Please help me 'DIAL IN'

upperhydro2

Member
I've been gone for a while with health problems. I would appreciate some help getting everything 'dialed in' so I don't 'stress' my next crop. I lost all my plants (except ONE mother - MNS NH) and just getting everything dialed in. I have a 'micro-sealed room' with outside air venting through a cool tube and back outside. I try to harvest one plant about every month, depending upon strain (currently Nevil Haze). I 'top', 'bend', 'train', etc to keep height low to fit the small space. I currently have one plant about 100 days and another 30 days behind the first with clones about to join them in 12/12.
SPECS:
200 Cubic Foot Bloom Room (I called it 'Micro')
400 watt HPS in Cool Tube (Ballast in separate room)
DWC - 4 individual buckets, temp controlled to 65º F
Chiller with DIY Ice Boxes - Room Day Temps 75ºF - Room Night Temps 70º F
De-Humidifier with a DIY Ice Box
Can Filter/Duct Fan for odor control and PLENTY of air circulation
Separate Duct Fan for DIY Ice Boxes
12/12 light cycle
pH starts at 5.95 but drops to 5.7 by 'lights off'
Conductivity of 'incoming water 100 ppm
Conductivity 900 for large plants - Start new plants at 400 and build up over 2 weeks
Past grows have yielded at least 12 oz trimmed & dried bud per plant
Did I forget anything needed to help 'dial in'?????????

Current plants growing with ZERO Veg Time. 6" tall clones go right to 12/12. Experiments with my 'Vine Plants' have been put on hold for now. I just need MEDS soon. Life sucks on pharmaceuticals alone. I cut way back when I have MMJ.
Thanks to all. Your help IS APPRECIATED.
'dro
 
I've been gone for a while with health problems. I would appreciate some help getting everything 'dialed in' so I don't 'stress' my next crop. I lost all my plants (except ONE mother - MNS NH) and just getting everything dialed in. I have a 'micro-sealed room' with outside air venting through a cool tube and back outside. I try to harvest one plant about every month, depending upon strain (currently Nevil Haze). I 'top', 'bend', 'train', etc to keep height low to fit the small space. I currently have one plant about 100 days and another 30 days behind the first with clones about to join them in 12/12.
SPECS:
200 Cubic Foot Bloom Room (I called it 'Micro')
400 watt HPS in Cool Tube (Ballast in separate room)
DWC - 4 individual buckets, temp controlled to 65º F
Chiller with DIY Ice Boxes - Room Day Temps 75ºF - Room Night Temps 70º F
De-Humidifier with a DIY Ice Box
Can Filter/Duct Fan for odor control and PLENTY of air circulation
Separate Duct Fan for DIY Ice Boxes
12/12 light cycle
pH starts at 5.95 but drops to 5.7 by 'lights off'
Conductivity of 'incoming water 100 ppm
Conductivity 900 for large plants - Start new plants at 400 and build up over 2 weeks
Past grows have yielded at least 12 oz trimmed & dried bud per plant
Did I forget anything needed to help 'dial in'?????????

Current plants growing with ZERO Veg Time. 6" tall clones go right to 12/12. Experiments with my 'Vine Plants' have been put on hold for now. I just need MEDS soon. Life sucks on pharmaceuticals alone. I cut way back when I have MMJ.
Thanks to all. Your help IS APPRECIATED.
'dro

four 12 ounce plants under a 400 watt sounds pretty good to me.
how long do you flower that NH for?
 
3.36 grams a watt off a single light, I don't know how much more "Dial in" your going to get. great results bro.
 
