Hydromag-013 Hydroponics-Magazine

share the feeling.

pass it on!

Check out our website www.plagron.com for tips & tricks

THE MAKING OF HYDROMAG...

Editor Cosmo MacKenzie cos@hydromag.co.uk Assistant Editor Christian Mason christian@hydromag.co.uk Issue 13 Front Cover - Engraving of Nikola Tesla giving a lecture in the 1880s (Kean Collection/Getty Images)

Miss Coates. That was my Chemistry teacher’s name. I despised her, back then, but now I feel sorry for her. She just wasn’t cut out to be a teacher. Smelling her weakness, as children do, we rode her like a tuppenny donkey on Blackpool beach, poor woman. It didn’t help that her lab was full of exciting playthings, like Bunsen burners and corrosive acids. I came to hate Chemistry and more importantly, left school without understanding any of it. I’ve paid for my insolence over the course of writing this issue, if not before.

We’ve gone full-geek with issue thirteen attempting to break down plant science for your benefit into accessible morsels of knowledge. The truth be told, there are very few shortcuts when it comes to science, so you’re probably going to need to read around the subjects covered until you get the gist of things. It is worth it in the end, when something clicks in your brain and you start to see the picture through the puzzle. We’re here to help, too, so you can always get in touch if you’re struggling to understand the science. How to casually drop this new found knowledge into a conversation is, I’m afraid, your problem and yours alone.

We’re also presenting the results gathered from the second half of our ballast tests and our carbon filter tests, which is sure to delight some and upset others, so gear up for some long winded debates on our Facebook page if that’s what you’re into!

In THE FEED we direct you to some interesting urban gardening projects, and we dissect just how far solar energy has really come and where we expect it to go in the future. FAVES highlights two of our favourite products on the market now; both are reasonably priced, high quality products that are often overlooked when growers get to totting up their shopping lists.

GROW GEAR is, as ever, brimming with the latest kit to hit the market; this issue we’ve been joined by a handful of new distributors, which should widen your horizons and shrink your wallets.

Finally, The A-Z of Music takes a foray into the sticky floored world of live albums and ‘100 films’ delves into Mystery films… Oh, and there’s the competition, but that’s probably not your bag.

Welcome to 2015 folks. Now put your thinking cap on, get your calculators out and let’s do science together, Hooray! (No, seriously, it is worth it- porn isn’t going anywhere so give the little chap a rest and get your brain in gear, alright?).

Cosmo Mackenzie

Lifestyle Buddy Mason buddy@hydromag.co.uk Managing Director Pete Turner sales@hydromag.co.uk Art Director Emma Godley emma@hydromag.co.uk Project Manager Megan Corless megan.c@paraltd.com Design Kim Tinker kim@hydromag.co.uk Design David Sugden david@hydromag.co.uk Accounts Claire Kennedy accounts@hydromag.co.uk Sales Administrator Megan Corless sales@hydromag.co.uk Sales & Feature Manager Nico Hill nico@hydromag.co.uk

HYDRO PUBLISHING LTD 5, The Old Bakery, 90 Acre Street, Lindley, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD3 3EL T: +44 (0) 203 384 8940 E: info@hydromag.co.uk W: www.hydromag.co.uk PRINTED IN THE UK

Thank you to our distributors: HYDROMAG is designed in partnership with PARA www.paraltd.com

All editorial is copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or be stored in any retrieval system in any form without the prior permission of the Publisher. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy no responsibility will be accepted for inaccuracies however caused. Contributed material does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Publisher. The Publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited materials. It is assumed that any images taken from sources that are widely distributed such as the Internet, are in the public domain. However, since such images are passed between sources such as websites, the original source is not always possible to trace. The editorial policy and general layout of the publication is at the sole discretion of the Publisher and no debate will be entered into. No responsibility will be accepted for illustrations, artwork or photographs while in transmission with the Publisher or their agents unless such commitment is made in writing prior to receipt of such items.

04

ISSUE NO. 013 04.2015

Featured In This Issue... 42 08

THE FEED Scrumping in the City

10

THE FEED Solar Surge

12

FAVOURITES: Garden HighPro Rope Ratchets and Active Eye Green Lantern Headlamp

DISTRACTIONS: A-Z of Music….Live Music

There’s no better bullshit detector than forcing an act to play live; separates the plastics from the whiskeyand-gism-soaked, authentic rock gods.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. And when your doctor is Harold Shipman this isn’t advice to ignore. Start scrumping today you fools!

Reports of its untimely demise have been greatly exaggerated. Solar is BACK and in your face! Or is it..?

We’re not like those arseholes who fail to share kit tips to ensure their yields are better than yours. Come here people, group hug.

14

THE KNOWLEDGE How Plants Use Light

20

THE KNOWLEDGE Evolution of Indoor Lighting

Just what do plants do with all that tasty light they absorb? We were so curious to find out we forced our writer at gunpoint to do the hard work for us.

Unlike sea slugs, apes and humans and so on, indoor lighting didn’t just evolve on its own. We decided to Check. It. Out.

46

DISTRACTIONS: 100 Films to Watch...Mystery

50

BUY, BUY, BUY Grow Gear

62

THE KNOWLEDGE Carbon Filter Test - Part 2

66

COMPETITION TIME Win Some Stuff!

A riddle wrapped up in an enigma! A genre to avoid when hungover or generally easily confused. We recommend five of the best.

Christmas may be over but why let that stop you splurging on your credit card one last time? Buy this stuff sheeple!

Following on from last issue’s filter test, here we have the results from the butane test.

Competition brings out the worst in some people, some say it’s a sin, but WE say screw that – what about the cool stuff you can win!!?

24

EXPERT OPINIONS Aminos, with GHE, Metrop and GET

32

FEATURE: GROW TEST Ballast Part 2 – Ignition

Would you rather trust a graduate from the University of Google, or a bona fide expert? We know who we’re siding with (yes – the experts).

The part of the magazine everyone working in the industry will thumb their way straight to! Who did well? Who ballsed up? We love them all equally.

06

SCRUMPING IN THE CITY Despite the tradition being a quarter of a century old and British, there is a good chance you don’t know that the 21st of October is celebrated by many in this country as Apple Day. Somewhat like the skinhead movement, Apple Day has in part been appropriated by a cloistered and mistrusted sect of traditionalist outliers. To be fair to Morris dancers, they really don’t compare to the drunken slapheads and bearded ninnies who currently populate the British far right movements. Let’s be honest though; if you were faced with a caterwauling scrum of EDL supporters at one end of the street and the distant, foreboding clacking of Morris dancers practicing their arcane rituals at the other, you would struggle to decide which way to turn. The blackface doesn’t help either.

Humble as they are, apples have long been an intrinsic aspect of the British diet and culture and as such they deserve celebration. Grown across the British Isles, it’s no surprise that most people assume that apples are a native species, rather than a Central Asian import. With their being so numerous and readily available, their role in the changing framework of food supply isn’t immediately obvious.

On a base level, apples are a ‘gateway drug’ into the world of home grown produce. Trying to entice your average smog-sucking urbanite into picking a plum off a tree and biting into it will inevitably descend into an entomological inquisition and a frenzy of sleeve-swiping and tongue prodding. The prospect of a freshly picked apple isn’t as challenging.

Nothing illustrates the shortcomings of the commercial food sector quite as succinctly as apples; compare the average shop-bought, waxed up, livid green Granny Smith with the thousands of other varieties available in the UK and it should be patently obvious that we’ve been dealt a rotten hand by the supermarkets.

08

Food Forests, or Urban Orchards as they’re better known over here, are working to bring the tradition of hand picking fruit into cities across the world. In the UK, The Urban Orchard Project (.org) restores old orchards and creates new community orchards. These orchards also act to increase the biodiversity of cities, foster a sense of community and generally pretty up the place.

What separates urban orchards from other urban gardening initiatives is their longevity; where allotments and indoor gardens and farms offer readily available produce (and tangible results), they depend on continued and consistent maintenance. Fruit trees can be left to their own devices, their true bounty only really starting to be felt by the next generation when the trees reach full maturity. Borders shift, institutions fail and ideologies waver, all the while fruit trees grow and continue to produce greater yields, year on year. In this way, urban orchards will be our true, tangible legacy to the next generation. Just don’t expect the ungrateful little buggers to appreciate it.

If you’re already an orchard aficionado, The Urban Orchard Project are looking to increase their volunteer workforce, so jump on board now for your chance to become an orchard master. If you’re not in the mood to wait decades to see the literal fruits of your labour, you can instead feast on those of generations past. Fallingfruit.org extensively maps foraging spots worldwide, including a number of fruit trees on public land. Remember that fruit is seasonal and that ownership and foraging rights count for bugger all when you’re staring down the barrel of a cider addled orchard owner’s shot gun. Happy scrumping!

Urban Orchard

Urban Takeover

Cider Produce

“it’s no surprise that most people assume that apples are a native species, rather than a Central Asian import.”

SOLAR SURGE WAITING FOR THE SUN...

In scenes reminiscent of the BBC’s Teletubbies, millions of energy consumers – including governments and big business – are saying “eh oh” to the sun.

It can’t have escaped the keen-eyed among our readers that there has been a veritable flare of solar-oriented stories of late. From “green” architectural projects such as London’s Walkie Talkie, solar-powered flights, the rise of the Green Party, to the renewable-energy revolutions in the likes of India, the Far and Middle East, and parts of Africa – the Internet is pulsating sexily with tales of tumbling costs, improved technology, and a belated official recognition of solar fuel’s viability. Thomas Edison famously said “We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy — sun, wind and tide. … I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy.” Tragically he’ll never collect that bet, having died in 1931. If only he could have hung around another 80-odd years, because whisper it – solar’s on the rise. HYDROMAG peek through the curtains like some nosy neighbour to investigate.

The case for renewable energy is so strong, with so few detractors, that it almost seems superfluous to recount the many reasons why we should all be in favour of them.

But here goes: thousands of reputable organisations, including NASA, have confirmed that CO2 levels are at their highest in more than 650,000 years, and the graph is heading northwards at a rate not seen since King Ine of Wessex clashed with King Ceolred of Mercia in 715 A.D.. Sea levels are rising faster than a Westminster paedophile’s pulse rate in the face of Operation Fernbridge; glaciers everywhere are retreating like French soldiers; the Ocean’s boiling over and ice sheets are shrinking like you-know-what in a swimming pool. It’s a disaster all round, and currently 97% of climate scientists agree that

10

it’s those damn humans again that are responsible with their gibbering, mouth-foaming mania for carbon fuels. Even the remaining 3% of scientists that refuse to concur with the majority admit a move towards renewable energy, in theory, phased in appropriately, couldn’t hurt the situation.

