Hi all -

Looking for advise here - middle of week 3 (Veg.) and my lamp broke. New one is on the way but I'm worried about my clients project. Hydro box, drip feed. Hydroton, Co2, air pump...

With no lamp to provide heat the inside temp. of the box is about 77F. The plants have been in dark for 2 days now and look ok... but the leaves are starting to close up a bit - moving closer to the main stem.

I'm hoping to have the new lamp by tomorrow, but then it was supposed to be here today. My real question is - how long can I hope for these plants to remain healthy without a lamp for light. No sun outside to let into the box, either. ALSO - do you think I should add a heating pad or something under the reservoir to warm it up a bit? Normal temp in the box is easily 10 degrees higher - when lights working as normal.

Hoping for some advise - 2nd grow ever and the client is worried I'll have to start again.

Thanks all - mrmcr2

Stuck a lamp with a CFL in there as a stop-gap measure. But cannabis plants are tough, they should "sulk" for a few days and then start growing again. The long dark MAY increase your chances of a hermie, but that is controlled by the plant's genetics. Just keep an eye out for male flowers! It should be OK once you get them back on schedule.

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I would get some kind of lights on them, like *yesterday*.

Shoplight, droplight, desklamp, anything. Don't you have something you can put in there? If you have weak lights you can run 24/0 even.

I don't know if anyone can advise about the res temp, cause you didn't tell it. 77 for the upstairs is peachy. What's the res at?

EDIT: Whoops. Hi, Stormcrow. You posted while I was still typing. I agree with you. Hermie

Thanks for the advise and responses - sorry not to have listed Res. temp as well. - 27c or approx. 80f. I'm guessing it should be OK. I've put a 'normal' lamp in the box - will pick up a cfl tomorrow in case the new lamp doesn't arrive by Monday.

Any more advise will be helpful - looks like the lower leaves are getting some spots - but thorough checking reveals no bugs, parasites or other nasties on the plants. May be scaring from the leaves now touching and rubbing each other. Lower leaves started to get a little crispy, but still nicely green.

Waiting for light -

mrmcr2

Okay.

Any light's gonna be better than nothing.

But a "veg spectrum" is whatcha want, if possible.

5500-6500K (bluish-white) color temp: daylight, bright white, cool white, etc. etc.

You want a nasty, harsh looking glare on dem plants right now. (The soft, golden "warm whites" are better for flower.)

I'd get as many lights as I could on the plants, even for a day.

I would NOT heat an 80 deg F res. Lotta the anti-crud formulations tell you to up the dose in a res that's over ~74 degrees, as if that's a magic number for increased bacterial growth. Lotsa folks run 'em real cold. S'posta have lotsa problems if you don't.

Maybe someone here can give you ideal temps for your exact system. IDK, sorry. Hermie

aye 80 degree res is way high .... ideal is 65 degrees

depending on how old the plants are .. its very possible u pushed them into thinking its time to flower...
i usually spike dark by 36 hours to help induce flower. your 48 hours in dark and going?

it might be well time to consider and just continue to flower stage if there able to . that is some serious stress.

Good point!
'twere me, I'd put 'em on 12/12 when the light comes.
They will prolly double in height.

Smaller than ya wanted maybe, but all girl.

Weezard

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yup I missed that on the first read. I too put the girls into 36 hours of dark to kinda "restart" the biological clock when I start flower so going 12/12 would prob be best bet.

Well, I've put some 'regular' lights into the box for now - will likely throw a CFL in later and pray the new unit gets here tomorrow. Plants are starting to look very sad - will be very nice if I don't have to toss them.

Will probably follow the advise given here and put them into flowering once the new unit arrives.

Thanks again for the advise -

mrmcr2

I would subject the plants to as few "scheduling shocks" as possible. If you're flipping to 12/12 "soon", I'd start that schedule immediately, with whatever lighting you have right now. Add your new light whenever it comes.

Right now your "master-plan light schedule" can go "veg - blackout - 12 / 12." Going "veg - blackout - veg - 12/12" just throws a extra obstacle in the path to budding. I wouldn't revert to your previous lighting schedule, and then change it AGAIN to 12/12 if this is happening anytime soon. Go for it now and save the girls from an unneccessary shock.

I am curious about the lighting you have coming, though. Sounds like you planned to use it for both veg and flower(?)

And, am I reading this right? You say your box is 77deg F and it's usually 10 deg higher? That's too hot. 75 day / 65 night is not unreasonable, for example. 81 day / 78 night works for me, but that's as cool as I can keep things. If you are blessed with cool ambient temps, take advantage of it--better yield and easier maintenance. Peace, Hermie