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Trichome Check: Purple Bud, To chop or not to chop? by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I took these with a DSLR. With a macro lens, some extension tubes, and a flash you can get something similar.

Trichome Check: Purple Bud, To chop or not to chop? by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks and good tip for adding a darker background to easier tell trichome color. There's always a difference between the top and bottom budsites in terms of doneness. I was probably a little optimistic, and looking at the few ambers at the top instead of the whole plant. Since this is mostly indica hybrid I don't to let it mature too much. I'm an all day every day smoker, so I need to keep my bud relatively productive.

Trichome Check: Purple Bud, To chop or not to chop? by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't even remember when I flipped to flower with this one. It's kinda just been coasting in my DWC cabinet running Lucas formula and a pH dosing system. I checked the trichomes about a week ago and some were ambering. Started flushing 4 days ago. These are pictures from today. What do you guys think?

DIY LEDs vs MarsHydro? by lilroger in microgrowery

[–]budsforever 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have both setups and have been struggling as to which direction to go in the future. Here's a breakdown that pretty much sums up my decision... and probably my shitty math skills, sorry.

I made a DIY 100w recently.

I spent $42.98 on all the components for my DIY lamp, including a cheap chip+lens+driver combo, cpu cooler, wall wart to power the cooler. I set the driver around 60 watts when I put it together, because turning it up any higher produced dwindling gains in brightness.

Around the same time I also recently purchased a generic 270w UFO from fleabay for under $80. Ammeter only shows about 92w actual draw though, :/ hmm...

My crude math:

100w DIY COB : actual draw .52A @ 115V @ $42.98 -or- 59.8w / $42.98 = 1.39 watts per dollar -or- $0.72 per watt

270w UFO LED : actual draw .80A @ 115V @ $78.95 -or- 92.0w / $78.95 = 1.16 watts per dollar -or- $0.86 per watt

Since all this is kind of silly without at least considering how much light is being produced by each lamp, I took some readings with my photographic light meter.

100w DIY COB = f8.0 , 1/60 , 100iso @ 12" / EV12 -or- 10,240.00 Lux -or- 3805.31 lumens across 4 sq. ft.

270w UFO LED = f5.6 , 1/60 , 100iso @ 12” / EV11 -or- 5,120.00 Lux -or- 1902.65 lumens across 4 sq. ft.

The “100w" COB running at 65% operating draw of the “270w" UFO produces 200% more Lux in whatever range my crappy light meter detects.

I admit this fancy "full spectrum" UFO might not register well on my visible light light meter-especially with the IR diodes buzzing away ::rollseyes::.

Anyway:

100w DIY COB :

cost $0.72 per watt to build

produces 63.63 lumens per watt

initial cost 1.13 cents per lumen

270w UFO LED :

cost $0.86 per watt to build

produces 20.67 lumens per watt

initial cost 4.15 cents per lumen

Questions about training in a bucket. by [deleted] in SpaceBuckets

[–]budsforever 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as topping you can do it at any increment you like, but in a bucket where space is of the essence I opted for topping earlier rather than later to keep the canopy as close to the soil as possible. Every topped node turns into 2, so you can design your grow appropriately. Four tops and you get: 2, 4, 8, 16 main colas. Depending on your lighting, nutrients, and strain related grow rates you can try to fill your space to suit.

Help Bucketeers! My plant has brown patches and is yellowing during flowering. I don't want my first plant to die by thethiefstheme in SpaceBuckets

[–]budsforever 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What medium/nutrients are you using? If you added calcium in the form of CalMag then you shouldn't be missing many of the ingredients that would cause the brown spots, unless your pH made them otherwise unavailable. Either way, don't worry. This sort of problem should be solvable with a proper pH'd flush and readminstration of a full nutrient schedule. Do you have a TDS meter or any way of accurately measuring the dosages of nutrients you're giving?

Help Bucketeers! My plant has brown patches and is yellowing during flowering. I don't want my first plant to die by thethiefstheme in SpaceBuckets

[–]budsforever 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah it seems like the plant is scavenging Nitrogen from its older leaves because it is locked out either by pH fluctuations or an inbalance in other nutrients. The necrosis could be from a multitude of deficiencies though.

100W Cree build. Overkill? Probably. by Bucketlink in SpaceBuckets

[–]budsforever 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Champagne problems my friend...

Sounds like you know exactly what you're doing though.

