420 Magazine Official NextLight LED Grow Journal By Brett Blaze

[Brett Blaze]

Day 4 Update

Today I finished connecting the sensors and programming the NextLight Control Pro and the AC Infinity Controller 67.

The AC Infinity Controller comes with a tie mount and zip tie. I also use these and added a few more to secure all the sensors.

The sensor connectors for each controller are pretty simple. The hardest part was for me getting all the cables tied neatly.

Next are the screens from each controller. I won't go over every detail but will point out anything that may have some significance for the average grower.

NextLight Control Pro

The NextLight Control Pro can control up to 500 NextLight Pro Series fixtures per controller (250 fixtures per channel).

Programming

The main screen shows the current Settings and Temperature

Pressing the Enter button brings up the next screen allowing you to select which area to program. Use the arrows to chose then press enter.

For the programming I'm going to go through the first four programming areas. The first areas allows you to set channels A and B to Off , On and Auto. For my settings I'm going to set an 18 hour daily on schedule for the veg cycle.

To make changes you press the enter button then the up and down arrows. Once finished press the enter button and then the return button to go to the previous screen.

The next area sets the power output of each channel. Since I have channel B off the output power setting has no affect. I currently have channel A at 20%. This will most likely change once I get some measurements at plant level.

Next is the On and Off programming times.

And the last one I'm going to cover is the Ramp Time. This allows gradual increase and decrease of the light at the beginning and end of each cycle. Just set the duration of the ramp period.

After you get back to the main screen, pushing the down button will continue to additional programming areas for setting the date and time, high temperature shutoff etc.

Here is a list of all the program areas.

A. Output Select
B. Output Power
C. Light Timer
D. Rise/Fall
E. Auto-Save Temp
F. Shutdown Temp
G. System Date/Time
H. Temp Calibrate
I. Factory Reset
J. Screen Sav

Cont.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Day 4 Update Cont.

AC Infinity Controller 67

The next controller to program is the AC Infinity Controller 67 for the T8 fan. This is the latest controller for the CLOUDLINE Series fans.

Very simple design and AC Infinity provides enough sensor cable to mount it pretty much where ever you want.

The four buttons on the front are for Mode select, Up and Down and Settings. In the Off Mode well it's off but there is an important setting here. While in the Off mode the fan speed selected will be the minimum speed in the other modes. This makes sure that you will always have some form of ventilation even if no triggers are activated.

In the ON mode the unit is? Right you guessed it On. But like the Off mode the fan setting set in the On mode is the maximum your fan will run in the other modes.

In Auto you can set your High and Low settings for Temperature and Humidity. The settings trigger the fan to turn on and off the keep temperature and humidity within your set range.

The Timer setting allows you to set a specific amount of time the fan will run and to start in a selected number of minutes.

In Cycle you set an On duration and an Off duration for the fan to cycle through continuously.

In Schedule you set and On and Off time for the fan to run.

All programmed and ready to give it a test run.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Day 4 Update Cont.

Taking a quick peek at the seed cups I noticed some sprouting from several Northern Lights and at least one Granddaddy Purple. Hopefully tomorrow I can get enough above the soil to take some pictures.

Now that everything is hooked up I assembled the 3' x 3' bed where 4 of the plants will end up. I did a lot of research and changed my mind several times on what final container I would be using. Since I want to have a living No-Till soil going forward and I felt the large bed was going to work out best.

For this fabric bed you supply the PVC for the legs and side wall supports. The corner fittings come with the bed and you can choose which fitting you want when ordering to allow adding PVC if you want to do ScrOG training. After two home improvement stores all I could find was orange PVC. No big deal and once it's filled they won't show much.

8.5 cu. ft. (63 gallons) of soil. I'm allowing room for additional mulch and compost that will eventually be added.

After adding the soil I added about 5% of the soil volume of water. I used the same mix I used for the seeds for this water and used about 3 gallons. I used the commercial sprayer with the 1 gal per minute nozzle which provided an even spray and saved time.

Next I added some white clover top cover and then topped it off with straw mulch.

I purchased a Blue Oyster Mushroom Straw Log (living mulch) a few weeks ago and even though this has been in a dark cool place it started to change. If left too long it will produce Trichoderma and eventually will dominate the log. This was still pretty good and has some nice Mycelium throughout. So much so I needed to set that minimum fan speed at a higher level.

Until tomorrow

 

[Trala]

Omg your level of neatness and order makes my heart sing

OCD to the point of handiness not a hindrance. I happily suffer with the same affliction.

 

[420]

Omg your level of neatness and order makes my heart sing

OCD to the point of handiness not a hindrance. I happily suffer with the same affliction.

Brett is the epitome of a Product Reviewer, anyone seeking to join this position in the future should use his reviews and journals as the standard level of professionalism and attention to detail we require. Keep up the amazing work brother!

 

[Brett Blaze]

Day 5 Update

Today I set up the worm bin but first let's take a look at the seedlings. 9 of 10 have sprouted and in just two days are about 2" high so I moved them all to the tent. I lowered the light to 32" and reduced the output power from the Control Pro to 25% which is giving me a PPF reading around 250. Temp and RH readings under the dome are 80° F and 90% RH.

