LED Without LEDs -My First T5 Grow

organicbynature

organicbynature

Active Member
This is from another thread (not a T5 grow), but felt relevant:

jubiare said:
Apparentely there is something to to with far red 720 or 740nm? Something to do with the sunrising and sunset.... some people give a hour of far red first thing in the morning and last thing in the eve? There is a guy on icmag that has experienced one week less flowering than HPS, compared to not using far red flowering was taking one extra week compared to HPS
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We may have covered this, but I at least was not sure at this point why we wanted the far red included. Anyone have anything else to add about this?
 
poind3xter

poind3xter

Member
grapeoptimo said:
anyone growing with these? http://grow-light-source.com/All_Lighting_Products.htm#420 Watts
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I'd LOVE to grow with those things. Plasma is the closest thing to the sun. But look at the PAR chart. Not nearly enough intensity in the 400-450 and 600-700 range. I imagine that Prof's T5 setup would destroy the plasma. Having said that I hope that the plasma tech continues to press forth. I think plasma and LED, or a combo of both, is where the most efficient lighting for growing cannabis is headed.

Personally I'll be ordering my aquarium-style bulbs here within the next week or two. I've seen enough, and done enough research, to recognize that this is going to work. I'll be running a 16 bulb, 864w T5 setup. Wish me luck!
 
UnderCurrentDWC

UnderCurrentDWC

Active Member
poind3xter said:
I'd LOVE to grow with those things. Plasma is the closest thing to the sun. But look at the PAR chart. Not nearly enough intensity in the 400-450 and 600-700 range. I imagine that Prof's T5 setup would destroy the plasma. Having said that I hope that the plasma tech continues to press forth. I think plasma and LED, or a combo of both, is where the most efficient lighting for growing cannabis is headed.

Personally I'll be ordering my aquarium-style bulbs here within the next week or two. I've seen enough, and done enough research, to recognize that this is going to work. I'll be running a 16 bulb, 864w T5 setup. Wish me luck!
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Good luck!
& post some pics when you get it!

 
AltarNation

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
Lucius Vorenus said:
Any updates on any of your grows guys? PICS!!!!
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Jeez guys I don't know if these lights are working... ;) lulz.

Growth has picked back up I believe! i saw some extra height, which makes me think the lime did the trick!!

Watching the buds grow is a trip... I don't "see" it happening much, then I turn around one day and realize "hey that use to be smaller than a dime!"

haha. This is making me kind of giddy. Sorry folks, first timer. ;)

Pics:

P1050144.jpgP1050153.jpgP1050140.jpgP1050158.jpgP1050151.jpgP1050147.jpgP1050149.jpgP1050134.jpgP1050143.jpgP1050145.jpgP1050161.jpgP1050152.jpgP1050146.jpgP1050154.jpgP1050160.jpgP1050165.jpgP1050148.jpgP1050137.jpgP1050139.jpgP1050157.jpg
P1050142.jpg

This is a temporary veg chamber I rigged up along the ceiling of the grow room to accomodate my clones until my flowering period is over! Then these 5 gal bags go into the main chamber, except for whichever one looks healthiest, which will go into the new mother chamber I'm about to build. (Should be a fun project, I'm converting a box that used to be one of those big old time radios.)
P1050166.jpg
 
AltarNation

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
Thanks a lot man! I am feeling really good about them. Can't wait to see what the next month brings size-wise. I've heard they bulk up a lot at the end...
 
AltarNation

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
Okay, cool... my flower period started Oct 6th... so I am just past 5 weeks... I should expect 3-4 more weeks, right? Hopefully I'll see some size gains before it slows!
 
Myles117

Myles117

Well-Known Member
yeah depends on the genetics of your plants. should def get some fattening next few weeks.

you have any plans to flush or for how long you might do so?
 
AltarNation

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
Re: Genetics, this is a mix of bag seeds but I was told a few of them were vendor-purchased blueberry seeds. I'm not sure exactly what I planted, but I've noticed a few of them smell similar and I suspect these are the blueberries. The rest is all random bag seed, so who knows!

If I flush it will probably be minimally, maybe just one good flush a few days b4 harvest (3x vol. through like I do every couple weeks anyway to avoid salt buildup) and then leave it be to dry up before harvest... such a double-sided subject, so much heresay on both sides, but I don't like the idea of depriving them of food during their last growth, so I'm not going to cut them off of food any earlier than a few days. (which is a normal interval for feeding anyway) I am interested in trying the "36 hours of dark at the end" bit though.

Honestly I don't know what to do so I am playing it safe and not gonna flush much if at all... I will follow drying/curing guides to the T and if it still smells or tastes off I might flush next time. Tough question, haha.
 
Myles117

Myles117

Well-Known Member
so if genetics are mixed finish times may also be. if you can get a lil pocket microscope to inspect trichomes it'll be of great use in determining when each is ready. aim for all milky with some amber all the way to bout half amber depending on ur preference in high.

and even just cutting to lighter feeds at end would help the taste. :) its not so much starving the plants, just attempting to reduce excess nutrients beeing held in the smokeable plant tissues. plus the plants have energy and mobile nutrients that can be taken from the fan leaves during this time.
 
AltarNation

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
Yeah, that sounds right on man. I am thinking just reduce and/or leave out the last feeding or two.

And yeah, definitely expecting different finishing times, lol. One plant turned out to autoflower so I had to flip everything to flower when that happened... and the one autoflowerer is easily 1-2 weeks ahead as a result. So I'm expecting variance there for sure.

I have a 30x led lit eye loupe so I will be keeping an eye on things... but I read some threads about recognizing the "general symptoms of ripeness" beyond trichomes, so I will be watching for hairs to start receding and for the "fall colors" in the leaves. Will keep an eye on trichomes too of course, hehe. :) Thanks man!
 
