Tiny colas (Light spectrum problem??)

GreenForMiles · Feb 26, 2023

Hello, I’m using QB96’s to flower my plants. My autos absolutely love them, but my photos look like they could use some assistance.

Attached is a cola of an untrained plant under 4 QB96’s with a HLG-480H-54 driver. The plants are very healthy looking and have a vast amount of trichomes, however the colas aren’t towering like they did under my HPS 1000W.

Right now the main cola is getting 40,000 lux which is about 600PPFD. I THINK the QB96’s are a white and red spectrum but it’s been over a year since I purchased them and I can’t find anything about them online. (Not even in the discontinued section)

Would adding a red spectrum led in combo with the qb’s bring better sized colas? I don’t want to completely replace the qb’s because whatever spectrum they are, they seem to really help trichome development.

the strain is banana daddy by ethos genetics 10 weeks old, 5 in flower. The reason I think it’s a lighting issue is because I grew bigger buds with less experience but a High Pressure Sodium 1000W. I only just recently switched to LEDs for flower. They’re QB96 Elite V2’s.

Jjgrow420 · Feb 26, 2023

Those bare wires millimeters apart makes me shudder.
Were those pics with the lights on? Looks about as powerful as my phone's light.....?

hotrodharley · Feb 26, 2023

Switch back to HPS for now.

PadawanWarrior · Feb 26, 2023

GreenForMiles said:
Hello, I’m using QB96’s to flower my plants. My autos absolutely love them, but my photos look like they could use some assistance.

Attached is a cola of an untrained plant under 4 QB96’s with a HLG-480H-54 driver. The plants are very healthy looking and have a vast amount of trichomes, however the colas aren’t towering like they did under my HPS 1000W.

Right now the main cola is getting 40,000 lux which is about 600PPFD. I THINK the QB96’s are a white and red spectrum but it’s been over a year since I purchased them and I can’t find anything about them online. (Not even in the discontinued section)

Would adding a red spectrum led in combo with the qb’s bring better sized colas? I don’t want to completely replace the qb’s because whatever spectrum they are, they seem to really help trichome development.

the strain is banana daddy by ethos genetics 10 weeks old, 5 in flower. The reason I think it’s a lighting issue is because I grew bigger buds with less experience but a High Pressure Sodium 1000W. I only just recently switched to LEDs for flower. They’re QB96 Elite V2’s.

@PJ Diaz has used them awhile. Or maybe @pop22 can help.

The QB96's aren't the cause for small buds though. I just meant they can maybe help give more info on the lights themselves, :bigjoint:

Nizza · Feb 26, 2023

HPS will have bigger buds, LED will have tighter buds; this doesnt mean one weighs more than the other

also LED will perform better usually in the summer than winter if you arent keeping temps up

I agree with JJ the way the stranded wires is into those connectors is suspect I'd be careful

GreenForMiles · Feb 26, 2023

@Jjgrow420 the wires make me uneasy too, only adjust them with lights off. QB96’s are very strong but very centered.

@hotrodharley unfortunately I moved grow spaces and have no open air to exhaust the HPS’ heat, so I’m trying to make it work with the LEDs.

@PadawanWarrior my autos grow nice and thick under the same lights so I wouldn’t be surprised. Think this could be from me using more P-K? I’m using the same nitrogen nutes but have been adding fox farms 0-0.5-0.2 big bloom to get them to a ppm of about 1000-1250. Ph 6.0.

the buds are relatively flat compared to my past grows. Anyone have any idea the cause of “flat bud”? I’d give the strain more time to bulk but some pistils are browning so I think we’re past that point.

GreenForMiles · Feb 26, 2023

@Nizza thanks for the input. I’ve definitely seen first hand how small buds can be more potent or dense than big buds. My autos get light a lot longer and stay in the 72F, where my photos drop to 65. The leaves aren’t warped, discolored, or smelly so I wouldn’t say she’s a stressed plant. It could just be the strain seeing as 6/7 of them have this flat bud consistency while the 7th with the same nutes and light has a little girth.

they were topped 2 weeks before entering flower.

