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Bandit on a Safari and I'm Hunting Unicorns

Bandit i got a good sous vide squirrel recipe if ya wanna post it on your neighborhood thread!! hahahahaha J/K, i don't!! we can make one up though!!! haha

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so now that the king of SS550's has changed his crown i need to get some info from you before it's lost forever because i don't know anyone else to ask..

how many different generations of 550's are there? i thought it was only two but i have three different spectrums right now.

i noticed the light from you has much more white leds in it than red or blue, and even the hue of the light looks different to my eyes on the wall. tat light from you is the newest model i own, hell i think that thing is still under warrantee!!

i need to look and get a count on all of them, i don't really remember what year any of them are.. i just noticed the hue difference last night really.. then i looked up at the diodes as i went through spectrum changes and just the overall count of white diodes is much higher. when both set to all white they have the same hue.. i need to measure the wattage on each one in all white.

and also i noticed the glass in the newest one is diffused more and not crystal clear like all my others.... things that make me go hmmm?..
 
steamroller said:
Look into actinic fluorescents.
They were the secret for marine reef keepers before MH and way before LEDs.
All this different wavelength talk brought back.

Actinic light is used for making things glow or luminesce in aquariums12. Black lights are not recommended for aquariums as they can make the water look milky and not visually appealing3. In biology, actinic light is used for photochemical reactions such as photosynthesis4. The K rating or CRI indicates the ability to match tank lighting to the animal's natural habitat5.

Actinic light is a term used to describe lighting which produces high levels of light in the blue wavelengths. It is used in aquariums as the blue wavelengths of light penetrate water far deeper than other visible wavelengths. Actinic lighting peaks in the 420 nanometer range and emits a fluorescent blue light. It is usually used as supplemental lighting and is beneficial to photosynthetic invertebrates. Actinic light is also aesthetically pleasing to the eye when used to supplement “daylight” lighting. In biology, actinic light denotes light from solar or other sources that can cause photochemical reactions such as photosynthesis in a species.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=c4ee...2VuY3ljbG9wZWRpYS9hY3RpbmljLWxpZ2h0aW5n&ntb=1
Phillips used to make the best actinics.
Click to expand...

Anything I ever knew about actinic lights I've forgotten but they were on grower radars around 2010 from what I do remember.
There was something about them, similar to UVB but not as deadly as UVC from what I remember in that it was ez to kill a plant with them.
The tests I do remember would burn way worse than what a bleaching would look like because it actually killed plant tissue rather than just turn it white.
It eventually led to CMH finisher lamps in the 10,000K spectrum which had all the blue but very little of the UV0.

Stoneyluv said:
Bandit i got a good sous vide squirrel recipe if ya wanna post it on your neighborhood thread!! hahahahaha J/K, i don't!! we can make one up though!!! haha

.

so now that the king of SS550's has changed his crown i need to get some info from you before it's lost forever because i don't know anyone else to ask..

how many different generations of 550's are there? i thought it was only two but i have three different spectrums right now.

i noticed the light from you has much more white leds in it than red or blue, and even the hue of the light looks different to my eyes on the wall. tat light from you is the newest model i own, hell i think that thing is still under warrantee!!

i need to look and get a count on all of them, i don't really remember what year any of them are.. i just noticed the hue difference last night really.. then i looked up at the diodes as i went through spectrum changes and just the overall count of white diodes is much higher. when both set to all white they have the same hue.. i need to measure the wattage on each one in all white.

and also i noticed the glass in the newest one is diffused more and not crystal clear like all my others.... things that make me go hmmm?..
Click to expand...

I think there's only two gens of the 550s.
Yours are likely late model gen1s from what I'm reading. They're hardcore blurple where as gen2 almost looks like a CMH being way more crisp white than blurple. It's 5% more efficient and it's much less likely going to bleach any of your plants and yeah the lens is more frosted than gen1s.

This may also explain why I could run way more intense programs than you and grump and what CLW recs were advising since they created those programs for the gen1s and never revised them for gen2.
 
