UC8XL under LED

[Manish Boy]

Hey everyone, I'm about to start up a new UC system and wanted to get in here and say hello. I've been a soil grower, both organic and soil less, for a long time but this is my first venture into hydro. I started researching a couple years ago and have spent a lot of time reading here. In fact, this forum was a big factor in my decision to go with UC. I think I've got a pretty good handle on what I need to do but would like to run it past the forum for opinions and ask a couple of questions.

I'll start with my setup. My flowering room is 8' x 8' x 34', along with a small veg room. The plan is to have three UC8XLs running a perpetual grow. The ultimate goal is to be harvesting 6+ pounds every month. Lighting will be six FERO 8 Spot Bulldog 280 actual watt LEDs, totaling 1,680 watts. Walls are lined with Orca. RO water. No co2. For nutes I bought AN pH Perfect, knowing how well it's done in single DWC buckets. But after doing more reading here, I may need to rethink that.

A couple of questions that I've not found the answers to yet. First is in regard to how quickly the system needs to be replenished. I was not planning to run a top off rezz, at least not yet. How often might I need to top the system off? Also, I've not yet seen any mention yet of anyone using Hydrocorn. Any opinions on it?

 

[Quantum9]

You have some serious balls mannish, cant wait to see how the LEDS do. Are they Illumitex?

I would very much rethink the AN.

 

[Texas Kid]

Doesn't sound like ya got a handle on it at all...You can not fit (3) UC8XLs in that space so that would be my first thing you want to address, even on 25" centers you need a minimum of 5' x 14' per system and that leaves no room at all to get around them ...

In full tilt mode one 8 site setup an hit 200 gallons a week easy, some of my runs were eatin right at 55 gallons a day, so you pretty much need a top off res or you will be in there a couple times a day, every day...

Hydrocorn works but gives little support to the plants and so the plants fall all over the place without cages or some kind of support, growstones or strait lava rocks work much better...

Your not goin to pull 6lbs off each 8 site system every 60 days, your dreamin big time, especially under LEDS. Ultimately to really get to to those numbers your goin to need more veg space than flower space in order to get the inbound plants to a size that would remotely get you close to your 6lbs per system per pull. No such thing as a 60 day calander flip schedule so forget about that nonsense. Maybe after you toss the LED's and get some real power light in there. 1600watts of any light is not even enough for one system much less the whole room, you would need about 25 of those spot 8 LED's like building a light chamber, you do realize that those only have a 31.5" x 31.5" footprint, so basically 1 of the Bulldogs light per plant, so 24 of them to start

AN is not the best choice for these systems RDWC is alot different than DWC...CS, Ionic, H&G, or Dutch Master are all netter choices

It takes me 6-8k per 8 site, 2k over head and 4-6k vert to hit a 6lb flip of a 8 siteUC...you still need a chiller, LED or not, and since your goin to go perpetual each system is goin to be at a different stage and different feeding schedule, so that is 3 chillers, and 3 seperate top of rez's or top with strait water out of a single large rez and nute the individual system stand alone.

I would do alot more research before droppin $6 grand in UC's and another $4 grand in LED's

 

[vince vega]

Been away for a bit. I'm glad TK is setting shit straight I've never heard more sound advice.

 

[Manish Boy]

You have some serious balls mannish, cant wait to see how the LEDS do. Are they Illumitex?

I would very much rethink the AN.

The LEDs are FERO Bulldogs.

I should have done a bit more research on the nutes before I bought the AN. I think I have someone who will take them off my hands so I can go with something more suited to this system.

 

[Manish Boy]

Doesn't sound like ya got a handle on it at all...You can not fit (3) UC8XLs in that space so that would be my first thing you want to address, even on 25" centers you need a minimum of 5' x 14' per system and that leaves no room at all to get around them ...

My plan is to spread the two rows of pots so the walking/working space is in the middle. I think that will work better in this space. If I find it's cramped after adding the second system, then I'll go with a 4 or 6 pot one on the third instead of another 8.

In full tilt mode one 8 site setup an hit 200 gallons a week easy, some of my runs were eatin right at 55 gallons a day, so you pretty much need a top off res or you will be in there a couple times a day, every day...

Thanks, exactly what I needed to know. Adding a top off res won't be a problem.

Hydrocorn works but gives little support to the plants and so the plants fall all over the place without cages or some kind of support, growstones or strait lava rocks work much better...

I'm already working on building some support cages from cattle panels. Heavier metal than tomato cages or cattle fencing. I already have the Hydrocorn but will consider something else for the next setup.

Your not goin to pull 6lbs off each 8 site system every 60 days, your dreamin big time, especially under LEDS. Ultimately to really get to to those numbers your goin to need more veg space than flower space in order to get the inbound plants to a size that would remotely get you close to your 6lbs per system per pull. No such thing as a 60 day calander flip schedule so forget about that nonsense. Maybe after you toss the LED's and get some real power light in there. 1600watts of any light is not even enough for one system much less the whole room, you would need about 25 of those spot 8 LED's like building a light chamber, you do realize that those only have a 31.5" x 31.5" footprint, so basically 1 of the Bulldogs light per plant, so 24 of them to start

Six pounds is the ultimate goal. I've been around this game long enough to know not to expect that right away. I know it's going to take a few runs to dial it in. Those LEDs are for 1 system, not the whole room. Given that they are 85% usable light, compared to 15% for HPS, I think they will do fine. If not, the room is designed so that I can switch to HPS if I'm not satisfied. I've been growing with LEDs for about 3 years now and am aware of their capabilities. All the plants will be grown within the core penetration area of the lights. I did have some concerns that the LEDs would have sufficient penetration for growing large photos, but recent changes in lense technology should address that.

