Temperature control issue.

Hi guys, Im new to both growing my own and this forum so please bare with me....

I was given four three week old plants (AK47) a week ago by a very trustworthy friend. I bought a grow tent before hand. 5ft (H), 3ft (W) and 2ft (D) and am using my attic as i have no space. Running a 250w blue spectrum cfl. I have a carbon air filter setup (which im not using as im affraid it will cool it down further still). Lights on 18/6. Water only, every 2/3 days. I repoted them two days ago in some all-mix soil.

The problem im having is keeping the tent around the mid 70's. Just checked it now and its at 70F after having the light on for 12hrs solid. Also its in the attic which gets f'ing cold a night when the lights off.

My question is. A. Is it a big problem? and B. What can I do about it? Any help would be massivly apreciated!

Ive attached pics for any comments / opinions / advice.

Thanks in advance!!!!!

Is it getting too cold during your dark periods? 70 is okay in my book as far as temperature in general. You want to have a little drop in temp at "night" to simulate somewhat natural conditions... I'd try putting a space heater on the outside of the tent, where your air intake is during the dark periods if its getting freezing.

thanks iriefarmer. Ive heard you can leave the light on 24/7. What are your thoughts on this?

lights on 24 for veging work just fine and would help on the heat during winter. you do NOT want plants to hit the 50's as it could shut down plants for 2-3 days!!! rem, 63-83 is workable, lower or higher is not good for plants / production.. good luck :+)

Personally I think plants need to rest, this is super debated, personally I use 20/4 for seedlings then 18/6 for veg, I'll link you to a thread I posted that includes this topic, I talked a little bit about it there. I also think that 24/7 depletes CO2

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/410353-everything-i-wish-i-knew.html

are you feeding them nutes, thought i read you said just water if so you need to start feedng them

personaly an attic grower myself. i use a portable heater that has a thermostat on it. if it drops below the desired temp the heater turns on .... if it is hotter than the desired temp it just turns off. I got mine at home depot for 50$ and have been using it 24/7 for the past 3 1/2 months . you want to make sure you get one that doesnt have a 24 shut off. in other words some are made with shut off that will turn down the whole heater if its running longer than 8-24 hrs.

Putting them on 24/0 will only solve the prob until flowertime .....the dark period temps are just as important...get a space heater with a thermostat.
good luck.

And maybe consider putting another light in the tent to raise daytime temps....then you will be loving life!

greentiger said:

personaly an attic grower myself. i use a portable heater that has a thermostat on it. if it drops below the desired temp the heater turns on .... if it is hotter than the desired temp it just turns off. I got mine at home depot for 50$ and have been using it 24/7 for the past 3 1/2 months . you want to make sure you get one that doesnt have a 24 shut off. in other words some are made with shut off that will turn down the whole heater if its running longer than 8-24 hrs.

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You could get a space heater man, but honestly during Veg leave those lights on 24/7 that'll keep it a constant temp and then by the time you start flowerin it should be warm enough outside where the plants wont even be affected. Try and time it out right to when you switch to flowering like having the lights on during night that way the lights will act as heat for the plants during the colder times, during the day shouldn't affect them. That is my suggestion.

I have used a space heater once it started snowing in michigan, my electric bill just for my lights and the heater that cost me 50 bucks, was 325 bucks, and I use 4 600 watt lights, the months before were a constant 150, so I mean if you want to drop that much a month go ahead, but personally from observing my plants they have been unaffected by the cold while the lights are on.

hope this helps.

Wow i left for some dinner and loads of replies. Thanks guys. Think the best thing to do is put them on 24/7 for four more weeks of veg. Then time the lighting right to co-inside with day/night. By then it'll be end of march so should be warming up. Dont really need the expence of a space heater atm but we'll see how it goes....Any comments on the yellowing of some leaves, they were there when i got them and no more have occured. Also, the little one's struggling obviously. Any ideas?

thanks to you all for your input!

hellraizer30 said:

are you feeding them nutes, thought i read you said just water if so you need to start feedng them

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Was told the all-mix has enough in it for three weeks. Just had to water the soil 24-48 hrs before use. Cheers tho.

silverkings said:

Wow i left for some dinner and loads of replies. Thanks guys. Think the best thing to do is put them on 24/7 for four more weeks of veg. Then time the lighting right to co-inside with day/night. By then it'll be end of march so should be warming up. Dont really need the expence of a space heater atm but we'll see how it goes....Any comments on the yellowing of some leaves, they were there when i got them and no more have occured. Also, the little one's struggling obviously. Any ideas?

thanks to you all for your input!

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how much room do you have to grow? 4 more weeks before flowering you could end up with 5-6ft tall plants. And a 250W light is only good for about 1 1/2-2ft at most

Kerovan said:

how much room do you have to grow? 4 more weeks before flowering you could end up with 5-6ft tall plants. And a 250W light is only good for about 1 1/2-2ft at most

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Seriously? they are all about a foot tall atm, apart from the wee one. I was told the plants would double in size during flowering?

silverkings said:

Seriously? they are all about a foot tall atm, apart from the wee one. I was told the plants would double in size during flowering?

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Search on here for some grow journals featuring AK47 & compare for yourself and I think your babies might need some nutes, unless its specialized potting mix, but generally soil only holds enough nutrients for about the first 3 weeks. Have the top 2 leaves fallen off of your plants yet?

silverkings said:

Seriously? they are all about a foot tall atm, apart from the wee one. I was told the plants would double in size during flowering?

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indica plants double, at minimum, but they can triple. Sative triple, but can get more. If you go another 4 weeks of veg, that could be another 18"+ of growth. That will give you a 5ft plant at end of flowering. With a 250W light, I would flower them before they are even 12inches.

You iriefarmer are a ledgend! more than happy to nute but repoted two days ago and the soil im told has three weeks worth in it already. No leaves have dropped off yet? first ive heard. Would that be normal?

Kerovan noted. Although slightly scared now lol! So they'll grow about a foot every 4 weeks? Ok. So i think ill flower in two weeks depending on the little one....how long should i flower? heard 4 weeks was the norm.

silverkings said:

Noted. Although slightly scared now lol! So they'll grow about a foot every 4 weeks? Ok. So i think ill flower in two weeks depending on the little one....how long should i flower? heard 4 weeks was the norm.

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48 days is minimum under optimal condition with ak-48. Most likely it will be 62+ days.

Kerovan said:

48 days is minimum under optimal condition with ak-48. Most likely it will be 62+ days.

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Thanks dude. Much respect!

the yellowing is a def. could be a ph lock up but im leening toward a lack of nutes!!