New Bubbler Grow Coming Soon - Input Welcome!

You just dont listen do you....why are you wasting time when you have experienced growers telling you that you NEED high intensity lighting like HPS (High Pressure Sodium) and MH (Metal Halide).....
One thing you do need to do is stop with this shit about incadescent bulbs...

>>>>>>>>>>IT DOES'NT WORK<<<<<<<<<<

Also stop with the graphs, im telling you this next part to help you ok.....
You dont just need the red end of the spectrum threwout a plants cycle....you need 2.....one for veg (which is a bluere end of the spectrum for plant growth) & one for flower (which is the red/orange end of the spectrum).
yes... Fluorescents are good for side lighting, recovering clones,recovering adults & newborn seedlings.
Incadescents aren't even good for that!!!

What im saying is that you wont get good growth, you'll just get stretching, minimal foliage, and a 0-10 gram yield....

Think about that man, its your grow, but you dont want to be putting in all that effort for nothing now do you????????
Do some research next time......then execute!

Good luck with your "low" intensity lighting...lol
Peace Out & Happy tokes,
Bliss.

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Okay, Grumpleberry Crankypants - Allow me to respond:

This is my first hydro grow, not my first grow.

Seems to me the main "Experienced Grower" participating in this thread has been pro-CFL, not staunchly pro-high-intensity.

I'm happy to get constructive input, but baffled as to why you're so ornery about my choices. It's not as though I've even suggested that anyone follow suit...

I'm also curious as to how you know I'll get poor growth, "stretching, minimal foliage, and a 0-10 gram yield"... Have you employed these same methods with said result? Or are you, perhaps, just regurgitating what you've read/heard?

People have been growing indoors for much longer than all of the high-intensity options have been readily available on the market. If my lighting gives my plants the wattage and wavelenghts they need to thrive, I'm pretty sure they don't care what kind of bulbs I'm using. And I certainly don't know why you do!

So Darlin'... Use HPS, use MH, use a lava lamp - I don't care. I'm simply describing my set-up & reasoning, and, obviously, my research about plants & spectra. I've added graphs to concisely explain the science behind my choices. And I'lll report on my results for anyone who is interested, but it isn't required reading, so if it gets you agitated, just pick another thread to read. Click, click.

Payment sent on 11/27, received on 12/4, seeds arrived just as ordered on 12/8.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mackSwell

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Okay, Grumpleberry Crankypants - Allow me to respond:

This is my first hydro grow, not my first grow.

Seems to me the main "Experienced Grower" participating in this thread has been pro-CFL, not staunchly pro-high-intensity.

I'm happy to get constructive input, but baffled as to why you're so ornery about my choices. It's not as though I've even suggested that anyone follow suit...

I'm also curious as to how you know I'll get poor growth, "stretching, minimal foliage, and a 0-10 gram yield"... Have you employed these same methods with said result? Or are you, perhaps, just regurgitating what you've read/heard?

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OK lets just say from my very first ever grow, i thought i could use incadescent bulbs also....then i moved to fluoro's, then to HPS....now i still have my HPS and would never go back.....so guess you could say its from personal experience......once again....goodluck with it!!!

just stopping by...but are you actually considering using incandescent bulbs? you do realize they will not work. Sure your plant will live. No you wont get any bud. CFLs do work, in fact they can work quite well and they are offered in the red flowering spectrum(apprx 3000k) and blue veg (approx 6000k). The problem is...they are CFLs. They work GREAT when they are around 1-2" from the canopy. The problem unless you have massive side lighting...the lumens will dissapate so quickly that you wont be penetrating worth a dam. Sure some wide and low LST plants could get some good yields. Hell...Ive now seen people pull 2-3 ounces from a CFL plant. The thing is, they had one plant and only one plant. They had a small tiny closet and they had issues with ventillation and heat so an HID wasnt a viable choice.

That being said, if your growing hydro with more then one or two plants, your just holding yourself back without an HID. An HID will have vastly superior penetration, you will only need one light instead of 12 of them, and youll just get far superior growth in shorter time. Like a said, CFLs can produce but you really should only employee them in my opinion if your in a freakin dorm room or something with no space.