AN is not the best choice for these systems RDWC is alot different than DWC...CS, Ionic, H&G, or Dutch Master are all netter choices

I only bought enough for 1 run so may have to use it if I can't sell it off.

It takes me 6-8k per 8 site, 2k over head and 4-6k vert to hit a 6lb flip of a 8 siteUC...you still need a chiller, LED or not, and since your goin to go perpetual each system is goin to be at a different stage and different feeding schedule, so that is 3 chillers, and 3 seperate top of rez's or top with strait water out of a single large rez and nute the individual system stand alone.

I'm set up so I can add side lighting if needed. I do have a chiller and understand that I will need separate ones for each system. Already planned for that.

Thanks for you input, much appreciate.

 

[Manish Boy]

At long last my system is up and running. Thought I'd throw up a couple of pictures and see if anyone is interested. If so, I'll try to keep an updated journal going.

I did add a 30 gallon top off res. I may need to make it bigger later but I had the drum, so quick and easy for now. There was a bit of a delay on getting the heat pump installed, so had to deal with some high temps but that's all under control as of yesterday. Unfortunately the plants suffered a bit from heat stress and growth has been slowed.

I'm kind of stuck with the AN nutes for this grow, so will just have to try and make the best of it. The strain is World of Seeds Space, a 75/25% indica/sativa. They were started in rock wood and under a 250 watt, 6500k CFL for the first week, then put under the lights 12 days ago.







Pictures are a couple days old. The plants are currently about double that size.

 

[DigitalGenetics]

nice setup :)

 

[DigitalGenetics]

Here's mine nice and small :)

 

[redwhiteblue]

Really excited to see success with the LEDs.

Are you running the same lights for veg and flower?

How many lumens in the room, and which spectrums?

Hope it goes great!!!

 

[ape it]

I hope the LEDs work out for you in the undercurrent. I tried them and it seemed that the LEDs just weren't enough light. I started to get deficient leaves and healthy roots would mush and brown. Hid all the way now. I will be watching this one. Good luck.

 

[Manish Boy]

First off, let me apologize to everyone who showed interest in this grow. I had originally planned to document the whole grow here, but after some of the comments I got about my setup, I was a bit put off. As a cannabis forum admin myself, I wasn't going to get into a dust up, so though it best I just stay away.

I'll do an update now, then come back after the harvest and let everyone know how I did.

As expected, there were some issues. There were some heat issues early on trying to make a portable A/C unit work. Once a 12k btu mini split heat pump was installed that issue was solved, however the plants stretched more than was desirable. The AN nutes also quickly became a problem. Switching to H&G took care of that. Also ran into some root slime, as well as an attack of root aphids. Fortunately I got those quick and had 100% eradication.

Right around week 3 of veg I added a CO2 burner and controller and am now running a closed room. This is my first experience with CO2 and the results have been impressive. A standard 20 lb tank of propane lasted about 6 weeks running 1,500 ppm.

Today is day 97 since the seeds sprouted. The lights were cut to 12/12 on day 39, so 56 days in flower. The hairs are about 50 - 60% orange and the trics are about 80% cloudy. So I expect I'll be harvesting in another week. To my eye, there is at least 3 lbs., possibly 3.5 - 4. I think it will be very close to my original goal of 4 lbs. this first grow. Not too shabby considering I have no real power with these LEDs.

Here are some pics from day 89.

 

[Capulator]

damn bro way to go. With all those problems plaguing your first grow you can definitely do better next time!

 

[NWElite89]

Those look real good. I hope you make a second grow journal. Would love to see a comparison between the two!

 

[deep buddy]

impressive for leds. what strain are you running? im very curious as to the real final numbers on the dried flowers. i have only used leds to supplement hid s. imo adding an hid would be the way to go. looking forward to dried flower pics and smoke report.

 

[Manish Boy]

damn bro way to go. With all those problems plaguing your first grow you can definitely do better next time!

For sure. Next up will be some Pineapple Chunk. I've grow that strain outdoors before, so am very curious to see how it compares when grown in this system. In a way I haven't minded having all those issues the first grow. This first grow was all about learning, and learn I did!

 

[Manish Boy]

Those look real good. I hope you make a second grow journal. Would love to see a comparison between the two!

I'm not sure if I'll post it here or not. But I will be posting it over on my forum. If you're interested I'll PM you the link.

 

[Manish Boy]

impressive for leds. what strain are you running? im very curious as to the real final numbers on the dried flowers. i have only used leds to supplement hid s. imo adding an hid would be the way to go. looking forward to dried flower pics and smoke report.

The strain is World of Seeds Space. 75/25 indica/sativa. I've been pinching some early samples the past few days and it's killer. I'm just starting to see a few amber trics, so will be harvesting starting on Tuesday. If I leave it any longer I'm afraid it will become more couch lock than I desire. As it is right now it's got good balance. Some of the most potent smoke I've ever had. Certainly in the top 5.

I've been running LEDs for about 4 years for my auto flower grows. I did a small photo test grow back in the spring to see how they would do and was impressed enough to commit to LEDs for this hydro setup. The only thing I might change is to replace the two middle lights with 10 spots instead of 8s. Otherwise the coverage has been great. I also need to do a better job topping the plants the next grow. Penetration looks very good to about 4'. Some of these got well over 5' tall and the lower buds are suffering. I may do a staggered harvest. Pick the top colas, lower the lights, and leave the rest for another week.

 

[Growboy]

Are you still using H&G and what was your ppms in your system during flower ?