150w HPS Club and Resource Guide......

[tenotoge]

Hey all,

Here's a few pics of my setup..


What are normal temps for 3in away from the bulb? Right now it's about 76F where the cups are, and 88F up near the light (may be off for the second though. I don't think you're suppose to expose the reader to direct light..). That's with the 4 26w CFL's and the 150 going. Will this be good enough? Anyone have any other suggestions concerning the setup in general? Thanks in advance!

-Rek

Definitely put the CFLs much closer. Try to get more wind going while they sprout. First hours and important. Don't use the HPS until you're flowering them, it's a waste of electricity.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Hey all,

Here's a few pics of my setup..


What are normal temps for 3in away from the bulb? Right now it's about 76F where the cups are, and 88F up near the light (may be off for the second though. I don't think you're suppose to expose the reader to direct light..). That's with the 4 26w CFL's and the 150 going. Will this be good enough? Anyone have any other suggestions concerning the setup in general? Thanks in advance!

-Rek

Hey TraneRek, tenotoge is right, you can probably get those CFLs closer to the plants. If lowering the light is a hassle, you can elevate the pots with empty pots, books, etc. Here's some things I check to get temps lower:

Are ambient temps a problem to start with (ie, summer time)?
Is intake sized right for the exhaust?
Is the exhaust CFM enough for the amount of heat?

If it's "none of the above", make sure your intake isn't sucking in warm exhaust. Is the cab in a closet? A closet may push temps up. Some folks have to exhaust their closet heat into the attic.

My setup is close to yours except I have separate grow areas in the same cab and one less CFL than you. My three 26w CFLs only raise temps 2 to 3 degrees above ambient using 95CFMs exhaust. The 150HPS probably raises temps 7 degrees or so. I have to run the HPS opposite the CFLs (as much as possible) to keep temps down.

 

[Quazi]

Hallo!

Hallo!

Hey all you 150W clubbers!



Just dropping by to share the latest harvest. I think I have the 150W thing down. The big cola in the middle weighs an ounce by itself:

That was just 2 plants worth, not even the whole cab.

Anyway, the cab is still alive and kicking!

Good luck in your travels!

-Q

 

[SkunkyDemon]

Ya I would say so! Those buds look mighty sweet!
Peace

 

[Divine Cosmos]

Nice one Quazi

How many more plants are stil in the cab?

Do let us know the final yield!

 

[catman]

Good to hear from you Quazi! Your presence has been missed :]

 

[TraneRek]

I planned on transplanting my plants to milk jugs after the solo cups they're in now, but from the looks of catman's plants that would be too big.. What do you all think?

And thanks again to all giving input. I'm very grateful to have such a great source of knowledge and advice!

-Rek

 

[krazycure]

Hey fellow 150'er here... grow autoflower though check in mdanzig's seed section if you want to follow...


BTW, pipedream, you need to update the link in the first post about CO2, they changed the page on you.

 

[Divine Cosmos]

I planned on transplanting my plants to milk jugs after the solo cups they're in now, but from the looks of catman's plants that would be too big.. What do you all think?

And thanks again to all giving input. I'm very grateful to have such a great source of knowledge and advice!

-Rek

Note to self: do not press delete when there is no text!

Here I go again... shorter version... How big do you intend on growing them? And how big are your milk jugs - LOL!

 

[TraneRek]

My cab is 36" tall, so I'm thinking around 20 inches tall would be about right..
The jugs I have are 1 gal (~3.75L) jugs. They are cut down a bit though so you can take a little volume off.

I also plan on making my soil 1/4 perlite, 1/4 topsoil, and 1/2 potting soil. Does that seem okay? I don't have any lime yet, but hopefully I'll get my hands on some before it's needed.

Thanks again,
-Rek

 

[Divine Cosmos]

My cab is 36" tall, so I'm thinking around 20 inches tall would be about right..
The jugs I have are 1 gal (~3.75L) jugs. They are cut down a bit though so you can take a little volume off.

I also plan on making my soil 1/4 perlite, 1/4 topsoil, and 1/2 potting soil. Does that seem okay? I don't have any lime yet, but hopefully I'll get my hands on some before it's needed.

Thanks again,
-Rek

definitely go with the jugs, you have the room so why not.
The consensus seems to be 1 gal per foot of growth.
In coco you could get away with smaller pots; my plant is in 6.5 L of coco and I have about 2 & 1/2 feet of vertical growth, and I often feel she could stretch her legs a little bit more.

If you have good potting soil, you give the right nutrient levels, and you ph your water, you don't need lime - in fact, I didn't do any of the above on my first few grows and had no problems regarding nute def/burn.


Later...

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Wasup Rek? I hope you don't mind my 2 cents here. If you're good like DC you can get away without using lime. However lime makes things a helluva lot easier if you know how much to use and give it a couple of weeks in the mix to activate before planting. Lime pretty much allows you to feed without dialing in every single watering and feed. Of course the devil is in the details. If you're interested in hearing more, I'll be happy to PM you or post the info here. Peace.

EDIT: That's pretty close to the mix I use.

 

[TraneRek]

Hey Divine Cosmos, Disco Biscuit!

Okay, I guess I'll stick with the milk jugs

I think I'm still gonna go with the lime as well, but it's good to know it's not COMPLETELY necessary. I think I remember reading its' ~1TBsp dlmc lime per gallon of soil.. that right? You just mix it in the soil, and water the soil for 1&1/2 wks - 2 wks prior to putting plants in it? And I'll take any advice/info you're willing to shell out DB I'm trying to avoid as many problems as I can before having to find out first hand..

