crawdad's

[crawdad]

Hi,
Welcome to my little spot here...I am doing a few different strains using cfl's as supplemental lighting in conjunction with a 1000W MH for veg and 1000W HPS for bloom. I ran the cfls in combination with my MH until I pulled the trigger on them and went to 12/12 using HPS....You can always check here for the latest numbers etc..

After a rough start here is where I am now..

Planted-12-10-08-12 hrs of hid and 12 hrs of CFL, then flowering using 12/12 hps started 1-16-09, now using cfls for clone/veg area in separate room.

By the numbers...updated 2-5-09

1. jock horror x 10-100% Germ-Nirvana-flowering-looking very healthy-vigorous growth-males=1 | females=8 # 1A | first calyx spotted 1-20-09!
2. haleys comet- x 0-did not germ-Flying Dutchman-only one out of ten germed—it was a dwarf. could not recommend
3. big bud x 1- 2 germed one survived but very vigorous-sensi seeds-pre flowering-male flowers found on 1-15-09! will make good pollen though....i will use this to make some new seeds..pulled it 1-20-09 but have 3 clones.
4. northern lights x big bud x 5- 100% germ- nirvana-flowering-looking very healthy-vigorous growth-2 females-see pics flowering 3 weeks.
5. white widow x 2-100% germ-nirvana-flowering-looking very healthy-vigorous growth | Females=1 | first calyx spotted 1-30-09!
6. Alaskan White Widow clone X Moroccan x Afghani(DENALI)- x 2-100% germ- very fast-flowering-looking very healthy-vigorous | females=2 | males=0 | first calyx 1-19-09 plant #6A | #6B female too.
7. Alaskan Blue Berry x 1-started 12-31-09-bag seed-veg-looking a little stunted but coming back-slow-growing faster now-see pics-is Hermi-pulled out.
8. Morocan x Afghani male X with Thai x Haze x Skunk female- x 2 (germed-1-6-9) flowering-1-18-9-seeds i made last year. Doing well but no flowers yet.
9. Thai x Haze x Skunk male X Moroccan x Afghani female- x 2 (germed 1-6-9) flowering-1-18-9-seeds i made last year-doin well but no flowers yet..
10. White Widow male X Moroccan x Afghani female- x 2 (germed 1-6-9) flowering-1-18-9-seeds i made last year- 10a is showing female flowers...watching 10b.
11. Skunk #1.5 X EARLY GIRL -(germed 1-6-9)-veg-seeds i made last year-looking good but no flowers yet.

Addedd about 15 new clones from 1A (Jock Horror) which is the best plant of the bunch for this strain. Still not as fast or as good looking as my DENALI (alaskan white widow x maroc afghani)

switched from HPS to MH on 02-03-9 due to too much noise from HPS ballast.

right now running 12/23w cfl's - 2 six packs...(100w equiv. ea), .also have 20 inch fan on timer....

temp around 80 deg

pro mix bx- 1 gal and larger

flowering began 1-16-09 approx..

will post updates periodically..

please feel free to comment..

see pics below

crawdad





























end

 

[homespunditc]

some of em look a little yellow, yeah?

 

[crawdad]

hi,
yeah they are. got a hold of some bad dirt...

hopefully they will come back pretty quick..check back in a week

crawdad

 

[justanotherbozo]

censorship sucks

 

[crawdad]

yeah boz...i appreciate the comments...and thanks for the tips..and the link...

i will definitely check it out...

see you around..

crawdad

 

[FreezerBoy]

Lower your lamps. Plants are stretching out from low lighting. With CFLs limited penetration you'll want to avoid stretch. You may want to investigate LST and/or ScROG. Either will provide a uniform canopy for maximum light penetration.

