Grow Light Upgrade Assistance Request

SpideyManDan

Well-Known Member
Aside from losing a few fan leaves I'd rather not have due to over-defoliation, things have been smooth sailing. The basic Fox Farm nutes and molasses have been great. So, no nutritional deficiencies. Tons of mutations though, and like I mentioned, the occasional male flower.

I didn't know you were growing out a bagseed too. Do you know what the strain was? And, how did your grow go?
Its been a wild ride haha. The weed sucked tbh but i just wanted to try it out and get my feet wet. Started with three seedlings, crushed one in an accident and out of the two one turned out to be a male. Started with some "grow light bulbs" from walmart, used households cfls, and then eventually progressed into a mars hydro ts1000. So because of the shitty lighting in the beginning it was a pretty slow grow. Something like 5 months probably haha. Im cutting off branches while letting some parts go a little longer so they can mature a little more. Kind of a sampling of different types of trichomes and there different effects. I could go on with the nitty gritty but thats pretty much the story. Ive learned so much from doing this and its helped keep my busy and occupied during these crazy times. How was your bud that you got that seed from? I figured as long as it doesnt herm real bad and its smokable its a huge fucking win. :bigjoint:
 

Ukulele Haze

Well-Known Member
Its been a wild ride haha. The weed sucked tbh but i just wanted to try it out and get my feet wet. Started with three seedlings, crushed one in an accident and out of the two one turned out to be a male. Started with some "grow light bulbs" from walmart, used households cfls, and then eventually progressed into a mars hydro ts1000. So because of the shitty lighting in the beginning it was a pretty slow grow. Something like 5 months probably haha. Im cutting off branches while letting some parts go a little longer so they can mature a little more. Kind of a sampling of different types of trichomes and there different effects. I could go on with the nitty gritty but thats pretty much the story. Ive learned so much from doing this and its helped keep my busy and occupied during these crazy times. How was your bud that you got that seed from? I figured as long as it doesnt herm real bad and its smokable its a huge fucking win. :bigjoint:
Until you mentioned it, for some reason it did not occur to me lousy lights = slow growth. I'll bet my veg time would have been faster too if I did something sooner also.
I have done the "sampling" thing before with my White Widow Autos :weed: I think it's OK so long as you don't mind losing a little yield here or there.

So glad you are finding a nice distraction from the "times." The plants do feel like a sanctuary.

As for the hermie stuff...I get a little nervous talking about my plant's sex on here because hermies get a lot of flack in the growing community. But, I think she's programmed to do this. Thanks for the acceptance. And my man...the weed was incredible. I don't remember the specifics about the effects. I do remember euphoria and arousal on the low doses, then a heavy stone on the high doses. The flavors were of chocolate, garlic, and lemon.
 

7CardBud

Well-Known Member
I'd check out HLG. This is $315 after the "RIU10" discount. Even 1 135 for now would for work. Then you could always get another one later too.
I think the the HLG kits are a fair deal, but I don't know where the addition price jacking is coming from.
If you order just the slate 2 double and source the driver and the few other knick knacks separate your price is in the low $200s.

For the Chinese LEDs I'm liking the Viparspectra XS2000, solid looking build, Meanwell HLG-240 and a nice $255 price with coupon.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
I think the the HLG kits are a fair deal, but I don't know where the addition price jacking is coming from.
If you order just the slate 2 double and source the driver and the few other knick knacks separate your price is in the low $200s.

For the Chinese LEDs I'm liking the Viparspectra XS2000, solid looking build, Meanwell HLG-240 and a nice $255 price with coupon.
I have a code for the Viparspectra. I joined their affiliate program to get a free $20 gift card. But it isn't a real gift card. It's a gift card for their website. I'll let you use it if you decide to buy one. I'm an HLG or ChilLed fan.
 

7CardBud

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the offer, but I'm a DIY guy. I need to redo my HLG slate 2 triple anyway. Even at 24" the center hotspot is pretty bad. I'm gonna order another triple heatsink and one more QB288 and turn it into two XL lights.
 

SpideyManDan

Well-Known Member
Until you mentioned it, for some reason it did not occur to me lousy lights = slow growth. I'll bet my veg time would have been faster too if I did something sooner also.
I have done the "sampling" thing before with my White Widow Autos :weed: I think it's OK so long as you don't mind losing a little yield here or there.

So glad you are finding a nice distraction from the "times." The plants do feel like a sanctuary.

As for the hermie stuff...I get a little nervous talking about my plant's sex on here because hermies get a lot of flack in the growing community. But, I think she's programmed to do this. Thanks for the acceptance. And my man...the weed was incredible. I don't remember the specifics about the effects. I do remember euphoria and arousal on the low doses, then a heavy stone on the high doses. The flavors were of chocolate, garlic, and lemon.

