First Grow: Jack the Ripper under a Procyon

Hi all,

I've been visiting the boards for close to a year now, quietly soaking up knowledge as best i can. ;) The last 2 or 3 months I've been doing my research and a week ago, I finally jumped in and planted my first 8 seeds.

I'm growing TGA's Jack the Ripper from Hemp Depot (mad props to HD, I was amazed at the ingenuity of how the seeds were packed lol). I ordered 10, and having never ordered seeds before, managed to lose 2 just by trying to find them in the packaging... I sowed 8 in some rapid rooters (the floating styrofoam tray kind) last Sunday. I've been keeping them in my room with a small dome on; temps are around 65-70F and humidity 55-60%.

Two seeds heaved out on Thursday; I carefully dug them up and replanted them. Starting Friday morning (~8 am), I put the tray under the Procyon. I came home from work briefly around 4 PM, and noticed that the two seeds that had heaved had turned around and were sprouting more. One more seed sprouted (without heaving! woot), and a fourth one seemed to be half-heaving, half-sprouting. I turned off the light (it was making my room look like aliens were invading from the outside lol) and cleaned up the soil around the fourth seed a bit to help it break through.

Here's my full setup:
1 Procyon 100
1 Homebox S
1 Vortex 4" 172CFM blower & fan speed controller
1 4" ProFilter Charcoal filter
Rapid Rooter trays
TGA Jack the Ripper seeds
Full set of FF nutes, soil, etc.

My space is a 2.5 foot by 6 foot cellar behind my room. Nice and discreet, its used to store a few cases of wine right now and I got permission to use it as long as I keep it on the DL. Had to cut an inch and a half off 6 of the Homebox pipes to make it fit, it was a little over an inch too wide (I hate hacksaws, PS.)

This grow was inspired by SnSStealth's LED grow log, so again mad props to WT and DB for all their efforts... I will also be trying to go the organic soil route with my grow.

So, again, here's a summary of the current status:
I sowed the seeds 6 days ago. 4 have sprouted, while 4 have not. I poked around in the 4 that have not, and they appear to not have germinated that well (taproots were very small compared to the 2 I saw on the heaved seeds). I also found a seed on my desk that mustve been one of the two missing seeds, so I threw that in the tray as well yesterday.

Are the 4 non-sprouters a lost cause by now? Or is there a chance they'll turn it around?

Also, I have the tray under the Procyon and I'm planning on giving them 18/6. Anything I'm forgetting? Suggestions? Unfortunately, I haven't been as active a poster as I'd like (more of a lurker, lol) so I will have to look to imageshack or rapidshare to put up some pics, once I start snapping them.

Thanks in advance, all.
-DrSpiggity

LOL, let me be the first to say welcome and i look forward to following your log

now you can respond to me and get your tally up so you will soon be able to post pics the right way, lol

:joint1:

Best of luck with your Procyon, and your first grow. As you'll soon find out, growing is exponentially more addictive than using the final product. I'm almost sold on the idea of LED's for growing, I know how great it can be, I just wanna see more of it first.. lol... so, thanks for being one of the people to experiment with it.

I'll be watching...

Thanks guys... I'm really looking forward to a new hobby. I'm a computer programmer by trade so I've really been looking something to invest my time in after work that doesnt involve a PC.

Growing just seemed like a good way to broaden my horizons while providing a veeeeeeeeeery useful end product, lol. :rastasmoke:

DrSpiggity

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrSpoof

Thanks guys... I'm really looking forward to a new hobby. I'm a computer programmer by trade so I've really been looking something to invest my time in after work that doesnt involve a PC.

Growing just seemed like a good way to broaden my horizons while providing a veeeeeeeeeery useful end product, lol. :rastasmoke:

DrSpiggity

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LOL, i hate to say it man but, since i started growing, i've spent MORE time on the PC.
first, looking for help, then to show off my fumblings, now for both of those reasons as well as to spend time with other like minded people, some of whom i have developed great respect for.
and also, maybe most importantly, to reach out a hand of welcome to the noob's just as hands reached out to me.