Little OT side project of mine I've been working at for a few weeks and finished today...Designing the 2025 Nike Bandits.
Here's my final designs....

Screenshot 2025-03-20 183651.pngScreenshot 2025-03-20 183758.png
Screenshot 2025-03-20 183958.pngScreenshot 2025-03-20 184047.png

And the final I chose for production. One of a kind pair and I timed it so they drop on 4/20.;rockb
I always try to insert something from the movie Smokey and The Bandit and this year I took a different route other than playing off the car or the truck or one of the characters.
If you don't see the connection to the movie you'll prolly need to rewatch it but I'll give you a little hint too. The inspiration came form a very short scene in the beginning....

Screenshot 2025-03-20 154825.png

03cd745ad6f20836ef1ec0046d755c2f.jpg
 
The cardiogram on my room for the past 7 days.....

hi temp of 98 and low of 59. A 41 degree swing

hi RH of 126% to as low as 18%

a low VPD of -.54 to a high of of 4.95

Screenshot 2025-03-24 144047.png



IMG_0950[1].jpeg

IMG_0952[1].jpeg
 
wow man, your graph looks like a gaggle of lost snails on my sidewalk!!!! don't tell the plants.. they're like graph smash here hold my beer!!!!!

my ACI outlet froze in the closed position.. bad bad bad... thank goodness my heater has it's own built in thermostst and i didn't have that one cranked all the way up.. ACI made my cabinet like texas for almost three days and night.. it was 92 in there!!!!!!! plants said yay we're in texas y'all!!!!

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i gotta go back a couple pages and answer a few things here yet.. top of my list is this beyond meat shenanigans!!!

 
doublej said:
Silly graphofstu....lol

Hey where do I find hangers for my light? Yours has gotta be close? I've hunted around???


That is all 😬
Click to expand...

This odd combination of growing indoors but running it like it's outdoors letting nature take it's course.

I wouldn't say mine is hanging as much as it is mounted lol


IMG_0961[1].jpeg

Carabiner hooks and eye bolts brother!

Unless of course it's a supplement light then it gets pimped

IMG_0955[1].jpeg


Might as well since I'm up here....

IMG_0957[1].jpeg

My other little Don't try this at home kiddies thing.....

The Gulf of Larry has a naturally occurring bio-filter

IMG_0959[1].jpeg

So I doubt my UV purifier is worth a shit if there's algae growing but here's the deal....

Along with the reduced soil volume another reason I now need to pH my water is that's it's no longer RO.
Since it's not stripped down now there seems to be nitrates and what not still getting past the carbon, sediment, and chloramine filter.
With the water catching light from the grow lights, algae is growing but the way I see it is that the algae is just another filter, stripping those nitrates out of the water before I give it to my plants.

It's about to get even more sporty when I start using the citric acid and molasses pH down adjuster 😋

Just a wild grow using nature and tech together in symbiosis to grow good pot.
It's funny to me how this shit plays out when I give up control and let nature happen. There's a part of me that wants to intervene when I see a number out of bounds but then I look at the ladies and they're telling me no worries mate, we're good!

Okay then!


Stoneyluv said:
wow man, your graph looks like a gaggle of lost snails on my sidewalk!!!! don't tell the plants.. they're like graph smash here hold my beer!!!!!

my ACI outlet froze in the closed position.. bad bad bad... thank goodness my heater has it's own built in thermostst and i didn't have that one cranked all the way up.. ACI made my cabinet like texas for almost three days and night.. it was 92 in there!!!!!!! plants said yay we're in texas y'all!!!!

.

i gotta go back a couple pages and answer a few things here yet.. top of my list is this beyond meat shenanigans!!!

Click to expand...


You know your plants want you to move to Texas hahahaha!!

It's really hard for me to give full control over to ACI just because of those odd glitches.
I don't trust the scheduling thru the LED drivers so I use outlets instead since they're less glitchy.
I miss old gear like CAP and shit with fuzzy logic control because it was damn near bulletproof. ACI is nice and all but it's far from baddass high quality shit like gear of old.


