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yeah, pretty much. there might be a switch. i don't know much about the lumatek (besides i want one, just too far off to do serious research into, ya know?).
it will run cooler not to mention more efficient. think they say up to 30% (obviously taken with a grain of salt).
-shake
I just realized that I had a major brain fart. I put in the 2700k bulbs instead of the 6500k ones. At least it hasn't been very long. When the timer switches the lights back on, in a few hours, I'll switch them out.
Doh!!!
i just finished building a new grow box last night, and i did the same thing! lol.
another reason to get an HID!
-shake
Well......... after all these months of talking about it, I finally broke down and ordered some HID lighting. I went with an air-cooled reflector and a 250 watt digital ballast so we can run both MH and HPS bulbs. For flowering we'll add some CFL's for additional lumens. I found some clamp-on gooseneck lamps on-line that should fit the bill for the CFL's. We'll just clamp them to the corner poles inside the tent.
We'll just put Frankenlight in storage as a back-up, just in case.
glad you went to a hid but i will say if you run 250w in CFL the yeilds will be the same....i always get more than a g per watt when running CFL i cant say the same for when i run my HPS.....i got 3/4 a lb with 350w(14- 23w/27w) of CFLs last run and only 9 oz running my 600 hps! i still need to get my number of plants down but i think i can get over 1.5 lbs from my 600 with over 50 plants but the number of plants scares me!
Time will tell, killa. My two main reasons for switching are heat and electricity usage.
With the HPS + 4 CFL's I'll get a few more lumens than I'm running now while burning over 100 watts less of electricity.
I'm also hoping that pulling cool air through the enclosed reflector will greatly reduce the temperature at the canopy height.
It's been several days since the last sprout appeared. I'm thinking that all that will sprout already have.
Final count appears to be:
Blue Apollo = 5 out of 7
AK-47 = 4 out of 7
Now, we veg and wait to see how many females we end up with. The tent will only handle 2 to a max of 4 flowering females.
I'm thinking that we'll move males and any extra females outdoors and let them pollinate and go to seed.
Would a cross between AK-47 and Blue Apollo be "Space Invaders"?;)
space invaders sounds awesome!
-shake
thats some very sexy bud man
Here's a progress shot from this morning's feeding.
lookin good mctoker. that bagseed in the back is going pretty good, it had about a week head start right?
Yup, fluid. The bagseed has a week on the AK to its right which has about a week on the rest of the sprouts.
damn! that ak caught up fast. I'm curious to see how the bagseed stands up to the other genetics. I've always grown bagseed because i'm cheap and paranoid, but I've almost got the nerve up to place an order after seeing so many awesome strains on this forum. keep up the good work.
We were in the same boat about ordering. After getting only 1 viable sprout out of 12 bagseeds, we decided to bite the bullet and order. We went through the thread on seed vendors and wrote down the name of each that got a good review. Then we added a tick mark for each additional good review that each received. From what we read, we thought that we would have better luck receiving our order by ordering from Canada rather than from the UK or the Netherlands. Nothing against the overseas vendors. It just seemed logical that fewer red flags would be raised coming from Canada.
Our original plan for this grow was to do bagseed again as a comparison but, alas, it was not meant to be.
As for the individual seed providers, we had read several rave reviews on Joey Weed's products so we went with his Blue Apollo. Jerry Garcia's grow log, re: Blue Apollo, helped cinch that decision. We really didn't know anything about the provider of the AK-47 but decided to give it a shot, no pun intended, based on the low price.
The plants were taking about a 1/2 gallon of water/nutes (for all 10) for each watering. Over that last couple days they are starting to take closer to a full gallon at each watering. The babies are really making nice progress every day. Still using 1/2 strength nutes.
Our new lighting should be here today and be in operation by this evening. We'll post another progress shot tomorrow along with a shot of the new light.
Looking Great McT!
Your logs are always so damned informative and most of the time doesn't give me room to question anything.
But rambling is better than lurking sometimes.
begood bud,
be
:jointsmile:
Thanks BeFree.
We got the new light installed tonight. With the bottom of the reflector at 18 inches above the plants, the canopy temp is running about 8 degrees cooler. We'll see how the plants respond to that lamp height and adjust accordingly from there, if needed. Canopy temp is staying within 2 to 3 degrees of the ambient room temp right now.
Since we only have 31.5 inches of width to work with in the tent, we had to fabricate a 6 inch to 4 inch adapter. A regular adapter just made the whole lamp assembly too wide. We taped a couple sticks to the intake end of the reflector to keep the fan from suctioning to the side of the tent.
Here's the latest progress pic and one of the new lighting.
the lamp looks good mctoker. are you going to be training the plants?
Yup. The plan is to LST them.
Nice plants. Ive been using CFL and LST as well. Light hood looks cool and ventilation seems great on this set up!
Thanks MRDiff.
Some of the plants, particularly the BA were showing signs of heat stress. The edges of the leaves were starting to curl up. I raised the light from 14 inches to 18 inches to see if that helps. If it doesn't, I guess I'll take it even higher. Canopy temp (while the light is on) is running 80 to 83 degrees with the ambient room (house) temp running 77 to 80. With the light off, the canopy temp runs 74 to 77. The house A/C is always set at 78.
