare to the chart from the light I want, and add in the extra spectrums and controller, and I think Lumatek should be worried!
I'll only send it bc it's you, but understand, the guy that did the test in yellow, and the lumatek test is impartial, and tests almost every popular light out. There's some crazy good LEDs coming out! Even Mars Hyrdo has a new line of commercial grade array-style lights that are taking some of the spotlight off of their incredible SF3000s. When I started growing, it was generally accepted that LEDs weren't there yet, but wait. I think the wait is over. I've been comparing the spectrum and PPFD for different, top-of the-line HPS or CMH DE fixtures, and there's just no comparison to what these LEDs can do, and they're getting better and cheaper every couple months! And I'm just talking about the light quality and quantity, forget the electric/heat savings and life-span with no bulb changes. I just looked at a 600w DE CMH (actually better than the 1000w) that had $189 bulbs! Have fun changing those 2ice a year
I'm confused by this. So, if you used a res once a week you'd set it to 400 ppm? Doesn't it matter how much water, since 400 ppm of 1 gal is a lot less than 400 ppm of 5 gal, for total nutes delivered? Say I give 850 ppm, which is around what my plants seem to want, and I've heard is a good ppm to shoot for; if my plants want the 850, don't they want 850 every time? Wouldn't 7 daily feedings of 121 be so low that you'd actually flush the plant, since the concentration in the plant or soil might be higher than in the water, leeching out nutes?
Mayne
Well-Known Member
Is Shane your "Guy"? From Migro? I know he did a test on it, and I currently use the Luminus Cobs, which i love, same as Migro.I looked up the light, checked the review my guy did of this one, to compare to the one I love. I was thinking it was gonna blow my mind, bc my guy was going on and on, he didn't even want to say how good it was because he has his own light company, and didn't want to congratulate the competition. The thing is, when I saw what he got for a ppfd chart, it didn't quite explain his excitement. The 2 lights are both the same price, array style, dimmable, daisy chain-able, removable ballast, use samsung and osram diodes, and purty. Mine also has uv and ir leds, adds a smartphone controller for $50, so you can do all the sunrise and timer stuff from ur bedroom, and is 25% off right now, which is why I'm not mentioning the brand until I get my order in, so they don't go out of stock LOL. The only reason I would say that this is considered the best out, would be because the Lumatek dropped in Feb, and mine just came out in Aug, so there hasn't been time for the hype to get around. The link to the tech sheet was broken on the Lumatek site, but my guy got these results in a 5x5, so take out the outer ring of numbers to compare to the chart from the light I want, and add in the extra spectrums and controller, and I think Lumatek should be worried!
I'll only send it bc it's you, but understand, the guy that did the test in yellow, and the lumatek test is impartial, and tests almost every popular light out. There's some crazy good LEDs coming out! Even Mars Hyrdo has a new line of commercial grade array-style lights that are taking some of the spotlight off of their incredible SF3000s. When I started growing, it was generally accepted that LEDs weren't there yet, but wait. I think the wait is over. I've been comparing the spectrum and PPFD for different, top-of the-line HPS or CMH DE fixtures, and there's just no comparison to what these LEDs can do, and they're getting better and cheaper every couple months! And I'm just talking about the light quality and quantity, forget the electric/heat savings and life-span with no bulb changes. I just looked at a 600w DE CMH (actually better than the 1000w) that had $189 bulbs! Have fun changing those 2ice a year
I'm confused by this. So, if you used a res once a week you'd set it to 400 ppm? Doesn't it matter how much water, since 400 ppm of 1 gal is a lot less than 400 ppm of 5 gal, for total nutes delivered? Say I give 850 ppm, which is around what my plants seem to want, and I've heard is a good ppm to shoot for; if my plants want the 850, don't they want 850 every time? Wouldn't 7 daily feedings of 121 be so low that you'd actually flush the plant, since the concentration in the plant or soil might be higher than in the water, leeching out nutes?
as for feeding, nope, this is why on feeding charts, they go by WEEKS, not days. ALL charts base the feeds on 1000w HPS, 6 plants, 4 week veg, 10 week flower, 5x5.