Hell, you can get perfectly good weed from a hermie, hell even fire from one. A lot of how potent a plant is depends on how it was grown, sort of like the whole nature vs nuture stuff. Yeah genetics are important, but growing it the right way and especially with the right tools (light source) has a huge impact.

The way i look at it is i try not to compare myself to other people on here. Im fairly new to growing and have a lot to learn, but how well i do is only compared to where i was at 1 month ago and so on and so forth. I have learned sooooo much in the last couple months its been unbelievable. That is whats meaningful to me. Well this was a nice chat and i hope everything works out. Im sure ill see you around.:weed:
 

BurnzAU

Well-Known Member
Get a decent quality light and you will yield 10x more buds out of that tent. But if an ounce lasts you 3 months then I guess you are happy what you are doing ..

Plant looks healthy enough, but you're only going to get a day or 2's worth of smoke out of it.
 

Ukulele Haze

Well-Known Member
Get a decent quality light and you will yield 10x more buds out of that tent. But if an ounce lasts you 3 months then I guess you are happy what you are doing ..

Plant looks healthy enough, but you're only going to get a day or 2's worth of smoke out of it.
I've pulled 2 ounces before from one untrained Auto-flowering plant under that single overhead light. That's without the supplemental gooseneck lamps. So, I really doubt that's how this will play out. This is a trained, 2' Photoperiod plant with light hitting all 10 tops, as well as the interior budsites. If I thought it were necessary, I would have bought a new light already. I wouldn't be surprised if I got 4 ounces from my current grow. Wonka Bars is a heavy-yielding strain, also.
 
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SpideyManDan

Well-Known Member
Ok so check it. I just started cutting up the stuff i was drying and putting it in jars.

I found a fuck ton of seeds lmao. I fimmed the thing like 2 and topped it once so there were so many small colas there is no way i could have really kept an eye out for any pollen sacks, but i didnt see shit at all. Im wondering if it ended up herming and producing pollen on the inside of the buds and no matter what i would have been screwed. I mean its sticky and sparkly as hell so ill still get high at least lol.
 

Ukulele Haze

Well-Known Member
Ok so check it. I just started cutting up the stuff i was drying and putting it in jars.

I found a fuck ton of seeds lmao. I fimmed the thing like 2 and topped it once so there were so many small colas there is no way i could have really kept an eye out for any pollen sacks, but i didnt see shit at all. Im wondering if it ended up herming and producing pollen on the inside of the buds and no matter what i would have been screwed. I mean its sticky and sparkly as hell so ill still get high at least lol.
Wow really? That makes me nervous! I was planning on leaving a few male flowers in-tact with hopes of intentionally pollinating a bud or two. But, now I am wondering if I should seek and destroy on site. I am glad your bud seems decent though, despite what happened.

If these are male flowers on my plant (I've been wrong before), they seem to be growing very close to the female flowers. So, I could see why your hermie plant didn't have any trouble impregnating itself with seeds:

1126201921.jpg

UPDATE: Poked one of these bad boys earlier the wrong way during the removal process. Had a little pollen mishap. But, I think it was contained.
 
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SpideyManDan

Well-Known Member
Wow really? That makes me nervous! I was planning on leaving a few male flowers in-tact with hopes of intentionally pollinating a bud or two. But, now I am wondering if I should seek and destroy on site. I am glad your bud seems decent though, despite what happened.

If these are male flowers on my plant (I've been wrong before), they seem to be growing very close to the female flowers. So, I could see why your hermie plant didn't have any trouble impregnating itself with seeds:

View attachment 4752857
Yeah i saw something like that on mine as well. Its not the end of the world now for me because the only thing i have are little seedlings around it so its not like they are at risk of getting pollinated. Those are feminized seeds that i bought. Hmm question is, what do you have to lose? Do you have other seeds you could grow that are for sure not going to herm?
 

Ukulele Haze

Well-Known Member
Yeah i saw something like that on mine as well. Its not the end of the world now for me because the only thing i have are little seedlings around it so its not like they are at risk of getting pollinated. Those are feminized seeds that i bought. Hmm question is, what do you have to lose? Do you have other seeds you could grow that are for sure not going to herm?
"What do I have to lose" is definitely the question which came to mind when I found my bagseed.

I checked my refrigerator. It looks like all I have currently are 3 Northern Lights Auto seeds, 2 Amnesia Haze Auto seeds, and 1 Blueberry Auto seed. There are a handful of strains I am currently interested in purchasing seeds for:

Royal Gorilla or Wedding Cake - High THC and good for pressing into rosin.
Pineapple Express - Smells / tastes amazing and the effects are nice.
Strawberry Cough - I like strawberry flavors.
White Widow - This is the strain I started with. I am kind of nostalgic for it.
LSD - I am curious how psychedelic it is.

