# LED AK-48 Grow Journal



## erwinsweeney (May 29, 2009)

I'm starting this journal a little bit late. I started 4 AK-48 seeds from Buy Dutch Seeds about 8 weeks ago.  All 4 sprouted.  I have vegged them under a 120 watt LED unit from California Nurseries.  It utilizes 88-1.07 watt red bridgelux LED's, and 24-1.07 watt blue LED's.  They are in a 2'-4'-5' grown tent that I keep in a walk-in closet.  I made 2 DIY carbon filters which are attached to 4" duct fans.  The fans suck air through the filters, and blow it out of the tent.  I dont have any fans blowing into the tent, with the fans blowing out, it seems to draw in enough through the vents.  2 of the plants were female and 2 were male, males were removed immediately.  I have started 4 clones from the bigger plant on the left.  She has always been a little bigger, and showed sex a little earlier as well.  I did get some nute burn on her after taking clones as can be seen, but I've been flushing for a few days now, and it's starting to clear up.  The LED light has been running 24/0 for the whole time.  THIS IS MY FIRST GROW EVER, BY THE WAY.  The bigger one on left is about 16", and one on the right is about 15" tall.


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## erwinsweeney (May 29, 2009)

I am going to change the light cycle tomorrow to 12/12 and begin them flowering.  The LED unit emits 3600 lumens. So that being said, I am going to continue using the LED unit in a separate area to veg the clones.  I will begin flowering the 2 big plants tomorrow under a 2700K 250 watt CFL bulb and reflector which emits 10,800 lumens.  I have not tried to flower under the LED before, however I don't believe 3600 lumens will be enough to properly flower these two plants.  I am however very satisfied with the job that the LED light has done in vegging the plants, and will continue to use it for that purpose.  The plants are stout and very bushy, which is what I was looking for.  I have been using Fox Farms Grow Big and Big Bloom so far, but have recently been flushing with water only, due to some nute burn.  I will use Tiger Bloom as well in flowering.


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## erwinsweeney (May 29, 2009)

I had a small Fungus Gnat infestation. You can see in one of the pics, under the plant on the left I put a horticulture yellow sticky insect trap.  In the matter of a couple days, this seems to have gotten a handle on it.


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## SPEARCHUCKER (May 29, 2009)

Looks great erwin. Nice LED you got there too.


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## erwinsweeney (May 29, 2009)

Man, I recently found a grow journal by BombBudPuffa where he did AK-48 and started flowering when the plant was 6" tall, and his still ended up pretty big, and quality smoke.  I'm curious how big these will get since they are 16" tall already?


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## erwinsweeney (May 29, 2009)

One thing I don't fully understand is the reasoning on having a dedicated mother plant.  I have four clones going from my bigger plant.  They are in veg stage.  Since they are clones, can I just take my next round of clones from them before I put them into flowering??  Is the reason for keeping a mother plant, just in case something goes wrong with clones?


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## erwinsweeney (May 29, 2009)

Thank you Spear. I got a great deal on the LED light. At the manufacturers site they retail for $499.99.  I found one on E-Bay that was barely used, and got it for $200.  Worth every penny I believe.


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## MootPointBlank (May 29, 2009)

erwinsweeney said:
			
		

> One thing I don't fully understand is the reasoning on having a dedicated mother plant.  I have four clones going from my bigger plant.  They are in veg stage.  Since they are clones, can I just take my next round of clones from them before I put them into flowering??  Is the reason for keeping a mother plant, just in case something goes wrong with clones?



I've asked the same question about cloning from clones and there are three considerations that I've come across. The first consideration is time; the biological clock in all species starts ticking at the point of conception. From that point on there is a finite amount of time that that organism will survive before cellular degeneration becomes great enough to overcome the organism's ability to metabolize and maintain stasis. A clone is just a replica taken from that organism at a particular point in time. The clone, though smaller, is exactly as old as the original plant grown from seed (the mother) even though the original may be long gone. The second consideration is the "Xerox Effect", whereby successive copies of genetic code produce "weaker" phenotype characteristics. This is not something as indicative of cloning as it is inbreeding a particular species that tends to produce this result. The third consideration is that a mother plant (the original grown from seed) can be maintained separately from the rest of your process, so that if some catastrophic event were to befall your harvestable clone crop, you would only have to start over with new clones from mom. Every time you anticipate that you will take clones from your clones in veg, you are waging a bet that nothing bad will happen to them in the meantime. Of course, this is just my opinion. I'm still trying to get it right to begin with.

MPB


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## erwinsweeney (May 29, 2009)

That does make a lot of sense to me MPB.  Definitely some considerations I was not aware of.  That gives me some thoughts to chew on for the rest of the evening.  Thank you again.