But while the likes of wind power and biofuels have been dominating the headlines over the last decade, often for the wrong reasons, solar has been quietly biding its time in their shadow. But could it now burst free from the pack and win the renewables ‘race’? This apparent surge of interest in solar is certainly the current narrative in the media, but the naysayers haven’t quite packed their bags and boarded the last train out of town. As recently as 2011, an article in PE (Professional Engineers) magazine stated that “photovoltaic electricity generation cannot be an energy source for the future”. So what’s changed?

The Internet and regular print media have been awash with stories of late, proclaiming the Age of Solar is upon us. Across the world there seems to have been a movement towards solar: from the initiatives across Africa; a rise in photovoltaic panels on the roofs of European cities; to the movements gathering momentum in the Middle East, Japan and Australia.

Across Africa, from Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, to Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali, where rural residents are used to shutting up shop and going to bed as soon as the sun goes down, a mix of UN-led programmes and entrepreneurs has led to a number of villages plugged into a supply grid.

Already centuries old patterns of economic activity are shifting; with solar powered water pumps enabling farmers to increase yields, refrigeration enabling proper food storage, and cultural activities such as music festivals and cinemas also on the rise. In the meantime, Dubai has decided to triple its renewable energy targets and is in the process of doubling the capacity of its 100MW solar plant. And in a possible renewable “arms race”, Dubai’s neighbours Saudi Arabia have signed a contract with General Electric worth 4.5 billion Saudi Riyals to develop a 600MW solar-combined cycle plant near the Red Sea port of Dhuba. Even Qatar, currently meeting an unhealthy 100% of its energy needs with fossil fuels, has signed a deal with Kazakhstan to build solar panels to produce 20% of its energy output by 2024. Down south, Australia has seen a staggering 1.3

“The Internet and regular print media have been awash with stories of late, proclaiming the Age of Solar is upon us. Across the world there seems to have been a movement towards solar...”

million households install panels on their roofs Laboratory, despite a 65% increase in the US’s PV cumulative capacity in 2013 (although in a gigantic cockup they may all have alone, solar still only accounts for 0.5 percent of annual U.S. electricity generation. A to be repositioned). The US are playing catch up 100% increase on next to nothing isn’t necessarily something to write home about. with some aplomb: Topaz Solar Farm in Obispo Meanwhile, solar accounts for just 3.3% of all renewable energy fuel use in the UK, County, California, is now the world’s largest which in turn accounts for 14.9% of total fuel use (including all the grubby carbonsolar plant. Producing 550MW, employing based varieties). So less than 0.5% overall (although great strides have been made in 800 workers and with enough juice to power the UK during 2014, now making it the world’s fourth largest solar-power producer.)

180,000 homes, the site reached full commercial Germany, the world leader no less in photovoltaics use, still only generates 6% of its capacity last October. Not to be outdone, India’s national electricity using solar. Author Graham Palmer has gone further than many Modi government, already committed to sceptics, questioning the energy return on investment (EROI) of solar. He claims doubling India’s number of solar installations, the PV industry is entirely reliant on fossil fuels for its very existence, and that has outlined plans for a interested pressure groups, combined with governments eager staggering, $1.3 billion “ultra to demonstrate their green credentials, are pushing an energy mega solar power plant,” source that is a) significantly more expensive to implement than “We are like tenant with the capacity to produce its cheerleaders would care to admit, and b) cannot be effectively farmers chopping down a not insubstantial 750MW. stored. He goes on to quote one John Morgan, who states “the idea On completion, this will that advances in energy storage will enable renewable energy is the fence around our shade Obispo County for the a chimera – the Catch-22 is that in overcoming intermittency by house for fuel when we “World’s Biggest” award. adding storage, the net energy is reduced below the level required should be using Nature’s to sustain our present civilization.” The likes of BP and Chevron, So what has spurred on this rise in solar? A rise that inexhaustible sources of once falling over themselves to invest in solar, have wound down has seen the U.S., for example, their operations and are focussing on shale and biofuels. energy — sun, wind and install more solar panels Whether solar can eventually entirely replace the fossil in the last two years than fuels industry is one thing, but it’s incontrovertible that at the tide. … I’d put my money the previous 38 combined. very least PV is an extremely useful extension to the existing on the sun and solar A rise that has seen solar framework. Solar is on the rise and is clearly beyond the old contribute to a global clean“every journey starts with a single step” stage. And the energy energy.” energy investment figure industries of this world know it, which is why fossil-fuel lackeys Thomas Edison of $310bn in 2014 - a 16% in places such as Oklahoma have shamefully lobbied lawmakers increase on 2013. The to apply a tax surcharge on all solar installations. But they’re traditional argument against swimming against a rather overwhelming tide - in other parts it has always been the prohibitive associated of the world major business such as Panasonic and Mitsubishi are scrambling to costs (as well as there being question marks get onto the bandwagon. Our hope at HYDROMAG is that photovoltaics will be used over its efficiency). Photovoltaics, the de rigueur democratically i.e. on individual rooftops rather than be hijacked by the energy method for converting sunlight into electricity, companies, plugged into the national grid, and sunlight be turned into a chargeable has dropped in price faster than a signed Rolf commodity. The determination amongst so many governments to develop PV Harris original in recent years. In the 1970s, technology is greatly encouraging, but unfortunately for our imaginary 167-yearwhen the technology was first emerging, it old Thomas Edison, he can’t quite cash in his bet. Not just yet. cost $70 to generate a watt of PV electricity, while today that output would barely set you back a dollar. The next generation of PV cells is already looming over the horizon - made using cadmium telluride and sea salt instead of silicon, and will be cheaper still. Some scientists are even predicting solar cell costs to come down to $0.5 per watt in the near future. A number of governments have been gently prodding energy consumers with tantalising tax incentives – although many are notably removing them, big solar users Germany and Italy included, due to a) the global recession and b) the falling costs convincing governments they’ve largely done their job. According to SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) solar is now competing with natural gas in terms of pricing. In simple Solar panels convert Solar panels now convert Lab tested solar panels economic terms, the price is now right, and 4.5% of available 15% of available can convert 23.5% of when that happens the ears of big business tend energy to electricity. energy to electricity. energy. to prick up.

However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.

According to the National Renewable Energy

Progression of Solar Technology over the Years...

1953

2012

2015

GARDENHIGHPRO ROPE RATCHETS Ratchet. Let’s face it – not the most pleasant sounding word in the English language. Spoken quickly (or even not so quickly) it sounds like “rat shit”. On the long list of items required in the growroom, the rope ratchet is probably the last one you’d remember if playing some tedious memory game. And yet, unheralded as they are – like the front row of a scrum, or a fluffer in a porn film – they perform a vital function. “Unsung heroes” might be stretching it, but how else were you planning on hanging up those carbon filters, lights and reflectors? With dental floss? Your small intestine?

In this issue of HYDROMAG, we take a look at one of a personal favourite of ours – Garden HighPro’s range of rope ratchets and pulleys – and examine just why we think they’re so great.

INNOVATIONS

Versatility. Distinct from the majority of rope ratchets out there, Garden HighPro have three different sizes on the market; the Lighthanger; the Prohanger Regular; and the Prohanger XL. The Lighthanger, with a 1.01m rope length, can hold 5kg (per pair) and has won a 2013 Best Product award. The Prohanger Regular, strong and ultra-resilient, can carry 48kg in weight, and has a 1.5m rope length.

While finally the Prohanger XL is the same as the Regular but with extra-large carabiners to clip onto any structure. The great thing about this flexibility, in this age of austerity, is that you can buy the cheaper Lighthanger for daintier items such as a Euro Reflector rather than a one-size-fits-all, pricier, alternative.

Build. We’re fans of Garden HighPro, as they’re generally suppliers of high quality produce across the board. Right from the outset, you can tell attention has been paid to detail with the fancy packaging (did you know a study proved biscuits “taste better” in fancy packaging?). But unlike say, with Walkers Crisps – essentially just a packet full of air – pop it open and Garden HighPro provide us with top product. The Prohanger can more than adequately handle your heavier growroom items and all three models come with a ratchet action that feels so smooth, and a rope with such a nice thickness to it, you might just feel a twinge in your boxers.

Ease of use. The ratchet mechanism enables simple adjustment of the lamp height in little to no time. Garden HighPro claim their pulleys are easier to use than those of their rivals and we’ve got to admit the process is as smooth as baby Fonzie’s arse. Height adjustment is a piece of piss and generally the whole experience is as trouble free as it comes. If you struggle in any way with this product, you’re probably one of those types that would fall into a bag of tits and come up sucking your thumb.

CONS

Our least favourite bit this, coming up with cons. It jars the soul, you know?

But even something as delicious and fruity as a wine gum, when analysed, is actually laced with boiled down pig skin and a load of E numbers. There’s a chink, somewhere, in even the finest suit of armour.

Like most rope ratchets, you’re left with a mildly irritating flappy bit of rope just hanging there.

There are no standardised attachments on lights, reflectors and carbon filters – so make sure your Garden HighPro Rope Ratchet is going to marry with your other products, or you might be left with “growroom rage”.

For more infomation visit: www.gardenhighpro.com

12

HYDROFARM ACTIVE EYE GREEN LANTERN HEADLIGHT The circadian clock – for those not in the know – is the internal clock that tells us where we’re at in the 24-hour cycle, and triggers certain vital biological processes such as sleep. Mess with most people’s circadian rhythm – in particular while they’re sleeping – and you might just get a fist through your jaw. And plants are no different (although being pacifists and lacking fists you might walk away unscathed). The plant equivalent to drawing a moustache and balancing empty cigarette cartons on your slumbering friend’s face is to simply open your growroom door and shine a light at them when they’re supposed to be in pitch darkness. That light hits your plants’ photoreceptors and tells them it’s time to synchronize their internal clocks. This essentially FUCKS their photoperiod cycle. You don’t want to fuck your plants’ photoperiod cycle, do you? (N.B. messing with the photoperiod is likely to induce hermaphrodites in your crop, so your plants could start self-pollinating – literally fucking themselves.) Sometimes, you simply have to sneak into your snoozing growroom, and this is where Hydrofarm’s Active Eye Green Lantern Headlight comes in.

