Mr. Sauga's Sponsored Grow Journal - Featuring Atreum Lighting And Blue Planet Nutrients

[Shaggn]

Good day, MrS! This one is for you, I brought my own

Looking great so far!!

 

[MrSauga]

Good day, MrS! This one is for you, I brought my own

Nothing better than walking in a door with popcorn and a wisecrack. The back row for you. Watch out for the huge business card.

Looking great so far!!

Thanks Shag! Welcome to my little world of fun. Feel free to ask questions, or post your own comments.

 

[Amy Gardner]

I'll be doing a write up this weekend on PAR ratings and the optimal ranges that plants like.

Excellent-I’ll be looking forward to that.

Even thought the lux may be right, the amount of light usable to the plant may not be.

I’ve observed things with my light that suggest just that, so I will be checking for that post!

 

[Dutchman1990]

Love the setup and off to a fierce start! Looking awesome brother sauga and hope your well

 

[MrSauga]

Love the setup and off to a fierce start! Looking awesome brother sauga and hope your well

Thanks Dutch. Lots going on, but only a sliver of what's in your tent .
Nice to have you along brother!

 

[MrSauga]

Hey everybody!

Today we’re going to talk a little about @Atreum Lighting's ARA-6’s PAR ratings. Before we can do that we need to go over what PAR is and what it has to do with grow lights. This could lead into a lengthy topic when discussing other terms related to PAR, such as PPF and PPFD. I’ll touch on these later, but for now, like my golf game, let’s go over PAR.

I'll start with the definition of PAR. Photosynthetic Active Radiation is the amount of light useable to a plant. Grow lights give off tremendous amounts of wavelengths of light, which are the colors the plant absorbs. Without trailing off, a specific color can be defined by a range of tiny wavelengths, in nanometers, such as 450-495nm.


Often mistaken, PAR is not the amount of light a grow light emits, rather it’s the amount of wavelengths that the plant will absorb. Plants use those wavelengths for photosynthesis while reflecting the remaining unused ones.

In order to measure PAR you need a PAR meter. This is where it can get confusing, so I’ll try and keep it simple. A PAR meter measures PPF, which is Photosynthetic Photon Flux. PPF is the number of photons of light per second that reach your plants. A PAR meter is reading the intensity of the light that plants use to photosynthesize.

So now you understand a little about PAR and PPF. The next important key aspect in grow lighting is PPFD, which is Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density. In a nutshell, this is the measurement of light in any given area, and is measured in µmols/m²/sec, or micromoles per sq. meter per second.

When testing lights, manufacturers can use an open or closed area. Plants exposed to low or high PPFD values will have slower growth rates. This can be ideal when running mother plants that you don’t want growing too fast. Below is a chart showing optimum PPFD ranges for your plants. It’s a bunch of numbers really, but those numbers are actually giving you an idea of what height to hang your light at.



So what does this all mean? Well for me and the ARA-6 it means I can dial in my light height for optimal growth rates. @Atreum Lighting has done extensive testing on all their lights, and the following PAR maps for the ARA-6 will come in handy.

If you compare these PAR maps with other lighting companies you will quickly see they meet or exceed their tests. If they don’t have a PAR map then my advice would be to move on.


I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. It was necessary so you could understand how powerful this light really is.

Here's a link to a calculator that will convert your lux to PPFD:

Convert Lux to PPFD - Online Calculator | Waveform Lighting

Online calculator to convert illuminance (lux) to PPFD (micromoles per second per meter squared).

www.waveformlighting.com

 

[BooWho2]

for now, like my golf game, let’s go over PAR

Par is a good golf game in my book.

PAR is not the amount of light a grow light emits, rather it’s the amount of wavelengths that the plant will absorb.

Do all plants absorb wavelengths equally?

In a nutshell, this is the measurement of light in any given area, and is measured in µmols/m²/sec, or micromoles per sq. meter per second

Shit. I might be too dumb for this tutorial. I want to understand the power of light in our grow, because I am noticing that it is important! You have a few lights in your arsenal (including a stairway to heaven light!!), But I'm not sure that you did a deep dive with them the way you are now...or maybe I was rolling joints with the RAW papers during the summer and missed it. I love the atreum set up, LOVE the plug and play, Love the modular set up that can be adjusted for tent size, yada, yada, yada. Its all very well thought out. but how does it compare with your other lights wrt PAR, Lux, etc? Please forgive me for poking, I really do want to know.