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## erwinsweeney (May 31, 2009)

I finally got my CFL bulb today.  As you can see it is HUGE.  It is a 250 watt, 2700K, 10,800 lumen CFL bulb.  I believe it will do a better job flowering than the LED.  I will use the LED for vegging clones.  They are about 2 months old.  Both plants have calyxs with hairs coming out of them at every node on the main branch, on both sides, and nearly every node on all the branches.  I cant wait to see how these turn out.  This is my very first grow. Will add pics later.  Server too busy right now.


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## SherwoodForest (May 31, 2009)

I think one reason you don't see clones from clones is because folks don't grow their clones big enough in the veg cycle to be able to take clones from them. The mother is in a constant veg, and you can toss a clone in with her and have twin mothers.


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## Jarvis (May 31, 2009)

....................................................................................................................................


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## erwinsweeney (May 31, 2009)

These are the pics I was attempting to add last night, but the server was too busy.  Today will be their first day under CFL light.  IMO, the LED light did an awesome job vegging these plants, considering it only drew 120 watts, and had 3600 lumens output.  These so far are very bushy and stout.  The main stem is HUGE.  I wonder how big these will get during flowering??


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## erwinsweeney (May 31, 2009)

I took 4 clones from plant on the left.  It is my intention to continue cloning, and have 4-6 plants in flowering in the tent.  From the looks of it now, these two will pretty much use up all the space.  What's your opinion?  Would it be better to always grow 2 biggies like this, or veg them smaller and do the 4-6 plants?


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## smokeup420 (May 31, 2009)

i cant give any input on ur cloning since iv never done it,nore tryed it. i am kinda interestede but not at this moment, butt nice grow man,n same wit usin the led's good job, i hurd they dnt giv enought output  to break threw the top canopy(excuse the spelling lol) but good job,plus any led under 1 wat each is garbage i was told, but u gots over 1 watt soo that prob y it worked... alsoif anyone has told u cfl;s suck dnt listen to them, yea hps n mh works better but cfl's work just fine


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## MootPointBlank (May 31, 2009)

erwinsweeney said:
			
		

> I took 4 clones from plant on the left.  It is my intention to continue cloning, and have 4-6 plants in flowering in the tent.  From the looks of it now, these two will pretty much use up all the space.  What's your opinion?  Would it be better to always grow 2 biggies like this, or veg them smaller and do the 4-6 plants?



Ultimately your space is what limits you to how much you can produce. Bigger plants make bigger buds, so you have to ask yourself if you prefer a larger quantity of smaller buds or a few big ones. If you're just growing for yourself, it makes more sense to me to do a couple of big plants simply because less plants are less work. If you are considering retail, it would be better to have smaller buds for the sake of weighing and packaging. Nice grow.

MPb


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## erwinsweeney (May 31, 2009)

Good information MPB.  My intention is to have enough for my wife to use medicinally.  My reason for starting the grow in the first place is so I don't have to go and buy it for her.  Since starting the grow, I have fallen in love with the horticultural aspect of it. If there is leftover, I would probably just share it with some of my buddies.  It's a fun hobby.


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## Jambi the Snizzz! (Jun 1, 2009)

erwinsweeney said:
			
		

> I have fallen in love with the horticultural aspect of it. If there is leftover, I would probably just share it with some of my buddies.  It's a fun hobby.




nice, a true gardener. and i get to taste this beast of a plant soon. i'm truly excited.


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## GrowinGreen (Jun 1, 2009)

those LEDs did do a nice job, they all look real good. I've bought from california nurseries- good place. Curious to see how the massive CFL does-


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 2, 2009)

I guess since you came over and helped build and install the carbon filters, that kinda entitles you there T Snizzz...  All is going pretty well so far as you can see.  It wont be too long.  Seems like forever though.


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## Hick (Jun 2, 2009)

> 120 watts, and had 3600 lumens output.


A "regular" 150 watt HPS starts out at about 16000 lumens
..not to be dissing your success in any manner, she looks wonderfull. And I know 'heat' is virtually a non-issue w/ leds. Just saying.......the economics don't make good sense, "if" your numbers are correct. For only a slight increase in kilowatt useage, around 5X the lumens ??


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## Cannabiscotti (Jun 2, 2009)

they certainly look like more than 3600 lumens were produced


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 2, 2009)

Hick said:
			
		

> A "regular" 150 watt HPS starts out at about 16000 lumens
> ..not to be dissing your success in any manner, she looks wonderfull. And I know 'heat' is virtually a non-issue w/ leds. Just saying.......the economics don't make good sense, "if" your numbers are correct. For only a slight increase in kilowatt useage, around 5X the lumens ??


 
I do understand the Lumens factor.  Through more investigation; Of the LED's available on the market today, I'm sure happy I wound up buying the one I did.  I have learned that the majority of LED's being sold today are crap.  I know that HPS lighting is a virtually guaranteed quality outcome.  I must tell you though:  The experience of doing something new, where the outcome is not known, is kinda exciting for me.  And so far it's really working out IMO.  Being that it is my first grow as well, it's really exciting from a horticultural aspect.  I'm having a lot of fun with it!


