changing light power midway through flower?

[CaptJamesTKirk]

I clean them with a strong glass cleaner and do not touch the bulb with skin or oily rags. I just use a paper towel or a clean dish towel

I've heard yearly, but the output is down 2% - or something like that.

I know I don't really notice an improvement in the garden when I change bulbs -

If it's a new bulb, you have a while to go.

As you spend more time growing - sooner or later your transformer will blow, the starter may quit, the bulb can quit or get broken - then there's the timer - you want a good HD timer - this aint no job for a whimpy lil plug in the wall timer.


Couple rule I found handy

Murph's Law:
Anything that can go wrong - WILL

Shawnagasy's addendum:
AND it will pick the worst time to do it!


And the Capt's take,,

Those two are optimitists

Be alert, the world needs more lerts

 

[B.C.]

Yer good fer 2 years on hps bulbs and 1 year on mh. later,BC

 

[sensirocker]

thanks, i guess ill be holding on to that bulb then

capt james.... thanks for the cleaning help, but jesus man, your making me paranoid!!!!! im just gonna go ahead and clean the bulb and forget about the rest of your post!.... but secretly keep it in mind

-sR

 

[thedarkknight]

if you're using a bulb that has been used for 8-10 months i'd replace it. I'd replace every 3-4 shows. The bulbs themselves will last years but they get weaker. If you can, get a new bulb asap... the new bulbs will produce more than the few grams needed to pay for itself. the guy who sold it too you probably knows this info too... never buy old bulbs just try and sell them

 

[soxy]

Swithing to a cool tube 1K from 2 400 bare bulbs I can almost guarantee your yeild will go down...you'll find out. I'm using 2 430 sunagros in 6" inline cooltubes in a 3' x 5' footprint cab. I'm lucky to get 18-20 oz. My last cab was a 2' x 4' footprint with a single 430 sunago with no cool tube and got 16.5 oz....Also with the cool tube your watering regime is going to be different....will require less.

 

[B.C.]

hhmmm...

hhmmm...

Swithing to a cool tube 1K from 2 400 bare bulbs I can almost guarantee your yeild will go down...you'll find out. I'm using 2 430 sunagros in 6" inline cooltubes in a 3' x 5' footprint cab. I'm lucky to get 18-20 oz. My last cab was a 2' x 4' footprint with a single 430 sunago with no cool tube and got 16.5 oz....Also with the cool tube your watering regime is going to be different....will require less.

Interesting,tell us more,what's yer method of growin,nutes,strain,etc....later,BC btw It's nice ta meet you too Sensirocker! lol

 

[jojajico]

wow nearly 1.1 g/w very impressive. tell us more.

 

[sensirocker]

Swithing to a cool tube 1K from 2 400 bare bulbs I can almost guarantee your yeild will go down...you'll find out. I'm using 2 430 sunagros in 6" inline cooltubes in a 3' x 5' footprint cab. I'm lucky to get 18-20 oz. My last cab was a 2' x 4' footprint with a single 430 sunago with no cool tube and got 16.5 oz....Also with the cool tube your watering regime is going to be different....will require less.

soxy i dont know what your talking about man///
how can a 1000w'er decrease yeild versus two 400w'ers? its almost double the lumens? and its not a cool tube, its an XL Sun Systems air cooled hood with tempered glass and an 8" duct, the hood is quite massive.
and wow, 2x4 cab with 400w's pulling in the big elbow?

Hey darkknight, thanks for stopping by! do you know what kind of lumen decrease one will see after 8 - 10 months of use?

peace,

-sR

 

[CaptJamesTKirk]

soxy i dont know what your talking about man/// -sR

I suspect, neither does soxy, I use 400's and 1000's and there is no comparason, but soxy, may have a superior scrog set up or max yeilding strain.

I'd be interested in hearing more.
Might be a trick or two I can use.

 

[sensirocker]

I suspect, neither does soxy, I use 400's and 1000's and there is no comparason, but soxy, may have a superior scrog set up or max yeilding strain.

I'd be interested in hearing more.
Might be a trick or two I can use.

yeah i suppose so....

 

[jojajico]

i suspect it has something to do with the light footprint and being able to place them closer to the tops. the 1000 watt may have caused more problems than it was worth and so he got better yeilds with a reduce in wattage. just a theory though...

 

[sensirocker]

good point joja.... id still like to see this 1.1g/w tho with a 400w'er...

 

[thedarkknight]

unfortunately i don't have a light meter so i can't tell you exactly what percentages of light loss you are looking at but it is a significant loss in growing terms and yeild. Bulbs aren't that expensive and would just have to increase the yeild slightly in order to pay for themselves... and then make a profit. new ones will be worth it if you can get them, that's probably why the guy sold them to you... i have bulbs i want to sell too, they're just sitting around. it seems like a waste since they're not being fully used as they were made for, but i need results so oh well

I know a few guys who would take 2 400 over a k, especially if they are the 430 sonagros. these bulbs prodcue more light in the blue spectrum. Its about usable light not just lumens or w/psf. some factors are heat, light spectrum, and points of lights... that's why many people are interested in LED lighting.

for your footprint, that 1k is perfect imho just change the bulbs asap.

 

[sensirocker]

yeah im ordering the hortilux EYE right now.

