since light mover put in, nothing but popcorn

[Marquis de Sod]

i am thinking it has to be the light mover cause before i installed i would get solid colas on the tops of my branches (with a much smaller footprint). since installed the cola's dont form at all. i just have a whole fucking plant thats popcorn buds instead of a nice solid cola. they are just not growing together.

it is a 1000HPS but i think the problem is i have just the one light on all TEN FEET of track. from posts i read that is way too long.

could that be my problem? thanks (plants are 10 ft x 4.5 ft area about 2ft tall indica, and this is in bloom)

 

[Puddin'tane]

Marquis, I never used a light mover before, but is it possible it's moving too fast with the lights too high off the canopy?

 

[whadeezlrg]

I use 6' light rails with 1000's

I've honestly had larger colas with movers than I ever did with stationary lights...some of those buds were half oz + nugs. I keep the lights about 14-20" away from the canopy 14" is even pushin it for me

 

[Puddin'tane]

I just saw the part where it says 10 feet of track. Obviously this is a problem if your plants aren't in that long of a space, but take up only half that distance.
Can you bolt some stops on?

 

[Marquis de Sod]

i can move them in and shrink the area. but i guess i have a crap strain. i think my shante devi is garbage. every plant i got in there is doing the same thing regardless of medium and fertz. i have not been happy with this strain at all except in veg they look great. i am going to get rid of them. thanks

 

[1quixotix]

Light movers are great. When I used one, it was a 1000 with a parabolic reflector. I never utilized the whole 6' track. More like 4' +/-.
I wouldn't really blame the strain until you have tried again after the suggestions you'll receive here.
If you want to do 10' I suggest a second light...
I count the time in seconds it took to travel from one "stop" to the other and divided by two. That was the time it would rest at each "stop".
I would also get my feet wet with what is know as defoliation 'round these parts.
In addition to experimenting how close to your canopy your lamp can be.
Oscillating fans at the height of the canopy. One at each end would be a good suggestion too.
The best of luck with your endeavor!

 

[supermanlives]

hell ya 12 inches was my max rail travel

 

[supermanlives]

light rail really dont alow a bigger area but cover an area better. IMHO i used a light rail for a while then ditched it for another light

 

[growshopfrank]

Light movers are great. When I used one, it was a 1000 with a parabolic reflector. I never utilized the whole 6' track. More like 4' +/-.
I wouldn't really blame the strain until you have tried again after the suggestions you'll receive here.
If you want to do 10' I suggest a second light...
I count the time in seconds it took to travel from one "stop" to the other and divided by two. That was the time it would rest at each "stop".
I would also get my feet wet with what is know as defoliation 'round these parts.
In addition to experimenting how close to your canopy your lamp can be.
Oscillating fans at the height of the canopy. One at each end would be a good suggestion too.
The best of luck with your endeavor!

100% correct the only thing I would add is that if you are running the lamp close to the canopy (good idea with a mover) run a separate timer for the mover, have it turn on at the same time as the light but run for 15 to 20 minutes after the light turns off so you don't have a hot lamp scorching your bud on shutdown

 

[Marquis de Sod]

i have shortened it down to about 6 feet. i have fans and all but i got this powder mildew problem now that is kicking my ass. i cant do the second light cause my power bill. i got two 400's and 1000 on all day and the second 1000 half the day (with the rail).

i have seen new Digital Ballasts but they are $350 then the bulbs are alot too. i'll see what happens but still after all this time nothing but popcorn. i have been using monster bloom too and still just crap but thanks for the help.

 

[IwannatokeNbone]

i was gonna say 7 ft tops, from what ive seen and your report also is spot on, they tend to make popcorn at those distances

 

[Aeroguerilla]

When i first began growing thats how i did it.. with the track.. then i tried stationary.... bigger buds higher yield stationary never went back. i use my old light tracks now for my veg room. they work perfect for that

 

[Hammerhead]

Its not the mover something else is a miss. RH bad,Air movement is bad. If you have PM fix the RH and air circulation issues Then fix mover.

 

[namknuks]

Try 2 600 watt lights instead.

 

[Bud Bug]

Ten foot run for the light rail is too much. I think they work best in 3.5x7 foot area.

I know someone who gets 2.5 Lb out of PK in a 4x8 area (50 plants). Yes not the best yield per area but you have to consider its only one light.

 

[Lazyman]

I agree you dont have enough light. There should be at least 50w per square foot, mover or no. The mover should really just be to light more of the plant (basically instead of rotating plants manually) but its not a substitute for more light. You meed 2500w to cover ten foot long canopies, at 4 feet wide

 

[greenlabel]

I've found that movers work great over 6x3 trays... 10ft is way to much space to cover.