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 2, 2009)

Cannabiscotti said:
			
		

> they certainly look like more than 3600 lumens were produced


 

I would tend to agree Scotti.  Thats what the manufacturer rated it at though.  Maybe the manufacturers are on to something when they keep claiming to have the exact color spectrums figured out for optimal plant growth.  I only have the experience of growing these plants in the veg stage with the LED.  But I can honestly say I wouldn't trade that 120 watt unit for any other 120 watt unit for vegging purposes.  I am slightly leary of it's flowering capabilities (mostly due to what I hear in MP forum) and the lumen factor, but I will try it eventually just to see.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 2, 2009)

Well, the two ladies have been in flowering mode for 3 days now.  Not much changed, but figured I throw up some pics anyway.  I'm curious and would appreciate some input as to how long it takes to see some changes, and what do you normally see first when you switch over to flowering??


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## SPEARCHUCKER (Jun 2, 2009)

Thats 3600 lumens where they are using 90+% of the light.
Which makes it as good as something 10-15k lumens because though the others might deliver with more penetrating power. Only about 15% of the light output is usable.
Lumens dont really mean anything when concerning LEDs. Its the Watts per LED that matters due to the penetrating power desired.
You can take a 5w 10light led that will outdue the 90 1w leds because the light is being delivered with power.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 2, 2009)

SPEARCHUCKER said:
			
		

> Thats 3600 lumens where they are using 90+% of the light.
> Which makes it as good as something 10-15k lumens because though the others might deliver with more penetrating power. Only about 15% of the light output is usable.
> Lumens dont really mean anything when concerning LEDs. Its the Watts per LED that matters due to the penetrating power desired.
> You can take a 5w 10light led that will outdue the 90 1w leds because the light is being delivered with power.


 
That makes some sense to me.  I recently started using the 250 watt CFL bulb thats is rated around 10,800 or more lumens.  When I set it side by side with the 120 watt LED that is rated at 3600 lumens, it seems to me that the LED is more intense and harder to look at.  Maybe I'll get ballzy enough after this round and switch the lights just to see what happens.  Use the CFL for the clones, and flower with the LED, just so I can say I've done it, and can say whether or not they work based on the fact I've tried it.  Thank you again for the reply Chucker.


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## SPEARCHUCKER (Jun 2, 2009)

No problem Erwin.
Im not so sure about flowering with LED only if yours is just Red/Blue.
I would add a couple small 6500 CFLs with it because there are other spectrums of color like Orange that the plant feeds off. Less yours has a few of those Whites in the board.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 3, 2009)

Still don't really see any changes in the plants since switching to 12/12.  I'm still curious when and exactly what changes I will see first off.  It has only been 4 days into flowering, i'm excited nonetheless.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 4, 2009)

Well:  Not a whole lot of change.  I do notice that the newest leaves are starting to have a lot more trichomes since switching to 12/12.  I also notice that the leaves and branches are really turning themselves so that they are pointed directly at the CFL bulb.  They are still growing taller, almost an inch per day.  They are about 20" now.  I just decided that I would put the 120 watt LED unit back into the equation.  As you can see in the pictures it is hung behind the CFL bulb, pointing down and towards the front of the tent.  Doing some side bonus lighting.  We will see how it goes like that.  I'm having lots of fun with it.


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## Jambi the Snizzz! (Jun 5, 2009)

erwinsweeney said:
			
		

> That makes some sense to me.  I recently started using the 250 watt CFL bulb thats is rated around 10,800 or more lumens.  When I set it side by side with the 120 watt LED that is rated at 3600 lumens, it seems to me that the LED is more intense and harder to look at.  Maybe I'll get ballzy enough after this round and switch the lights just to see what happens.  Use the CFL for the clones, and flower with the LED, just so I can say I've done it, and can say whether or not they work based on the fact I've tried it.  Thank you again for the reply Chucker.



i wouldn't start *EDIT!* around with the LED/CFL processes that early in your grow career. make sure you establish a healthy mother plant and your clones don't end up dying in a shitty cardboard box. make sure your strain is strong then start to play. that way you can see how the plants grow differently after you are familiar.


sry...i'm higher than a mexican on pay day cousin... you know.:holysheep:



			
				erwinsweeney said:
			
		

> I guess since you came over and helped build and install the carbon filters, that kinda entitles you there T Snizzz...  All is going pretty well so far as you can see.  It wont be too long.  Seems like forever though.



damn it cousin, i can see your nipples in your pics. don't you know the man can identify you with NIPS (nipple identification police system) software they have?


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## Hick (Jun 5, 2009)

uhmmmm... Hey .."cous'.."  ----> http://www.marijuanapassion.com/Site_Rules.html
...


