Good evening all. Been a long while, but that's a good thing given me plenty to read.
Everyone keeps trying to go hydro, and my local shop makes his own bubbler systems which are literally flying out the window...but like you Verde, I like soil...it's the natural way. I also like to raise my light a bit for the last 2 weeks to replicate the end of summer, MJ has evolved to over thousands and thousands of years to work with the Earth, not a grow tent. That said I did have a really interesting conversation with a Moroccan the other week, how plants that grow on cliff faces grow faster then any any other vegetation because the roots lock into the cliff, and get a constant trickle of water in the rocks rather then have to work there way through soil...it's just that there is much more soil on this planet so plants have had to make the best of it. I'm still staying with soil forever. Whenever I buy weed, I can tell whether it is soil or hydro, even if not flushed...it's hard to describe.
Grazzmon, I decided this week to get a CMH when my bulb is due a change, as the first bit of spring sun in my conservatory reminded me of the two plants I grew out there last year, and there amazing taste. It was a blueberry, which I grew for 18 months indoors, and just threw 2 out in the sun for fun, and the taste difference was incredible....which I could only put down to the increased spectrum of the sun. I use dual spec bulbs at present and throw some CFL's in too, but really looking forward to seeing what a CMH does to flavour. If I don't think that it was worth the extra outlay, i'm gonna come put a foot in your ass.... or more likely get to the front door and forget what I was doing there in the first place.
Had mould problems, killing shit load of leaves, ruining feedng schedule and growth.... not good for mid flower. I have totally overcome this now, but it's fucking tears...every grow is something different fucking it up. I had to switch my extractors off overnight (2 tents) cos my wife can't sleep with the noise. Always left a circulating fan, and never had problems, but I guess my previous strains were more mould resistant. Next grow my tent is going in the loft so they can run 24/7.
I'm pretty sure that my little 250 won't cause any real heat difference n my huge loft area, especially with circulating fans, and an extractor pulling the air out of the loft. I plan to have the tent exhaust into the loft, where it will mix with the far cooler over-night air, and then this mild air will be extracted, being less invisble to the chopper heat cams. Been watching a lot of stuff on heat cams, reality cop programmes and documentaries, and it appears that they can see hot air being exhausted, but this is when it goes straight from a major grow room to the outside. What do you recon? It doesn't seem to add any real heat to much smaller sized bedroom, so I should be fine. Of course I will insulate the roof directlty above the tent