ACE (and other sats) Indoor Tricks

[CowboyTed]

I think I need to cool my panel too or the high temp shutoff trips so often that flowering will start..

Maybe this device will help you avoid that high-temp cutoff problem.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZV591B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I use this in both my veg and flower cabinets to keep the temps under control. It's a very simple and effective device. Basically, it is a form of high-temp control, but instead of cutting off the lights, it turns on a fan when the temps at the canopy get above your desired temp. I have the fan mounted so that it collects the hottest air at the top of the cabinet and blows the hot air outside through a port near the top, while cool fresh air gets drawn into the cabinet through a simple port near the bottom.



Using this controller, with similar lighting to yours and Terpene's, I set my max temperature at 83 F, and my plants enjoyed relatively constant temps all winter in the seventies. (My cabinet is in the garage, where winter time air temps are generally around 50-60 degrees, so the incoming air is substantially cooler, which helps the cabinet cool down quickly, so the fan doesn't run constantly.


On the upside, all that 83 degree air exhausting into my garage helped keep the garage much more comfortable this past winter than it normally is!

 

[YukonKronic]

Yup mines an inkbird brand.. I need larger intake and improved airflow inside to keep cold air mixing quickly. I'm looking at -40 in winter so too big an intake will freeze things then. Basically I'm leaning towards a 4 or even 5 inch fresh air supply w/online fan and a stove pipe damper on the inside to reduce airflow in winter and open it up during warmer months.

 

[YukonKronic]

I have the lights plugged into the heater plug and fan on the cooler... lights off fan on. But they're damn hot in an insulated freezer so the fan can't keep up with cooling the radiant heat coming from insulated surfaces. Thermal mass can be bad... if it's not keeping you cool it's doing the opposite. Necessary evil in the Yukon though.. plus I just want to have a freezer full of "frosty" bud
Truth be told I have more fuckn around to do to get it tickety boo but I haven't bothered with the time investment lately

 

[Terpene]

I have the lights plugged into the heater plug and fan on the cooler... lights off fan on. But they're damn hot in an insulated freezer so the fan can't keep up with cooling the radiant heat coming from insulated surfaces. Thermal mass can be bad...

Calculate the cubic footage of the freezer and then multiply that number by about five. That figure is how many CFM you need to pull through the unit to cool it down.

In my case, 2' x 3.5' x 4' = 28 cubic feet, so pulling 148CFM from two Silenx Effizio 12-15 74CFM 120mm PC fans is just about right - and damn quiet!

You can run less CFM if you run your LEDs air cooled (probably about 3x the cubic footage) but I prefer to suck more air through the cabinet than necessary and run my trays with a bit of standing water if I need extra humidity.

I have the fan mounted so that it collects the hottest air at the top of the cabinet and blows the hot air outside through a port near the top, while cool fresh air gets drawn into the cabinet through a simple port near the bottom.

My other cabinet is built the same way - heat rises, suck it out from holes in the top. If you install a plastic panel midway down your LEDs with holes like my air cooled cabinet, you'll see a healthy reduction in temps. From here on, I will be installing a plastic panel in my original cabinet as it multiplies the cooling efficiency by a good margin.

Anyone who runs these things will tell you the bulbs get quite warm. Not a fire concern, but definitely uncomfortable to handle. The old LED cabinet bulb housing temps are 61C, air cooled cabinet LED housings are 33C.

I had a piece of clear lexan lying around from a previous project and now my veg area is air cooled as well:

I still have to air cool the original flowering cabinet but the five Ace A5 Haze x Malawi are 4 weeks in and sure don't mind the old setup:

 

[Terpene]

Ace Seeds Panama x Honduras at chop. Both phenos are about 75/25 mix of each parent, with the Honduras pheno smelling like rotting lemons in the sun and the Panama side being more like electric blue lemon - pepper cleaner. Both plants were seeded with a Honduras leaning male for more beans.

Honduras side:

Panama side:

 

[robotwithdreams]

Lovely looking plant!!!

