Oni's 2nd grow. Lessons learned

I mentioned it in my last grow actually. It’s why I have reptile lights in my tent. I found a decent one and it’s just kinda chilling in the corner like the sun at a 3’ distance. ATM I don’t have a way to move it closer. It’s as low as the cord can go and it’ll be on the floor shining up to the ceiling instead if I went from the bottom vent to feed the cord like my fans and humidifier at are ground level are.

I’ll find a way. I know the lights I found won’t be great for the finish line, but so far it seems it may be better than my current lights even though they’re 185w altogether and the 45w actually pulls 45w with a 3x3 footprint and the combo pack are also both 45w lights with a 3x3 footprint. They’re almost exactly what she wants to make, so as a compromise until we can diy a macro white LED from larger diodes rather than micro sized ones for ra compact light we’ll grab those and save up for a solstrip. Rather than all at once if I’m spending 200 I’ll just get a solstrip for that price. A tiny bit over won’t break the bank and if I’m compromising for 200 I’ll just spend like 20 more for a solsheet. @Baudelaire recommended 2 solsheet x or 2 solstix racks to cover the footprint of my tent properly. That’ll be around 400 and that’s assuming free shipping. I said 500 to cover overhead in case it wasn’t free shipping if I got them both at once.

@MomOnTheRun thanks for the light suggestion, but I’m definitely going to grab a solstrip for the 200 range if I had that much to spend and I’d grab the other half of the lights when I could after. The only good thing about what I’m doing is when I do get my solstrips I’ll have a light for seedling propagation.

If anyone read this far I also adjusted my lights in hopes of a better light spread. At least in lumens it is. IDK if the visual of a better light coverage equates to better par in my case. IDK if what I did is going to make it worse or better, but the plants are all reaching as my lights can’t cover a 3x3 properly. 2x2 is where I don’t see stretching and before I changed the lights they just wanted only one side of the tent to reach towards. Usually the right where I have my reptile bulb which makes me wonder how much par the UV light is giving in compared to all the lights in the plants faces.:sweat_smile:

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Oh right sorry mate, I’ll have a read later on.

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No worries. It’s pretty much the same info you provided. We just found separate sources for the same info is all. I just am autistic and anything I have a passion for I learn anything possible about. To the point where I obsess over info until I understand it enough to not be confused and then I learn even more.

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I’ll be taking a lot of pics to show all the progress they’ve made. Indigo might need a transplant very soon as the roots are poking out of the bottom now. GSC doesn’t seem to be doing that yet.

Indigo is already nearly at the stage I see Zeke and Daisey at. I see bracts already forming and everything too. Indigo has some vigour for sure and I’m most curious about their stem. It’s long and skinny, but sturdy. It doesn’t want to move much and it feels if I tried to bend the stem at a 45° angle it would snap. On another note it’s also corkscrew twisted like someone corkscrewed it into the soil​:sweat_smile: it’s red with a purple tint. The nodes above the stem are properly colored and structured, but it’s a odd thing to see and feel when you’ve never seen a plant do that before :sweat_smile:

I know some people get annoyed at my long updates, but if I’m keeping a grow journal I’m keeping that term literal and leaving out no information on what I’m doing. The whole point is so I can scroll up to see what I did wrong should issues form. Last grow I barely provided any info on what I did until the end. This time I’m getting all the information down bad or good. Gotta know in case I forget something

Phone needs a charge to take the pics as it has a bad habit of draining about 2% per picture. Sadly burst shots are now no longer an option or I kill my phone in one long burst😅

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I don’t think anyone would be annoyed at your updates… That’s what it’s all about.

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I’m sure there’s see people who don’t like reading who get overwhelmed at least. I know my buddy’s for sure just tell me I should write a book as they can’t read my 1 page updates with enough time, though that’s their fault for using their phone at work :sweat_smile:

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Those lights are throwaway junk that will never grow more than a houseplant. Trust me, even $1 spent on those lights will be a dollar wasted. They will only pull 15 watts actual watts, the 45 watts is a straight up lie. IF you do try to use them, they will start burning out within months. You will throw them in the trash before you ever smoke any bud produced by them.

If $50 is your budget, it’s too little to do anything with to significantliy enhance your lighting in a 9 s.f. canopy area, other than perhaps adding some LED shop lights. Better would to save it til you have $100, and get a couple of X2 SolStix and a 100w driver, and make a simple 2-strip rack. You’d at least have 30% of your target intensity of 35 w/sf met, rather than simply wasting your money on glorified Christmas tree lights.

