transplanted.. and new cfl layout.. and a ?

Hello again riu!!

Just transplanted three lil bebes to their final homes!! 5 gallon buckets
and added some more cfls

what you all think?

This is my first non seedling transplant ever. SO, i am wanting advice on when to flower.. they were in 2 gal buckets and when transplanted, all had a good deal of roots bundled at the bottom, as in a very healthy reasonable amount. There are 4 plants total.. one went straight from solo cup to 5 gal so theres that to consider but i doubt its a huge factor..

Transplanting went very well and there was no visual transplant shock. Been in new homes for a few days now.

all this cfl rearranging is very educational and all, its kinda saddening that come flower time Ill take them all down and put up my 600w hps..

pics..
any comments?

Not trying to be funny but I think you need more light and less bulb.

How many watts are those bulbs?
I counted 25 bulbs, if they're 10w each, you're running 250w
I would highly suggest investing in one big bulb. They make high wattage cfl's. You would notice a significant growth increase too as the light is more directed. you've got light running off in every direction, and its light you pay for, and your plants aren't getting.
The least you could do it make some sort of reflector hood to reflect some of your lost light back on them ladies. They would really appreciate it!

Looks like their going to be beaut's though

Agree with the one big one. But i love being able to move the lights around anywhere i want! And as for the reflector hood, i have it, essentially around the entire setup. I just opened 2 sides and the top for pics. The bulbs are mostly 25w with a few 14w scatterred for a more broad spectrum

Nice setup, I can tell you put some thought into it, but if you even took soda cans cut in half to put over the tops of the semi horizontal bulbs, lowered the top assembly and brought it down closer, it will help.
Also, I see you're sorta kinda sideways, but more light is given off by the sides of the bulbs than the ends.

Bakatare666 said:

Nice setup, I can tell you put some thought into it, but if you even took soda cans cut in half to put over the tops of the semi horizontal bulbs, lowered the top assembly and brought it down closer, it will help.
Also, I see you're sorta kinda sideways, but more light is given off by the sides of the bulbs than the ends.

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sorta kinda you right! all the top ones were sideways in the schematic i drew up... but alas.. they sag..

and i would redo the rig but I hate moving all the stuff over my plants, just scared something might slip and kamakazi my young ones..

I could get rid of a few on the top totally or just add them to side lighting..?..

when the whole thing is closed up the reflectors are right behind every bulb.. my light reader depicts about 10k lumens on every part of the plants with some parts almost hitting 12k that are closer to bulbs

i always wondered what a full cfl grow would look like, i think heard the nugs will just be fluffy but just as dank

Astral Zoom said:

sorta kinda you right! all the top ones were sideways in the schematic i drew up... but alas.. they sag..

and i would redo the rig but I hate moving all the stuff over my plants, just scared something might slip and kamakazi my young ones..

I could get rid of a few on the top totally or just add them to side lighting..?..

when the whole thing is closed up the reflectors are right behind every bulb.. my light reader depicts about 10k lumens on every part of the plants with some parts almost hitting 12k that are closer to bulbs

Click to expand...

Move the plants FIRST man.
That's what I would do, because like you say, I am clumsy too.
If anything, I would say rearrange your top, moving 4 or 5 to be side lighting.
Here's how I have mine, and don't laugh, but......
I only have cans on half of my own bulbs.
I have 164 on the two side fixtures, and 141 on top.

they fluffy if the grower makes the bulbs too far away.. cfls are shiity penetrators but when the plants are engulfed with close range light (like im tryna figure out) the buds should be similar to other light systems..

I have a 600w hps that i had planned on waiting until the 12/12 flip for energy sake.. but im really considering hanging that w/ cfl supplementin the sides

hmmmm...

Djengo said:

i always wondered what a full cfl grow would look like, i think heard the nugs will just be fluffy but just as dank

Click to expand...

I've heard the same, but I'll find out in about 3 weeks or so.
Mine is still filling in nicely, but they aren't firming up yet, although that could be partially due to my temps sometimes getting up to 80 or so.

Bakatare666 said:

Move the plants FIRST man.
That's what I would do, because like you say, I am clumsy too.

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well theres an idea... ha. I def would move them... but im not gonna mess with getting 100%of the sides facing down.. theplants are not directly under each row of top lights.. they are situated so that what portion of the side cfl light is pointing at them..

so, should I ditch the top lighting and just rock out the 600w?

I want to flower kinda soon but need too wait a lil bit so the roots fill up the pots...

To save power, i could run this setup, and have the hps come one for a few hours a day while some cfls rest. then hps off, cfls all back on for the remainder of the light period.. that would be similar to how the sun works... brightest/hottest at mid day or so..

Astral Zoom said:

I have a 600w hps that i had planned on waiting until the 12/12 flip for energy sake.. but im really considering hanging that w/ cfl supplementin the sides
hmmmm...

Click to expand...

The more light the better!!

Astral Zoom said:

so, should I ditch the top lighting and just rock out the 600w?

I want to flower kinda soon but need too wait a lil bit so the roots fill up the pots...

To save power, i could run this setup, and have the hps come one for a few hours a day while some cfls rest. then hps off, cfls all back on for the remainder of the light period.. that would be similar to how the sun works... brightest/hottest at mid day or so..

Click to expand...

That's an idea, but with the setup you have on top, I think it would half block the light from the HPS.

Bakatare666 said:

That's an idea, but with the setup you have on top, I think it would half block the light from the HPS.

Click to expand...

Yea, id def rigg it up someway.. maybe keep same setup, but put the lamp in the middle and arrange things for a vertical grow kinda setup..

anyways, I lowered the top set down about 4inches and did a bunch of miniscule adjustments so the all the sides are facing the babes and a few have the can idea that you mentioned.. got a tad hotter tho.. so I opened a corner in the top reflector and have a 170ish cfm fan sucking hot air out.. hope that works but 170cfm is not very powerfull...

hmmmmm

Also, how long would you all, here at rui, say it takes for the roots to fill out most of the 5 gal pots?
---Its been almost 1 week since transplant from 2 gal, and the roots had just spanned the bottom of the 2 gal pots before transplant.

thanks yet again,
AZ

Astral Zoom said:

so, should I ditch the top lighting and just rock out the 600w?

I want to flower kinda soon but need too wait a lil bit so the roots fill up the pots...

To save power, i could run this setup, and have the hps come one for a few hours a day while some cfls rest. then hps off, cfls all back on for the remainder of the light period.. that would be similar to how the sun works... brightest/hottest at mid day or so..

Click to expand...

Put them under the HID and leave them vegging. I have done lots of complete grows with HPS alone and MH alone. If just one light then make it HPS. Simply keep any fluoros that are in the 6500K range (or even down to 5000K) to keep the blue in and try to keep the stretch to a minimum.