Yeah I damn near dropped some veggie burger porn on Y'all last night.😋

I went grocery shopping yesterday and now my freezer looks like it was stocked by a stranger...

IMG_0962[1].jpeg

IMG_0966[1].jpeg

Yeah all kinds of plant based burger patties and even some non dairy ice cream!
Veggie burgers like many things, there's good and bad ones. I've been finding really good ones and one of my faves is this gnarly green fucker

IMG_0967[1].jpeg

Are they burgers? No. Absolutely not
Are they delicious and make an awesome sammy...Hell yeah!!! Patty melts with plant based cheese on wheat bread sounds hippie AF but is so dang delicious fully dressed with all tomato, lettuce, and onion.

And don't get me started on plant based ice cream!!!
Some of course is eww but give Ben & Jerry's plant based Cherry Garcia a try. Fucking game changer ice cream!!!!
Best of all...none of it has any cholesterol and is low in everything else that's bad for people. Being on this kick along with fish or vegan dinners has already helped me drop 12lbs since my time in the hospital. ;rockb
 
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doublej said:
IDK why I wouldn't have known that is fixed kinda deal.

Hmm, I suppose I'll keep lukin.
Click to expand...

You'd have to pull a rafter bar on your tent and slip on metal rings then you'd have a contact point for the carabiner hooks. Steel zipties would also work.
It's just easier to fix mount the big lights otherwise you have 4 points of contact you have to adjust to level it out
 
Bandit420 said:
This odd combination of growing indoors but running it like it's outdoors letting nature take it's course.

I wouldn't say mine is hanging as much as it is mounted lol


View attachment 94773

Carabiner hooks and eye bolts brother!

Unless of course it's a supplement light then it gets pimped

View attachment 94770


Might as well since I'm up here....

View attachment 94771

My other little Don't try this at home kiddies thing.....

The Gulf of Larry has a naturally occurring bio-filter

View attachment 94772

So I doubt my UV purifier is worth a shit if there's algae growing but here's the deal....

Along with the reduced soil volume another reason I now need to pH my water is that's it's no longer RO.
Since it's not stripped down now there seems to be nitrates and what not still getting past the carbon, sediment, and chloramine filter.
With the water catching light from the grow lights, algae is growing but the way I see it is that the algae is just another filter, stripping those nitrates out of the water before I give it to my plants.

It's about to get even more sporty when I start using the citric acid and molasses pH down adjuster 😋

Just a wild grow using nature and tech together in symbiosis to grow good pot.
It's funny to me how this shit plays out when I give up control and let nature happen. There's a part of me that wants to intervene when I see a number out of bounds but then I look at the ladies and they're telling me no worries mate, we're good!

Okay then!





You know your plants want you to move to Texas hahahaha!!

It's really hard for me to give full control over to ACI just because of those odd glitches.
I don't trust the scheduling thru the LED drivers so I use outlets instead since they're less glitchy.
I miss old gear like CAP and shit with fuzzy logic control because it was damn near bulletproof. ACI is nice and all but it's far from baddass high quality shit like gear of old.


Yeah I damn near dropped some veggie burger porn on Y'all last night.😋

I went grocery shopping yesterday and now my freezer looks like it was stocked by a stranger...

View attachment 94783

View attachment 94786

Yeah all kinds of plant based burger patties and even some non dairy ice cream!
Veggie burgers like many things, there's good and bad ones. I've been finding really good ones and one of my faves is this gnarly green fucker

View attachment 94785

Are they burgers? No. Absolutely not
Are they delicious and make an awesome sammy...Hell yeah!!! Patty melts with plant based cheese on wheat bread sounds hippie AF but is so dang delicious fully dressed with all tomato, lettuce, and onion.

And don't get me started on plant based ice cream!!!
Some of course is eww but give Ben & Jerry's plant based Cherry Garcia a try. Fucking game changer ice cream!!!!
Best of all...none of it has any cholesterol and is low in everything else that's bad for people. Being on this kick along with fish or vegan dinners has already helped me drop 12lbs since my time in the hospital. ;rockb
Click to expand...
Wow I'm surprised. You know together we can give some great insight to what is good and what's not. I've tried almost all of them.