> Simply put, cussing is not necessary and should not be used. If you feel like cussing in a private message to another member who is tolerant of it, then that's fine. The use of cussing in the open forums is not acceptable as polite conversation. Please just talk without using profanity.


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## stonedrone (Jun 5, 2009)

That was a good idea to add the led bro. Nothing wrong with more light. Plants look good. Just reading through and noticed you cloned some AK-48. I think if you clone an autoflowering breed the clones flower at the same time as the mother because they are genetically predisposed to flower on a time schedule rather than a light schedule.


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## Hick (Jun 5, 2009)

> I started 4 AK-48 seeds from Buy Dutch Seeds about 8 weeks ago.



I don't believe they are autos 'drone... AK 48 is not necessarily autos.
"Rudy' X's"... should have been matured and ready for harvest by now...


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## stonedrone (Jun 5, 2009)

Oh.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 5, 2009)

Hi Drone.  No they are not autos.  These are the regular AK-48 beans I bought from Buy Dutch Seeds.   Thanks again for stoppin by, I'm checkin ur link right now.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 5, 2009)

Jambi the Snizzz! said:
			
		

> i wouldn't start *EDIT!* around with the LED/CFL processes that early in your grow career. make sure you establish a healthy mother plant and your clones don't end up dying in a shitty cardboard box. make sure your strain is strong then start to play. that way you can see how the plants grow differently after you are familiar.
> 
> 
> I'm not yet going to try to flower with just the LED light if thats what you mean.  I'm just using both lights in the tent at the same time.  I have the two big female plants and the one clone that is about 7"-8".  When I was using just the CFL bulb, I noticed the plants "reaching", like the fan leaves were turning face to directly at the bulb, and branches going towards it.  That kinda leads me to believe that they required more light, since they never really did that during veg with the LED only.  With both in there, I'm more confident that they will have what they need.  They seem really happy though Snizzz.  I'm really excited to see them fill themselves in.  It's been like 6 days in flowering, and I'm ready to see some giant buds!   LOL.


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## MootPointBlank (Jun 5, 2009)

SPEARCHUCKER said:
			
		

> Thats 3600 lumens where they are using 90+% of the light.
> Which makes it as good as something 10-15k lumens because though the others might deliver with more penetrating power. Only about 15% of the light output is usable.
> Lumens dont really mean anything when concerning LEDs. Its the Watts per LED that matters due to the penetrating power desired.
> You can take a 5w 10light led that will outdue the 90 1w leds because the light is being delivered with power.


   I believe I understand the gist of what you're trying to say. I just posted this in the "Lights" section a few minutes ago and I think it's what's been missing in our language when discussing light and lighting systems.  I did some reading on Wiki about lumens; they are "a measure of the perceived power of light" by the human eye, which is relative to the wavelength of light in question. This appears to be a relative description that we are using to describe how bright a source of light is, but tend to only confuse each other because the variables of wavelength, distance, environment and individual eye sensitivity are neither stated nor held constant. If I've lost you, what I'm saying is that "Jack, from the Outback, holds his 10000 Lumen LED fixture with a particular spectral frequency output, in a completely dark room, 1' from his eyes and exclaims, "Crikey, that's bright!" and Jill, from Brazil, stands 4' from her 10000 Lumen T5 fixture with a particular spectral frequency, in a room with the ceiling light on and coos, "Aye, papi, so much light. Certainly much brighter than Jack's." Neither will ever know the truth until they start discussing things in terms of radiant emittance, the measure of the power of light emitted at the surface of a source in units of watts/square meter. This measure can be further reduced to watts by multiplying by the surface area in square meters of the source (bulb). What we effectively would be discussing is the total power of all frequencies of light emitted from a particular source in REwatts. The only consideration left would be to mention the color temperature (concentration of a range of frequencies of light) as we usually do in Kelvin. The watts that we currently use to discuss the ratings of bulbs and fixtures is in terms of electrical power consumed and is an inaccurate method for comparing light output, especially when comparing entirely different technologies. A 5W LED is much different than a 5W CFL. I don't know if or how we could get this information from manufacturers, but the lumens that they have been feeding us with for so long smack of a marketing tool for manipulating the technologically unsavvy. But that's just my take.  MPB


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 5, 2009)

So.  What I gather MPB is that essentially manufacturers could hypothetically make any claim to output that they want too.  It would be extremely difficult to back up or disclaim any claim they make?  I totally understand the concept you talk about, as far as it being apples and oranges to compare different technologies.  I personally believe LED's can provide optimal growing conditions.  I also believe that the exact configuration and technique of using LED's has not yet been perfected.  Again. So far I love using the LED unit.  We will see after the grow is done.  I'm hoping I still feel that way.  I like to try new things.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 5, 2009)

I was just looking at my plants and noticed one of the plants at the top, the leaves are slightly taco'd.  Here are two pics of it.  Is this something to worry about?  I just added the LED back into the setup yesterday.  The CFL is about 5" away, and the LED is about 6" away.  Should I back them off a bit or what?