 

[crawdad]

freeze-i usually keep about 3-4 inches but will definitely get em' down closer...working on a new light stick that has a reflector and easy up/down setup..going to double lights up to 24/23w that will be quite a few lumens...

i started out with some bad dirt and almost lost these seedlings...replanted into promix...also started some fresh seeds to replace the stunted ones..now i have about 10 Jock Horror and 6 nl x big bud...should get about half female...so i should end up with some decent sinsemillia...

i heard the nl x bb will stretch due to sativa genes as well....

i will definitely do some lst on some of these babies...

thanks

crawdad

 

[crawdad]

12-31-08 update

12-31-08 update

ok here they are a day later...looking slightly greener already..

starting some replacements too...dont expect full recovery but hopeful

also transplanted the big bud (#4)from sensi seeds...this plant has some good genetics..very vigorous even in poor conditions..soil wise...all is set for steady growth now...have always had excellent results with anything from sensi-seeds..

going to add another 12 lamps and reflector..

here is some new pics..

happy new year! cant think of a better way to start it off!

later ...need to smoke a bowl and have a little asti

crawdad


below-big bud (#4)-sensi seeds----




below-jock horror (#1)-nirvana-12-31-08-all set!

 

[HeadyPete]

Just to clarify, I never said you couldn't bud plants under CFL, I said that CFL will NEVER grow buds as big, or as dense as an HID.

If you are going to make the effort to grow, do you want good buds or great buds?

Please no flaming anyone, I'm not opening up a discussion on what is better. I already know fluoros can not compete with HID lighting.

If you can, do it and save the cfls for clone/veg.

That soil mix might not have enough perlite in it for drainage. If they tend to stay soggy and the plants get dull and wilty, you will need to add extra perlite next transplant. Usually the perlite supplied in a soil mix is not adequate.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

 

[HeadyPete]

The other problem with cfls is that every one has a ballast in it and they all create heat and waste energy from heat and vibration. If you need more light than something like a T5 is a better option because it will give you all those lumens, but since it has only one ballast for all the bulbs, heat is greatly reduced, as well as efficiency of electricity use is increased.

24 cfls will create a lot of heat and you already have a heat problem. 85 is too high for extended periods of time. Heat will also stretch your plants, as well as slow down their growth, which can lead to overfert if you don't adjust accordingly, and neutralize smell and taste. The hotter the temps, the less ferts/more water a plant uses.

What is the colour temp of those bulbs? You need to give cool white (6500K) for veg/clone/moms and warm white (2700K) for flowering. Giving seedlings or vegging plants warm white light will cause them to stretch. Cool white keeps them squat and compact. This is the difference later between nice tight and dense heavy buds, or stretched out, lanky and fluffy light buds, because now you are building the framework on which buds will form. If nodes are compact and close together, individual buds grow big and eventually grow together to form a large cola. If nodes are space apart, you end up with individual popcorn buds to pick.

With this hobby there is a limit to what cheap and homemade can do and when/if you are ready for the next step, it costs money. In the end it saves much more, however. It all depends on your personal wants and needs.

 

[crawdad]

pete- don't sweat it dude...nobody's holding you to that comment...i knew what you meant...

i have a couple 1000w lts but cant run them where i am now, no ventilation possible...

i will be moving this summer into a better location with more room...for now i am just experimenting basically with low energy usage lighting...

there is no better light than the sun...that said-you need as much light as you can get...it's like too much money or too much fun...you can never have enough...

i will be adding another 12 lamps and probably end up with 36 total..

i was thinking of supplementing with a 1000w mh by running it two on two off two on two off along with the cfls that stay on all the time....then run a 1000w hps with the cfls during the 12/12 cycle...that way i can let it cool down in there every couple hours...

whatever it ends up with it beats $1000 a month on weed!

ciao

crawdad

 

[crawdad]

cfl spectrum talk

cfl spectrum talk

the lamps i have burning are...

