First Time Grower - Ever!

[Mr. Krip]

With low powered led you need to keep the light as close as possible, and use reflective panels to turn back as much light to the plant... A scrog screen will give you the best yield.... My 185 watt led light grow only used a 1.5'x 2' screen.... I switched lights the last few weeks, but up to that point it was all led....
Check my led grow for how a scrog screen should work.... Scrog is all about keeping the plant pulled down until you tell it to stretch by switching to 12/12 ... When switched to 12/12, all parts of the plant stretch at about the same rate.. Except for a few that need to be pulled down again, all colas will be about the same height...

I just sub'd to your Waterfarm journal and look forward to seeing your mod's! I've been growing in WF's using LED's for about six years and absolutely love them!

I am space constrained so as you noted, it's a bit of a PITA doing res changes, although still the best option I've found for my small grow. I'd certainly be interested in seeing how I might be able SCROG them and still effectively do res changes.

IMHO, the best way to maximize yield in ANY space is SOG, but that requires LOTS of plants which can pose legality issues based on plant numbers.

The best way to maximize yield from a single plant in a small space would definitely be SCROG.

I'll need to take some time reading up there!

 

[Croatsan]

I'd certainly be interested in seeing how I might be able SCROG them and still effectively do res changes

This works for me - an additional res outside the tent.

 

[Mr. Krip]

This works for me - an additional res outside the tent.

Yeah, but all that does is move the res outside of the tent. It doesn't make the res more portable.

It's still a great idea/design but, in my case, I bring the res's to the water and not the water to the res's. Also, I currently only use two WF's in a 2'x4' tent and, although I haven't read through your thread yet (I will get to it tonight when I can spend some time to digest and possible see if I can modify, if needed, to my situation!), it appears likely you're configuring multiple WF's in an undercurrent configuration and losing the drip rings. This is fine, but it means always having one more res than WF's and, IMHO, would make more sense as the # of WF's increase.

 

[No Pain]

Synbad, you're doing great for your first hydro grow!

I'm really digging your enthusiasm and excitement. It reminds me a lot of my first grow!

Don't let everyone scare you off of defoliation. You definitely did a heavy one, but in a couple of weeks, you won't be able to tell you did one at all. Usually, you defoliate after day 21 and day 45, so you can decide again at day 45!

How high is your light above the plant?

There's a saying I've been repeating for a long time which is, "Don't grow trees with LED's" (and I'm an LED user!). They don't have the penetration power of an HPS (or, of course, the sun!) so those bottom buds likely won't get enough light to develop into much.

Also, having the light placed too far above the plant, especially with an LED, may also explain some of the stretching. Your plant looks incredibly healthy, but has some pretty wide spacing between nodes and I'm GUESSING it's because the light was too far above the canopy.

The defoliation will help indoors, but I also try only to remove the stuff that's blocking bud sites (I also trim all lower growth) and, if possible, I simply bend & tuck the leaves instead of removing them.

That being said, I've seen and done plenty of defoliations and, while yours was aggressive, I've seen worse!

Good stuff ! Mr.Krip . I can tell you have a very positive vibe about you . Keep spreading that shit !!

 

[No Pain]

Thanks Mr. K and welcome!!!

I think you're correct about the height of the light. In the beginning I had my light a lot closer to the plant, looking at my earlier pics you can see she's much more compact and bushy. Then I came across a video on YouTube, some growing guru was giving advice about growing and lights and LED lights. He seemed very negative towards LEDs, especially during flower, I think the video was done during the early days of LEDs, from what I've read they've gotten much better as of late. Anyways, as a result of watching that video I did raise my light. I had it around 12"-18" above the plant, I raised it to more like 24"-30" and had been keeping it there. When I put her in to 12/12 she really stretched. Right now the light is about 18"-20" above her. Should I put it closer?

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. This has been an awesome experience so far and I'm patiently looking forward to the drying, curing and tasting of my first grow. I'll be spending some time reading through the threads in your signature as it looks like there's a wealth of information there.

Synbad this is my first go around with led's . I was a hps and mh kinda guy. I set mine at about 16 inches and let the plants grow to it until I saw a little bleaching/ burn . I did that for two reasons . One to figure out how much headroom I was going to have in my tent without burning/ bleaching the plants . Second so I could determine at what Hieght I was going to flip it to 12/12 anticipating a 3x stretch .

