800 watts of cfls pics (should I switch to hps??)

nycfunguy

nycfunguy

Active Member
That is my biggest issue for doing this again... I just don't know which way to go... I have another cab setup sideways that would work with cfls again (of course scrogging horizontally... this sideways cab won't work for hps due to height restrictions.) The head room on my current, pictured, cab is quite high, 6 feet (right now I've got a seedling above but the heat is quite intense from the flowering chamber below.) and I would have enough room for the hps but then the plant wouldn't be able to grow as wide. it's important for a plant to have space between each branch for light penetration right?

this plant has so many side stems that something tells me it would be strained trying to grow tall without widening as well... kinda like growing a christmas tree already in the net...

maybe the pics don't show correctly but this one plant has been repositioned so that every branch coming off the main stem is sideways... then grows up a few inches from the bend... I figure it's better scrogging low with the cfls than growing without scrogging with the hps due to that phenomenon I've read about when the hps is too far away from the bottom of the plant but just close enough to the top.

but I guess I can just scrog with an air cooled hps and get the best of everything...
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
jact55 said:
nycfunguy,

wow, i am sorry that you are having to weed through all of this crappy advice.
stick to what you are saying. yes, as you already know you are in the right spectum. obviously, with 800 watts of cfl's there is more lumens being produced than the standard 400 watt hps at 50,000 lumens, unfortunelely just not at the same energy effeciency. so a 400 would be a good investment for the next grow. but then there are heat issues that are going to be involved. (even though with that many cfls it might already be an issue. ) what is your exhaust system? what kind of fan ect. 1.5 by 2 is a pretty small area for a 400 watt. the goal per square foot for lumens is 7000-10000. this would put you at 16,700 lumens per sq ft. that being said, if you can control the heat, you will pull one hell of a yeild out of such a small area. if you get a 400, i would suggest expanding your area if possible so you can get better usage of your lumens. For the time being i would finish your current grow with the cfl's. then make your decision.

YOU WILL NOT YEILD A POUND! maybe and ounce or 2. but thats still a good amount of bud. you would have to be jesus to yeild a pound in a 3 sq ft area.

so overall, this is my suggestion, and this is what i have done also. i had 400 watts of cfls, and i thought that was alot. if possible get a 400 watt light after this grow, use your cfls for side lighting where the hps cant reach. this together will help your yeild bundles.

how much head space do you have?? you know a 400 needs to be 18-22 inches from the plant usually, unless you have a good cooling system. from the pics it seemed like possible there wasnt much height to your space, correct me if i am wrong.

i like your system and i think once you master your space you will be growing some wonderful product. good luck.
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i understand that you might be hinting them subliminals at me,but lemme tell you this,i was merely stating that for a STEALTH grow,cfl's are the way to go,HPS is BETTER but some folks dont like dealing with heat issues or potential fires,and in my opinion honestly i would use an hps for lets say a grow of maybe 4 plants because that'll justify all of that extra light which would otherwise be wasted on a single plant....just sayin were both right,definitely get a HPS for Large grows and suppliment with the cfl's for side lighting,but for something like 1 to 3 plants cfl's especially 30plus of em will do him justice
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
nycfunguy said:
That is my biggest issue for doing this again... I just don't know which way to go... I have another cab setup sideways that would work with cfls again (of course scrogging horizontally... this sideways cab won't work for hps due to height restrictions.) The head room on my current, pictured, cab is quite high, 6 feet (right now I've got a seedling above but the heat is quite intense from the flowering chamber below.) and I would have enough room for the hps but then the plant wouldn't be able to grow as wide. it's important for a plant to have space between each branch for light penetration right?

this plant has so many side stems that something tells me it would be strained trying to grow tall without widening as well... kinda like growing a christmas tree already in the net...

maybe the pics don't show correctly but this one plant has been repositioned so that every branch coming off the main stem is sideways... then grows up a few inches from the bend... I figure it's better scrogging low with the cfls than growing without scrogging with the hps due to that phenomenon I've read about when the hps is too far away from the bottom of the plant but just close enough to the top.

but I guess I can just scrog with an air cooled hps and get the best of everything...
Click to expand...
ayo my dude,theres no real wrong way to go as far as lighting,but i was looking at the pics and i seen the grow area and i seen that you had 30plus cfl's and your shits look magnificent,why change what you got especially when you have obvious space restraints,nah mean?
people are definitely biased one way or another but they dont take into consideration space issues,like because THEY have enough space to grow with an hps that everyone has the same luxury,but hey what ever,im just showing the kid some love and droppin gems,i aint a guru but i am a grower
 
jact55

jact55

Well-Known Member
whether or not cfls are better or not was not the issue that i was hinting at. i have pulled 5 harvest off of cfls as compared to only 2 from an hps. really, your post were not what i was refering to, exept maybe this.........."well as for the hps...the hps is always going to give off more lumens...but thats not really important,what is important tho is to make sure you have both spectrums...warm 2700k for flowering and cool 6500k for vegging.." cause he has more lumens than an hps right now. and spectrum wise you can be in the right prectrum with only one cfl, but that isnt gonna grow weed, so lumens are important.

as for the one pound comment, i misread your post i thought it said " can harvest a pound" but it said can't, so for this i humbly apologize.

also i did address heat issues in relation to heat problems in my post.
 
