Why so little growth?

wat strain isit u have these are auto blue mystic 15 days from seed no problems this time cause i have my setup sorted yay
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hers my other auto northern lights had big problems first 2 weeks buts its pulled threw tho 7inches tall 2 weeks into flower...
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any comments welcome....

this is wat it looked like for first 2 weeks pretty much

and now...
View attachment 1070448 so dont worry to much I.M.O

TommyHobby said:

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Two comparisons between the metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps.

Believe it or not, a Metal Halide actually puts out the same (if not more) oranges and reds than a HPS does.

Click to expand...

To the OP, use your HPS, and if you have the CFL's, augment it. More light is better, since you have an HPS use it, then worry about spectrum.

When comparing HPS and MH spectrum, you have to realize that HPS were designed to light streets and parking lots. They needed high lumen output (corresponding to what we see), but the spectrum wasn't a concern. MH, on the other hand, was developed specifically for applications where the color of light (spectrum) mattered. This isn't to say that HPS aren't available in different spectra, however, there simply isn't the range that you will see from MH bulb choices. This means that your spectral chart is probably pretty close for the HPS, but the MH chart is only really functional for the particular bulb used to generate it. That said, MH are most often a fairly broad spectrum, which will provide blues to red's (and even some UV), so yes, you will typically find reds and yellows in MH light (more so as you go down in kelvin). Power up a 20,000 kelvin MH bulb and see how much red you get...

To top this all off, you need to understand that it's not the red/yellow in light that makes plants stretch under HPS. It's the lack of blue spectrums (455 & 475nm). Photosynthesis occurs in 4 peaks (2 types of chlorophyll, 2 peaks each, 2 in red, 2 in blue). The blue peak is utilized more in veg, the red more in flower (though I have seen numerous studies that have shown the 625 & 665nm peaks are more efficient). Mixing a MH and HPS, or CFL and HPS, is a good way to get a more complete spectrum.

Ok so here is what I have come up with. Four cfls around the plants and my 150 watt hps about 18" from the small one and about 15" above the taller one. Is that a good hight for the hps?

The last pic was from my first grow from the same batch of seeds...too bad its a male

New Grower777 said:

Ok so here is what I have come up with. Four cfls around the plants and my 150 watt hps about 18" from the small one and about 15" above the taller one. Is that a good hight for the hps?

The last pic was from my first grow from the same batch of seeds...too bad its a male

Click to expand...

Personally, I would see if you can attach the CFL's to something around the plant instead of hanging them. It looks like they are shading the HPS slightly, and that's not ideal. Other than that, without more investment, you have it how I would set it up.

Actually the hps is in between the cfls so its directly over the plants, the pics are a bit misleading. Hanging them is all I can do in the space I have for now...

How soon should I start seeing improvement? This is day two of the cfl, hps combination.

you need to kill that male like yesterday its going to spread pollen all over your room so when you are ready to flower females they will get seeded cause your room is contaminated also i see you using tin foil that creates hot spots and can burn your plants id change that out

about the hps light like the one guy said put your hand under it if it burns you it burns the plants so if its not burning you then yes its a good height

as how soon you should see results depends on how stressed they are but they will be fine just be patient

if i were you mate i'd scrap the cfls until you can get a strip of timbre for them and drop the hps down on them i veg under a 600w hps and get my plants to 18inch-2ft in a month of veg with it, i'd also transplant them if they've been in there for 3 weeks their won't be a lot of nutrients left in the soil, also when watering it's always better to give them more than they need it'll just run out of the bottom, you'll see when they need feeding again the soil will start to dry out and pull away from the pot showing the moisture level is low and after watering them lift the pot the difference is easily noticeable, a small oscilating fan will help to strengthen them up aswell.
i mentioned the timber because you could get a thin strip of timbre a couple of inches wide and cut into the centre of if or just a little short of the middle would be better then slip the lead of the light into it and secure the lead underneath tight and that will hold it in place, cable ties will do it.

What should I use in place of the tin foil? The wall behind it is white, could I just use that?

New Grower777 said:

Ok so here is what I have come up with. Four cfls around the plants and my 150 watt hps about 18" from the small one and about 15" above the taller one. Is that a good hight for the hps?

The last pic was from my first grow from the same batch of seeds...too bad its a male

Click to expand...

I forgot if you said if you had a fan.If not get a small oscillating fan, or stationary if its all you can afford and aim it at your canopy and the lights since the cfls should be close. This will strengthen your plants stems and allow your plants to deal with less heat as its dissipated a lil bit from the fan,

Also after wattering and allowing water to run out the bottom pick it up with one and or two hands and feel how heavy it is after it stops dripping. In no time you will be able to tell when it needs to be watered as it will be much much lighter. Its not horrible for your soil to dry out a little bit if your leaves aren't dropping yet. Its a good way of keeping fungus, mold and even fungus gnats down.

New Grower777 said:

What should I use in place of the tin foil? The wall behind it is white, could I just use that?

Click to expand...

Yeah i painted some wood with a flat white paint. It reflects better then tinfoil and doesn't cause hot spots or anything and is fairly easy to clean. Dont use glossy, i guess it actually has a lower reflectivity rating then flat white paint does.

gobbly said:

To the OP, use your HPS, and if you have the CFL's, augment it. More light is better, since you have an HPS use it, then worry about spectrum.

When comparing HPS and MH spectrum, you have to realize that HPS were designed to light streets and parking lots. They needed high lumen output (corresponding to what we see), but the spectrum wasn't a concern. MH, on the other hand, was developed specifically for applications where the color of light (spectrum) mattered. This isn't to say that HPS aren't available in different spectra, however, there simply isn't the range that you will see from MH bulb choices. This means that your spectral chart is probably pretty close for the HPS, but the MH chart is only really functional for the particular bulb used to generate it. That said, MH are most often a fairly broad spectrum, which will provide blues to red's (and even some UV), so yes, you will typically find reds and yellows in MH light (more so as you go down in kelvin). Power up a 20,000 kelvin MH bulb and see how much red you get...

To top this all off, you need to understand that it's not the red/yellow in light that makes plants stretch under HPS. It's the lack of blue spectrums (455 & 475nm). Photosynthesis occurs in 4 peaks (2 types of chlorophyll, 2 peaks each, 2 in red, 2 in blue). The blue peak is utilized more in veg, the red more in flower (though I have seen numerous studies that have shown the 625 & 665nm peaks are more efficient). Mixing a MH and HPS, or CFL and HPS, is a good way to get a more complete spectrum.

Click to expand...

Please Please some one +rep for me this really deserves it.

corners said:

Yeah i painted some wood with a flat white paint. It reflects better then tinfoil and doesn't cause hot spots or anything and is fairly easy to clean. Dont use glossy, i guess it actually has a lower reflectivity rating then flat white paint does.

Click to expand...

yes what he said i use flat white works great and is cheap

Bonzi Lighthouse said:

Please Please some one +rep for me this really deserves it.

Click to expand...

Done....I thought it did too.