Hi-Tech Closed Room Grow Fluence Spydr 2i

[Davidjreimer]

Hey all,



On my third cycle in my custom built grow room. It’s about 25 feet x 15 feet.



I’m currently running 4 x Fluence Spydr 2i LED ($2000 each), and one HLG 600 R Spec LED growing in coco



I have a Quest 205 and supplemental Co2. All are plugged into a Trolmaster control module. I keep the co2 around 1300, temp around 70F and humidity around 60, which is perfect VPD according to trolmaster



I use Floraflex nutrients including Bulky B and Full Tilt.



Their “Full Strength” schedule calls for an EC of 3.0, but we use a slightly weaker mix of 2.7. Water is Ph to 5.8-6.0



Our runoff trends a little high around 3.1EC. The plants are drinking water at different rates as they go through bloom, so we’re still figuring out the ideal water schedule. Right now we water at lights on (6pm), 6-8hours later (midnight-2am) and sometime in the morning around 10am-noon. Currently “hand” watering with a pump and wand, but next cycle will set up an irrigation system



We are in Day 21 of flower, just did a medium - heavy defoliation / Schwazz yesterday. Some strains we defoliated more than others



We have 3 strains in the room currently:



1 Tray of Orange Kush Cake (Ethos) from clones under Fluence Spydr 2i



Pre-Defoliation:

After:

2 trays Bubba Kush (34 Street Seed Co) from seed under Fluence Spydr 2i. One of the trays the plants were vegged too long which is why they are so tall.



Pre-Defoliation:
Tray 1:

Tray 2:

After:
Tray 1

Tray 2:

1 tray Blue Afghani Sticky Fingers Edition (Jordan of the Islands) from clones under Fluence Spydr 2i



Pre-Defoliation

After:

1 tray of 4 bubbas and 1 blue Afghani under HLG 600 R Spec



Pre-Defoliation:
Forgot to take a picture


After:

I plan to post a pic of each tray weekly on Sunday. If you have any questions feel free to ask



Here is how they look today (Day 21)



Orange Kush Cake

Blue Afghani

Bubba Tray 1

Bubba Tray 2

Mix Tray

I’m still learning so if you have any pointers please chime in

 

[Aqua Man]

Hey all,



On my third cycle in my custom built grow room. It’s about 25 feet x 15 feet.



I’m currently running 4 x Fluence Spydr 2i LED ($2000 each), and one HLG 600 R Spec LED growing in coco



I have a Quest 205 and supplemental Co2. All are plugged into a Trolmaster control module. I keep the co2 around 1300, temp around 70F and humidity around 60, which is perfect VPD according to trolmaster



I use Floraflex nutrients including Bulky B and Full Tilt.



Their “Full Strength” schedule calls for an EC of 3.0, but we use a slightly weaker mix of 2.7. Water is Ph to 5.8-6.0



Our runoff trends a little high around 3.1EC. The plants are drinking water at different rates as they go through bloom, so we’re still figuring out the ideal water schedule. Right now we water at lights on (6pm), 6-8hours later (midnight-2am) and sometime in the morning around 10am-noon. Currently “hand” watering with a pump and wand, but next cycle will set up an irrigation system



We are in Day 21 of flower, just did a medium - heavy defoliation / Schwazz yesterday. Some strains we defoliated more than others



We have 3 strains in the room currently:



1 Tray of Orange Kush Cake (Ethos) from clones under Fluence Spydr 2i



Pre-Defoliation:
View attachment 1288392
View attachment 1288393

After:
View attachment 1288394
View attachment 1288395

2 trays Bubba Kush (34 Street Seed Co) from seed under Fluence Spydr 2i. One of the trays the plants were vegged too long which is why they are so tall.



