Hotwired
Well-Known Member
I need a new idea for vegging my 4 x 4 tent. I've tried cfl, hps and metal halide and I'm not happy with any of the results I'm getting.
400 watts of cfl kept them short, but too thin stemmed.
450 watts of hps (a 600 turned down to 75% on digital ballast) did better with thicker stems.
And last a 600 watt Hortilux Blue metal halide also turned down to 450 watts with my ballast. Plants grew very very slow and lanky. Couldn't make it bushy at all due the the slow process. 4 full weeks of veg gave me 4 thin branches.
I believe the Hortilux Blue couldn't operate at its best @ 450 watts. Plants seemed to stretch for the light even tho they were only 16 inches away. Running @ 600 was way too hot of an environment so I think I wasted time running them @ 450.
My style of growing is to have only a few branches that grow fat buds instead of many branches and smaller buds. I need coverage for the whole 4 x 4 area and 600 watts seems to do the trick all the time. BUT, it's too hot so I need lower watts.
The HLG 550 turned down to 450 might do the trick but $1k bucks it's a lot. DIY cobs or QB's are out of the question. I want to be safe, not sorry.
A 5 inch rooted clone should not be giving me 4 small branches after 4 weeks of veg. Sometimes they sit there for the first 2 weeks and look like they hardly grew. Using soilless mix with Dyno Gro Foliar pro. 200 to 300 ppm after the first week.
Of course user error could be a part here. One of the problems I thought I had was planting the clones too early without enough roots. But I planted clones fully covering the rapid rooter and hanging down and planted clones with maybe 6 to 8 good roots on it. Both come out the same way, slow as shit.
I have 2 fans in the room and temps stay around 80 during lights on with RH at 50%. Plants are always healthy and love the food. I run perpetual so 4 weeks veg is max.
Is it the light? Is it me? Any suggestions on lighting?
400 watts of cfl kept them short, but too thin stemmed.
450 watts of hps (a 600 turned down to 75% on digital ballast) did better with thicker stems.
And last a 600 watt Hortilux Blue metal halide also turned down to 450 watts with my ballast. Plants grew very very slow and lanky. Couldn't make it bushy at all due the the slow process. 4 full weeks of veg gave me 4 thin branches.
I believe the Hortilux Blue couldn't operate at its best @ 450 watts. Plants seemed to stretch for the light even tho they were only 16 inches away. Running @ 600 was way too hot of an environment so I think I wasted time running them @ 450.
My style of growing is to have only a few branches that grow fat buds instead of many branches and smaller buds. I need coverage for the whole 4 x 4 area and 600 watts seems to do the trick all the time. BUT, it's too hot so I need lower watts.
The HLG 550 turned down to 450 might do the trick but $1k bucks it's a lot. DIY cobs or QB's are out of the question. I want to be safe, not sorry.
A 5 inch rooted clone should not be giving me 4 small branches after 4 weeks of veg. Sometimes they sit there for the first 2 weeks and look like they hardly grew. Using soilless mix with Dyno Gro Foliar pro. 200 to 300 ppm after the first week.
Of course user error could be a part here. One of the problems I thought I had was planting the clones too early without enough roots. But I planted clones fully covering the rapid rooter and hanging down and planted clones with maybe 6 to 8 good roots on it. Both come out the same way, slow as shit.
I have 2 fans in the room and temps stay around 80 during lights on with RH at 50%. Plants are always healthy and love the food. I run perpetual so 4 weeks veg is max.
Is it the light? Is it me? Any suggestions on lighting?
