SisterMaryElephant wrote:RKY:
I'd flush with RO+ a little calmag (or epsom salts) to help stabilize pH readings, if the soil is already hot then I'd hold off on the nutrients. I'd skip the clearex at this stage. A good flush every few weeks to get rid of salt buildups is a good idea. He shouldn't feed every time either...

Can I clarify real quick, because I've never used distilled water or RO before, do I need to check my pH after adding the CalMg?

I'll be buying some distilled today, so I'd like to know before I water them this evening. Thanks!

MC

always check pH before applying it to plants. if i'm mixing up a gallon, i'd add whatever then pH. then let it sit for an hour maybe. recheck pH. if it's stable at what you want, then go for it. if not, repeat.

Yeah mix first - then pH, let it sit, check again. Then use.

You might be able to just use tap since it's so clean but it's hard to pH RO without adding something to it first.

Thank you for the tips everyone. I did water all of the plants except pineapple chunk #2, she is probably 2 days out before needing it.

2 gallons among 4 plants, each plant flushed with 1/2 gallon of water. Enough? I've never flushed soil before.

pH: 6.5
TDS: 256 - added CalMg @ 1 tsp/gal to distiller water
pH of runoff: 6.1

I'm not sure if this can be considered a proper flush, but I did completely saturate the soil of each plant several times.

I will also not be using distiller water regularly. Not lugging water is one of the reasons I designed the grow room with a sink, and I think SME is right about the tap being clean enough. It's only $.88/gallon though so it's not expensive to flush.

rkymtnman wrote:Yep, the P.R.B.

I have a theory that they are such douchebags because they feel like they deserve to live in Aspen but can't afford it.

LOL this is so true. Don't even get me started on Aspen. A few years ago I'm waiting in my truck in Aspen for a meeting to start. It's winter, it's like negative 10 outside, and this rich dude walking a poodle knocks on my window. "Can you turn off your engine please? This is an idle free town, you know," he says. "It's negative 10 good sir," says I. "So? You can walk to warm up. See me, I'm walking," and he does this fancy little jog.

Great, I got started on Aspen.
MC

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think I might go back to HID after my 90 day GFP. I know it's way too soon to make that determination, but unfortunately I have to start thinking about it now because I will not be able to complete this grow cycle in my 90 day feedback period. I don't even think I'll make it to the last 4 flowering weeks when the UVB lights would be beneficial. This last is unfortunate because that was one of the primary draws of the fixture for me.

The light draws 600-680 watts (just rough here) and 1000w HPS probably closer to 1150 watts actual. That's almost, but not quite double. But my electricity is as of now, relatively cheap at $0.11/kWh. I've done the math, if I keep the SS880 and yield 18 ounces, my cost to produce each ounce is $100 MORE expensive than the cost per ounce to grow if I go back to HPS/MH combo. That's including all my garden cost for this first grow, so obviously with each subsequent grow the cost is much lower.

I might also mention that the math above is based on the same size harvest from each SS880 and 1kw HPS. If I'm getting the same GPW, my 1kw HPS grow would yield far more, lowering the cost per ounce even farther.

Further analysis indicates that for me to make my money back I saved electricity it would take approximately 3 years. The SolarStorm880 will last that long, no doubt. But the rated life on the fixture is to L70 I believe, which is when the LEDs will have reached 70% of their initial light output. Most people I ask highly recommend replacing HID lamps before they reach 70% output. Included in my payback calculations are 1 HID lamp change per year for each type of lamp (I'll be alternating MH and HPS for veg and bloom).

I'm estimating that I could also add UV lamps to the sides of my chamber for around $100.

With all this, has anyone got a compelling reason why I should keep the SS880?

Don't get me wrong. I love the light. I just don't know if my love extends another $100 per ounce cost to produce. Since I grow for me, and the point is to produce and save money over dispensary buying, I should at least consider it as my 2nd priority behind my 1st, which is quality.

tough decision. i was debating whether or not to sell mine too (but after the 90 day period). It got me 2 good harvests and paid for itself so I figured anything else beyond that was essentially "free" and kept it.

in my opinion, a 1K will outperform the SS all day long. just in shear penetration of the light itself will give you better bud farther down the plant.

not saying the light isn't top notch quality at all. i found a good use for mine in my new veg chamber/dorm fridge. i still think LED is hard to beat for vegetative growth.

if you do get rid of it, hope you stick around and post the HID grow. I want to see how the CO2 works out for you too.
I loved the Aspen story. I can just picture that guy in his little exercise outfit and probably the dog in some type of north face coat.

I've done the cost/benefit analysis many times and LED loses when compared to higher powered HID lights, even if you changed the bulbs every or every-other grow. LED might gain a slight advantage only when you get down to the smaller HID lights like a 250w HPS (maybe 400w depending on grow style) or micro-grows.

As RKY mentions, LED *has* shown exceptional results in VEG, while the plants are smaller, but no comparable wattage LED beats a 1000w HPS for flowering cannabis.

CLW does make a good light but the LED technology just isn't there yet to compete with 1000w HID fixtures. When we get all 10w LED lights we'll have to re-evaluate but not with what we have so far.

Unfortunately, every LED manufactures uses sales marketing (propaganda) to make it *seem* like they can compete but that hurts the industry, long term, more than it helps, imho. LED might be fine for growing lettuce but we know that 90+% of all indoor grows aren't lettuce.

When the manufactures claim/imply their smaller LED lights will keep up with or outperform/replace bigger HID lights (some companies are worse about this than others) and the growers don't get the results they expected (our journals back this up) it makes the industry as a whole look bad. They also promote other myths as fact but results just don't bear out the hype.

