Indoor SunSystems LEC 315 CMH - Soil - Advanced Nutrients - Dinafem White Widow - G13Labs Pineapple Express

[81camaro]

I've been anxious to get a new journal going since the update, and things here at AFN have settled down since the rollout. Wordy title, but I wanted something easily searched (and found, LOL). I've got two plants, the White Widow and a Pineapple Express. I've had just a little experience with both. I'm a believer in Dinafem, I've had good success. Pulled 5 Zs from the new Blue Kush Auto, my first auto grow, from a Choice Seeds freebie that showed up with my Christmas order. Good structure, size, and yield, as well as a soft tasty smoke after a month's cure. highly recommend. The G13 Labs PE bean is my second out of the pack. G13 is new to me and I ordered it based on speed and a very reasonable price. Can't say much here other than the first was crazy fast, but had to be cut down with about a month to go after the first big summer heat wave brought in 90 degree temps. Brought in a small a/c to handle the temps, and after standing guard on my thermometers the last couple days, I'm comfortable with a new start.
Working with what space is available, a small closet in a spare bedroom, about 3x3, with 8 ft of headroom. They'll be under a high light to promote some early stretch and to prepare for the bend into scrog. I'm a big fan of Scrogging to push yields. My last grow was straight up and down and I feel like I left a lot of meat on the table looking at the tiny lower buds. I haven't made the screen yet, but I've got stuff laying around, no prob. Seeds were dropped into a shot glass with a dusting of Great White to promote rooting. Both cracked in 2 days and were dropped into jiffy peat cubes. WW came up in 2 days, the PE in 3. Then to 7 gal dirtpots. I wanted these to finish together, the PE is 10 days behind the WW. Soil is Promix HP, straight from the bag. Nutes will be Advanced Nutrients, and I'll be working Tang's schedule as best I can. Just plain water for now, fertilizer will start when I get a few more nodes on the PE.
Lighting will be a Sunsystems LEC315 Ceramic Metal Halide. Still on the learning curve here, but it's a great light for a lot of reasons, and I'd like to drop some tech as things roll along. Dr. Frog is rocking one in his journal here, and his plant's are bushy little monsters full of pistils in a pretty short time frame. Worthy and deserves a look.
Pretty same ol' same ol' the rest of the way. Fans to move air, a small a/c to cool it, and the CO2 BoostBucket to enrich it.
A lot has to go right and only a little has to go wrong. I've had my ups and downs getting this far and I'm due for a good one, LOL.

 

[81camaro]

 

[81camaro]

WW from same pack. I'd like to double the bud size/yield this go. Mostly cloudy, no amber, not much longer to go. Final flush very soon.

 

[Mossy]

81camaro...I am moving Live Journals up to the Live section..is this okay with you..?

 

[81camaro]

More than OK. In fact I expected it. Hesitated a bit looking for the right place. Thanks for the help, not too savvy on stuff like this. Still kind of a noob finding my way around here. I've read alot of your posts on my little journey through growville. Respect. See your Jem's showing up in catalogs. A real accomplishment for a "home" grower. I'd certainly appreciate you looking in once in awhile. I think things are on the right track and i'm expecting a good one. I was just deciding on my screen, I've got a few laying around. I'm settling in on an almost 4x3, with 140 3inch squares. I'd like to test the LEC across the 4 ft length to see how it will handle the footprint. If it goes well a 4x4 is in the future.

 

[Dr. Frog]

Yo 81camaro! Glad you got your space and journal set up. 7 gallon bags?! Awesome. That's what I pot my photos up to.

Really excited to see the LEC in a 3x3 which is almost twice my square footage.

Real slick gear man. Putting an AC in there is hopefully gonna keep your temps spot on round the clock. You've got one of the same thermometers I have in my setup. They work alright, but I've noticed that under HID lighting, their black color and flat top bake them and give an inflated reading. I taped a white shield on top and it helped.

Did you find out which color temperature your bulb is? From the picture it looks just like mine at 3100K.

Obviously subbed for the whole show.

 

[Corgy]

.........I'm not subbed....lost my snorkel........anyways, as I tag along

what lotion factor do you recommend with the LEC 315?

 

[81camaro]

I've got the 4200K. When I jumped in there were good reports and the spectrum is a hair higher in amplitude across the charts. Supposed to make leafier plants though. The two I had outside are doing better inside parked on the edge of the LEC than out in the long, hot august sun. Probably due to humidity though. so they're staying in. What's you're feeling on the 4x4? Does it have the juice? The smell from the WW is nice, spicy, incense, and something else. Lemon? hard to pin down. A few red hairs, mostly cloudy, no ambers. Pushing the Ferts now in that pot, maybe 1 or 2 feedings left then flush. I always read about the big bulkup at the end if you wait for it, so I'm playing it cool, letting it happen.
A remote thermometer at light height on the wall has been a steady 75 degrees, but yeah down at the pot 79-81. It would seem if the plastic is getting hot, so would the leafs. still thinking on this. I like your idea of an IR to measure leaf surface temps, and they're cheaper than they sound. Put it on the list, huh? Next hit on the budget is bloom nutes for the bloom half.

 

[81camaro]

Hey Corgy. The lotion factor- haha- right now is about 30 inches from the tops. Dr. Frog is there and his plants look great. nodes are loose enough to help with penetration and they're not stretching out of control. I have had mine lower, as low as 15 inches in the old small box, and late in bloom with not much to lose, I'll push it a bit. I think closer than twenty is walking out into a minefield. The best height when we figure it out will likely be higher in veg and shorter in bloom much like any light I suspect.

 

[Dr. Frog]

Yeah I keep a bunch of thermometers everywhere. Can learn a lot about a space just seeing how different the readings from different locations can be. You're right, the warmed up meter does reveal just how much thermal power the light throws down. But a leaf is green and is constantly cooling itself, so maybe not a direct comparison, but still handy.

Oh nice, it'll be dope to see a 4200K in action. I've seen plenty of people recommend them, but never any grows. They definitely are more balanced, like you said, and have substantially more UV in the UVB range. Not as much as MH, but significantly more than the 3100K. Probably makes for some glittery buds. Makes me wonder exactly why Philips decided to call one the Agro and not the other. Heck I wish I grew in a space large enough for 2 fixtures so I could mix spectrums.

Definitely put an IR meter on the list. There's a handful of cheap ones (<$20) on Amazon with tons of good reviews. I just checked out a cart with some AN Iguana Juice Bloom and an IR meter.

As far as coverage goes, it beats me. It's almost too strong in my 5 square foot setup (some light bleaching). Most recommendations I've seen online hover around 3x3, which is almost twice my setup. 4x4 is almost twice the area of a 3x3. I think it'd be stretching it a bit. Hoping your grow will help shed some light on this question, as I'm thinking about upping to 3x3 myself.