A
arcticsun
While we are talking along the lines of improvement, there is much to improve in the room.
My biggest concern is the low ceilings, they are only about 200cm tall from the floor. I use adjust a wing reflectors with 600w digital hps ballasts. These simply put out way too much radiation heat, producing hotspots. They are also putting out much more then the needed lumen in range of the plant tops. Lighting and heat distribution is uneven and some plants must suffer overexposure to light and light saturation. This problem is visible in some of my plants as prolonged spear shaped bud tops.
This is especially a problem as the plants enter the later phases where the metabolism slows down and they are unable to absorb nutes at the same speed. Some ammonia buildups are prone to occur due to photorespiration and also stunted growth and development. Allowing for higher temperatures and Co2 levels as long as possible is imperative in order for the plant to be able to metabolize the light.
I was an idiot when i bought my lamps, I thought that putting the highest wattage possible and as many lights as possible in there would necessarily pay off in terms of more yield and more trichs. Big mistake, I've learned whats enough and whats too much. I try to prevent some of the heat radiation damage with ventilation, but this is not optimal.
Another thing i have been considering in addition to lower wattage output pr unit is the angle of light provided. The conical shape of the bud and pine tree shape of the plant optimizes light uptake at a lower angle. Pine trees are excellent comparisons and examples as their shape is forged by the low angle of light provided at northern latitudes and also high altitudes. This results in a pointy triangle shaped tree with needles instead of leaves. Leaves are optimized for light uptake from a vertical source, hence they are flat and trees with leaves have a wider canopy.
If you consider the similarities ..
to..
&
Plants make rapid adaptations to their environment, cannabis expresses this in a huge variety from automatic flowering plants to wide leaf plants and very thin leaf plants. One thing that remains however is the conical shape of the buds and triangular or pole shape of the plant itself, something that reveals that its true origins is a low angle light environment.
.. getting to the point, i feel that providing a vertical light source is not only limiting my already scarce roof place but also its not optimal for the canopy or potential of the plants production.
So here is just a very rough paint sketch of what i have been thinking of doing while taking all the above mentioned things into consideration. I think such a setup will provide a correct and even light throughout the room without hotspots or extremely light spots.
As i said .. very rough drawing with paint, also mind you the scale of things are way off. I was thinking of using cooltubes of some sort. Ill see what i can get my hands on at a reasonable price. Maybe the regular rounded cooltubes will be best as i can easily adjust the angle of the circular tubes to adapt for lighting small plants.
mmk.. Just some thoughts on improvements..
we will see what the cashflow allows, or maybe ill have an eureka moment meanwhile which allows me to better use what i already have.
My biggest concern is the low ceilings, they are only about 200cm tall from the floor. I use adjust a wing reflectors with 600w digital hps ballasts. These simply put out way too much radiation heat, producing hotspots. They are also putting out much more then the needed lumen in range of the plant tops. Lighting and heat distribution is uneven and some plants must suffer overexposure to light and light saturation. This problem is visible in some of my plants as prolonged spear shaped bud tops.
This is especially a problem as the plants enter the later phases where the metabolism slows down and they are unable to absorb nutes at the same speed. Some ammonia buildups are prone to occur due to photorespiration and also stunted growth and development. Allowing for higher temperatures and Co2 levels as long as possible is imperative in order for the plant to be able to metabolize the light.
I was an idiot when i bought my lamps, I thought that putting the highest wattage possible and as many lights as possible in there would necessarily pay off in terms of more yield and more trichs. Big mistake, I've learned whats enough and whats too much. I try to prevent some of the heat radiation damage with ventilation, but this is not optimal.
Another thing i have been considering in addition to lower wattage output pr unit is the angle of light provided. The conical shape of the bud and pine tree shape of the plant optimizes light uptake at a lower angle. Pine trees are excellent comparisons and examples as their shape is forged by the low angle of light provided at northern latitudes and also high altitudes. This results in a pointy triangle shaped tree with needles instead of leaves. Leaves are optimized for light uptake from a vertical source, hence they are flat and trees with leaves have a wider canopy.
If you consider the similarities ..
to..
&
Plants make rapid adaptations to their environment, cannabis expresses this in a huge variety from automatic flowering plants to wide leaf plants and very thin leaf plants. One thing that remains however is the conical shape of the buds and triangular or pole shape of the plant itself, something that reveals that its true origins is a low angle light environment.
.. getting to the point, i feel that providing a vertical light source is not only limiting my already scarce roof place but also its not optimal for the canopy or potential of the plants production.
So here is just a very rough paint sketch of what i have been thinking of doing while taking all the above mentioned things into consideration. I think such a setup will provide a correct and even light throughout the room without hotspots or extremely light spots.
As i said .. very rough drawing with paint, also mind you the scale of things are way off. I was thinking of using cooltubes of some sort. Ill see what i can get my hands on at a reasonable price. Maybe the regular rounded cooltubes will be best as i can easily adjust the angle of the circular tubes to adapt for lighting small plants.
mmk.. Just some thoughts on improvements..
we will see what the cashflow allows, or maybe ill have an eureka moment meanwhile which allows me to better use what i already have.
id love to switch to coco, but the shipping up here is just too expencive with too few customers to order any real bulk orders.