400 PPM with total water in your res. Not per gallon. So fill res to your desired level, and PPMs should be 400 in res. . Then, learn to do run off checking, and compare to what the plant is eating. Then, you can adjust from there. I know it sounds like very little, but better to be easy on nutes then not.
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- #119
SauronBlue
Well-Known Member
LOL You got the guy, but not the light. He's not so much MY guy, but I didn't want to keep typing out "the guy I'm talking about" over and over.
I don't use a 'res', per se, I drain to waste over coco, it sounds like you're talking about a DWC. I know that there's a difference in nute recommendations between recirculating and DtW systems, so my question is asking how that affects this calculation. If you split that PPM between daily feeds, instead of a single sitting res, it seems to me that the result would be so weak that it would be like a flush. This whole idea seems very confusing to me. Wouldn't 400 ppm of 30 gallons mixed at once be the same amount of nutes as if I mixed up 3 batches of 10 gal each throughout the week, and those each had 400ppm?
When I check my runoff, it tells me it wants the feed to be about 850ppm, which sounds about right for what my lights are doing for PPFD, but they want that each watering (2/week now). I seriously doubt I'm giving them 1700 PPFD
Is this the post you were talking about?
Light height / Lux levels help needed
Hey everyone Scrogfather here Was just wanting someone who could possibly advise me on lux levels as I'm getting a little bit of light bleach on my current grow (2 weeks into flower) so I decided to buy a lux meter to try and be a little more accurate while adjusting the lighting and with the...
www.420magazine.com
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- #120
SauronBlue
Well-Known Member
I've been looking a lot at lights, since that's the most important thing after genetics. That Zeus is nice, but it doesn't really stand out of the crowd to me like the GeekBlast Pro (the light I'm crazy over). I always look at new light reviews while I'm searching for grow info, and most look about the same. Even the most expensive ones seem to focus on a high center PPFD reading, but leave the edges lacking. HID lights are even worse with the hot spots, and HPS burns leaves with UV at the hottest spots. With all the big, expensive lights I've looked at, the GeekBlast has the best spread I've seen, plus they throw in switchable UV and IR, so you can turn them on only when needed.
Other than that, the best spread I've seen is actually on a Mars Hydro. I think they are going to be a serious player, based on their advancement over the past couple years. Their SP3000 has an amazing coverage over a 2x4, and it's even better with 2 over a 4x4. For $400 a fixture, 2 come out to 200-$500 less than most of the fixtures rated for 4x4. Especially if we're watering based on PPFD, imagine the issues that could come up if some plants get 1200, others get 350, but they all get the same strength feed.
The GeekBeast pushes ahead in my eyes with the addition of UV/IR, daisy-chain support, and an app to control/program the light by smartphone.
These guys didn't test the LightGeek yet, but here's a some popular LEDs.
PAR= all photons that induce photosynthesis (Photo-synthetically Active Radiation)
PPF= total amount of usable (PAR) light emitted by a fixture (Photosynthetic Photon Flux)
PPFD= amount of PPF hitting a given point or area (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density)
Am I the only one who's coo-coo for coverage maps? What do you all use to pick a light? Spectrum? Raw power?
PS. I do not understand the photo uploader here anymore. How do you add thumbnails??
Other than that, the best spread I've seen is actually on a Mars Hydro. I think they are going to be a serious player, based on their advancement over the past couple years. Their SP3000 has an amazing coverage over a 2x4, and it's even better with 2 over a 4x4. For $400 a fixture, 2 come out to 200-$500 less than most of the fixtures rated for 4x4. Especially if we're watering based on PPFD, imagine the issues that could come up if some plants get 1200, others get 350, but they all get the same strength feed.
The GeekBeast pushes ahead in my eyes with the addition of UV/IR, daisy-chain support, and an app to control/program the light by smartphone.
These guys didn't test the LightGeek yet, but here's a some popular LEDs.
PAR= all photons that induce photosynthesis (Photo-synthetically Active Radiation)
PPF= total amount of usable (PAR) light emitted by a fixture (Photosynthetic Photon Flux)
PPFD= amount of PPF hitting a given point or area (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density)
Am I the only one who's coo-coo for coverage maps? What do you all use to pick a light? Spectrum? Raw power?
PS. I do not understand the photo uploader here anymore. How do you add thumbnails??