The DARK: How many days of dark before crop
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OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
Some decent observations there @MichiganMedGrower!
I don't beak off in threads where some claim that a 315W CMH can do what a 600W HPS can do. I don't have either but I do have 400W and 1000W EYE Hortilux lights running off good old magnetic ballasts and as red-head I can attest to their sunburning power! lol
A lot of folks claim that your standard MH or HPS grow just as well as the pricier units and I call BS on that. If they're happy with what they get from their $30 bulbs then more power to them. I'm the last guy to harp about grams/watt etc. I don't even try to figure that shit out as quality wins out over quantity every time with me.
Once I get my perpetual DWC room running I might just toss out some facts and figures to shut the AN haters down. Before any arguments start I've used AN for 17 years. Trust them, like them and I don't give a flying fuck about any of the hater's reasons not to use them. I will no longer respond to any BS about nutes. If you or anyone else likes whatever you're using be it organics or another watered down form of hydro nutes then that's great! Show me some monster colas or STFU! lol
I never bought into all the hype about nutes and just use the basic 3-part with Rhino Skin, Big Bud and el-cheapo CalMag. Got a free 500ml jug of Bud Factor X to play with once I have some identical clones to do a decent side-by-side with.
Been playing in the dirt the last few grows and it just reinforced what I already knew. I suck as a dirt farmer! I can kick ass in DWC so that's where I'm going for the bulk of my future farming.
I have a few friends that need decent medicine for treatment or cures and it's not what you grow it in but the long, slow dry and cure that makes the buds so tasty and smooth. Most of them prefer edibles anyway and my cocobudder fills that bill.
If anyone wants some books to read check this out.
I found a great spot to download FREE POT BOOKS. I downloaded a
grow bible first and got lots more. Books look great and complete like the real ones I have here. No web site but just a page of links. Just right
click on what you want and then "Save Link As" to download so they don't open first as some are 50+ megs. They got lots. Enjoy.
I don't beak off in threads where some claim that a 315W CMH can do what a 600W HPS can do. I don't have either but I do have 400W and 1000W EYE Hortilux lights running off good old magnetic ballasts and as red-head I can attest to their sunburning power! lol
A lot of folks claim that your standard MH or HPS grow just as well as the pricier units and I call BS on that. If they're happy with what they get from their $30 bulbs then more power to them. I'm the last guy to harp about grams/watt etc. I don't even try to figure that shit out as quality wins out over quantity every time with me.
Once I get my perpetual DWC room running I might just toss out some facts and figures to shut the AN haters down. Before any arguments start I've used AN for 17 years. Trust them, like them and I don't give a flying fuck about any of the hater's reasons not to use them. I will no longer respond to any BS about nutes. If you or anyone else likes whatever you're using be it organics or another watered down form of hydro nutes then that's great! Show me some monster colas or STFU! lol
I never bought into all the hype about nutes and just use the basic 3-part with Rhino Skin, Big Bud and el-cheapo CalMag. Got a free 500ml jug of Bud Factor X to play with once I have some identical clones to do a decent side-by-side with.
Been playing in the dirt the last few grows and it just reinforced what I already knew. I suck as a dirt farmer! I can kick ass in DWC so that's where I'm going for the bulk of my future farming.
I have a few friends that need decent medicine for treatment or cures and it's not what you grow it in but the long, slow dry and cure that makes the buds so tasty and smooth. Most of them prefer edibles anyway and my cocobudder fills that bill.
If anyone wants some books to read check this out.
I found a great spot to download FREE POT BOOKS. I downloaded a
grow bible first and got lots more. Books look great and complete like the real ones I have here. No web site but just a page of links. Just right
click on what you want and then "Save Link As" to download so they don't open first as some are 50+ megs. They got lots. Enjoy.
MichiganMedGrower
Well-Known Member
Every thing I learned from comparing different light bulbs is pretty much what I read from the University of Michigan website. They have been testing indoor lighting for horticulture for years.
The University of Utah has some great info too. They think the spectrum of the 3100k cmh is perfect as a single light source. They feel plant growth is maximized at about 50/50 red to blue light. (To simplify things anyway) that would be pretty much even full sunlight. Of course we are not growing leafy greens to harvest so our needs differ a bit in flower.
And the u of m agrees that more blue light is great for compact leafy greens or vegetative growth but finds more red is important for flowering and fruiting. We need some stretch to fit larger flowers. and it helps with budding response.
Sorry I don't have all my old links. The stuff in this phone I need to replace now is in jeopardy as well.