INNOVATIONS CONS

Photoperiod cycle. Put simply, in the daytime plants absorb sunlight to get energy. At night, darkness triggers certain processes such as energy metabolism and growth. Plants are actually pretty good at anticipating the sun’s movements for optimising their photosynthesis potential and in certain plants this anticipation also governs when they launch chemical defences against predators. Small changes in temperature or the timing of sunrise can even trigger the plant to prepare for a new season. So you can see how barging into your sleeping plants’ space and shining bright lights at them can have pretty unwelcome consequences. But with the Active Eye Green Lantern Headlight you can sneak in unnoticed – with no consequences at all! The theory goes something like this: chlorophyll, the key light-absorbing pigment in plants, doesn’t absorb light in the green part of the spectrum. In fact it reflects it, giving chlorophyll (and therefore plants) their green colour. So if you simply have to get in there (maybe it’s your only quiet spot for a wank) – the Green Lantern is your boy.

Ease of use. At only 0.3lb this is an extremely lightweight device that fits snuggly around the head with a comfortable nylon strap - both hands are free to do whatever they so desire (again, good for that wank). The LED headlight is tiltable and the light comes with three settings – full, partial, or for the nutters out there; strobe.

Cost. Retailing at little more than £10, its 17 high intensity LED bulbs will apparently give the user 100,000+ hours of use. That’s a lot of POW! for your peseta.

Flexibility. It doesn’t have to be used exclusively with your growroom. You can run up and down your stairs pretending to be Manic Miner or why not make-believe you’re cross-dressing serial-killer Buffalo Bill and re-enact the final scenes of Silence of the Lambs?

Regular readers will know this part of our job often makes us physically ill.

We’re totally opposed to buzzkill, but we ARE professionals Goddammit! So here goes: There have been unfounded accusations of the button being hard to press and of the torch falling apart.

(It’s not something we’ve noticed so far.)

Some researchers have crept out of the woodwork to suggest green light is NOT 100% reflected, but that a small amount of it is still used by plants for photosynthesis (particularly when high intensity white light is involved). Would this render Active Eye’s Green Lantern as lame and useless as Ryan Reynolds’s? We hope not. Given the low intensity light emitted from this torch it seems unlikely – if not impossible – that there’d be much effect. Anecdotal evidence from hobby growers is still pretty positive about green light.

For more infomation visit: www.hydrogarden.com

Photosynthesis in green plants (Part 1)

‘Making Light Work’ featured in Issue 02 of Hydromag, covers the science of Light, how we measure it and an introduction to some of the concepts discussed in this article.

You can read that article via our website, Hydromag.co.uk.

Plant species are so numerous and varied that every time a rule is proved it isn’t long, relatively speaking, before the rule is disproved.

Much of what we understood to be ‘the basics’ of science was based on research done decades, or even centuries ago. Modern microscopes have allowed us to confirm much of this research by observing processes happening on a molecular level, but almost as often these long held truths have proved to be not quite false, but rather not the whole truth. In the same vein, scientific concepts are often simplified for educational purposes- which can lead to some people making leaps in logic that don’t stand up to scrutiny. It’s important to remember that science rarely deals in absolute truths, but rather it attempts to be less wrong than the work upon which it builds.

In this article, we’re going to continue the process of breaking down plant science into manageable chunks by presenting the biological process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy. We’ll need to make a couple of small logical leaps for the sake of yours (and my) sanity. If you want a complete and correct understanding of the process, you can damn well take up a degree in microbiology.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS Even if you skipped every biology class after your first day at school, it’s safe to assume that you’re familiar with this process: the conversion of light energy into usable chemical energy in plants and, supposedly, the opposite of Respiration: the conversion of oxygen into usable chemical energy in animals.

14

In fact, plants constantly ‘respire’ both in daylight and at night. Organisms that are capable of photosynthesis are classified as photoautotrophs; plants, algae and some bacteria (specifically cyanobacteria) are photoautotrophs. Where mammals have existed for about 0.2GY (Galactic years; the time it takes our solar system to revolve around the galactic core) multi-cellular organisms have been around for about 4GY; over which time organisms have evolved to convert light energy into chemical energy in a range of different ways- all of which fall under the umbrella term of photosynthesis.

CHLOROPLASTS Chloroplasts are, if you like, the solar panels of plants. They’re where the actual process of photosynthesis takes place. A single plant cell can contain up to one hundred chloroplasts.

The fluid stroma of the chloroplasts contains stacks of Thylakoids. These stacks of flattened disks are bound by a membrane, which in turn contain protein complexes. Protein complexes are essentially molecular machines, tasked with performing many and various biological processes. These protein complexes include the pigment chlorophylls that absorb and convert light energy itself.

Small diagram of a chloroplast, showing phospholipid inner membrane, phospholipid outer membrane, stroma and thylakoids

Phospholipid outer membrane Phospholipid inner membrane

Thylakoids

Stroma

PIGMENT CHOROPHYLL The colours that we see are actually the aspects of the light energy spectrum that particular pigments don’t use as effectively and instead ‘reflect’ back. Chlorophylls are the primary pigment found in plants, plants appear green because chlorophylls don’t use green light as effectively as other colours. Plants also contain accessory pigments that are capable of processing some green spectrum light, but there aren’t enough of them to significantly alter a plant’s colour. The exception to this rule is when chlorophylls degrade and leaves turn different shades from yellow, through red and eventually brown.

Chlorophyll a absorbs energy from the violet-blue and orange-red wavelengths of the light spectrum. Composed of a central magnesium ion enclosed by a ring of four nitrogen atoms, side chains whose composition determines the spectrum of light absorbed and a hydrocarbon tail that acts as an anchor.

Diagram of a chlorophyll molecule showing its chemical composition and the side chain and hydrocarbon tail

Mg

N

O

Chlorophyll b also absorbs energy from the violet-blue and orange-red aspects of the spectrum, but at different wavelengths. Used together, both types of chlorophyll allow plants to use more of the spectrum. Shady plants contain more chlorophyll b than those that prefer direct light.

Carotenoids absorb energy from the violetgreen aspect of the spectrum; they give carrots their orange colour. Carotenoids pass their energy on to chlorophyll as opposed to directly and are accordingly know as accessory pigments.

Chlorophyll photosystems capture light photons in what are known as light-dependant reactions. A single chlorophyll molecule absorbs a single photon and releases a single electron. This happens repeatedly and the electrons pass along a series of molecules creating an electron transport chain. This flow of electrons across the thylakoid membrane creates a proton gradient, wherein the potential for chemical energy is created. Stay with me, this is all going to come together soon.

CHEMIOSMOSIS

Diagram of Chemiosmosis

Low ion concentration

High ion concentration Diagram of an Atom showing charges

Proton (+)

Electron (-)

Neutron

Atoms are made up of protons and electrons, each of which has an electrical charge. Protons are positively charged, electrons are negatively charged. Two particles with the same type of charge repel each other and two particles with different charges attract one another.

Ions are molecules that don’t have an equal negative and positive charge, their protons and electrons aren’t balanced.

Electrons pass along the electron transport chain into a charged reaction centre, creating an excess of negative charge. Hydrogen protons are essentially attracted to this negative charge and will diffuse across the membrane in a process called chemiosmosis, producing Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) energy.

Here’s an analogy for those of you who are confused. It’s Saturday night and you’re in a club, but the club is a total sausage fest. You assume that all the ladies must have gone to the club across town, so you jump in a cab and, sure enough, you arrive there to find you’re one of the only guys there. You call your mates to tell them the score, and one by one they all jump in a cab to cross town to the second club. The real winner in all this is the cab company, who’re raking up the cab fares from all the horny young gentlemen crossing town. In this analogy, the money generated from those fares is the ATP. In fact, ATP is sometimes called the currency of energy transfer.

So, that’s the biological process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy. If we’ve jumped over a couple of concepts and you’re struggling to understand - don’t worry. Really, these concepts are better explained as chemical processes. We’ll take a couple of steps back in part 2 in order to make things clearer, and add air and nutrients into the mix to complete the picture of how photosynthesis works.

Nucleus

UVA 400-550nm

Visible light

Near infrared 620-750nm

1

Photosynthesis

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

300

400

500

600

Light colour (Wavelength in nanometres) 16

700

800

“Where LEP (light emitting plasma) bulbs mimic the full spectrum of natural sunlight, LEDs have the potential to control the growth rates and qualities of plants for a fraction of the relative energy cost” K.J McCree of the Institute of Life Science and Biology Dept., Texas A&M University presented his paper ‘The action spectrum, absorptance and quantum yield of photosynthesis in crop plants’ in Agricultural Meteorology Volume 9 1971-1972.

Dr McCree measured the photosynthetic response of the leaves of twenty-two species of plants across the light spectrum ranging from 350-750 nm. His findings were plotted in the graph on the previous page, known as the McCree curve, which essentially maps the effects of the light spectrum on plants.

The McCree curve shows the Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) spectrum; in layman’s terms, the range of light that plants use to photosynthesise and the extent to which they do this. Grow light developers have long tried to mimic this spectrum, to varying degrees of success.

To oversimplify decades of R&D by people far more qualified than me, the LED market in particular has struggled with this. LEDs by their nature emit only one colour. Logically, you might imagine the smart thing to do would be to mimic the parts of the spectrum that appear at the peaks of the graph, hence a combination of blue and red LEDs were commonly used. To give Dr McCree his dues, it’s fair to say that he never put this idea forward himself, but rather it was down to individuals extrapolating conclusions from his data. So, enter the Russian: A.A Tikhomirov of the Institute of Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences presented his paper ‘Spectral composition of light and growing of plants in controlled environments’ in the International Lighting in Controlled Environments Workshop NASA 1994.

Dr Tikhomirov posited that McCree’s research failed to account for the effects on plants of prolonged exposure to ‘specific spectra and intensity’. Specifically, the fact that plants adapt to the spectrum of light they are exposed to over a longer period of time. In short, plants use different colours in the spectrum at different stages of growth. They also use different colours to control a wide range of plant growth across the plant canopy and beyond the simple operation of individual leaves. To quote Tikhomirov himself “Optimal photosynthesis of plant leaves involves a harmonious relationship between spectrum and the intensity of PAR.”

