2024 ONE GALLON CHALLENGE DISCUSSION TOPIC

[Newty]

I have a question, I'm new to growing. I just got the spider farmer g5000 480 Watt and I don't know anything. I have it at 22 in at 70% but it's only reading 310 ppfd on phototone. I just got an 8x4 tent and I thought all the reflection would help increase it. I'm sure you're aware I'm wrong. Do I just have to buy a more powerful light? Can I make it all the way through flower with this?

Looks like everyone woke up before me and answered your question

The G5000 is made for a 4x4 at max coverage.
I also have a 8x4, I run 1400 watts in mine.
Add another G5000 or as suggested use 1 side of tent.

Photone is not always accurate.
Using a diffuser could bring the reading up 100-200 ppfd compared to not using a diffuser. Phone model has an effect on accuracy as well.

Even in a 8x4 though at 22", you should be hitting over 300 ppfd over the canopy at 70% intensity.

 

[Mikedin]

Take the floor out and use it for a wall in the middle so u have a 4x4

I was thinking about that, was gunna buy a roll of 600d diamond Mylar and run a temp wall when I split the tent, but I just max out the light and keep her at the ceiling lol, really only need the wall to be the top half of the tent can leave the bottom open for airflow

Might even get tarp grommets and install them so that I can strap it to the side poles since I usually run the whole tent at once but split it near the end when some fish before others

 

[Mikedin]

Looks like everyone woke up before me and answered your question

The G5000 is made for a 4x4 at max coverage.
I also have a 8x4, I run 1400 watts in mine.
Add another G5000 or as suggested use 1 side of tent.

Photone is not always accurate.
Using a diffuser could bring the reading up 100-200 ppfd compared to not using a diffuser. Phone model has an effect on accuracy as well.

Even in a 8x4 though at 22", you should be hitting over 300 ppfd over the canopy at 70% intensity.

Agreed, this SE3000 is at 26” at 100% (300w) and I’m hittin 600’s on the lowers and 700’s on the uppers

Wonder if he means the far sides, as the G5000 is a 4x4 coverage light like you said, 300’s on the far sides of the tent would make sense as long as it’s gettin the 600-700 under the center of the light

 

[RootFarmer]

Had my 4x8 set up that way for awhile. It does work but you'll get reduced air intake which will affect temp/rh so keep that in mind.

 

[RootFarmer]

Agreed, this SE3000 is at 26” at 100% (300w) and I’m hittin 600’s on the lowers and 700’s on the uppers

Wonder if he means the far sides, as the G5000 is a 4x4 coverage light like you said, 300’s on the far sides of the tent would make sense as long as it’s gettin the 600-700 under the center of the light

What are the dimensions of your netting frame or, more specifically, the distance between levels? I've been kicking around ideas but I like that set up. I've only used one level before. Is there really any benefit from a second?

 

[Mikedin]

What are the dimensions of your netting frame or, more specifically, the distance between levels? I've been kicking around ideas but I like that set up. I've only used one level before. Is there really any benefit from a second?

Fist net is set at 40” , riser to the 2nd level is 7.5” I have 4”/5.5”/6”/7.5”/and 9” risers to use I just keep the spares in a bin while others are in use, once stretch finishes I’ll adjust that height to be about 2/3 way up the lower colas, then I’ll set the stretchy net to hold up the big bangers

This video is with a single stretchy net, this is what happens when you don’t double layer

They ran like this for the last 2 weeks of flower, they get so heavy they just can’t stay up without support

When they fall over you lose PPFD, t he top just went from 12” from the light to damn near 24” , lose airflow, buds start touching and stacking increasing risk for disease and mold, better places for bugs to hide etc.

 

[Graham.Bagg]

What are the dimensions of your netting frame or, more specifically, the distance between levels? I've been kicking around ideas but I like that set up. I've only used one level before. Is there really any benefit from a second?

I use a similar ;almost identical set up), as mikedin, my out to out corner measurements are 46”, so it can fit inside the poles of the tent. The “legs” on both sections are removable and can be swapped out with different lengths. I usually run 36” lowers and another 8”-13” above.

I can use bottom scrog to fan and spread while the top provides support.

 

[RootFarmer]

Fist net is set at 40” , riser to the 2nd level is 7.5” I have 4”/5.5”/6”/7.5”/and 9” risers to use I just keep the spares in a bin while others are in use, once stretch finishes I’ll adjust that height to be about 2/3 way up the lower colas, then I’ll set the stretchy net to hold up the big bangers

This video is with a single stretchy net, this is what happens when you don’t double layer

They ran like this for the last 2 weeks of flower, they get so heavy they just can’t stay up without support

When they fall over you lose PPFD, t he top just went from 12” from the light to damn near 24” , lose airflow, buds start touching and stacking increasing risk for disease and mold, better places for bugs to hide etc.

Thanks man! That makes sense. I run into that problem outdoors all the time. Have yet to find a method for adequate support. I've avoided horizontal netting because I like to turn my pots to avoid too much leanage. Not really an issue indoors I suppose. In the past I've had vertical limitations so veg time was minimal and plants got topped and flipped asap. I basically counted stretch as veg time, I guess you could say. I based it more on node count than height, really. Kept them short and tight then topped at 6 and flipped. I have a lot space to work with now so I'm rethinking everything.

