getting proper temps

[Posnick]

hi all. been about 25 yrs since my last grow. man things have changed! I have a 315w CMH light. Grow room in in the bsmt. and stays at about 65 F. I have light approx 15" above the plants. my concern is the temps at the top of the plant are 95 F but according to my lux meter im at about 53000 Lux. I sat down there for an hour tonight playing and adjusting and testing. if i turn my humidifier to blow directly at the plants the temps come down to 80f. which is a better temp. I think this is all fine and dandy but what happens when the light goes out and the humidifier is still blowing cool air at them? Plants are only a week old. A little direction would be greatly appreciated!

[Mr.furley]

Welcome to GWE Posnick and welcome back!
Do you have a intake and exhaust?

one can overcome a lot of environmental issues in the short-haul with creative timer set ups.
lights on, humidifier on. Lights off, heater on.

[Posnick]

I do not have an intake. The room is approx 12X20....Laundry room. The room temps overall with the light on are 72f.....i do have exhaust but have not seen the need to use it yet. I will be moving the setup into the garage before they start flowering. I am trying to get the most light but keep temps below 80 at the top ot the plants.

[Colombo]

Hello Posnic ! If your basement is 65* put an intake fan in and your temps will drop and you will be able to regulate your temps easier. Cool air in hot air out. If you have no intake or exhuast fans just a humidifier there is no transfer of air to remove the heat. It becomes stagnate air. Air transfer is just as important as the rest of the grow system.

[Mr.furley]

Your exhaust will help remove the heat and fresh air coming in is a good thing (co2), sound like it's getting hot from being stagnant.
At a week old be careful not to give them too much light to fast. You can grow a nice little plant for the first 2 to 3 weeks with just a couple of 23w cfls.

[Posnick]

Thanks for the info. Looks like im buying my equipment!!

[Graff420]

Is it hydropoics or soil grown the tops of my plants stay around 85 but at a week old even if they hit 90°i wouldn't be to worried most little plants I believe like it a little warmer helpes them get things where they need to go iv tried the whole keep the room at 65° thing but to me my younger plants would slow down while yes the flowering ones seemed to absolutely love it so I'd maybe it's just a see how your plant is kind of thing with the temps but I'm only on my 4 th grow inside the tent so no to experienced yet

[Posnick]

Soil grown. The room itself is not hot. I’m trying to figure out how to get the light as close as I can without heat burning the tops. And still have 50,000 lux of light. In order to get that much light the temperature at the top of the plant is like 95 degrees. If I position my humidifier to blow directly on the plants it reduces the temperature to 80. Is it ok to have the humidifier blowing directly on the plants? Or should I raise the light and just accept less lux?

[Colombo]

Hello Posnick ! Take the plant and put yourself in its place. Stand or sit in a room with no ventilation with that light 24" above your head. Your head gets hot but not your body. You start to sweat because the internal temp of your body starts to raise and it releases water to cool down the skin to cool down the core. your head starts to burn because the light rays ponding on the skin breaking it down.(sunburn) Now if you put a fan on yourself it blows across the sweat and it cools the skin and the core temp. Put an exults fan on and at the top of the room it removes the heat the top by pulling cool air up from the lower intake cooling the room temps and yourself making it comfortable sit there. Raising and lowering the lights adjusts for light intensity so the plant can absorb light rays comfortable. The leaves also have poors that release moisture and also receive moisture just like skin to control temps. Crazy analogy but true.

[Spidermite]

I may have missed this but are you in a tent or just straight in an open room? If its in a tent you need that air moving in and out and fans also blowing in the tent. So have to have an exaust fan setup properly. And you need a fan or fans moving the air inside the tent. You need these even if the temps are correct and stable.

You can not have the humidifier blowing on your plants when in bloom due to bud rot. So go ahead and set it up using air movers instead of the humidifier.

If it is in an open room the same applies you need air movement. You always need fans for the plants to thrive especially in flower. And you need good room airflow. If it has central air you are already set. Otherwise like mine I Vent outdoors and have a shop fan moving air in the whole room. Just adjust the fans until you get the temp you want.

What is the minimum and max height of the light you have per the manufacturer?

[Spidermite]

Oh and I went to tents in my basement for several reasons. Much easier to filter the aromas from the flowers. And easier to set the microclimate in each tent vs the whole room. I can have 1 tent with low humidity for the flower stage and a second tent with high humidity for the vegetative stage.

[Posnick]

currently i am in an open room. laundry room. Before we go into flower i will be transfering into a grow room i am building in my attached garage.using a room over a tent just suits the humidifier and exhaust system i currently have. i dont remember seeing anything about min and max heights from my light manufacturer except that it is good for a 3x3 area. My plants have only been up for a week!

[Spidermite]

oldjarhead100 you have 315cmh dont you? What height do you use? But yes there is always a minimum and maximum recommended distance. Let me see if i can find it.

[Spidermite]

This is a clipit from GWE.

[Posnick]

spidermite you hit it on the head. thats what i have. Right now the light is 27". This my current setup. Still waiting for Amazon to drop off a few things.

[Colombo]

I would invest in some smart pots when you transfer. Roots grow circular in plastic and get root bound. Smart pots air prune roots to grow new roots. Just a thought.

[Spidermite]

I sure hope that helped. You are working on putting tigether a great setup and we all just want you and everyone else here to do great. OldJarhead i think uses those lights and has more grows under his belt that most of us here combined.. Others do to Like nebula and many others. Only type ive not used.

[Posnick]

amazon has 5 smart bags for the same price as 1 smart pot..is there a difference??

[Spidermite]

Yes the cloth fabric pots are what most of us use. The function of both is the same. Cloth ones are cheaper and I have used some 6 times straight now.

[Colombo]

I use 24-7 5 gal and 7 gal 5 bags in pack from amazon (fabric bags smart pots same)

[Posnick]

help is appreciated......cheers

[Spidermite]

Anytime. Welcome to the adddictive part of this plant. Growing it!!! Enjoy yourself and enjoy your time with your plants. It is alot of fun.

[Colombo]

Now when you get it all dialed in, we want to see some bad as plants growing LOL. Good Growing !!

[Posnick]

Just a quick update here. Plants are now 6 weeks and doing amazingly well. Just wanted to share this pic.

[Colombo]

Real nice plants Posnick ! Way to hang in there and put it all together for some pretty looking plants ! Nice job, Good Growing !!

[Posnick]

Thx Colombo. Amazing how if you do everything right how perfect they can be. The room I built is 6x4 by 8 foot tall. It’s already getting too small. Lol. Will be