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Just over 6 weeks, just been getting water

Watsup everyone. Finally I have managed to finish my 480w LED light which I have been busy with for the last 6 months, or rather delayed for the last 6 months. Work has been abit hectic and haven't been home to work on any projects. I managed to make some time and if it wasn't for a good friend that put the flames under my ass, I probably never would have finished it. @John Stonedwell I had a thread open about the wiring of a 480w light but as I kept the wiring the same as in the diagrams I used from LEDgardener, I thought I would just start a new thread rather. At no time would I say that this build is cheaper than buying from Alibaba but it was an adventure I wanted to take and I have learnt alot about it. Plus I have a brand new 480 watt LED Grow light. The build is an example on the LEDgardener website which I was introduced to by @Cannabist Here goes. These are the following items I used: 12x bridgelux 3500k led strips (bought off of digi-key) 480w meanwell driver 480H-42A (bought off of digi-key) 6m of aluminium bar (6mm thick and 76mm wide)(bought at aluminium trading) 6m of aluminium angle (side are 12mm wide and 1.6mm thick) 6m of 3core flexi black cable (soft like extension cord cable) 10m of 2core twinflex (harder mouldable cable) Plastic coated steel ferrels Couple of meters of heatshrink Chocolate blocks (through and through connectors) 8x wago connectors (can be found at hardware shops) Waterproof 3 core connector 3 point plug 12mm plastic squares for corners Wondafix glue Plenty of little screws So to begin I had to get alot of the dirty work out of the way. I decided to group my strips into 4x groups of 3x strips. So basically it would be 4 bars with 3 strips on each. I measured the width and length and figured the aluminium bars I had were wide enough to take 3 strips each. Making wiring abit easier and I used less wires than expected. Note that all bars were cut to 1.2m to fit the led strips and to fit into a 1.2m tent. I think I cut them even shorter just to make sure they fit in the tent as the tent isn't exactly 1.2m . Anyway. Not going to be doing the exact measurements as I can't really remember. So all the bars were cut to size and I decided to drill holes throught the bars to mount the strips. I aimed for 5 screws per strip. Way too many I would say but anyway. I also threaded all the holes so I didn't have to use little nuts to tighten the screws, even though that is not a bad idea because the threading took kak long. I had to thread the bars twice as a friend and I made several mistakes (under the influence of beer and weed). I also used a heatpaste to transfer the heat from the strips through the bars, and what a serious waste of time. The strips, even though 3 on one bar, doesn't get anywhere near hot enough to be concerned. I honestly think its like 21 degrees or something. Don't waste your time and money on that crap. Also it doesn't dry out like normal silicone and rather stays "wet" forever. It can become a very messy storey. I used 2 screws on each side of the bars when mounting to the angled pieces just to make sure I won't have any sort of swaying on pivot points. This was just to stabilize the build. I also did not shorten the angled aluminium simply so that it could keep its position nice and centered in the tent and not lean to one side. I made sure to use plastic squares to plug the corners so they don't tear into the tent. As you can see their sizes weren't perfect but I squeezed them on and they stayed there. No glue and shit. Once I had all 12 of the led strips mounted onto the bars and all the bars mounted onto the angled aluminium, it was time to start the wiring. So, as some of you may know that followed the wiring thread, there was alot of questions about the driver and why it had the two outputs etc. I am not going to discuss why they have two outputs on but I can assure it is for a good reason and probably for safety (some electricians said I could use just one of the outputs as it wouldn't matter, which I understand buuuuuuut it was designed like that for a reason, so I used both. Less of a fire hazard). Firstly I connected the main power cable which was 3 core, and extended the input cable of the driver with the 3 core flexi cable I got, and also connected a 3 point plug onto the end so I can plug it into a wall socket. Lol. I used the waterproof connector to connect the cables and created a nice long extension of the drivers' input cable. This helps alot as I don't have to struggle with extension cables. I then used some of the 3 core flexi cable to extend my outputs from the driver. I connected them with the coated ferrels and then used the heatshrink to cover it nicely. Heatshrink is the shit. I love it. Note that the two output cables from the driver have 2x cables in each. So that's two red(+) and two black(-) wires and no earth. The earth cable was then just cut short. At the end of the two outlet cables I just left them open and soldered over the copper to make it a little neater and more solid as those 4x points would go straight into the chocolate block which is mounted on the frame. I did it this way so that if I needed to move and pack up the light, I could just disconnect it from the chocolate block and I would have just 2 pieces to carry around (1x driver and cables, 1x light). As you can see I just used electric fence wire to make the frames hanging cable which I just connected between the bars on the angled aluminium to make sure the whole light does not bend from being too heavy etc. If you connect it to the outer edges you start getting a bend and warp, which then doesn't help with the direction of the lights. I used wondafix to stick all the wago connectors to the back of the bars. When I had to wire the red (+) ends of the bars (3x strips), I just ran 2 red wires from the choclate block to the wago connectors and then spread the power between all the positive ends of the led strips. I also just ran the two black (-) wires across the back of the bars (strips) to the opposite end where all the black (-) connections were and fed them via the wagos. Also I just glued the wires to the back of the bars so they would not move around too much. I also just used cable ties to keep everything neat on the frame. I used twinflex cables for my red and black wires. This wire is semi flexible and keeps the shape you bend it into which is great if you want a permanent built frame with lights etc and no wires dangling everywhere. In order to get it out of the hard white plastic which houses both of them, I would pull the earth and it would strip the red and black from one another. Making it alot easier to work with. I can't tell people not to build their own lights because there are way cheaper options available online which are already built but damn it was an exciting and interesting journey. This is something I have always wanted to do and now I feel like I have the confidence and abit extra knowledge on how to tackle something like this. I really hope this helps someone else deciding if they want to go on a similar journey or not. Hopefully someone could learn from the ideas mentioned and probably better them or personalize them their own way. One positive I found is this thing saves a shitload of space vertically in my tent. Thanks for watching. Note: this is not my design but one of the many on LEDgardener.com