One I really like lately is the stuff like pulled pork
Screenshot_20250325-105358.png

It's bangin'!!
 
Zen_seeker said:
Do you have any problems with the plants growing into each other or do you trim them so they stay in their own space?

Do you top them at all or just let them do their own thing with a guiding hand?
Click to expand...

I move my plants around a lot for the first 7-8 weeks of a grow so they start in close and huddled up together and as they grow I move them apart usually keeping them at leaf point distance from each other or let leaves overlap an inch or two. I'm fairly OCD about each plant having ample personal space and not get too crowded so they don't fight for space with some getting choked out.
There's three plants about to be locked into position with yoyos but all others are still able to be spread apart if needed and they get rotated once per week mostly so they all get a taste of the UV.

I do a combination of topping and defoliation or as the mainstream gardening world calls it, "thinning and releadering" since I've kinda adopted how I train from mainstream tree farming more than cannabis growers when debate over when and how to do these things got blurred and confusing for me.

images.jpg

Where I start my cuts and which ones I cut are dependent on how the branches look more than anything. Early growth that's weak or deformed might all get removed and passed over to start at the next node up.
So where and when to start is discretionary but technique is the same no matter when and where it starts.

This first pic is the diagram of a natural growth plant on the left and what it look like after I've sculpted it, releadering into 4 main branches. I make these cuts at around 10-15 days old.

pruning 1.png

Roughly around 5 days later I make more cuts. This time thinning the 4 main branches back into single shoots each with about 1-2 nodes removed below each shoot by now

pruning 2.png

Let grow another 3-5 days depending on vigor then upcan, flip to flower, and make these final cuts thinning the interior of each plant

pruning3.png

Now the structure is set. Only necessary useful leaves and branching remains. It's hands off until harvest with the exception of any lower fan leaves aging out and needing removal

ninjadip said:
Wow I'm surprised. You know together we can give some great insight to what is good and what's not. I've tried almost all of them.

One I really like lately is the stuff like pulled pork
View attachment 94832

It's bangin'!!
Click to expand...

Thanks man I'll keep a look out for it!

This is the stuff that will have Stoney saying WTF but I'm telling Y'all...it is spooky good!
It has no business having the texture and flavor of steak like it does. IDK what kind of witchcraft is at play here but it's legit and has been awesome in a philly cheesesteak, fajitas, and a quesadilla when I've cooked it up.

fe712be4-2b2a-4a5f-b20a-ad1ebf30ab3e.png

Max said:
Wow.that’s what you call supersaturated air and they are handling the topsy turvy weather quite well Bandit..

the girls look gorgeous.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! I think there was a calibration issue on RH so I adjusted it today. I'm pretty sure 126 was a false reading spike that happened at the same time two days in a row for some reason.
Thunderstorms did create a spike but I think it was more like around 85% and not 126.
But minimum has been severely low most of the grow. Not many days it's been above 20%.
 
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Zen_seeker said:
Nope. Not ready to go there yet.

View attachment 94923
Click to expand...



This is one that would have my heart doctor giving me a hi-five.
Veggie burger with iceberg lettuce bun, veggies, and non diary/plant based cheese and plant based ranch dressing

IMG_8752[1].jpeg

Or how about some kimchi pancakes?

IMG_8750[1].jpeg


But you know...I am one sick and diabolical fucker. I'm the guy who will take veggie patties and fry them up in beef tallow

IMG_8748[1].jpeg
 
Bandit420 said:
This is one that would have my heart doctor giving me a hi-five.
Veggie burger with iceberg lettuce bun, veggies, and non diary/plant based cheese and plant based ranch dressing

View attachment 94987
Click to expand...

My sister was on a diet like that. Had us all over for dinner and served us all the same, but it was a lean meat not a veggie meat.

We stopped for takeout on the way home. Lol

As an overweight person I applaud your efforts and appreciate the circumstances. 👍
 
Bandit420 said:
Don't tell anyone but I'm setting up a second grow space today 🤫
Click to expand...

