+rep to the OP
I don't post much on here (trying to become more active), but I've spent literally hundreds of hours over the past couple years READING on RIU and other forums (although I believe RIU has the best community of active, informed growers). I personally believe that once I find a tasty nugget of new information that I think I might want to try, I need to spend the time to search other forums and consult the grow books to vet the information, run it through my own BS filter and internal engineer & chemist, and then actually try it myself. If I haven't tried it myself, I feel that I shouldn't volunteer my opinion on it.
For example, the endless argument about HID vs CFL vs LED: I've proven to myself that HID is superior in every conceivable way (except the power bill!) for producing the "biggest buds" and largest yields when growing indoors. CFLs definitely have their place, and are perfectly capable of producing a great product, and I *do* actively use CFLs, even for flowering (when I do breeding or create seed stock), and for the small scale grower doing just a few plants for their own needs, I actively encourage CFL use because it's easier on the budget and no heat issues for a closet or cab grow. LEDs -- I've never used them, therefore I don't comment.
This temperature conversation that seems to have sprung up...I didn't read the whole thing, but here's my suggestion: Test. Figure out what works best for your combination of environmental factors, strains, etc. Based on numerous grow cycles with controlled factors, I know what temperature my four primary strains grow best at in DWC and in dirt, and those temperatures are 4 degrees F apart.
I also know what nutrient levels my particular strains grow best under, and at what stages. For 3 of my 4 strains, I run the nutrients extremely hot in flower compared to what just about everybody in the world would suggest, and those 3 strains LOVE LOVE LOVE the high nute levels, but those same levels will kill my 4th strain each and every time. How did I get to this optimal level? By testing and tweaking, testing and tweaking. Also, I'm willing to bet that moving the entire grow op to a different location, in a different building, would significantly alter all my parameters of nute level, temperature, light distance above canopy, etc.
For reasons of my own choosing, we recently started moving to Subcool's Agent Orange strain as our primary, mainstream patient strain, and we're doing it in dirt, which is kind of foreign for me, and creates a whole new set of issues. We're in our 3rd flower cycle of Agent Orange, and our nute levels in flower are so low that people would think we're insane, but the plants are absolutely, positively thriving. The Agent Orange flower room is also running a tad cold, which defies logic (averaging about 68 degrees). But again, the plants are thriving.
I would just encourage everybody to test things out for themselves. I realize that can often be a budget issue, but if enough other people have tried it and it works, and it accomplishes something important to you, then give it a shot. If it doesn't work for you, then either figure out why or move on to something else.
As somebody else already said, growing cannabis ain't that damn hard: Dirt, water, light. After all, it's a freakin' weed. I've had some killer weed that was grown in straight Perlite in a 6 inch pot, watered with just tap water, and sitting under a single CFL in a clamp-on reflector. Total cost: Under $20, all from Wal-Mart. Were the buds super dense? No. Did it have massive trich clusters? No. Was it dank? Hell yeah it was dank! (it was OG Kush, for anybody that cares).
Anyway, try new things for yourself. I think it's what makes growing interesting (OK, besides the fact that you have a wonderful end product!).