 

[RootFarmer]

I use a similar ;almost identical set up), as mikedin, my out to out corner measurements are 46”, so it can fit inside the poles of the tent. The “legs” on both sections are removable and can be swapped out with different lengths. I usually run 36” lowers and another 8”-13” above.

I can use bottom scrog to fan and spread while the top provides support.

Awesome info! Thanks!

 

[kaspersoprano]

500w is low for a 4x8 tent. You will likely need 2 for that space.

I don’t know how many plants you are running, but a 4x8 is fairly large, do you have it filled to capacity?


Can you put all your plants in 1 side with light over them until you can get another light.

The light you have is a quality, you are just asking more of it than it was designed for. Directly over the plants and it should have no problems staying at 600-1000+ ppd

That's how I have it. I'm an amputee so I just got the 4×8 because it's easier to maneuver because I'm currently without prosthetic and hop around like a hare lol. I'm only running like six small plants at the moment. Is the photone app accurate? I was sure I'd get at least 500. My phone is shit and can't get a new one for a couple months. Shouldn't the ppfd increase, the closer to the light you get? At 20" and 14" it's the same. Thank you so much for the reply.

 

[kaspersoprano]

Agreed!

In my 4x4 I can run 300w and be a solid cola, big heavy weight harvest, but 4x8’s are like a different game that middle space being wide open eats a lot of photons upon a 4x4 there’s a wall there to reflect the light back, in a 4x8 the light continues to travel away diaganially from the canopy so the light overlap in the center of the tent between lights is even more important to monitor than where the highest readings will be directly under the center of each light , one thing to consider when buying lights for like a 4x8 or larger tent is a large LED layout, you want the bars reaching the corners and into the center evenly so large bar style fixtures are very effective at even coverage due to that layout. I like 400w minimum per side (available to use if needed) 500w per side is my preference in the 4x8 past that I just start building too much heat, but I have 1500w availabe to use. In the winter I can push em harder and not worry about the heat

Here’s the 4x8 empty in the video hen half the tent finished I shut if off but now I’m running the kahuna 3 in there only on one side so I’m pushing 650w just to compensate for the absent wall on the left side to reflect back light you can see the left side of the plant is slightly darker than the right side where its being reflected back all around

Thanks a bunch. All useful information. Me being hardly-capped made a larger tent necessary so I just opted for the 4×8 instead with one light. I thought it would be okay as long as I kept it on one side. Can I just hang a mylar sheet down the center? Will that increase it?

 

[ajpapenfuss]

Yes

 

[Graham.Bagg]

I would wager that your spider farmer is putting out more than your Photone app is reading.

The app uses a formula to determine photo density based off lux I believe, as the phone itself is not equipped with proper instrumentation. There will be variations between manufacturers of phones, so I am sure the degree of error is probably pretty high.

Read the plants, not the phone app. What do the plants say?

A white sheet as a divider may help as well if you cannot use tent floor.

 

[kaspersoprano]

I would wager that your spider farmer is putting out more than your Photone app is reading.

The app uses a formula to determine photo density based off lux I believe, as the phone itself is not equipped with proper instrumentation. There will be variations between manufacturers of phones, so I am sure the degree of error is probably pretty high.

Read the plants, not the phone app. What do the plants say?

A white sheet as a divider may help as well if you cannot use tent floor.

A mylar sheet should do huh? Greatly appreciate the help. I'm stubborn and I call myself smart but it's hard to learn and navigate this independently. I NEED to ask for more help.

 

[Newty]

Thanks a bunch. All useful information. Me being hardly-capped made a larger tent necessary so I just opted for the 4×8 instead with one light. I thought it would be okay as long as I kept it on one side. Can I just hang a mylar sheet down the center? Will that increase it?

You could put the mylar right down the middle and it will work great. I think you could get away with even cutting it down to a 5x4, little extra space for the plants.

I would find a thick mylar.
If you want to still be able to access the plants on the side that has mylar to take care of them easier, you can permanently attach the top mylar and then take 2 ropes and run it over the top of the pole holding the mylar and then attach to the bottom of the mylar. You can then pull on the end of the ropes that are not attached to the mylar and it will pull up like a curtain would, tie off the ropes and the mylar will stay at the top of the tent while you do your plant maintenance. When you're done, untie the ropes and the mylar will fall back to the floor, dividing your tent once again.
You could setup pulleys and do the same thing.

 

[RootFarmer]

A mylar sheet should do huh? Greatly appreciate the help. I'm stubborn and I call myself smart but it's hard to learn and navigate this independently. I NEED to ask for more help.

One possibility, keeping in mind what @Mikedin said about a partial wall, might be one of those emergency blankets. The shiny ones. You can probably find one at Walmart for like $5 and should be about the size you'd want. I considered that instead of using my tent floor.

 

[Zer0Tolerance]

Building the courage to give her the chop

 

[BearWater]

Building the courage to give her the chop

Does she have that “grape/purple” smell? sure is a beaut!

 

[Mikedin]

Building the courage to give her the chop

It’s tough every time brother I even bought fancy new shears that’ll only be used for main stalks on chop day like a ritual or right of passage for the plant

 

[MartyMcFly42oh]

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