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 5, 2009)

I backed the lights a few more inches away. See if that changes anything.


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## MootPointBlank (Jun 5, 2009)

erwinsweeney said:
			
		

> I was just looking at my plants and noticed one of the plants at the top, the leaves are slightly taco'd.  Here are two pics of it.  Is this something to worry about?  I just added the LED back into the setup yesterday.  The CFL is about 5&quot; away, and the LED is about 6&quot; away.  Should I back them off a bit or what?


   I, too, think LED is the lighting technology of the future (to the extent of lighting technology that we know exists / who can guess what the government is still hiding from us?) due to it's ability to produce finely tuned frequencies of light at increasing higher REwatts. Eventually, I suspect that the process will become computerized where banks of LED's designed to produce specific arrays of light frequencies will be attached to a computer monitoring system that will be able to discern what frequencies of light the plant is deficient in and automatically adjust to maintain a maximum photosynthetic rate. It may sound a bit sci-fi, but there's no reason that it can't happen and if you follow the trajectory of LED and computer technology, it seems to me that the two will converge at this point. As for your little, green tacos, moving the light away is most likely the correct move. I like to hold the back of my hand at the top of the canopy level to see if the light feels too intense. Sometimes I wonder if this makes any sense, given that these are really meant to grow in full sun and if you hold your hand out in the sun, it pretty much always feels too hot. If you aren't doing it already, you may want to add a little fan inside the tent just to stir the air through the canopy. 100F on a breezy day doesn't feel like 100F in my attic. MPB


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 5, 2009)

I believe what your saying to be correct MPB.  I don't foresee any computer dictating to a MH or HPS bulb which spectrums to put out at any certain time.  The theory you project IMO could only be possible with LED or some other technology.  As for the taco'd leaves.  I moved the lights away a bit.  I have 2- 80CFM fans that suck air through a carbon filter and blow it out of the tent.  As for air coming in, I've been just using the draw of air from the vents on the side of the tent.  This was enough when I ran either the LED by itself, or the CFL by itself.  I didn't have any tacos.  Since using both is when this started.  I think I will take your suggestion for more ventilation.  I will have to use only one fan to filter and blow out of the tent, and one to blow fresh air over the canopy.  I will give it a shot anyhow.  I dont find any signs on the leaves of any nute burn, or burning from the light.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 7, 2009)

Well.  When I took a look at my plants last night, I could finally notice some changes around the nodes, and at the tops.  The flower growth is much more abundant, and they are noticeably larger in size.  They are forming very close to each other now, and the pistils are longer and fatter.  They have been flowering for 1 week now.  So far they seem to enjoy the humidifier.  I believe my next purchase is going to be a humidity gauge and controller.  Seems like there is going to always be a "next purchase" for me.  Just like any other hobby I guess.


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## MootPointBlank (Jun 7, 2009)

erwinsweeney said:
			
		

> Well.  When I took a look at my plants last night, I could finally notice some changes around the nodes, and at the tops.  The flower growth is much more abundant, and they are noticeably larger in size.  They are forming very close to each other now, and the pistils are longer and fatter.  They have been flowering for 1 week now.  So far they seem to enjoy the humidifier.  I believe my next purchase is going to be a humidity gauge and controller.  Seems like there is going to always be a &quot;next purchase&quot; for me.  Just like any other hobby I guess.


   Those are some crystal clear shots of your tent walls, but I'm sure the plants look gorgeous too, lol. If you want to get those close-up shots without having to buy a telephoto lens and a digital slr camera, hold a magnifying glass in front of your camera and adjust the distances between plant, lens and camera until the autofocus locks on your target. I've gotten some pretty sweet close-up pics this way using my little point and shoot digi. I would actually like to see what you are trying to show us. MPB


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 7, 2009)

MootPointBlank said:
			
		

> Those are some crystal clear shots of your tent walls, but I'm sure the plants look gorgeous too, lol. If you want to get those close-up shots without having to buy a telephoto lens and a digital slr camera, hold a magnifying glass in front of your camera and adjust the distances between plant, lens and camera until the autofocus locks on your target. I've gotten some pretty sweet close-up pics this way using my little point and shoot digi. I would actually like to see what you are trying to show us. MPB


 
I think these are a little bit better MPB.  I got a new HD Handycam, and it also takes ultra high quality still shots, however I haven't figured out how to use the software with it.  So pretty soon I'm sure I will be able to show nice pics.  These so far, I have used my 5 megapixel phone camera.  Not too bad for a phone.  Those last 3 sucked, I agree.  Thanks for checkin in.


