Super Thrive?

[kindprincess]

what is the size of your hps? i'm thinking you'll need more air flow than a 50-60cfm fart fan... i rigged up a box fan that works wonders. it replaced the bathroom fan, and the passive intake is enough to shake and blow the plants. so i've been able to x the oscillating fan as well.

i'll call a friend tomorrow... there's a guy i know who has several mh lights from a construction job. i got two 400w's for 50$. maybe i can get two more... some dissasembly required, these lights look like the outdoor ones at lowes (under the hangar...)

my personal two bits would be to let your hazies go to just over ten nodes, so when you top you'll have 20 main branches and a nice cutting for a clone mom (if it turns out female ~fingers crossed~)

as for temps, you realy don't want to let it get below 60, but i've had outdoor plants take to 50-40 degrees without too much harm... if you're having heat probs, i'd suggest using the hps, if for no other reason than use of a heater. my mh400 heats my entire room! and uses 700w less than a space heater...

remember to have as much room as possible in your flower room; it seems when you think you've got it perfect, it turns out to be too small... lol... just my luck i gess. i'm trying to get some new stuff going, so i have a little time left to make alterations before the grand 12/12 switch. i plan on having an 8x8x8 in the end... wish me luck (i have to go watch bob villa now)

merry crhistmas lbmom, and to all of you out there... may your lights be blindingly bright.... and may all your christmas buds be white

love, kp

[liberiamom]

My hps is 600W- how much space will that cover? That would be great if your friend had more lights! The plants have about 4 nodes now, so maybe top in a couple weeks? I've actually tried the FIM thing before and it seemed to work, but darn it they turned out to be boys so I murdered them - what do you think of that process? Should I LST after I top, and how soon?

What did you do to the box fan to rig it? I have two little "blizzard" fans moving air around right now, but the plants are still little, and under cfls. Once we move them into the hidden back space, under the big lights, I will need to keep it cool, though being in the basement helps.

The space we had planned for the flowering area would be about 8 feet long and 2 1/2 feet wide, like a long closet- We would frame it out, and make it as light-tight as we can. It would run along the back of the existing growroom (which is about 8 x 8) with a small door so that it just looked like a cabinet to store chemicals, but when you open the door, voila! At least, that is what I was thinking. We could vent out into the rest of the basement. Any suggestions on set-up would be appreciated, kindprincess!
Sorry for all the questions- but I am getting hooked into this growing. It is like growing specific grapes for wines, so many different types to try... I'd love to be able to breed a few diff varieties just to see what develops-fun!

I'd better get to bed now, or Santa won't come-
Nighty-nite friends.

[kindprincess]

if i'm not mistaken, a 600w will cover about a 6x6...

i'd top when you have as many nodes as you want to end up with. each node will be two main branches. fim-ing works, i use that technique on my clone moms to make them mass produce... once you top, and start to flower, you WILL lst, whether you want to or not. as i mentioned, each node becomes two main branches, a the plants become monsters. the branches will have to be spread apart and tied for lighting reasons... on the up side, you can get a qp per plant with this method...

with the box fan, i cut a hole in the cab material, directly above the hps bulb. i made the whole just a little smaller than the surface of the fan. then, i put it on high, and plugged it up to the timer, so when the lights come on, so does the big fan. cut extra intake holes, works like a charm. and venting to and from the basement is an excellent idea, if you don't have to worry about smell...

for your cab size; i want to say that's not big enough for you to do what you want, these babies are going to need room... especially once you start getting into more strains maybe make that cab a 4x8, that's the size of mine...

well, with that, i'm off to wrap the rest of the gifts... Merry Christmas

love, kp

[liberiamom]

if i'm not mistaken, a 600w will cover about a 6x6...

i'd top when you have as many nodes as you want to end up with. each node will be two main branches. fim-ing works, i use that technique on my clone moms to make them mass produce... once you top, and start to flower, you WILL lst, whether you want to or not. as i mentioned, each node becomes two main branches, a the plants become monsters. the branches will have to be spread apart and tied for lighting reasons... on the up side, you can get a qp per plant with this method...

with the box fan, i cut a hole in the cab material, directly above the hps bulb. i made the whole just a little smaller than the surface of the fan. then, i put it on high, and plugged it up to the timer, so when the lights come on, so does the big fan. cut extra intake holes, works like a charm. and venting to and from the basement is an excellent idea, if you don't have to worry about smell...

for your cab size; i want to say that's not big enough for you to do what you want, these babies are going to need room... especially once you start getting into more strains maybe make that cab a 4x8, that's the size of mine...