LOL, i think you will find that growing it is maybe more addictive than smoking it, LOL

anyway :joint1: i look forward to following your log

Hah thanks again bozo.

Updates... The 4 sprouts are doing great, one of them is actually almost an inch high... I am going to go buy another little chain from the hw store today so I can move my light up and down with a little more flexibility. Right now its at about 23" from the plants... I'm assuming it should be more in the 12-15" range, right?

Also, 1 more sprout came up yesterday and another one looks like he'll be ready to go by the end of today. Another question: I watered these guys once last Sunday and added about another 12oz of water on Tuesday. The RapidRooter plugs are plenty moist though, so I'm going to go ahead and assume they dont need to be watered again? Being a noob I'm super afraid of over watering lol.

Temps 67F, 63% btw. And wow, that light certainly gets to you after awhile... :stoned:

DrSpiggity

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrSpoof

Hah thanks again bozo.

Updates... The 4 sprouts are doing great, one of them is actually almost an inch high... I am going to go buy another little chain from the hw store today so I can move my light up and down with a little more flexibility. Right now its at about 23" from the plants... I'm assuming it should be more in the 12-15" range, right?

Also, 1 more sprout came up yesterday and another one looks like he'll be ready to go by the end of today. Another question: I watered these guys once last Sunday and added about another 12oz of water on Tuesday. The RapidRooter plugs are plenty moist though, so I'm going to go ahead and assume they dont need to be watered again? Being a noob I'm super afraid of over watering lol.

Temps 67F, 63% btw. And wow, that light certainly gets to you after awhile... :stoned:

DrSpiggity

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oddly enough, i think you should move the light closer rather than farther away, at this stage they don't need much light but if the light is far away your seedlings will stretch more than you'd like.
still a good idea to get the chain.

as for the rapidrooter plugs, i've never used them so can't say for sure, i assume you have a humidity dome. you don't want them to dry out but you don't want them soggy either
also, i left the dome on longer than i should have (2 - 3 weeks) and ended up with a terrible mold problem, if you have a dome with vents, open the top to let some of the moisture out

also, if you haven't already, you should go to this thread and read it all, lots of useful info for you from another LED grower (2 actually, Whiskey Tango and Doughboy)
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...-grow-log.html

try to get StinkyAttic's attention, she uses those rapidrooter plugs herself and will know what to advise you better than i

lol, just another 30 post's or so and you can throw up some pics


:joint1:

yeah i can see that my "champ" seedling (if hes a she, i can see some mama potential in her ;)) is stretching too much after only a few days under the light, so i def. want to move to 12ish inches instead of 23.

i have read WT and DB's LED thread, thats actually what inspired me to buy the procyon... ive read the thing top to bottom a few times now lol.

ive been workin on the post count... by the time theres pics worth taking (a few more days...), I should be good to go.

Btw, another lil guy broke soil today... so far 7 of my original 8 seeds have broken soil, and my one seed thats a few days behind will hopefully be good. :D

DrSpiggity

Update time and first pics!

8 of the 9 seeds have sprouted, and the one guy that I planted late seems to have split! You'll have to check the pics for yourself, but its wacky. These seeds were dropped in the ground 6/1 and most of these seedlings are 7 or 8 days old. This being a first grow I have no idea if I'm on course, behind, or ahead of schedule.

Been adding a Solo cup worth of water every 2 or 3 days (if the soil starts to feel a little less moist. Just finally got a real PH wand in the mail yesterday but havent gotten a chance to open it yet. I will do so and test my water / soil and check back in afterwards.

Here's some pics w a flashlight and camera flash... have to head to home depot this week and buy a cfl & fixture for the chamber for pic taking / plant examination.

How am I lookin? :jointsmile:

DrSpiggity

to me, a noob, they don't look very healthy and they seem to be stretching for that light.

is there two in one cup? i believe it's the first cup in the front row on the left in the first or second pic

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GreenDestiny

Best of luck with your Procyon, and your first grow. As you'll soon find out, growing is exponentially more addictive than using the final product. I'm almost sold on the idea of LED's for growing, I know how great it can be, I just wanna see more of it first.. lol... so, thanks for being one of the people to experiment with it.