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TBH I looked into those lights and if you did too you’d see they were actually tested and rated at pulling 45w. Some saw 37w, but regardless the diodes aren’t just red and blue. IDC if it’s a throwaway. The reviews on it are positive enough to grab something. It’s also not saved up cash. If I don’t get it it’ll just not get spent on me and not saved up, so yeah I’m grabbing something for 50 or under, but it’s happening or no savings happen. I thought I was clear I’m getting this as a favor from someone who doesn’t expect me to pay them back and wants to try them as they’re close to the rig she wanted to make herself.

I’m aware it’ll be a waste of money of it doesn’t work out, but it’s her money and choice to waste it. Otherwise I have $0 in savings. I’m repeatedly saying it to be very clear. It’s not savable money. If it’s not spent it’ll be spent on a skirt or top from modern Millie’s.

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You can transplant at any time though personally I would wait until Indigo has ~5-6 nodes OR when the leaf spread is at least equal to the pot diameter which is usually a good indicator of decent root mass. Right now just as much growth is happening underground as above :wink:

Nice! Since Zeke is on the rebound, do you still want me to send you the kelp, liquid fish and earthworm castings?

No problem though I do agree with Baudelaire, it will be ok for veg though will be real shitty for flower…if you must, you must just be aware :wink:

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You can wait on the kelp for now. I’m going to see if the aloe I can readily harvest a chunk of when I want to at home for the compromise for now.

Is it me or does aloe act like a surfactant or a solvent more closely and that it absorbs both oils and water both very easily. I’m just not aware of the max capacity of aloe to hold these things. Either way the microbes, hormones, and other stuff in aloe taht make it a mini version of kelp Should help. Hell for all I know it’s just as good😅 I wouldn’t know I haven’t used kelp or aloe very long, but more research is needed to at least find my answer.

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Aloe does act as a surfactant with the addition of extra goodies. Here is a great paper on it…many use both to cover bases

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Perhaps If i needed to go super cheap I would get one Solstix plus a non-dimable driver.

One X3 + driver would be close to 75usd.
One X2 + driver would be arround 50usd

Or a CXB3070+driver if I had some computer cooler arround/ cheap. I did some satisfying grows under just one CXB3070 cob / small space (over 100g).

I did also my share of grows using bad burples (two models, one cheap like the one you are using and other under a 250w fixture. Never again.

What I think people are trying to say is that, is better to have one good module, and add other good modules as time goes by than buy things that are not good for our beloved plant (perhaps for other greens with less demanding light needs these low wattage burples are good).

Anyway, my best wishes, and good vibrations for you and yours (also your girls !!!)

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Now for today’s update.

Diana

Daisey

Zeke

GSC

Indigo

The new light spread as talked about earlier

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Just checking, but was yours with mono LEDs on multiple sides of the spectrum with a par graph closer to natural daylight than just red and blue? I’m probably going to get it anyways as she’s a stubborn woman more than myself and that’s one of the reasons I love her.

Also do the solstix need any heatsinks? If so I don’t have the budget for more than 50. That’s that cap. Not a penny more. It’s a favor and that was the limit. She’s really excited about the lights I found as it was close to the type she wants to build from scratch. She wants more blue in there to basic make it go from a strange blurplange color to a nice white color. With a reflector dome over it to mix the colors together into a intense white light that has a color from everything in the ratio that’s natural sunlight mimicking as if I had a choice I’d be a outdoor grower using indoors only for a permanent harvest year round once I get that going. I’m also of the mindset that if plants have a function for all the light the sun provides it’s in my best interest to not leave out any of it outside of the bad that just kill only.

Here’s a few pics of the girls. Got em right at lights out before 7:01 even happened. I did it in 15 seconds

Sorry I forgot to add the pics before I posted initially :sweat_smile:

For the plants all are watered until runoff is near or happens as the pots dry very quickly now.

Diana

Daisey

Zeke
HDR


Pro defaults

GSC

Indigo

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Too bad you can’t swing $70.00 more as this QB120 4pack is perfect for what your gal wants…no heat sink needed, uses the same tech as the sol strips and I happen to have a spare hlg 240h-c2100 driver laying around that could power all 4 in series then all you have to do is get some trout leaders or angle aluminum to hang them

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I can’t seem to find it😅 I just see ones for 119, and 99

Those are the ones…the v1 is what I am running with the lm561c’s (99.00) and hear v2 with lm301b’s is better (119.00)…thats why I said too bad you can’t spend 70 more :wink: Either version will work with the driver I can gift you.

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Looks like they are unavailable on Amazon though they are in stock through their website

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I’ll ask her, but it’s not likely to be something she’ll do. She got really excited at the ones I showed her for 50 that together will at least be better than my existing lights that I can use as supplemental lighting.

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