Looking for advice on hitting 1 gram per watt

What’s up RIU community ! Looking for some advice on hitting 1 Gram per watt. I’ve tried one grow and end product was great just very low yield. Around 10 oz per 1k light. Here is the room set up
GIGA BUD strain
8 plants total
6 in 20 gallons pots with coco
And 2 in 5 gallon buckets with coco
6x3 tray that’s what would fit that I had
2k watt metal halide/ hps magnetic ballast
Air cooled hoods
Dehumidifier 50 liter
1 ton mini split
1 HP water chiller with 2 Ice box’s cooling air from hoods.
8 inch fan exhausting from big carbon filter.
Full line botanicare nutrients
Reverse osmosis water
Temperatures were always between 72-77 F 1 foot above canopy
Humidity in veg 45-70%
Humidity in Flower 30-40%
Co2 12-1400 PPM
Room is also totally sealed

Now I have a few reasons why I believe my yield was very low. The lights I had were from a friend who said he had a 3-4 grows with the bulbs already. Also I put small clones in the huge 20 gallon pots in straight coco after rinsing and charging without any pear lite mix and they took 4-5 days to dry so watering was not as often as it should be in coco and I think the roots were oxygen deprived with all the standing moisture possibly ? I also did not use any beneficial bacteria or root enhancements of any kind. When I pulled the plants the root mass did consume the entire 20 gallon pot so not sure if that mattered or not ? I scrogged them all down and had a nice full lush canopy in Veg. Switched to flower and everything was growing good but seemed slow ? Everything was lush and green all the way until the last week when I flushed but the yield was still low ? Like I said very good for the strain itself being a heavy producer and not that high in thc but I almost got the opposite it seemed ? I am staring another grow now and have 4) 1k lights and 20 Girl Scout cookie clones that tapped root about 3 days ago in an ez cloner form a mother I started from a seed. I just want this round to be better yielding than the last time if possible lol thanks for any and all help ! I will post some pics of the set up and clones after anyone is interested. Peace

20g pots for indoors? Do you have 12’ ceilings? I run 10s and they are on the big side.
To yeild high, you need your plants going though more wet n dry cycles. I transplant 4 times before I’m in final pot size. In veg I like them needing water every other day, in flower I like to water every day.
SE bulbs , I would change them every crop or every other crop. Not worth trying to extend their life. I use DEs n switch them every other crop.
Your temps are to low for your ppm. bump your temp to 83-86
Not all bulbs are created equal , I only run Phillips.
Add a net to help space out the buds , more air flow,

72-77 degrees a foot above canopy? Were you measuring temp shaded or is that under direct light? If under direct light then your air temps must of been a whole lot lower which is going to be slow going.

Its hard to imagine a full scrogged canopy only yielding 10oz unless you chopped them way early.

You say 6x3 tray, so does your canopy extend further than that or is limited to that shape/size?

I agree with BigHornBuds on everything he said.

Got any pics of the crop pre harvest?

How long did you let the last batch flower for?

How close was your lighting? My 1k light is only around a foot above my canopy.

Do you have airflow on/under your scrog canopy?

Hitting 1g/w with 2k worth of power in a 6x3 space would be tough in the first place. That's a lot of wattage for not much canopy.

BigHornBuds said:

20g pots for indoors? Do you have 12’ ceilings? I run 10s and they are on the big side.
To yeild high, you need your plants going though more wet n dry cycles. I transplant 4 times before I’m in final pot size. In veg I like them needing water every other day, in flower I like to water every day.
SE bulbs , I would change them every crop or every other crop. Not worth trying to extend their life. I use DEs n switch them every other crop.
Your temps are to low for your ppm. bump your temp to 83-86
Not all bulbs are created equal , I only run Phillips.
Add a net to help space out the buds , more air flow,

Click to expand...

No

BigHornBuds said:

20g pots for indoors? Do you have 12’ ceilings? I run 10s and they are on the big side.
To yeild high, you need your plants going though more wet n dry cycles. I transplant 4 times before I’m in final pot size. In veg I like them needing water every other day, in flower I like to water every day.
SE bulbs , I would change them every crop or every other crop. Not worth trying to extend their life. I use DEs n switch them every other crop.
Your temps are to low for your ppm. bump your temp to 83-86
Not all bulbs are created equal , I only run Phillips.
Add a net to help space out the buds , more air flow,

Click to expand...

I think that was part of my problem like I mentioned the roots were not receiving enough air to the roots due to the extremely big pots and not enough wet/dry cycles. I am now starting in 1 gallon smart pots and plan on transplanting into 3 gallon then into 5 gallon pots for flowering. I am also using brand new bulbs this run (viviosun) which I ordered from amazon. Higher temps you think ? I know with co2 temps should be a little higher but that seems a little too warm ? Then again this is why I’m asking for advice lol
Also I did put a screen last grow I am looking for pics of it right now.

coreywebster said:

72-77 degrees a foot above canopy? Were you measuring temp shaded or is that under direct light? If under direct light then your air temps must of been a whole lot lower which is going to be slow going.