18

The implication of these findings for LED manufacturers was the need to include an array of colours across the spectrum. In fact, continued research builds on Dr Tikhomirov’s findings to suggest that even colours at the far reaches of the PAR range (and maybe even beyond) play an essential part in healthy plant development, and not just within the process of photosynthesis, but many other plant processes to boot.

Where LEP (Light Emitting Plasma) bulbs mimic the full spectrum of natural sunlight, LEDs have the potential to control the growth rates and qualities of plants for a fraction of the relative energy cost. Finding the ideal combination of colours is a race to the finish line; some LED manufacturers claim to have got there already, which is something Hydromag will be looking into later this year.

Discounting McCree’s findings in light of Tikhomirov’s is as obtuse as discounting the LED grow light movement as a whole; Tikhomirov’s work builds on McCree’s as is so often the case in science. As growers we owe a huge debt to both of the good doctors. Similarly LEDs have a major role to play in the future of indoor growing and there isn’t a single grow light manufacturer who isn’t conducting R&D into LEDs. The British LED market was poisoned by a particularly nasty con artist in the 90s and LED manufacturers today continue to suffer the ramifications of that bad blood, but the time has come to put that behind us. If you’re planning to invest in LED grow lights, keep Tikhomirov’s findings in mind and beware of those companies whose knowledge ends at the McCree curve.

Relatively new, some way to go yet

On the cusp of realising its full potential

A firm favourite with life in it yet

The current leader, but for how long?

The Evolution Of Indoor Grow Lighting

From the dawn of Electricity to the modern day grow lamps, exactly whereabouts are we on the never ending evolutional journey that is Indoor Grow Lighting?

In The Beginning There Was Darkness I think most of you reading this would agree what you would have done if you were Thomas Edison at the time of turning the first proper light bulb on indoors. You know, just after one of your employees had finished off developing the earlier designs of light bulbs from the patents you’d bought from some Canadians a few years earlier, and then just after Nikola Tesla had sorted out the whole inefficiency quandary of your Direct Current by creating the whole Alternating Current thing for you.

You would have instructed one of your employees to stick it over a plant and see what happens of course. Then you’d get them to develop any new technology around that they could in order to patent it in your name. It’s the obvious course that anyone of us would have taken at the time I’m sure.

From this point in human history onwards things only got better for the indoor, or otherwise light deprived glasshouse

20

grower. Very slowly at first of course, because in real life the first thing on people’s minds wasn’t to see what plants did with it. That pretty much only came about when KJ McCree decided to ‘get his curve on’ about ninety odd years later in 1971, and went some way to quantify photosynthetic responses to differing wavelengths of light.

As is commonplace with tests, people love to pick holes, especially those scallywags the Russians. Tikhomirov et al in 1991 then showed that the relative efficiencies different wavelengths have in the process of photosynthesis change under increasing radiated intensities. Then in more recent times, plant responses to wavelengths outside of the PAR range have become well established in playing vital roles for certain plant processes not directly related to photosynthesis, but still vital for a fully flourishing top-notch crop.

Let There Be (Commercial) Light….

So what of the actual technologies commercially available that are fundamentally driving all of this knowledge and understanding?

Whilst the plant nerds like McCree and Tikhomirov are quietly in the background trying to make sense of how plants work using the available technologies at the time, companies are developing products based on such nerds’ findings whilst at the same time trying to make as much cash-money as possible. This dichotomy between the advancement of science, and the advancement of business is one that is unfortunately only going to create problems for the average Joe like you and me.

That may all sound a bit like doom and gloom, but actually we are now at a fairly exciting (albeit contentious) era within plant lighting developments. There are more options of lighting technologies available to consumers than ever before and they all have their merits, and yet of course they all have their pitfalls. So where are we at the minute? And what are we to expect from the variety of technologies available? In order to end up with an adequate view of the overall picture, a good way to begin is by looking at each technology in terms of how it is advancing along its own individual life cycle.

LEDs

Flourescent Lighting This form of lighting began its journey as the humble T5/T8 strip lights, which are still commonly used for propagation areas today. Then evolving to a ‘U’ shaped bulb, and turning into the classic CFL bulb we all know well.

The light maintenance has seen a dramatic increase as recently they have shed their electrodes altogether and become what is referred to as ‘Induction lighting’. Now using coils to induce a current through the large tube of gas, in turn heating them up and creating light.

Whilst the units available do have a nice wide spectrum for plants to make use of, they currently are fairly lacking in the far red area of the spectrum, unless upgrades are purchased and made to the units, and even then it is a fairly spikey spectrum comparatively. Whilst this may make them very suitable for vegative rooms, or cutting/ seedling areas, the lack of quality far red light doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to the usual flower production that we all look for in our main grow light.

Certainly a great technology to keep an eye on, with high prospects expected from them in their years to come.

Probably the one type of lighting that captures the most excitement in growers of all the new technologies about. This may well be due to all the hype that has gone along with the first breed we have seen hitting the market. We’ve all seen the claims like ‘Our 400w replaces 1000w HPS’ or ‘Twice as efficient as Sodiums’. While this may well be the case for lighting public toilets or carparks, they have a long way to go before they get to their peak in a grow room environment.

We are a fair way off seeing any that actually live up to such claims. If you want to replace your 1000w Sodium light with an LED, you are realistically still going to need a 1000w of LEDs. You are also likely to have to replace or alter many other aspects of your grow room as well. Such as: Heating capacity: LEDs emit very little IR heat. Whilst advertised as a good thing, you may well find that additional heating supplies are needed to keep your environment up to temperature.

Growing style: LDue to the 90 degree narrow angling of the lenses, LED’s do not offer much in the way of horizontal penetration of lighting that you see with HPS lighting, which allow greater penetration through a crop.

Therefore a larger number of smaller plants is advisable.

Lights per area: LEDs currently do not tend to have the same throw of light that you see from HPS reflectors, so you will likely need more units to get the same coverage over a relatively larger area. Whilst they definitely have a place in a few growing applications at the minute, their place within their own life cycle is fairly evident just from looking at the rate that LEDs are improving. Almost similar to that of a computer: if you buy an LED this year, you can be sure that the technology you just invested a grand in will be superseded within only a couple of years.

Metal Halide Classically Metal Halides have been used in grow rooms for vegative growth, or for supplementing HPS when a slightly wider spectrum is desired, as they have a great presence within the blue wavelengths of light. While a great intensity of light is emitted, they are generally easily outflanked by the provision of the red wavelengths that HPS provides. Hence most commercial greenhouses are using exclusively High Pressure Sodiums still.

A standard Metal Halide will generally give you 1300 umoles compared to 2000 umoles from a 1000w lamp. On top of this, the light maintenance is significantly lower, losing roughly 10% of output over as little as 2000 hours of use. It is this loss that mainly led to the development of Ceramic metal Halides.

Ceramic Metal Halides have recently hit the scene that give a wider spectrum than the standard Metal Halides, and the arc tube being ceramic means less degradation and an improved light maintenance. Much better efficiency up to 1.9umole/w. The wider spectrum makes them much more suitable to flowering rooms than their predecessors. Their efficacy is very high, but roughly 10% less (umole/w) of a HPS lamp. Another issue is that you are unlikely to see a bulb larger than the 315w mark. This has led to the production of units that carry two bulbs under the one reflector to get intensities up to the right levels, but obviously introduces more replaceable parts, and therefore more maintenance costs.

High Pressure Sodiums The technology that we are all most familiar with at the minute, and quite rightly so. Time after time HPS has proven itself to be the provider of yields that we all expect. So much so that any new lighting technology basically has to pitch itself against directly HPS’s production capabilities, not just so people have something to gauge the performance to, but also because HPS is the current money winner. You can be pretty sure that a technology is the most efficient for growing under when all the large production greenhouses all over the world are using it. For these types of companies, it all boils down to numbers. If it gives them the greatest return on their investment, or biggest bang for their buck, then that is the technology that will be used. It is literally a numbers game for big business, and they don’t like taking a gamble when it comes to their large profits. Until another technology comes along that can prove its numbers outperform HPS, then it shall remain with the crown resting on its brow.

That being said, HPS lighting is pretty much at the peak of its lifecycle, meaning you are unlikely to see it develop much more than 5-10% more efficiently than it is currently performing. So while it may well be the current leader of the field, once the other players described earlier progress along their own evolutionary scale they will inevitably force HPS off of its long standing throne.

When Will The Light Of The Future Actually Get Here?

Good question. It’s not going to happen overnight that’s for sure. Unfortunately for LED companies, even if it does happen within their technology most people aren’t even likely to believe it until it has been proven time and time again, by many different reliable sources.

Massively overhyped marketing claims have been seen time after time with LEDs, and so far all they have managed to consistently produce is a massive anti-climax.

One good indicator is that you don’t just hear the usual bullshit claims like ‘Double the yields of HPS’ or ‘Twice the efficiency of HPS’.

When a company accurately measures its equipment and provides data in the correct manner, this generally implies a high standard of production from said company. For example, quoting PPF or PPFD at a distance or (as some companies still do) quoting lumen output is something that should immediately raise your suspicions when you are told of the next big thing. Possibly the biggest indicator of the most efficient lighting technology is always going to be the big greenhouse producers (that and of course flicking through HYDROMAG).

Once you see their choice shifting from HPS when it comes to producing consistently high yields, then you can bet your bottom dollar, the same will apply to your indoor grow room. Until that time, just bear in mind that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

22

24

Expert Opinions:

AMINOS *Ring Ring…….. Ring Ring* “Ahoy hoy” “Hey Steve, what are these amino things that I keep hearing about? They sound like they are the best thing since sliced bread, but my sceptical side just tends to scream: ‘Balls to all that Jive’” “Well Bob, they might just be the sort of thing you’re after to sort your whole life out. Actually on second thoughts, I’ve seen your grow room and without being rude I would liken it to the room they end up in at the start of the film SAW” “Well aren’t you the funny one eh Steve? I’m so glad I came to you for some ‘friendly’ advice. Usually you’re quite helpful with your pearls of wisdom, someone been busting your balls recently or something?”

“The only time someone’s bust my balls recently has been in the last five minutes since I was unfortunate enough to answer this call” “Steve, seriously, stop being a cock. I’m just trying to get some help here” “OK Bob, sorry. It’s just all my actual friends disowned me recently as I kept asking them questions that I could easily have got answers to with a quick Google, so I’m a little sour from that at the minute” “That’s a bit harsh for them to get that annoyed from a few questions. I’m still your pal though aren’t I?” “Not too fast on the uptake are you Bob?” “What? Oh right… Come on man, why you being so belligerent?”