I'll be watching...

---

Me too!:jointsmile:

they are not looking too happy.

the setup, however, looks excellent.

do you have a fan blowing on the seedlings?

the light was at 24" for the first few days, since thurs its been 12". i have an exhaust fan running but no fan blowing on them. its a good idea then to have a small oscillating fan blowing on the seedlings too? also, how often does the exhaust fan need to be running--whenever the light is on or 24/7?

theres only one seed in that first cup but it seems to be doin something funky... you guys think its just the lack of air circulation that has them lookin sad? i havent been watering that often and the soil is moist, i lift the styrofoam tray every day or two to let extra water drip out... no nutes or anything and my water is around 7.1 (just got the PH meter opened today). havent tested the soil but i doubt it could be that much different than the water.

thanks for the help guys. stinky or other vets, any ideas?

thanks
DrSpiggs

Ack! I dont know if this is normal or not, but I picked the styrofoam tray up to take a look at the roots and holy shit theyre long! is this normal?

man i felt super confident going into all this and now... my noobness is getting the better of me i fear lol. :wtf: I'm gonna try and run out today and buy a little oscillating desk fan from like target or something and hang it from the top next to my light... the plants look a little better than yesterday, or at least the 1 or 2 strong guys look stronger. :thumbsup:

DrSpiggs

lol, relax man, everything looks good
nice to see some pics, i told you it wouldn't take long

your seedlings are ready for transplant, at least the ones with those long roots are, lol

if you're not sure what to do, let me know, or check out my imaginary garden, post #83 - 88
i assume you can do the same with the rapid rooter plugs as with rockwool starter cubes, ie, bury them in hydroton inside net pots

anyway, keep up the good work man, can't wait to see your results

bozo, they all seem to have those absurdly long roots lol. i thought seedlings needed to be 3-5 weeks old (or 5 nodes, according to stinky) before transplant?

I just wonder bc all i have is some Fox Farm Ocean Forest and I remember it shocking the hell out of WT/DB's babies when they were directly sown in it...

Between my cat and my plants this is turning out to be a stressful father's day ;)

DrSpiggs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrSpoof

bozo, they all seem to have those absurdly long roots lol. i thought seedlings needed to be 3-5 weeks old (or 5 nodes, according to stinky) before transplant?

I just wonder bc all i have is some Fox Farm Ocean Forest and I remember it shocking the hell out of WT/DB's babies when they were directly sown in it...

Between my cat and my plants this is turning out to be a stressful father's day ;)

DrSpiggs

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they are pretty fragile at this stage so that soil is probably too rich for them. can you just get a bag of ordinary potting soil and some perlite?

and is there a reason your not growing in hydro (DWC or E & F)?

DWC is probably the simplest hydro method (except for the wick method) to set up and maintain and, it's very easy to DIY, check out my garden, everything is homemade and DWC

yeah... maybe some day on the hydro. wanted to keep it simple for the first grow so that i didnt have too many variables to consider the first time around. after picking a mother and harvesting these girls, id like to try scrog the next time around (it would work well with this area, i think)... so maybe the 3rd will be a scrog in hydro?

not sure, just kinda playin it by ear at this point. :greenthumb:

DrSpiggs

and you're right, dirt is a lot more forgiving for a first grow
just try to relax through the grow, don't kill them with too much TLC, you'd be surprised how often that happens, lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrSpoof

yeah... maybe some day on the hydro. wanted to keep it simple for the first grow so that i didnt have too many variables to consider the first time around. after picking a mother and harvesting these girls, id like to try scrog the next time around (it would work well with this area, i think)... so maybe the 3rd will be a scrog in hydro?

not sure, just kinda playin it by ear at this point. :greenthumb:

DrSpiggs

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would it not be easier to pot them??? at least until they establish a good enough root system then transplant... I used 2l coke bottle for m first grow.. man I was amazed