 

[Terpene]

Final light proofing, painting, mylar, ultra quiet fan swap on the new cabinet all got completed today:

Shoutout to my favorite seed company on all my cabinet doors

 

[SolarLogos]

Final light proofing, painting, mylar, ultra quiet fan swap on the new cabinet all got completed today:

View Image

Shoutout to my favorite seed company on all my cabinet doors
View Image

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I want to build a cabinet grow now, that is awesome. Your plans are well thought out. Always room for more I like to say.
Thanks for posting Terpene!
Peace, God bless

 

[Terpene]

My personal pollen chucking selection of Pure Purple Haze were vegging away happily, till the scissors came out for a haze-mainline:

Poor plants, I almost feel guilty about how much I cut off them. They'll recover and fit better in my space with a more even canopy.

For those unfamiliar with maximum stress mainlining - you cut the plant down to its 3rd or 4th node, and then take off the main shoots that grow from each branch leaving behind the side branching. This divides the plant from 2 growing branches to 4, then 4 to 8, and 8 to 16 effectively building a manifold shape and (in theory) creating a completely even plant. We'll see how it works with hazes that stretch like 5-6x...

 

[willydread]

My personal pollen chucking selection of Pure Purple Haze were vegging away happily, till the scissors came out for a haze-mainline:

View Image

View Image

Poor plants, I almost feel guilty about how much I cut off them. They'll recover and fit better in my space with a more even canopy.

For those unfamiliar with maximum stress mainlining - you cut the plant down to its 3rd or 4th node, and then take off the main shoots that grow from each branch leaving behind the side branching. This divides the plant from 2 growing branches to 4, then 4 to 8, and 8 to 16 effectively building a manifold shape and (in theory) creating a completely even plant. We'll see how it works with hazes that stretch like 5-6x...

I also do the same thing (even if outdoor), it allows you to keep certain ladies sativas at an acceptable height ...

 

[jus'plain'gill]

My current soil mix Im still testing, but Ive run these things for the last year with:

1 bag happy frog
1 bag ocean forest
1 bag worm gold (or similar) earth worm castings
couple cups of dolomite lime

That mix is way basic and seems to work great until you get really, really rootbound. My new mix (which I have only just started testing with young plants) is from DankFrank here on IC. My brighter lights (screw in LEDs) and smaller sub-irrigated containers (3.5gallon) have the plants needing more fuel later into their lives as I keep pushing for more stem thickness in the smallest space possible. I haven't run anything to completion in this mix yet. Its a bit hotter and will need to sit for a few weeks before planting.
3 gallon unfertilized garden soil
3 gallon perlite
2.5 gallon sphagnum peat
1.5 gallon coco coir
1 gallon ewc
1 cup kelp meal
1 cup blood meal
1 cup bone meal
2/3 cup oyster shell flour
1/2 cup alfalfa meal
1/2 cup dry molasses
1/2 cup seabird guano
1/2 cup azomite
1/3 cup dolomite
1/3 cup gypsum
2 tbsp Sul-Po-Mg

I've read the whole thread at least once and skimmed through it several times over the last couple years, great info and plant pictures throughout.

It's possible I've missed an update, so forgive me for that, but I would love to hear more about the soil mix you're using. Is it still the same as above, and is the more involved mix substantially better than the Happy Frog+Ocean Forest+Worm Castings? I am hoping to go with SIPs after having used Maxibloom and coco dtw for years and I'm very curious about your setup. I've been dabbling with Ace genes as well and the results you've been getting under LED are inspiring. I'm switching over from HPS because of it.

Thank you for your time and a great thread!



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[Ncali]

Calculate the cubic footage of the freezer and then multiply that number by about five. That figure is how many CFM you need to pull through the unit to cool it down.

In my case, 2' x 3.5' x 4' = 28 cubic feet, so pulling 148CFM from two Silenx Effizio 12-15 74CFM 120mm PC fans is just about right - and damn quiet!

You can run less CFM if you run your LEDs air cooled (probably about 3x the cubic footage) but I prefer to suck more air through the cabinet than necessary and run my trays with a bit of standing water if I need extra humidity.



My other cabinet is built the same way - heat rises, suck it out from holes in the top. If you install a plastic panel midway down your LEDs with holes like my air cooled cabinet, you'll see a healthy reduction in temps. From here on, I will be installing a plastic panel in my original cabinet as it multiplies the cooling efficiency by a good margin.