The canopy temp is cooler running the HID than running the CFL's. With the CFL's the temp would climb to 85 and sometimes 86.
Humidity is about 36% with the light on and about 40% when it is off. This is with the humidifier set on high and running 24/7. The exhaust fan also runs 24/7.
The light is currently on a 18/6 schedule. Last time we ended up running the lights 24 hours during vegging. We're thinking about keeping it at 18/6 with dark time during the day (noon to 6PM) to help offset electricity costs. Our electricity is cheaper betwen 9PM and 9AM.
The 10 buckets are taking about 3/4 of a gallon of water/nutes each day. Still running 1/2 strength nutes and the plants seem very happy with that.:)
The grow and your tent is starting to look really nice. Best of wishes to you and your soon to be killer bud ;)
Thanks fdsaasdf ~ We'll take all the good wishes, prayers and karma that we can get.;)
I was tired of seeing such a difference between the thermometer inside the tent and the remote one outside the tent. Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, an idea struck me. No, it didn't hurt a bit.:D I digress. I decided to mount the "outside" temp sensors together on a bamboo skewer stuck in a chunk of artificial flower foam. This way I can have both sensors in the same place and be able to easily adjust them to the canopy height. For the most part, the two are reading within 1/2 to 1 degree of each other.
AK #1, back row center, is by far the thirstiest of all the plants. But then, she (hopefully) is a full week older than any of the other AK's or BA's.
Raising the lamp seems to have helped. Most of the plants have already lost the curling up in the edges of their leaves. Canopy temp is now running 78 to 80 degrees with the light on.
On another note; I've been studying up on growing outdoors in my hot/arid climate. In another thread on the subject, Kush varieties were recommended since they originated from Afganastan, a similar climate. In Cervantes' book, he says that Afgan strains tend to have broad leaves. Both my AK-47 and the Blue Apollo appear to have broader leaves, especially when compared to the one bagseed plant we have in this grow.
My question is, do either the AK or the BA owe any of their heritage to an Afgan strain?
I suppose I could have asked this in it's own thread but figured some of you that frequent this log may know the answer.
McT, your beauties are looking... well, beautiful! Your whole setup is really kickin' some ass. All of your plants look like they're going to be some serious bushes, with broad leaves and tight nodes. Good growing, my friend!
As for your question, I think the AK47 has some Afghani in its heritage, but I'm not sure about the BA. Sorry I couldn't help out more. Surely someone here will know more.
Continued good luck, my friend!
Thank you my spandex clad Elvis amigo....... thank you very much.;):D:D
The Mrs. and I have to run to town so, I'll try to get in some research time when we get back.
Mctoker, I just comment on your heat/humidity problem on Jake's grow (sorry Jake) and didn't realize it was inside grow. I know you have have an exhaust fan but try getting a small personal fan and setting it in the bottom of the tent I use one in my outside GH and it helps it doesn't cool the temps any but just like moving air feels good on us so it seems to with the plants.
lunarose ~ There is a small oscilating fan in the front left corner in the tent. It just doesn't usually get caught in the pics. I guess it's shy.:)
Ah, a secret agent fan :)
or spread eagle, dressed like madonna :D
lookin good toker, diggin those long fan leaves.
Ak-47 - Columbian, Mexican, Thai & Afghani - Sativa 65 / Indica 35
"Despite it's aggressive name, AK-47 has many peaceful tendencies. First bred in 1992, the name suggests the power packed in its dark, resinous, compact buds that bristle with red hairs and glistening trichomes. AK-47 has a spiced aroma bordering on skunk, with a hint of sandalwood, but tastes sweeter and more floral than the smell would lead one to expect.
AK has mostly sativa characteristics with one exception: a quick finishing time. The variety was reworked in 1999 to increase stability, so results from seeds are uniform. A tall plant with substantial girth and big fat calyxes, she performs excellently in indoor environments, both soil and hydro, and has been grown outdoors with good results. In low to medium temperatures, this variety produces a denser bud; in high temperatures buds are fluffier and more open, but total yields are roughly equivalent.
The AK-47 buzz is immediate and long lasting with an allert but mellow cerebral effect. Lab tests have rated the THC content at over 20 percent, making it a "one hit wonder" for many smokers. This variety can be a little spacey, but is great for playing and listening to music, or other social activities. AK-47 helped put Serious Seeds on the map with a 2nd place finish in the hydroponics competition and a 3rd place in the overall category at the 1995 Cannabis Cup in the Netherlands."
Blue Apollo - Apollo 11 x Blueberry
From the breeder:
This is a cross between my favorite blueberry and Apollo 11. The Father is Apollo 11 a high producing super potent strain many of you have heard about or maybe grown yourself. It is low in odor having a faint citrus like smell. The mother is Blueberry I obtained from DJ Short via Dutch Passion. The Blueberry mother is a high yielder with the soaring blueberry high and delicious blueberry smell. It gives large buds that are rock solid. Blueberry has been a favorite of many growers for years now and has won many awards. Your mouth will be watering every time you tend your plants. Try to wait until they finish before you sample some, I know it will be hard to wait. The females have blue/purple stems particularly in the seedlings and the leaves or buds also tend to turn a bluish shade at the finish. Both blueberry and A11 are hardy vigorous plants with very nice buds.