“That’s a rather large word for you there Bob, you been paying extra attention in your adult literacy classes recently?”

“Screw you then Steve, I’ll just go read HYDROMAG’s article on it instead.

Save us all some headache. Oh it’s my birthday party next week by the way, you up for it?”

“Bob, what couldn’t give two shits and goes ‘click’?”

“Errrr…..” *Sound of phone being slammed down* If only Bob had gone to his trusty copy of HYDROMAG first. He would have saved himself at least fifty pence on a phone call where all he got out of it was some abuse. Over the next few pages we give you the opportunity not to be berated like the good man Bob here, and get a take on a few companies’ versions of amino products and how they do their thing.

EXPERT OPINIONS | GHE Bioweed

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and proteins fulfill most functions in plant metabolism as well as ours. You can think of them as little bricks of various shapes. Their barbaric name is due to a simple fact: they contain nitrogen (N) in the form of “amine”, NH2, a derivative of ammonium.

There must be other aspects for an organic molecule to be called an amino acid, but let’s not get too technical. For the most part, they are made of the stuff life is made of: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (two of them contain also one atom of sulfur). They are built in a long chain, with some side branching where the active sites are located, with one electro negative group and another one electro positive. The number of amino acids required for plant life and for ours is twenty.

Incidentally, we are not able to synthesize eight of them; they have to come from us eating plants or another animal having originally eaten a plant.

Let’s start from the beginning. Plants do not have a central nervous system like us, no central brain. The cells communicate through chemical messengers, equivalent to our neuro transmitters. In the cells, the genes contain codes, blueprints, for the manufacturing of amino acids. By putting them together in long chains, proteins are built. Some of these proteins are hormones and have a profound action on the metabolism. They are the tools the genes use to control plant metabolism, size, shape, and life stages: growth, maturation, flowering and fruiting, but also dormancy and even senescence. This is why, by bringing them to a plant, you can influence a function of your choice. These extra amino acids are assembled by the

Bioweed Available in 1 Quart, 1 Gallon, 2.5 Gallon 6 Gallon, 15 Gallon, 55 Gallon

26

plant into proteins and will perform the task they were designed for. Amino acids are a way to sneak protein building blocks into plants. In reality, they often do not come as a single amino acid but already assembled in small chains called peptides. Some of these chains act as phytohormones, but none of them work alone.

The effect on the plant is the result of interaction between different phytohormones. This is the difficulty when using them. It is not so easy to bring to the plant the exact combination to trigger precisely the part of the plant metabolism that we want to activate. Concentration is also crucial, and an excess can have an adverse effect, but when well mastered amino acids can help the grower by improving some specific process in his or her plants such as rooting or flowering or simply improve its general health. Not all of the amino acids are used in plant metabolism.

Some are broken down and become a source of energy for the plant, another important benefit.

Amino acids also have a small buffering effect in the nutrient solution. If cut down into their constituent parts, they can be a good source of organic nitrogen and some amino acid mixes such as hydrolyzed feathers are often used for that purpose.

Algae are a classic source of amino acids, but not all algae are equal.

The species utilized is a prime factor, and also the geographical location at which they are harvested and last but not least the extraction processes itself. With the same source material, and according to the extraction process, one can end up with a completely different product.

To make our product, BIOWEED, we use ascophyllum nodosum, a brown algae full of beneficial compounds. We harvest it in Scandinavia.

The cool, clean waters rich in oxygen allow the growth of healthy specimen devoid of pollution. Only the waters from the far north of Europe are clean enough to guarantee a constant product, with no trace of unwanted elements. We then extract by a cold press process that ensures that the bioactive compounds will not be destroyed or altered. No acid or heat is employed during extraction. Our process of extraction results in a product containing a maximum quantity of bioactive elements, balanced in such a way that they will improve the growth of the plant, its overall health, but most important, it will accompany a lush flowering and fruiting. It can be used with benefit during the whole life cycle of the plant.

EXPERT OPINIONS | METROP

There are many plant stimulants, also called boosters. Some of them might have hormones in the formulation or just some micro elements, but the basic, real stimulator is normally amino acids.

Certain amino acids come together to form a helix, they act in a very similar way to a key, to the extent that they will only fit on one DNA switch. The helix can penetrate a plant cell wall, but needs to be smaller than 1500 Dalton (Da) before the cell wall will let it penetrate. The helix will eventually end up in the nucleus, where the DNA is. DNA structures are like small switches, where every switch has its own function; functions like the width, length and colour of the leaf. They determine the whole form of the plant, both under and above the ground. With these helixes the plant will produce many more plant hormones and enzymes. There are three processes to create amino helixes: fermentation, hydrolysis or by the complicated process of biosynthesis.

Fermentation/Hydrolysis: The disadvantage of fermentation and hydrolysis is that it is limited in the amount of different helixes producible and with that, the amount of effectible functions. What is in it, is in it and cannot be changed. One obvious disadvantage is that the amino helixes are bigger then 10.000 Da, consequentially the absorption of these helixes takes much longer because they have to be made smaller by the plant. A benefit of these helixes is that they are very easy to produce.

fruit and stem structures. A distinct advantage is that amino helixes from biosynthesis are only 700 Da long and therefore absorption can begin immediately through the plant cells, which in turn very quickly stimulates the growth and blooming process right away. In a few days there are visible changes to observe. A disadvantage of biosynthesis is that it is a technically complicated process, and so these products are hard and expensive to produce.

“DNA structures are like small switches, where every switch has its own function; functions like the width, length and colour of the leaf. ”

Biosynthesis: The advantage of biosynthesis is that there are several different helixes and so more functions can be changed and multiplied. A product made by biosynthesis stimulates, for example, not only the different root functions but also the production of essential hormones and the creation of leaves,

AminoRoot & AminoBloom Available in 5ltr, 1ltr and 250ml

AminoRoot and AminoBloom are two particularly strong plant stimulators from Metrop, whose factory is the only one in Europe capable of producing the stimulators utilizing the process of Biosynthesis. The helixes made by Biosynthesis are so small that without the help of a wetting agent the helixes can be taken up by roots and even the leaves and the fruits without altering the pH. The plant cells are very quickly bombarded by these helixes, resulting in a much higher hormone and enzyme production inside the plant. The resultant improved health and growth rates are quickly visible.

Stressed cuttings are very often easily recognized by their leaves. In order to take away the stress in a few days the only thing you have to do is to put 8ml of AminoRoot in a 10 litre bucket of warm water (temp.

20ºC), then soak the root cubes in this mixture. After planting, new leaf growth will be visibly much healthier.

Another benefit of the Metrop AminoRoot and AminoBloom is that it speeds up photosynthesis and the uptake of nutrients. That makes these products very valuable for hot areas and in the use of extra CO2 generators.

Metrop products can only be bought by quality shops, distributed in the UK by Growth Technology.

28

Why is the SunSystem AC/DE HPY JVVSLK YLĂ…LJ[VY IL[[LY [OHU [OL YLZ[& Scan here to watch the video or visit maxigrow.com

EXPERT OPINIONS | GROWING EDGE TECHNOLOGIES

Amino Acids Amino Acids were first identified in 1806 by French chemists L. Vauquelin and P. Robiquet, although it was a further ninety years before the term amino acid became common parlance in the English language. Growth regulators auxins and gibberellins were discovered in the 1900s; gibberellins by Japanese scientist E. Kurosawa in 1926 and auxins by Dutch scientists FW. Went and KV. Thimann in 1937. Interestingly, Charles Darwin did document the effects of auxins in plants in 1881, just one year before his death, but he failed to identify auxins themselves as the cause. We as humans also need these for our health, but they are more critical for plant health.

Crop plants have life spans ranging from two weeks to several years. The shorter a plant’s life cycle, the more critical it is that the plant does not have a nutrient deficiency, or yields will be affected. Corn, for example, has a life cycle of roughly 100 days; should a nutrient deficiency occur, a plants overall health will be restricted, lowering yields, this has the potential to ruin a farmer, particularly in countries where the growth season is limited by adverse weather conditions; thus the ability to regulate and improve nutrient uptake in plants, indeed controlling any and all factors that may ultimately affect the crop yield is of critical importance.

To put it plainly, amino acids aid in helping other nutrients enter a plant and become plant food. Amino Acids build protein blocks in plant cells and increase the plant’s ability to photosynthesize sunlight. They also serve to build sugars and improve growth within the plant and improve disease and insects’ resistance. Plants utilize Amino acids from Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) as well as from Carbon (C) and Oxygen (O). As well as Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen, Hydrogen (H) also comprises the base elements of amino acids, with other elements appearing, predominantly in the side

Power Thrive Available in 1ltr & 4ltr

Power Thrive New Look for 2015

chains of their structure. Roughly five hundred amino acids have been identified to date. Most of the amino acids used by the plant come from the soil and water in a natural, or wild environment, but commercial growers have the ability to introduce additional amino acids to the plant, without necessarily ‘swamping’ the plant as can happen with an excess of particular elements in fertilisers.

“To put it plainly, amino acids aid in helping other nutrients enter a plant and become plant food. Amino Acids build protein blocks in plant cells and increase the plant’s ability to photosynthesize sunlight.”

Power Thrive is a product of many uses and consists of traces of approximately eighty-nine different elements. It is a carefully formulated blend of vitamin and natural plant hormones for use during all phases of plant development. We wanted a product that when sprayed on the seed would alleviate any deficiency, no matter how the seed was raised. It contains not only major and minor nutrients; it also contains twenty one amino acids, of which seventeen are vital for complete health of a plant. L-Amino Acids are part of the proteins that affect the health of the plant. Growth regulators (auxins and gibberellins) contained in Power Thrive is from plant extracts making the chelating capabilities for uptake dramatically improved. Carbon is used as a buffering source. Power Thrive helps your plants survive during stressful periods of growth, especially when starting seeds, transplanting, or taking cuttings. It also ensures stronger, more vigorous vegetative growth and, when used during the flowering cycle, will result in more vibrant blooms and improved fruit quality It also contains proprietary elements to make the most complete and 100% product available for uptake by the plant.

30

GROW TEST

RIDING THE WAVE FORM Continuing on from our probing of ballasts from a couple of issues back, this time we have a look at what sort of waveform they create in the first few milliseconds after being turned on, and how that impacts on the lamp’s and ballasts performance.