Pre-Defoliation:
Tray 1:
View attachment 1288396
Tray 2:
View attachment 1288398

After:
Tray 1
View attachment 1288397
Tray 2:
View attachment 1288399


1 tray Blue Afghani Sticky Fingers Edition (Jordan of the Islands) from clones under Fluence Spydr 2i



Pre-Defoliation
View attachment 1288400
View attachment 1288401

After:
View attachment 1288402
View attachment 1288404

1 tray of 4 bubbas and 1 blue Afghani under HLG 600 R Spec



Pre-Defoliation:
Forgot to take a picture


After:
View attachment 1288403


I plan to post a pic of each tray weekly on Sunday. If you have any questions feel free to ask



Here is how they look today (Day 21)



Orange Kush Cake
View attachment 1288405


Blue Afghani
View attachment 1288406


Bubba Tray 1
View attachment 1288407


Bubba Tray 2
View attachment 1288408


Mix Tray
View attachment 1288413


I’m still learning so if you have any pointers please chime in

Welcome to the farm… looking very nice in there… having autofeed systems with metered amounts and unlimited time schedules will be extremely beneficial to dialling in your grows and cut out a lot of work.

very clean setup

 

[Davidjreimer]

Welcome to the farm… looking very nice in there… having autofeed systems with metered amounts and unlimited time schedules will be extremely beneficial to dialling in your grows and cut out a lot of work.

very clean setup

Thanks! Having to water 3x a day isn’t the greatest, plus based off the runoff EC, isn’t even enough! Once we get fully set up next cycle the whole growing process will become way easier and less time intensive. Looking forward to it

 

[Aqua Man]

Thanks! Having to water 3x a day isn’t the greatest, plus based off the runoff EC, isn’t even enough! Once we get fully set up next cycle the whole growing process will become way easier and less time intensive. Looking forward to it

Me too… think they look great but once you get that watering dialled in it will be easy street. very noce work so far

 

[Davidjreimer]

Me too… think they look great but once you get that watering dialled in it will be easy street. very noce work so far

Thanks G

 

[Judaz]

Thanks! Having to water 3x a day isn’t the greatest, plus based off the runoff EC, isn’t even enough! Once we get fully set up next cycle the whole growing process will become way easier and less time intensive. Looking forward to it

I’m curious as to why you are watering 3 times a day? Those look like 5 gallon pots. I’m assuming you are having to water 3 times a day because plants are drinking at different rates. The reason why that is happening is because your ec is way too high for a vos of temp 70 and humidity of 60% if you keep that up those plants will start to finish by week 5 or 6.

Never follow a manufactures nutrient ec suggestion. They want you to use a lot so you can rebuy faster. In flowering the mindset should be less is more. When plants drink at different rates it means that your reservoir is out of balance. When this resevoir is dialed in. Most plants will use water in very similar rates. The ones that slightly drink a little more than the average is the ones under the highest light intensity or the ones possibly under a little heat stress.

Looks like you have them in some dirt mix. That’s good. Dirt is more forgiving cause if you had them u see Hugos. You probably would have started to fry the root system.

I would check your vpd chart. During the 1st 3 weeks you want humidity around 66-70% and temps around 78z that bud setup will allow them to take up a higher ec. The higher humidity will make water usage rate among them better. When plants dry up quicker than normal it’s a sign of ec being too high.

Are you recirculating the nutes or running them to waste? If you are running to waste your gonna fry them faster like that.

Here is how to manage ec or ppm. The goal is to get as close to equilibrium over the week feeding cycle. with the ec in and ec out. Ec in is the ec of the reservoir. And EC out is the ec of the run off. Ph is ok between 5.8-6.0 but your ec out of the runoff being higher than the ec in ia setting you up for nutrient toxicity problems coming in the next couple weeks.

Managing the ec. The rule of thumb is that when ec out is greater than ec In then you should dilute the mix to lower ec in by 30-40% for next feed. If you lower the ec in and when you feed it comes lower than 3.1 In your case like 2.7 then it’s a good sign that you can keep using the same mix if you are recirculating. Buy feeding 2.7 and returning 3.1 is telling me 2.7 is too high. The signal to flush is when you lower your ec in by 30-40% and the ec out is now 3.2 or 3.3 then the pant is telling you to flush me asap or I may start to get locked up: flush them well and if the ec out of the flush is let’s say it goes down to 2.7 then the plant is happy. She appreciates the diluted mix. If it comes back above 30 the just flush. Think of it like this. Even though it’s not scientifically the way the process works but when I explain it like this it makes sense to people.