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## 420benny (Jun 7, 2009)

Looks good. I totally agree about adding a fan to move that air. Not only will it help with temp, but the plants will be much happier. More co2 coming in will increase growth, the breeze will keep the mold and fungus gnat issues better in check and the breeze will also strengthen all the stalks and branches by their movement all the time. Look around, there's a bunch of choices for fans these days. Cheap, too. Good luck and look up macro setting in the camera instructions. It makes taking closeups so easy.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 7, 2009)

420benny said:
			
		

> Looks good. I totally agree about adding a fan to move that air. Not only will it help with temp, but the plants will be much happier. More co2 coming in will increase growth, the breeze will keep the mold and fungus gnat issues better in check and the breeze will also strengthen all the stalks and branches by their movement all the time. Look around, there's a bunch of choices for fans these days. Cheap, too. Good luck and look up macro setting in the camera instructions. It makes taking closeups so easy.


 
Thank you Benny.  I did notice exactly what you said:  With the increased airflow, much less on the fungus gnats.  Thank you for the suggestions.  I will check your links.


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## MootPointBlank (Jun 7, 2009)

erwinsweeney said:
			
		

> I think these are a little bit better MPB.  I got a new HD Handycam, and it also takes ultra high quality still shots, however I haven't figured out how to use the software with it.  So pretty soon I'm sure I will be able to show nice pics.  These so far, I have used my 5 megapixel phone camera.  Not too bad for a phone.  Those last 3 sucked, I agree.  Thanks for checkin in.


   Nice... I can see the beginnings of some dense bud formations. I look forward to seeing what the handycam will do. There's nothing like hi-res bud porn. Too bad we can't post video, it would make tutorials much more effective and engaging. I swear I've perfected every environmental variable in my grow and I'm still getting mixed results. But that's a story for my own journal. Keep on rockin' in the free world. MPB


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 8, 2009)

Couple of pics I took today of a couple of the bud sites that are forming.  It sure is neat watching them now.  They are changing quite a bit everyday.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 9, 2009)

A few pics that I just took.  They are not real close up or great quality, obviously.  I was just checking out how much these ladies are filling in the tent.  You can see in the pics the many budsites.  These have been on 12/12 for a week and couple days.  Seeing the changes now.  Seeing flowery, fuzzy growth at all the nodes.  I'm just amazed at all the bud sites.  To this point, growing MJ has been much simpler than I expected.  Granted I am doing a simple personal use set-up.  It sure is a lot of fun.


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## GrowinGreen (Jun 9, 2009)

hey erwin- it's nice to see the bud start forming, eh? Thanks for all the updates.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 10, 2009)

These are a few pictures that I took this morning.  All seems to be pretty well.  Flower formations around all the nodes are growing more dense, and in higher concentrations.  Really neat to watch how they grow.  Can't wait to see some dense bud on them.


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## Exarmy (Jun 10, 2009)

Your doing really well bro keep up the good work!


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## GrowinGreen (Jun 10, 2009)

hey erwin- looking good man. They are going to start taking off here soon. Looks like you are going to have a nice cola on there- is today their 11th day in flower?


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 10, 2009)

GrowinGreen said:
			
		

> hey erwin- looking good man. They are going to start taking off here soon. Looks like you are going to have a nice cola on there- is today their 11th day in flower?


 
Hey GG.  Thank you.  Yes today is their 11th day of flowering.  Thats what I soo look forward to seeing.  I can't wait to get to the point where that 1 AI plant you have is at.  That thing is beautiful!  I was just in the grow area a bit ago, and now I can see some huge calyx's with giant white hairs, and they are covered in trichomes.  They are not bunched together yet, but I presume they will be soon.  I will get a piture of em today or tomorrow.  I'm sure you've got some on yours.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 11, 2009)

Good morning everyone.  Took a few quick pics when I got up this morning.  Things still seem to be going well.  All the bud sites are growing, and getting bigger.  The calyx's are coming in bigger and bigger.  I'm starting to kinda see how the main cola on one of the plants is going to form.  Can see the very beginning of it.


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## Big_Blunt (Jun 11, 2009)

looking good, how close do you have the lights to the plants?


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 11, 2009)

Big_Blunt said:
			
		

> looking good, how close do you have the lights to the plants?


 
Thank you Biggie.  The 250 watt CFl bulb is about 4" over the tops of the plants.  The 120 watt LED is in the back of the tent and positioned just above the plant tops, and is angled down and towards the front of the tent.  I'm using the CFL to shine light down through the foliage, and using the LED to shine through sideways to hopefully get light on the leaves and budsites that may have been shaded from the CFL.  It seems to be working out so far.  I think I'm getting close to where we are really going to see how well it is working, or not.


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## TommyBres (Jun 12, 2009)

Hick said:
			
		

> A "regular" 150 watt HPS starts out at about 16000 lumens
> ..not to be dissing your success in any manner, she looks wonderfull. And I know 'heat' is virtually a non-issue w/ leds. Just saying.......the economics don't make good sense, "if" your numbers are correct. For only a slight increase in kilowatt useage, around 5X the lumens ??


