Expert Seeds "Sweet Zombie" under 2 Gavita Pro 1700e LED's..............

[MIMedGrower]

I received the final quote for 2 of the HLG 60's..........with the Black Friday discount, including delivery- it would be about $320.

Anthem got me thinking though.........am I just keeping the lights too close and all that white light is just curtailing all the plants stretch. Anthem starts veg with them at 8 ft above the plants, a big difference than what I do. So I called my growing buddy in Denver, the one who suggested the Gavita 1700e's in the first place. They use them in a few of their rooms, and do keep them higher than I do in veg too......... he's checking on the exact height for me and will let me know.

So, I'm not at all concerned about the money but am concerned about adding more heat to the room. At only 60 watts each, it's not much but I'm unsure how efficient the lights are and how much additional heat will be generated.

Any thoughts???

Your lights are great. You just need more grows to learn them. Any additional hardware will only result in diminishing returns.

plus with the yield you got maybe re think how you want it with the new lights.

with hps stretch is yield but these led’s obviously chunk up the plants more.

 

[Anthem]

I received the final quote for 2 of the HLG 60's..........with the Black Friday discount, including delivery- it would be about $320.

Anthem got me thinking though.........am I just keeping the lights too close and all that white light is just curtailing all the plants stretch. Anthem starts veg with them at 8 ft above the plants, a big difference than what I do. So I called my growing buddy in Denver, the one who suggested the Gavita 1700e's in the first place. They use them in a few of their rooms, and do keep them higher than I do in veg too......... he's checking on the exact height for me and will let me know.

So, I'm not at all concerned about the money but am concerned about adding more heat to the room. At only 60 watts each, it's not much but I'm unsure how efficient the lights are and how much additional heat will be generated.

Any thoughts???

Sshz,
I think you will find a happy medium between stretch and yield. Meaning I think I have the lights too high and I am going to start to run them a little lower and eliminate some of the stretch. I have had a hell of a bad grow year. I lost 2 grows, one to faulty lights and one to drivers taking a dump. I started just leaving the lights high because I was being lazy. Also this year I switched from soil to coco and my yield really suffered. My best to date has been 2.75 per light. My best grow in coco was 1.75, as such I have once changed things up. I am doing hydro now. I do like the stretch aspect because I believe the nuggs are frostier because they are separated further from each other and while the yield suffered the quality is the best I am grown in my short grow life.
The Cal Mag thing is really interesting to me because I have been suffering from Cal Mag issues since switching to Coco and it is just getting worse with Hydro. I stated out with 5 ml's per gallon and that is just not enough. I think I am looking at like 8 or 9 mls per gallon going forward. I stated using Grow More Mendicino No "N" Cal Mag because of the stretch issue. I was thinking all the N in regular Cal Mag was really causing the stretch because I really only noticed it in early flower. Meaning the stretch during veg seemed to be about the same either way. Can you tell me how much Cal Mag you are running and are you dropping it in late flower?

 

[Anthem]

Your lights are great. You just need more grows to learn them. Any additional hardware will only result in diminishing returns.

plus with the yield you got maybe re think how you want it with the new lights.

with hps stretch is yield but these led’s obviously chunk up the plants more.

MiMed,
I think you have a really good point here. HPS = more stretch LED = tight stacking. The problem with chunking up the plants is getting Tri's to show well in the middle of those chunky buds. Appearance wise is this why HPS looks better than LED? (more shine)

 

[sshz]

Regarding Cal/Mag, much depends on the quality of your water. I'm on a well here and the water is terrible. We don't drink it or even cook with it. I live on an old peach farm, and they used crappy fertilizers with HEAVY METALS in it which makes it very unhealthy to use. Point being, I use an reverse osmosis device for all my water needs, including the plants to strip out all the nasties. The r.o. 4 stage filter takes out all the calcium and Mg too, so I need to add more than most people. I fluctuate between 8-10ml per gallon of Cal/Mag in all my waterings, but occasionally add some epsom salts too (pure Mg) as a boost.

The one symptom I see, above all others in my grows is a Cal/mag deficiency. Usually the larger leaves sun start to crinkle first, than other signs start appearing if it's not corrected.

I stop the Cal/Mag at the beginning of week 8 if I'm going 10 weeks flowering. Cal/Mag will inhibit resin production/maturity towards the end, so it should be completely stopped by week 8 by all accounts.

