HPS how close should i keep a 250 watt HPS to the plant? in a 4'x2'x'2 ?
- Thread starter Great
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axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
yah you can , and as to how close , if you cant comfortably hold your hand where the top of your canopy is then it is TOO close .
axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
if your hand is warm but comfortable youre ok but watch out cause they grow taller.lol
Great
Active Member
woot thanks for that have any clue about how much more $ it will be a month in electric for 18 on 18 off then 12 on 12 off?
Great
Active Member
haha most def im going to have to check on it everyday soil so i have to feed ^^ i built a box with a door light proof but i can raise the light on a pulley system i made ^^ just had no clyue how close i had to put it
axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
not sure but i just started growing again since i got my drs. recc and all i found a deal on craigslist for four 250 watt mh's , i just got my first bill for the last monthly billing cycle in which i was running two of the 250's and our total bill is 125 bucks , but that is the whole bill , i think before that our electric ran about like 75 or 80 bucks a month .
darkdestruction420
Well-Known Member
1. Yes
2. No, 250w is nothing.
3. i'd do 2 smaller plants. cuts veg time down as you dont have to veg as long to fill in the area. use either lst or scrog to maximise(in other words fill in totally) the area you have horizontally and then when you flip to 12/12 just let them shoot up and fill in the vertical area.
a cool tube probably wouldnt hurt since youve got so little vertical area and the plants can be closer without being burned to hell.
Great
Active Member
yeah i plan to use LST i only have one seed hopefully it is a female that would suck if it wasn't so i shouldn't use a 18/18 veg cycle??? what would you suggest plus how long til i turn on the light after i germinate the seed just straight into the veg cycle???? thanks alot!
axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
18/18 no , however i am about to do a experiment with 18/8 most people will say to keep it within a 24 hour cycle and you definately do NOT wanna do 18 hours of DARK in vegetative growth cause they will think it is time to flower, you definately dont wanna do more than 8 hours of dark during veg. i would suggest 18 on and 6 off for your fist time during veg , and after your seed germinates i would put her under a little cfl bub for her first week or two cause not only would your 250 be a waste of electricity but it very well may burn her as a sprouted seedling.
Great
Active Member
so once it sprouts i should just give it 24 hours of light and just wait til i want to flower and switch to 12/12???
axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
i think the only time you would ever give as much as18 hours of dark would be the after your last day of vegetative growth because people say it helps to spur on flowering growth (not sure about this myself) , or some people like to leave cuttings in the dark for a while cause they say it helps to spur on rooting , and the only other reason i know of for such an extended period of darkness would be if you want to re-veg a plant that has been flowered , it helps the plant transition back into the vegetative photo-period.like 2 days in the dark , then put her veg time light but shaded then slowly back into full light and it helps bring them back into vegetative.
axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
by 24 hour cycle i meant a total of 24 hours combined , like 18 on 6 off or 20 on 4 off , there is a lot of debate about whether 24 hours of continuous light is good or bad , my feelings are that they need the dark period to grow their best. Also I ttend to notice that they grow more during the dark period
Great
Active Member
i see but for flowering it is 12/12 right? also do you know if the NPK intake has to be like beads or liquid? same goes for the PH up and PH down any ideas?
darkdestruction420
Well-Known Member
so i shouldn't use a 18/18 veg cycle???
is that a typo or do you really mean 18/18? Dont you have any way to get more seeds at all? how did you get this seed you have? it would be mighty painful to grow 1 plant and have it male or genetic hermie, especially when its your first grow. 18/6 and 24/0 both have advantages. 18/6 will tend to result in lankier taller plants while 24/0 results in smaller and bushier but more developed plant for the most part. I go with 24/0 as they should do plenty of stretching during the stretch phase of flower.Another thing to take into consideration is heat.(although as its winter it doesnt really matter right now but come summer it may be a serious consideration when determining photoperiod. around here in summer i have no choice but use 18/6 as it gets way too hot if i leave the light on during the hottest part of the day. i keep the light on after like day 2 or 3 i'd say. you really dont need to until they break the soil but i like to have them getting light the second they pop instead of stretching looking for the light source.
is that a typo or do you really mean 18/18? Dont you have any way to get more seeds at all? how did you get this seed you have? it would be mighty painful to grow 1 plant and have it male or genetic hermie, especially when its your first grow. 18/6 and 24/0 both have advantages. 18/6 will tend to result in lankier taller plants while 24/0 results in smaller and bushier but more developed plant for the most part. I go with 24/0 as they should do plenty of stretching during the stretch phase of flower.Another thing to take into consideration is heat.(although as its winter it doesnt really matter right now but come summer it may be a serious consideration when determining photoperiod. around here in summer i have no choice but use 18/6 as it gets way too hot if i leave the light on during the hottest part of the day. i keep the light on after like day 2 or 3 i'd say. you really dont need to until they break the soil but i like to have them getting light the second they pop instead of stretching looking for the light source.
Great
Active Member
yeah thats waht i meant but ima try 24/0 i can get more seeds but i only want to grow one plant at a time for now since it is my 1st grow and im only doing it for myself but to flower it is 12/12 right??
axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
yes 12 on 12 off for flower
Great
Active Member
any clue about the NPK i will be planting in soil and im confused there is like these little beads that you can put in soil and the liquid stuff is there is a difference can you suggest anything???
axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
myself i am using botanicaire pro grow which is a liquid , im not sure but are the beads time release ?
darkdestruction420
Well-Known Member
you are missing the point on the 2 plants part bro. you should have at least 1 backup plant as it doubles the chance of getting a female. Another reason i failed to mention is that, like you said,you are new to growing. what would you do if you screwed up this 1 single plant you are planning on growing and didnt have a backup plant? you'd be fucked. lol. I really really really STRONGLY suggest you go with at least 1 backup plant. You dont have to grow them all out. Yes, 12/12 for flowering.
axionjaxson
Well-Known Member
call Dyna-gro and ask them for a sample and they will send you an eight ounce bottle of their veg formula for free. i am waiting on mine now , just called them friday.