And that's what I'm working on: trying to fine tune LF for me. My tip burn occurred at about 3/6 ratio. I used 12 gal of RO with 35/70 to get about 1.0EC. After the tip burn, I went down to 25/50 for 0.7EC for a ratio of only 2/4 for 12 gal .
I've been keeping it at 0.7EC since the tip burn. My EC will drop about 0.04 to 0.06 per day. So day 2, I'm at 0.64, day 3 is 0.58, day 4 is 0.53 ................
I would think as big as my plants are and as huge as my root balls are that they should easily handle 5/10 but it is not the case.
If your EC keeps falling that should mean they're eating more than they're drinking. That may have something to do with the altitude but I don't know...
Do you use any mycorrhizae for root health? What are your reservoir water temps?
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.
Is a roughly 0.05 drop per day in EC way too much? I realize I want to get it staying constant so they are eating/drinking the same but I'd rather know they are eating too much vs. tip burning. If I can get it closer to 0.02 or 0.01 per day, I'd be really happy!
All I use is Cutting Edge micro and bloom and a product called z7 for my reservoir. Res temp is 64 to 65F.
One of my main issues that I can't resolve just yet is to get a bigger reservoir. At only 12 gallons (15 is at bottom of netpot), I add back usually 2 gallons of RO per day. So by late day 4 into day 5, my pH gets unstable. Up to that point, I keep it at 5.8 and it is pretty stable. Since I only have 3 weeks left, I'm gonna deal with it by changing my reservoir every 5 days or so but it is something I'd like to resolve for next grow.
I know I'm not using LF to it's potential, but at least I know I'm getting the 1-2-2 ratio that he was shooting for in flower.
If they're eating more than they drink I think you can bump it up a bit, slowly, to see how they respond.
I think there's something else going on but I'm not sure what yet. Maybe it has something to do with the CES nutrients or the z7? Probably not but I'm not familiar with either. Strain? Maybe, some are light feeders. Altitude? Could be.
I assume your roots look fine? Do you add CO2?
How far below the net pots is the water level when full? So, all plants only drink 2 gal day and you have a 12 gal res, why don't you just let the level go down a while? You could go almost a week. You don't have to add-back daily unless they drink more than 12 gallons daily.
If Lucas says that 5/10 should work for CFL then 5/10 or more should work with LED.
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.
From what I gathered as a layman, there is a belief that there is more transpiration which leads to a lower photosynthesis rate. at least that's what I got from it
I'm going to try to bump it up until I get a little bit closer to less of a daily EC drop. I do have a pair of DIY CO2 generators that should add a bit to the room. Probably not enough to make a huge difference but just another experiment of mine.
Yeah, I'm gonna be out of town for a few days and they will go for 3 days without addback.
That page is based on outdoor growing since they talk about radiation that you don't worry about indoors. However you do still have the lower barometric pressure so you can still have some increased transpiration.
Increased transpiration would explain using less water from the reservoir if they're getting some of it from the humid air. Wouldn't that suggest the plants can take more food than they're getting too?
If you supplement CO2, move the airpump outside the room so that you're not pumping CO2 into the root zone.
Why can't you get a bigger res?
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 was looking at this study too that was cited in the article: Terashima I, Masuzawa T, Ohba H, Yokoi Y. 1995. Is photosynthesis suppressed at higher elevation due to low CO2 pressure?
But what I thought they were both trying to say was that the elevation b/c of higher transpiration and/or lower CO2 pressure causes less photosynthesis. Which I would think would mean less nutrients not more??
For the new res, I need to find one that would replace the bottom half of my tote and allow me to use the lid that has the netpots in place. And tote only has about 2inches on either side too. So need to find one same footprint but taller. It holds 27 gal total but 15 gallons puts the water level at the bottom of the netpots. The plants are so big now that I don't think I can move them around too much w/o breaking stems. I can make do for 3 to 4 more weeks as is.
Maybe I can be the ground breaking researcher on high altitude MJ cultivation?? I see a $100k US Gov't grant in my future........
I don't think they were both saying the same thing; I think one cited the other and suggested that more research was needed.
Why not replace the top and bottom (or even individual buckets instead of a tote) on the next grow or add an external res (with a small pump) to your existing res? Maybe even try other styles?
With the right setup you could easily test both the CO2 and barometric pressure variables. I could help you spend that grant money.
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.
Too late. I've already spent $99k of it in my head already............
Either way, doesn't seem like there has been much research and not many conclusions about elevation.
Yeah, I started with 5 gal DWC buckets and then realized I needed a chiller. So I went the tote DWC method using a wort chiller in the tote. I'd like to try an undercurrent setup but I really don't want to join the flood club just yet. hahaha. In the tote setup, there are no breaches below the water line and really the only thing that could leak is the water lines coming from my external chiller tub to the wort chiller.
If this keeps going as well as it has (knocking on wood), I should be supplied for 6 months. Which will give me time to get some ideas tested. And work out the kinks too. I don't like changing too much from grow to grow so I don't get ahead of myself.
Unless that 99k includes 50k for my "consultation fee" then, obviously, we're going to need a bigger grant...
Maybe you need to expand to a larger area, what's your goal? I'm thinking about knocking down walls to make one room larger but I'd rather move into place designed a bit better for growing. Before that I have to experiment more with other options.
The flood club is ALWAYS recruiting...
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.