I am a grower from way way back and have a question for yall.
I currently use a dwc in a 15 gallon res.with a thing called the lucas formula with general hydroponics 2 part grow chemicals.
Question what are people using now with good results. I use the lucas formula because it is simple to use with great results.only thing is my buds dont ever get to be those tight buds i see when i was buying for my girlfriend for her cancer and back problems
Thanks for any input
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I was reading lucas’s words, many years ago, and saw many folks growing fine with it, as far as grows go to look at.
I never sampled anyone else’s gear, that ran lucas formula.
I did not care for my results, for my couple of attempts at it.
I never really felt, my plants were better, without or a reduced N value.
I will say this, back then, I think many makers of packaged liquid nutrients were/could be very over loaded, or maybe it was a more potent from of Nitrogen values in some mixes. IDK.
Me personally, I love blending my Down To Earth organic items, and I know I sometimes over do it with N values, while I seek increase my biologicals in the medium.
Like, a portion of fish meal, with a portion of Acid Mix, with a portion, of Kelp and Alfalfa, all have Nitrogen, but with K/A I’m after their composting abilities, that in turn add more ATP giving biologicals.
Nitrogen is a dance, IMHO, there are slow songs and there are fast songs, and there are very long songs.
Like Feather Meal, that takes a month or 2 to release the goodies.
I’m NOT kicking lucas formula, it can be another tool for us.
All indoor growers, face differences in where we work at, with environment, water values, air management. many factors are involved with growing plants indoors.
Good luck in your grows, oldbudman!!
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I’m an organic grower so cant speak to this but many long term growers on here use the GH 3 part mix and all seem to have consistent and uniform grows that I see. The best local grower near me also uses the GH 3 part and says he just follows the GH formula card because it just works and he pushes out consistant uniform tight flower. What is your equipment set up? What plant genetics have you been growing?
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i am using nirvania seeds
using a 15 gallon tote with 2 plants in it under a 1000 watt led light in a 4x4 foot tent.
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There are many people who have had a lot of success using the Lucas formula. Personally I think it misses something when the Gro bottle is removed. The plants look fine, but the final product just misses somewhere. So if you are going to run with GH, run the whole 3 part formula. I would also highly recommend using Floralicious Plus from them, it will really increase the flavors.
As for your bud density issue, it could be one of many things or a combination if the same set if faftors. You may simply not be feeding enough to get dense buds. It could be that you are under lighting your space and the plants can only produce so much under those conditions. Your temperatures may be too hot for the durration of bloom. You may just need to add a bloom booster, or innthe case of the Lucas formula you may need to increse the amount of Bloom but not Micro. It could simply be genetics. Some more details will help narroe down where you may be able to improve your results.
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Just saw this post. What are your temps getting to in that tent? Is your 1000 Watter air cooled?
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My temps are between 70 and 80 degrees sometimes in the 60s when the ac is running.my light is not air cooled it does not get very hot i have the house ac vented in the tent as well as a oscillating fan
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What else do you have for ventilation? Are you running the tent sealed and using the A/C or are you running the tent vented with in-line fans? When are the temps getting into the 60’s? At night?
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I’ve been using the Lucas formula for many many years… not in dwc though. I run in sunshine mix 4. Never had any issues with flower density or any other parameter. I stuck with it for a reason and when i was a cash cropper… never had a problem getting top dollar in our market. So there must be a parameter in the dwc grow that is not the same if you are not reaching a quality that satisfies you (and your picky friends if they are like mine LOL )
as much as I love the Lucas formula for it’s simplicity, not every strain responds the same to it depending on a particular strains nutritional demands. I often have to boost things like calcium for example in certain plants like GG4 related lines and lines like Biker kush, HAOG, certain OGs ect.
I was an HID grower most of the last 3+ decades and in recent years have been adopting LED tech in my grows. I’ve found that the Lucas formula I have been relying on all these years was no longer providing the reliable outcomes I expected from my gardens. Something was missing under the LEDs and I chased calcium and magnesium as culprits but the issues persisted and growing was becoming challenging again… which I kind of enjoyed as it really got my head back in the garden and off cruise control.
Finally I bit the bullet and bought some GH flora grow and started using the 3 part recipes. My garden thanked me for it and everything has been relatively on point since.
my last 2 harvests have been awesome, super tasty , great density and super clean to smoke. Under just HID lighting I would go back to my tried and tru 8micro/16bloom/PH 6.6 to 6.8 (in sunshine mix 4) but under the hybrid room lighting which is an HLG 600Bspec flanked by 2 x400w HPS hortilux , and in the veg tents that have spider farmer SF4000s , I’m back to using the flora series 3 part recipes.
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The tent is sealed with a 8 inch filter/fan as well as a oscillating fan and a 6 inch fan blowing air from outside
Ok, your tent isn’t sealed if you are exchanging the air with the outside. Are you pulling air in from outside of your house? I typically recommend not doing that as the air tends to be too cold in winter months and too hot in summer months. I set my tents us to pull in air from the room around the tent and the exhaust is blown into the same room. This allows me to keep my parameters constant and I am in charge of the conditions coming into my tent and therefore what conditions are like in the tent. But all in all you seem to have enough air movement, thats a plus.
I did mean to make a recommendation earlier about nutrients. For DWC I like lines with 2 part bases. Cultured Solutions makes a good line that was structured around DWC. Advanced is a good option as well. I would even recommend Mills, it uses the same 2 bases bottles throughout the life cycle and the additives change to fine tune the formula to match the point in the plants life.
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Thank you all for your input.i will order the third part today and as well as the 1000 watt led add a 400 watt hps grow light.i use a pyrex bread tube with the bulb inside with 2 inline fans one blowing into the light tube and one blowing out to keep out most of the heat works very well
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I pull air from the room and the filter pulls from inside the tent blowing out into the room nothing goes outside.well nothing yet after i add the hps i will have it going outside so as to not get to jot in the room
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That all sounds good. I keep a carbon filter on my intake fan as well, just keeps the air coming into the tent clean.
I use to stand alone hepa filters in my grow room each one is supposed to filter 600 square feet.so zero smell at the door to my grow room.plus 2 8 inch carbon filters one in each tent.i ordered the third part of gh nutes so we shall see