ARGH! are there any non-ferted potting soils sold at home depot / lowes? all i can seem to find is miracle grow and scotts stuff, and it all seems to have time release fert in it. bah! i could head to the hydro store first thing tomorrow but its 25 mins in the opposite direction of hd / lowes and i have some things to pick up at the hardware store too.

it would be a heckuva waste of gas driving all the way to the hydro store for some light warrior or ff planting mix.

either way, unless someone jumps in and says otherwise, the girls are getting transplanted to 1 gal grow bags tomorrow (providing i can find something worth planting em in lol)

DrSpiggity

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrSpoof

ARGH! are there any non-ferted potting soils sold at home depot / lowes? all i can seem to find is miracle grow and scotts stuff, and it all seems to have time release fert in it. bah! i could head to the hydro store first thing tomorrow but its 25 mins in the opposite direction of hd / lowes and i have some things to pick up at the hardware store too.

it would be a heckuva waste of gas driving all the way to the hydro store for some light warrior or ff planting mix.

either way, unless someone jumps in and says otherwise, the girls are getting transplanted to 1 gal grow bags tomorrow (providing i can find something worth planting em in lol)

DrSpiggity

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lol, i know that itchy feelin'
they should have some cheap potting soil at Home Depot, Lowes etc..., if you can't find it, ask someone in the gardening section.
get some perlite too, they should have that as well
you might even be able to find it at the hardware store (soil, probably, perlite, unlikely)

also, and i think Stinky would agree, you should pot them into maybe 16 oz cups first, let them grow into those, then, when they show signs of being pot bound, then you pot into the grow bags.

anyway, i'm no expert man, this is just what i've read over the last several months.

dude, youre spoiling me. i feel like i have my own personal grow guru, lol.

ill go with the solo cups then, and see what i can find at home depot tomorrow in terms of soil. thanks for all the help so far! :rastasmoke:

ps -- shouldnt you be hangin out w those teenage boys of yours on fathers day instead of hangin w me on cann-com? :thumbsup:

DrSpiggs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrSpoof

dude, youre spoiling me. i feel like i have my own personal grow guru, lol.

ill go with the solo cups then, and see what i can find at home depot tomorrow in terms of soil. thanks for all the help so far! :rastasmoke:

ps -- shouldnt you be hangin out w those teenage boys of yours on fathers day instead of hangin w me on cann-com? :thumbsup:

DrSpiggs

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you should really check through some of StinkyAttic's threads, she is an expert and it's she that says it's best to move the plant through several transplants rather than just putting it into a big pot the first transplant


heres a link to a cabinet grow you might find interesting

http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...first-run.html

this one's worth a look as well

http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...-lst-come.html

word... got a 12" oscillating fan hanging from the top of my cab now, running on low. couldnt find any cheapo potting soil at home depot, but luckily my local nursery had a cheap bag for 3 bucks. was gonna transplant today but the light period ends at 1pm and i didnt want to transplant em and stick em in the dark. ill either transplant tonite or tomorrow morning.

i also gave em a little watering (one looked like it was wilting) so now theyll get some time to strengthen up under the fan before they get transplanted.

i also got all my cable management finished today... think im finally out of 'building and setup' and into the 'maintenance' phase. :jointsmile:

I'll post some pics tonite / tomorrow of the new cable management / fan / the girls after i transplant.

now, time for some lunch... :thumbsup:

DrSpiggity

i think you're gonna want to wait to pot them up until you get that perlite too, you want to mix it with the soil at about a 60\40 ratio and add some bone meal and a little blood meal as well.

like i've already said though, i'm no expert, that mix is something i read, i don't remember who wrote it but i wouldn't have bothered to remember it if i didn't respect the author if you know what i mean.

in any event, heres a couple links i think you'll enjoy

http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...or-2008-a.html
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...wood-tree.html

those threads will definately have info you want to have my man, happy reading!

and keep it up man, sharing it is part of the trip! hell, maybe the best part!

rock on

The potting soil I got has some perlite mixed in. Hopefully enough, but I'm not worried about being too fancy--I only really plan on letting them live in the Solo cups a few more weeks until theyve got those infamous 5 nodes. Then I'll have to see if it'll be better to go to the 1 gals from there or a jump to the 3 gals.