“If your ec out is greater then the ec in then the plant is is spitting out the nutes. Spit it out and your res needs an adjustment. like lowering the next days feed by 30-40-% around 2.0 ec. If it comes back lower like 2.8 next day feed 2.5 ec.in. If the ec out stays at 2.8 or 2.7 then it’s good sign. You can start to rise by 1-2 ec points. But if the 2.8 ec in feed makes the ec out spike higher than 3.2 then you must flush the next day.

The goal of your nutrient program is to attempt to aim for balance. A 3.1 ec out requires a good flush next day



Rules
1) attempt to gradually balance both ec In
and ec out runoff
2) slowly raise ec in over the remainder of week cycle again going from 25-28 attempting to stay in balance. when you start raising the ec slowly over time in the next few days and if the ec out comes back lower then they are good they are drinking instead of spitting but if all of a sudden it spikes again to over 3.2 ec the plant may be in trouble soon and needs flushing asap. Doing this will have the effect of all your plants using water in similar rates as you reach equilibrium when you target a ppm range for the week. When the ec is right then you don’t get drastic spikes which signal ec target being too high.

During week (1-5) you are working towards max ec by 5th week. ec out should not exceed 2.5 ec for most strains by week 5 being peak ec week. After that is all about lowering ec, lowering temps to 73-75 and lowering humidity to 40-50% which requires a lower ec and more seconds when feeding. Usually 30% longer feeds per plant from weeks 6-harvest.

Ps defoliating like you did and keeping high ec like 3.0 is a recipe for disaster in the latter weeks. Less leaves plants need lower ec.

 

[Davidjreimer]

I’m curious as to why you are watering 3 times a day? Those look like 5 gallon pots. I’m assuming you are having to water 3 times a day because plants are drinking at different rates. The reason why that is happening is because your ec is way too high for a vos of temp 70 and humidity of 60% if you keep that up those plants will start to finish by week 5 or 6.

Never follow a manufactures nutrient ec suggestion. They want you to use a lot so you can rebuy faster. In flowering the mindset should be less is more. When plants drink at different rates it means that your reservoir is out of balance. When this resevoir is dialed in. Most plants will use water in very similar rates. The ones that slightly drink a little more than the average is the ones under the highest light intensity or the ones possibly under a little heat stress.

Looks like you have them in some dirt mix. That’s good. Dirt is more forgiving cause if you had them u see Hugos. You probably would have started to fry the root system.

I would check your vpd chart. During the 1st 3 weeks you want humidity around 66-70% and temps around 78z that bud setup will allow them to take up a higher ec. The higher humidity will make water usage rate among them better. When plants dry up quicker than normal it’s a sign of ec being too high.

Are you recirculating the nutes or running them to waste? If you are running to waste your gonna fry them faster like that.

Here is how to manage ec or ppm. The goal is to get as close to equilibrium over the week feeding cycle. with the ec in and ec out. Ec in is the ec of the reservoir. And EC out is the ec of the run off. Ph is ok between 5.8-6.0 but your ec out of the runoff being higher than the ec in ia setting you up for nutrient toxicity problems coming in the next couple weeks.

Managing the ec. The rule of thumb is that when ec out is greater than ec In then you should dilute the mix to lower ec in by 30-40% for next feed. If you lower the ec in and when you feed it comes lower than 3.1 In your case like 2.7 then it’s a good sign that you can keep using the same mix if you are recirculating. Buy feeding 2.7 and returning 3.1 is telling me 2.7 is too high. The signal to flush is when you lower your ec in by 30-40% and the ec out is now 3.2 or 3.3 then the pant is telling you to flush me asap or I may start to get locked up: flush them well and if the ec out of the flush is let’s say it goes down to 2.7 then the plant is happy. She appreciates the diluted mix. If it comes back above 30 the just flush. Think of it like this. Even though it’s not scientifically the way the process works but when I explain it like this it makes sense to people.