But here are a couple of links with light statistics fer ya.
https://www.cycloptics.com/cmh-spectrums
https://www.cycloptics.com/sites/default/files/GB USU Spectral Characterization link.pdf
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
Thanx for that. I have read most of what they offer there and like you say it's geared more to various commercial farming but still very pertinent to cannabis. Plants are plants and all have similar needs that can be tweaked to get the best out of any plant. Just ask Mon$atan but don't believe a word they say! LOL
We recently had a promotional sale of 9W LED bulbs so I bought 2 dozen 5000K and a dozen 2700K ones. A buck each so how can I lose? I have a 85W 5000K CFL that vegges plants just fine so a bunch of these LEDs should work just fine. I have some old vanity fixtures I picked up for few bux years ago from a local thrift store and now have a use for them. Already got the globes off all the bulbs I need and painted those nasty little spikes in the middle with liquid electrical tape so I don't get zapped when fussing with my plants like someone warned me about. Can use 11 bulbs or just 1 if I want depending on need.
The black lines are where I will bolt on some aluminum angle iron to hold it all together. Doesn't need any reflective surfaces so as ugly as it will be it'll work just fine.
I wrote 50 on the 5000K bulbs and 27 on the others so I can more easily see who's who. The black goo is dry now and I tried touching one plugged in and got no zap.
I screwed 4 of those into a fixture and jammed the bare wires into the wall plug to see if it worked ok. Still seeing spots in front of my eyes two days later!
I exaggerate but they are amazingly bright.
99w to run something that should veg a full tub of plants in DWC seems like a blessing to me. We shall see.
MichiganMedGrower
Well-Known Member
Thanx for that. I have read most of what they offer there and like you say it's geared more to various commercial farming but still very pertinent to cannabis. Plants are plants and all have similar needs that can be tweaked to get the best out of any plant. Just ask Mon$atan but don't believe a word they say! LOL
We recently had a promotional sale of 9W LED bulbs so I bought 2 dozen 5000K and a dozen 2700K ones. A buck each so how can I lose? I have a 85W 5000K CFL that vegges plants just fine so a bunch of these LEDs should work just fine. I have some old vanity fixtures I picked up for few bux years ago from a local thrift store and now have a use for them. Already got the globes off all the bulbs I need and painted those nasty little spikes in the middle with liquid electrical tape so I don't get zapped when fussing with my plants like someone warned me about. Can use 11 bulbs or just 1 if I want depending on need.
The black lines are where I will bolt on some aluminum angle iron to hold it all together. Doesn't need any reflective surfaces so as ugly as it will be it'll work just fine.
View attachment 4038702
I wrote 50 on the 5000K bulbs and 27 on the others so I can more easily see who's who. The black goo is dry now and I tried touching one plugged in and got no zap.
View attachment 4038704
I screwed 4 of those into a fixture and jammed the bare wires into the wall plug to see if it worked ok. Still seeing spots in front of my eyes two days later!
I exaggerate but they are amazingly bright.
99w to run something that should veg a full tub of plants in DWC seems like a blessing to me. We shall see.
I'm not much interested in diy lighting for my rooms but good luck.
OMG what have you done?Thanx for that. I have read most of what they offer there and like you say it's geared more to various commercial farming but still very pertinent to cannabis. Plants are plants and all have similar needs that can be tweaked to get the best out of any plant. Just ask Mon$atan but don't believe a word they say! LOL
We recently had a promotional sale of 9W LED bulbs so I bought 2 dozen 5000K and a dozen 2700K ones. A buck each so how can I lose? I have a 85W 5000K CFL that vegges plants just fine so a bunch of these LEDs should work just fine. I have some old vanity fixtures I picked up for few bux years ago from a local thrift store and now have a use for them. Already got the globes off all the bulbs I need and painted those nasty little spikes in the middle with liquid electrical tape so I don't get zapped when fussing with my plants like someone warned me about. Can use 11 bulbs or just 1 if I want depending on need.
The black lines are where I will bolt on some aluminum angle iron to hold it all together. Doesn't need any reflective surfaces so as ugly as it will be it'll work just fine.
View attachment 4038702
I wrote 50 on the 5000K bulbs and 27 on the others so I can more easily see who's who. The black goo is dry now and I tried touching one plugged in and got no zap.
View attachment 4038704
I screwed 4 of those into a fixture and jammed the bare wires into the wall plug to see if it worked ok. Still seeing spots in front of my eyes two days later!
I exaggerate but they are amazingly bright.
99w to run something that should veg a full tub of plants in DWC seems like a blessing to me. We shall see.