Like, yeh brah, that’s some totally gnarly surf there dude…

We’ve all seen Point Break. If you were around in the early 90’s it’s highly unlikely you were able to have a conversation about films without someone bringing this one up. Loads of beach bums all searching for the perfect wave before they go out and stick it to the man in series of elaborate robberies. It could be argued that the performance of the heists was a direct consequence of the performance of the waves, and how it left them pumped up with adrenaline to carry out said jobs. This wasn’t highlighted in the film of course but we can all read between the lines.

It’s this sort of idea that we are going to be looking at over the next several pages, only without the greasy side parting of Keanu Reeves getting in the way. I.E: How good a waveform each magnetic ballast creates in order to create the arc across tube, in order to correctly ignite it. This is how the ballast actually transmits the initial electrical load to the lamp In a wave. A sine waves to be precise in our case, the loveliest and most visually pleasing of all waves, and obviously the

inspiration for the hilarious analogy to Point Break in the first paragraph that you all no doubt had a good old laugh over.

This may not be as glorious as the previous power comparisons we did, but what it does do is show how often overlooked parts of ballasts are doing their job.

Everyone is concerned about how much power the ballast is kicking out, and quite rightly so, as that is fundamentally its main job. This comparison focuses more on the unsung heroes of your ballasts, the more mundane components that nobody really takes any notice of.

Kind of like paying attention to the guy that does the countdown rather than actually watching the rocket launch itself.

The particular portion of the waves we are looking at all occur within less than a blink of an eye from when you first turn your ballast on. This makes it very tricky to actually capture them. No matter how good an impression artist you think you are, you are going to need a tad more than your inner ‘Degas’ in order to accurately picture them. So let’s begin with looking at the equipment we used to gather this data shall we?

This may not

be as glorious as the

previous power comparisons

we did, but what it does do is show how often overlooked parts of ballasts are doing their job.

32

THE TESTING EQUIPMENT The Main Player So what exactly did we use to test all this? Well my friend, cast you eager eyes over the following page and thou shalt be all the wiser.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on a Yokogawa Oscilloscope kindly lent to us by Venture Lighting. As well as looking like a totally cool piece of equipment, the type that you might see Dr.Who tinkering about with in his Tardis, it is able to capture the signals sent from a ballast literally each microsecond and display exactly what the waveform looks like, continuously graphed on the display as the voltage vs time. I’m sure it performs many other amazing functions as well, but without a degree in electrical engineering to actually understand all that jive, I thought I’d stick to following the instructions I’d been given. Plus I didn’t fancy breaking anything.All that was necessary for me to do was set the range that I wanted the scope to capture data over. I.E How high a voltage to capture and over what period of time to focus its gaze over. Once these were set, it was a case of connecting it to…

The Probe “No this is not the sort of probe you are surprised to be presented with when going for a checkup at your doctor’s.”

No this is not the sort of probe you are surprised to be presented with when going for a check-up at your usually mundane doctor’s visit after getting to a certain age (Sorry, I couldn’t write about probes without making this joke). This bit of kit is responsible for taking the high voltage sent out from the ballast, and controlling it in a nice safe fashion so that it the Oscilloscope can actually take the signal, and it isn’t instead passed through my body.

The Capacitance Box It doesn’t look particularly sexy, but thankfully it’s not supposed to This little gizmo was knocked up by one of the technical geniuses at Venture. Basically it a box with different connections that each have a different level of capacitance between them, and therefore essentially simulate a different length of cable between the ballast and the lamp. This then allows you to see how using varying lengths of cables will affect a lamps ignition. It doesn’t look particularly sexy, but thankfully it’s not supposed to get you hard, just make it hard for the ballast to do its job (see what I did there, oooosh).Once all this was correctly hooked up and ready to go, it was simply a case of connecting up each and flicking the power switch (whilst at the same time cringing and being super paranoid that I was about to become an unwilling conductor for a high powered surge).

3

4000

INTERPRETING THE WAVE So what exactly are we going to be looking at here, and how are we going to make sense of the various waves we get?

Well, there are a couple of things to focus on in particular, and then some others that whilst aren’t particularly significant to the overall function the ignitor is performing, are still worth looking at and keeping in mind when looking at the graphs.

The easiest way to convey the information is to look at a generic wave, and highlight the significant aspects we need to concentrate on one by one:

3000

6 2000

5 1000

Zero pF

4

449 pF 1572 pF 6390 pF

0

1

First the Fundamentals: The Y axis: This is a measurement of the wattage sent to the ballast. You will notice that it isn’t in Watts, but in voltage, and up to 4-5KV’s in some cases. This may initially seem strange, but the lamps need this level of power to correctly form the arc and ignite across the electrodes.

2. The X axis: This is simply the measurement of the time scale that the waves are produced over. In Microseconds.

Literally millionths of a second.

Secondly: The Interesting Bits: 3. The height of the initial peak. How high a voltage the initial peak gets to is critical in getting the lamp ignited correctly, as mentioned in point one. All lamps will require a minimal amount before they will correctly ignite. This is not the only thing to look at though, you need to take this into account along with….

SCOPING THE BALLASTS Now we understand what the shape of a waveform can imply lets look at each of the magnetic ballasts one by one.

Lumi Compacta: Peak Power of wave: 3.3KV Width of Wave: 70 MicroSeconds Aggregate Energy under first wave: 143547 Physical notes: Nicely dissipating wave. Only form under highest capacitance significantly changes.

0

100

200

400

300

2

-1000

4. The width of the initial peak will imply (in combination with the height of the peak) a larger amount of aggregate energy under the entire first wave.

5. Area under the first peak. Possibly the most important part. The area under the first peak is the aggregate energy produced by the ignitor / capacitor. Using integral maths (or getting Excel to do it for you) you can calculate the aggregate energy under this curve. The higher the total aggregate energy under this wave, the less likely the impedence of the reflector cable will affect the lamps ignition. A lot more significant when using reflectors with longer lengths of cables.

6. The shape of the remainder of the wave: Although this does not necessarily impact on the ignition of the lamp as such, an irregular shaped wave from this point onwards can imply that the capacitor is not neatly discharging its load into the winding of the ballast. That, and it doesn’t look nice.

I’m a sucker for a nice set of curves.

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

-1000 0

34

50

100

150

200

240

4000

Eurolux Peak Power of Wave: 3.5KV Width of Wave: 90 MicoSeconds Aggregate Energy under the wave: 172092 Physical Notes: Nicely dissipating Wave. change from increasing capacitance.

3000

2000

No significant 1000

0

-1000 0

100

200

300

380

5000

Grolush Peak Power of Wave: 4.7KV Width of Wave: 50 Microseconds Aggregate energy under the wave: 168474 Physical Notes: Fairly flat dissipation of wave

3750

2500

1250

0 0

50

100

150

200

225

5000

3750

iPac Pro 2500

Peak Power of Wave: 4.6KV Width of Wave: 140 Microseconds Aggregate energy under the wave: 438567 Physical Notes: Lovely gentle looking dissipation

1250

0

-1250 0

36

50

100

150

200

250

300

375

4000

Mini Corona Peak Power of Wave: 3.5KV Width of Wave: 95 Microseconds Aggregate energy under the wave: 187368 Physical Notes: Nicely dissipating wave. Wave form significantly affected by increased capacitance after first peak.

3000

2000

1000

0

-1000 0

100

200

300

380

5000

4000

Omega

3000

2000

Peak Power of Wave: 3.9KV Width of Wave: 80 Microseconds Aggregate energy under the wave: 171684 Physical Notes: Increased capacitance significantly effecting waveforms amplitude. Dissipates off nicely.

1000

0

-1000

-2000 0

100

200

300

400

475

6000

4500

Pro Gear Peak Power of Wave: 4.7KV Width of Wave: 80 Microseconds Aggregate energy under the curve: 190353 Physical Notes: Waves not massively affected by increased capacitance. Shape of wave after first peak likely caused by resonance.

3000

1500

0

-1500

-3000 0

38

100

200

300

400

4000

3000

Comet Mk2 Peak Power of Wave: 3.6KV Width of wave: 90 Microseconds Aggregate energy under the wave: 185079 Physical Notes: Marginally effected after first capacitance increase. My personal favourite looking dissipation

2000

1000

0

-1000 0

100

200

300

400

480

5000

Comet Mk3 Peak Power of Wave: 4.4kV Width of Wave: 120 Microseconds Aggregate energy under the wave: 314094 Physical notes: Waveform barely affected by increased capacitance. Dissipates off very pleasingly.

4000

3000

2000 3000

1000

0

-1000 0

100

200

300

400

5000

4000

Maxibright Compact Pro 3000

Peak Power of Wave: 4.1kV Width of Wave: 120 Microseconds Aggregate energy under the wave: 293127

2000

1000

0

-1000 0

40

100

200

300

391

SUMMARY

So now you’ve had a chance to look at the waves of each individual ballast and how an increasing capacitance effects its waveforms, it’s time to line up each ballast in an easy to read bar chart:

AGGREGATE ENERGY (AREA UNDER FIRST PEAK) 500000

375000

250000

125000

0 Compacta

Eurolux

Growlush

iPac Pro

Mini Cornona

Clearly some ballasts are performing better than others here, but just how that performance will impact on the running of your grow room really all depends on the individual setup of your equipment, and mainly the length of your reflector’s cable.

What it would be most prudent for you to do is to use this data combined with the previous ballast test we performed on their running power, should give you a much clearer idea of which brand is likely to be most suitable for your grow room.

Omega

Pro Gear

Comet Mk2

Comet Mk3

Maxi Compact Pro

LIVE It’s A-Z of Music time again and in this edition we’re taking on the live music experience and sharing some of the great live albums...

Woodstock, Glastonbury, the Fillmore East and West, CBGB, Whiskey A Go Go, the Bataclan. These are the churches, the holy grounds, the Meccas of Live music, stirring pilgrimages of thousands, all seeking a sort of transcendent, soul elevating experience. Émile Durkheim, who wrote one of the most comprehensive studies on the causes of suicide, found that a large factor in most cases was a lack of meaningful social and emotional attachments to the world. He coined the term ‘’anomie’’, a condition people living in built up cities are most at risk of, where when faced with a large society that provides little moral or structural guidance to their citizens, people can feel this sense of disconnection from their community and struggle to find a sense of purpose and meaning. Once lost in a zone of spiritual isolation people can become disaffected, lonely and directionless. It is when we have a shared purpose with others and shared moral values and virtues with a large group that we often become driven to uphold these virtues and we find meaning.

