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LED vertical scrog

DunHav`nFun

Well-known member
Welcome Dinkydow…..You a Nam Vet or just fuckin crazy...…:biggrin: ….. either or you`ll fit in fine down here in Rejectsville , I mean Vertville…..lol…...Am I blind or is that 9 bulbs instead of 10......anyways.....You`re in the right spot to learn from such a seasoned vert vet as Icky.....now.....

I`ve got some 8 bulb T-5 lights that I`d liketa replace the bulbs with LED tubes , but I`ve read you`ve gotta retro the damn ballasts.....Is this true or are there bulbs that`re comparable to the 40000 lumens I got outta my T5`s back when I pre-vegged with em ?.....

Enquiring minds wanna know.....regardless.....Keep your thread updated Bro.....and thanks for your time....

Peace....DHF.....:ying: …….
 
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Boocoodinkydow

Active member
Welcome Dinkydow…..You a Nam Vet or just fuckin crazy...…:biggrin: ….. either or you`ll fit in fine down here in Rejectsville , I mean Vertville…..lol…...Am I blind or is that 9 bulbs instead of 10......anyways.....You`re in the right spot to learn from such a seasoned vert vet as Icky.....now.....

I`ve got some 8 bulb T-5 lights that I`d liketa replace the bulbs with LED tubes , but I`ve read you`ve gotta retro the damn ballasts.....Is this true or are there bulbs that`re comparable to the 40000 lumens I got outta my T5`s back when I pre-vegged with em ?.....

Enquiring minds wanna know.....regardless.....Keep your thread updated Bro.....and thanks for your time....

Peace....DHF.....:ying: …….

Thanx for the welcome, DHF. You’re right on both fronts; two tours of the Nam and 27 years at USPS (would have been more but I was forced to take a medical retirement for being “emotionally unfit for service”) probably qualifies me as “fucking crazy” too!!

We were both wrong on the bulb count; there’s actually 11. 2 are hiding behind the vertical frames. I built 3 frames that hold 7 bulbs each. Only using about half since I’m growing only a single plant.

The LED tubes come in either configuration; direct replacement or ballast bypass. Since I was starting from scratch, I opted for the ballast bypass. They’re more efficient and a lot less heat. Rewiring an existing fixture for a single ended ballast bypass bulb is super simple.
 

starke

Well-known member
Ichabod Crane:

As a fellow LED grower I am impressed. Really impressed. So impressed that I started scratchin' my head and thinkin' about my current horizontal scrog room...

Say, I don't suppose you would be willing to explain to my misses why my room needs an overhaul and some new LEDs. :biggrin:

All kidding aside. Very nice setup and results. Think I'll stay tuned.
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
Ichabod Crane:

As a fellow LED grower I am impressed. Really impressed. So impressed that I started scratchin' my head and thinkin' about my current horizontal scrog room...

Say, I don't suppose you would be willing to explain to my misses why my room needs an overhaul and some new LEDs. :biggrin:

All kidding aside. Very nice setup and results. Think I'll stay tuned.

Well you see your stuff is like at least one grow old. And if you were using bulbs you would need to replace them real soon. So it only makes sense you need new LEDs right?

Glad you like it. Still 69 days left till harvest.:plant grow:
 

Hookahhead

Active member
Very informative and inspirational thread. I have always enjoyed seeing your setup in other posts, but it’s nice to get a more thorough explanation of your process. I use a small LED cab for veg, but if I ran vertical I would have enough space to make it worth while to flower. When you have time, can you show us what your veg setup looks like to get the monsters that you’re tying to the screen?

I also just wanted to point out that mosquito dunks and bits use BT to control mosquitos/fungus gnats, they do not contain any nematodes.

Marshy swampy areas inundated with larvae? Sprinkle Mosquito Bits (Quick Kill) as a shock to quickly annihilate the larval population. Corn cob granules coated in BTI, the Bits (do not last long but) provide a punch, turning water black with larvae, to a clear pool void of future mosquitoes. A week after application either supplement with Mosquito Dunks, for long term control or continue to add Bits on a bi-weekly basis. The Mosquito Bits are labeled to control Fungus Gnats in plant beds or pots! Utilizing a similar mode of action for control of mosquito larvae, the Bits, either sprinkled on the soil's surface or mixed with potting soil prior to planting will kill fungus gnat larvae with the same safety and target specific control offered for mosquito larvae.
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
Very informative and inspirational thread. I have always enjoyed seeing your setup in other posts, but it’s nice to get a more thorough explanation of your process. I use a small LED cab for veg, but if I ran vertical I would have enough space to make it worth while to flower. When you have time, can you show us what your veg setup looks like to get the monsters that you’re tying to the screen?