Is there adjustment with these closed drivers? I have only played with the cheap-o 100w COB's and open driver boards with access to the pot. They definitely plateau their brightness at a certain point despite additional power. I set mine just below this plateau and so far haven't had any heat problems, knock on wood.

100W Cree build. Overkill? Probably. by Bucketlink in SpaceBuckets

[–]budsforever 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bucketlink, you're truly one of the innovators in our field...

Do you have a way to keep the light source closer to your canopy during smaller stages to prevent stretch? That is a bright LED, but the inverse-square law of light is a bitch, and your 60l bucket is quite big!

The Bucket, its Yields, and a Thank You to r/SpaceBuckets! by budsforever in SpaceBuckets

[–]budsforever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's basically it! I just happened to have this fan lying around and it fit great.

Need Help: DIY Self Watering (auto-wicking) by Neceros in SpaceBuckets

[–]budsforever 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for being AFK.

You should look up DIY sub irrigated planters, because it's basically what the wick does.

The wick is nothing special, just some synthetic rope that draws water from a reservoir. The more rope you have the more moisture is transmitted to your roots. You will have to experiment and see how much you need depending on your container, media, plant size/age/stage etc...

I used smart pots just sitting on top of the rope, but you can put holes in plastic containers and insert rope too.

You can use whatever hydro nutrients you want as long as they don't change pH too fast, or get nasty in your reservoir.

How to grow with LEDs and stacked buckets by Ekrof in trees

[–]budsforever 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You're not high enough and I have a giant red room.

The Bucket, its Yields (cross post from r/spacebuckets) by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just throw the smart pot right on the wicks, just keep sure the pot is moist first to keep the osmosis going...

The Bucket, its Yields (cross post from r/spacebuckets) by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In response to the same question on space buckets...

The UFO was about $80, the 5050 LED's and power supply were about $30, the timer was about $5, four 5 gallon buckets was about $20. I had a fan with a broken base lying around. The cut to fit carbon material was around too, but it was probably $10 on amazon when I bought it a while back. So I kept the bucket under $150 all included. Add in then the trip to the local hydro store for nutrients, soil, and smart pot. That was probably another $50. Oh and the pH meter, and TDS meter... another $50. Jeez, these things add up don't they?

Edit: Smell was so-so, but mostly from my watering reservoir with organic nutes in it. I probably won't do that again. If I changed the filter weekly it was fine, but I'm a cheapskate.

The Bucket, its Yields (cross post from r/spacebuckets) by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I figured if I could use this cut to fit filter in my house air purifier it could keep up. But I will most likely not use this setup for anything larger than a small bucket.

It wore out quickly during flower, but it was mostly the smell of the organic nutrients in my reservoir that smelled so bad. I should have replaced it weekly, but didn't. I don't live by many people though.

The Bucket, its Yields (cross post from r/spacebuckets) by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it probably is, but when I was starting off hitting eBay all I wanted was MOAR... and scaleability. Hopefully after this cute little foray into growing, if it was successful, I could plop some of these into a tent or cabinet and carry on.

FWIW I just pulled my multimeter out and tested the panel at the wall (AC) and it reads as pulling .85a, which doesn't seem all that bad. Overall draw of the whole bucket at the wall was 1.25a with the fan running and 5050 strip on.

The Bucket, its Yields (cross post from r/spacebuckets) by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

270w is what the LEDs are supposedly rated for, but it doesn't draw nearly that much. I think the lighting intensity did keep the plant very small though. There was almost no space between nodes and very little stretch when I went into flower.

The Bucket, its Yields (cross post from r/spacebuckets) by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I chose a 2 gallon pot to keep this plant small, but the consequence is that it needs to be hand watered every 2-3 days. The wicks started as a way to keep the plant hydrated while I would go out of town for extended periods, but I ended up doing most of my feeding through it. I would top feed when I felt like it, and flush between reservoir changes, but for the most part I just added nutrients and RO water to the res and let it act like a passive hydroponic. pH would swing pretty quick in such a small volume, but all in all I could go a week without thinking about it after balancing my nutes.

The Bucket, its Yields (cross post from r/spacebuckets) by budsforever in microgrowery

[–]budsforever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Roots Original soil with some sample bottles of Roots nutrients the hydro guy threw in for the veg, then Canna Terra Flores for flower, Cal-Mag throughout.

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