lighting on top, bottom, and sides ?

[ponics101]

if i have a 400w MH conversion on a 400w HPS ballast for veg, and just a 400w HPS for flowering, and my 6 pots are setup in a closet using about 4' x 4' roughly.. so would it make sense to line everything on the sides and bottom with aluminum foil? the top has its own reflector.. would that work, if so how efficient would it be? or any other suggestions?

ponics101 Reviewed by ponics101 on 09-26-2005. lighting on top, bottom, and sides ? if i have a 400w MH conversion on a 400w HPS ballast for veg, and just a 400w HPS for flowering, and my 6 pots are setup in a closet using about 4' x 4' roughly.. so would it make sense to line everything on the sides and bottom with aluminum foil? the top has its own reflector.. would that work, if so how efficient would it be? or any other suggestions? Rating: 5

[Zandor]

Flat white paint or Mylar is better then aluminum foil.

Mylar is the first choice then flat white paint. Aluminum foil will create hot spots and you don't want that.

[ponics101]

k im on my 3rd week veg now.. plants are about 8-10" tall becoming very bushy-like. i suppose now would be a good time to go ahead and do it? this is my first grow, on my next one ill do things a little more advanced, trying to pace myself and work in steps to make sure i get the most out of my efforts. and gain more knowledge as i go and not try to just jump into it. ill go ahead and cover everything w/ mylar as soon as the sheets i ordered come in(couple days). plants look great so far! thanks for the helpful advice!

[Zandor]

Very good, good luck and happy growing.

[LOC NAR1958]

Hi, Ponics101
I just got done with a grow roughly the same as yours with the 400 watt bulbs MH and HPS. On my second 1 now I had very little in the way of reflectant. Just some white 2 foot metal from doing vinyl work around the back. I could tell at harvest the lower buds in the back 2 were much bigger. I have just put up much more of the white metal and can tell they are starting to really take off. I have white on floor now too. I have 2 100 HPS that will be hanging on the sides and might get some flouros also. Add the mylar or white and get as much light as you can cool. Kepping it cool is important. You will harvest a good bit more. Keep us updated and we like to see the grow please. My thread is just down the page ( how's my girls looking? ) check it out. I know what you mean by not jumping in to deep but these are what bring in the good stuff. Now I'm trying more advanced nutes and vitamins. If Zandor gives you advice you can take it to the bank. He helped me more than he'll every know. I got my bud blood and big bud just waiting and GH 3 part nutes with cal-mag and B-52 also. Wife raised hell but it is better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. LOL. Can you tell I'm burning 1 now, I'll shut up . LOL

[ponics101]

locnar, lol... very good to hear all that from you. im in the exact situation. luckily i turned my girl into a true HEAD so shes loving the fact that i'm involving the efforts that i am with this. ive read many many threads with zandor's input and i find myself backing up a lot of his posts into documents for future reference. zandor, you definately know what youre talking about. ur girls look bootylicious lol by the way! ive done some research and on my 2nd grow ill definately use extras on my nutes, especially during the flowering stage. this time i dont have anything to flush with , is there any alternative? giving it just water w/ no nutes for a brief period? or is it imperative that i invest in some flush solution? ill definately invest in it for my 2nd grow but if theres no alternative ill go ahead and get it for this one, im at about 4weeks and plants are about 10" tall and have about 7-8 nodes average. i think theyre beginning to show sex, and if im right 5 of them are females 1 male(still uncertain). is there any SURE way to tell the sex easier? like starting the flowering stage @ 12/12 HPS? i think i might go ahead and start the flowering stage next week or so. still waiting on my replacement MH conversion bulb.. should be here tomorrow according to UPS tracking. plants are doing great vegging with HPS bulb though. i've notice a couple leaves on a couple plants have a little bit of orange/yellow on the outside of the leaves. is this from over ferting? also the roots are huge and have reached the water level of my hydro tank. misters are still spraying the whole root top-bottom, can this cause any problems with over ferting? or maybe the lights too close? its about 10-12" away from the tops.

[ponics101]

ive noticed another problem that just now started since last night.. the leaves are starting to curve under slightly. like downward. any ideas?

[LOC NAR1958]

I thought I had nute burn on my first grow but it was the HPS too close . I backed it off and was alright till my MH conversion came. I got mine to 2 foot before flowering and it was wasted because not enough side light. I'm right behind you on the size about 6 nodes on the biggset. A little more on the smaller ones and I will start 12/12 at about a foot. The leaves curling down are a prob your missing some thing. I went to overgrow .com and it looks like to much light or too much nitrogen not sure pics would help greatly. then maybe Zandor or some one can say for sure. If you think it's nute you can always flush with ph water. or half your res and fill back up with ph water. The good thing about hydro is when in dought flush with ph water doesn't hurt. When I grew in soil and ounce things started to go wrong it was too late. They could show early signs of sex, 18/6 for a week will show for me. then I can go back to 24/7 or 12/12. Show some pics it will help alot.

[ponics101]

k thanks man, very helpful. i backed off the light i do think it was too close.. my ph was a lil high so i flushed everything and dropped it now its 5.2 stable. ill have a camera within a week or so, the one i have isnt worth using, its a p.o.s. hehe. i think now is a good time for an 18/6 cycle to try to show sex.

[draghim]

I've tried to figure out my problem but the conflicting information that I'm coming across is very confusing so I'll state the symptons. I'd appreciate any response for what needs to be done for yellowing leaves. I've also got downward curl on the leaves and downward cupping mostly at the buds. The plant is 5' ft tall that is anchored down. It has been flowering for 2 weeks. I've been feeding a 1/2 gal solution of 2-11-11 Awesome Blossom (under 2 teaspons per gallon mixture). The plant is under an air-cooled 600 watt HPS lamp at a distance of 10" inches. Last night I did pour 1 gallon of clean water through the soil. Now, it looks like the yellowing is more pronounced from yesterday.