420Amard
New Member
Do you know the ph of it
EsotericGrows - 1st Time Soil Grow - Royal Dwarf Grow Journal - 2015
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420Amard
New Member
My main recommendation is before your next go at growing read read read and preparing preparing prepare. Read any and all information you can get your hands on everything from failed journals the same as successful one, learn from others mistakes, as well as from your own. And spending a little more on high quality soil like plagron or biobizz is a good start because any plant only grows as well as the soil it's in. As well as proper nutrients specifically for cannabis. If you're not confident enough for the liquid ones there are a huge line of soils the have everything already mixed or even fertilizers like biotabs or aptus all in one that are extremely easy to use.
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EsotericGrows
New Member
I posted the picture of the ph above, it reads just over 7.
Reading is all I've been doing every chance I get the past 2 months. From prior to the time I ordered the seeds from overseas until now, every opportunity I get I'm reading. I've read some of your journals already which is how I found out you tripped over your cat.
I'm not sure if "plagron" or "biobizz light mix" are available locally or if it's only available in your region. I haven't seen it anywhere but I'll keep my eyes open and look for it. Cruizer seemed to think I was using some good Promix and it works better than 2 other grow mediums I tested.
This is the confusing part about getting information from forum posts. Everyone seems to provide contradicting information. I read a bunch of CFL grow logs where they said they put their plants in direct sunlight to give them the real thing when they can and this is the first time I've read that they can be shocked into becoming hermaphrodites. I watched all the high times grow videos too and they don't even mention CFL's - they focused totally on HPS and MH lighting and only mention fluorescent lights for seedlings.
By the time winter comes around I want to invest in good LED lighting system and supplement it with some CFLs. I should have my credit card soon so my options wont be as limited in what I products I can access. I only used this light meter yesterday for the first time and it's giving me a better perspective of how the CFL's have to be positioned for the plants to absorb adequate lighting from them. I keep reading that several small bulbs are equivalent or even better than 1 large bulb...is this true or only if they're continually repositioned perfectly to cover the whole plant? I've also read contradicting information from another community member that anything under 60w is a waste of time. How do I know what's true without doing it myself?
gr865
Well-Known Member
Did not see one in your pictures, but get a fan. A light breeze will strengthen the stems. Better luck on your next grow, as Spart said, read, read, read, all you can.
GR
GR
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- #25
EsotericGrows
New Member
Oh yes I guess I didn't mention or show in any pics that I'm using these low power consumption fans and also been using a larger oscillating fan.
I picked up some of these little USB power adapters to power the fans off of the power bars.
I'm using this for odour control,
and it looks like it's time to change the tar trapping prefilter (which is super easy and doesn't take much time at all):
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EsotericGrows
New Member
Some other equipment I have on hand if I end up requiring it.
Garrison Portable A/C unit
Danby Portable A/C unit
Sunbeam Humidifier
I think the danby is a 4 in 1 and might have a dehumidifier feature in it as well. If not I might need a dehumidifier for the budding stage.
Garrison Portable A/C unit
Danby Portable A/C unit
Sunbeam Humidifier
I think the danby is a 4 in 1 and might have a dehumidifier feature in it as well. If not I might need a dehumidifier for the budding stage.
420Amard
New Member
Holy shit man why didn't you just buy a full grow tent kit it would of been less then that purifier and it would of came with lights carbon filter shit you could of got soil free seeds the works for less money well even with leds would of been cheaper
Dutty Panty
New Member
Nice journal
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- #29
EsotericGrows
New Member
Well the carbon air filter I bought last fall to get rid of our neighbors cigarette smoke coming into our apartment through the vents. The place basically was unlivable once the windows were shut and the heat kicked because of cold weather. I did a lot of research on air filtration back then and this seemed to be the holy grail for removing cigarette smoke odours out of the air. Of course we asked the neighbor to stop smoking but that's not really enforceable so this was our solution to the problem.
I didn't get the inclination to try growing cannabis until several months after I bought the carbon filter so it can serve a dual purpose now.
One thing I learned is those little carbon filter sheets for some air filters is they don't even come close in effectiveness for removing odours. We use them over the vents to help prevent some cigarette odours from entering from the heating vents in the winter but they prevent a lot of heat from entering as well. We use space heaters to compensate for the heat loss from the filters we put over the vents.
You really need a high powered fan to push the air through those filter sheets and I think a lot of these grow closets I've seen on here are having overheating issues because of the carbon filters some of the community members are using are preventing a lot of the hot air from exhausting adequately. It's almost like you need to find a happy medium for good air flow vs too much ambient noise from fans for carbon filters to do their job.
I'm just lucky I had invested in this bad boy ahead of time.
Hey Esoteric, here's how i hung the lights and what i use to attach them the to the power cord. The pipe cleaners work great for a lot of things, put 2 together and drop the lights lower, hang some fans with them, and do some LST with them.
Instead of electrical tape, you could use white caulking. Silver tape, masking, or electrical don't hold well in a humid grow space. Tried all that, lol.
