First time grow and with LED - advice please!

[transcend]

Hi there to all, this is my first post.

After doing a lot of reading on the main site, I've bought some equipment and set up my first grow. So busy far my setup is:

Grow tent 2.75'x2.75'x6'6"
Inline extractor fan 88-117cfm
​​​​​Carbon filter 1ft (2.5" carbon bed)
2 COB full spectrum LED (110w draw at wall)

I also have a small oil heater and temperature controller to keep the temp in range as the COBs weren't putting out enough heat, and may look at adding a humidifier/dehumidifier if need be (temps and humidity fluctuate quite a bit where I live).

My medium is a mixture of potting soil, Coco mulch and perlite at about a 40-40-20% ratio. I'm using a 2-part veg nutrient at half strength as advised by Nebula on the main site, I have a 2-part bloom one for that phase too (it came with the setup).

In the tent are 2 bagseed seedlings (strain unknown, I just remember it being a really good buzz haha) and 2 clones of Grease Monkey I got from a buddy a couple of days ago. They've rooted through the jiffy pellets and have just been potted. I've got them on a 20/4 light cycle.

Currently I'm thinking about keeping one of each as a mother if both seedlings are female, if only one is I'll clone that. If both turn out male they're destined for compost. The remaining one of each I'll flower.
While they're all vegging up I'll set up another enclosure for the mothers. I'm not worried about perpetual harvest, I'll just have a small mother box and veg and flower in the tent.

​​​​​​I've got a couple of questions regarding how to proceed, my buddy I got the clones off grows but has no experience with LED. Here goes:

- So the manufacturer says to hang the light 12" from the canopy for best results, is this too close? Seems a bit nearer than what I've read. I've included a picture of the PPFD map they provide (sorry about the metric measurements on the map, I live in a metric country and have done my best to convert my dimensions to imperial. My tents 80x80x200cm).

- Does anyone have any rough idea on what kind of penetration this light might have? It's meant to be equivalent to a 400w HID. I'd like to know how far to veg for decent colas and no/little larf, but at the same time I don't want to under-veg and get shorter colas than I could have.

- I've only been running the extractor for 15min per hour while the plants are small on the 88cfm setting, should this be more (at this stage)?

- I plan on having a go at either mainlining/quadlining/fluxing to maximize yield, any ideas which would be the best for the space I have? I was thinking of trying to get 2 plants in.

-From what I've read the Grease Monkey clones might go mental since they were taken during flowering and re-veged. Has anyone got experience with this strain in terms of flower stretch, yields etc?

- When it comes time to flower, will the lights on the temp controller cause light pollution? I can move it outside the tent if need be.


I was going to post a link to the site I bought the light if anyone wanted more info but thought it might be considered advertising so I won't risk it.

Thanks for all the advice in advance, I'm new to indoor growing and weed but have been growing veges outdoors and in a glasshouse for a number of years so I have some basic plant principles sorted at least haha

 

[transcend]

For some reason the text didn't show up on the PPFD maps.

Left: 80x80cm at 30cm (2.75x2.75’ at 12”)
Right: 80x80cm at 40cm (2.75x2.75' at 18”)

 

[Puglover1]

Hi, welcome. It's late on a Sunday night, there might not be many growers on here right now. If you give the manufacturer and model of the light we might be able to Google it for more info. Your soil mix looks like a lot of bark, the coco mulch. The controller lights shouldn't matter. You could Google, search on websites to learn more about the Grease Monkey strain, I've not grown nor smoked it. If you have four females in that tent I'm not sure if your lights will be enough, I think someone else will weigh in later. Happy Pharming!

 

[transcend]

Thanks Puglover, yeah I wasn't expecting a reply for a while considering the time (I'm in a different time zone).


​​​​​​Would it be better to lower the Coco mulch ratio when I repot?
I've been trying to find proper coir but it's scarce here at the moment (Covid supply chain issues I imagine).
I was thinking 2 females max for flowering, but if the light isn't up to the task I'll be happy enough with one at a time.

The light is a 4seasons LUMA 400

According to the website the lenses are 90° with 92% light transmittance. I've heard of people removing the lenses for better results, but I'm hesitant to mess with it until I get a few grows under my belt.

 

[golfnrl]

Hi transcend Welcome aboard. Looks like a good set up. Start with the manufacturers recommendations with the light and watch how your plants respond. That's how I was first advised and how I do it now. The closer it is the more light penetration you'll get, right? I'd run the extractor (exhaust fan) 24/7 for the constant exchange of fresh air into the tent. I can't comment on the clones but others will.

 

[transcend]

Thanks golfnrl, I'll try that

 

[transcend]

So I've now repotted the seedlings into 2gal fabric pots. Once they've grown another node I'll top and defol them in prep for manifolding/fluxing (haven't decided which method yet).