nycfunguy

nycfunguy

Active Member
one last thing... the buds smell extremely strong but are not as sticky as some videos I've seen of other grows... they're slightly sticky, just not like fingers stuck together and then when they separate it looks like what would happen with cheese... that isn't happening at all with mine or does that happen right near the end? or due to my lighting shortages they will never get that sticky?
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
jact55 said:
whether or not cfls are better or not was not the issue that i was hinting at. i have pulled 5 harvest off of cfls as compared to only 2 from an hps. really, your post were not what i was refering to, exept maybe this.........."well as for the hps...the hps is always going to give off more lumens...but thats not really important,what is important tho is to make sure you have both spectrums...warm 2700k for flowering and cool 6500k for vegging.." cause he has more lumens than an hps right now. and spectrum wise you can be in the right prectrum with only one cfl, but that isnt gonna grow weed, so lumens are important.

as for the one pound comment, i misread your post i thought it said " can harvest a pound" but it said can't, so for this i humbly apologize.

also i did address heat issues in relation to heat problems in my post.
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oh no prob my dude,but as for the lumens statement,i was saying that since he already has a high lumen count that spectrum is more important,but no doubt my dude...is all love from your boy...nikkz
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
nycfunguy said:
one last thing... the buds smell extremely strong but are not as sticky as some videos I've seen of other grows... they're slightly sticky, just not like fingers stuck together and then when they separate it looks like what would happen with cheese... that isn't happening at all with mine or does that happen right near the end? or due to my lighting shortages they will never get that sticky?
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could be strain...as long as you get ripped its all gravy
 
jact55

jact55

Well-Known Member
i have one white berry plant with the same problem. not a whole lot of resin production compared to my other strains. typically my plants get pretty frosty starting around 4 weeks. so it might just be a less resiny plant.
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
jact55 said:
i have one white berry plant with the same problem. not a whole lot of resin production compared to my other strains. typically my plants get pretty frosty starting around 4 weeks. so it might just be a less resiny plant.
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mmm that sounds awesome...white widow blue berry mix perhaps??
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
nycfunguy said:
one last thing... the buds smell extremely strong but are not as sticky as some videos I've seen of other grows... they're slightly sticky, just not like fingers stuck together and then when they separate it looks like what would happen with cheese... that isn't happening at all with mine or does that happen right near the end? or due to my lighting shortages they will never get that sticky?
Click to expand...
or did you have a fan blowing on em hard during flower..because they say that keeping a few fans blowing directly at em from the bottom up(at an angle)hitting the underside of the leaves helps with resin production,to keep the buds from getting windburn...just saying
 
nycfunguy

nycfunguy

Active Member
one fan blowing from a hole on the left side of the cab... the first few branches were hit directly with air... the branches on the right are barely moving but hit lightly...


and now for the question that will most certainly have a million different answers...

when i'm drying these, leave all the leaves except the biggest ones on? I've read it slows down the drying time, which I want... as slow as possible without mold. or just trim and go go go...
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
nycfunguy said:
one fan blowing from a hole on the left side of the cab... the first few branches were hit directly with air... the branches on the right are barely moving but hit lightly...


and now for the question that will most certainly have a million different answers...

when i'm drying these, leave all the leaves except the biggest ones on? I've read it slows down the drying time, which I want... as slow as possible without mold. or just trim and go go go...
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yeah trim them boys off and put them in a clear plastic bag,dry em for a week with the fan circulating air(not facing the buds at all)until the stems crack(not bend)the curing process takes the longest(4 Weeks)that will give you moist yet dry buds and mellow smoke,you'll be able to enjoy the weed without hacking and actually enjoy the flavors
 
jact55

jact55

Well-Known Member
like you said, there is a million different ways. in the past i have done as you said and left the bulk of the leaves and hung it with a fan blowing on them. i have never had any mold problems. but i think this time i am gonna trim them first and hang em. i am leaving town a week after harvest and need a little money to help with the trip. either way i bet your will be happy. a slow dry time and a good cure are key to a smooth tasty smoke, so i suggest the way you are talking about
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
nycfunguy said:
wait, plastic bag or hang em from string inside a cardboard box? never heard the bag technique...
Click to expand...

no i meant put the trimmings in a plastic bag....put em in the freezer to make a lil bit of bubble hash with a couple of pantyhoses:joint::hump:
 
nycfunguy

nycfunguy

Active Member
oh yeah yeah... i hear ya...

actually tried the bubble hash stuff with the first two indicas... went through a few different screens (nothing official, starting with blending ice then through a filter bag, then again, then chilled the liquid, waited for the trics to settle ending with a coffee filter straining the liquid from the trics but it still came out green and tasted horrible. I looked at it under the micro and it looked like trichs everywhere all mixed up but it was still green and not right... not sure what I did wrong... or maybe it's supposed to taste bad and look slightly green. (i've read lesser quality hash is green but if I still made hash just not the best I'm still slightly happy)
 
nikk

nikk

Active Member
nycfunguy said:
oh yeah yeah... i hear ya...

actually tried the bubble hash stuff with the first two indicas... went through a few different screens starting with blending ice and the leaves ending with a coffee filter straining the smallest of the plant material but it came out green and tasted horrible. I looked at it under the micro and it looked like trichs everywhere all mixed up but it was still green and not right... not sure what I did wrong... or maybe it's supposed to taste bad and look slightly green. (i've read lesser quality hash is green but if I still made hash just not the best I'm still slightly happy)
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aight try this,2 pairs of pantyhoses,a mixing bowl,a dense plastic sheet like a shower curtain and something to hold it snug over the pantyhoses and bowl,and beat the shit outta that trim for like 15 minutes....enjoy
 
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