First off, I fucked up. I bought a 3x3 tent for the basement and for some reason decided it would be an awesome idea to throw a 600w mh in there for one plant. Definitely my first mistake as I had no way to deal with the amount of heat these things throw off. The last time I grew was a decade ago so I'm definitely a little rusty. First things first, I'm using random organic soil from Menards, mixed with perlite. I have a really shitty soil ph meter (rapidtest I believe) that just resets to 7.0 after momentarily coming up with a reading. This just leads me to not believe a fucking word it says...but for what it's worth the last reading I got from it was like 7.5 which I know is too high as it is and might be my problem. 600w w/ adjustable ballast (50, 75 and 100%). 190 cfm vortex style exhaust fan. Air cooled hood w/ 6 in intake and exhaust, hung some 33" above the plant. 20/4 light cycle. Tent is located in a basement and exhausted into the same room which only accentuates my heat problems, but there isn't another option. Fox farm grow big, I fed once a very diluted feeding. Things started off alright, I sprouted an auto blue cheese but quickly ran into some problems. Mainly the heat I'm thinking. I've tried all sorts of intake/exhaust variations but am having a super hard time keeping temps into the low 80's. Ideally I'd love mid to high 70's but eh...you make do with what ya got. I noticed some glossy patches shortly on with new growth and the leaves curling upwards indicating heat stress. Temps have been for the most part in the low to mid 80's. In any case I guess at this point the pics can tell more than I can. Like I said, I think it's a heat issue but I'm wondering if it could be a separate issue that I'm attributing to heat when I should be focused elsewhere. Running the 600 mh at 50% to try and stave off temps for now, still mid 80s though. Where I live has been running in the 80s during the day and 60s at night so that could be too. I blew through my budget and spent above and beyond what I was hoping lmao so money's tight right now any input is greatly appreciated...sorry if I left anything out lol high Oh and some of the pics show oddly deformed looking growth...she was just windswept, the box I had the fan sitting on collapsed and she endured a hurricane for 15 hours lol, she's all good as far as that goes now though. Is auto blue cheese supposed to be a heat sensitive strain?? Also really interested in what these glossy patches could be, if anything 20180830_002645 by pilazinit3 posted Aug 31, 2018 at 5:09 AM 20180830_002720 by pilazinit3 posted Aug 31, 2018 at 5:09 AM 20180830_002750 by pilazinit3 posted Aug 31, 2018 at 5:06 AM 20180830_002756 by pilazinit3 posted Aug 31, 2018 at 5:06 AM 20180830_002808 by pilazinit3 posted Aug 31, 2018 at 5:06 AM 20180830_002817 by pilazinit3 posted Aug 31, 2018 at 5:06 AM 20180830_002831 by pilazinit3 posted Aug 31, 2018 at 5:06 AM 20180830_020029 by pilazinit3 posted Aug 31, 2018 at 5:06 AM
looking good to me. That leaf curl was likely due to light being too close to plant, so if its still the same distance id find a way to raise the light or lower its output a bit more until the plant is a bit bigger and can handle the more intense light. edit: sorry, read 50% is as low as it goes, so you dont have much choice but to raise it if able. oddly shaped growth was probably due to your fan blowing on it for those 15 hrs. All in all, id say its looking prety good. Even if u have some slight leaf curl, if there's nothing u can do about it just let it be and it'll fix itself as it ages to where it can handle the more intense light.
You haven't necessarily fucked up, you can run 600w in a 3x3. First of all MH run hot as hell so dim it down to as low as it will go. It will be more than enough to veg that little plant. 300w should help with the heat. When you change to HPS you should be able to bump it up to 600w, or at least 400w. The soil sounds fine, don't worry about the pH, it won't be out enough to concern you. You have bigger things to concentrate on for now. Long ducting slows air flow, as does bends. So shorten up those ducts and remove as much of the bends as possible. When the duct isn't pulled tight you get ribs, these slow air flow so tighten them up to smooth them out. If heat is still a problem then you could run the lights at 5/1. This gives the set up one hour to cool down every 6 hours. This equates to 20/4 throughout the whole day and as its an auto it won't cause any problems. Does your basement have any ventilation? Windows or doors? Any vents that you could run the exhaust to? The temperature right above the plant can usually go up to 86°f without any significant problems but 80°f should be just fine. That's the temperature right above the plant, not on the floor, wall, or ceiling. The important figure is right above the plant as this is the hottest spot the plant is subjected to. The glossy patches look like splash damage, have you recently wet the leaves? Great strain btw, I was growing that for a couple of years, such a nice smoke. Although I've never tried the auto version
Thanks for the reply! I'll get to work on those ducts. I never even thought about running 5/1 That's a great idea thank you. Unfortunately there isn't any ventilation from the basement...i know it's not ideal so I'm trying to filter the air in the basement as best I can. Can you elaborate on the splash damage? I try to take her out of the basement when I can to get some fresh air and I'll usually mist the foliage with distilled water while it's not under the light. I did recently make a batch of nuted water and fed it that 3 or 4 days ago, so maybe I splashed some nutes on the leaves? It was pretty diluted but still. I'll be bringing her upstairs here in a bit so I'll see how she looks then
Splash damage is when the leaves get burned by water getting on them This could be from the salts in the water becoming concentrated from evaporation. It could be the evaporative cooling effect from fans blowing on it, or some people believe the water droplets cause a magnifying effect with the lights. Whatever the reason water on the leaves is a bad thing. Is there a reason why you're spraying them? The odd dead patch on a few leaves shouldn't be a worry unless you believe it's a symptom of an underlying issue that could get worse How big is your basement? The air will need to be exchanged at some point otherwise oxygen and moisture levels are going to get too high and carbon dioxide levels will get too low