Compact One Piece Fluorescent Lamp, Lamp Designation FLE26/HT3/2/827, Power Rating 26 Watts, Rated Average Life 8000 Hours, Mean Lumens 1360, Initial Lumens 1700, Incandescent Equivalent 100, Starting Temperature 5 Degrees Fahrenheit, Color Temperature 2700, Lamp Shape HLX (Helix), Lamp Length 5.2 Inches, Color Rendering Index 82, Voltage @60 Hz 120, Dimmable No, Magnetic Ballast, Medium Base, Soft White, Product Contains Mercury, Refer To Applicable State Regulations for Disposition After Use...

here is the part number for the 6500 kelvin lamps:
Model: 3230182

Manf#: 89095
UPC#: 043168890953
Manf: G.E. LIGHTING
Keyword: CFL DAYLIGHT 26W GE
-----------------------------------------

i guess i need to go get the 6500's....can you combine? i thought i read 7500 was good?

will swing out and grab a bunch today...

thanks for pointing that out...i knew it but thought i had the right ones....glad i checked...

as far as heat....i am from the little rock, arkansas area originally....so i have to say i am not so convinced heat is a bad thing....yeah i know that in a perfect world 75 is the ideal temp for day and a cool down at nite is best...

being from a hot climate i think the hotter it is the more potent the weed...i would not run above 90-95 degrees though...and no lower than 65 deg...

like i said this is not the perfect location...

thanks

crawdad

 

[justanotherbozo]

censorship sucks

 

[crawdad]

i have also been looking at the larger wattage cfl's but they have a medium mogul base so a little more to rig up...i saw some at walmart for $10 each that were a replacement lamp for an outdoor security light that looked interesting...i also saw a lot of lamps on ebay..

once i hit 5 amps or more i may as well go HID...

i dont pay the electric here so whoever does would see the jump...i may could explain and offer to pay the diff but dont want to draw any attention at all.

crawdad

 

[crawdad]

hi,
like i said- i am paying over $1000 a month on weed....another $1000 a month on land...another $1500 on rent...etc etc...

cant afford the habit...

i need about two oz's a month to get by...

i think if you use good genetics you should be able to come out with some decent bud..

maybe some strains do better under cfl's? no i guess that would not make a lot of sense since you can not have too much light..

crawdad

 

[crawdad]

hi,

you can buy a ballast, capacitor, lamp and medium mogul base seperately a lot cheaper sometimes...rather than a complete fixture..ballast kits are all a guy needs...

anyway....remote ballast is ok but beware that there are limits on the length of the cable from the ballast to lamp...look it up-

also ballast are rated by the amount of NOISE they make...look it up and you can buy very quiet ballast...who cares if a ballast is noisy up 50 feet on a light pole? nobody...who cares if there is a noisy ballast in a habitated area? everybody!

there is a code on the ballast that will tell you what the rating is...basically the more material in the ballast the quieter it is...i hate the sound of a couple ballast buzzing and fans whirring...

i build my own lights....and reflectors...

crawdad

 

[crawdad]

hey boz- i think hps is best for blooming...mh is what you need for veg

if i am wrong you'll hear about it..

i know people who use both either way and still have good bud..maybe not the ULTIMATE though..

crawdad

 

[aloneinthewoods]

cant wait to see how these turn out i have been thinking of growing the nirvana strains for a few years now but the low price as allways put me off ! maybe this thread will change my mind !!! wishing you good luck for your grow keep it green my friend !

 

[crawdad]

those 150 w hps fixtures are on ebay for $45...not too bad

also cfl tubed lamps

crawdad

 

[crawdad]

yeah well thats why i bought from nirvana...cause they were cheap and they held up their end of the bargain as far as shipping...have heard good and bad abot nirvana but no problems for me so far...we will see how good the genetics are..

myself i always use sensi seeds and the old seedbank...there is some fine genetics to be had there and you can rely on vigorous growth...

then again...i have grown some killer weed from just everyday seed saved from stuff i bought or was given...

i also crossed a bunch of ww with some moroc afghani as well as Thai x skunk x haze with ww , would like to grow some of that but plan on doing that outside march 1..

crawdad