Anyone who runs these things will tell you the bulbs get quite warm. Not a fire concern, but definitely uncomfortable to handle. The old LED cabinet bulb housing temps are 61C, air cooled cabinet LED housings are 33C.

I had a piece of clear lexan lying around from a previous project and now my veg area is air cooled as well:
View Image

View Image


I still have to air cool the original flowering cabinet but the five Ace A5 Haze x Malawi are 4 weeks in and sure don't mind the old setup:
View Image

Ive always envied your long flower sats. You get great results in your set up. I know a large part of that is the skill weilded by your hand, but i know that some success can be contributed to a well maintained set of grow areas. Ive been considering cobb or led lightning systems for a while. Maybe in the coming year(s).


Great results with the pan x hon. What were some characteristics of the hon male you crossed into them? I like the Honduras line, its got very strong terps, and nice effects. Pan x hon is on the short list.

 

[Legalcdn]

I find this thread extremely helpful as i am growing a swazi gold sativa for the 1st time and terp gives me hope i can be successful. The ace seeds look really good and i hope to purchase some.

 

[Ur Humbl Nr8tor]

I just finished reading this thread. Terpene has mad skills in growing these Ace (and other) genetics in limited space. I've tried some of his flowers many years ago and remember that purple haze being excellent.

 

[Ur Humbl Nr8tor]

Hope all is well, Terpene.

 

[right]

This is very inspiring Terpene !
We are buying in on the tiny house movement, and I hope to do something a lot like your doing.
I'm going to be selecting keepers from cannabiogen punta rojo Nevil haze x Mullumbimby Neville x Oaxaca and 78 Thai Mullumbimby

With any luck I'll be put g some of that up here.along with so.e of my ace gear.

 

[Cakeboy]

Wow what a thread. Learning lots here much obliged terpene,even made me wanna try autos again

 

[Terpene]

Its been awhile since my last post, time to spam my own thread.

Purple Haze

So if you look back a bit, I very aggressively topped a whole bunch of purple OTH and some went inside and some were tossed outside. The ones that were inside turned out alright, but after seeing what hazes can do in the southern California sun, I don't know if I can do pure hazes inside anymore. Here's why:

Thats not camera trickery or pics of the best bud on the plant, here's a 22oz beer and a pool table for scale:

Topping hazes multiple times is definitely the way to go. They will hate you for it in the beginning, but after you turn them into about 8-10 primary branches with a nice even canopy, the plant turns into a medium height bush with a huge amount of size. Surprising resistance to cold, mold, mildew, mites - the works! I was expecting to be babying the above pure haze and ended up putting it on drip in a big pot and basically forgetting about it. By contrast, some of the popular lines I was running 2 meters away required almost daily attention when put outside showing mites, mold and mildew.

 

[Terpene]

Purple Haze x Honduras

Lesson learned: if you put 1 meter tall plants outside in late spring with 100 liter sub irrigated bins on drip irrigation - you will grow plants that require a 4.5 meter ladder to tend them.

Honduras side of the cross had huge buds, but also was a bit less forgiving in the mid December rains with bud rot. I should have chopped it in the first week of December and accepted that it was 95% done instead of waiting. Hondurasy, rotten sugary lemons and minor sandalwood notes on this one.

Purple haze side was honestly a bit more interesting - it was so purple it was black. This one was blackberries and incense, spicy and minor fermenting lemons. Less of a yield, but more resilient to the rains than its sister.

Both plants (especially the black one) had a neat little trick at chop - they bleed purple and turned everything they touched purple. I've never had shears turn purple, paper towls turn purple, turn the alcohol im dipping my shears in purple, turn the water in my cannabutter purple..

 

[Terpene]

So whats happening now? Well, nothing is outside and my two little cabinets are cruising away.

Smaller cab:
Mac 1
Grandaddy Purple x Girl Scout Cookies
Afghani x Hashplant

Taller cab:
Boats N Hoes #5 x Panama Honduras
Oaxaca 79 x Panama
Moroccan x Skunk

Oaxacan 79 x Panama (foreground) and Moroccan x Skunk (background) enjoying the synthetic sun:

Mac1 in the smaller cab, doing the same: