Quantum Tower LED PC case: 46w of SDOG

[trem0lo]

Good news everyone, we have two confirmed females! To boot, they are very different phenotypes.

It's about 17 days 12/12 give or take a few. I've installed a SCROG screen with magnets where they are currently filling it out. You can see there is plenty of real estate in the middle where I removed the male.

On the left in a 1 gallon smartpot is big mama. She was fast and vigorous with thick stems, fat leaves and short internodes. She's a stinker with a sweet lemon skunk perfume.

 

[trem0lo]

The second lady is more OG in structure; thinner stems, spindly but with beautiful buds. She shared a a 2 gallon smartpot with her brother. Now it's all hers. She is milder smelling with lemon, menthol and a hint of coffee.

Here's a family shot. I moved the reservoir to the front for easy watering. The smarpot kind of "molds" around it which is nice. They drink about 3/4 cup of water per day. Not a whole lot to see yet but things should get real interesting in the next few weeks.

 

[trem0lo]

2 weeks 12/12

2 weeks 12/12

They are still stretching. The lady on the right stretched quite a bit more; as you can see she moved toward the middle of the screen very quickly. This confirms her sativa influence. Big mama stretched very little, and still wants to grow a giant cola there in the middle despite the training.

 

[lunatick]

looking great.

 

[trem0lo]

stick around, lunatick, things are getting stinky up in here...

Day 22 (going from when I flipped the lights) and the buds are really starting to come in. The tops are now exactly 6 inches from the light. These LEDs have great penetration as even the lower buds are getting some love.

I've been trimming the undergrowth a bit and just laying it on top of the soil--it's amazing how fast the organics break them down to re-feed the plant. I've topdressed the soil with some extra LC mix I have brewing, and I lightly spray the top with a tea of molasses and Neptune's Harvest fish/seaweed fertilizer. Those leaves just disappear and the plants love it. It's also interesting to note that they've lowered their water consumption a bit now that the stretching has slowed down, from 3/4 to about 1/2 cup per day or less.

 

[the 45 king]

I love the setup. I was wondering how close can you keep your light without it bleaching?

 

[trem0lo]

Hey 45 king, thanks for dropping in.

I haven't tested how close I can get but I'm guessing pretty close. Osrams have wide angle lenses and my layout has the lights spread out a good distance. The only bleaching I've seen is from lenses that focus the light downward from really high-powered LEDs. I guess if they get any closer (and they will) we'll find out! (If anyone has direct experience with these feel free to chime in.)

 

[2000pm]

slick pc case man! Love the magnet idea.

 

[MIG35]

Can I ask why you chose to leave out the 630nm wavelength? Most of the knna posts I've read he suggests a 50/50 balance of red and deep red.

Case look great. Cant wait to see how it goes.

 

[exploziv]

great job!

good luck!

 

[the 45 king]

Can I ask why you chose to leave out the 630nm wavelength? Most of the knna posts I've read he suggests a 50/50 balance of red and deep red.

Case look great. Cant wait to see how it goes.

I believe warm whites spike in that area

 

[trem0lo]

Hey guys, thanks for the props!

2000pm, the magnets are very handy. They hold my carbon scrubber and fans to the ceiling, secure the SCROG, keep the door shut tight, and probably a couple other uses I can't remember at the moment. They also have a habit of flying all over the place when you work with them One thing, if you have a case with lighter aluminum (like the Lian Li cases) they won't stick.

MIG35, 45 king is right that the warm whites peak at 600-630nm. I did have a (short) convo with knna when I was designing the light and he never mentioned the need for the 625 LED, though I didn't bring it up specifically. I believe the warm whites fill in any gaps in that area (reds, greens, yellows, etc) where LED growing science isn't 100% sure of yet. The 660s are designed for horticulture so I figured you can't go wrong.

Here are a couple shots from this morning, day 24.

 

[trem0lo]

So I bought this sprayer, it's great. You pump the top and it builds pressure, releasing it as a fine mist or intense stream. It keeps the water from going everywhere, something I find very helpful in my small setup. And you can bend the spray head in any direction. I use it to fill my water reservoir and to mist the topsoil while feeding.

Meanwhile, things are bulking up!

 

[lunatick]

things are definitely moving a long nicely.

It's also interesting to note that they've lowered their water consumption...

it is interesting,im using self watering pots in my back yard and basil plants are acting the same.

this year i lost 3 plants in a guerrilla grow 1 with the blumats,2 with self watering pots as i must supply all water(av rain fall 30mm),ive been lazy+stupid not covering them with a chicken wire.

 

[trem0lo]

lunatick, sorry to hear about your plants. I would imagine managing a guerrilla grow would be stressful due to all those unknowns. And Blumats can be kinda finicky before you dial them in.

So they gulped down nearly 1/2c of water last night. I filled the res before bed and gave them some fish ferts, I think they approved. At day 27 things are starting to look great. They're developing a delicous sweet/sour candy smell. So far I'm real happy with these LEDs.

 

[trem0lo]

With that in mind, here are some comparison pics of my last grow with these same seeds under a 250w HPS. The first few are of day 30 and the last are just before harvest at 63 days. She was in about 1.5 gallons of soil (same organic mix) feeding the same fish ferts. The top buds got real fat, these were from the kush side as you can see

If I get even close to this I'll be very happy!

 

[NE1]

Hey trem0lo,
that is on badass PC-case. Clean, slick, high-tech...i like!
Althogh i read the whole thread i kind of missed how you manage to water with blumats althogh the reservoir is not above the pots. How does it work?
I#m thinking of adding (far)red GD Leds to my growbox for better spectrum to flower. Could i ask you some questions, if necesary?
First one: how deep is the penetration of those?
best regards NE1

 

[trem0lo]

Hey NE1, thanks! And your plants are looking super great as well, looks like they're about the same age!

My reservoir (you can see it on page 5, third picture down) is an empty 32oz Voss water bottle with a hole drilled in the top. The reservoir does not actually need to be above the plants. I've had it below and side-by-side and it's always worked fine. You just have to be careful when the water level gets too low, then the drip slows down and the soil can dry out. Also, when you attach the tops to the sensors, you must suck a little water through (like when you start a siphon) to get things going.

As for LEDs, ask away. I'm still learning myself. I think the penetration is similar to HID lights, and much better than fluorescent. One advantage is that HID lights have one single source of intense light that reduces exponentially as it leaves the light, while LEDs have multiple sources of intense light that reduce in the same way. With multiple light sources, though, each light point in the garden is increased by the light next to it. Essentially you get more even coverage because the lights are spread out. Osram GD+ have 160 degree viewing angles, so they are great for larger gardens too. I notice that even though my light is not centered over both plants (it's a few inches toward the left) all the buds are filling in equally. It will be interesting to see the difference in about a month

These LEDs are very intense and bright, no doubt. I cannot look at them even for a second without pain and what I call "galaxy vision," the result of 24 tiny holes burned through my retinas, lol.

 

[trem0lo]

Today is day 30. Only a little more than a month to go!

My indica pheno is already starting to yellow on her lower leaves even though I'm giving her plenty of food. I hope that's not a bad sign.

Some glamor shots for you all... they are getting super sticky and sweet!!!

 

[lunatick]

a month is plenty of time to watch them swell

how close are they to the panel?