Putting the plants in Sunlight and back under Fluorescent seems to be okay, I've done a grow like that from start to finish and did not hermie, with Bagseed.
I found that cfl's do need reflective material around them to get the most out of them. I have mine positioned 2-3 inches, with a fan blowing the hot air out. I run a bunch of 23w bulbs and if you can find them, I found the Osram brand is the best so far. They had them at the walmart in my area. I prefer all 6500k in veg.
With the medium you have, you shouldn't need to ph the water going in. That mix has Gypsum and limestone in it for ph balancing.
For reflective material, you could put a few of those windshield sun reflectors in your grow space. You can get them at walmart, auto parts store, dollar store.
I think you are doing great and getting it figured out, the before pics in your journal and the now are a big comparison on how far you've gotten, I didn't think they were going to make it, nice job!
Instead of electrical tape, you could use white caulking. Silver tape, masking, or electrical don't hold well in a humid grow space. Tried all that, lol.
Putting the plants in Sunlight and back under Fluorescent seems to be okay, I've done a grow like that from start to finish and did not hermie, with Bagseed.
I found that cfl's do need reflective material around them to get the most out of them. I have mine positioned 2-3 inches, with a fan blowing the hot air out. I run a bunch of 23w bulbs and if you can find them, I found the Osram brand is the best so far. They had them at the walmart in my area. I prefer all 6500k in veg.
With the medium you have, you shouldn't need to ph the water going in. That mix has Gypsum and limestone in it for ph balancing.
For reflective material, you could put a few of those windshield sun reflectors in your grow space. You can get them at walmart, auto parts store, dollar store.
I think you are doing great and getting it figured out, the before pics in your journal and the now are a big comparison on how far you've gotten, I didn't think they were going to make it, nice job!
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EsotericGrows
New Member
Wow did that tar trapping pre-filter ever need to be changed! The one on the right used to look like the one on the left. Nasty! It shouldn't get as bad now that we've steam cleaned all the carpets a few times over but it makes me glad we invested in this thing because air quality is 95% better since we purchased it. Sometimes the ambient noise is a bit too loud so I turn it up when I'm not home and turn it down while I watching TV or using speakers instead of headphones.
So I was looking at these 2 bulbs from ebay but they both claim to be 250W SUNGOD KOMEE CFL's and they both look completely different. It's hard to tell whats legit and what's a cheap knockoff.
THE Lotus IS Here Best CFL Grow Bulb YOU CAN BUY 6500K More Light Than 250W 8U | eBay
NEW 250W 10U CFL Grow Bulb 6500K GET Yours NOW WE DID IT Again Super Bulb | eBay
There's also tons of LED options I've been looking at including ones that screw into standard light bulb sockets but I read a lot of contradicting comments from various users about which ones work and others saying they don't work. For all I know it's the manufacturers of the expensive LED's berating the cheaper competitors products so its hard to know which advise is good and bad without trying it myself.
How would I know if something like this is actually going to work without buying it and trying it myself? I couldn't find any reviews on it and there's so much stuff out there, I'd rather skip inferior products if I'm spending any more than $20 on it.
So I was looking at these 2 bulbs from ebay but they both claim to be 250W SUNGOD KOMEE CFL's and they both look completely different. It's hard to tell whats legit and what's a cheap knockoff.
THE Lotus IS Here Best CFL Grow Bulb YOU CAN BUY 6500K More Light Than 250W 8U | eBay
NEW 250W 10U CFL Grow Bulb 6500K GET Yours NOW WE DID IT Again Super Bulb | eBay
There's also tons of LED options I've been looking at including ones that screw into standard light bulb sockets but I read a lot of contradicting comments from various users about which ones work and others saying they don't work. For all I know it's the manufacturers of the expensive LED's berating the cheaper competitors products so its hard to know which advise is good and bad without trying it myself.
How would I know if something like this is actually going to work without buying it and trying it myself? I couldn't find any reviews on it and there's so much stuff out there, I'd rather skip inferior products if I'm spending any more than $20 on it.
QKrop
Well-Known Member
Cool little journal...just try to keep your canopy even...try not to transplant your plants no more, it stresses them a bit..amazon has some cheap LED Grow lights..you obviously want to give your babies the best. 
420Amard
New Member
I've never heard anything good about those panels all I've seen or heard is there pretty much useless... If you have the space and a bit of cash find a local hydroponic store and get a kit. It would be alot simpler then having to deal with returns off ebay if something doesn't work you can just return it instead of shipping and waiting weeks for them to send something back. Plus most things you buy from the stores have warranties on them at least 30 days.
