im having problems with light too strong. please help

[TREE KING]

i am stressed out right now because my light seems to be too strong for the plants. i think it happened because i put me seedlings under an 1000 watt hps straight from the domes that had very weak flourescent lighting. from the beginning ive had my light all the way at the top which is 4.5 feet from the plants. i even taped five trashbags to the reflecter to dim the light and it seems like its still a problem. what happens is that i have my light cycle on 18 x 6 and 3 hours before the light turns off the leaves start sagging and so im pretty positive its the light. and then after the dark period the light turns on and the plants are back to normal. the plants are 2.5 weeks old now and they have been getting 600 ppms nutrients + 300 ppms b52. ive been slowly raising it up but that is what there getting right now. i even have a light meter that reads 4000x which i think is pretty weak. there is no burning on the plants at all, the ph is 5.6 and my room is at 79 degrees and 45 percent humidity. i figure if i can change the light cycle where there getting the lessest light possible they will finaly become healthy 24 hours a day. what do you guys think?

 

[Don Juan]

It's not your light. By the way, this is hydro, right?

 

[Don Juan]

Oh, yeah, you oughtta take off those trash bags ASAP.

 

[TREE KING]

why, can you explain? yes its hydro

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Fire hazard.

 

[TREE KING]

don juan, if its not the light then what is it?

 

[Natural]

i even taped five trashbags to the reflecter to dim the light and it seems like its still a problem.

Take those down!
That's a fire waiting to happen!

 

[TREE KING]

i have it set up a certain way where the bags dont get hot.

 

[Natural]

i have it set up a certain way where the bags dont get hot.

Even if the fans were to fail?

I know it's being a little over cautious... but still.

 

[green_grow]

can you get up a pic, both of the plants and the trash bags ? you are scaring me with this trash-bags-taped-to-reflector business.

 

[TREE KING]

no camera. does anyone know another way to block the light thats safe?

 

[mrwags]

I have no idea if you have small children or not but if ya did would you let them go to the beach with no sunscreen and play for 18 hours? NOW IF they live through the first few days of getting adjusted to the power of 1000 watts I'd say those are some good girls and all will be well BUT if you baby sit your room 24/7 and know in your heart the plastic on the reflector is ok more power to ya BUT if you ever for an instant leave your house with that fire hazard running you my friend are a better man than I.

Plastic and heat are a bad combination from damn near every instance I have seen. I say your girls are getting adjusted to the new digs if heat is not an issue if they have made it this long I'd say they will be fine as long as your nutes,ph and humidity are in check.

Understand I'm one crazy sob and the idea of plastic on one of my reflectors scares the living shit out of me and thats a very very hard thing to do.


My 2 Cents
Mr.Wags

 

[Don Juan]

Tree King: You don't need to block the light. Since your lights are 4.5 feet away, the only light-related problem you'll be having is extreme plant stretch. Take the bags off, and see what happens.

Since the plants are already 2.5 weeks old, give them a fairly good shot of light. I think that heat is the biggest threat to a young plant as far as an HID is concerned. Perhaps someone would like to explain why if I'm wrong.

If you're a newbie, you should start a grow thread in the hydro forum. Hopefully you'll get a couple of pros to check in on your thread every few days to help you through any hydro problems.

 

[TREE KING]

thanks i will repost it the hydro forum.

 

[dyren]

I remember reading about someone else who was experiencing something very similar to you: 18/6 light schedule and dropping plants toward the end of lights on. I think the general consensus was that this was OK and was nothing to be worried about though I don't remember the justification for that.

I know second hand info is basically pure evil so take it with a grain of salt.

I looked and I couldn't find the original thread I read this in. =\



Good luck bro,
dyren

 

[sproutco]

Normal plant reaction.

 

[TREE KING]

the plant growth is extremely stunted and at times seems like there not even growing. a few of my plants havent even grown side shoots yet and its been 3 weeks. i was just on another forum and some one said said 4000x is strong for young seedling and i should lower the light level to 2000x and raise the humidity to 60 and they should get better real fast. later on today im going to buy a camera and post some pics and see what you guys think. but in the mean time do you guys know how i can block my light down to 2000x safely just so i can see how the plants react. a few days ago i took all the trashbags off and 5 minutes later every single plants leaves were sagging real bad.

 

[Chronic Newfie]

why don't you buy some floro's or cfl's and veg them under those for now? I've seen a picture of a 1000w light just one in a kitchen and all on the floor were clones/baby plants. I think using a 1000w is doable. I just have no idea how far away it should be. I'm guessing atleast 5-6 feet.

 

[glock23]

Go with the CFLs. Less stress. Plants do 'sag' towards the end of the light period. You should start em with fluoros or a smaller MH/HPS until they get big enough for the big mama 1K. A couple weeks under the CFL and they'll be ready.

BTW, where in the room are you taking temperature readings?

 

[TREE KING]

guys, does anyone know a way i can block and dim my lights down to 2000x?