“If your ec out is greater then the ec in then the plant is is spitting out the nutes. Spit it out and your res needs an adjustment. like lowering the next days feed by 30-40-% around 2.0 ec. If it comes back lower like 2.8 next day feed 2.5 ec.in. If the ec out stays at 2.8 or 2.7 then it’s good sign. You can start to rise by 1-2 ec points. But if the 2.8 ec in feed makes the ec out spike higher than 3.2 then you must flush the next day.

The goal of your nutrient program is to attempt to aim for balance. A 3.1 ec out requires a good flush next day



Rules
1) attempt to gradually balance both ec In
and ec out runoff
2) slowly raise ec in over the remainder of week cycle again going from 25-28 attempting to stay in balance. when you start raising the ec slowly over time in the next few days and if the ec out comes back lower then they are good they are drinking instead of spitting but if all of a sudden it spikes again to over 3.2 ec the plant may be in trouble soon and needs flushing asap. Doing this will have the effect of all your plants using water in similar rates as you reach equilibrium when you target a ppm range for the week. When the ec is right then you don’t get drastic spikes which signal ec target being too high.

During week (1-5) you are working towards max ec by 5th week. ec out should not exceed 2.5 ec for most strains by week 5 being peak ec week. After that is all about lowering ec, lowering temps to 73-75 and lowering humidity to 40-50% which requires a lower ec and more seconds when feeding. Usually 30% longer feeds per plant from weeks 6-harvest.

Ps defoliating like you did and keeping high ec like 3.0 is a recipe for disaster in the latter weeks. Less leaves plants need lower ec.

Thanks for the thought out reply.

I grow in coco not soil, so ideally the water saturation should stay between 90%-100% at all times.

And to clarify, the bubbas were vegged for longer and are bigger so they drink slightly more water. But not in an abnormal way. Other than that they all drink at the same rate more or less

I actually plan to drop my inflow EC to 2.5 because I’m having a hard time controlling the runoff EC. After the defoliation there is more light hitting the coco so evaporation is happening to a higher degree. There’s a little bit of nute burn on the orange kush cake and blue afghani, but the bubba kush are still holding up great even though the runoff EC has been higher on those.

I’ll keep you updated

 

[Davidjreimer]

Decided to increase the temperature and humidity. Temp officially set to 77F/25C and humidity at 63%. In retrospect I should’ve increased it sooner.

The reason I didn’t is because I wasn’t sure if I could keep the temp/humidity combo stable enough to maintain the correct VPD.

The reason I did turn it up is because a higher temperature allows higher photosynthesis and better plant development

I also dropped the EC of my nutes to 2.5. The runoff is still high, like 3.0. Plants seem to be doing well so I’m not really concerned since the “high strength” floraflex formula calls for a 3.0 inflow EC.

Plants are boooooming and I look forward to sharing pics as they grow

 

[Davidjreimer]

Day 28* Check In
The fan leaves all regrew in a week looks like. The trays look almost like the first pictures before I defoliated. I won’t do any more defoliation until day 43 then I’ll pluck off any huge fan leaves below the top 2-3 to open lower branches to more light

Orange Kush Cake

Blue Afghani

Bubba Tray 1

Bubba Tray 2

Mix and match tray

 

[Davidjreimer]

Missed a watering, and let the EC be persistently too high for a couple days. Kinda fried the blue afghani and the orange kush cake.

Blue Afghani

DLI according to the Photon iPhone app is showing DLI between 45-53 for the main top colas throughout the plant. Should I increase the height of the light?

It’s weird because a few fan leaves that are higher and closer to the lights are fine. I read somewhere that the trichomes on the leaves can help protect the leaves from being burned. Not sure if that’s true/the case here.

any thoughts?

Here’s the Orange Kush Cake

My self diagnoses is also high EC and too strong of a light. The DLI was showing 48-52 on this tray. Most of the canopy on this tray is pretty level


The bubbas are crushing it in comparison. The EC runoff got the highest on these, and yet they show the least damage, and have the fattest buds

My solution is to raise the light on the OKC and BA tray, and also add a fourth watering. So now I’ll water at lights on (6pm), 10pm-12am and again at 3-4am. And once more around 10am. Keeping my inflow EC around 2.5 or 85% of Floraflex recommended High Strength Feed.

If anyone has any “2 cents” to drop I’d much appreciate it.