3.36 grams a watt off a single light, I don't know how much more "Dial in" your going to get. great results bro.

man you're not kidding I was kind of hoping that was a typo I really need to step up my game a little bit
 
Ha in my wildest dreams hydro vert grow still only gets 1.5 I am absolutely flabbergasted!!! Haha that's awesome man really beyond incredible. Be safe and easy peace
 
email went down

Sorry for the loss of contact. email quit working for me 'out in the boondocks'. I'm back now. That 12 oz includes everything useable including popcorn bud for ice water extraction.
I have one 'large' plant now with staggered growth down to just switched to 12/12 clones.
I believe that consistency is the solution for big harvests. Consistent temps, nute changes, light, CO2, air circulation, etc all play a role. I'm also a 'clean freak' washing every bucket at every nute change, scrubbing the walls, ceiling, and floor, keeping all 'dead plant matter' out of the grow room' filtering incoming air (from opening the door), etc.
After harvest is also important to me. I trim EVERYTHING except the bud and dry.
Any 'popcorn buds' go into the freezer for ice water extraction. ALL MY meds go through my liver in eatables. All dry bud goes through my wife's vaporizer (she has a very big tolerance level built up over 40 years of smoking).
Thanks for the help,
'dro
 
Extras I forgot

I also have reflective film on walls, ceiling, floor, even on the buckets to get the most out of the light. The extra Flouro lights help some also, mainly for the lower branches. When you 'live' with a graden, you tend to 'take things for granted' and forget about them.
I tried my 1k for a while but temps were too high. I'm thinking about 'cooling' the 'cool tube' air via my chiller so I can run the 1k but I'm worried about condensation and electricity. Anyone ever try doing this?
Also, anyone try these 'Eva-Dry' with silica gel in place of a conventional dehumidifier? Reducing heat will help a lot and the low price allows me to buy 3 or 4 units to keep humidity around 30%. Suggestions ALWAYS welcome.
Thanks,
'dro
 
four 12 ounce plants under a 400 watt sounds pretty good to me.
how long do you flower that NH for?

I have 2 phenos of NH. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being indica/10 being sativa) Pheno #1 is about a 3.5 while #2 is about a 6.5. #1 finishes in about 90 days. #2 takes about 120 for full amber trichs.
The plants are trained up, down, and across wire to get the most buds in the least amount of space. Necessity is the mother...... In tiny spaces, every inch counts. At times, I groom my plants while standing in the next room. When it's full....it's full.
'dro
 
upperhydro,
many years ago I followed a misguided notion to use silica gel to dry a harvest. I bought a small barrel of silica gel and used an inline fan controlled by a RH sensor.

it did work but my biggest problem with it was that the silica gel is supposed to be able to be rejuvenated and reused and I did not find that to be the case at all. even if you got it to work I would say that it is still completely impractical.

if you used your chiller to run really cold water through a small radiator in your grow room and use a pan or something to catch the water that condensates. would that not work as a dehumidifier? maybe it would require to low of temps to be practical.

fresca sol water cooled lights are what you're looking for.
 
Excellent "Dialing" UpperHydro2, You don't need much help;)

I'm in the process of convincing my friend to grow NH vertically. He is also using a 400. With an LED at the top. It's an experiment. If we can get him close to or equivilant to your results, then I'll be pleased.
Your technique is, in my opinion, the best way to grow this strain. Or any stretchy haze (MANGO).
They have a great spread, and will "fill in" almost every inch of light footprint. Yeilds like your's should be attainable and aspired to, as I say; "You're paying for the electricity, get your money's worth".
:D

I'd love to see a shot of your room in full flower, it must be very pleasing.
Take care, and best of luck.
 
upperhydro,
many years ago I followed a misguided notion to use silica gel to dry a harvest. I bought a small barrel of silica gel and used an inline fan controlled by a RH sensor.

it did work but my biggest problem with it was that the silica gel is supposed to be able to be rejuvenated and reused and I did not find that to be the case at all. even if you got it to work I would say that it is still completely impractical.

if you used your chiller to run really cold water through a small radiator in your grow room and use a pan or something to catch the water that condensates. would that not work as a dehumidifier? maybe it would require to low of temps to be practical.

fresca sol water cooled lights are what you're looking for.

