lighting question/problem??

[gwiz_capo]

hey guys i have a 400 w mh/hps closet setup with 3 vertical cfl grow lights surrounding the closet. I orignally planned on starting the seedlings just on the cfls but the mh was setup and got turned on as well. I didnt want to interupt it but what should I do now?? Should I keep on just the MH or should I use the cfls?? please help thanks!!

 

[mudvaynefan]

Im actually mulling a lighting question over in my head as well. Iv always grown under cfl, flowere and veg, with some outside light for a week or 2 sometimes.

I just recently started with the hid, and I have to get it thru my head its not cfl. I was trying to keep my 100 hps an 1" or 2 away, like i do with cfl,wich I did, but i think it was too much light for seedlings.

I should have waited a week, but I just got impatient. I noticed slow down in growth, as well as some what i can only describe as bleaching.

My temps were fine, I could stick my hand directly under bulb for as long as I want.

It was just too much light for such little plants, so i raised it up, and they responded well almost overnight.

I learned my lesson, hid is not cfl, and seedlings between 1-3 weeks can do just fine under flouru, or at least a raised hid.

Raise it, youll be fine, they will get used to the light, may take a day or so of growth off, maybe its not a prob at all.

Have you noticed anything that makes you think there may be a problem with using the MH?

What exactly prompted your question?

Just adjust your plants till they respond well, and youll get an idea of how to use hid, just like i am now.

 

[gwiz_capo]

floros/400w mh/hps closet grow questions??? newb here!!

floros/400w mh/hps closet grow questions??? newb here!!

my mh keeps shutting off in the middle of being on which is why i setup the 3 vertical floros in the first place...i think it just gets too hot for the MH (or the bulbs burnt out???) or something the temps were high and the humidity was low. now with just the floros going (i didnt want to mess with trying to get the mh working if its gonna keep shutting off!!) I have high 60s for temp and high 40s for humidity. Nothings popped up yet, and im dissapointed that the expensive MH isnt working properly...Im thinking of trying it again once they sprout but for now just leave the floros going for 20/24. Then a few weeks into it Im going to switch to just MH for 18/6. Then for flowering im going to do hps 12/12...any suggestions??? anyone say this is overkill???? thanks ffor the help!!

 

[Guest]

I'd leave the MH unplugged until you know what's up with it. Don't want any electrical problems for sure....and 400W is a bit much for sprouts. Growing in veg with floros & flowering with HPS works great. How many watts & what color spectrum floros do you have?

 

[gwiz_capo]

it said they were 75w each theyre grow light tubes from wal mart...they were cheap and probably dont put out as much as they say...u know what im talking about tho???

 

[Guest]

But, you don't know what color spectrum they are, eh? You can get blue spectrum spiral floros at Lowes/Home Depot that are fairly cheap & just the ticket for what you are trying to do.

 

[mudvaynefan]

420s right, you really need to know if the circuit breaker is tripping cause your pulling too many amps thru one circuit, or if your wiring is somehow bad in you mh,or a faulty component that fails at high temp.

Hard to say, you should give a rundown of your setup, what kind of airflow, using power strips? Old house, old wiring? Is there alot of stuff plugged in the same outlet as the 400w? Its not safe to use it till you figure it out.

If you don't have seeds popped, you don't need light. Wait till they have pushed their way out, then put them under your flouro tubes. Not vertical tubes, under them, so horizontal tubes.

Its fine that way for 2 weeks. You should be able to diagnose that mh by then.If not, try your hps, you can veg and flower with it.

You can have less light in veg and more if flower, you dont really need 400 watter in veg unless your hps is same or more wattage.

 

[gwiz_capo]

all right...I currently have a 24" wide closet, with an area enclosed for the grow. The area has a dual window fan blowing in air from the bottom and a strong battery opp. fan near the mh/hps (switchable 400w ballast) for extracting hot air...the area is wrapped in reflectix as mylar was hard to find. I have these floros setup vertically going as well as the mh going but the mh is far from the seedlings. I have 8 seeds in plastic cups none of which have sprouted. I have the window cracked outside the closet and has effectively dropped the temps. I also wet some paper towels and placed them near the plants and doing so has also raised the humidity quite a bit. My current temp is 73 degrees and humidity is 28...i know humidity is way off...Mh has been staying on since I removed it from the timer it was plugged into...maybe the timer sucked??? ive seen others use it on here though...my humidity needs to go up like 15 so what else can I do???

 

[mudvaynefan]

I can tell you what I do to start seeds, always works. Many others use the same method, cause its hard to fqk up. I just get a white paper towel, dollar store is fine, plastic zipper loc bag from same store, wet with bottle water, fold seeds in paper towel gently.

Not tight, they need room to move.

Seal it, set it on your modem, or tv, or slitghly warm area, the water and heat force the seed to actually swell open, then the little tiny sprout inside uncurls, and has a little bit of stored energy to get growing before it starves.


Feel the area you choose to set the bag on in about 4 hours, make sure you don't cook them, we want cannabis seeds, not cannapopcorn.




They soak up water, and the heat and water cause them to bust.

So to speak.

But the moisture and temps need to be somewhat constant.

open it once every night, just for some air, just the bag, you don't have to look at the seeds every night, they will pop around day 3.

Mine do, all are out by day 4. Then i put them in jiffy pellets, but the pots they will live in is fine. I use pellets cause of the way I have to grow space wise, and they are great for seedlings.

I don't pop seeds in a wet pellet cause its dirty and wet to mess with, I use after they poke out.

Use a light soil mix, perlite, no nutes, no miracle grow stuff for the little ones. No food till about 2 weeks in, maybe half feeding then.

Your temps to start seeds in soil need to be around 75-77, 80 is fine, i think its harder to control things in dirt when popping seeds, but if you can make it work, do your thing.

Leave your lights off, save them till there is actually green showing on the seeds that do pop, the light cant feed a plant with no chlorophyll.

You want it warmer than cold, use a heating pad if you have to, thats why I use a paper towel and pellets, easy to control temp and moisture in the first 3-4 weeks of life.

Dont give up on them yet, you'd be surprised what survivors may pop out of adverse conditions.