Why not? I’m already 🪼 of your grow. 🤣

Ours keep getting droopy between feedings and the 1x3x6 is going to be a pita I think.

Same room or a new location? If new location you have to pick a new wallpaper landscape. Jungle, undersea, something cool. I’ll live vicariously through you. 😝
 
Zen_seeker said:
My sister was on a diet like that. Had us all over for dinner and served us all the same, but it was a lean meat not a veggie meat.

We stopped for takeout on the way home. Lol

As an overweight person I applaud your efforts and appreciate the circumstances. 👍
Click to expand...

Man I tell ya what...I'm feeling the best I have in a very long time. Feels like I've rewound the clock on life in many ways.
My meds help of course keeping my blood and heart healthy in good ranges but the new diet is working wonders.
I wake up ready to go and get shit done. My digestion and gut health is doing great, no indigestion or any of that, and I'm losing weight slowly but surely.

The biggest difference though has been no alcohol. That shows in a lot of ways that I didn't realize.
My wife says I'm more connected now, job performance is elevated, and I even think it shows in my ganja garden and how healthy and on point it is not going in there and drunkenly trying to water or whatever.

I don't even miss booze or miss things like a big ol greezy cheeseburgers.
Those things kinda turn me off now and I actually look forward to trying out a new veggie burger or something plant based I've never had. I doubt I could go full tilt vegan but I'm very close to it now and I'm not even trying.

It's also doing wonders for my mental health. I'm a lot more unwound now. With weed, maybe even too chilled out.
Nothing really bothers me much now. Horrible traffic, rude or dumb people, politics, losing a ball game, people putting beans in their chili, etc. I just shake it off and smile now.
Before all this I might let that sorta stuff ruin my entire day or week.

Zen_seeker said:
Why not? I’m already 🪼 of your grow. 🤣

Ours keep getting droopy between feedings and the 1x3x6 is going to be a pita I think.

Same room or a new location? If new location you have to pick a new wallpaper landscape. Jungle, undersea, something cool. I’ll live vicariously through you. 😝
Click to expand...

Haha it's a timing thing making me need a new space.
I plan on shutting down my grow operations around late July until mid to late September.
My grow window is usually around 100-120 days from dry seed to harvest.
The last 100 day window before late July is fast approaching so I need to drop seeds in the coming days and that means I need a veg space to start them off while this current crop finishes out.

Today I'll measure out the parts then order a new tent to fit. It will go out in my carport I've recently decluttered and cleaned out making room for stuff I use and need and getting rid of shit I dont use or need.
So the tent will go out in the carport and be used to start the next grow and all my veggies which I'm super late in starting but I'll get to it eventually. It will be small...likely a small 3x3 tent using spare grow parts to make it happen.

I bought new seeds yesterday but not sure when they'll be here so I may do a drop of seeds that are around 5-10 years old in my stash. I'll dust off some old faves and see if my long term seed storage solution really does work if these decade old beans come to life.

When I shut down the room for Summer I plan to change the mural during that time.
IDK if it will go under the sea, a beach scene, jungle with dinosaurs, or maybe even a where's Waldo mural but this is likely the last run in the space station. These grow lights are fading it and bleaching the color so it's close to time to change it out.

My plants will lay their leaves down during the dark but raise them up right before lights on. Watering and feeding doesn't affect that for me.
Some points to it that may be helpful for you could be something I'm doing different such as....

Keep water at room temp so it's not cold and shocks the roots.
No prolonged cold temps.
Microdose feedings at a constant 1/4 dose feed every watering rather than a feed heavy then pure water feeding routine.
Exposure to minor stress such as temp swings, variable wind speeds from different directions, swings from high to low RH with an average optimal range in between the swings, defoliation and cleaning up lower growth, rotating individual plants, dialed in lighting with near perfect DLI for the stage of growth.
I can't say any one of those things will correct an untimely wilt but these things keep my garden at a vigorous pace of growth so there's never a wilt or set back in any way. Just forward progression 24/7 until harvest
 
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