A lumen is merely a PERCEIVED power of light. In other words, it's the amount of light our eyes can see, and our eyes pick up green/yellow much more than red or violet, and we can't see infrared/ultraviolet. That's why the lumen factor can't be compared to LED's, because they focus on a few very specific areas of the spectrum that our eyes are incapable of seeing.

Luminous flux, measured in lumens = visible light
Radiant flux, measured in W = visible light + ultraviolet light + infrared light

So, in theory, for a 150W HPS, to perform the same as a 120W LED... Assuming the LED focuses on purely the used spectrum of light for plants... 80% of the light given off by the HPS would have to be in the useful areas of the spectrum, which is not even close given its enormous yellow output. I'm not saying this is true practically, but there's a quick breakdown of why lumens mean NOTHING when it comes to LED's.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 13, 2009)

A few pictures I took this morning.  Both plants seem to be doing very well.  All bud sites are growing a lot every day.  There is a huge difference each day.  Not too much trichomes yet, but they are starting to appear in the newest bud growth.  It's really cool to watch how they grow and how they form.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 14, 2009)

I was taking a look at the plants before the lights went out this evening, and the bud growth has gone crazy in the last day and a half.  All of the new little leaves that are around bud sites are loaded with trichomes, and the buds themselves have doubled in size.  All I can say is WOW.  They are actually looking like some of the beautiful buds I see all you guys growing.  I can't say enough about this site.  This is my very first grow ever, and I did almost all my research on this site, read the stickies, and read complete grow journals, and I still wasn't all that confident that I could do it with quality results.  I was wrong.  Internet is awesome!


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 15, 2009)

A few nice pics of the various bud sites.  They are really doin their chores now!  IMO, they are really growing beautifully.  They have been flowering for 2 full weeks now, just entering 3rd.  In the last couple days, new leaves near bud sites are loaded with trichomes, but it's hard to see in pics.  I believe soon there will be enough of them to give em that "snowy" appearance.  Hopefully now I just get to continue the same regimen, and watch my buds get bigger and fatter!:hubba:


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## GrowinGreen (Jun 15, 2009)

hey erwin- thanks for the pics. They are looking real good. AK48 must just be a real resinous strain because mine is too. The trichomes are even starting to line the fan leaves.

Is your "cherry" pheno the frostiest?


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 15, 2009)

GrowinGreen said:
			
		

> hey erwin- thanks for the pics. They are looking real good. AK48 must just be a real resinous strain because mine is too. The trichomes are even starting to line the fan leaves.
> 
> Is your "cherry" pheno the frostiest?


 
Yeah I agree, it seems to be a real resinous strain.  My new fan leaves in the last day and a half have been loaded with trics.  My cherry pheno is a bit slower.  It is a couple days behind, so it is just starting today to make trics.  I will let you know how dense they are in a couple days, maybe I can get some pics in as well.  I'm just blown away with this strain though.:hubba:


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## Big_Blunt (Jun 15, 2009)

it'll just keep gettin better from here on out, looks like you got it on the lock. I was askin about the distance from the lights cause I wasn't sure how far you had that cfl and you got it right. Keep your ph right and your nutes steady and it'll be like christmas morning until harvest day


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 16, 2009)

Well:  I finally took some pics with my new HD HandyCam.  These are the very first ones, so I am posting them to see how they look, and to figure out what adjustments to make in the camera settings.  So far they look pretty nice.  Referring to the pics!  Though the buds are looking pretty good too IMO!


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 17, 2009)

A few pics I just took with the new camera.  I am practicing and trying to get better with it.  I have a kick-*** camera, but I'm a lousy photographer! LOL.


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## sheerwaste11 (Jun 17, 2009)

Would you see ak48 would do well with high density grows/ SOG due to its growth pattern?? Does it have one main cola and usually extends up instread of becoming excessively bushy?


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 17, 2009)

sheerwaste11 said:
			
		

> Would you see ak48 would do well with high density grows/ SOG due to its growth pattern?? Does it have one main cola and usually extends up instread of becoming excessively bushy?


 
Hi Sheerwaste.  This is my first grow, and my first dealing with Ak-48.  So far in my experience, these are pretty bushy plants.  My main cola is just now forming, so we will see how it gets with time.  If you go up a few posts to GrowinGreens, he has a link to his Ak-48 grows as well.  His is a little ahead of mine, and he is more experienced than I.  I don't know how much experience you have, but being that I am brand new, and that these are turning out well so far,  I would say that these are pretty good for beginners.  From what I read, the potency is good, and the yields are decent, and the flowering time is short.  I can tell you that odor is an issue with these.  You will need ample filtration, or the around anywhere near your grow will smell of dank weed.


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## smokybear (Jun 17, 2009)

The ladies are looking great so far. Keep up the great work and you will be well rewarded.  Keep us posted on your progress. Take care and be safe.