If your doing hydro, you have space for it and detection cant be a big deal, so that means you probably have the space for an HID and some proper ventillation. If your completely against the thought of an HPS light, then scrap the CFLs and purchase some real fluros like some T5 HO. The T5 will have more wattage over a larger area with more lumens. I havent read your thread so I am just jumping in.

However, I will end my stoned rant (just tried some of my purple, its out of this world, grown under HID might I ad) with this. If you plan on getting high yields with CFL, unless you have already grown successfully indoors already I wouldnt expect much. Some noobies can get some great yields first time around with HID, but Ive never seen someone without grow experience grow with CFLs and come out well.

Oh what I really wanted to mention is that while some people can pull 1-3 ounces off a CFL plant, in the time it took them to veg and flower (a long time with cfls), I could have nearly 2 cycles finished (since I barely veg and use HIDs) and I would end up with more.

Go HID or Go Home.

You want 10 grams or 100's??

My little champ is coming along pretty well as my trial hydro run. CFL still (and yes, I still plan to use CFL & incandescents during flower this run... If I'm not happy with the results, I will consider the MANY forceful opinions expressed here. *wink*).

BTW - The fan I'm using is a "Register Booster" fan... They are made to respond to temperature (to be places by forced air vents in homes) and turn on and off at your set point by themselves. These are wonderful! The on & off gives a great natural breeze effect, and since I'm using CFL and temp never gets high, the fact that they don't blow constantly is a bonus. They aren't the cheapest small fans - about $35 at Home Depot - but I thought I'd pass it on!


The only trouble I'm having is a small amount of tip burn on the older, lower leaves. Obviously not a heat/scorch issue, since temp is good and it's only lower leaves. Older leaves suggest it is a mobile element problem, but I don't know which.

I pruned off the oldest, lowest, small leaves, as some were showing a bit of chlorosis as well - from the tips back, no pronounciation between the veins.

Had a bit of "praying" earlier this week, but foliar Epsom & H2O solved this immediately. Continued spray for 2 days, morning & evening.

Changed the resevoir the next day as well, and added some H2O2 to prevent the slight algae growth cleaned out of old resevoir.

pH has been consistant and is not a problem.

The next oldest set of leaves show just the tip burn. It is truly just the very tips, less than 1/32", and does not seem to be spreading.

Can anyone suggest what is troubling my older, lower leaves?

Well, I'm guessing at this point that my plant is simply getting too many nutes. It is actually about 6 weeks old, but due to the trauma it endured a few weeks ago, I've had to 'handicap' its age. I've weakened the nute:water ratio in hopes of preventing more tip burn.

I'm also misting frequently, as humidity is on the lower side in my grow closet (except around shower time - closet is in a bathroom). But with consistant temperature in the low 70s, I've not seen any evidence of too-low-humidity problems.

I'll get some pix up when I'm not being so lazy.

My plant has responded very well to the lower nutrient concentration. I've been giving it a little foliar boost - H2O, H2O2, Epsom Salts, Apple Cider Vinegar, and some pH down for potassium.

The plant is nice and bushy, no stretching. The CFL is just a few inches above the canopy. (One day the clamp slipped and the CFL was resting on some of the leaves for a few hours... They weren't happy, but have recovered nicely.)

On foliar sprays... I've been doing some research, and read that although the stomata (pores used for respiration) are indeed on the undersides of the leaves, when you hit them with liquids, they actually close up! (Not buying this? Pluck a piece of a leaf, put it under a microscope, and check it out for yourself.)This counter most accepted info that foliar sprays should be applied to the undersides of leaves. So for good measure, it seems worthwhile to spray the entire leaf.

Also, research indicates that you should aim for a pH of 5.0 for foliar sprays. So add a touch of pH down, unless your potassium is already to high... Then you may wish to add vinegar instead - but not Apple Cider Vinegar, because this is also high in potassium!

Finally the photos!

In the 3rd, you can see the touches of tip burn on the lower leaves. No new leaves are showing this. You can also see some downward curl on some leaves... About 7-10 leaves show this, but I believe I have the cause fixed - I think it was getting too much nutrient for its handicapped age.

All-in-all, its going pretty well for a trial run.