Its hard to imagine a full scrogged canopy only yielding 10oz unless you chopped them way early.

You say 6x3 tray, so does your canopy extend further than that or is limited to that shape/size?

I agree with BigHornBuds on everything he said.

Got any pics of the crop pre harvest?

Click to expand...

Yes that temp is a foot above canopy in direct light. And the canopy had a screen above the 6x3 tray measuring 8 x 5 under 2 1k lights. And it was harvested at 59 days with nice cloudy trichs and a couple Amber so I’m pretty sure I harvested when it was fully done. Strain was actually supposed to only take 55 days to flower. Everything was trained well under the screen and looked very promising at first. I’m looking for pics now. There were no deficiencies and everything stayed nice and green until I flushed last week of flowering.

Thundercat said:

How long did you let the last batch flower for?

How close was your lighting? My 1k light is only around a foot above my canopy.

Do you have airflow on/under your scrog canopy?

Hitting 1g/w with 2k worth of power in a 6x3 space would be tough in the first place. That's a lot of wattage for not much canopy.

Click to expand...

Flowered for 59 days until trichs we’re milky and a few Amber. Yes I had 3 circulating fans on the wall aimed at the canopy. They were almost always slightly swaying from the airflow so it should have been plenty. The canopy exceeded the 6x3 tray. It had a screen on top that measured 8x5 and it was filled up before I cut the lights back.

Here are a few pics I could find of how the bud looked to give you an idea of how it looked and what it produced in the end.

fieldsofgreen420 said:

Flowered for 59 days until trichs we’re milky and a few Amber. Yes I had 3 circulating fans on the wall aimed at the canopy. They were almost always slightly swaying from the airflow so it should have been plenty. The canopy exceeded the 6x3 tray. It had a screen on top that measured 8x5 and it was filled up before I cut the lights back.

Click to expand...

Great replies and pictures!

It really sounds like you have most of the correct components.

You guys were talking about getting air to the roots. Which obviously is hugely important.

Years ago there was a grower on this site named Natmoon. They used a technique they called an air basket. If you search "air basket" on here I think you can still find the thread. Basically it was a sponge with an airline from an aquarium pump placed in the bottom of the grow medium. Like an air stone for soil instead of hydro. Well Natmoon grew badass plants. So I tried putting this air sponge in the bottom I half my plants one time when I still grew in soil. The growth difference was noticeable! If I ever go back to soil I will be using that technique again.

I'm honesty not sure why it hasn't gotten more widen adopted. It was super simple to set up and cost almost nothing. I guarantee I got more yield off the plants that had it.

Running co2 like you are I think around 82-84 might actually be a better temp range. Also make sure your exhaust isn't sucking your co2 out of the room so you don't waste it .

Your canopy screen size sounds better for the wattage. I'm hoping you've got nice wide hoods to get good light coverage . Coverage is just as important as wattage.

The next thing I'd work on is training. The more even you can get the canopy with more bud sites the higher the yield. I love SCROGs but they need to veg and be trained properly to reach their potential.

Personally I run single cola SOG in a flood and drain with small plants that only veg for about 1-2 weeks from clone.

Thundercat said:

Great replies and pictures!

It really sounds like you have most of the correct components.

You guys were talking about getting air to the roots. Which obviously is hugely important.

Years ago there was a grower on this site named Natmoon. They used a technique they called an air basket. If you search "air basket" on here I think you can still find the thread. Basically it was a sponge with an airline from an aquarium pump placed in the bottom of the grow medium. Like an air stone for soil instead of hydro. Well Natmoon grew badass plants. So I tried putting this air sponge in the bottom I half my plants one time when I still grew in soil. The growth difference was noticeable! If I ever go back to soil I will be using that technique again.

I'm honesty not sure why it hasn't gotten more widen adopted. It was super simple to set up and cost almost nothing. I guarantee I got more yield off the plants that had it.

Running co2 like you are I think around 82-84 might actually be a better temp range. Also make sure your exhaust isn't sucking your co2 out of the room so you don't waste it .

Your canopy screen size sounds better for the wattage. I'm hoping you've got nice wide hoods to get good light coverage . Coverage is just as important as wattage.

The next thing I'd work on is training. The more even you can get the canopy with more bud sites the higher the yield. I love SCROGs but they need to veg and be trained properly to reach their potential.

Personally I run single cola SOG in a flood and drain with small plants that only veg for about 1-2 weeks from clone.

Click to expand...