I feel that all brands of led's are different in regards to how close you can have them before your baby starts getting hurt. I would recommend next run that you do the same testing that I did as once you figure out that distance it's really not going to vary strain by strain. What I can tell you is the closer you have the these type of lights , the more on top of your cal/mag game you are going to need to be. I say that because before you see bleaching or and kind of burn you will see a cal//mag deficiency . I'm running two 600w (289w draw) in my tent @ around 12 inches from the plant tops .

I can tell you that I have never had such beautiful compact growth with my MH when I compare it to what my led's have produced.

 

[No Pain]

Yeah, but all that does is move the res outside of the tent. It doesn't make the res more portable.

It's still a great idea/design but, in my case, I bring the res's to the water and not the water to the res's. Also, I currently only use two WF's in a 2'x4' tent and, although I haven't read through your thread yet (I will get to it tonight when I can spend some time to digest and possible see if I can modify, if needed, to my situation!), it appears likely you're configuring multiple WF's in an undercurrent configuration and losing the drip rings. This is fine, but it means always having one more res than WF's and, IMHO, would make more sense as the # of WF's increase.

Hey Mr.Krip ..that's. The size of my tent 2x4 . Swing by my grow and tak a look at how my res is situated . You will lose some headroom, but it might be what your looking for .

 

[synbad]

With low powered led you need to keep the light as close as possible, and use reflective panels to turn back as much light to the plant... A scrog screen will give you the best yield.... My 185 watt led light grow only used a 1.5'x 2' screen.... I switched lights the last few weeks, but up to that point it was all led....
Check my led grow for how a scrog screen should work.... Scrog is all about keeping the plant pulled down until you tell it to stretch by switching to 12/12 ... When switched to 12/12, all parts of the plant stretch at about the same rate.. Except for a few that need to be pulled down again, all colas will be about the same height...

Thanks Dr. Fish!

Looking forward to checking out your grow and learning more.

 

[Croatsan]

Yeah, but all that does is move the res outside of the tent. It doesn't make the res more portable.

It's still a great idea/design but, in my case, I bring the res's to the water and not the water to the res's. Also, I currently only use two WF's in a 2'x4' tent and, although I haven't read through your thread yet (I will get to it tonight when I can spend some time to digest and possible see if I can modify, if needed, to my situation!), it appears likely you're configuring multiple WF's in an undercurrent configuration and losing the drip rings. This is fine, but it means always having one more res than WF's and, IMHO, would make more sense as the # of WF's increase.

I don't have drip rings, I have feeder tubes going into the rockwool and they've been in use all the time. That's how the water is circulated. Haven't removed them and have no intention to, for the entire duration of the grow.

That's how I ScrOG and do res changes without ever touching the main res.

 

[synbad]

Synbad this is my first go around with led's . I was a hps and mh kinda guy. I set mine at about 16 inches and let the plants grow to it until I saw a little bleaching/ burn . I did that for two reasons . One to figure out how much headroom I was going to have in my tent without burning/ bleaching the plants . Second so I could determine at what Hieght I was going to flip it to 12/12 anticipating a 3x stretch .

I feel that all brands of led's are different in regards to how close you can have them before your baby starts getting hurt. I would recommend next run that you do the same testing that I did as once you figure out that distance it's really not going to vary strain by strain. What I can tell you is the closer you have the these type of lights , the more on top of your cal/mag game you are going to need to be. I say that because before you see bleaching or and kind of burn you will see a cal//mag deficiency . I'm running two 600w (289w draw) in my tent @ around 12 inches from the plant tops .

I can tell you that I have never had such beautiful compact growth with my MH when I compare it to what my led's have produced.

Awesome info NP, thanks!

Being its my first grow, I have no reference point to work from and there is so much information out there, some of it outdated and some of it downright contradictory (in reference to YouTube videos, I've stopped watching those), that for a noob it can be difficult at times to know what to follow. As I'm going through this grow, gaining some experience and getting pearls of wisdom from fellow growers like yourself and the others that have contributed to this thread, for which I am so grateful, it's getting a little easier to "feel" my way through if that makes sense.

