How is low temps going to affect my grow?

[Herborizer]

With full lights on (running 24/0 in veg) I am running about 68f during the day and 61f at night. I know it's not optimal at all, but running a heater seems expensive (California). Not nessisarily looking for a solution, but I am interested in getting feedback on what to expect. I will be switching to 12/12 soon and I expect to see around 54f during lights off.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Norkali]

Any chance on being able to heat the area using the bulbs? (I.E. running the hot bulb air back into the space...)

 

[maxmurder]

lower temps in bloom-
killer quality- lower yield
but that's just me, i'm not done fuckin up grows yet either, many more mistakes to make

 

[Lazyman]

Plant growth and transpiration slow under 68, and almost stops at 50*F. They will need less water and less food typically. Ripening is delayed, yield drops about 15%, colors are more pronounced too. Flavors seem to be more significant. Do you have aircooled hoods or ac? Are you running lights at night?

 

[gaiusmarius]

cold grow equals low yield, but can hasten the ripening process too in my experience. the flower makes the first bundle of pistils hair then it just stops and starts ripening up and swelling the few calyxes it has. leaving you with tinny tight resin covered buds.

you need to run the lights during the coldest part of the day, ie at night and have a heater come on during lights off. reduced ventilation also helps at night with temps.

 

[Herborizer]

15% loss would be fine, but if I only got popcorn bud.......doesn't sound good. I do have my exhaust going threw my sealed hood. It's also a 6' elicient fan running 24x7. I will re-route so my hood isn't cooled, thanks for that advice.

I do have one of those variable speed router controllers. I guess I could slow down the exhaust as well. Thoughts? I have a 5x5x6 grow tent.

 

[gaiusmarius]

slowing the ventilation for lights off phase would be ideal, some controllers have a temp sensor and will slow down when it gets too cold. trouble is not all controllers will be equally reliable. have found the cheapo controllers will end up causing a kind of buzzing from the ventilation.

 

[Herborizer]

I could also consider running my mother tent exhaust into my veg/flower tent (the veg/flower tent is the one I need to warm up).

 

[hazeified]

I have been growing in sub 50f, I do use heating when its really cold(when ice crystals start to form on inside of roof!!!) but having a heated rez in the grow space helps, have used dwc to keep root temps up, lower ventilation at coldest times of day/night, recycle warm air from other areas, drippfeed to keep roots warm, all can be benificial, but I just accept the higher costs/lower return of growing in winter and get on with it, you should be able to get temps up to @60f without too much cost, good growing dudeH

 

[one Q]

if u can remove glass from hood, turn down fan speed, lights on at night, and hook up the exaust from mum room to warm up the flower room.

If you do all these you will have solved the issue.

you can get a thermostatically controlled switch for say 100$ or put the fan on a timer and leave the glass on. If you go the timer route prepare to sit in front of the tent for a whole day figuring out the right intervals

 

[ajc0k]

it gets pretty cold in the bay at night.. so i run my lights at night. my last grow i left the lights off at night, i think thats what killed my yields the plants looked amazing, top A++++ qualityy bud but the weight just wasn't there for me.. probably a combination of temps and under-vegging.

 

[Weird]

a temp differential is preferable for many strains

yielding in the cold is possible, my cold temps are high 40s low 50s

variables include strain (some sats hate cold soil for example), substrate temp vs air temp and the role of microbes in the soil (some slow down in the cold)

my fav grows are cold ass winter grows


pot grown in low 50's or less "nighttime temps"

Indy gum

NC Bgum

Burkle

big pink pole

 

[Herborizer]

Thanks for the great help. +Rep all around.

My exhaust is now not going through my hood. Also, I connected my variable speed fan controller and set it to 3/4 speed. I am hovering about 72F with the lights on and during the day (ambient outside air is warmer). I imagine I should have temps in the 65-69F range at night (lights still on, just nighttime outside).

Still concerned over when I flip from 24/0 light schedule to 12/12. I will for sure run my lights at night, and lights off during the day (is how I have been doing it for a while now).

Still considering running my mother tent exhaust into my veg/flower tent for additional heat.

I guess my biggest concern with slowing down my exhaust fan is the reduced CO2 available to my grow. I live in the mountains and the outside CO2 is pretty low because of the dense trees, bushes, etc.

 

[Herborizer]

Someone suggested to me that I should collect 1 gal milk containers. Paint them black and fill them with water. Then put these wherever they can fit on my tray. This way they get warmed up during the light hours and will help keep the temps up at night and when I go into 12/12.

Anyone ever do something like this?

 

[trichrider]

that'll work too, not best solution, but it'll help

 

[!!!]

@weird great plants!!

maybe look into geothermal heating? probably not practical so don't get your hopes up.

Talking about impractical, (but this advice is actually feasible and productive) you can have 2 flowering tents/rooms or 1 room divided in half, on a flip-flop setup, where one side gets light for 12/0 and then the next side gets light 0/12 so light is always on 24/0, and it uses 1 ballast, same wattage. Heat can be shared by both.

I had a problem with cold temps this winter also. I got a res heater, moved lights way down and reduced intake.

Make sure root temps aren't two cold. Bringing res temp from 58F to 69F made a noticeable difference. buds are growing faster. Since roots are wet in any medium, they will be colder than ambient temp so do keep this in mind. Insulate pots, get them off concrete, turn off fans or point them from the top of the room to the bottom (warm air rises.)

Obviously make sure your room is very well insulated. It makes a big difference. Redirecting heat from the mom tent is an excellent way to re-use energy and save money. If it's not enough heat, maybe raise the light wattage An electric heater runs 1500-2400w. An oil heater is around 200-2400w.

 

[Stress_test]

15% loss would be fine, but if I only got popcorn bud.......doesn't sound good. I do have my exhaust going threw my sealed hood. It's also a 6' elicient fan running 24x7. I will re-route so my hood isn't cooled, thanks for that advice.

I do have one of those variable speed router controllers. I guess I could slow down the exhaust as well. Thoughts? I have a 5x5x6 grow tent.

I wouldn't recommend completely disconnecting the hood from your circulation. Those lights get pretty damn hot, you will most likely burn out the bulb real quickly.

You could just recirculate the warmed air into the tent. And you really don't need inside/outside air circulation during lights off, or for an hour or so after lights on. The CO2 buildup over night is actually a good thing and the plants will gobble it up when they awake.

slowing the ventilation for lights off phase would be ideal, some controllers have a temp sensor and will slow down when it gets too cold. trouble is not all controllers will be equally reliable. have found the cheapo controllers will end up causing a kind of buzzing from the ventilation.

Yep... You could even put the exhaust fan on a time AND a thermostat. I have found several types of inexpensive remote thermostats available for controlling things like water bucket warmers and circulation fans for wood stoves. Just be sure and get the right type for your application: The 1 for wood stoves turns ON when the temps go too high, the 1 for water buckets turn ON when temps get too low.

a temp differential is preferable for many strains

yielding in the cold is possible, my cold temps are high 40s low 50s

variables include strain (some sats hate cold soil for example), substrate temp vs air temp and the role of microbes in the soil (some slow down in the cold)

my fav grows are cold ass winter grows


pot grown in low 50's or less "nighttime temps"

Beautiful! Totally beautiful!

I agree. I prefer flowering in cooler temps.

 

[one Q]

I had a problem with cold temps this winter also. I got a res heater, moved lights way down and reduced intake.

 

[jackiee]

have you thought about soil warming cables placed under the pots,keeps there toes warm and cost virtually nothing to run.stay lucky