The clones are revegging well (as far as I can tell) and look like they're gonna be suuper bushy.

Ideally I'd like to flower one of each strain at the same time in 5gal fabric pots, but it'll be a squeeze with the heater in there too and it might dry out the pot nearest the heater too quickly.

So I was thinking about making an antechamber of sorts directly outside the passive intake to house the heater. It'd basically be a box that sits over the heater (with decent clearances to avoid any fire risk etc) with a bunch of holes drilled in one side for the intake air to come in. That way the air would be warmed as it passed through the fins of the heater into the tent. I'll have a small fan placed low in the tent to move the warmed air around under the canopy.
I also thought about housing the humidifier/dehumidifier in the proposed anteroom too, so that my intake temps/humidity are correct before the air hits the plants. I've ordered a humidity controller to pair with my existing temp one so the readings for automation will still come from the probes in the tent. Has anyone had any experience/success with this type of thing?

 

[transcend]

Couple of updated photos for anyone interested

 

[Puglover1]

I grow in a closet. Just exhaust through the attic, no filters and intakes and such. To your question about the coco mulch, I'd probably remove some of the bigger bark pieces. Your plants look healthy!

 

[golfnrl]

The anteroom sounds similar to a lung room/grow room. I don't want to be out of line by saying this but the idea of enclosing a heating device that was not designed for it is a recipe for disaster. Even with careful consideration for the obvious. If you go forward with your idea be careful transcend, too many experiences with space heaters, candles, temp fireplaces, etc.

 

[transcend]

Yeah golfnrl I am a bit hesitant for those same reasons, but I thought with it being an oil filled radiator it might not be a problem if the space is big enough..
If I do go ahead with it I'll do a dry run while I'm at home all day/night to monitor it constantly in case of any issues or heat build-up

 

[transcend]

Thanks Puglover1, I'm waiting for the first issue and the impending panic/worry that my babies are sick! Haha

 

[transcend]

So yesterday I topped the 2 bagseed plants, took some fan leaves off and all growth below 3rd node; they seem to be recovering nicely.
​​​​​​I plan to do some defol/stripping in a few days once they start growing again.. is that too early after being topped?

The clones (in front) are gonna be topped and defoled a bit after some good advice from SoOrbudgal on a different thread.

But so far so good! (As far as I can tell hahaha)

 

[Bootsy]

the pre-chamber with heater and humdifier is exactly what I have been doing for a few years. In my opinion, with the oil filled heater the surfaces dont get hot enough to cause flames, and the ventilation keeps air circulating so that the heater is not compromised. it has worked extremely well for me, and as of awhile ago, a buddy of mine as well. I now use a large rubbermaid type container that helps keep in any extra water that condenses. I make sure electrical connections are off the bottom is all, and I feel it is safe. If doing it, do make allowance that you can get at your humidifier easily for re-filling.

 

[transcend]

Yeah Bootsy that's exactly my logic about it too. No way I'd do it with any other type of heater left unattended while I'm at work.
I've made a chamber out of some leftover underfloor insulation from when my house was done, the styrofoam type (it has fire retardant added during manufacture). According to my wi-fi controller the temps are much more constant instead of the up and down heat/cool-off/repeat it was doing beforehand. Haven't had to add in the humidifier yet, but I can easily remove the lid when need be. All my electrics are in the tent at the top frame, I just run the cable through an unused duct hole so no danger there.

 

[Bootsy]

Hi. in case it is of interest, photos of my conditioning antechamber (like that term). been in use for at least 2 years in this format. previously was a big box, but cardboard not great around moisture. I love not having that stuff inside, and engineering wise the majority of heat and humidity required is for the ventilation so it made things easier to control.

 

[Puglover1]

I'm a visual type of person. I had to read the antechamber posts twice to know what I was looking at, my oil radiator heater (that I've not used for the grow closet yet) is the narrow, tall kind. That's a nice setup.

 

[transcend]

Looks good Bootsy!
​​​​​​The enclosure I made is considerably bigger, might have to shrink it down a bit after seeing your work!

 

[Bootsy]

Thanks. With my Inkbird temperature and himidity controller, climactic conditions are handled. my only issue is that I sometimes forget to turn the heat/humidifier off when the tent is open for awhile so the enclosure gets hot and wet. or - forget to turn them back on when finished so the tent gets cold and dry. In winter my basement gets to low 60's and below 20%. Plants have been very forgiving to us old stoners so no negative results to these occurances. Sense o humour is still intact.

 

[transcend]

Cool, I've got the same inkbird controllers so I think after hearing your experience I should be all right! I too will be battling the cold so that's why I thought of the external setup as a better way to control the conditions. Glad someone else came up with it first!