well, with that, i'm off to wrap the rest of the gifts... Merry Christmas

love, kp

Merry Christmas to you too honey, you have been a great help! I will take your advice and expand the cab, since I do love these sativa girls!
I'm posting pics later-

[kindprincess]

can't wait for them pix i just put some up on godbudxdreamweaver...

kp

[elway07]

I know it has been said already but wanted to add again. I use fox farm nutes "big Grow" for vegging and "tiger Bloom for vegging. I use Super thrive ( 1/4tsp per gallon of water that goes into my soil period. Always. It's great stuff. I also continue to give the veg nute through the first week of flowering then switch to the bloom nutes. I find it an easier transistion for the plants. Good luck

[rhizome]

Couple of observations-

Superthrive is pretty awesome, but you'll want to discontinue when you flip the lights- it'll extend flowering time, and lower final density. I wouldn't use a 1/4 tsp / gal on an extended basis myself- I use 1ml/g for veg, and save the big doses for transplant. Don't kick the bottle over- it'll reek for months.

You'll have trouble lighting 8x2.5 with a single fixture- I'd slap that 600 into a 5x5 room, ideally. To get good light intensity at the ends of the room, you'll need to use a mover. If you go for the mover, get the Light Rail- The slip chain designs never gave me any peace.

When ya talk about heat management, it's helpful to know what the reflector design is- this can have a huge impact.

If you're going to rehab some old hi-boy MH fixtures, go the bucks for good lamps ( Sunmaster Cool, Hort Blue). Also, remember to burn those lamps sideways! The hiboy design is great for Walmart- less so for your closet. Also, those things weigh a ton.

[liberiamom]

Couple of observations-

Superthrive is pretty awesome, but you'll want to discontinue when you flip the lights- it'll extend flowering time, and lower final density. I wouldn't use a 1/4 tsp / gal on an extended basis myself- I use 1ml/g for veg, and save the big doses for transplant. Don't kick the bottle over- it'll reek for months.

You'll have trouble lighting 8x2.5 with a single fixture- I'd slap that 600 into a 5x5 room, ideally. To get good light intensity at the ends of the room, you'll need to use a mover. If you go for the mover, get the Light Rail- The slip chain designs never gave me any peace.

When ya talk about heat management, it's helpful to know what the reflector design is- this can have a huge impact.

If you're going to rehab some old hi-boy MH fixtures, go the bucks for good lamps ( Sunmaster Cool, Hort Blue). Also, remember to burn those lamps sideways! The hiboy design is great for Walmart- less so for your closet. Also, those things weigh a ton.

At the risk of sounding stupid Sideways?
Also, I had planned to make the room about 6 feet long by 4 feet wide, so would that work if I added another light- what would the minimum wattage have to be to make it work in that size room with the 600wHPS?
Thanks so much for your help!

[rhizome]

By sideways, I mean horizontally.

Almost all of the light being produced by an HID light is emitted at 90 degrees from the tube. A lot of industrial fixtures burn the lamp vertically, sending the light out paralell to the floor. This works well to disperse the light over gigantic areas, but not so well for indoor horticulture purposes. Anybody who's old enough to remember big 7 & 8 ' parabolic reflectors will remember that they burnt the bulb in the vertical position. Modern ( horizontal) reflectors are much more efficient, unless you're lighting up, say, a Walmart. ( If you are going to light up a Walmart, remember to douse it in petrol first )

A 600 would be perfect for a 6x4- unless you wanted to stick 2 600's in there. I would hang the reflector so that it was paralell with one of the four foot walls- this should give you the best distribution pattern. It may be more conveniant, depending on door placement, whether or not you need to run ductwork, etc, to hang so that your bulb is paralell to the longer walls, but you will have a tradeoff in the canopy penetration at the ends of the room. If you go for two lamps, you're essentially lighting 2 3x4 areas- making the 4 foot wall the long wall, so I hang the bulbs paralell to the six foot ( or the two x three foot) wall.


Also, I should mention that if you're going to adapt old vertical fixtures to new horizontal ones, please please please make sure that the socket that you use is rated for at least 5kv and that the cable you use is rated for at least 600v- the current coming off the ballast is 600 volts, and 1000w @ 600v will turn an extension cord into a heating element- like in a toaster.

Glad to be of help- assuming I'm actually being helpful, and not just a grumpy old fart

[kindprincess]

hey, i liked it! good info rizzy

lbmom, how's the construction going? i've just decided to dedicate a 12x16 room to my projects now i have to do some planning...

love, kp