First transplant was a bitch and a half. Hopefully this gets easier w time. Either that or I need to do yoga before I work in the garden, not after lol.

Anyways, here's some pics of the cab w the oscillating and the girls in their new digs (w procyon on and w out)

Time for a j and some coffee... man I love my week off. :thumbsup: :jointsmile:

DrSpiggity

Update: plants look ok. Not diggin this soil. Wish I had added the perlite like you said, bozo. Oh well, live and learn I guess lol. This soil just gets kinda chunky and hard when wet. I stirred up the surface with a little screwdriver (for some reason the word for that is escaping me right now... cultivating? aerating? whatever lol) and gave them some more water this morning, just to the point where I got a little runoff. I will let them be for a day or two and see how quick the soil dries out.

Readings are 73F, 51%. Still too lazy to take PH readings on the soil. Here's a pic I snapped just to keep track of development (now with handy dandy soil tags!)

Couple of things: light is now at like 10" bc some of the girls still look like theyre stretching. 7 has a weird thing where one of the cotyledon is reaching up but not the other one. 2 and 3 I cant tell why theyre dropping, theyre certainly watered so hopefully it was just bc they had outgrown the rapid rooters yesterday. 8 is a mess, 1 I'm pretty sure will be dead soon, and we'll see on 6 and 9 (9 was planted late). 4 and 5 are non-troublemakers though. :thumbsup:

After looking back at some early pics, 2 stretched a long time ago. Unfortunately my numbering system in the rapid rooters seems to have gotten a wee bit mixed up, so I'm not sure how much I can compare these numbered plants to my earlier notes... Argh. (live and learn again...) :jointsmile:

Lates
DrSpiggity

update -- the transplant definitely helped. the wilting leaves turned around and now i have a solid 5 seedlings who look like theyll be worth my time. hopefully 1 or 2 turn around with a couple more days under the light.

:thumbsup:
DrSpiggs

2 more days under the light turned another 2 around. 7 out of 9 seedlings look to be surviving. Culled one today who didnt look like it was ever gonna turn around (number 1 for those of you following the pics). Giving number 9 until Monday morning to show some sort of progress (since its a few days younger than the other girls).

Second nodes are starting to grow! This is a beautiful process to witness in action.

Btw, I believe one of my plants is getting the famous LED tri-node... crazy lol. I'll grab some pics tomorrow or Monday (dont want to inundate the board with unnecessary updates lol). :jointsmile:

DrSpiggity

looking good man

have you considered adding some CFL's? for some reason, the LED's work really well when combined with CFL's
maybe 2 clamp lights on either side of the Procyon (Walmart, approx. $6.00 to $12.00, they have three different sized reflectors) each with a y splitter for a total of 4 bulbs.

anyway, if yield is what you're after, that's a cheap way to add a little more light

i dont know if i would go all out and add 4, but maybe a clamp light to each side of the procyon each w a 120w replacement (30w) CFL... would only cost like 35$... hmmm :rastasmoke:

DrSpiggity

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrSpoof

i dont know if i would go all out and add 4, but maybe a clamp light to each side of the procyon each w a 120w replacement (30w) CFL... would only cost like 35$... hmmm :rastasmoke:

DrSpiggity

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actually, if you get the $6.00 clamp lights at Walmart and the splitters there as well (under $2.00 each) and 4 x 23watt bulbs (you can often find them in three packs for like $6 or $7 bucks)
you'd be lookin' at about $25.00 and it would give you 46watts per side, not 30.

