Amare Tech Solar Spec Insight

Hey Phistle that mars 2 is a weak light those plants could be streching to reach the light I have not used the Amare but i suspect it is a much more powerful light than the mars. I use an all blue in my veg and have found that intensity of light has a part as well. 

 

I use my veg spectrum to control my sativa stretch and then flip the full-spec(bloom on) to stretch them per my app. requirement.  You can use the veg spectrum to control the inter-nodes spacing/stretching and get them to bushy out (lateral) growth, and flip the bloom on for vertical.  The idea is to get the plant to be compact and bushy, then get them to stretch in the 2 week pre-bloom stretch since it will increase yield and maximize the grow space output.  Try alternating between the two spectrum to control the  stretch of sativas during this period since 4" is too much and would actually decrease yield due to less bud sites, and inefficient use of grow space.  This a major concern in a confined space app. as a tent with height limitation.  The veg spectrum also encourages lateral growth for a better platform resulting in better yields in a more compact package noticed by DDP's second grow that out yield his first grow at half the plant size.
 
The reason why your plants are displaying a single cola characteristic with little or no side branching similar to some indicas is because you're running all reds, which tells the plant to stretch only in a single shoot fashion only with little or no side branching.  I wouldn't recommend running only reds as u will cause growth mutation due to a single band and lack of the full-spectrum need for photosynthesis, and lose growth time during the those red only cycles.  It will also shock the plant and cause all kind of growth issues.  
Sativas prefers spectrum containing more reds due to it's geographical location and proximity to the sun.  Equatorial sunlight has less atmosphere to penetrate and filter out the weaker longer bands like red. 

 

 
Could be that the Mars contains too much 660nm red, which causes inter-nodes and leaf elongation.  Intensity might also be a contributing factor as Brada states.  The Specs also has a lot more blues from the white spectrum that reduces stretching.

 

 
Hey man, I have a Durban Poison dominant cultivar of the Girl Scout Cookie. The Durban is a heavy Sativa that would stretch like crazy, I would flip to flower @18"-22" & they would finish @36"-40". As I expected it to jump up I ran all reds thru Veg & Flower, I would notice thru veg for 2-3 days no growth would happen in terms of height. But the plant would bush up the undergrowth, thicken the stems, then start new top growth again. Plus this run, even tho they had the increased reds, the stretch was minimal to none. Everything filled in exactly how it was supposed to, only spacing issues I have on my plants are from where the light wasn't centered properly and the edges stretched a bit more. 
 
There are quite a number of factors as to why a plant will "stretch" one of which is too much red in a spectrum. But this doesn't mean it WILL stretch all plants as "stretching" is just another deformation or abnormality that can take form in different ways for different plants. If you look you will notice the leaves under your mars panels, the individual blades, some are larger then the others. That's also caused by increased reds. Plants are extremely smart and choose what it is they spend their energy on, if a plant didn't stretch naturally its probably because it didn't want/need to. Adding more reds to make it do so seems counterproductive in my opinion, as the plant will do the best at what it is given. Forcing it to have mutations such as abnormal growth with increased internodal spacing, is pretty much what the Mars lights do with all that red.
 
The benefit comes only when you have a strain which is stretching to much naturally, then you can control it a bit by the color bands. But trying to force a plant to respond based on those changes is not going to happen without causing some major problems for the plant to solve. As you can see with the abnormal and mutated growth under the Mars lights.

 

 
 
Forget lighting at this point, everything in terms of branching and growth is controlled completely and foremost by the biology in the plant and around the root system. Then using the energy it can get with the light is when the reactions happen that cause growth. Just in reading thru the threads your making changes to your rez and feeding which In any paradigm of growing will altogether cause different growth regardless of the same strain or not. Look into the role of plant hormones when wanting to learn more about growth and branching

 

 
You're correct, cross-breeding will bring out the different phenos out, but light does play a role, because spectrum has it's own effect on growth.  
 
The other thing as u mentioned is even if it's the same strain, cross-breeding will bring different pheno traits making comparison difficult unless you're running clones, which would make comparison much easier and more accurate.
 
If you want more stretch try using the full spec from start and alternate if too much stretch.  There should be no reason to run red only, it will shock the plant.  The veg is the base spectrum, and the bloom(red) switch is to control the stretch.
 
I wouldn't worry too much bout a bump in the reds after bud set as long as it's there in the right amount.    I would use the bloom spectrum to flip them and then go back to the veg for the remaining 2 week pre-stretch to control the height if needed on the sats or long-legged strains.
 
The idea is to veg a compact and bushy plant which will result in higher yield vs. a tall and lanky plant.  You have to also take into consideration of height restriction for most indoor apps. like tent and closet grows.  If used properly you can use this veg spectrum to turn a low-yield tall and lanky sativa into a high-yielding compact and bushy indica like stature.   This will work on some strains, because not all strains and phenos behave and respond the same way.
 
Having the option to switch spectrum between veg/bloom is similar to switching between MH/HPS by simply pushing a button. Cool!

 

how do you guys attach the light at the top of your tents? even with the cable that attaches to each corner its still a pretty long cable. right now i have the cables attached to the TOP of the mover and it still barely makes it 20 inches over the tops. my plants are in solo cups so i need to find a way to get the lights to sit as high up as i can. stupid me and my bad math ordered a tent that is only 5 feet tall.
 
i added a photo to show how low it sits right now
 

 

Double the cable, make it go from lug to lug, then attach the rope clippy adjuster thingymabon in the middle of the cable. You then have spare cables. Sorry haven't finished first cup of coffee... Interesting read here this morning


http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1341205-solar-spec-1040-white-led-vs-mars-ii-2100.html#entry20859361

 

Wow! What an interesting discussion. I used MH in my HID days for veg  and that was all I used. Using the Solar Spec I just used the veg switch. When I flipped to 12 / 12 I flipped the bloom switch on. They stretched but nothing out of the normal. Here they are at week 6
 

 

I ditched the cables and used nylon wire ties from lug to lug and then attach my rope ratchet hook to them. You do have to get the hook in the center of the tie..  

 

i emailed victor and he said the same thing about splitting the cables. i went to the store and got some O rings to slide over the pole on top. if i need to ill get some small pieces of chain to hold it up. i just wanted to make sure there wasnt some connector i could order or somehting