Which would produce more DO in a DWC?
- Thread starter JSB99
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- dwc hydroponics rdwc undercurrent
JSB99
Well-Known Member
My little monsters are outgrowing the light spread! I think I'm going to invest in another hood and have a 2ft square, instead of the 12"x24" footprint I've got right now.
They are definitely not outgrowing the height LOL! These girls are really staying squat! The two new tops on each look awesome!
They are definitely not outgrowing the height LOL! These girls are really staying squat! The two new tops on each look awesome!
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I think I'm going to mount my 8-CFLs on the outsides of the hood, to get some extra coverage. I want to keep the closet door shut, but it'll get too warm in there after a while. I turned my exhaust fan on the lowest it'll go, and it stays around 73, under the lights (probably 75 at the canopy). I want it just a bit warmer in there, so the CFLs will help with that. The CFL tubes stay fairly cool, but those attached ballasts put off a lot of heat, and will definitely raise the temps a few degrees. The reason I want to keep the door shut is because it's sealed, and helps keep the critters and dust out. The grow room door is also sealed.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Thanks! Planted them on 12/8, so 6 weeks
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I might wait a bit before going through all the work of setting up more lights. At some point, I think I'm going to be trimming off those huge fans. Once they get to the right height, cutting the fans in half, or removing altogether, should slow down the growth some so they don't get out of control.
Anyone want to chime in on my theory.
Anyone want to chime in on my theory.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Should've been more careful with what I wished for LOL! I can't wait to grow one of these out!I dont think it will slow those happy girls a bit
I just stripped some girls hard to slow them
Never seems to work they just get bushy lol
Do you think they're staying so short because they're under a T5, instead of an hid?
Cold$moke
Well-Known Member
This is one area where i always felt like a noob.
Cause back in the day peeps werent popping as many beans as they do today. At least i sure didnt lol. I only popped beans when i was looking for something new . Or lost my cuts
Nowadays peeps pop beans like no tomorrow
Which is awsome .
And ill admit ive gone crazy on buying beans before lol.
But keeping short seedlings is somthing ive never really tried to do but still.havent done lol
i figured i would try to keep these last ones as short as possible... so i sprouted under my gavita @600 about 4 feet under the light cause i didnt want to fry them.
I had a fan on them the whole time
And they still got a little streched.
So im going to dig out my t5s this next run to try and get them short .
But then i think im always trying to get them to stretch and fill nets lol
So why do we try and keep them so short is it the node spacing leople are worried about?
Any how i probably didnt help much this time lmao
Nafydad420
Well-Known Member
What t5s you rocking?
Nafydad420
Well-Known Member
I'm looking to get some and I can't quite decide.. I want someone to tell me theirs are great lol.
Cold$moke
Well-Known Member
Just look online for comparisons monster gardens does lots..
But for the most part a t5 is a t5. Sure you can put spendy bulbs in them. And there are a few that supposedly pysh harder but with more heat.
The whole selling point with t5s was HUGE EVEN spread of light without much heat so they coild be placed close crazy close to where ive had.mine grow into the light and get burnt lol
For a while i was a small space grower.
Doing scrogs in thin beds of coco and those t5s grew FIRE
But eventually seeing everyone with huge buds i wanted in so i put a air cooled 1k digi in there.
T5s are awsome though and if thats all you had you coild do alot worse.
But now i want to try and hit big numbers with low watts lol. Or at least hit the same numbers with less watts
But for the most part a t5 is a t5. Sure you can put spendy bulbs in them. And there are a few that supposedly pysh harder but with more heat.
The whole selling point with t5s was HUGE EVEN spread of light without much heat so they coild be placed close crazy close to where ive had.mine grow into the light and get burnt lol
For a while i was a small space grower.
Doing scrogs in thin beds of coco and those t5s grew FIRE
But eventually seeing everyone with huge buds i wanted in so i put a air cooled 1k digi in there.
T5s are awsome though and if thats all you had you coild do alot worse.
But now i want to try and hit big numbers with low watts lol. Or at least hit the same numbers with less watts
Nafydad420
Well-Known Member
i was thinking about using a t5 for veg, put the plants under them a few weeks before they go under the MH.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Exactly! That's why I got the cheapest T5 I could find. Here's the thing though, the hood I got is very well built! It's as good as any of the higher priced hoods. But more importantly, if the lights were inferior, for whatever reason, you can replace the tubes for real cheap. The markup seems to have to do with the hood, because I haven't really seen any manufacturer say that their bulbs were the brightest.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I'm actually debating putting these under the MH, so they do stretch a little. Then, once I take my first cuttings, I'll trim them up and stick them back under the t5.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Again, it's not the light. They are all pretty much the same. My T5 is the absolute cheapest one I could find, and mine are doing great.
I'd suggest getting one, but pay more attention to the other factors that effect their growth, like circulation, stable environment, proper feeding, providing the right amount of nutes, and most importantly, paying attention to what your plants are telling you.
Important tip - If your plants are doing great, it doesn't mean adding more nutes will make the plants do even better. It doesn't work like that. Nutes are the equivalent of vitamins, not food.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I've been keeping my light around 4" to 6" above the canopy. I raise it a little to keep a larger footprint, but there's only so much this will work, because the T5's lose too much intensity, quickly. There's a huge difference in intensity between 4" and 6", and even a difference in the small space between the tubes in the hood. Floros also don't have the penetrating intensity of an HID. Leaves allow up to 85% of light to pass through. So, if you've got a high-powered light, even the lowers, in the shade, will be getting useable light. With floros, much less light makes it through, so the lowers are much more dependant on the stray light that comes from gaps in the leaves, and reflections off other objects. This might explain why plants seem to stretch under HIDs. It's not that the plants stretch, it's that the bottom of the plants are growing much more evenly with the top. With the T5's, the majority of growth is going to be limited to the very top layers.
That's just a theory
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