 

[soxy]

unfortunately i don't have a light meter so i can't tell you exactly what percentages of light loss you are looking at but it is a significant loss in growing terms and yeild. Bulbs aren't that expensive and would just have to increase the yeild slightly in order to pay for themselves... and then make a profit. new ones will be worth it if you can get them, that's probably why the guy sold them to you... i have bulbs i want to sell too, they're just sitting around. it seems like a waste since they're not being fully used as they were made for, but i need results so oh well

I know a few guys who would take 2 400 over a k, especially if they are the 430 sonagros. these bulbs prodcue more light in the blue spectrum. Its about usable light not just lumens or w/psf. some factors are heat, light spectrum, and points of lights... that's why many people are interested in LED lighting.

for your footprint, that 1k is perfect imho just change the bulbs asap.

Mine are sunagros.... .....my last box was a 4x4x2 wide...1 430 sunagro with a 400 ballast (didnt know that a 430 ballast was available)...8 chernobyl clones in 1 gallon pots...used AN three step and overdrive...none of the other expensive additives...I had a fan blowing directly on the bulb to cool things down...(no cool tube) and came out with 16.5 oz. These were 24-26" plants. So I got greedy..
I made a bigger cab...this one 5'6" long x 5' high x 3' wide...i found 2 used 6" cool tubes with wings at the local grow store for $75 each..and another 430 sunagro and a real 430 ballast....I thought I could double my output. I switched to 2 gallon pots and had 13 chernobyls and 3 SS Chronics in there. What I failed to realize was that the soil i was using had changed and had osmocote added. So I followed the same nutrient schedule as the first grow and fried them...took me the longest time to figure out why...anyhoo, still ended up with 18 oz. I only have to water every 6 days with the 2 gallon pots and cool tubes, whereas before it was every 2-3 days with 1 gallon pots and a bare bulb. If i could get away with the bare bulbs i'd do it in a heartbeat but the cooltubes sure take care of the excess heat problem, and i'm sure they rob a certain amount of lumens, depending on glass type.
So now I have 14 SS White Russians jammed in there and are in the second week of flowering with #4 mix with 30% perlite added...and yes i'm using AN 3 step. At half stength...Its way cheaper than GH, and is basically the same. Should be interesting to what kind of yeild I get.For whatever reason I cant post attachments??
I'd be real interested to see you make out with the 1k, Sensi...cheers

 

[B.C.]

I've got a light meter,it's cheapo from the grow store,but it works

I've got a light meter,it's cheapo from the grow store,but it works

unfortunately i don't have a light meter so i can't tell you exactly what percentages of light loss you are looking at but it is a significant loss in growing terms and yeild. Bulbs aren't that expensive and would just have to increase the yeild slightly in order to pay for themselves... and then make a profit. new ones will be worth it if you can get them, that's probably why the guy sold them to you... i have bulbs i want to sell too, they're just sitting around. it seems like a waste since they're not being fully used as they were made for, but i need results so oh well

I know a few guys who would take 2 400 over a k, especially if they are the 430 sonagros. these bulbs prodcue more light in the blue spectrum. Its about usable light not just lumens or w/psf. some factors are heat, light spectrum, and points of lights... that's why many people are interested in LED lighting.

for your footprint, that 1k is perfect imho just change the bulbs asap.

Even after 2 years of 12-12 straight there still was no great big loss,it dropped more in the first month than any other time and that wasn't much.I would change the bulb though jus ta upgrade to the horti.It is true agro bulbs are slightly higher in par watts but not much more than a horti of equal size.One things fer damn sure though those 400s will NEVER penatrate as deep as that 1k will,plus that 1k is goin ta have more par watts than both those 4s combined.When it comes ta heat that 8" duct that's built inta this hood he's got will flat ass move the air,more volume=more air=cooler light,the cooler the light the closer to the plants you can get it.I've got 6" ducts and they work great,I could jus imagine the 8".......I wish Soxy would pop back in and enlighten us on how he yeilds so big.Take care...BC edit:whoops, damn I type slow lol

 

[sensirocker]

ahhh thank you BC for clearing that up! what do you think about the light spectrum enhancement with the hortiliux tho? Do you think its worth it to buy it because of that?
And yes, the reason i got the 1k was because of the light penetration!!!! it dominates those 400w'ers in that category....

Also, how far should i be hanging the 1k from the canopy in order to get the best results? obviously the closer the better, but whats a safe bet?

ok soxy.... so your telling us that with a 400w'er, 8 plants in ONE gallon buckets u got 2 ounces per plant, 16 oz total?????????? where are the pics man?

-sR

here is a shot of one of the GDP's currently going under the 1k.... it was under a 400w for the past 30 days of its flower... right now its on day 33 and under the 1k.

 

[soxy]

ok soxy.... so your telling us that with a 400w'er, 8 plants in ONE gallon buckets u got 2 ounces per plant, 16 oz total?????????? where are the pics man?

-sR




[/QUOT

I have no reason to lie SR...I just found out how to add some pics to a gallery...check em out...I dont have any pics of the 2 oz per due to a PC crash...i know...sounds like BS...I got 18 0z out of this with a major nutrient fukup....now that i know how to post pics here, will take some shots of the current grow...Am real interested to see how you do with the 1k....cheers

 

[sensirocker]

soxy i really dont care what u say, except you kinda jumped in in the middle of this convo and said
"Swithing to a cool tube 1K from 2 400 bare bulbs I can almost guarantee your yeild will go down...you'll find out."
and then said you pulled 16oz with the 400w'er.... we were just impressed and kinda skeptical considering you have 18 posts and made the above comment which in my opinion, some one who can produce 1.1g/w would not suggest. And how did you do that with one gallon buckets??

 

[sensirocker]

but that is some good growing in your gallery....