oh yeah, forget CFL equivalents, they don't mean shit and no-one who knows, uses them, it's the actuall wattage that counts

anyway, the beauty of CFL's is that you can add them, piecemeal, as you can afford them

yeah... im actually not really that concerned about the upfront costs... its more the fact that i have a tiny growtent that i keep adding things to and now the temp is a constant like 73F (which is basically perfect). So I was thinking adding 2 instead of 4 would add less heat. I dunno, for 30 bucks I'll prolly just buy em and try em out... what have i got to lose lol

DrSpiggs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrSpoof

yeah... im actually not really that concerned about the upfront costs... its more the fact that i have a tiny growtent that i keep adding things to and now the temp is a constant like 73F (which is basically perfect). So I was thinking adding 2 instead of 4 would add less heat. I dunno, for 30 bucks I'll prolly just buy em and try em out... what have i got to lose lol

DrSpiggs

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lol, my lights-on temps are running around 84 so 73 is something i strive for. my buds are actually looking really nice even with the too high temps.

anyway, you can always either add CFL bulbs, or take them away if it becomes too hot, although i think that fan of yours will keep things nice and cool.

running to home depot in a bit so ill snap some shots of the added cfls tomorrow. in the meantime, so shots of the girls...

first is number 3, whos not the fastest vert grower but seems to be adding new nodes the quickest.
second is the trinode, number 4. sorry i didnt have a manual for the digital camera i found and finally found it online after i had snapped all these pics... hooray figuring out macro mode lol
third is the tallest of em, number 2.
fourth is a group shot of all the ladies.

I'm noticing some of the leaves are a little warped... is that just because its the first node and it has to absorb whatever trauma the plant is going through? Other than that I think they're lookin pretty good... I dunno if its the Procyon or what but when I pulled them out and put them on my desk to look at them the plants are friggin ABSURDLY green. Iz nice :thumbsup:

DrSpiggs

weeeelll.............
shit man, ever since they changed the front page, I have issues finding threads!! damn spiggity, why didnt you put a link in my thread? I would've been in here helpin you too....lol
now time for my 2 pennies....lol
I see bozo saved ya a few times...lol, the transplant was a scare Im sure....couple quick ideas....
1. i transplant ALOT...use styrofoam cups...(i use the small coffee size to start, then go to 16oz....they can be cut with a razor on the side for EASY transplanting.....
2.keep light 12-15 in away from canopy
3.Stick with soil!!!!...lol, dro is good, Im playin, but I just love the soil, easier, and tastier...something to be said about all dirty grows...they just taste and burn so much better...IMHO
4.ASK FOR HELP!!!! thats what we are here for...I am on this board at LEAST 5 times a day....It will save your life

good luck man...I am subscribed to this thread now, so I can see updates....lol
good luck, and thanks for joining the LED fight!!!
:smokebong:
whiskeytango

Thanks WT... its an honor to finally have you here. Took a run to Home Depot. Bought 2 lamps to start. Will see how the temps do, then I'll see if I wanna add those Ys.

Here's some pics. Nice to have some white light offsetting the Procyon. Got a 2 x 2700k 23w (6$ for a 2 pack) and a 5500k 26w (6$ each) light. Gonna grab another 26w 5500k when I get a chance and then I can run those 2 during veg and the 2 2700ks during flower.

Ran them for 30 mins and the CFLs were still cool enough to touch. Plants just went sleepy but I'll check them around 9 tonite (lights go on at 7) to see.

I also realized 2 things:
1. adding the circulating fan prolly created a bit of a crosswind, and my exhaust fan is turned down real low (small space, dont really need more than like 75 CFM according to my calcs
2. I had a bunch of fiberglass insulation sitting on top of my growhut (was too lazy to move it to another room lol)

I moved the insulation, which should let more hot air escape out the top. I'm thinking of putting the circulating fan on a timer and turning it off for 30 mins like 4 or 5 times during the light cycle. Good idea anyone thinks?

Updated pics are attached.

DrSpiggs

lookin great spiggity! those are the EXACT CFLs I plan to add to my single procyon set-up right after my haze experiment....you should do just fine now...I would go to 24hrs light though...thats what i run for veg now...they seem to love the soaking in LEDs....never get too hot huh?
whiskeytango