Day 2 of Week 15 Update They got something totally new today ^^ they got a liter of pure rain water Tarryn Sisa Addon To get an idea of the size, those are 22l pots and the grid is 50x50 spaced

Week 12 Update / Flower Week 6 There's not much to report on this week. It has been really cold lately and the girls looked slightly stressed, except Ms Organic, she definitely took it a lot better than the other 2, she didn't even show the slightest sign of stress. Got a few buds on the leaves even some on fan leaf stems. Other than that everything seems to be going okay. Serious stretch on T2 though, I'm contemplating supercropping the long branches Bud growing on leaf stem: Bud growing on leaf:

Day 46 of 12/12

Hi folks. So finished with the chop on day 73 and 74. Now the tent is empty and time for a decent clean before the next batch goes in. I will post a final entry with some bud shots and a smoke report once the ladies have been trimmed and jarred for some curing. Hanging and chilling...

So the dreaded WPM came a knocking.. Nuked em with some Serenade... Darn it.. Luckily I did not procrastinate anny longer and gave the girls some TLC.. While snipping some unwanted cover I spotted the spots.. It happens so damn quick.. Thanc again @Prom.. Again you save the day Sir.. I removed the infected leaves and sprayd the spots on the stems.. Here is some upskirt and budporn for the gentlemen..

I wasn't technically diagnosed with it, but it was essentially insinuated by my primary school during grade 4. The school occupational therapist requested that my parents put me on Ritalin, thankfully my parents refused. The school said that I most likely won't make it through school then, which is a gamble my folks took. I made it through fine. Wasn't a great student by any means but kept a steady C average which I was more than happy with lol I probably say this with a bit of bias but in my honest opinion "ADHD" isn't always a disorder, it's a behavioural style/type. If you don't find something captivating you won't concentrate on it. We are still chimps after all. Unless you have a serious issue with keeping attention on something to the point that it's visibly concerning to others then sure, it's a disorder.... but if you're struggling to get a 7 year old to pay attention to a maths sum which he/she really doesn't give 2 shits about at that point in his/her life then you can't force the issue by chucking pills down their throat. Perhaps the system needs to adapt more than the child. That being said, many of us have to work jobs we don't enjoy and so need a bit of assistance. As someone who spends a lot of time behind a PC I honestly don't think I would manage it without weed. It definitely does help me zone in better. I wouldn't say it's a cure, but I would say it helps for sure. It varies from person to person though and some find that it actually hinders their concentration. So many studies are coming out now backing this!