PadawanWarrior · Feb 26, 2023

GreenForMiles said:
@Jjgrow420 the wires make me uneasy too, only adjust them with lights off. QB96’s are very strong but very centered.

@hotrodharley unfortunately I moved grow spaces and have no open air to exhaust the HPS’ heat, so I’m trying to make it work with the LEDs.

@PadawanWarrior my autos grow nice and thick under the same lights so I wouldn’t be surprised. Think this could be from me using more P-K? I’m using the same nitrogen nutes but have been adding fox farms 0-0.5-0.2 big bloom to get them to a ppm of about 1000-1250. Ph 6.0.

the buds are relatively flat compared to my past grows. Anyone have any idea the cause of “flat bud”? I’d give the strain more time to bill but some pistils are browning so I think we’re past that point.

I didn't look at the pics earlier, just saw you asking about the QB96's. But in that first pic up top is the light on? My first guess would be not enough light or genetics. 40,000 isn't very high for flower.

PJ Diaz · Feb 26, 2023

Nizza said:
HPS will have bigger buds, LED will have tighter buds; this doesnt mean one weighs more than the other

also LED will perform better usually in the summer than winter if you arent keeping temps up

I agree with JJ the way the stranded wires is into those connectors is suspect I'd be careful

GreenForMiles said:
@Nizza thanks for the input. I’ve definitely seen first hand how small buds can be more potent or dense than big buds. My autos get light a lot longer and stay in the 72F, where my photos drop to 65. The leaves aren’t warped, discolored, or smelly so I wouldn’t say she’s a stressed plant. It could just be the strain seeing as 6/7 of them have this flat bud consistency while the 7th with the same nutes and light has a little girth.

they were topped 2 weeks before entering flower.

Temps are definitely your issue. You won't see the issue so much with HPS because of all the IR they throw out.

PJ Diaz · Feb 26, 2023

GreenForMiles said:
Would adding a red spectrum led in combo with the qb’s bring better sized colas? I don’t want to completely replace the qb’s because whatever spectrum they are, they seem to really help trichome development.

QB96's already have a lot of red, I wouldn't add more. I run a 315cmh in the middle of my QB96's during the cooler seasons, which helps a lot.

GreenForMiles · Feb 27, 2023

Thank you everyone who replied. I read 27,000 to 54 000 lux is optimal for flowering with qb96 lighting. (That’s 400-800 ppfd) I couldn’t find anything else online about them. The outer parts of the plant fall to like 30,000. I didn’t sCrog this time and I kinda regret it.

I’ll definitely try raising the temps in the tent. My 1,000 watt hps is dimmable, but I’m assuming you use a CMH for a more diverse light spect. I run 2 qb’s over 4 plants on both sides of my tent, so I may need two CMH.

lusidghost · Feb 27, 2023

Nizza said:
HPS will have bigger buds, LED will have tighter buds; this doesnt mean one weighs more than the other

also LED will perform better usually in the summer than winter if you arent keeping temps up

I agree with JJ the way the stranded wires is into those connectors is suspect I'd be careful

I'm not sure if I still agree with this, but regardless LED wouldn't give you tiny little buds.

calvin.m16 · Feb 28, 2023

Probably genetics & not enough PPFD.

bam0813 · Feb 28, 2023

The chart I looked at says 40,000 lux is 920 umols/s/m2. That doesn’t sound like lack of light

Convert Lux to PPFD - Online Calculator | Waveform Lighting

Online calculator to convert illuminance (lux) to PPFD (micromoles per second per meter squared).

www.waveformlighting.com

Recommended PPFD levels for the establishment phase of cannabis are 75-150 µmol/m²/s for cuttings, and 100-300 µmol/m²/s for seedlings. For cannabis in the vegetative stage, PPFD levels of 300-600 µmol/m²/s are recommended and may be increased to over 600 µmol/m²/s in the reproductive phase.
Edit: I think your about 700 umol/s/m2 @ 4k

Tiny colas (Light spectrum problem??)

GreenForMiles

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Jjgrow420

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Convert Lux to PPFD - Online Calculator | Waveform Lighting

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