Light: how close is too close? supplemental light?

arrozkongandulez

arrozkongandulez

Active Member
hello people, i just want to hear your opinions on how far you should place your HPS light ffrom the canopy....

i have a 600Watt HPS hortilux bulb on an air cooled reflector being extracted by a 497CFM can-fan and being extracted out of the room. This allows me to place the reflector about 2 inches away from the canopy and the temperature right under the reflector is 79F.

is this too close to the plants regardless of the temperature?

how far would the bulb be able to penetrate down, for 2 regular plants that have never been trained and they only have one main cola and popcorn buds on the bottom?

should i add supplemental lighting to the bottom of the plants? cfls? hps? mh? i have lots of cfl bulbs laying around so if i could use them itds be nice, but for some reason i read in the cannabis bible not to use cfls in conjunction with hps bulbs, anyone knows why??

btw one plant is 38 inches the other one is 26

Screen Shot 2012-09-10 at 9.46.31 PM.png
 
L33tGanjaMan

L33tGanjaMan

Well-Known Member
Hmmnnn, heat should not be an issue if you are running at 79f right below the Light, but if you are only 2 inches from the Plant Canopy you will probably be in the risk zone for 'Light Bleaching', i let a top of my last lot get about 2-3 inches from the light with a 250HPS and it started to bleach and killed the top bud formation :O

I would raise it a couple of inches myself and supplement the lower branches with your CFL's.. that should work out nicely :bigjoint:
 
arrozkongandulez

arrozkongandulez

Active Member
L33tGanjaMan said:
Hmmnnn, heat should not be an issue if you are running at 79f right below the Light, but if you are only 2 inches from the Plant Canopy you will probably be in the risk zone for 'Light Bleaching', i let a top of my last lot get about 2-3 inches from the light with a 250HPS and it started to bleach and killed the top bud formation :O

I would raise it a couple of inches myself and supplement the lower branches with your CFL's.. that should work out nicely :bigjoint:
Click to expand...
thanks for your input brother that was real helpful!
 
2

209doosher

Member
L33tGanjaMan said:
'Light Bleaching' :bigjoint:
Click to expand...
yeah definitely.
I can tell u first hand. my plant has over 15 tops all spread out. I keep my 600 at least 10" from the closest bud, and all the outer buds are much farther, but they are a little greener. Not to mention you get much more coverage of light when its higher.
Its nice for me tho cuz there are so many tops, I can see the buds reactions from just about every distance :)

As for the cfls, I personally wouldn't bother, just extra cords and whatnot. You should get plenty of light w the 600.
 
arrozkongandulez

arrozkongandulez

Active Member
209doosher said:
yeah definitely.
I can tell u first hand. my plant has over 15 tops all spread out. I keep my 600 at least 10" from the closest bud, and all the outer buds are much farther, but they are a little greener. Not too mention you get much more coverage of light when its higher.
Its nice for me tho cuz there are so many tops, I can see the buds reactions from just about every distance :)

As for the cfls, I personally wouldn't bother, just extra cords and whatnot. You should get plenty of light w the 600.
Click to expand...
holy shit what do you do to get your plants to have 15 tops??? i must know lol.......

i guess ill move the light a little further away about 10 inches... i was just trying to make sure i could get as much light to the lower buds as possible
 
H

hunter22375

Well-Known Member
arrozkongandulez said:
holy shit what do you do to get your plants to have 15 tops??? i must know lol.......

i guess ill move the light a little further away about 10 inches... i was just trying to make sure i could get as much light to the lower buds as possible
Click to expand...
I too am interested...lol. Is this becasue of the light level?
 
2

209doosher

Member


Honestly it could be the strain, and a little luck with a super clone. Or maybe I just have a really green thumb idk. I don't do anything weird or unheard of. This pic really doesnt do the "top count" justice, believe it or not I can count over 20 when Im in there.

I planted that clone 6/20/12. Then cloned off the top. You just have to look into the future of how tall you want your plant at harvest. Keep in mind they have a "last minute stretch" before flowering.

Ive cloned abt 12 off her in veg, Already have the next stage in there. She was a great clone, I bought 3 dif that day and she blew the others away so I kept her only (blackberry kush vs chem-jack & grape ape) I was sad abt the grape ape but I think it was a bad clone. HTH


OOps that was the wrong pic..this one is better:

 
2

209doosher

Member
arrozkongandulez said:
i guess ill move the light a little further away about 10 inches...
Click to expand...
I'm not saying this is the best distance, you prob have a better fan than me too. But its whatever works for your plant.
Ive found it better to give em space tho, you'd be surprised how they grow even far away from the light.
 
Brother Numsi

Brother Numsi

Well-Known Member
You will likely get mixed advice on this one. 12" is usually customary and try to keep the canopy at an equal height. I didn't see where you had CFL, but I'd keep them near the center or just below to keep it growing at that point and you can keep them about 2" from the plants unless you are using the bigger CFL that will produce some heat. If you have CFL what wattage and spectrum are they? Just curious. Hi Hunter. Are you putting together a shopping list yet? :)
Keep the pix coming and good luck!!
 