Another week! How time flies. The stretch is now definitely in check now. Jissis. Not a whole bunch of bud development, think she's just settling in now.

Finally took some clones and cleaned up the vegging #2 lady. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Aug 7 - Aug 14: Week 6 of flower This week they got more worm tea (15ml/L) and bloom (2ml/L). Starting to get thicc #1 up close: #3 up close:

Hi everyone just a quick Sunday update: maybe a bit slow but seems she is recovering Enjoy

I was diagnosed as a kid, was also on Methylphenidate as a kid and then was off it as it's one of the best appetite suppressants I have ever tried and didn't seem to help much and turned me into a zombie. Reading up on ADHD now, there are a lot of things I can relate to, but also some I cannot. More symptoms / signs which I can relate to though. Whether I was accurately diagnosed as a kid, I do not know. Some have fallen away or gotten better as I've gotten older. Weed certainly helps calm the restless mind, which also helps with sleep at night. I'm actually taking a break from weed (not consuming any other intoxicating substances either, I wasn't before the break either so no change there) for August, so noticing the changes now as I'm not smoking currently. Methylphenidate (Ritalin) is a nasty stimulant, the side effects are quite hectic and I do not feel it should be given to kids. I used it a few years back when I was studying after I had been working for a few years and had gotten use to multi tasking, trying to focus on a single thing for extended periods of time, I wasn't able to and the methylphenidate helped for sure. The anxiety, heart rate, sweat, clammyness, appetite suppression and struggling to sleep if taken after 1pm was quite something. The lifespan of the focus is short lived, so requires one to "top up" to get through a full day of work / studying but the side effects linger on for longer. It has its uses and purpose, I do not see how anyone could find it fun though. @Naughty.Psychonaut without a doubt other substances can be life changing. For me it was a combination of MDMA and mushrooms which took me out of my shell and taught me lessons which have changed who I am as a person, for what I feel is the better. Weed for me has never been as magical. It has its uses, but never any profound experiences... Like alcohol in the sense that there isn't much magic there, although more useful than alcohol without a doubt. Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk

was diagnosed in 2004 was put on some generic methylphenidate, didn't do shit. was sent to "focus classes" as a kid like being told I was stupid wasn't damage enough... was put on ritalin, nothing changed, was put on concerta, started taking the stuff for the fun of it cause I liked it, but never helped me focus. later on didn't have much interest in the stuff anymore and stopped taking even the recommended doses. I started smoking weed in 2008, but never helped me focus or anything like that. what it did help with is keeping me from bouncing off the walls and brought me closer to mushrooms which then got me behind the books and gave me a better focus. so for weed helping with the adhd, I would say for me it defs helped with the hyperactiveness but not much with the focus. and if it wasn't for weed I'd probably still be chowing some sort of methylphenidate kak, which was the biggest help of all

So I've reached the end of week one of flower. Took them outside to give some water and a bit of a defoliating. Did a minimal snip and decided to pull some branches to the side and secured to the bags with pipe cleaners rather than go overboard with the snips. Group pic then 1,2,3 in top view. Hope I did the right thing.

Day 1 of Week 15 Update They got a liter ^^ Tarryn Sisa

Yeah man.. Going to be awesome.. Be sure to bring all your savings for the awesome coffee... Thnx for the update @Chris Jay..

So Growmies... I'm not sure if this is the correct spot.. It's not a 420 friendly spot as per say... But this lovely lady started a Litle nersary slash Hydro slash coffee shop... I just love the idea that she has FF, Just Cannabis ext on her shelves for affordable prices.. I believe in supporting local and even more so when people don't just want to make a quick $. So plze if you in the Northern Suburbs of CPT, pop in and speak to Tracy.. Have a Iced coffee by Scorpio Coffees and browse through the Nic Nacs... She also have companion plants, pots, veggies and so forth available... Below her location... Check it out... 33°54'04.6"S 18°42'25.9"E https://maps.app.goo.gl/j1ZdVFGLxR7BYLTM8

Soo... Anyone here been diagnosed with ADHD? If so, how does smoking cannabis affect it, if at all?

