Quote Originally Posted by salmayo
Under conventional (THE OLD) timing concepts, you're flowering under a 14/10 schedule, but by AD definitions you're using a 6/18 schedule and more specifically a 6/(7/10/1) schedule, or less specifically a 6/(10/8) schedule.

Congratulations are definitely in order. :thumbsup:
Thanks and thanks for all the guidance!

Quote Originally Posted by salmayo
Now consider that the slower growth rate can be attributed to a SID equivalent time similar to 10/14 or something more extreme in that direction away from 12/12 to something more likely to induce dormancy/senility/ceasence.

So I hate to say it, but you need to consider whether or not you got the AD moving faster than you thought and overshot your equivalent SID time beyond 12 hours SID.
I had a sneaking suspicion that was the case. The plants' growth has been slowing and at this point it seems almost stagnant. Basically, I've been shorting my plants a third of the AD light they could handle! I hadn't put a lot of attention into thinking about their senescence both because this board has been down and I've been busy with school, but that makes good sense!

Quote Originally Posted by salmayo
The root mass factor is there, but it takes some time for the plant to slow down due to root growth imbalance.

The good news is, you can go back the other way on the timer, and you now know you can get it to flower in the zone.

You could trade some Blue for SID time, but that would only add a small amount of Blue with Red time. Whereas if you trade AD for SID you will get more AD without changing the Blue (root) factor, giving a better AD verses SID comparison result.

Also, the more SID you exchange to AD, the more photosynthetic energy you can deliver to the plants.
I'll take four hours of SID and turn it into two more hours of AD, making it a roughly 6/12/6 (but really a 6/11/6/1) cycle. Although that's a big change, I think it will be OK because I previously figured out that my combo of red LEDs and Inc produced a time factor of about 2, so that should appear to the plant to be 6/12. If it's too aggressive I can back it off, and if it's not too aggressive, I can make it so and see where the tipping point is, because I just can't leave well enough alone if there are questions to be answered!

Weez: I can't believe I didn't even read the instructions on the bag. I'm the kind of person that usually reads the instructions first! I don't think I'll have the problems of my 'ton getting away from me, as I deal with soil(less) now and in my situation, that's way more messy than a little 'ton anyway, so it will be a nice change. I also would like media that I don't have to discard (for others to find...) if I can avoid it, so hydroton it is!
The nutes I use come well recommended, but I will probably experiment myself to see what results they bring me personally. Every grow setup is different, so nutes that boost for some are less effective for others, and I want to find out what works best for mine.
What kind of water do you add your CalMag to? Why I'm asking is my tap water is around 600-700 ppm after going through the filter (which removes all kinds of unwanted things, but does not remove minerals). I know I don't need CalMag for lack of minerals in my water, but I don't know if the minerals are beneficial either. I haven't had any apparent mineral deficiencies in my soilless plants, I just wonder if it the same for hydro...

And you got nothing but respect from me, god knows an edit button makes all the difference sometimes. I hope Friday is Good Friday.