 

[Anthem]

Regarding Cal/Mag, much depends on the quality of your water. I'm on a well here and the water is terrible. We don't drink it or even cook with it. I live on an old peach farm, and they used crappy fertilizers with HEAVY METALS in it which makes it very unhealthy to use. Point being, I use an reverse osmosis device for all my water needs, including the plants to strip out all the nasties. The r.o. 4 stage filter takes out all the calcium and Mg too, so I need to add more than most people. I fluctuate between 8-10ml per gallon of Cal/Mag in all my waterings, but occasionally add some epsom salts too (pure Mg) as a boost.

The one symptom I see, above all others in my grows is a Cal/mag deficiency. Usually the larger leaves sun start to crinkle first, than other signs start appearing if it's not corrected.

I stop the Cal/Mag at the beginning of week 8 if I'm going 10 weeks flowering. Cal/Mag will inhibit resin production/maturity towards the end, so it should be completely stopped by week 8 by all accounts.

That is interesting as well Sshz. I am on city water and I only use a filter to remove the chlorine. But I do know that my city is on well water that is heavily filtered with membrane filters. My PPM's are around 150 out of the tap.
On this note I have a stupid question I hope you will bear with me. I have been looking into RO systems and I understand the basics but most of them seem to use a Gallon per day rating. I do not have room for another reservoir at this time. From what I understand the units make water all day long and you use it as you need it. Is this the case?

 

[sshz]

And.............since Expert Seeds is offering such a good deal thru De. 5th, I looked over their catalog and found this new one:

Expert Seeds "Mac1"....... a 50/50 hybrid, done in about 8-9 weeks (but figure 10), 23+% THC, and a very heavy yielder, comparable to Sweet Zombie. What stood out was the genetics: Alien Cookies X Columbian X Starfighter X Bruce Banner!!!

How many of you were here on THCFarmer when the last of the Starfighter packs went up for auction at well over $1000 a pack numerous years ago???? It was a real shit show, if you know the details. Many of us got banned during that time. LOL

I've looked for some review, and haven't found a thing yet. It's new but I'll keep looking.

 

[sshz]

That is interesting as well Sshz. I am on city water and I only use a filter to remove the chlorine. But I do know that my city is on well water that is heavily filtered with membrane filters. My PPM's are around 150 out of the tap.
On this note I have a stupid question I hope you will bear with me. I have been looking into RO systems and I understand the basics but most of them seem to use a Gallon per day rating. I do not have room for another reservoir at this time. From what I understand the units make water all day long and you use it as you need it. Is this the case?

It depends on what you want to accomplish. You can buy a whole house R.O.'s, but they are pricey and you'll need a plumber. And you'll be replacing expensive filters often. I use a 4 stage counter top unit, which I hook up to one of my upstairs bathroom sinks that fills a 5 gallon container in about 1 1/2 hours. Here is a link to the exact one I use:

RO-CTOP – Portable 90 GPD Countertop Reverse Osmosis Water Systems for Drinking Water

Mobility and Performance in one small package Compatible With Standard Faucets. Will Not Work With pull-out faucet, special size designer faucet and sprayer faucet Lightweight installation-free system, hooks up to most standard faucets in minutes 4-stage compact system built with high capacity...

www.freedrinkingwater.com

They use the best filters available, much better than other units you may find. You can usually find this same company selling stuff even cheaper on Ebay or Amazon. Check out all the units on the website, they are a solid small business out of Utah and have been helpful in the past answering questions.

I should have mentioned I also have a whole house chlorinator (to kill bacteria in the water) and a water softener that helps remove heavy metals like iron and arsenic. This also impacts the quality of water, both not good for plants.

 

[sshz]

Also, with r.o. devices, water pressure is important. Coming off a well, my water pressure stinks. Off a city water system, pressure would be much stronger. The higher the pressure, the faster the device makes clean water. So, clean water will be made at all different speeds, depending on your own situation.

 

[Anthem]

Also, with r.o. devices, water pressure is important. Coming off a well, my water pressure stinks. Off a city water system, pressure would be much stronger. The higher the pressure, the faster the device makes clean water. So, clean water will be made at all different speeds, depending on your own situation.

Thank You Sshz. Know I just have to find one that flows like 5 gallons a minute, which is going to be costly. But the next step in achieving quality buds.

