HYDRO Help with humidity and defoliation

[freeneasy]

Hi all, my first post, and need to say this site is awesome, already learnt a bunch, but failed 3 attempts to finish a grow last year due to (i think) bad genetics (met someone who had same problem with seeds from same supplier)

This time I have Northern lights x white widow from weedseedsexpress and they are doing well, but past failings have left me unsure about my growing abilities-if this one fails it may just break my heart so hoping some wisdom from the masses will keep things on track!
I turned them 4 weeks ago, buds appeared 2 weeks ago, I've trimmed a few leaves but not much.

questions
- the rh outside the room is 84% inside the same, is a dehumidifier going to achieve anything ? Is there a better option? Ventilation from tent to outside huose is good but the moisture is in the air already...

- also been reading about defoliation for reducing water in tent as well as getting more harvest from more light getting to more plant but worried about how much is too much ?

any advice would be greatly appreciated, so thank you in advance!


5 x 5 x 6 tent
4 seasons helios 640w evo led
4 x Dwc 15l / 4 gallon water capacity
Ac infinity 8 " fan & silencer
Mountain air filter
3 clip fans, 1 above and 2 below
50g / hrs pump for water circulation , the tubs are connected
Goliath 2 part fert , calimag and uc roots
Bluelab ph controller

[dirtymike]

Thick and bushy just before flower time. If you're still on 18/6 light cycle , Check out the tutorial Nebula Haze has prepared just for defoliation technique. She has a very good system. I've used her suggestions many times with great success. Get some light and air circulation down to the pot. RH should be around 50-60 going into flower. For late stage flower get a little cooler 72-77with RH around 40-50.

[golfnrl]

Your setup looks good. I take it temps are in range? Don't give up. Your plants look good. 84% RH is a problem. If you use a dehumidifier it will need to have a large capacity, right?

I take it your tent is in a lung room? Is that room climate controlled? Lower AC in the lung room will lower the RH in the tent. Example: 4x4 tent in a 14'x12' room. Lung room temp is 6-8 degrees lower or higher than inside the tent depending on if the AC or the heater is running in the lung room.

I have two dehumidifiers in the lung room. I think they are the 35 pints size. But only use one unless RH gets sky high. The RH in my area runs high sometimes. I've tried dehumidifiers in the tent, they don't work, JIC you were thinking about that.

[Bluey]

I have similar ambient conditions to you so went with a reasonable well sealed room 13 gal/day dehumidifier and AC to control the environment.

At 80% RH and above you will grow excellent mold before growing excellent flowers.

Once you partially seal the room to allow the dehumidifier to do its thing you will need to cool the room. My air changeover is handled by my AC simply by opening the vent and that keeps the room at perfect temps around 40%RH with enough CO² to keep them happy.

I have 2050w of full spectrum LEDs and 4.1kw of cooling power which is what I need in summer but a bit more than I need in winter, 3kw would probably do it in winter.

I can do 5lb of tge highest grade premium bud in that room with 60 days of veg on 5 plants, comfortably. You could go more plants and less veg time for similar results.

[freeneasy]

Thanks guys! Never heard the term lung room before my temps are fine it's just humid from constant rain I will try a portable ac (already have one) then see if I still need dehumidifier.

[ductwizard]

o.k. i think i missed it. what is a lung room?

[dirtymike]

The room you're tent is in ductwizard

[bboyfromwayback]

I grow in my basement and the natural humidity is around 80% in the summer. To offset that I have a dehumidifier down there set to 50% that keeps the tent humidity below 60%. When the plants are in late flower I set the humidifier to 35% to get the tent humidity in the 40’s. Buy a dehumidifier

[dirtymike]

A good one to. 2 .5 gallon or bigger with a pump.

[bboyfromwayback]

Yes! I bought one rated for twice the square footage of the area my tent is in

[dirtymike]

I bet you dont hear it kick on and off alot either.

[Ckbrew]

A dehumidifier will bring down humidity but will increase temperature. If you have an AC to hook up that takes care of both temp and humidity. If this is constantly how your weather is then go for it. At 84% you're gonna get mold. I would give them a good defol, they need it. A defol will reduce humidity slightly but more important it will increase air flow which decreases the chance of mold. Consider more fans. I use cheap clip fans, 10 fans in a 5X5. They are doing very well. With that setup you should be able to produce many buds.

[bboyfromwayback]

True statement. Thankfully my current basement stays around 70 degrees even when the humidity gets high. At my last house I had to run a potable ac unit and a dehumidifier at the same time June-September

[Allenpro]

What is the temperature of the water in your buckets and are you using Hydroguard or some thing else for Bacillus Root Inoculant? Water temps cause root rot and that kills more hydro grows than anything else I have experienced, even those nasty ass spider mites. Sounds like you have sort of a RDWC system so you could add a chiller but they are pricey and they add to the electric bill. In an experiment I grew 3 very small plants in a 3 gallon tote and used Southern Ag Garden Friendly Biological Fungicide and let the water temps go to almost 100° and had no root rot. Dont try that at home if you dont have to. There is another one that smells like to Sewage treatmane plant in Tijuanna (aka Pacific Ocean around San Ysidro) but the smell goes away in a few hours of cicrculation in your setup. As far as I know the smell in TJ never goes away.

I would defol the hell out of that one in the first picture, the timing is about perfect to do that right now, If its an auto I would do it anyway, the dont do anything but LST to Autos is from Autos of years ago, they are tough as hell these days. I only grow them on occasion and its only to torture them as payback.
I grow in my basement in Southern Maine and I do my best to make sure my grows are over by June, I failed that this year and I drop seeds in September for the 1st winter grow.

Somewhere on here she has a list of reliable seed banks, I agree with the choices except Nirvana, I think thier master grower left the buildng long ago and took the good genitics with them. North Atlantic Seed Company is generally my go to for seeds, but they are litteraly just down the road from me, Good people