 

[MrSauga]

Do all plants absorb wavelengths equally?

I would have to assume that no they do not. It's why, imo, some plants are more sensitive to light, just like they are with nutrients.

But I'm not sure that you did a deep dive with them the way you are now

I had no reason too in the past. I only used HPS up until recently. The rule of thumb with HPS was to drop the height until they react negatively.

Its all very well thought out. but how does it compare with your other lights wrt PAR, Lux, etc?

I'd have to find some PAR maps for those lights to compare. The HPS at 10k lux gives you 130 µmol/m²/s, and a light similar to mine at 10K lux gives you 256 µmol/m²/s. Quite a bit of difference.

 

[MsBean7175]

Hey everybody!

Welcome to my latest venture! This will be a good one as I'll be stepping outside my comfort zone, but I'm not concerned considering the companies I'll be working with. We have some terrific sponsors here at 420 Magazine, and as you may have already gathered two of them have stepped up to make this one a special grow; Atreum Lighting, and Blue Planet Nutrients.

These two sponsors have been terrific in supporting cannabis awareness, and I'm excited to display their products throughout this journal. I’m sure it’s a reflection on their customer service too, so please consider them both when purchasing new lights or nutrients. You can reach their company representatives directly through 420 Magazine if you need some advice, or if you have any questions regarding their respective products. @Atreum Lighting @Blue Planet Nutrients

The guests of honor will be two Original Glue S1's, and one each of the Pakistan Valley Kush and Pakistan Chitral Kush. The bean drop will be happening today and I'll have full pics on my process of germinating seeds.

I’ll also have some detailed information about the products I’ll be using over the weekend. I'll separate each sponsor update into their own posts so it will be easy to follow along. Questions and comments are always welcome, but please keep it on topic.

So sit back, relax, and get ready for some fun!

Hi ya, Mr Sauga. It's been awhile. Everything is peach here at Ms Beans homestead. Looking forward to following along with your newest journal. How are you feeling these days? I'll be catching up in time, for now I'll tune in on todays post. See you there.

 

[StoneOtter]

Thanks for bringing this up Mr Sauga! Light is so important and so easy to not do well, yet not really know. Been looking at those Atriums and I can't wait to see em put to work.

 

[Marzbadrock]

Mind if I tag along? Purple gun rack turned me on to atreum, excited about their new lineup.

 

[Amy Gardner]

Thanks Mr. S! I have some questions, but I will take them to your journal and not interrupt the sponsored grow with less-relevant chatter

 

[JohnnieJC3]

Page 8... YEAH that sounds about right.... I'll be in the back blowin' trees and throwin' Popcorn at the goody two shoes in the front.

Appreciate the laughs this morning everyone, @Mr. Sauga... GREAT Start.

 

[MrSauga]

Hi ya, Mr Sauga. It's been awhile. Everything is peach here at Ms Beans homestead. Looking forward to following along with your newest journal. How are you feeling these days? I'll be catching up in time, for now I'll tune in on todays post. See you there.

Very nice to have you drop by MsBean! I'm glad to hear all is well and peachy . I've been well. In fact this wearing masks thing and staying away from people has led to a whole year of not catching a cold or the flu.

Thanks for bringing this up Mr Sauga! Light is so important and so easy to not do well, yet not really know. Been looking at those Atriums and I can't wait to see em put to work.

I think, like me, people go by the more the merrier mentality. It may explain why we see so many people blow their tops up. If they had the tools they would understand what to be looking for.

Mind if I tag along? Purple gun rack turned me on to atreum, excited about their new lineup.

Not at all. Welcome!
I hope to showcase their line down the road if they need it done. Great company to work with.

Thanks Mr. S! I have some questions, but I will take them to your journal and not interrupt the sponsored grow with less-relevant chatter

By all means. Hopefully I can answer what it is you ask .

Page 8... YEAH that sounds about right.... I'll be in the back blowin' trees and throwin' Popcorn at the goody two shoes in the front.

