600 watt LED Closet Grow - Round 1!

Cheers for the good light recommendations! I also love to do research before spending, so I trust your words.
Here's a pic from today May 4 of the D.P. AutoWhiteWidow. Something about this plant seems weird to me lol.. but it is healthy. I think it's a sativa pheno and it is going to take longer to (hopefully) bulk up more.

It was started only 5 days after the AutoBlueberry, which is ready to harvest tomorrow, but this one is mostly white pistils still and spear-like buds.
 

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BigBobber

Member
Yeah dude there looking awesome aha i was wondering myself how many plants i could get going in a 2x2 space myself. I just didnt know how well they would grow UP as they would have a 6ft high space to stretch out. But didnt want some "jack and bean stalk" style pole ahaha
 

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
Yeah dude there looking awesome aha i was wondering myself how many plants i could get going in a 2x2 space myself. I just didnt know how well they would grow UP as they would have a 6ft high space to stretch out. But didnt want some "jack and bean stalk" style pole ahaha
With either a scrog or good LST 1plant will fill up a 2x2 canopy. You'll veg longer but the results are worth it.
 

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
Sorry I missed that they were autos. That said, here are some suggestions that should greatly improve your yield for autos.

Lighting
The Viparspectra 600 only draws 296w at the wall, so don't be misled that you've got as 600w light. And if you look at their PAR map in their adds, the only plant that's really getting good photon exposure is the one directly under the middle of the fixture. So given that the fixture is roughly 12" x 15", unless you get 2 of them you're going to have really uneven lighting in a 2x4 tent

Take a look at
https://northerngrowlights.com/ ... 2 quantum boards with a 1050ma driver in a 2x4 space will do great job for you.
or
https://cobkits.com/product/cxm22-passive-light-engine-133mm/ 5 of these @ 3500K with a
MeanWell HLG-320H-C1400B dimmable driver would be very cost effective and far superior to any Viparspectra or other UFO blurple product. Just requires a little DIY initiaive.
Both of these suggestions will generate less heat that the Vipar light and are fine for passive cooling. If you're interested I can give you other options as well

Pot Size and nutrition
Since your goal is to increase your yield ... and I take that to mean greater bud per $$ invested in supplies and utilities, here are some thoughts on grow media and capacity
In a 2 gal pot and soil your plants will basically starve by harvest without nutrients. If you're going to grow in unamended soil, you should be thinking about 2 or 3 plants in a minimum of 7 gal pots for your tent size and even that's questionable for 3+ months of growing time. Even with nutes, I wouldn't go with less that a 5 gal pot or you may end up root bound and have problems with nute uptake before the end of the grow.
Your soil mixture is reasonable, but you should consider a layer of supersoil at the bottom of the pots if you're committed to a no nutes policy. Coast of Maine Stonington Blend or Michigan Mix M3 are 2 off the shelf products that you should consider.
 
Both of these suggestions will generate less heat that the Vipar light and are fine for passive cooling. If you're interested I can give you other options as well.
Wow thanks man, that's a lot of info.. now I wish I had have done more research before spending $189 for this light on Amazon. I want an upgrade immediately! I think this is a nice veg light however.

I have been using F.F. Bloom formula that's about it for nutes. Two weeks flush before harvest. I'll probably stick with Ocean Forest soil and add a growth booster formula in as well.. I'll look into the brands you suggested.

I'm using a 3 gallon fabric pot for the newest AutoBlueberry and have photoperiod feminized seeds on the way. I chose Sensi Seeds Northern Lights and Candida (high CBD) by Medical Marijuana Genetics..

This is simply a closet, with a shelf..no tent. I'm considering only growing 2 plants at a time or a single scrog from here on. Perhaps 5 gallon each. I think 7 is just too big for this setup overall (unless I did a single 7 gal.).

I like the lights you suggested. Which setup would you recommend the most? $190 is probably my limit.

Here's a pic I just took of the little AutoBlueberry drying. It's been a few days. ✔
 

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Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
I have a 4x2 veg tent and I can easily put 2 7gal pots in there. The real issue is how much do you need to harvest to achieve your goals. Autos may not give you a big harvest per plant, but you can be vegging and flowering at the same time in the same tent so with minimal infrastructure investment you can create a perpetual harvest cutting down a plant every 30 - 45 days.
It really depends what you want to do.
If you stay with autos and start one every 30-40 days in 5 - 7 gal pots you should be fine.
With 1 tent, photos are going to limit you to about 3 harvests a year. Granted they'll be bigger, but you have to decide what's important to you.
Now for some practical advice. You already have an LED fixture. Given your budget, I think the best thing for you to do is just get a second one and let each one cover a 2x2. Is it ideal? No. But it's a reasonable compromise that will get you what you want. If I recall, they have controls that will let you set them for veg and flower, so you can give your autos the 18 or 20 hour a day of the light spectrum they want. At some point in the future when money's not as tight you can revisit the issue of what lights you want.
 
I have a 4x2 veg tent and I can easily put 2 7gal pots in there. The real issue is how much do you need to harvest to achieve your goals.
I'm looking into the Quantum board from northern grow lights. I don't know anything about the setup/build or driver stuff so I need to learn. They're out of stock now but they said more to come soon. I won't be growing big plants in my closet so 7 gallon just seems to big.. maybe 5 would be a happy medium. It's not exactly 4'X2' and I have some equipment on the floor.

I'm done with autos after this last AutoBlueberry. The AutoWhiteWidow is ready to chop and the first AutoBlueberry is curing.

I have nice new regular feminized seeds to work with now.
 

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
I would also suggest that you look at chilled led. If you only have one tent it's nice to be able to play with the red and blue intensity as supplements to the white
 

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
I think you should really consider the original suggestion to double up on the fixture you already have. While I'm not a fan of UFO fixtures, you'll get decent results with 2 of them utilizing the veg / flower switches.
 
I think you should really consider the original suggestion to double up on the fixture you already have. While I'm not a fan of UFO fixtures, you'll get decent results with 2 of them utilizing the veg / flower switches.
I appreciate that advice. I keep both switches on all the time, doesn't seem to change the electric bill enough for me to care plus it gives more spectrum so why not..
Of course this light was $189 so if I can find a BETTER item for around the same price I would go with that.
 
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