The Grower Man
Well-Known Member
Day 94 (26/10/2013)
Overdue update!
Sorry, I've been occupied with a lot of things, I haven't had the time to log in and update the grow log. Rest assured I haven't forgotten my babies though! It's a growing passion and I'm starting to really enjoy it. =)
On to major updates - So I've moved the clones to the grow tent, with everything set up. Used the Metal Halide bulb for the vegetative growth, and holy shit, temps shot up to 99F even with a 4" fan for the 2x4x5! Crisis!
I considered using HPS for veg as well, but it's only slightly less hot than the MH. Fellow growers, take note - HPS produces less heat as compared to the MH, but still runs hot.
I tried using a smaller HPS bulb, 150W - but it also generated a lot of heat, and upon further research it turns out that using a smaller capacity bulb for a 400W ballast might overload the bulb and explode it. It might not be true, but I'm not taking a risk with my investment.
I even considered a bigger fan, but I quickly dismissed it - ambient temperatures here are really high, and it seems unreasonable to not expect an increase in temperature even with ventilation.
After thinking about it endlessly for a couple of days, I decided HID wasn't the answer. So now the question is - do I go CFL or LED?
I had to do both - I couldn't immediately go for LED since I would need some time to research, save up, and wait for shipping. As an immediate remedy, I went with CFL's.
I followed this guide for a CFL light fixture, and I decided to copy it. I tried DIY-ing it myself, but since I have more of a green thumb than an electrical thumb, (and it was going to take a good 4 hours if I attempted to do it by myself) I hired someone to make it for me.
Here's what it looks like -
It's not as bright as the HPS or MH but it would do. In fact, after a couple of days of being on the CFL diet, the plants actually showed signs of stress and bleaching. Temps are pretty high too, reaching 88F high, but averaging on 86F.
These clones have actually been vegging under just a single CFL while rooting, so I think the sudden increase in lumens shocked them. Another tip for growers - you absolutely can give your plants too much light. It depends on what stage the plant is in, and what it's been accustomed to.
To counter the light and heat stress, I took off 3 bulbs and raised the lights. The plants showed an improvement after.
During the month it was clear that the first 4 plants on the left and middle cabs were doing well, and the two on the right were stunted. This boggled me since I had done two res changes, and the water composition for all of them were similar. At first I figured it was the fan that was doing the damage, but turning it off did no significant improvement. I came across the answer this morning on the way to work - air. The bubblers for the first two were of the same model, but I broke the plug from the third and replaced it with a less powerful bubbler I used for the clones.
So I'll go back home today and rewire and fix the bubbler (oh the skills I've picked up from this hobby) and I'll see if it improves; but I'm willing to bet my last $5 that it will.
Also I asked on this forum which LED should I get; you can find the thread here.
In the end I decided to go with the Hans panel. Details on the next update.
Overdue update!
Sorry, I've been occupied with a lot of things, I haven't had the time to log in and update the grow log. Rest assured I haven't forgotten my babies though! It's a growing passion and I'm starting to really enjoy it. =)
On to major updates - So I've moved the clones to the grow tent, with everything set up. Used the Metal Halide bulb for the vegetative growth, and holy shit, temps shot up to 99F even with a 4" fan for the 2x4x5! Crisis!
I considered using HPS for veg as well, but it's only slightly less hot than the MH. Fellow growers, take note - HPS produces less heat as compared to the MH, but still runs hot.
I tried using a smaller HPS bulb, 150W - but it also generated a lot of heat, and upon further research it turns out that using a smaller capacity bulb for a 400W ballast might overload the bulb and explode it. It might not be true, but I'm not taking a risk with my investment.
I even considered a bigger fan, but I quickly dismissed it - ambient temperatures here are really high, and it seems unreasonable to not expect an increase in temperature even with ventilation.
After thinking about it endlessly for a couple of days, I decided HID wasn't the answer. So now the question is - do I go CFL or LED?
I had to do both - I couldn't immediately go for LED since I would need some time to research, save up, and wait for shipping. As an immediate remedy, I went with CFL's.
I followed this guide for a CFL light fixture, and I decided to copy it. I tried DIY-ing it myself, but since I have more of a green thumb than an electrical thumb, (and it was going to take a good 4 hours if I attempted to do it by myself) I hired someone to make it for me.
Here's what it looks like -
It's not as bright as the HPS or MH but it would do. In fact, after a couple of days of being on the CFL diet, the plants actually showed signs of stress and bleaching. Temps are pretty high too, reaching 88F high, but averaging on 86F.
These clones have actually been vegging under just a single CFL while rooting, so I think the sudden increase in lumens shocked them. Another tip for growers - you absolutely can give your plants too much light. It depends on what stage the plant is in, and what it's been accustomed to.
To counter the light and heat stress, I took off 3 bulbs and raised the lights. The plants showed an improvement after.
During the month it was clear that the first 4 plants on the left and middle cabs were doing well, and the two on the right were stunted. This boggled me since I had done two res changes, and the water composition for all of them were similar. At first I figured it was the fan that was doing the damage, but turning it off did no significant improvement. I came across the answer this morning on the way to work - air. The bubblers for the first two were of the same model, but I broke the plug from the third and replaced it with a less powerful bubbler I used for the clones.
So I'll go back home today and rewire and fix the bubbler (oh the skills I've picked up from this hobby) and I'll see if it improves; but I'm willing to bet my last $5 that it will.
Also I asked on this forum which LED should I get; you can find the thread here.
In the end I decided to go with the Hans panel. Details on the next update.