AssDan

AssDan

Member
AltarNation said:
Jeez guys I don't know if these lights are working... ;) lulz.

Growth has picked back up I believe! i saw some extra height, which makes me think the lime did the trick!!

Watching the buds grow is a trip... I don't "see" it happening much, then I turn around one day and realize "hey that use to be smaller than a dime!"

haha. This is making me kind of giddy. Sorry folks, first timer. ;)

Pics:

View attachment 1892755View attachment 1892756View attachment 1892757View attachment 1892758View attachment 1892759View attachment 1892760View attachment 1892761View attachment 1892762View attachment 1892763View attachment 1892764View attachment 1892765View attachment 1892766View attachment 1892767View attachment 1892768View attachment 1892769View attachment 1892770View attachment 1892771View attachment 1892772View attachment 1892773View attachment 1892774
View attachment 1892776

This is a temporary veg chamber I rigged up along the ceiling of the grow room to accomodate my clones until my flowering period is over! Then these 5 gal bags go into the main chamber, except for whichever one looks healthiest, which will go into the new mother chamber I'm about to build. (Should be a fun project, I'm converting a box that used to be one of those big old time radios.)
View attachment 1892775
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This is your first grow??? Holy shit I can't wait to get these bulbs now. I feel like I had a decent grow with only 6500k and 3000k.

How is customer service usually with aquarium specialty? I send an e-mail asking about the status of my lights, and I haven't heard back. I'm gonna call tomorrow. I've been waiting a while for the red sun and 454 (2 weeks) so my order can ship.

Thanks again for finding this science and these lamps.
 
AssDan

AssDan

Member
AltarNation said:
Yeah, that sounds right on man. I am thinking just reduce and/or leave out the last feeding or two.

And yeah, definitely expecting different finishing times, lol. One plant turned out to autoflower so I had to flip everything to flower when that happened... and the one autoflowerer is easily 1-2 weeks ahead as a result. So I'm expecting variance there for sure.

I have a 30x led lit eye loupe so I will be keeping an eye on things... but I read some threads about recognizing the "general symptoms of ripeness" beyond trichomes, so I will be watching for hairs to start receding and for the "fall colors" in the leaves. Will keep an eye on trichomes too of course, hehe. :) Thanks man!
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Fall colors? This is only my 2nd grow, so I've got some things to learn as well. Do the fall colors refer to leaves turning purple due to phosphorus deficiency? I am in a spot similar to you. I'm thinking harvest soon. You can look in my grow journal if you want to know where I'm at.
 
AltarNation

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
Yes, first grow, unless you count some really poorly grown bag seed in solo cups that I never transplanted and then gave away to a friend, lol. That was years ago though.

This is my first 'real' grow, definitely the first time I've gotten into flowering at all.

Aquarium Specialty's support has been GREAT for me so far. The rep I've been in contact with via email does take some time to get back to me, but they have really taken care of me, replacing a bad red sun (just came) and they also shipped me the available bulbs while I waited for the red suns to come in last time. If you ask them to do that I'm sure they'll help ya out. I feel like maybe they're a bit swamped right now, maybe ven from people visiting this thread, lol. So a phone call couldn't hurt! I'm sure they are not intentionally neglecting you; their service has been too good for that.
 
AltarNation

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
AssDan said:
Fall colors? This is only my 2nd grow, so I've got some things to learn as well. Do the fall colors refer to leaves turning purple due to phosphorus deficiency? I am in a spot similar to you. I'm thinking harvest soon. You can look in my grow journal if you want to know where I'm at.
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Fall colors would be leaves changing like in trees in fall outdoors.. basically just the green going out of the leaves as the plant uptakes the stored nutrients in the leaves and redirects that energy to the buds.

I'm a total newb, but I read a good thread on it recently. I'll see if I can find.

Edit: Here's a thread by fdd2black that touches lightly on the alternate methods of determining ripeness:

https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/28072-harvest-time-tutorial.html

But doesn't really deal with leaf color at all, and I notice that the leaves are still green in his "ready" pics so that might not be a good gauge after all. I'm pretty sure I saw another thread that went into it, but it might not have been a reliable source.

None the less, quothe the black: " we will start with ripeness. most people say to check your trichromes with 30X magnification. i have other ways. when buds are done they look "done". the appearance of the bud changes. the leaves start to hook upwards and become hard and crispy. the calyxes will swell and the hairs will turn brown. you can see a golden tinge to the bud leaves. this is the amber crystals. they start to turn amber on the leaves first."

In addition I know I read some stuff about how the hairs recede as the calyxes swell, but again, I am a total newb so don't take anything I say as fact.

Also, found this post from this thread: (the thread title's a bit of an exxageration, lol) https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/475921-trichome-color-waste-time-5.html

But there are other non-microscopic clues worth looking at too: Calyx swelling/fullness, pistil* coloration change, pistil withering/receding, and yellowing of the upper fan leaves are also all clues that the plant is ripe, or close.

Again, the exact changes will vary from strain to strain: Some plants pistils will either start off non-white, or simply won't change color from white until its way late. Many plants also won't yellow until its way past peak, plus of course poor nutrition can cause any plant to turn yellow early. You do have to know your strains.

In my experience, with most plants, its basically not worth it to even start with the microscope until you start seeing the physical maturity changes listed above. Once you know your particular strains well, you can usually determine peak ripeness (or pretty darn close) without a microscope.
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Anyway, feel like I'm derailing this thread... ;) There are so many opinions on this my head spins... gonna go think about T5s instead.. ;)
 
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