I going to grow the seedlings through the early veg stage on top of the bed. Four will be transplanted to 1 gallon GeoPots in about 10 days.

The worm bin is fairly simple. I filled it about 1/5 full with some of the unused Coco I had left over from the last grow plus some of the straw mulch and a little fresh worm castings. On top of that I added some leaves from the previous grow I have had sealed in a bag.

One pound of worms (about 1000) have been ordered for delivery early next week. About 10% of the worms will be going in to the 3" x 3" bed where they they will quadruple in a few months. Since it takes 4 to 6 months for some results the worm castings I am creating will be used for future grows. Once I get some worms some "green" food waste will be added.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Day 6 Update

Short update today just to cover the seedling progress. All 10 are now sprouted. 24 hours soaking and right into soil. 9 up in two days and all 10 in 3. Great success from these WeedSeedsExpress seeds and I'll never germinate any other way again. Some look too spindly so I increased the light power to give me about 350 to 400 PPF under the dome. Temps and RH are looking good with high temps around 80°F and RH around 90%.

Here is the late one.

One of the Granddaddy Purple.

And one from Northern Lights.

 

[Furcifer]

high Brett,
Nice setup going on. Tagging along.... good luck.

 

[Brett Blaze]

high Brett,
Nice setup going on. Tagging along.... good luck.

Hey Furcifer. Welcome aboard.

 

[Paul Squiggle]

Hi Brett

I will be joining the rest of this rowdy bunch and following along on your journey.
I am extremely impressed with your attention to detail by the way..
Great work

 

[Brett Blaze]

Day 8 Update

Seedling Day 3

All 10 are looking great and are about the same size. Pretty nice for only 3 days old. I added just a shot of water to keep the top layer of the cups moist. Also sprayed the top of the bed. While getting the cover crop to establish I want to make sure the bed keeps the correct moisture level.

The cover crop is coming in nicely too.

The worms arrived today for the worm bin. I ordered a pound which is about 1000 adults and hatchlings. I put a handful in the main bed and the rest in the bin. The ones in the bed will multiply quickly. After laying the worms on top of the bedding I added lettuce, apples, coffee grounds and tea leaves.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Day 10 Update
Seedling Day 5

Five days into the seedling stage and all the ladies are looking great. A little water with Quillaja Saponaria Extract which acts as a wetting agent was added to each cup this morning. The bed received about a gallon of the same water.

I just received the MQ-610 400 - 750 nm ePAR meter from Apogee Instruments. The MQ-610 ePAR meter is one of the latest PAR meters from Apogee Instruments that reads wavelengths past the traditional 700 nm range into the Far-red range. I'll be providing more details when I do measurements of the NextLight Mega Pro.

I measured the PAR levels at the plant level and got a reading of 350. Pretty close to my original estimate.

Here are the best of each strain.

 

[Trala]

Those pictures are just beautiful, Brett

And every time I see your name “Brett Blaze” I always think to myself you were destined to be one of two things:-

1. A Cannabis Product Reviewer
2. A seedy porn star

I’m so glad destiny chose Option 1

Have a great day!

 

[Brett Blaze]

Those pictures are just beautiful, Brett

And every time I see your name “Brett Blaze” I always think to myself you were destined to be one of two things:-

1. A Cannabis Product Reviewer
2. A seedy porn star

I’m so glad destiny chose Option 1

Have a great day!

Too ugly for porn so Cannabis Product Reviewer it is.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Day 12 Update
Seedling Day 7

It's been one week since they have sprouted. From their appearance it looks like a bit too much water. The one in the upper left shows the most evidence. Since I am moving from hydro to soil I kind of expected this. Overall they are all still looking good. If I were to choose now, top row 2 and 3 and bottom row 3 and 4 would be the ones to transplant. Still a week or more before I choose.

I am also bumping up the light to 400 PPF today.

 

[Trala]

Good morning Brett

I just realised our seedlings are the same age. What makes you say too much water?

 

[Brett Blaze]

Good morning Brett

I just realised our seedlings are the same age. What makes you say too much water?

Hi Trala

The leaves are drooping slightly and I just added a little water yesterday.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Since I wanted to bump up my light a little I decided to try the Apogee Instruments MQ-610 and take measurements around the 3'x3' bed. I want to emphasize this is not an official test as that would require more controlled conditions. I mostly wanted to see how much light I can expect for the bed at 100% and 36" which is the current height of the lights from the top of the bed. Also the front has less light reflecting because the tent is open and measurements are a little lower.

When looking at the 24" to floor PAR readings put out buy NextLight Mega Pro earlier in my thread, my readings are about what I would expect at this 36". I will lower the light to 24" and take measurements when the seedlings are a little more developed and not so easily shocked and stressed.

PAR READINGS AT 36" LAMP TO FLOOR

 

[Trala]

Hi Trala

The leaves are drooping slightly and I just added a little water yesterday.

Oh okay. I thought they looked pretty much perfect that’s all.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Update
Seedling Day 6

A couple of updated photos to show progress today. At the current rate of progress, transplanting to 1 gallon pots won't be far away. I'm guessing 4 to 5 days. Top row 2 and 3 and bottom row 3 and 4 are still leading. After transplanting the top 4 I'll keep the others until the 4 are established.