Lammy,
Thanks for the input. Silica SOUNDS GOOD, until you learn about the problems. Illegal Advertising is what it is.
I DO have a DIY 'IceBox' radiator running 60º F water to keep the room at 74º F Lights On temp. Also have a small copper coil above the Dehumidifier which may or may not be helping. RH has been averaging about 32%.
My real problem is 'light weight buds'. With all the growth, I still don't get 'hard buds' as described by others. I guess I better start using a 0-50-30 fert for the last 3 weeks of growth before flush.
Thanks,
'dro
 
My real problem is 'light weight buds'. With all the growth, I still don't get 'hard buds' as described by others. I guess I better start using a 0-50-30 fert for the last 3 weeks of growth before flush.
Thanks,
'dro

what about just upgrading to a 1000 watt bulb?
that is if you can handle the heat.
if you add co2 you could take the heat up to 82 degrees. the cost of the co2 is offset by your savings in AC cooling. with as meticulous as your garden sounds I bet you're yield would really increase.

but all that stuff cost money and you sound like you're doing pretty good anyway
Lammy
 
what about just upgrading to a 1000 watt bulb?
that is if you can handle the heat.
if you add co2 you could take the heat up to 82 degrees. the cost of the co2 is offset by your savings in AC cooling. with as meticulous as your garden sounds I bet you're yield would really increase.

but all that stuff cost money and you sound like you're doing pretty good anyway
Lammy

Lammy,
I DO have a 1000 watt ballast and lamps but could not keep temps below 85º to 87º F. I plan on giving it another try in the future but with One plant in final phase, I'm afraid the light bump would stress it back to veg growth.
My other plants will get the test after harvest from plant #1.
Money IS tight as I'm disabled, on a fixed income for the first time in my life. It's REALITY going from 6 figures to 20 cents on the dollar. Life goes on. I'm still 'IN LOVE' with my bride of 38 years. Money never made us happy........just secure where our next meal was coming from.
Thanks for the help,
'dro
 
Last edited:
0-50-30

I'm waiting for some 'finishing nutes' to arrive hoping to harden up the buds and gain some more weight. Time for research is limited. Anyone can to clue me in to nute strength? What I've read leads me to believe NO OTHER NUTES are required but I can't see any plant growing well without Micros.
I'm using GH 3 part Flora series with Liquid KoolBloom at a conductivity of 950 to 1000. I TRY to maintain a 5.9 pH but it bounces around a lot. I start at 6.0 when lights come on. pH is down to 5.7 by the end of light on period.
I've been very lucky without many problems in this grow space. It's very small but every inch is used.
Thanks,
'dro
 
Back to 1K lamp

After harvest of the 'big plant', I've gone back to the 1K lamp. To my surprise, temps are maintaining 75º*F with a drop to 58º F Water flowing through. I'm also supplementing with frozen bottles to take some of the stress off of my 1/4 hp chiller. What a difference the light makes. I hope to see some hard buds on the next 3 plants that are 3 weeks into 12/12. Vertical growth is NOT a problem right now but the spread is HUGE. Buds sites everywhere are growing fast. Time will tell.
Keeping records of every grow gets old but is a requirement for me. I have CRS (Can't Remember Shit) so I have to write it down. Over time, I've developed a chart to keep track of every aspect of each plant in the flower room. I DON'T veg at all so everything starts at 12/12 and stays there through harvest. I've tried black plastic covering some plants to drop them to 11/13 but find the hassle not worth the effort. I suspect I loose a lot of crystal on the plastic.
I'm going to try some pix in the near future if I can borrow a 'wide angle lens'. Anyone suggest a good lens filter to use under hps light?
Thanks,
'dro
 
Gettin' Busted Ain't no 'Fun'

Cops came in April of 2014. I'm Done with Probation and ready to start up again. Can I still get seeds from Mr. Nice? Can't seam to get contacted with them.
Medicine Man for my wife and SSH for me. I like the clear head 'upper' experience.
Thanks in advance,
upperhydro
 
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