In the West especially now we are given little in the way of guidance. Religious influence is viewed increasingly as naive in our all-knowing self-important secular societies. Politically there is a lack of trust and respect for our government, who do little to inspire us morally. Big business is more than happy to open sweat shops, destroy the environment and make everyone hate the way they look to please their shareholders. Patriotism is often viewed as a vole fart away from racism. Who is telling us how to live?

Who is helping us shape our virtues? How to combat our anomie?

You guessed it, Music! What a wonderful feeling when a band completely has the room, where thousands can share in a special elevatory experience all as one...

42

“And those who were seen dancing, were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

-Nietzsche

For most of us engagement at work and strong emotional connections to loved ones are more than enough to get us through, but it is no surprise that live music and attendance of professional sports have surged in popularity over the last decade, as these are some of the most powerful and wonderful ways for us to immerse in the divine feeling of elevation, of group connectivity, of I rolling sublimely into We. We may have awful jobs, we might be uglier than a hat full of arseholes, we might be staunch cynical atheists, but fear not as we can still elevate ourselves spiritually above the profane by supporting a team and by getting shitfaced at a psytrance rave.

Sometimes it may feel like we are living under occupation of oppressive tyrannical Bieberism, and La Résistance to the evil regime can be a great live music experience, especially at a great festival.

Hundreds of thousands of us each year brave the weather, camping in search of some self-transcendence in a cluster fuck of mud, sex, drugs and rock and roll. At home we are provoked by the slightest bit of stress, but at a festival everyone tries hard to out-hippie each other. The virtue of being chilled is upheld! There are some that find the commercialisation of liberal hippie idealism a bit unpalatable, but ultimately the coldest hearted cynic should recognise that music festivals and live music in general, no matter how corporate, still thrive off that strong sense of oneness. And whilst being hugged by a bearded acid casualty plagued by a questionable aroma in the middle of the street might cause alarm in your everyday reality, the environment at a particularly good music festival can raise this kind of behaviour into something quite beautiful. This is a collection of great live albums that really capture that sense of elevation the crowds at those shows must have felt. That is the raison d’etre of the live album. To make you feel all the intensity and spontaneity as if you were front and centre, deafened and soaked in beer and sweat, wide eyed, engaged. Elevated...

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS AT FILLMORE EAST (1971) Brothers Gregg and Duane Allman were the frontmen of legendary Southern blues rock outfit The Allman Bros Band. Equipped with two drummers and two exceptional lead guitarists in Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, At Fillmore East is an extraordinary display of Blues rock at its absolute finest. It was a massive commercial and artistic breakthrough for them with it eventually turning platinum. Widely regarded as one of the greatest live albums and one of the best examples of American rock music, it was preserved by the Library of Congress in 2004. Duane tragically died in a motorcycle accident not long after its release, but he remains one of the most revered guitarists in the world.

TALKING HEADS STOP MAKING SENSE (1984) Talking Heads hail out of New York and were part of the New Wave experimental art rock scene along with acts like Blondie, Television and The Ramones. All of these acts performed regularly at the legendary club CBGB and all were renowned for incendiary live performances. Those early experiences led to them making Stop Making Sense, a concert film made over three nights of them live in New York. David Byrne is zestful, fiercely original, and capable of truly thought provoking poetry and in Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth they have an exceptional rhythm section that gets everyone to their feet.

Add to that the futuristic guitar sounds of Adrian Bellew (who also toured extensively as a guitarist with Frank Zappa and fronted King Crimson). With Brian Eno also as a collaborator you have a collective of phenomenally talented musicians with a very serious pedigree. Stop Making Sense gives you a window into the art rock scene in New York and treats our imagination to what would have been a memorable and affecting experience to witness a really wonderful band.

LITTLE FEAT WAITING FOR COLUMBUS (1978)

DONNY HATHAWAY LIVE (1972) Considered one of the great Black American albums to come out of the ‘70s and by many as one of the greatest live albums ever recorded.

Not only can you hear and share in the crowd’s gratitude, excitement, and love for singer-songwriter and pianist Donny Hathaway and his band, but the production is so good that you can taste it and smell it too. It instantly transports you to 1970s Greenwich Village and it is a great shame that Donny had such a tragically short career after dying young due to suspected suicide from mental illness.

Little Feat were a collective of exceptional musicians based in LA around 1969, formed

by Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne who met through Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention.

Apparently George played his song Willin’ - a homage to the truck driver - to Zappa, who immediately fired him from the Mothers and said he was too good not to form his own band.

Waiting For Columbus captures them at the height of their powers with their best line up. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and many others cite them as one of the best bands in America.

They opened for the Stones on a US tour and apparently were so good - The Stones were upstaged every night – that they again had to be sacked.

JEFF BUCKLEY LIVE AT SIN-E (2003) Jeff Buckley had a criminally short career due to a tragic drowning accident in the Phoenix River aged 30, made all the more eerie by his musician father Tim also dying of an accidental overdose at a similar age. He performed as a session guitarist and was in and out of multiple bands, but was not known for his singing.

Those close to him speculated that he didn’t want to be compared to his father who had run out on his mother without ever meeting Jeff. He almost hid behind a guitar, so when one day he played and sang for close friends they were stunned.

With a bit of backing and support from those around him he started playing

44

covers in little coffee shops and it didn’t take long before people took notice. He got asked to play in a tribute concert for his father and of all the acts there he stole the show. Sin-e, a coffee shop in the village, had queues around the block to the point where every major label was trying to offer him a deal. These recordings are from the last few shows he played there. This was him unsigned, young, just a guy in a coffee shop with a guitar and the whole world wanting a piece. It isn’t perfect and some will find his vocal acrobatics and sensitivity a bit much, but listening to his raw talent is nerve tingling.

100FILMS

TO WATCH BEFORE YOU SNUFF IT:

MYSTERY 05 Death. The final curtain. Jim Morrison’s only friend. The End. And as Benjamin Franklin observed, along with taxes, the only certainty in life (he obviously didn’t use the same accountancy firm as Starbucks or Amazon). The point is there’s no escaping it, and we simply have no way of knowing what will happen once we’re tragically ripped from Death’s icy womb. No-one’s yet been to the afterlife and back to write a best-selling book and appear on Oprah (no-one who isn’t a pathological liar at any rate). Will it involve waking up surrounded by cherubim and apparitions of dead relatives? Will we be thrown into the confusion of bardo before starting our new lives as blobfish or pauper kings? Or perhaps our known universe will just disintegrate into Nothingness before our rapidly decaying eyes? The answer, whatever some screaming mullah or television evangelist waving a holy book might tell us, will always remain a mystery.

Which is fine. We love trying to solve mysteries here at HYDROMAG. For example who was Jack the Ripper? (Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle - in a brilliant guerrilla marketing campaign to promote A Study in Scarlett.) Or who shot JFK? (Answer: a livid Joe DiMaggio - because JFK was fucking his wife, Monroe.) Or why do our socks keep disappearing? (Answer: still no idea.) There’s a great deal of fun to be had in attempting to solve a mystery – from the head-scratching clue hunt to the satisfaction of the I-knew-it-all-along “reveal”. And there’s a great deal of fun to be had watching the following movies highlighted in this issue of HYDROMAG. Remember – no-one lives forever!

This edition: Mystery. Typically follows an investigation into a mysterious crime or clue-based puzzle using the process of deduction.

46

Manhunter DIRECTOR: Michael Mann (1986)

Several years before Anthony Hopkins won plaudits for his turn in Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon – the first of his novels to feature Hannibal Lecter – was given the Michael Mann treatment. And this is by far the more interesting film. Forced to change name by the preponderance of kung fu movies in 1980s America, Manhunter is unapologetically stylish, using colour as ostentatiously as in John Boorman’s Point Blank to denote mood. Although the odd moment of diegesis and an invasive contemporary soundtrack occasionally jar; the morally-complex plot, the gripping procedure-heavy pursuit of the killer, and the splendidly chilly performances easily offset any of its criticisms. (In fact with the circles of nostalgia growing ever smaller, it’s likely the OST is already in vogue again.) Manhunter is simultaneously overblown yet lean, tight as a duck’s arse and quite riveting. There hasn’t been a better serial killer film.

04

Rashomon Director: Akira Kurosawa (1950) Repeatedly featuring in Top 100 lists, Rashomon is a superb Japanese take on the traditional murder story. Using the “unreliable narrator” narrative technique, the details surrounding the death of a samurai are described by a number of witnesses, each with a fairly contradictory recollection of events. This “Schrödinger’s Cat” scenario threatens to leave the viewer frustrated, thirsting to open the box and get to the nub of kitty’s existential state, but absolute truth is slippery, and this elusiveness proves the central theme of the film.

Beautifully shot and lit, it’s an important part of the pantheon of film greats - experimental in narrative, editing and cinematography. Criminally ignored by Japanese filmgoers when it premiered, Rashomon has gone on to become one of the most influential movies of the last century.

03

The White Ribbon Director: Michael Haneke (2009) Haneke was a student of psychology and philosophy at the University of Vienna, and this interest in ontology and the darker reaches of the human mind is evident in all his output as a film director. The White Ribbon, winner of the Palme d’Or (Haneke is one of just seven filmmakers to have won it twice), shows us a quasi-Fascistic village in Germany on the cusp of the First World War, and is an exploration into the roots of evil. A series of unexplained acts of violence afflicts the community, amidst an awful sense of foreboding. At the heart of this film are the children, growing up in a world of strict authoritarianism, sexual guilt, religiosity and moral hypocrisy. Shot in black and white, this is a cold, disturbing story, guaranteed to pose more questions than provide answers.

02

A Serious Man

DIRECTOR: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (2009) Not an obvious contender for the mystery genre, A Serious Man is normally categorised as comedy, but is nevertheless a film steeped in riddle. Set in 1960s Minnesota, Larry Gopnik – a put-upon physics teacher (Michael Stuhlbarg’s finest role yet) – finds his life and family slowly falling apart. The plot is broadly structured around his search for spiritual guidance from three rabbis who each give distinctly different, yet equally dissatisfying service (from the uselessly platitudinal, the meaninglessly cryptic, to the perennially unobtainable).

