Canefan's New Grow 2010

Great journals my friend. Love the pics and info!

grow space said:

Sound like a solid plan to m..Thats what i usually do in these parts..theres no way in here U can successfully flower, if u dont have some super duper autos...I vegg my plants for about 2 months, take clones on regular basis, and then move them to my shed, that is constantly being changed and improved...

Have U thought on also getting a light mover...I hear u man that u have not so many funds, just like me, and the mover should cost about the same as 600 watter, but it would be a great investment...More even light for all those parts of the grow room, but also it all depends how big it is, maybe you dont need it at all...

Keep up the good work cane...

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Growspace, I seem to have missed this entry. Excuse me I didn't see it....meds must be better than I have been thinking. The light mover will be down the road. I will see what I can put together down here, they don't seem like they would be too hard to make your own. But right now I will just play with a 4x4 area and with a cheap reflector and build what I want. It will be like yours has been slow but I will keep working on it. I am lucky at the moment drier weather has been moving in lately, we still will have those days where that clouds get stuck and cant get over the mountain so we sit in them. What are you going to do?...lol get some lights and make a system that is hybrid just I have done for vegging.
I am so lost on the lights, really ignorant as hell. I posted a thread asking about the lights and bulbs, as of today 38 views no posts. I could ask one of these really stupid questions and they would be lined up around the block to tell me what to do. So I will continue to study who makes the best bulb. Any recommendations my friend?
Working with the cfl's was easy to figure out and hell they still spent 12 hours in the sun. As long as I kept the light receptors active I figured I was ahead of the game.
This is different though, these are buds. I really want to carry them outside for the first half of the flower cycle, I have never had any problems up until that point. I would hate to ruin what is half done.
thanks my friend for listening and letting me vent and ramble.
I wish to you and your family the very merriest of Christmas's possible. Thanks for all of your kind words the past year and more.
To all the over readers I wish everyone a Merry Christmas/Feliz Navida

Sorry man, i aint no bulb expert...Google some, maybe theres some good grow shops around your area, if not, make a trip where the closest one is and ask the seller, but make sure u do your homework as well...I know u will find a good lamp if u search hard enough...



Green christmas ya all...

canefan said:

Growspace, I seem to have missed this entry. Excuse me I didn't see it....meds must be better than I have been thinking. The light mover will be down the road. I will see what I can put together down here, they don't seem like they would be too hard to make your own. But right now I will just play with a 4x4 area and with a cheap reflector and build what I want. It will be like yours has been slow but I will keep working on it. I am lucky at the moment drier weather has been moving in lately, we still will have those days where that clouds get stuck and cant get over the mountain so we sit in them. What are you going to do?...lol get some lights and make a system that is hybrid just I have done for vegging.
I am so lost on the lights, really ignorant as hell. I posted a thread asking about the lights and bulbs, as of today 38 views no posts. I could ask one of these really stupid questions and they would be lined up around the block to tell me what to do. So I will continue to study who makes the best bulb. Any recommendations my friend?
Working with the cfl's was easy to figure out and hell they still spent 12 hours in the sun. As long as I kept the light receptors active I figured I was ahead of the game.
This is different though, these are buds. I really want to carry them outside for the first half of the flower cycle, I have never had any problems up until that point. I would hate to ruin what is half done.
thanks my friend for listening and letting me vent and ramble.
I wish to you and your family the very merriest of Christmas's possible. Thanks for all of your kind words the past year and more.
To all the over readers I wish everyone a Merry Christmas/Feliz Navida

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Not sure I could tell you who make the best bulbs. What I understand on degradation is that it's mostly technology dependent, but it's possible some brands degrade spectrum faster, and maybe last longer (though with degraded spectrum, people who know what they are doing wouldn't care about longevity, degradation forces us to change bulbs long before they would 'burn out'). Bulbs can range dramatically in spectra, even the same kelvin ratings, so I've always seen it as more important to pick the right spectral distribution than a particular brand...

