33 plants - 1330w (HPS & Plasma) - E&F - Lucas - How to advance from here? HELP!!!!

[newbie2006]

33 plants - 1330w (HPS & Plasma) - E&F - Lucas - How to advance from here? HELP!!!!

How to advance from here?

Girls about two weeks growing under the lights, a few days (3 or 4, I think) into 12/12 photoperiod..

I am using Lucas Formula at about 50% strenght, and the ppms (0.5 conversion) are 400 to 430, and have been that way for the duration of the grow - hasn't gone up or down.. pH is 5.7-6.0, was 5.5-5.7 a week ago.

I have foliar fed once last week with calcium + magnesium, this was 250ppm if I remember correctly.

The RH in the room is about 40-70% while temps are going around 30-33C (85-95F).. I have a circulating fan constantly on.

I know, the temp is way too high, no need to tell me that..

But what I wanna know is;

#1 - When to start feeding more heavily? I am thinking about giving them two weeks to absorb the current nutrients, and then go to full Lucas at ~1400ppm.

#2 - If I'd put the lights to the maximum distance, the plants would be about 150cm (about 60 inch) away from the light. This would help with temps BUT then again there would be less light to plants available so... Which one to choose - more light and more heat, or would less light less heat make up for a larger harvest?

Here are some pics of the room. The strains are Super Skunk, LSD and some mystery sativa. Oh, and some mystery indica too. The plants in soil are just to fill up the room a bit, not for yield, don't worry.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

Tell us more about the plasma light, how many watts?

 

[newbie2006]

Manufacturer: LG Electronics
Model: PSH0731B
Lumens: 58500
Color temp: 4500 Kelvins
Power: 730 watts, so thats 80 lumens / watt compared to 130-150 lumen per watt of HPS...
Cost: 1600 EUR (roughly 2250 USD) <--- EDIT: note at the time I bought it. Now its a few hundred cheaper, I think.


It's a piece of shit that costs diamonds, basically. But I have it so what can I do, nothing, as nobody will buy the unit from me at a price that would suffice.

But.............



Does anybody have any opinions or advice?

 

[Sam the Caveman]

Lumens only measures one aspect of light emission, whereas a plant can utilize many more aspects than just the quantity of lumens. If you compare spectral distribution charts, its a bit easier to understand. I think the closer the spectral emission of a bulb to the sun, the higher quality the buds will be. I also think the higher wattage bulb you use the denser the bud growth is, but this has nothing to do with spectral emissions of a bulb.

Also, we can only see a portion of what is actually emitted from a bulb.

Have you ran this bulb before? If so, how did the results compare to the hps plants?

 

[newbie2006]

I have ran this bulb before but not side by side to HPS.

Way better than HPS in veg, but sucks in flowering.

The intensity to my eye seems to be on level with a 400w HPS, and it seems the plants think that way too.

But could you say something about how to go with the nutes or the light/vs/heat issue?

 

[Sam the Caveman]

What kind of space are you growing in? (tent, corner of room, in a closet)

The temps are a bit high, the highest I would allow it to get is 85f or so. You could really use an air conditioner. I would say raise the lights is better than high temps in the 90's f.

The variances in strains is going to give you a strange canopy. It might help to get some netting and screen the tops out for the sativa plants.

 

[ImaginaryFriend]

newb,

You've caught Sam's attention. He knows lots of stuff, and is curious about your setup...

If I were you, I'd bait him along with a bit of intel on your plasma light. Give him a bit of info, and then ask for a bit in return.

As he said, there are a lot of variables you haven't discussed. Venting options, odor control, grow method (tray based ebb and flow, what media?).

You are running Lucas. Lucas is a very buffered choice. You can add back nutes as you need to keep your pH/ppm in whatever range you need with out doing a full change out. At least, there are plenty of grows that describe Lucas addbacks, and very few fail.

The fact that your pH is changing suggests that the plants are feeding.

If you are in a closed room, moving the lights further away from the plants will not significantly knock down your overall temp, just your local temp. You do not need to move the lights 60" away. The classic guidance is to put your hand at the canopy level for sixty seconds. If your hand can take it, the girls should be able to take it too...

Consider more air exchanges if you are venting, or adding an AC as Sam suggests.

And, please, tell him more about the plasma.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

I know a little about the plasma lights already. They are supposed to be the "new and upcoming thing." Most are skeptical, but I'm curious of new technology. The spectral emission is supposed to be nearly identical to the sun. I am a little disappointed to hear of his 730w plasma light being near in comparison to a 400w hps.

I was satisfied with his info about the light. Thanks.

As for the nutes, I don't have much to say about that. When I ran hydro, I used dutchmaster nutes. Now, all I run is organic amended soils.

 

[ImaginaryFriend]

I guess if I was being more honest, I would have said, "tell me more about the plasma."

So... tell me more about the plasma too! And a picture. And other wonderful things.

I am a little disappointed to hear of his 730w plasma light being near in comparison to a 400w hps

As you mentioned, only one aspect is the brightness... spectrum is the real deal.

 

[newbie2006]

I wanted to be a pioneer. :yay: Someone has to Just didn't quite get what I dreamt of. I saw some nice cucumber test grow documents and foolishly thought cannabis would do the same and this miracle thing would replace many many regular 400w / 600w's

From the results before, I have noted that bud structure with this plasma is very dense. The plants need to be very close to the light if you want to get good yield especially as I have the 120 degree reflector.

My first run with the plasma and these systems and strains was a miserable mistake. I hanged the unit in a way that it was stationary about 40-60" from the system top thinking that this miracle spectrum from the rainbows would help me to really get those massive 20-30" colas I usually would get with a 600w running strains like these. 2nd round was a bit better.

What kind of space are you growing in? (tent, corner of room, in a closet)

250x210x120cm room. Which is ~8x6x4 feet. It has a passive ventilation hole in the ceiling, but soon I have to close it when the plants start to smell. Then I am in _BIG_ trouble, I know. But better than getting busted.

The temps are a bit high, the highest I would allow it to get is 85f or so. You could really use an air conditioner. I would say raise the lights is better than high temps in the 90's f.

I cannot get the funds for the air conditioner. How much to raise? 20"?

If you are in a closed room, moving the lights further away from the plants will not significantly knock down your overall temp, just your local temp. You do not need to move the lights 60" away. The classic guidance is to put your hand at the canopy level for sixty seconds. If your hand can take it, the girls should be able to take it too...

What is your suggestion on the distance? 20" ?

As you mentioned, only one aspect is the brightness... spectrum is the real deal.

I have found this to be partially true but I am sure that the newer generation plasmas are really effective equipment - too bad I have the shit old one. Or option #2 I suck in growing.

What else? Oh, the E&F's, sure. They are about 24x24" wide, about 5" deep, the table where the plants are... There is a 1-3" layer of hydroton under the plants. Rockwool cubes on top of the 'ton, the medium size 3x3x3"..

The canopy temperature (in shade) is about 30C...

Cannabis comes from a tropical region so why this would be a problem as long as the RH % keeps high enough to deter mites? I have had bad results with low RH, but not in this location, and I do not wanna get them anymore...

So I got this ultrasonic air moisturizer into the room, it pushes water vapor into the room during daylight hours.

 

[Dankgravy]

I can add all the info in the world about "Lucas" (which you aren't actually running) but it isn't going to make a difference if you can't get those temps down... That is going to be by far your biggest problem

 

[newbie2006]

Today, 2nd of April..

EC's have been going at about 1000-1100 (0.5 conversion)

pH has been stable at 5.4-5.6

That is a regular sized australian stubby cooler to give idea how big/small they are..

Looks to be OK for me, what do you think?