Here's a link to a few bud shots from someone on these boards that grew it out
http://boards.cannabis.com/1810665-post69.html
:stoned::stoned:
Very nice. :) Thanks greenatik.
I read in another thread that growth rate under MH seems to be nearly double of that under CFL's. I don't know if it's true, but, these babies are really taking off. Mrs. McT hadn't seen the plants for two days. When she looked in on them last night it was "Holy growth rate Batman!!!".
During this mornings feeding, I noticed some slight discoloration in the leaves, particularly in AK#1 (2nd pic) and BA #1 and #2 (3rd pic). Not sure how well this will show up in the pics.
They have been on half strength nutes until now. I'm thinking I need to escalate the CalMag and the nutes. I'm not quite certain if I should go to 3/4 strength or just move on up to full strength.
Today, the 10 plants took an entire gallon of water/nutes. I'm guessing that it may be safe to start watering every other day, now. Surely, the tap roots have all reached the reservior by now. I know. Don't call you Shirley.:D
Had to move the light and the temp sensors up about 2 inches, again.
I'm really liking how AK#1 is bushing out. The tips of the auxilliary (side) branches are about the same height as the main stem. The bagseed on the last grow certainly didn't do that.
Today was the first time for "every other day" feeding. They took 2 whole gallons. We bumped them up to a full dose of CalMag and up to the "mid-sized" vegging dose on the Pro Gro.
All signs of heat stress have disappeared. I'm thinking that the lighter coloring is most likely a Calcium/Magnesium or Nitrogen deficiency. The new dose should take care of that.
Just got our new ph pen in the mail today. Sure is a lot more accurate and easier than either the litmus paper or the drops and test tube method. Managed to get the water/nutes right on 5.8 for the first gallon and 5.9 for the second.
We went ahead and ordered a ppm pen this morning, too. The place is not far so we should have it tomorrow.
Time to start teaching Mrs. McT how to do the feedings. She'll have to take over for a while next month while I'm in the hospital. Gotta go back and see if they can put my inards back together. It's the follow up to the emergency surgery last October.
She's a bit aprehensive about doing the feedings. I told her I'll have it all written down for her. I'm sure she'll do just fine.
my wife had to feed my plants one time while i was in jail (i had to turn myself in for a warrant). she did a fine job (well decent enough) and all were fine except one. but it was a male so it worked out for the best!
*crosses fingers*
-shake
Looking real good :)
I just went back through the thread to figure the ages of the plants. Some were closer together than I remembered. ;)
Bagseed = 5 1/2 weeks (a definite runt)
All the AK and BA are within 5 days of each other so I'll call it = 3 weeks
Just trying to figure out how much longer we might be vegging and an approximate harvest time. I'm hoping that they are ready to put into flower mode before I go back to the hospital. It'll be close. I figure it'll be easier on the Mrs. if she doesn't have to deal with the switch. Looks like we could be harvesting anywhere from late August to mid-September.
Plants are taking 2 1/4 gallons now. Moved them up to full strength nutes.
I don't know where I got the notion that vegging takes 8 weeks. We did go that long on our first grow and, afterward, realized we had vegged longer than needed. I went back and looked at the nute tables for both the Pro Gro we're using and the FF table. Looks like we're about a week away from going to 12/12 for flower.
WooHoo!!!
Here's today's pic.
Still some slight discoloration to some leaves. Bumped the Cal/Mag to 2 TSP per gallon with today's feeding.
It's getting a bit crowded in the tent. I have to pull out a few plants just to get the watering done. I'm thinking about tying a band of gardening tape around each plant to lessen the crowding a bit. I'll try not to bind them up so tight that it drastically reduces the light to inside branches.
If anyone has another idea to lessen the crowding, I'm open to suggestions. No, I'm not ready to start moving some outdoors, yet. I was hoping to wait untill they started showing their sex. We're still looking at going into flowering mode this Friday or Saturday. That way we should have them all sexed and be on a stable routine that will be easier on Mrs. McT when she takes over.
Instead of waiting until this weekend we went ahead and swapped out the MH bulb for the HPS bulb and set the timer for 12/12.
I measured the smallest of the plants today. They were already at 10 inches tall. The taller ones are at 14 inches tall.
We'll start the transitional feedings tomorrow (1/2 grow & 1/2 bloom nutes).
We had initially planned to LST these babies but, they bushed up so nicely with side branches (potential bud sites) almost the same height as the main cola. If the main colas get too much taller than the rest of the plant, we'll just do some bending and tying later on. We felt that we ended up with too many plants to have the room to LST like we had planned.
The smell coming from this batch is a wonderful sweet odor.:) It's not at all like the predominantly skunk smell from our all bagseed grow last time. We don't know if it's the AK or the BA that is responsible for the tasty aroma.
Now comes the really fun part.:D