I might try to get some of these in Auto-flowering versions because I only have this one tent currently.

What is/are the strain of the seeds you bought?
 
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SpideyManDan

Well-Known Member
Lol I had to check my fridge too. I got a couple different seeds but I am doing a couple because of lack of lighting and just in case I fuck up.

Useful Seeds Feminized Chem D x Bag of Oranges
Night Owl Autoflowers called Foot Cheeze (Lmao)
And finally some freebies Regular Copa Genetics Early Glue x Black Domina

Now when I was getting my seeds it was right after a big sale so my options were limited. Ill be honest I didnt read into the different strains to much and just went with what I could get at a decent price. Useful is a really good brand apparently and if im not mistaken originated from someone who frequents these forums.
 

Ukulele Haze

Well-Known Member
Now when I was getting my seeds it was right after a big sale so my options were limited. Ill be honest I didnt read into the different strains to much and just went with what I could get at a decent price. Useful is a really good brand apparently and if im not mistaken originated from someone who frequents these forums.
That's too bad. Then again, sometimes you can make some pleasant discoveries blindly trying something. That Auto strain sounds really interesting. I imagine it smells fantastic and nowhere near what the namesake implies. But, you never know. I haven't heard of Useful Seeds, but I'll look into it. Thank you.
 
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BurnzAU

Well-Known Member
I've pulled 2 ounces before from one untrained Auto-flowering plant under that single overhead light. That's without the supplemental gooseneck lamps. So, I really doubt that's how this will play out. This is a trained, 2' Photoperiod plant with light hitting all 10 tops, as well as the interior budsites. If I thought it were necessary, I would have bought a new light already. I wouldn't be surprised if I got 4 ounces from my current grow. Wonka Bars is a heavy-yielding strain, also.
4 ounces!?! Nice man. With a 260w Quantum Board, 400w HPS or 315w CMH you should be pulling a pound every 3 months, that's 16 ounces incase you were wondering.
 

BurnzAU

Well-Known Member
I just looked what light you are using, so yeah... Like I was saying, with a 260w Quantum Board or 315w CMH, you will yield 4x the amount of buds, and use less power...

Or you can keep pushing shit uphill trying to reinvent the wheel.
 

SpideyManDan

Well-Known Member
That's too bad. Then again, sometimes you can make some pleasant discoveries blindly trying something. That Auto strain sounds really interesting. I imagine it smells fantastic and nowhere near what the namesake implies. But, you never know. I haven't heard of Useful Seeds, but I'll look into it. Thank you.
So hows everything going with your grow? I know its only been a couple days, but im just curious.
 

Ukulele Haze

Well-Known Member
4 ounces!?! Nice man. With a 260w Quantum Board, 400w HPS or 315w CMH you should be pulling a pound every 3 months, that's 16 ounces incase you were wondering.
Or you can keep pushing shit uphill trying to reinvent the wheel.
I should probably mention I'm growing for my own personal use. If I had a pound of cannabis on hand, I wouldn't know what to do with it. If I could net 4 ounces however, it would last me 4-8 months. Like I mentioned, I'm upgrading for the next grow. I'd like to give the Wonka Bars 4-6 weeks to fatten up and finish flowering under the current setup. Or, as you suggest finish "pushing shit uphill." Personally, I like the idea of seeing the end result of this cobbled-together solution; it's fun. One thing's for sure - the plant doesn't care how much money I spent. But, it is responding well to getting additional light.
 

BurnzAU

Well-Known Member
I should probably mention I'm growing for my own personal use. If I had a pound of cannabis on hand, I wouldn't know what to do with it. If I could net 4 ounces however, it would last me 4-8 months. Like I mentioned, I'm upgrading for the next grow. I'd like to give the Wonka Bars 4-6 weeks to fatten up and finish flowering under the current setup. Or, as you suggest finish "pushing shit uphill." Personally, I like the idea of seeing the end result of this cobbled-together solution; it's fun. One thing's for sure - the plant doesn't care how much money I spent. But, it is responding well to getting additional light.
Sorry mate, just going by the title of your thread, I thought you wanted some assistance / advice on upgrading your light for a better return, but it seems that isn't your intention.

I personally don't see the point in only growing 4 ounces when you could be growing alot more out of the same area, with less power, and in shorter times. Even if it's more than you will smoke, you can give it away, sell it, make edibles, the possibilities are endless.

FYI you don't need to spend big $$ for a decent grow light. You can get a 400w HPS for under $100 these days, which you CAN yield a pound from. Yes HPS might be old technology and not as efficient as other lighting, but it's 100 times better than what you are currently using.
 
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