Looks very sexy, nice build, thumbs up Just, if you make the next one, check to include 660nm -730nm Infra Red diodes. Good lamp for veg thou. Any idea how many micromole PAR you get at what distance?

So I think the larger of the 3 is a girl.. So chaffed.. Topped her.. Fimmed one of the smaller ones and the last one will be left to grow as she pleases.. Now that would be if they all girls.. Counting my chickens..

nice bra

Rather nicely sorted from fast to slow ^^ Bloody is 8 weeks, Northern Light 9 weeks, Pineapple and rest 10 weeks. Now this is with the right temperatures.. you let em get cold.. below 16, they need longer. 8 and 9 week plants Week 1 1ml Part A & B (each) Week 2 2ml Part A & B (each) Week 3 4ml Part A & B (Each) Week 4 6ml Part A & B (each) & 2ml MPK Week 5 7ml Part A & B (each) & 3ml MPK Week 6 8ml Part A & B (each) & 4 ml MPK Week 7 10ml Part A & B (each) & 5 ml MPK Week 8 (depending on plants grow situation go on with 10ml A & B and 5ml MPK or Flush Week 9 (Flush) 10 and 11 week plants Week 1 1ml Part A & B (each) Week 2 2ml Part A & B (each) Week 3 3ml Part A & B (Each) Week 4 5ml Part A & B (each) & 2ml MPK Week 5 6ml Part A & B (each) & 2ml MPK Week 6 7ml Part A & B (each) & 3 ml MPK Week 7 8ml Part A & B (each) & 4 ml MPK Week 8 9ml Part A & B (each) & 5 ml MPK week 9 10ml Part A& B (each) & 5 ml MPK week 10 (depending on plants grow situation go on with 10ml A & B and 5ml MPK or Flush week 11 flush Would be my tables for those autos. I grew the Fastbuds Pineapple myself. I don't knot the fertilizer, so I went more the save way. If you learned a strain, you can push em more. The Northern Light and Pineapple Express are rather PM resistant.. if you fear it, place those in the less ventilated spots. ^^ Run a diary..

I assume there is constantly water with nutes covering those roots as well, so a lot like a hydro grow. There are barely any roots at the top of the medium even where it does wick up. Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk

I smoke weed to concentrate ☝

The roots completely cram into the air dome space. I don’t suppose there is much root activity at the top.

Was very nice outing , owners nice also and I pressed some Zurple Punch. Sent from my Hisense Infinity H50 using Tapatalk

First.. you will enjoy those Deluxe Sugarcanes ^^ The DS plant I got replaced the Slurricane mother. The Slurri can't compete with the DS smoke taste wise. Second.. you waste your time with those bag seeds Rest, looking good (Those DS plants i mean ^^), and beware over watering. They are under watered, when they lay flat on the soil that early. Lift your pots before you water, if they are feather light, top up, else wait. If your medium is to wet for to long you get lazy roots.. and that hinders grow speed. Keep your dry / wet cycle up.

I don't think it's that much of an issue. They have constant water at the bottom like a plant in hydro and fresh air via airstones? Just a portion at the top which doesn't have any roots which dries out. I don't think adding mulch at the top would help much either as I think it's more of a wicking issue. It might make a small difference, doubt that difference will be worth it though and don't think you'll notice a difference with the plants either. Sent from my Redmi Note 7 Pro using Tapatalk

Still no gender...Been cold the last while. But they are still developing and filling the space wonderfully.

This is a side view of the F1 pulled out of the pot. It was harvested and left in the pot for around 3 or 4 days so it probably dried a bit more in that time before I pulled it out to inspect.

Finally got around to putting my sticker up, guess it’s finally official. Flowers are continuing getting bigger and the stacking is starting, especially on #1 Close ups of the structure Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sooooo ^^ no Day 2 of Week 14.. they also got nothing ^^ when I look out the window, just happy the freakin fog is gone we had over the weekend. Was just over, just the Veg and Mother got some feeding.. the flower is still fine. Day 3 of Week 14 Update They got again nothing, pot to heavy. Climate was at 23.2 Degrees and 49% Humidity when I checked. Tarryn Sisa

Day 2 of Week 13 Update They got nothing ^^ Tarryn Sisa