I got my SS400 about three weeks ago, and have had some problems making time to get my area set up. But I have been taking pictures of the progress in the makeshift setup. So, the journal is going to be about 3 weeks behind.
I'm growing a mix of heirloom tomatoes in soil. My old setup is a 400w hps. I'd like to upload some pics of the uncrate and the plants their first day under the lights, but my picture files are too big....any help?
If the pictures are too big you'll need to resize them. Any computer should have software that can do that, if you're using a phone there are apps.
SME
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
I'll try and get the journal up to date throughout the next week, so you can see 3 or so weeks of growth( a bit more than 3, in fact a month next week), and the final set up in as soon as possible. I'm excited to show what's happened!
A couple of peaves:
*The fans are surprisingly loud given their size. I even sent B at CLW a couple of audio clips to make sure it was normal;
*the cord plug in on the unit is a little too touchy for my liking.
However; overall, I was very impressed with the unit, when it first arrived.
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I think this is after day 2...you can see I burned some of the leaves at 20". I put the light down to 30" and things got better.
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Just tiny little pischers here. Again, you can see some yellowing from the light at 20".
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Haven't used these yet.
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Sturdy construction. I was very impressed with the look and construction of the unit. That heat sink is a beast!
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Another update, but remember I'm quickly bringing this journal up to date so, I'll be posting a months worth of growth this week, and some shots of the finished closet too--you won't have to look at that nasty carpet throughout the entire journal.
A few days later the plants are on the floor now about 30" from the light and are responding nicely despite my stupidity...no heat, no problem. Not really. I should have respected the strength of the light even though it doesn't throw any heat.
The burns are really apparent--even in the pink light. I'll try and get some regular lighting shots, now that I know they are frowned upon.
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Here we are about 10 days later: the room is pretty much done(at least for now). The room dimensions are 3'x8'x8', there is one 120 cfm fan venting the room, a couple of wall vents pulling fresh air from the adjacent room, the floor is black interlocking foam mats, and 2 of the 4 walls are done in the visquene(the other 2 are off white anyways). There is also a large circulating fan and a thermometer/hygrometer, now.
The plants really bounced back nicely from the sunburn I gave them. The light is stil at 30" in the picture.
I should have the journal up to date in the next few posts, at this point its only about 12 days behind.
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The leaves are really green, thick, and quite turgid.
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Here we are a few days later and the growth is exploding. I can't get over how green, shiny, turgid and thick the leaves are. They are really pretty, and healthy.
First flowers too.
I also started to repot the plants from 6" pots to 12" pots (4 gal.).
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Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
I shoulda' had the jopurnal up to date, but you know, life happens. It also doesn't help that I have to take my memory card to my brother's place to get pics off of my camera.
Anyways, here is another update which is 4 days later.
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Getting jungly in there.
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Growing fast and bushy.
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That's a 6" ruler for scale. The leaves are impressive-big and thick.
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