ae86 grower
Well-Known Member
lad i`m off to the bed, catch you tomorrow if your on line....
My plants are ready for flower now. Cant wait to recieve my light so i can start. Topped 3 of them on monday and they have came along well. Hopefully my light comes in a day or 2
Do u normally work on plants when lights are on or off???had a sneaky look at the plants on the go at the moment and anyone else get the stars in there eyes from the lights..??? hahaha nearly walked into the door on the way out...
going well, seem happy still small but were in for the long haul so further updates in couple of days when they get some size to them, still no nutes as the siol is fresh so they jist got a pint of fresh water each and that will do until say wed night to drive out the roots and establish as large a ball as quickly as possible...
Do u normally work on plants when lights are on or off???
hi ae86, can i just pick up on something you said a few posts back about the ballasts. i have both types (both 600w's). i used the magnetic for a year and got ok results with it. but when i switched to the digital one i was over run. it is amazing. now that could have been down to other things that i have tweaked but i believe it's the ballast more than anything else, due to the 10% boost and a more effective power usage. now i will have meters to make the tests myself someday for it but for now i have to go by what i read on the internet,
only 50w extra and for that get 45k lux's extra. and thats pretending that i was getting the full 155k lux from the magnetic one in the 1st place. but without a light meter i just don't know for sure. but in any case it's still a big boost.
- Ballast at 600w - 2.90amps - 630w - 155klux
- Ballast boosted to 660w - 3.15amps - 680w - 200klux
as for life span, the digital should last longer than the magnetic one, what can be a problem is if you use a bulb that can't handle a digital ballast, not all bulbs can so you need to watch that. but if your looking for a cheap backup i'd recommend getting yourself a 250w cfl, they are easy to use and they will save you if your stuck.
but what really dragged me out of the my lurking today was you mentioned 20 liter's of paint. can i just share something i only found out last week. mylar sheets for €1.50. i came across them in dealz (that have a .ie website). they are selling emergency shelters that are 8ft by 5ft for €1.50. also they sell emergency blankets a set of 2 that are 1m x 2m for just €1.50 too. now it is tin but it's a lot cheaper than €3.00 per 1m x 1m in the grow shops and works as good as the cheapest mylar they have.
anyway i stepped out of my comfort zone to share that with you and i hope even if you don't use my info you'll think it was interesting to know at least. (that's only if you didn't already know it)
best of luck with your babies
this hobby is very compelling. before you know it you'll be digging into a mountain and setting up underground.