Thanks I did quite a bit of research before I started last time but I guess there’s always mistakes first grow lol . The low yield just kinda discouraged me but I am really hoping the old used bulbs were most of the reason. I could almost look right at the hortilux hps with no sunglasses on without it bothering my eyes so I’m almost positive thy was a good part of the problem. The new bulbs I can not even attempt to look at without sunglasses on lol plant count is a big issue so I don’t want to push past 25 with mother plants. And the room is completely sealed so no Co2 or smell is leaking although I have I believe the biggest carbon filter you can get attached to my fan inside the room circulating anyways just to scrub the air. I also did not use any microhyzae or any beneficial root bacteria last go. This time I have extreme gardening Mykos , Azos , and also some azomite volcanic mineral dust with lots of trace amounts of micro nutes and humid acids so I think that should help a lot also. Although my root mass was the entire 20 gallon container when I ripped them up so not sure how much more roots I coulda got ? Lol
Sorry for the long responses and thanks for any help and advice is always appreciated. I will post more pics of the entire grow room set up and equipment next time I’m in there later today.

Healthy plants and good canopy management is what will get you there.

Edit: Ignore this. It's good advice in general, but clearly not what's holding your g/W back.

You can also cheat and get a more efficient lamp, which automatically increases your g/W, but I'm guessing what you're really looking to do is increase your g/sqft.

This:

Thundercat said:

Hitting 1g/w with 2k worth of power in a 6x3 space would be tough in the first place. That's a lot of wattage for not much canopy.

Click to expand...

Best way to increase your g/W would be to use less light.

Thundercat said:

Great replies and pictures!

It really sounds like you have most of the correct components.

You guys were talking about getting air to the roots. Which obviously is hugely important.

Years ago there was a grower on this site named Natmoon. They used a technique they called an air basket. If you search "air basket" on here I think you can still find the thread. Basically it was a sponge with an airline from an aquarium pump placed in the bottom of the grow medium. Like an air stone for soil instead of hydro. Well Natmoon grew badass plants. So I tried putting this air sponge in the bottom I half my plants one time when I still grew in soil. The growth difference was noticeable! If I ever go back to soil I will be using that technique again.

I'm honesty not sure why it hasn't gotten more widen adopted. It was super simple to set up and cost almost nothing. I guarantee I got more yield off the plants that had it.

Running co2 like you are I think around 82-84 might actually be a better temp range. Also make sure your exhaust isn't sucking your co2 out of the room so you don't waste it .

Your canopy screen size sounds better for the wattage. I'm hoping you've got nice wide hoods to get good light coverage . Coverage is just as important as wattage.

The next thing I'd work on is training. The more even you can get the canopy with more bud sites the higher the yield. I love SCROGs but they need to veg and be trained properly to reach their potential.

Personally I run single cola SOG in a flood and drain with small plants that only veg for about 1-2 weeks from clone.

Click to expand...

Just reading up on the air in the root zone and it sounds pretty interesting. One thing I am wondering is , in a completely sealed room that stays at 1450 ppm co2 wouldn’t I be adding co2 to the roots if my air pump was in the same room ? Or is there still a high concentration of o2 in the air for the roots to absorb and not take in the excess co2 ? And one 20 lb co2 tank lasted the entire grow last time (almost 4 months) and then another 2 weeks until I just refilled it so I know the room is sealed pretty well lol

churchhaze said:

You can also cheat and get a more efficient lamp, which automatically increases your g/W, but I'm guessing what you're really looking to do is increase your g/sqft.

This:



Best way to increase your g/W would be to use less light.

Click to expand...

The tray they sit in is a 6x3. The scrog canopy on top was 8x5. The total area this time will be 12x8 with 4 1k hps/mh

I was expecting to see some clear evidence of been chopped a few weeks early TBH.
Get new bulbs, raise the temperature by a considerable amount. Reading 72 in direct light you could actually be dealing with true air temps of high 60s when you need to be at least mid 80 to take advantage of the co2 your supplementing

If you want to read canopy temps get a laser thermometer, if you want to read air temps place a thermometer in a ventilated but shaded from light part of the grow space.


Im sure you will see great improvements next run.

coreywebster said:

I was expecting to see some clear evidence of been chopped a few weeks early TBH.
Get new bulbs, raise the temperature by a considerable amount. Reading 72 in direct light you could actually be dealing with true air temps of high 60s when you need to be at least mid 80 to take advantage of the co2 your supplementing

If you want to read canopy temps get a laser thermometer, if you want to read air temps place a thermometer in a ventilated but shaded from light part of the grow space.


Im sure you will see great improvements next run.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I’m gonna run brand new hortilux hps this time as well as raise the temps to 80-84 degrees.

I'm sure that even with you supplementing co2 the plants are creating enough o2 to feed the roots. I imagine having the air pump in the same room would be just fine.

fieldsofgreen420 said:

What’s up RIU community ! Looking for some advice on hitting 1 Gram per watt.

Click to expand...

I'm sure there are plenty of vapers that can do that.