LED has a place but it's a smaller place than the manufacturers claim...for sales reasons. I pitched a light design to CLW that they may or may not build; it was designed to address more commercial/professional needs but I hope that the marketing will be more fact than hype. Now that 10w diodes are available, I hope they use those instead of the current 5w diodes....IF they ever build it. Since it is still my intellectual property I might approach other manufactures or have a prototype built to my own specs someday.

rkymtnman wrote:if you do get rid of it, hope you stick around and post the HID grow. I want to see how the CO2 works out for you too.

Oh absolutely I will. If I started on LED, even if I finish on HID I'd imagine SME's not going to kick me off the forum I'll for sure use my entire 90 day period to decide, so I will have at least some flower time to base my decision on.

I want to see how the CO2 works out also! So much so, in fact, that I said what the heck and turned it on today. I also closed the tent. I know I asked, and SME said actively vegetative growth instead of seedling stage, but I just couldn't help myself. I'll see how they look in 24 hours, then determine whether to continue with the CO2 or not. If it's not too soon, it's gonna stay on! The 20lb tank cost an entire $7.00 to fill at a hydro store up over here. Seven. Dollars. When the dude behind the counter said that, I almost flipped my biscuit. Here I was before, using this smelly, sticky, microbe filled yeast fermentation/solution and pumping that crap all over my plants. By "pumping" I mean "my disgusting bucket constantly burped on my plants". What PPM was I able to achieve using this system? I have no clue, but I can assure you it was minimal if even negligible. And the fuel for this system? Sugar. I spent like $18 a month on huge sugar bags to feed the damn thing which required 13 cups per week.

But now instead of a barf-inducing festering swamp, the regulator simply clicks on, hisses gently for a bit, then clicks off again. It takes approximately 1-1/2 minutes to fill my tent to 1250-1500 PPM. That's measured right at canopy level, and I'm incredibly impressed how fast it filled the room up. My lesson here: CO2 is really an achievable goal. I think I spent... $300 maybe on my monitor, tank and reg. Maybe $400. And if you can find a hydro store with CO2 prices like that, you can't afford not to (rather than a bucket).

Side note: buckets are quickly becoming my arch nemesis.

I also took pictures of them just prior to turning the CO2 on. Maybe I can measure a difference in a day. If nothing else it'll help me determine if it's been beneficial in 24 hours. Also I am truly running my environment in the mode it was designed for, which I am excited about. Here they are:

Incredible Bulk:

Incredible Bulk

Photo Sep 01, 2 50 24 PM.jpg (326.21 KiB) Viewed 47020 times

Money Maker #1:

Money Maker #1

Photo Sep 01, 2 51 19 PM.jpg (453.84 KiB) Viewed 47020 times

Money Maker #2:

Money Maker #2

Photo Sep 01, 2 52 45 PM.jpg (268.76 KiB) Viewed 47020 times

Pineapple Chunk #1:

Pineapple Chunk #1

Photo Sep 01, 2 53 29 PM.jpg (302.14 KiB) Viewed 47020 times

Pineapple Chunk #2:

Pineapple Chunk #2

Photo Sep 01, 2 54 03 PM.jpg (305.48 KiB) Viewed 47020 times

rkymtnman wrote:I loved the Aspen story. I can just picture that guy in his little exercise outfit and probably the dog in some type of north face coat.

That is exactly what it was like. This dude had ear warmers on, neck warmer, ankle warmers, and wrist warmers. He looked like a poodle. I can't remember what kind of actual dog he had, but in my mind it'll always be a poodle.

SisterMaryElephant wrote:I've done the cost/benefit analysis many times and LED loses when compared to higher powered HID lights, even if you changed the bulbs every or every-other grow.

As RKY mentions, LED *has* shown exceptional results in VEG, while the plants are smaller, but no comparable wattage LED beats a 1000w HPS for flowering cannabis.

CLW does make a good light but the LED technology just isn't there yet to compete with 1000w HID fixtures. When we get all 10w LED lights we'll have to re-evaluate but not with what we have so far.

That's exactly what I was going to say. 10w diodes would probably make a big difference. However I will say this also: 10w chips will increase the total wattage of the fixture. The only real way to increase the brightness of the fixture while decreasing the wattage as well is to use more efficient LED technology not currently available. If for instance we were able to achieve the same lumens/watt (or PARs/watt or however else you want to measure it) as HPS, or achieve the brightness of a 10w diode with only 5w, then we'd be in the next generation of HID killers, and the price would be entirely justified.

Science fiction aside, this light is nice and I like it. I like buds more though.

Overnight, with the tent closed, and the room door closed, the temperature reached 93 degrees at canopy level, and 55% humidity. This morning I checked on the plants, and they all look really good! They're reaching upwards, but not to the extreme, and the tips were not curled up to my recollection. They most certainly didn't look bad.

CO2 reading was right at 1250-1500ppm, right where it needed to be. I also left the door to the room open, but kept the tent flap closed. This has brought the temperature down to 90, and the RH up to 59%. I am finally close to 60%, where I'd like to be for veg.

I will take photos of the plants later on today, measure their height (most likely find that they're all indeed taller because they're reaching higher) and then take another 24 hours to determine if the CO2 is detrimental or beneficial.

What do you think of the new environment? Too much too soon? I guess photos would provide a better way to gauge that.

People get decent results with the SS series lights but a 1000w HID should do better so it's a matter of acceptance.

93 is pushing it, I wouldn't sweat the 1% humidity difference.

Keep on keeping on...