Brother Numsi

Brother Numsi

Well-Known Member
arrozkongandulez said:
hello people, i just want to hear your opinions on how far you should place your HPS light ffrom the canopy....

i have a 600Watt HPS hortilux bulb on an air cooled reflector being extracted by a 497CFM can-fan and being extracted out of the room. This allows me to place the reflector about 2 inches away from the canopy and the temperature right under the reflector is 79F.

is this too close to the plants regardless of the temperature?

how far would the bulb be able to penetrate down, for 2 regular plants that have never been trained and they only have one main cola and popcorn buds on the bottom?

should i add supplemental lighting to the bottom of the plants? cfls? hps? mh? i have lots of cfl bulbs laying around so if i could use them itds be nice, but for some reason i read in the cannabis bible not to use cfls in conjunction with hps bulbs, anyone knows why??

btw one plant is 38 inches the other one is 26

View attachment 2330461
Click to expand...
You're doing a very good job. For the next grow read up on topping, LST, and SCROG...unless you've already done that.
https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/6834-how-lst-low-stress-training.html

This is just one thread on topping:
https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/151706-uncle-bens-topping-technique-get.html

SCROG and SoG are everywhere.
Have fun :)
 
arrozkongandulez

arrozkongandulez

Active Member
209doosher said:


Honestly it could be the strain, and a little luck with a super clone. Or maybe I just have a really green thumb idk. I don't do anything weird or unheard of. This pic really doesnt do the "top count" justice, believe it or not I can count over 20 when Im in there.

I planted that clone 6/20/12. Then cloned off the top. You just have to look into the future of how tall you want your plant at harvest. Keep in mind they have a "last minute stretch" before flowering.

Ive cloned abt 12 off her in veg, Already have the next stage in there. She was a great clone, I bought 3 dif that day and she blew the others away so I kept her only (blackberry kush vs chem-jack & grape ape) I was sad abt the grape ape but I think it was a bad clone. HTH


OOps that was the wrong pic..this one is better:

Click to expand...

dude this might be one the most insane/beautiful plants i have ever SEEN!!!!! do you LST or SCROG? i mean i didnt do anything special to mine either as far as training and mine look like shit!!!,,,, how long did you veg for? that is an insane amount of tops..... did you also top or FIM?
 
arrozkongandulez

arrozkongandulez

Active Member
Brother Numsi said:
You will likely get mixed advice on this one. 12" is usually customary and try to keep the canopy at an equal height. I didn't see where you had CFL, but I'd keep them near the center or just below to keep it growing at that point and you can keep them about 2" from the plants unless you are using the bigger CFL that will produce some heat. If you have CFL what wattage and spectrum are they? Just curious. Hi Hunter. Are you putting together a shopping list yet? :)
Keep the pix coming and good luck!!
Click to expand...
Hey! thanks for the reply, i dont have the CFLS on atm i have them from my old grow cab before i upgraded to the new room, i have about 10 42Watters and they are the 2700K... i mean the heat is not an issue i could literaly put my tongue on the glass for a minute and not cry lol but i guess theres more to light than heat the radiation energy has to have a pretty significant effect too...

i just thought that i could keep the light that close since it wasnt hot at all..
 
arrozkongandulez

arrozkongandulez

Active Member
Brother Numsi said:
You're doing a very good job. For the next grow read up on topping, LST, and SCROG...unless you've already done that.
https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/6834-how-lst-low-stress-training.html

This is just one thread on topping:
https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/151706-uncle-bens-topping-technique-get.html

SCROG and SoG are everywhere.
Have fun :)
Click to expand...

Gee thanks very much Brother Numsi. i apreciate the gesture :) i shall look into that for the next grow.. which one do you prefer?
 
2

209doosher

Member
hey thatnks! yeah, She is a beauty all right :)

I think it only vegged for like 4 weeks lol. I was planning on longer, but she just went crazy on me (the good lookin ones always do haha jk)

Idk what FIM or LST is, but I can tell you I cloned the top off at abt 6", and took abt 12 clones off her during veg. I guess its just knowing where to cut from. It may seem harsh at the time to just top the plant, but its worth it.

And no, I didn't use a screen, BUT one day I came home and she was completely laid over (lazy B^$% lol jk) So I started sticking Bamboo sticks (10 total lol) that was at the beginning of flower, when i picked her up it was actually pretty heavy haha

Could be the strain, also its a 7 gal pot, that helps the plant get bigger. HTH
 
Brother Numsi

Brother Numsi

Well-Known Member
arrozkongandulez said:
Gee thanks very much Brother Numsi. i apreciate the gesture :) i shall look into that for the next grow.. which one do you prefer?
Click to expand...
No experience with SCROG or SoG, but it looks like something to try. Topping and LST for sure. There is also something called FIM, but I'm retired and it looks too much like work LOL.
Good luck!
 
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