600 hps light height?

[WhiteWolfman]

I am new at the indoor thing and just got a 600w hps. I think I hung it too close to the plants because they seem well "stagnant" as in not too much growing going on. I am about 2-3 feet away now, any thoughts?

Also whats the best organinc veg fertilizer for cocoa & perlite?

Any tips on jumpstarting veg growth on "stagnant"plants?

They are alive just not growing much. I recently transplanted so that may be an issue too.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

There are some really good charts floating around regarding light strength and it's dilution as you move the light further away from the plants.

I have a 600 watt digital HPS with conversion bulb for veg. I keep the light high ) 2 feet) for new plants with small root systems then move it about 8" away when they start to grow. A 600 loses strength over 24" away but if it is in a confined space with reflective sides, then some of that lost light is reflected back.

Plant vigor is based on genetics and how you treat your plant. As a rule of thumb, indicas can be slow veggers and sativas can grow grow grow.

I am a hydro grower so the effect on transplanting on vigour should be best answered by someone else. In my outside garden , transplanted plants ususally take about a week to recover from the shock before they start to stretch.

Are you growing from seed or from clone? Are your plants mature ( do they have alternating nodes?)

 

[WhiteWolfman]

I have both clones and seeds going.

3 power plant clones
3 sd ibl seedlings
2 transkei green seedlings
3 strawberry cough diesiel x mighty mite seedlings.
2 daddys girl seedlings

The clones are mature enough, and i have started with the LST. No alternating nodes on the PP. and the seedlings are still on thier 1st 2 second set of leaves.

 

[Guest]

small plants and seeds keep the light 18 to 24 inches away to start...I run 2 600's in a 4ft cool tube on a light mover and keep the lights 8 inches away.....good rule of thumb is place your hand right over the plants under the light...if it starts to warm and burn your hand then raise the light....I may be wrong but I always thought that 3ft was the max the light would penetrate....keep it as close as you can without burning them.....transplanting could slow them down if there was alot of stress...best tip I could give is dont overwater and over fert....lots of people think the more you feed them the more they grow in the begining....if using coco/perlite then you shouldnt have a problem with the roots staying to wet...that will stunt a plant....Best of luck and if there is anything else you think I can help with then just ask...stay safe

 

[zeppelinrules]

Hmm

Hmm

One of the first things to check when growth seems to have hit a brick wall is CO2. Are you're plants being exposed to enough CO2? Do you have a C02 generator? If not are they in a well ventilated area. If you grow in a small space that's fully enclosed you'll need to open the door for a while with the ventilation going just to expose them to some tasty new air. Try to do this at least every day for more than long enough to fully exchange the air in the room.

As for what else it could be: the only other things I can think of would be stunting due to stress...have you chopped or pruned your plants lately? If you take too many leaves it will stunt your plant for a handful of days, but then your plant should resume nicely.

Good luck figuring it out.

/I grow tomatoes.

-Zep

 

[Mackawber]

600 watts produces heat. I hope you have the temps and ventilation under control.

 

[zeppelinrules]

Yes it could also be heat stress, but if so it will be pretty obvious. You're leaves will start to yellow and curl a bit, and they'll feel overly dry as if the life was being sucked out of them. It may look similar to a bug attack, but you can tell the difference because heat stress will be evenly spread over the whole plant, whereas bug attacks tend to be more isolated and random.

What I would recommend, if you determine that it's heat stress, would be to start misting your plants [coupled with good ventilation to avoid molds etc... ]. In my mist bottle I also usually add a bit of Foliar Vitamin B. It saved me from a bit of pretty bad heat stress in the past.

Good Luck!

-Zep

 

[Frozenguy]

well if its not aircooled, i would keep it within 2 ft. even if temps go to about 85ish.. 600's arn't that great after 2ft. especially depending on how tall your plants are.. i keep my aircooled lights about 4 inches away.. (the glass).. so in reality its more like maybe 5-6 inches away from the bulb.. plus glass in its way.. so i could technically be at the distance of about 6-7 inches away (taking into consideration the way the glass distorts the light).. my seedlings were about 10 inches away from an aircooled 600wat light the day they popped soil.. they are under the sun in real life right??
clones can def bleach if all they have known were flouros and then you throw them under a 1000watt lol.. but even i go from florous to 600's.. oh well.. just see, you'll be able to notice when you lowered it too much

 

[WhiteWolfman]

and the results of the power plant.................


And a shot of the SCDxMM flowering.




And by the way all my SOUR D IBL starts were males.

But the power plant caught some pollen.............

And the daddys girl sucks.