With that said, I will lower my LED some and watch her carefully for any signs of burning/bleaching.

 

[Mr. Krip]

I don't have drip rings, I have feeder tubes going into the rockwool and they've been in use all the time. That's how the water is circulated. Haven't removed them and have no intention to, for the entire duration of the grow.

That's how I ScrOG and do res changes without ever touching the main res.

Like I said, it's a great design!

It just won't really work in my circumstance since I have to bring the res to the water with no practical way to fill them in/near the tent. I literally carry the WF's to a bathroom, empty & refill in a bathtub, and carry back to the tent.

 

[Dr Fish]

Don't set your WF on the floor... I've used a cinder block to get a stand alone WF off the floor... That way you can drain into another container and leave the plant where it is...
Never turn off the drip ring on a waterfarm.. There are almost as many roots in the hydroton as in the grow bucket reservoir... This isn't my waterfarm root ball.. It belonged to Scottyballs, but it proves the point......

 

[thebeast27]

With leds u want them 18 to 24 inches from the plants for best optimal growth from start to finish.u will not get any stretch at all under leds.i use cheap basic leds as i switched a few month back from hps to led.and i grow monster plants.each led light brand normally have info on distances etc for best growh.but 18 to 24 inches is perfect.best of luck il be watching

 

[Mr. Krip]

Don't set your WF on the floor... I've used a cinder block to get a stand alone WF off the floor... That way you can drain into another container and leave the plant where it is...
Never turn off the drip ring on a waterfarm.. There are almost as many roots in the hydroton as in the grow bucket reservoir... This isn't my waterfarm root ball.. It belonged to Scottyballs, but it proves the point......

ScottyBalls was one of my inspirations for going with the WF's and I mention him, I believe, in my very first post of my very first journal!

 

[Mr. Krip]

With leds u want them 18 to 24 inches from the plants for best optimal growth from start to finish.u will not get any stretch at all under leds.i use cheap basic leds as i switched a few month back from hps to led.and i grow monster plants.each led light brand normally have info on distances etc for best growh.but 18 to 24 inches is perfect.best of luck il be watching

This is generally correct, but I'd check with the manufacturer AND test on your plants to see how they react. I could get my older LED's much closer with the 2w chips but the newer with the 5w fried my leaves at the same distance (unfortunately, light was as high and plant was as low as they were getting! ).

In other words, you'll be able to get a 90w LED with 1w chips much closer than a 1200w LED with 10w chips.

 

[Lazarus13]

How are those walmart pumps holding up for you, synbad? I burned through 3 of them before i finally bought a small commercial pump. After a few weeks they just stopped putting out enough air and started being very loud.

Sent from my LGLS990 using 420 Magazine Mobile App

 

[thebeast27]

I was refering to the 5w chips.good work krip

 

[synbad]

This is generally correct, but I'd check with the manufacturer AND test on your plants to see how they react. I could get my older LED's much closer with the 2w chips but the newer with the 5w fried my leaves at the same distance (unfortunately, light was as high and plant was as low as they were getting! ).

In other words, you'll be able to get a 90w LED with 1w chips much closer than a 1200w LED with 10w chips.

I've got a 300w LED with 3w chips. According to the manufacturer it should be between 0.5m tp 1.5 m from the top of the plant depending on the stage of growth.

 

[synbad]

How are those walmart pumps holding up for you, synbad? I burned through 3 of them before i finally bought a small commercial pump. After a few weeks they just stopped putting out enough air and started being very loud.

Sent from my LGLS990 using 420 Magazine Mobile App

Hi Lazarus!

The Walmart pump actually held up fine but I was concerned it just wasn't putting out enough air so I upgraded to the ECOair2.

Thanks for stopping in.

 

[synbad]

With leds u want them 18 to 24 inches from the plants for best optimal growth from start to finish.u will not get any stretch at all under leds.i use cheap basic leds as i switched a few month back from hps to led.and i grow monster plants.each led light brand normally have info on distances etc for best growh.but 18 to 24 inches is perfect.best of luck il be watching

Welcome thebeast27!

I appreciate any knowledge I can't get. Pull up a chair and take a toke....

 

[VladimirPutin]

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