 

[sshz]

On last pic before a defoliation tonight......... today is day 17 in flowering. This is the right side of the room, next time I'll show you left but not much difference between the two. I think I'm in good shape with the crop now, I'm becoming more impressed with each passing day. These buds should become bigger than the Orange Gasm's ended up to be............

 

[sshz]

Thank You Sshz. Know I just have to find one that flows like 5 gallons a minute, which is going to be costly. But the next step in achieving quality buds.

That's probably too high a production rate to realistically find.........and if you do, it will cost you an arm and a leg. Read up on it, freedrinkingwater.com is a good start. There has been improvement over the last few years, with some other household options for clean water. I don't remember how they work, but it's a different process and I think you don't need to replace filters. I'll look for some info when I find some time.

 

[sshz]

And the lone Dr. GreenThumb "Turkish Cookies", like a duck out of water here by herself in a corner. She's about 2 weeks behind the rest of the room. and I haven't touch her in any way.

 

[Cracken]

I received the final quote for 2 of the HLG 60's..........with the Black Friday discount, including delivery- it would be about $320.

Anthem got me thinking though.........am I just keeping the lights too close and all that white light is just curtailing all the plants stretch. Anthem starts veg with them at 8 ft above the plants, a big difference than what I do. So I called my growing buddy in Denver, the one who suggested the Gavita 1700e's in the first place. They use them in a few of their rooms, and do keep them higher than I do in veg too......... he's checking on the exact height for me and will let me know.

So, I'm not at all concerned about the money but am concerned about adding more heat to the room. At only 60 watts each, it's not much but I'm unsure how efficient the lights are and how much additional heat will be generated.

Any thoughts???

red is actually the most efficient of LED colours so less heat should be generated. as for your plants being short I have to agree. the intensity of light keeps the girls from wanting to stretch their legs, also because your lights have a good amount of blue that will also promote shorter plants and smaller cell size but also cause closer node sites. The HPS lights only have like 6% blue spectrum so the lack of blue and increased far red is why the larger plant heights and leaf sizes.

 

[sshz]

So I think we are all in agreement. The question now becomes do I just raise the led’s In veg to promote more elongation OR keep them low and buy the supplemental led’s for $300.

 

[Milson]

So I think we are all in agreement. The question now becomes do I just raise the led’s In veg to promote more elongation OR keep them low and buy the supplemental led’s for $300.

I think you should experiment with raising the lights either way.

 

[Madmax]

What % of cal mag is in your nutrients.maybe change to one that has 3/1-4/1ratio to help Anthem..ive only used cal mag 3 times and that was just for the sake of it .im using rain water which is under a hundred on the trucheon and using coir with canna classic but the boost is a ripoff..

 

[MIMedGrower]

So I think we are all in agreement. The question now becomes do I just raise the led’s In veg to promote more elongation OR keep them low and buy the supplemental led’s for $300.

I think you should experiment with height. I try to keep the light optimal with happy leaves and good vertical growth each day. Seems most plants can use a little adjustment. Of course i dont expect you to adjust individual plant height like i do but i hope im making sense.

 

[Madmax]

Id raise them.even the cmh lights turn them into short asses my light was as 40 inches ..but id say your going to find a strain that grow up more probably with more sativa % than indica.maybe even put one light aside and see what the hps does in flower..

 

[Dr.Green55]

So I think we are all in agreement. The question now becomes do I just raise the led’s In veg to promote more elongation OR keep them low and buy the supplemental led’s for $300.

Before I spent $300 on lights I'd try raising them first( the lights) along with playing with N and P, along with the raised lights add some extra N through veg, a few days to a week before flip start upping P along with keeping N up a bit. keep P or N and P levels elevated for the first 10 to 14 days of stretch. play with that and see if you get what what your looking for. I know wIth my DE lights and playing with N and P I can considerably control the height of both indica and sativa plants. keep them smaller or let them grow big.

 

[Odiesel]

So I think we are all in agreement. The question now becomes do I just raise the led’s In veg to promote more elongation OR keep them low and buy the supplemental led’s for $300.

If the stretch is what you want i would try raising the lights first. In my veg closet i started lowering the lights so they wouldnt stretch and it has helped a bit. Not sure if it has to do with a difference between clones and seeds.