-Rek

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

If your mix is unferted, I bet 2.5 TEASPOONS dolomite lime per gal will be enough. Too little is better than too much. You can always add. If you lime no higher than 6.5pH, you can more easily manipulate a 6.5 to 7.0 range. 90% of nutrients can be absorbed somewhere between 6.5 and 7. Fe and Mg need 6.5 and Molybdenum needs 7.0. Depending on plant uptake, pH will swing on it's own. Plain water uptake raises nute concentrations in the mix and lowers pH. Fert uptake lowers concentrations in the mix and raises pH. The right amt of lime prevents pH from going any lower than 6.5 while you avoid adding anything to the mix above 7.0.

A good watering technique is to allow a small amt of runoff to ensure the mix is saturated. The runoff pH is an indication of how sweet your mix is. A runoff below 6.5 may be an indication that more lime is needed. A runoff above 7.0 may be an indication of too much lime.

EDIT: powder is better than pellets. Pellets will work but do better when crushed into powder.

 

[TraneRek]

If you lime no higher than 6.5pH, you can more easily manipulate a 6.5 to 7.0 range.

I'm not sure I'm following this part.. but I understand the rest.

So about where should the pH of the limed up soil be after the two weeks watering, before putting the plants in? Since my ferts (GH floragro/ florabloom) are gonna lower the pH some, it would make sense to have the pH closer to 7 than 6.5 correct? I bought one of those drip kit pH testers in the aquarium section.. That should be good enough right?

-Rek

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

One of my plants has almost a 7.0pH runoff. If I need 6.5 to 6.8, I can't get it. IMO, the best pH for mj in soil is a range between 6.5 ans 7.0. No single pH provides all necessary elements. If I had to pick one level, I'd go with 6.8. Although your ferts will lower the pH of water, lime in the mix will make it go right back up to whatever amt of lime you added.

Drip kits are good. You mentioned GH floragro/ florabloom. Are you using floramicro?

EDIT: natural light is best to read drop test results. Poor color artificial light may make results hard to gauge.

 

[Barnt]

Day 44. Little less than 3 weeks left. Mouth dripping with drool...

Purple Urkle x Romulan

Purple Monkey Balls

DPD x BK

OGxMP

 

[TraneRek]

One of my plants has almost a 7.0pH runoff. If I need 6.5 to 6.8, I can't get it. IMO, the best pH for mj in soil is a range between 6.5 ans 7.0. No single pH provides all necessary elements. If I had to pick one level, I'd go with 6.8. Although your ferts will lower the pH of water, lime in the mix will make it go right back up to whatever amt of lime you added.

Drip kits are good. You mentioned GH floragro/ florabloom. Are you using floramicro?

EDIT: natural light is best to read drop test results. Poor color artificial light may make results hard to gauge.

Nope, no floramicro.. I wanted to use blackstrap molasses, but can't find any locally. I'm trying to keep things pretty simple first time around anyways.

I know it's pretty circumstantial, but if I want my plants to finish around 20-22 inches tall how long should I veg for? I was thinking 2 weeks sounded good (better to have too much room rather than too little).

And thanks for the natural light tip; I'll keep that in mind next time I pH anything.

-Rek

EDIT: "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to DiscoBiscuit again."

 

[catman]

Hey Rek,

What you want to do use make the most use out of your space so you want as much soil in there as possible. Shouldn't matter if you do it with lots of 20oz bottles or fewer gallon containers. More smaller bottles probably yield a little better for the greatest variety of strains, but it might be a bit of a PITA taking care of em all.

I flowered mine a little after 3 weeks veg when they where 4-7'' and now they are 20-32'' inches.

I have the opposite mindset where I wouldn't have been happy having too much room. I'd rather have less room and more bud and that is the boat I'm in right now. I also didn't expect to get such a high proportion of females.

I'm using non-backstrap Grandma's molasses because that is all I could find.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Nope, no floramicro..

Good luck. GH Flora Grow is not a complete, 1-part fertilizer for veg nor is Flora Bloom a complete flower fert. Grow, Micro and Bloom are used together with different strengths for the entire cycle.(GH FloraNova Grow and Bloom are both 1-part.) The reason these ferts are separated into 3 bottles is to make it easy for the grower to manipulate their own mix, depending on growth stage. IMO, the easiest thing to do at this point is buy some Flora Micro and follow the GH recommended ratios (only half strength at first.)

I wanted to use blackstrap molasses, but can't find any locally.

Brer Rabit Blackstrap table molasses is the chit. You can get it online. Molasses isn't really a micronutrient that plants use. It does a good job feeding microscopic bacteria in soil that help break down organic fertilizer like bone and blood meal. GH Flora is chemical and doesn't need bacteria to break it down. It's ready to attach to the root hair at the molecular level straight from the bottle. It probably kills that micro herd at the same time, hehe. IMO, you'd benefit more using molasses with organic nutes.

...now it's pretty circumstantial, but if I want my plants to finish around 20-22 inches tall how long should I veg for? I was thinking 2 weeks sounded good (better to have too much room rather than too little).

That's a tricky question. Indicas usually 2 to 3x, Sativas 3 to 4x. Hybrids and some phenos are hard to judge but somewhere in between. Some folks are doing 12/12 from seed and ending up with 2 ft + plants at harvest. There are a few ways to whip'em under control if they get too big. LST, (low stress training) is easy and produces big time. Scrog may yield more but also requires maintenance. If you go natural and things get outta hand you can rope dem bitches down. Supercropping is another way to get tall tops under control. As long as you keep them away from fan blades, light bulbs and still get the door shut you're fine. After your first round, you'll know how big this strain needs to be before flipping. With a little practice you'll look forward to a full box and know how to trim them back only if absolutely necessary. Thanks for the k.