Here's a good journal to read through, similar type of mix you're using. He uses Jungle juice-grow, micro, bloom and waters very little but just enough. Nirvana AK-48 Feminized - CFL Only - Closet - Promix Soil
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- #35
EsotericGrows
New Member
Spart > I can't reply to your PM until I hit 50 posts apparently. They must have had problems with people spamming ads or something. In response to your PM though I just wanted to say that it looks amazing! Thanks man, I might consider picking one up in the fall or winter when I have a bit of coin saved up. I really want to invest in a PAX2 vaporizer before I invest that much more money into growing. That looks like a fantastic bargain though! Thanks for all the advice man.
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- #36
EsotericGrows
New Member
Thanks for the encouragement man!
Cool little journal...just try to keep your canopy even...try not to transplant your plants no more, it stresses them a bit..amazon has some cheap LED Grow lights..you obviously want to give your babies the best.
Thank you! Yes I'll have to work on the even canopy and better light placement from here out. The light meter really gives a good indication of distance from CFL's and reflection off surfaces. My next grow should improve a ton. I'll only be transplanting the smaller ones not discussed in this journal. The one "Giant" dwarf plant is in the biggest sized container that I intend on moving it into.
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- #37
EsotericGrows
New Member
What's that mean? I'm still learning all the acronyms.
Good call, thanks for that suggestion! That's one of things I had concerns with. Right now they're attached with glue from a glue gun to hold them in place but I was afraid that the tape would start peeling once it was subjected to a bit of heat. I'm going to pick some up today.
Glad it worked out for you! I'm going to continue experimenting that way even if it is a risk factor.
Yah the light meter I used seem to indicate the same thing. I didn't have a metal reflector to test with but using white plastic, it didn't register a whole lot light being reflected and even a 1/2 inch too far away makes a huge difference in light drop off. My next grow will definitely benefit from this self measured knowledge.
I think I read somewhere that the red 2700k light is still beneficial during all stages of growth but more so in flowering than vegging but maybe I'm confusing it with blue spectrum at 6500k being beneficial at all stages. I was going to use mostly 2700k in flowering but maybe I should also consider using nothing but blue 6500k during veg in future grows and ditch the 2700k red bulb during veg and see how that goes.
I was considering that, I saw them at a dollarama. Are those mylar? I wasn't sure if they would develop hotspots or not.
Haha I appreciate the positive vibes.
I was mostly concerned at how long I used the sungrow flourescent tube and they didn't get adequate light at the start of the grow so the stem was so thin. Once I improved the light source the stem started to thicken substantially at the top but was still thin at the bottom. I didn't think it'd hold the weight of the plant later in growth.Eventually even the bottom of the stem thickened out though so that was a relief and satisfying to watch transform over time. This is a really fun plant, I want to do some more dwarfs - I like how fast it transforms.
That grow journal is very impressive. I appreciate the linkage! Maybe I can master techniques and get some similar results after my 4th grow or something. He looks like he's got a lot of experience and despite how much reading and watching videos I've done I can tell he's done a lot more. I'm really looking forward to trying to train plants and try scrogging, etc. There's some really amazing journals on here that produced incredible results.
Yeah I got one of my posts edited and a gentle reminder from an admin about this sites policies on linking to non sponsors websites. I think its great to support site sponsors over non sponsors because that's what keeps the site going but it does make reviews biased here and even harder to determine what products are the best and which ones are only claimed to be best because they sponsor the site. That type of enforcement doesn't seem much different to me than a manufacturer giving someone free product to do a review of it in exchange for ensuring it's a positive review. Alas, it is what it is and I'm grateful this resource exists.
I bought my thermometer/humidity monitor from my local hydro store and then found the exact same product at walmart for 1/2 the cost. It's like they just bought a handful from walmart and paid retail cost and marked the price up 200% and put it on their shelf. It makes me concerned about whether they're being competitive with pricing when it comes to doing larger purchases from them. My next big purchase will likely be a Pax2 Vaporizer. It's expensive but it looks pretty sweet.
Hey Esoteric, how's it going? Here's the journal with the reflective material, Bag Seed - LED - Scrog
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- #40
EsotericGrows
New Member
Hey man all is well, I've got lots of pictures to post as well as the progress of my grow closet. I took your advice and removed all the electric tape and caulked it with silicone instead. I've also got the lower intake vent installed and just need to create an exhaust up top and setup all the lights. I also found some aluminum foil tape so I used a couple pieces just to see how it will hold up to the heat and environment in the closet once I get the lights and fans installed. I had some issues with light escaping and the cracks glowing along the seems a bit so I'm just using some garbage bags temporarily to deal with the light issue until I can acquire some Mylar.
I also picked up a few more 23w CFL's to use until I can acquire some larger ones online. Unfortunately I've got in-laws visiting from overseas in 2 days and I've still got to work and the house isn't prepped for them so I've got a lot to do before they arrive.
p.s. thank you for the link I'll give it a read... and I'm going to perform some tests with CFL light reflection off different commonly used materials using my light meter and maybe post a vid or pics and see how it goes. So far the most important thing I've noticed is distance between CFL and plant makes the biggest difference. Most of my bulbs are only 23w though so maybe with the larger bulbs the reflectors and reflective material will make a bigger difference.
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