So I bought a BC Northern Lights Bloombox from my buddy and have had fun with it so far. Don't really know what I'm doing but the box is completely automated so it makes it a lot easier. I started seeds 3 weeks ago and have had them under the CFL for 2 weeks. Transplanted them under the HPS last night and when I woke up this morning they were sagging and looked weak for the first time. I'm not really sure if its something I'm doing wrong or if its just stress from moving them under the bigger light. Any advice would help a lot. I'm posting pics of the box as well as the plants last night before the move and this morning after. Computer system and ballast above the Veg/Mother side. HPS side. This was last night right before putting them under the HPS. This was last night after the move. This morning. Looking droopy. Not sure what I did.
Is the relitive humidity level lower under the new light? Some strains are very susceptible to low humidity levels in veg stage and can cause them to droop if it drops too low. Too much heat can be a culprit as well
The humidity is just a little lower in the new side and the heat has only gone up a few degrees under the HPS. This morning I had yellowing on the leaves as well. Here are pics.
I just changed out the water and I have light browning on my roots. I'm thinking maybe I over fed them but I'm not sure.
They sound a little young for intense light. Also looks like you have a lot of that rockwool exposed. Maybe your light is heating that up. Roots need to be cool. How are your temps, Air and resovoir? No light is getting to your roots either right?
My temp stays around 75. It's hard to get any source of cool air inside the box because its completely sealed off when closed. It was getting too hot so I have 2 fans blowing on the outside of the box which helped drop the temp a few degrees since the box is aluminum. Air is straight CO2. It has a tank attached on the outside and it pumps it in every 10 minutes or so. No light is getting to the roots but I did put more stones on top of the rockwool to be sure.
So I just wanted to get some input on my progress. Plants came back from near disaster and look strong. Root systems are long and white. Plants are very bushy. Only problem is they aren't growing vertically. I'm not sure what the cause of this is. They are a month under the HPS and have seemed to reach a plateau. Any advice?
What is the ppm of the nute solution? As the plants grow they will require more food. You said you changed to hps, what size is it. Its possible you are giving them to much light, if a plant is getting to much light it has no reason to stretch to it, grow vertical. This is possible, most peole don't worry about it, but your small box and to much light it could happen.
My PPM is fairly steady at 1300. The HPS is only a 400w. I originally thought there was too much light and was going to switch bulbs to the MH but we stuck with the HPS. Veged under the CFL for quite a while before transfer the the HPS. They are still growing very well to the outside just not getting very much vertical. The middle one is. It grows about an inch everyday. The rest seem to bush more.
Are you sure about that ppm, that is real strong for plants that size. Your ph is it around 5.8? You should be fine with the light. One other concern i would have is the space you have. If you are going to flower in that box, remember the plants will double, maybe triple in size. Keep that in mind when switching to 12/12. You don't want the plants growing into you lamp.
For the PPM I was just going by what it says on my nute jugs. I haven't had any burn or anything that would lead me to believe it was too strong. My ph stays right at 5.7. I check it twice a day. The box is misleading. The inside is about 4 and a half feet tall. And there is glass separating the bulb from the plants. I haven't been too worried about height except on the tall plant. It's about 14" right now. The rest are still very short but have very dense stem growth and large leaves. I just can't find a cause for their stunted growth. I've looked all over the Internet and gone to y local hydroponics store and I can't get the same answer from anyone. Maybe it's not a bad thing and I just need to be patient. I'm not sure.
Got ya... you don't have a tds meter? The box is really cool. It looks small in the photo. What's something like that cost? It might be a strain thing going on. Looks like a lot of indica, they grow like a bush.
I do have a TDS meter. I'm just not sure how it works or what it's for. The box came with everything. I bought it from my buddy for $3500. They got the deluxe bundle which came with 2 of everything including HPS, MH, and CFL's and 2 carbon filters. As well as nutes for about 10 grows. The veg side holds 12 and the flower side holds 9. Super nice box. Would definitely recommend them to anyone.
Is the tds meter a pen, or do you leave a probe inside the dwc. I have a couple of the there quite easy to use. If you look at my grow journal, the link below. I have mine set up. Measures water temp, ppm, ec or cf, plus ph. I just bought this one but have a pen type to. So if you got any questions let me know. I am no expert, but have a clue. Check my grow out.
I have a pen. The probe sounds awesome tho. I'm definitely gonna look into it. Thanks for your help. Your grow looks awesome. We were going to scrog but decided too late. Maybe next time.
You can just turn the pen on, take the cap off, and stick the probe end in the solution about an inch into it. Then read it.
Just wanted to post some update pics. I'm 2 and a half weeks into flowering. Lost 3 of 9 plants due to them being males. But the 6 left are in great shape and very healthy. Only problem I have now is my sativa (the tall one) is too tall and is pressing on the glass now. I'm going to have to bend it a little tomorrow I guess. Any feedback on how I'm doing would be great.
That's one of the problems when trying to groe different strains st the same time. Your going to have to train that one. LST. Sativas do that.
So I'm now a month and a few days into flowering and they're looking great. No serious problems at all. Just wanted to post a few pics to update my thread.