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Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 1:25 pm
by revgreen
Hi and thanks for reading...

I've been growing for about 6 years now but this is my first forum post. For the past year or so, I have been using hps lights in a 3 x 3 grow tent. I am about to begin growing in a new 4 x 4 tent with the solarstorm 440. This will be an organic soil grow of a variety of sativa dominant cannabis. Seeds are in the ground - I will post again when they sprout. :)

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 3:51 pm
by gr865
Rev, you will not get the penetration that you get with the HPS, so watch the height of the sativa.

IMHO,

GR

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:22 pm
by SisterMaryElephant
gr865 wrote:Rev, you will not get the penetration that you get with the HPS, so watch the height of the sativa.

IMHO,

GR


Also there's no way that a SS440w will adequately cover a full 4x4 tent in flower. 3x2 maybe...

Welcome to the forums!


SME

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:54 pm
by revgreen
Thanks for the comments and very much agreed! I plan to keep the veg time short (2 weeks) and typically use LST to keep things low. Also, I don't plan to use the full 4 x 4 (probably use closer to 3x3) - I simply upgraded to the larger size because I feel my 3 x 3 gets a bit cramped. I currently have several mandala strains (satori, beyond the brain, 8 miles high) going under a 400 watt hps + a 220 watt Japanese led - they are beasts! Looking forward to seeing how the solarstorm will compare.

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 5:41 pm
by SisterMaryElephant
Right on, sounds like you're on the right track but even 3x3 is pushing that light a bit thin; I predict that the SS440w will kick the Japanese LED's ass and will keep up with the HPS until the last 2 weeks when the HPS will eek out a slight win at the end.

You might try Indicas sometime if you stick with LED, less stretch helps with LED. ;)

Looking forward to pictures... :D

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:15 pm
by revgreen
Solarstorm arrived yesterday and it looks beautiful! I have some seedlings coming up already (photos below). I plan to veg these out under the led, and then move half of them to a second tent when flowering time comes along. For soil, I am using fox farm light warrior for seedlings, and will then transfer to 1 gallon fabric pots with fox farm ocean forest.

I am also including some photos of my second tent - all sativa dominant at almost 6 weeks of flowering (using combo hps and led). I'm happy to answer any questions and appreciate any comments.

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 2:05 pm
by revgreen
day 5

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 2:51 pm
by MissingCow
They do look happy indeed! May I ask how far away you have your SS440? I can't find if you already said that. Anyway, do they look like they're stretching a little to you? If so you might move that light a little closer.

Also when you transplant, you can use clonex on the stem, and bury it up to the cotyledons. Folks here suggested that to me and it worked great to develop lateral roots along what used to be stem.

Do you have a fan on them to strengthen the stem? I didn't see in the pics.

Forgive me if you know all this. Looking great!
MC

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 2:55 pm
by MissingCow
Also how do you get the LED purple to look so white?? Your pics only have a hint of purple. 8-)

Re: Solarstorm 440 - sativa tent grow

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:55 pm
by revgreen
MissingCow wrote:They do look happy indeed! May I ask how far away you have your SS440? I can't find if you already said that. Anyway, do they look like they're stretching a little to you? If so you might move that light a little closer.

Also when you transplant, you can use clonex on the stem, and bury it up to the cotyledons. Folks here suggested that to me and it worked great to develop lateral roots along what used to be stem.

Do you have a fan on them to strengthen the stem? I didn't see in the pics.

Forgive me if you know all this. Looking great!
MC


Hi MC,

Thanks for the thoughts. I agree that they looked to be stretching a bit so I moved the light down to around 16 inches above - they seem to be happier but would you suggest getting the light closer?

Great tip about transplanting - does it make sense to slice the stem a bit with a razor before adding the clonex?

And yes, fan is on - I place it close to the hole in the tent near the corner so that it pulls in outside air. Happy to take a pic.

As to your last question, I am simply putting on a filter from my camera phone - thought the original purple made the plants harder to see ;)

RG