Appreciate the laughs this morning everyone, @Mr. Sauga... GREAT Start.

Those goodies up front carry some mighty fine herb. I'd best be throwing papers at them, hopefully to have them thrown back full.
Welcome aboard JJ!

 

[JohnnieJC3]

I always have double digit variety... WE can MATCH up Anytime! I promise you... MY GDP is the REAL DEAL.

<Throws KING Slim OCB's up front...>

 

[DutchinAB]

<Throws KING Slim OCB's up front...>

Got one! Cheers Johnnie!

 

[Sangmang]

Im popping on here as I'm looking to switch away from advanced nutrients after my current grow. Great looking journal so far. Thanks!

 

[MrSauga]

Im popping on here as I'm looking to switch away from advanced nutrients after my current grow. Great looking journal so far. Thanks!

Welcome Sangman, and thanks for the comps! I've just given my girls their first light feeding. Just a few mLs each as that's all they can take right now.

I'll know soon enough if they like it.

 

[TriangleCheese]

I would have to assume that no they do not. It's why, imo, some plants are more sensitive to light, just like they are with nutrients.

I had no reason too in the past. I only used HPS up until recently. The rule of thumb with HPS was to drop the height until they react negatively.

I'd have to find some PAR maps for those lights to compare. The HPS at 10k lux gives you 130 µmol/m²/s, and a light similar to mine at 10K lux gives you 256 µmol/m²/s. Quite a bit of difference.

I got the answer to that first question.

Plants utilize PPF and PPF changes with color temperature. Different wavelengths excite photosynthesis in different levels. Here is a widely accepted graph for understanding this. McCree's relative quantum efficiency curve;

RQE.png

• TriangleCheese
• Feb 7, 2021

Red bands induce more photosynthesis than any other band as you can see. But plants react to both red-green-blue bands with photosynthesis. The problem is, some bands are just more efficient, or they just seem to.

Red dominant wavelength composition will result in the biggest bio-mass, which includes every part from root to top weight of a plant. Leaves and stems are also included. If you are growing this type of plant, then you need to use monochromatic LED's, 15W of blue with 85W of red in each 100W.

Blue dominant wavelength composition will result in better root system and higher quality products compared to red. If you are after a top shelf product, then you should roughly use 15W of monochromatic red and 85W of polychromatic full-spectrum LED's. The recipe is not %100 precise but these combinations of wavelengths are also widely accepted among manufacturers. Blue is just as important as red. You can observe the quality difference in cannabis and tomatoes clearly. Tomatoes don't get swollen and cannabis get higher rates of cannabinoids and terpenes when you use enough blue.

Green dominant wavelength composition will result in lower photosynthesis rate but if you provide your plants with lets say %25 blue %25 red and %50 green, they will still grow great and give amazing products. Green penetrates into the canopy and therefore doesn't induce photosynthesis just as efficient as red or blue. That is why nobody uses a green dominant spectrum. However, having green band in your composition has amazing benefits if the percentage is kept at a reasonable level. %25 green can replace %25 blue without affecting the biomass produced. Same thing doesn't apply with red but you will be needing green or blue to get a proper root system on your cannabis plants.

About auto-flowers and fast veg. clones for SOG, I don't think it is a good idea to boost red too much. Quality decreases after some point due to lack of blue. Also these kind of plants need to establish a good root system in short time so giving them too much red might end up in smaller bio-mass.

About long vegging properly trained plants, it will make a great sense to use too much red in late veg. to promote stretch and get a longer node separation to properly do a SCROG or whatever you are doing. Some trains like my Pink Kush(Barney's) have a very narrow node separation. I couldn't get amazing results when I trained this plant so I had two options. Adding a red boost for the stretch on late veg. or go SOG with lots of small sized clones. I chose the SOG way and can't be more happy with my garden. Keeping things minimal always paid off for me.

The best alternative in my book is to use a well balanced spectrum in all phases. That's why I customized my own LED fixtures around 3900K, which I believe is very near to the sweet spot for cannabis cultivation, as well as many other plants. I will built tunable white fixtures this year and have total control over the stretch. That will be the ultimate grow light I think.

Hope these help. Cheers

 

[MrSauga]

I got the answer to that first question.

Great info TC, thank you!