I also just wanted to point out that mosquito dunks and bits use BT to control mosquitos/fungus gnats, they do not contain any nematodes.

Well good to know. I was not sure if they had them or not. But they eat the shell dont they? I do not know for sure.

I posted a picture of one veg area. I will post another here. The first was the picture of the two plants that I said were next to be tied.

 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
That is one of my veg areas. It is the same as the flower room. 5x7 with 450 watts over head.

The other room is this one. It has side lighting because when the plants get that tall it is hard to get light to the bottom.



This room has just under 400 watts. I think it is 384 watts. The side lighting helps fill it in more and develop the smaller lower branches.
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
Very informative and inspirational thread. I have always enjoyed seeing your setup in other posts, but it’s nice to get a more thorough explanation of your process. I use a small LED cab for veg, but if I ran vertical I would have enough space to make it worth while to flower. When you have time, can you show us what your veg setup looks like to get the monsters that you’re tying to the screen?

I also just wanted to point out that mosquito dunks and bits use BT to control mosquitos/fungus gnats, they do not contain any nematodes.

You are right. I will have to get some nematodes that do eat the shell.
 

Hookahhead

Active member
Yeah mosquito bits/dunks are great products, but unfortunately they do not contain any live culture. Instead they contain the refined insecticidal proteins produced by the BT bacteria. So they won’t “inoculate” anything, and need to be reapplied to remain effective.

Thanks for showing the veg room, the side lights makes total sense. Great job :tiphat:
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
Here is what I am feeding.

I make a stock solution of Jack's 5-12-26. It is made with 880 grams in a gallon jug of RO water. This is what the Jack's comes in.



I make a stock solution of Yara Calcium Nitrate. I get it at a local farm supply store. I mix 580 Grams into a one gallon jug of RO water. I dont have a picture of this.

I also use Protek Potassium Silicate.

I use Drip Clean.



If I need to PH down I use Milk Stone remover. I get this at Tractor Supply for about $14 a gallon. I only need a few drops of this at most.



Finally I also use MKP. This is Mono Potassium Phosphate.


So I mix my solution like this:

70 ml Jack's stock solution
70 ml Calcium Nitrate stock solution
1 ml Protek
1 ml Drip Clean

All this is needed to make one gallon of nutrient solution. I then use the Milk Stone remover to get the PH to between 5.8-6.0. This nutrient solution uses RO water.

About once a week I will add a quarter teaspoon of MKP per gallon of nutrient solution. Again the PH is adjusted to 5.8-6.0. I will use the Potasium Silicate to raise the PH if needed.

The basic solution with out the MKP has a EC of between 1.8-1.9. This is a strong mix. You do not want to use this with weak lighting like HPS or floro's.

Some strains will need cal mag. If you find out you do here are two different types.



In flower I would use the one on the right. It is made with Calcium Carbonate and Magnesium Carbonate. Because of this they use a strong acid to get the calcium and magnesium into solution. So this will have to be adjusted for when you use it.

The one on the right uses Calcium Nitrate. Because of this it will add extra nitrogen and should not be used in flower. This one is OK for veg.
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
Today I was talking to Waxitaxi. He was telling me about Jack's 7-15-30. He was saying that it is a one part fertilizer.

https://www.amazon.com/Jacks-Nutrie...qid=1574266976&sprefix=jacks+7,aps,170&sr=8-1

He likes it because it is low in Nitrogen. I may get some to try but it does seem a little high priced.

So I went to the Hydro-Gardens web site and looked around and several other places. But I saw a fertilizer designed for weed.

https://hydro-gardens.com/product/420-hydroponic-25lbs-bag/

I got to thinking about the Jack's 5-12-26 I have been using. Since they were bought out I cant get my stock solution to mix fully. I just assumed that when it was bought out that they started using lower quality ingredients. And so I was getting a little sediment.

So talking to Waxi he said that he has been also getting sediment. But that he cleaned it up by mixing in a smaller amount per gallon than the 880 grams per gallon.

That kind of irritates me that they would just change it up. And I have been thinking of switching to Hydro-Gardens 5-11-26. It is almost the same thing. So I went to the site and was looking for that when I saw the 4-20-39.