How do you have your air cooled hood and ventilation arranged? Do you have two fans? Or just one ? Where is the cool air coming in the tent and where is it leaving it? Can't that duct hanging from the fan at the back be removed? It's better to have the air removed from the top instead of the middle as it will be hotter up there Plus that duct will slow the air
The basement is probably 30x20 all open, it's old school limestone so it gets very humid in there. I bought a dehumidifier that is definitely helping with that at least As of right now the hood is air cooled with an intake and exhaust, both 6 in. It's moving a decent amount of warm air out of the hood. In the upper right I have the vortex style 190cfm fan for exhaust for the tent, and the bottom flaps on either side open for passive intake. I had a little 4in duct fan running as intake in the bottom right, but it was weak as shit and I came across something on here that said to try passive intakes. And honestly I couldn't tell ya why I spray it...i guess I just figured she liked it lol Edit - oh and the reason I put the long duct on the exhaust was that I thought if I concentrated on sucking out the warmest air right under the light that it may help with the heat. It seemed logical at the time lol but I was a bit toasty
That's quite a bit of room down there, if there are no windows or vents, why not just have it open? Do you need a tent enclosing it? I bet that dehumidifier is pumping out a significant amount of heat, is that on all the time? So am I right in saying that you have 3 fans? One pushing air through the air cooled hood, one pulling air through the hood, and one at the back exhausting the tent? The duct drawing air from under the hood doesn't sound like a bad idea. I would still guess that it would run cooler without it, but probably not a huge difference I leave the bottom of my doors unzipped to allow cool air to enter more easily. That might be worth a try Can you position the hood a bit higher so the duct coming in and going out is completely straight? I find that helps with mine
Quick tip dude, throw a couple of gallon water bottles 3 quarters full in the freezer, sit them behind a fan on a tray to catch condensation. Works well if heat from lights is an issue, take em out when light is off and refreeze.
So I went with a tent simply because the basement being that old school lime foundation and all isn't the most sterile. Dust and cobwebs everywhere and random beetles etc. The place is a straight up dungeon I'm not even exaggerating lmao. So I went with a tent in an area of the basement that I can actually feel somewhat comfortable walking around lol The humidifier is on all the time but doesn't seem to throw out a whole lot of heat. However without it my rh meter hits around 90% Yes 3 fans now. Considering adding the 4th as an intake on the bottom again but it's so weak idk if that would do anything. Can't hurt I bet. Currently the hood can't be raised anymore with the hooks and ratchet setup I have holding it. I tried to get it as high as I could to prevent extreme bends in the ducting but that was the best I could manage And I leave the door unzipped partway with a deskfan blowing in air across the canopy. I was convinced the issues I was seeing on the leaves were from heat so I was pursuing that angle but honestly low 80s doesn't seem to be too extreme, so I started thinking it might be something else.
Ya know I had come across that idea around here I guess I just figured they would melt too quickly to do anything lol
The biggest piece of advice i can give you is to learn a good recipe for your own medium for a no till grow. You'll only have to ever put in non ph'd water and your results will always be consistent. It also shaves a ton of money off nutrients since amendments are much cheaper and work much better. It will save a shit ton of money on nutrients. I would suggest also switching to a cheap LED whenever possible. Cuts out a ton of heat and gives you way more options on how to use your lights. You'll also be able to use the same pot of medium over and over. Feel free to take a look at my current grow journal link below for what kind of results you can expect. My recipe is something I made myself, but there are hundreds out there that work just as well or better. You can throw out your ph meters and testers after you get this down. You'll never have to ph the soil or water again. Until you're able to make changes to correct the situation, you may want to also try changing the light sched to on at night and off in the day time. This can counteract heat problems sometimes.
Those vents look closed, can the flaps be lifted to allow more air through? That intake port at the back/bottom could be pulled inside and left wide open to allow more air through You're probably better off leaving the fan that's pushing air through the air cooled hood there but removing the one sucking at the other end and using it as another exhaust for the tent With both fans on the hood, the air will still be going pretty much the same speed as if you were using just one Can't you raise the hood by attaching it to the ceiling differently? I use 4 S hooks and remove the hoops from the hood and get it just a couple of inches from the ceiling You could be right about the heat not being that much of a problem though. What is the temperature difference from in side to outside the tent
Quick fix, worked for me until LEDs were finished. I only get a 6.5 degree Celsius Change between lights on and off ...
I run 20/4 at the moment with the 4 off being between 1pm and 5pm which is usually the hottest I'll definitely look into making my own soil, being proactive makes alot more sense lol I took her out a few mins ago, temps were at 84. I'll upload a pic here in a min
Okay so something is definitely setting in. I'm wondering if it's a defiency or a toxicity, either way today it seems fairly widespread. Any input anyone? 20180901_020418 by pilazinit3 posted Sep 1, 2018 at 8:10 AM 20180901_020453 by pilazinit3 posted Sep 1, 2018 at 8:10 AM 20180901_020509 by pilazinit3 posted Sep 1, 2018 at 8:10 AM 20180901_020521 by pilazinit3 posted Sep 1, 2018 at 8:10 AM 20180901_020551 by pilazinit3 posted Sep 1, 2018 at 8:10 AM 20180901_020612 by pilazinit3 posted Sep 1, 2018 at 8:10 AM 20180901_020629 by pilazinit3 posted Sep 1, 2018 at 8:10 AM
Possibly, they look well stressed on some pics, and neut burnt on others, Ur in soil so nutrients shouldn't be problem, unless Ur giving them feed on top of soil ???