That pic is about 18", I actually raised it up this morning because the leaves were a little bleached. Not the main fan leaves, but those first pair that pop from seedling, I forget what they're called. I raised it to about 24".

The temps are nice, I was worried about that. It gets up to 90 within about 2 hrs if I don't have my fans going. I've got a 4" intake and then a 6" exhaust with a 6" inline duct fan running full speed. I'm planning to start on my carbon scrubber this week, so that'll cause it to come up a little bit with the restricted air flow, but I should be alright yet. The ambient temperature in my basement is low 60's in the winter, 65-67 in the summer. I should be alright even on the hot summer days. Humidity is what I'm most worried about, I'm sitting in the 50% right now, but that basement has been known to feel more damp in the summer. I'm thinking of using an automobile hepa air filter on the 4" intake to try to get any spores or nasties that might be in the damp summer if it becomes an issue. Not sure I'll need it, I put this in the driest area of my basement, but ... it can get moist in the summer. I'll just have to keep an eye on it.

They're called cotyledons but I had to use the spell checker to get it right. I wouldn't worry about those so much but seedlings and clones don't need that much light right away. An extra foot or so headroom will keep them happier for the first couple of weeks and, after you have a few sets of true leaves and a little time for the roots to get established, then you can lower it down, closer to the canopy, until they scream for mercy.

You can always deal with moisture with a dehumidifier if needed. I have to use one because I live on the coast...

Thanks for the tips. I actually took them out from under the LED for now. Just going with the flouros for now to try to get them a little break. I did a little top dressing of my soil mix and watered that in last night to try to give them a little bit of nutrients. Most of them are starting on their 2nd set of fan leaves, just starting to get rolling over here.

I inherited another flourescent fixture this week for free, going to mount that in my veg chamber with a basic height adjustment tomorrow or Thursday. I just can't wait to put them under that big sexy red LED, but I'd rather not cook my ladies, so ... they'll wait for now.

There's nothing wrong with them being under the LED, LED is good for early stage growth, you just want more head room to let them adjust and build a system that can use that much light, lowering it down a little at a time as they get bigger.

Fluorescents are okay for seedlings and clones but not for long.

Ok, I took a little break, figured out my stuff, adjusted the room and got on with things. The most important change is the water source, I was using what I was told was hard, non-softened water, but I finally traced the pipes and found I'd been giving my ladies softened salt water Egads, no wonder I killed or nearly killed everything. So, here we go, back on track, doing my blog! I've got a large batch of veggers ready to rock and roll.

My ladies, day 18 of flower!
Blue Berry Gum



Casey Jones



G3 - didn't like the salt water one bit, she's a survivor not a thriver


Northern Lights Big Bud



The Room


Happy New Year ALL!!!

Wow welcome back! Looks like all is going well. h

Yeah, welcome back. I'm glad you've worked through some of your issues.

Are you going to do a new journal from start to finish next time?

(I'm glad to see you again too HV)

SisterMaryElephant wrote:(I'm glad to see you again too HV)

Peace Brother! h

I'll probably do a new one at some point. I'm going to flip to perpetual, hopefully, so it won't be much different. There will be some grown ladies, some just starting ladies and others inbetween. I am trying to start at least one plant every 30 days but I got a little too excited for run number 1 and sort of filled the box up already I did a remodel to get myself some more height/space for flower and vegging once I saw how fast they grow. I went from 3.5' of flower space to almost 7' tall if I need it and my veg went from about 2.5' to the light tops to 4.5' if I need it. I won't use all the veg height as they'd stretch right out of my flower box if I grew them that tall, but I have the space. I'm thinking of making a small drying area in the veg box itself and keeping the light out, but that's for later. For now, I'll keep updating here. If anyone needs any tips on what not to do, read my previous pages