I didn't see your other post, but a few things that might help you decide. Photosynthesis requires a period of much higher intensity, but once started can continue in surprisingly low light levels. If they start under direct sun, and are moved quickly to artificial you can get away with less light. I'm not 100% sure on what you're actually asking, but as far as technology goes, cfl is bottom rung. It can keep plants alive, however, it won't penetrate well and will really only cut it on shorter plants with lots of outside surface area. T5's are kinda the next step up, depending on the number of bulbs per area, they can penetrate better than CFL's, in my experience up to 30-36". They also provide great choices in spectrum, provide more light than other flo technology, and degrade spectrum at a much slower rate than HID (and I believe cfl's). Then you get to HID (MH and HPS basically). HID run hot, but being a point source, have the best penetration of the bunch. If you want tall trees inside, these are the way to go. They also use more energy per lumen created, and watt for watt do not spread their heat evenly so can create more 'hot spot' issues. The last two technologies are LED and plasma. LED can replace HID in light output and penetration, as well as have the advantage of producing relatively no heat, and consuming less energy per light generated. For these benefits you pay a premium, around 4-10 times what you would on similar T5 or HID systems. You also have to be rather careful because LED's are like car's. You have the POS that you bought from some guy for $500 and you worry if it'll make it to the store and back each day, and you have the $200,000+ Ferraris. If you buy cheap you will get cheap results, but just because you buy expensive doesn't mean you got something good. LED requires you do your homework or chances are you would have been better with other lights that would cost 1/10th the price. Plasma is awesome, though cooler burning tech, like solid state components, are just starting to hit the market. These lights are seriously going to be the wave of the future, but they are so new I wouldn't suggest looking at them unless you have a lot of money to blow and don't mind playing partial guinea pig for new technology

Hope that info helps. If you continue having trouble with lights, feel free to ask me directly. I'm not an expert on them all, but I have enough experience with most of them to at least point you in the right direction

Hope this helps... for veg, I have 6, Lights of America 60W Daylight 6500K CFLs from walmart ($.92 each)... They put out the blue color temp you want for vegging... I'm not at the flowering stage yet, but I plan on using an HPS bulb for flowering... it has the red color temp you want at 2700K... Realistically, there are so many different options... Find a light system or source that fits your $$$, time, space, and needs.

Gobbly thank you so much for your insight.
Capt thank you as well for sharing.
I have decided to go with either the EYE Hortilux or the Sylvania HPS, they both have the broader spectrum which I think offers a good balance in flowering and overall plant health.
I will continue to flower the first half of the flowering cycle under the sun and then move the girls inside to try and avoid the mold problem.
Once again thanks all for your input.
Happy Growing

Q: about your HPS... do you have a dual ballast? (assuming you were using MH in veg)... There is a great 600W digital ballast with both MH and HPS bulbs to go with it for only like $177 on amazon... I was considering buying it myself when I have my new room set up... Here's the link
http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Digital-Switchable-Reflector-GYO-2004/dp/B003810KYO/ref=pd_sbs_ol_2

captbooyah said:

Q: about your HPS... do you have a dual ballast? (assuming you were using MH in veg)... There is a great 600W digital ballast with both MH and HPS bulbs to go with it for only like $177 on amazon... I was considering buying it myself when I have my new room set up... Here's the link
http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Digital-Switchable-Reflector-GYO-2004/dp/B003810KYO/ref=pd_sbs_ol_2

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Presently I am vegging outside during the day and moving them inside to my veg room in the evening. I have up to 650 cfl watts i can ran all independent of each other. I run currently and almost always 3 105 watt over head and that the remainer in 23 to 32 watt along the sides. They get about 6 to 8 hours a day with the lights inside and 6 hours of dark. This set up has worked great for me so far.
The ballast is a 600 watt switchable/dimmable lumatek, just in case I ever want to change the way I use the ballast.
Right now I just plan on using this to use on the girls their last half of flower. So most of them will only be under the hps for about 6 to 8 weeks.
Thank you for giving me the link I appreciate it.

Ah, indoor outdoor... that is nice, but hard to do up here... I am limited to all indoor right now... What do you think about that light in general? (trying to figure out if i want that, or the florescent equivalent at only $90)

I don't really know anything about that ballast, maybe I am still asleep but I couldn't find the name of the ballast. It is all digital so I would imagine that it is dependable. I don't know what your budget is so, if this is the best you can do right then I think it is great. You can always add a better reflector to the system, upgrade bulbs and such. If you are like me I just want to get started. Being in Costa Rica I have to get this done the first time as far as lights and ballast, shipping down here is so expensive.
If you are new to growing I think this unit you showed me would help to get you started and not break your pocket book. Just remember you are growing for yourself and to make yourself happy. There will be many that say it is a piece of crap you need this or you need that, just keep up what you are doing to make yourself happy and enjoying this hobby.

Well, it has been awhile since I updated. The new year is here and my loving wife is visiting the hydro store to pick up the new light system. The we weather has been so bad here the past few months I am surprised that I have anything left growing, hence buying the lights. I have chopped off the top inch or inch and a half of Sweet Melissa, removed 3 spots off of Sweeth Melissa Dos. At least next Tuesday the wife returns from the states and if all goes well on Wednesday I will have the lights hung and running. The wiring is all in place so I am happy about that part of. As soon as the rain stops I will get some photos up. Maybe this afternoon.
As always, feel free to say hello post comments, suggestions or whatever.

Hey man..Its too late maybe to say also happy new, but guess what, happy new year man! Let this year be the year of them big, BIG crops !