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## nikimadritista (Jun 17, 2009)

Nice journal man! 
Impressive results!
I grew some AK48 on 200W FLC last year and came nowhere near your bushes...
Those LEDS really seem to work for ya!

I'm now testing how that strain grows outdoors...
still germinating my beans though :hubba:


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 17, 2009)

nikimadritista said:
			
		

> Nice journal man!
> Impressive results!
> I grew some AK48 on 200W FLC last year and came nowhere near your bushes...
> Those LEDS really seem to work for ya!
> ...


 
Thank you for your kind words.  I really like the LED unit that I have.  I guess the ladies really liked it too.  The wealth of knowledge on this site is the only way I could have achieved the results I have so far.  Beginners luck only goes so far! LOL..  I hope you do a journal as well.  Thats where I've learned the most, other peoples journals.  I've found this to be a fairly simple hobby.  It is very rewarding, fun, and like every other hobby I have, there is always a "next" purchase.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 19, 2009)

Time for an update with some pics.  Things still seem to be going really well.  The "cherry" pheno (plant on the right) is finally starting to put out lots of trichomes.  The buds are getting noticeably bigger every day.  They are starting to fill in the main cola on both plants, though still have a ways to go.  They are starting to suck the life out of the lower fan leaves slowly.  It's like the stem to the fan leaves is a straw, and the buds suck all the green goodness through the straws, and the fan leaves turn translucent yellow, and eventually fall off and shrivel up.  The buds right now have a real earthy smell to them.  I am starting to see some occasional reddish pistils emerging.  These are getting really fun to watch now.


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## GrowinGreen (Jun 19, 2009)

man Erwin- those are looking great. And that's awesome you are getting some red pistils, I'm jealous haha

Oh and on the new camera have you messed around with the macro settings at all? Should be a picture of a flower, usually.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 19, 2009)

GrowinGreen said:
			
		

> man Erwin- those are looking great. And that's awesome you are getting some red pistils, I'm jealous haha
> 
> Oh and on the new camera have you messed around with the macro settings at all? Should be a picture of a flower, usually.


 
Thanks GG.  I haven't messed with the macro settings yet.  I will make that my project today though.  I got the camera on a tripod, now I just have to find a way to hold a magnifying glass steady to get those super close-ups.  Yeah I wish!  Any ideas?


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## smokybear (Jun 19, 2009)

The ladies are looking great. Wish my white widow were in flower right now!! Keep us posted. Take care and be safe.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 22, 2009)

I just took these pics a little while ago.  They have been in flower for a full 3 weeks now, and I'm hopeful that I can let them go to about 8-9 weeks.  They are filling in quite a bit, buds are getting more dense.  The main colas are filling in more every day.  They are also packing on trichomes.  Some of the buds are beginning to have more of a dank bud smell to them, instead of the very "earthy" smell they have had so far.  Really fun to watch now.  I'm having fun with my new camera too!


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## HippyInEngland (Jun 22, 2009)

They look beautiful, as if they have brilliant white snow caps on them 

Have you grown this strain before?

eace:


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## GrowinGreen (Jun 22, 2009)

erwin awesome pics man- what kind of camera did you get? They are crystal clear. And the AKs look amazing- good job man.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 22, 2009)

HippyInEngland said:
			
		

> They look beautiful, as if they have brilliant white snow caps on them
> 
> Have you grown this strain before?
> 
> eace:


 
Thank you HIE.  No.  This is my first grow of any strain.  I did a lot of research on this site before attempting a grow.  I basically did exactly what you guys told me to do, and this is the result.  I am amazed.  I knew nothing when I began frequenting this site.  It took me about a month to read and learn what I needed to get started.  Thank you again for the encouragement.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 22, 2009)

GrowinGreen said:
			
		

> erwin awesome pics man- what kind of camera did you get? They are crystal clear. And the AKs look amazing- good job man.


 
Thank you GG.  Yeah I love it.  I got a new Sony HandyCam HD.  It does full HD 1080 video and stills.  I'm still new with it, but figuring it out slowly.  Thank you for your encouragement.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 24, 2009)

It's been a couple of days, so I figured I would snap a few real quick pics.  Did not have a lot of time, so IMO these are not as good as the last ones, but they do show the amazing trichome growth that has exploding the last few days.  Today I looked back through the whole grow journal just to see how quickly they have grown.  In just a couple weeks they have grown exponentially.  I am amazed.


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## erwinsweeney (Jun 25, 2009)

These things are just packin on major trichs every day.  Seem s like they double every day.   They are 25 days into flowering now.  If they keep up the way they are going, I imagine they will be completely white by the time they are complete.  At least I hope so.  Maybe another 5 weeks!


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## Growdude (Jan 31, 2010)

Another budless LED grow journal?  Why is there never any finished product in these journals?


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