I got to thinking one of the things my plants need more of was calcium since I went LED. But calcium in a bottle is expensive. Like I post in my last post calcium comes in those two types but also as calcium nitrate. Calcium nitrate being the cheapest.

Waxi says that he adds one ml of calcium/magnesium to his mix of the bottle type and it clears up his problems with some LEDs I made him. But it is derived partly from calcium nitrate. I can add water to calcium nitrate myself. I can buy a 50 pound bag of calcium nitrate for less than $25 here in town. And that will be the same as a truck load of the bottles.

So that brings me to the 4-20-39. The potassium and the phosphorus are in almost the same ratio as the Jacks 5-12-26. About 2 to 1. And that brings me to the big difference between the two. The nitrogen in the 4-20-39 is half of the nitrogen in the 5-12-26.

That means I can add more calcium just by adding more calcium nitrate. And this will just bring the nitrogen back to where I was before with the Jack's 5-12-26. But I also have been adding MKP to my mix which would lower the nitrogen ratio also. And I could stop adding the MKP.

Anyway I went and bought some to test. It is on its way.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?
 

DunHav`nFun

Well-known member
According to all I see with the organic gurus like Slownickel as much calcium you can work into the mix WITHOUT adding extra nitrogen OR magnesium is the path to Nirvana for growin dope , but how do we do that with dry salts ?.....I know this....

I sent folks to Hydro-Gardens for yrs for dry ferts to make their own commercial op recipe when Cali went medville in 96 IIRC , and it`s hard to go wrong with the folks that supply most every major commercial vegetable hydroponic greenhouse in the nation on top of Disneyworld.....Not sure how they are now , but back then if you asked about any product to grow pot with , they`d hang up on you and not answer if you called back....The code was to ask for tomato ferts long before any "canna-specific" nutrients ever came on the market in dry form ….GH had maxi grow n bloom and that was about it , but that shit`s anything but canna specific till you dial any GH juice dry or watered down........anyways....

Ain`t but 1 wayta find out Icky.....run that shit and see how the girls like it....I`m sure you`ll see quick enough if it`s worth your time and investment.....

Thanks again for your time and experience.....

Peace....DHF.....:ying: …...
 

DunHav`nFun

Well-known member
Well they have changed. Because it says they designed this for cannabis and hemp.
Wouldn`t be surprised if it was the old "mater recipe" my old hippie ass bro`s bought from em back then.....Guess they`re changing with tha times huh Ick ?....most likely had somethin ta do with tha Do-Ray-Mi....Money can`t buy happiness , but it CAN buy everything else.....

Peace.....DHF...…:ying: …...
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
Wouldn`t be surprised if it was the old "mater recipe" my old hippie ass bro`s bought from em back then.....Guess they`re changing with tha times huh Ick ?....most likely had somethin ta do with tha Do-Ray-Mi....Money can`t buy happiness , but it CAN buy everything else.....

Peace.....DHF...…:ying: …...
They have a flyer that said people had great success growing cannabis with their 4-18-38. And that is their tomato mix. But cannabis needed a few more special nutrients so they made this up. So yes exactly what your buddies were saying.

As for selling to the 420 market maybe they just had to wait till Colorado went legal before they would say they were selling something to the 420 market. They are in Colorado.
 

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
nectar of the gods olympus up is calcium carbonate in a liquid form...

I go threw a lot of nutrient mix. That seems kind of pricey for me at $14 a quart. Plus it is a extra item to add since I am already adding calcium nitrate to my base nutrient mix.

If I switch over to the 4-20-39 instead of the Jack's 5-12-26 I would still be using just 2 items for my base and the other stuff I already add. So being slow like I am I might be able to make it work.
 

DunHav`nFun

Well-known member
From 4-18-38 to 4-20-39 sounds like a marketing ploy when CO went legal Icky....I never put those 2 things together but damn......I mean....you can`t blame em when their mater mix that a whole buncha folks from Cali bought back in the day they KNEW wasn`t for maters ….Cmon …..4-20 for growin dope ?.....

Sounds like the mater mix with new labeling ta me , but I`m a cynical old bastard.....I could only hope it`s a new mix to help stoners grow the most potent dope with their brand.....yeah right.....but.....

You`ll do good with it cuz you know howta act and react with problems should they arise from a new juice setup.....anyways.....

Peace.....DHF...…:ying: …...
 
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