Is your name Tim Allen or ......Red Green
R.Raider
Well-Known Member
The "green light bulb" is another one that needs to be stuffed away lol. Amazed by how many people actually believe this.
a mongo frog
Well-Known Member
Whats the green light bulb?
MichiganMedGrower
Well-Known Member
Low intensity green light does not affect flowering photo period plants cycle. So green light bulbs have been used to see in the Grow room during lights out traditionally.
More recently it has been discovered that plants actually do process green light so the bulb thing isn't now challenged again.
I have never had a problem. I was using the twisty green 15w fluorescents and I don't go in often or for very long but I know growers who work under them every day with no adverse effects.
On the other side of the coin so to speak a grower reported stalled flowering and possible re-veg with plants directly under a green led screw in bulb. The one that looks like a shower head with all the green lights. That thing is much brighter. And it caused issues.
I also have a green led on my Titan controller that is in front of the plants every day for years.
I covered it for a while but got sick of that and it has been open and lit green for 2 more years with no problems resulting from the green display.
That's what I got on the subject. I realize it doesn't help. Lol.
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
When you're cash-strapped it's DIY or do without sometimes. Plus I get some small satisfaction coming up with a plan and making it work.I'm not much interested in diy lighting for my rooms but good luck.
HotWaterKarl
Well-Known Member
Yep. My LED headset has green and far red, and white. Pick and choose lol. The green isn't going to hurt since it is LED and the far RED is going to make 'em sleep harder. Thing works great, LED headband Energizer thing from Canadian Tire like 6 years ago lol. Still has the batteries it came with. Works great.
MichiganMedGrower
Well-Known Member
I think the intensity and location of the green bulbs is the factor. The led on the display is surely green but very dim. The plants are across from it in shadow.
The 15 watt party light may be shielded or close enough to an acceptable green spectrum and it also is not close enough to the canopy to show any negative effects.
We may be able to see dimly in the room but the plants may not "see" the light.
But they sure saw the bright green led in the room I heard about.
I am not trying to be more complex about than this.
Farmer.J
Well-Known Member
I did not know this. I was told if you want to observe the plants during the dark cycle to use green bulb. The way you just explained it above makes total sense and I feel foolish for taking the advice without thinking about it.
I was told to open a bag of ice each day and pour it in the res for the 72 hours of dark, so I bought a green flood light so I could see what I was doing without disturbing them. Now it seems that the whole 72 hours was a waste of time because I in fact was interrupting them and got mould because of humidity. Totally not worth it IMO.
Thanks for setting me straight.
Ps: What color temperature is the green light spectrum?
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MichiganMedGrower
Well-Known Member
You got a lot of Grow myths going there.
The old Grow books suggest a Green Party bulb. Not a floodlight. Dim green light doesn't interrupt flowering.
And darkness only helps the plant move its carbohydrates back to the roots and is done in 24 hrs. The trichomes thing is myth. Also more trichomes doesn't automatically mean more potency.
Cold water also will not make stronger pot. Particularly given in the dark.
Sure the one post about a green light bulb being like a red one has set you straight?
Farmer.J
Well-Known Member
Yeah I think after the loss of bud from mould is enough reason for me to not try the extended darkness period again. It was suggested by a few members on the BCNL forum and I tried it. Failed. I'm going to stick to what I know works and if I miss out on a few percent of cannabinoids I can live with it, better than loosing a few ounces of bud again.You got a lot of Grow myths going there.
Sure the one post about a green light bulb being like a red one has set you straight?
HotWaterKarl
Well-Known Member
I was gonna do a dark period, and then realized that trimming is going to take more than one or even two nights so.. guess I will leave the lights on.
The Hippy
Well-Known Member
I use these in my flower and veg room. They only emit green spectrum as per this test by monster garden . Not cheap but allow undisturbed night time work. 4 on the ceiling lights the whole room up quite well. I even have them in the area's outside rooms. I like them very much....one was dead on arrival though. So lost money on that unit. Shipping wasn't worth the return cost.
It even has heat sinking to cool the lamp. I also use them to indicate various pumps being on with them. That way I know if any pump has not been turned off.
I'm happy with these lights.
https://www.monstergardens.com/Monster-Super-Green-LED
It even has heat sinking to cool the lamp. I also use them to indicate various pumps being on with them. That way I know if any pump has not been turned off.
I'm happy with these lights.
https://www.monstergardens.com/Monster-Super-Green-LED
MichiganMedGrower
Well-Known Member
You didn't miss any canabanoids while the plant sat idle in the dark.
I don't try anything suggested on forums without a lot of research.
It's funny that pot being popular and "legal" has growers repeating all the 70's stuff instead of learning all the available info.
