what should i realistically expect

richcougo

Active Member
Hey guys just was wondering what u guys think i can expect from these plants 6 bubblegum auto 6 critical auto and 2 kush auto.from femaleseeds.nl i have 50/50 ffhf and ffof mix with 2 bags perlite i am running 2 750w reflector series 5w marshydro led lights and using advanced nutrients voodoo b52 big bud and overdrive any grow advice also much appreciated thanks14506375293761767824981.jpg 1450637631124409837195.jpg
 

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az2000

Well-Known Member
i am running 2 750w reflector series 5w marshydro led lights
The lights will be your limiting factor.

What is the actual draw? I'm assuming 360w each? Mars uses inefficient epi-whatever diodes. For taller plants you'll have to provide at least 50w/sq ft. Many of the better grows you see on YouTube are pushing 60'ish. (The other day one Mars user said he planned to do 77w/sq ft).

At 50w/sq ft, that's 14sq ft. (a little less than 4x4).

You could have gotten more light for 35w/sq ft with CMH, for about the same price.

My advice is to pay attention to the watts per square foot and try to keep it 55w/sq ft for a tall'ish grow. 45 for short (2') plants. Adding sidelighting will help a lot. You can get some ideas about how to do that here.
 
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richcougo

Active Member
Thanks for reply i am working on getting more ligjts for my next grow reason i went with the mars is they give off no heat at all and i dont have the luxury of venting heat like that saying i were to keep the 2 loghts for these plants and keep feeding what do u think is a estimated number i can expect off a plant
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
i went with the mars is they give off no heat
They give off heat. That's the point of CMH being a better choice at 35w/sq ft. When Mars Hydro has to run at 50w/sq ft to produce the same useable light, that other 15w is being lost as heat. CMH will generate less heat. (as will T5HO for shorter plants, at 40w/sq ft). If you browse this thread, you'll find some links to inexpensive CMH options. (About $200 for 300w). I try to summarize the options in a couple of my posts toward the end. I need to fish those out and be able to reference the options more directly.

The epiled/star lights are just not up to CMH and T5HO yet. If you can't afford LED based upon name-brand diodes like Cree/Osram/Phillips (et. al.) you get more light for less watts (heat) with non-LED options.

If you fliped to flower now, avg 60g per plant if you supply enough light. With the lights you have, you're at risk of getting airy buds. So, it's hard to say. One g/w is reasonable if you have things dialed in. That would be 360g? But, again, g/w is related to how many watts are necessary per sq. ft. If you're not running enough light per sq. ft, you may get 0.7g/w. If you have it dialed in, you can get 1.3g/w.

I've done 1g/w at 21w/sq ft with a tall plant. There is a link to that if you follow that article about sidelighting, and take the link to the PAR38 floods. But, at 21w/sq ft, that's still not terrific yield because it's 21g/sq ft. I've done 35g/sq ft with more intensity of light.

What you're trying to balance is w/sq ft versus too much heat supplying that light. Unfortunately, you made that a little harder to accomplish by using Mars Hydro.
 

richcougo

Active Member
Im not looking to make anything on these plants this is simply head stash and a cool hobby im trying to
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Cobnob is that your prediction on my overall weight or just a dope hoody
It's a running joke to answer all newbies "how much will I get" with "about a pound." There's no way to guess what you'll get because a newbie's skill is a large factor.

When you know what you're doing, 1g/w is a reasonable expectation. But, as I said, that factors into a reasonable w/sq ft too.
 

richcougo

Active Member
I kind of did feel wierd asking that but i havent done much indoor b4 and im not sure if im doing ok or shitty ya know
 

richcougo

Active Member
Also have any of u guys grown c99 or blueberry cheesecake i am going to order some fem seeds from female seeds i plan to try my hand at cloning for spring
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Im not looking to make anything on these plants this is simply head stash and a cool hobby im trying to
You'll enjoy it. I grew a plant under a epi-whatever LED and it had airy buds due to insufficient power (for epi-whatever). Smoking any bud you grew yourself is better than paying a dealer. And, it's fun to improve your skills over time. So, you'll be happy with your first harvest however it comes out.

Ok so u r basically saying i should add some cree led side lights to help my productivity
I think sidelighting with *anything* is a massive improvement over single-source top-lighting. More angles, more coverage. (Growing with a bunch of CFLs surrounding a plant would probably be as efficient as a more efficient top-down fixture. it just seems to work that way.). For example, if you used CMH as top lighting for a future grow (at 35w/sq ft) you could use your Mars Hydro lights as sidelighting (maybe on a dimmer, so they could be close to the sides of plants).

If you intend to grow your plants to be 4-5' tall (above the soil), you'll need 55w/sq ft of Mars Hydro. How you get there is up to you. Reduce the square footage you grow in, add more light.

The first question is what your lights' actual draw is. Is it around 360w each? If so, and you're in a 4x4 tent, that's 45w/sq ft. That would be good for a low-profile SCROG. I wouldn't grow over 2' above the soil. That would limit your yield compared to taller plants. But, you have a few plants so you can't go too tall anyway.

Adding some supplemental light to increase those watts would help. There is a point of diminishing return. With T5HO it's around 40w/sq ft. With epi-whatever LED it's probably 50 for a shorter grow, 60 for a taller.

What you use for sidelighting is your choice. If you use Cree lightbulbs, you get more useable light for less watts (than, say a CFL). Less heat (which you're concerned with). You pay more, but get a 10 year warranty. You would have to decide whether to use lower-wattage light bulbs like the A19 9.5w I use, or the PAR38 18w. (Depends on how distributed you want the light to be, how many sockets you're willing to rig up.). Two Par 38s attached to each tent leg could help (add 144w, brining you up to 54w/sq ft with 20% of the watts coming from more efficient light which typically only requires 30w/sq ft. I.e., those 54w/sq ft aren't comparable to 54w/sq ft from Mars Hydro. More like 60w of Mars Hydro.). Spots have a optimal focus of 14", floods are around 8-9". So, which you used it would depend on how distant you can/should/want to keep them.

I wouldn't sweat the details too much on your first grow. Just be aware that your lights are your limiting factor. You can improve that a few ways (flip to flower now and keep your plants short; reduce the footprint of the light, increasing intensity; add more watts.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
I would avoid the boutique "lineups." Especially all the unnecessary bottles of add-ons. Keep it simple. Plants don't need all that mystery, cartoon stuff.
 
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