How to mount my magnum xxls as high as possible?

[Zarezhu]

Hey guys

So this round, I overvegged the FUCK outa my ladies lol. Got 4 6" magnum xxls and 4 1000w quantum ballasts. 6 plants per 4x4, vigorously rooted in 3 gallon pots of coco.

So I had to drop my 4x4 tables down to floor level, instead of sitting em on buckets.


At flip, I put a trellis over each table, and tied the plants down as low as they will go.

However, I still don't have enough headroom. Canopy at flip was roughly 22"-24" from the 1000w HPS.

They have just started stretching. I've been tucking the tops meanwhile.

I have about an extra 8" of space from the top of my hood to the ceiling.

How can I mount these hoods to the ceiling, or as close as possible??

Right now I have i hooks screwed into the ceiling, with chain going down to the hood. The hoods have those triangular metal pieces attached to that i put s hooks through, and connect them to the chain.

The triangular piece can come off, and there are holes in its place that I could run string or wire through. Im just not positive how to secure the hoods up that high. Chain doesnt seem to be working because it requires the hood to drop those precious inches.


Any ideas??
Pictures would be very helpful

 

[DemonTrich]

I have 3x big kahuna hoods. I use some large hooks screwed into my ceiling joists, and use 300# chain along with carabineers found at H/D or L0w3s for a few bucks. get the 150# test ones. I also use 75# rope ratchets, I use these as my main lifting and lowering supports and the chain/carabineer as a safety back up.

 

[sourpuss]

I prob woulda just cut them in half. Veg for a week and flip.

 

[Zarezhu]

Theyre bout 8 days into bloom now
I'll shoot pictures tonight, so you guys can get a visual

 

[Zarezhu]

Forgot to take pictures. I'm seriously considering just screwing the hoods to the ceiling joists. Use a few self-tapping metal screws with washers, take the bulb out, put a few screws through the top of the hood into the 2x4. I realllyyyy need the head room lol. Dont want an inch of wasted space. I got these hoods for DIRT CHEAP (youd be jealous if you knew lol) so I dont mind drilling into em.



edit: BTW, I did consider cuttin em in half, I just ended up talking myself out of it. I don't really need the clones, so if I can make this work it'll be better. Id rather trim all the bottoms off and tie em than trim all the tops and wait for it to recover. Who knows, I may end up regretting it. i kinda already do, lol.


And demon, do you think you could perhaps snap a pic for me please?

 

[sourpuss]

K so if u wanna keep on trucking consider a vertical type setup. Only way your gonna maximize height. I would know cause I grew in a 4 ft high crawl space haha. So u can mount your hood exactly like you said keep the bulb hor. Or scrap the hood and go vert with the bulb. You could leave it horizontal but changing it will allow 360 vert lighting. Plants can hit the roof without stress.

 

[Tonygreen]

ive used thick heavy duty zip ties to good affect.

 

[Jhhnn]

Can you readily get at the top of the outer sheath of the reflector from inside the reflector? Like where the triangle end pieces of the inner reflector part come out?

You won't need much room, just enough for 2 lag bolts w/ fender washers near the air vents for each reflector. If your reflectors are not lined up on the rafters, you'll want to bolt 2x4 furring strips in appropriate locations to mount the reflectors on 1/4" x 2" lag bolts & fender washers. If you're lined up on the rafters, use a longer screw to account for the thickness of the sheetrock. Otherwise, you lose 1-1/2" to the furring strips. Can't be helped.

Those things are huge, right at 30 lbs each, so it's important to mount them solidly for safety purposes. We don't want any of your friends posting about how you got killed when one fell on you.

 

[aridbud]

And to counter, can you bend down (without breaking stalks), your plants?

 

[jav2043]

You still have about a week of stretch so maybe lower your wattage on ballast and think I heard keeping day and night temps the same help with stretch. Good luck

 

[sourpuss]

Can you readily get at the top of the outer sheath of the reflector from inside the reflector? Like where the triangle end pieces of the inner reflector part come out?

You won't need much room, just enough for 2 lag bolts w/ fender washers near the air vents for each reflector. If your reflectors are not lined up on the rafters, you'll want to bolt 2x4 furring strips in appropriate locations to mount the reflectors on 1/4" x 2" lag bolts & fender washers. If you're lined up on the rafters, use a longer screw to account for the thickness of the sheetrock. Otherwise, you lose 1-1/2" to the furring strips. Can't be helped.

Those things are huge, right at 30 lbs each, so it's important to mount them solidly for safety purposes. We don't want any of your friends posting about how you got killed when one fell on you.

Good point cant assume everyone is handy. Def dont use a self tapping tech screw to go thru the hood and into a joist. No way. Dont care how long that tech screw is. Use a drill bit and the appropriate WOOD screw washers or nut bolt set up. I dunno what hood so def be cautious and make sure the Install is overbuilt for the weight...

 

[Terpz]

I agree with Sourpusss method... chop 'em back, reveg n flip. If you don't need clones, toss em or gift to a buddy. Otherwise supercrop! I've been in this position before. Better to level the canopy in the beginning than experience bleach tips and toss plants as they continue to grow through the flower cycle due to space constraints. Good luck!

 

[oti$]

If you are 8 days in I wouldn't advise chopping them back. Supercrop or just keep weaving them into the trellis every couple days until stretch is over. As Tony suggested ditch the metal triangles and replace with zip ties. You can get them almost flush with the top of the hood saving you a few inches. I've positioned a box fan blowing on high between the hoods and canopy when I was struggling with a similar situation.. I was able to get way closer to the lights than I expected without burning/bleaching.