400w HPS White Rhino/Bubbilicious Soil Grow

Well i know my stuff man..and i've done tests on my own. I can put the cfl's about an inch away from the plants..so they stretch less. It's not a huge different but the plants are bushier when i use cfl's that are really close to the plants. I just put up the hps anyways though, i felt like getting it out of the way rather than doing it later, plus even though i prefer using cfl's in the begginning of vegging, since i'm growing 8 plants the cfl's can't cover all of them, the plants on the end weren't even actually under the light, they were like half under the light, half not because the middle plants were squeezing them out. Will the hps be able to cover all 8 of my plants? I put the pots close together so they form a square, which is bigger than the dimensions of the reflector.

But, to each his own. Maybe the plants just happened to be bushier under the cfl's because they were different strains. I mean i'm no expert.

 

I'm using a 400w hps. The lumens per sq ft, is definately important. But when there young, it doesn't make a huge difference. That's why i usually use my cfl's during vegging, because they work just as good if not better than hps for the first few weeks of growth. Not to mention it uses about half the electricity and the temp is about 10 degrees cooler than with the hps. But once they get to be about 3 weeks old, i always use the hps. Because that's when they start to really grow fast, and need as much light as they can use. i'd say we are both right, you definately have your points and i understand where your coming from. I just figure, why not save a little money on electricity and keep the room cooler with the cfls for the first few weeks of growth.

On another note, i just put in the hps about two hours ago. The temp was about 75 with the cfl's, and it's already 81.3 with the hps. So i'm assuming it may get around 85 when it's been on for a long time. I have a 120mm computer fan blowing like 3 inches under the hps bulb, it helps a little but i'm assuming i'm going to need atleast another one if the temp is around 85? The fans are powerful for their size..i believe they push around 92 cfm each.

 

it's about 6 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and 5 feet long. I'm going to be making it shorter when i section it off with black/white poly or a silver tarp or something. I have two 120mm fans in there..blowing about 180cfm. Only problem is, it's not fresh air considering the closet has no opening other than the door. I was thinking about buying like a dayton 265cfm blower..but where and how do i put it in? since the closet has no openings, the hole i would have to make to fit the blower in would be bigger than it would have to be to mount it...so i'm not sure what i can do for ventilation...

 

I was thinking of getting something like this: http://www.mdhydro.com/acshpoblexfa.html

The 265cfm version. I just need to know how it works and where and how it's mounted, etc. I'm confused lol.

 

Well, i closed the closet for about 5 and a half hours with the hps on..after only that long, the temp reached 89 degrees, and thats with those 2 computer fans an a window fan i had laying around. I think i'm going to try using an a/c.. I'm going to section off the room into 2 parts with a tarp, then i'm going to cut a square in the tarp that will just the the ac in, then i'm gonna ductape around the egdes of the a/c so it's sealed. So it's going to take the air from the empty side of the closet and blow cool air in my grow room area. Will this work?

 

i solved the problem with the a/c..its only about 78 degrees with the ac on there.

 

Yep it's on the wall of the house..i don't need to worry about odor control. I live on the top floor (3 stories up), My house always smells of weed anyways lol. And on top of that, my cousin owns the house..and he also happens to be a big time smoker also. How would i go about installing the dryer hose. Do you know anywhere that has steps or pictures to do it? I get the concept for the most part, i just want to see exactly how it's done so i don't fuck anything up. If i got the dayton fan, how do i install that also? I'm kinda confused exactly how they work and are mounted, etc...and i'm not even sure if i can put a blower fan in there because it's a closed closet with no openings...

EDIT: another problem also...the a/c works fine for about an hour and then it starts blowing out hot air. Is it because the other section of the room where it's taking the air from runs out after like an hour or so? In order to get the air cold again, i have to leave the closet open for like 20 mins and it starts coming out cold again. I like my closet, but ventilation is a pain. I've tried multiple solutions and none of them have worked 100% yet.

 

Ok, the plants are doing pretty good except for one minor problem. The leaves are curling up around the edges a little, and some of the leaves feel a little crispy. The last plants i grew did the same thing, and i couldn't figure out what the problem is. The light isn't too close, in fact i have it farther away then i'm supposed too...my hand can't even feel any heat from where the plants are so i know that's not the problem. I've been watering them right, i water them until water comes out of the holes in the pot and then every few days i check the soil until it's dry and i repeat the watering process. The temperature hasn't gone above 83 degrees in the past week or so either so i don't think it's the heat. The humidity is really low though..it always is in that closet, it rarely gets about 30% humidity..idk if the dryness has anything to do with it or not though. Could someone help me identify my problem? I'll be posting pictures in an hour or so also.

 

nope, not until they are atleast 3 weeks old.

 

I fed them 1/4 dosage nutrients today, and i also put a 1/4 teaspoon of epsom salt into the gallon of water i watered them with. One of my plants is a runt..the first actual leaves (not the cotyledons) look like cabbage, and the plant is lagging behind all the others.

 

Also, does anyone know what i should buy to check ph, etc. I need some ph up, ph down, and a tester/test strips for around $30 or so.

And, when i'm measuring ph do i measure the ph of the water i'm feeding them or the soil? Will they both have different readings if i used one or the other?