The key thrust of the film is that answers often prove elusive – with the Coen Brothers peppering the audience with eitheror scenarios that are never resolved. As dark as A Serious Man becomes, the Oscar nominated script is spectacularly good and there is great delight to be had in following Gopnik’s demise.

01

INLAND EMPIRE DIRECTOR: David Lynch (2006)

Just as Lynch had seemingly been welcomed in from the cold by making the brilliant Mulholland Dr., the most critically and commercially successful of his films, he went and blew all the goodwill by following it up with his most inaccessible (not unlike Radiohead releasing Kid A after their smash hit OK Computer). In an almost deliberate fuck-you to his legion of new fans, David Lynch ensured INLAND EMPIRE was his darkest, weirdest, most convoluted, yet in many ways his greatest, cinematic achievement. The plot is difficult to describe but essentially follows “a woman in trouble”. Laura Dern is a fading actress finding her life mimicking her new film role – a film that is a remake of a movie that went unfinished due to an unspoken tragedy. Despite descending into byzantine madness, there is – as with Mulholland Dr. and Lost Highway – a certain logic to the plot that can be deduced with a bit of hard work and much argument in the pub. Lynch likes to talk of “the eye of the duck” – that key scene that makes sense of, and crystallises, the essence of a movie. INLAND EMPIRE might be the “eye of the duck” in Lynch’s filmography.

See the official trailers for these movies.

HYDROMAG YouTube channel will be full of playlists to supplement our articles.

You can also see sponsored playlists from our advertisers.

Visit: www.youtube.com/user/hydromagazine

48

GROW GEAR Grow Gear gives you a taste of our advertisers’ premier products, from popular classics to new-fangled curiosities. We can’t guarantee that they’re right for you, but we can tell you that we wouldn’t have them in HYDROMAG if we didn’t respect their work. Even if you aren’t in the market for something new, Grow Gear is well worth a read.

BLACK ORCHID Geno-box Propagating Tent The Black Orchid Geno-box propagating tent features a unique external pocket to place a hygrometer with a Velcro covered entry point for the probe.

The Geno-box features four hanging bars, providing plenty of sturdy hanging space for propagating lights and equipment.

The inside of the tent is lined with diamond Mylar for maximum light distribution and reflectivity. The tent material is 100% PVC free.

The Black Orchid Geno-box propagating tent is available in two sizes: 50x100x50 70x120x70 To find your local stockist visit: www.blackorchid.co.uk

Available to buy online from: www.rutlandhorticulture.co.uk

CANNA Canna Aqua Clay Pebbles CANNA Aqua Clay Pebbles are baked clay pellets that are ideal for growers who want to control the application of nutrients and the humidity level of their plants throughout the entire cultivation process.

The pebbles have a high porosity and high air content which stimulate the development of strong roots. The Aqua Clay Pebbles are pH neutral, fungus free and do not rot. The ideal substrate for use in a hydroponic system.

Now the CANNA Aqua Clay Pebbles are available in the standard 45litre bag and are available in a smaller version (20 litre bag) as well.

Want to know more about the CANNA AQUA fertilisers and the Aqua Clay Pebbles? Please see our website www.canna-uk.com/aqua

Product Website: www.canna-uk.com

CANNA Become a CANNA Advisor CANNA would like to know everything from the most experienced CANNA growers in the UK! We can learn from YOU by sharing your stories. How do you think our products perform? What do you think of our new products? Which products should CANNA introduce to its range? We are very interested to hear your opinions and feedback.

CANNA is looking for CANNA advisors. Of course, we will reward you for your input if you become a CANNA advisor.

For more information please look at www.canna-uk.com/canna-advisor

Product Website: www.canna-uk.com

50

SECRET JARDIN Secret Jardin LODGE L160 - L280 Secret Jardin is proud to introduce its new combined station now available in big sizes with the L160 (160 x 120 x 205cm) & L280 (280 x 120 x 210cm).

Reaching more than two meters high, these new models provide a large flowering chamber and separate isolated growing areas for clones and mother plants. This offers the possibility of running two light cycles over these separate areas, at the same time. These products are a great solution for end users concerned with available space, who need a high efficiency from their total work space.

The Secret Jardin LODGE is ideal for use with all types of lighting technology (LED, HPS, CFL, T5) and large enough to cater for all growing systems (hydro, soil, coco etc).

Product Website: www.secretjardin.com Distribution by: (UK) Maxigrow (IRL) Dublin Indoor Gardening

IKON T5 Propagation Light The new T5 propagation lighting fixture distributed by IKON International is available in both 2 x 55w and 4 x 55w lamp options.

Producing 10,000 lumens and inclusive of a 1 year warranty, these plug and play units (1.2m cable and UK plug) combine optimum results with simplicity.

Manufacturer: Grow Lush Distribution by: Ikon International

IKON Clip Fan This innovative 200mm (8w) clip on fan uses the new ‘direct magnetic drive’ technology and is the largest, most economical clip fan on the market!

Where classic clip fans use a lubricant to facilitate motor rotation, the eco-clip fan uses magnetic rotation using the magnetic drive system.

The lifespan of your fan is optimised and the risk of malfunctions due to the oil evaporating in hot, humid conditions is limited. These low wattage, lightweight clip on fans with a handy strong dog clip allows you to place the unit in virtually any position within your grow room (Also available in a 150mm - 13w economy version).

Manufacturer: Advanced Star Product Website: www.ikon-international.com Distribution by: Ikon International

GROW GEAR GROTEK Kick Start 5-8-5 NEW FORMULA COMING SOON! Early growth solution.

Redesigned using cutting edge research, KickStart™ is formulated for seedlings, rooted cuttings, and transplants. By increasing the efficiency and development of young plants, crop yields are maximized. The new formula is more concentrated, which helps growers keep costs down.

These savings are balanced with a complex blend of ingredients, like our industry exclusive Intrinsic™ - a simple plant derived molecule that has been isolated and synthesized for its plant activating properties. Natural plant extracts from alfalfa, kelp, yucca and quillaja further enhance the complexity, mineralization and efficacy of this product.

Distribution by: Erith Horticulture

GROTEK Cal-Max DEFICIENCY CORRECTOR. During periods of high temperatures and accelerated growth, plants can develop nutrient deficiencies, which are preventable. Cal-Max™ was developed to provide the additional calcium, magnesium and iron needed to support peak production.

Product Website: tinyurl.com/oqov7j3 Distribution by: Erith Horticulture

VAALSERBERG GARDEN Mamaquilla For cuttings and transplanting.

Mamaquilla is a root compound comprising of NPK in balanced proportions promoting the assimilation of the proteins, enzymes and chlorophyll. It also contains boron, copper, zinc and molybdenum as well as betaines that act as growth activator and flower bud stimulator. Used as a foliar spray during growth, re-potting and the passage from growth to flowering, it promotes the growth of micro-organisms and the propagation of rootlets and young roots in cuttings and transplants.

Mamaquilla works with any fertiliser brand and with all growing mediums and methods, indoors and outside.

We recommend times when there is a full moon for the maximum effect.

52

VAALSERBERG GARDEN Speed Booster Increases the quantity and quality of harvests.

Prepared in accordance with the expertise and requirements of the Vaalserberg laboratories, calcium rich Speed Booster accelerates plants’ cell division, promoting faster growth. It also activates the maturity of the fruit and flowers.

Currently unique to the market, Speed Booster is an accelerator with a vegetable structure. Its nitrogen component adds the proteins necessary for plant growth and promotes immediate calcium assimilation, aiding development of plants’ structure, leaves and fruit as well as resistance to external attack.

Speed Booster is very concentrated. It should only be used during the growth period. Speed Booster is a completely soluble liquid fertiliser, suitable for all plants and growing mediums and methods, indoors and outside.

SOLER & PALAU TD-Silent range up to 1000cu.m/hr Combining superb airflow and pressure performance the TD-SILENT range is the only inline fan range to carry the Noise Abatement Society’s Quiet Mark, an independent approval of only the quietest products in each product category (www.quietmark.com).

On top of unparalleled low noise levels this range features rubber sealed spigots to prevent air leakage from ducting and a quick-release fan body for ease of cleaning. A swivelling terminal box is designed to make life easy during installation too. The whole product is protected to IP44 and two speed motors as standard mean that the units can run at low speed, saving energy, until a higher level boost speed is switched on by a thermostat, sensor or switch.

Product Website: www.silentfans.co.uk Distribution by: Network of hydroponics shops

SOLER & PALAU TD-Silent larger models 1300 & 2000cu.m/hr The ‘Big Brothers’ to the smaller sizes of TD-SILENT, the 1300 and 2000 models are much more suited to larger scale hydroponics set ups.

Higher airflow, 1300 and 2000 cu.m/hr respectively and pressures make these suitable for use with bigger grow rooms and longer duct runs. The construction is painted steel but the noise levels are kept low by integrating sound attenuation in the fan body. Other features include an IP55 terminal box and compact dimensions for ease of fitting in small spaces.

Product Website: www.silentfans.co.uk Distribution by: Network of hydroponics shops

GROW GEAR ETI LTD Max/Min Thermometer with Internal & External Temperature Sensors This max/min and alarm thermometer features a large, easy to read LCD display, max/min memory function to record the highest and lowest temperatures and a high/low programmable audible alarm.

Measuring over the range of -49.9 to 69.9 °C, the unit incorporates two temperature sensors, a remote water resistant probe with one metre PVC lead for the appliance temperature and an internal sensor for the room temperature.

The remote probe can be mounted onto a wall using the suction pad or mounting bracket supplied. Housed in a durable ABS case the thermometer incorporates a foot-stand for shelf mounting.

Priced at £6.50 each ex VAT

Product Website: www.etiltd.com

SOL DIGITAL Adjusta-Watt 400w All the features you’ve come to expect from an Adjusta-Watt Digital Ballast but now in a compact 400w version.

Ballast operates HPS and Metal Halide lamps at 250w, 275w, 400w and 440w making it perfect for small to midsized set ups or for growing on prior to flowering.

Product Website: www.soldigital.co.uk Distribution by: FDP Wholesale

RTA SYSTEMS Air-Pot RTA Dripper System XL Less is more!

Drip irrigation through Air-Pot containers has proven a very effective method for Air-Pot growers, delivering high yield crops with the least amount of fuss. Now the sky’s the limit with the new XL version allowing the system to be used with the massive 30 & 45ltr Air-Pot

Product Website: www.fdpwholesale.co.uk Distribution by: FDP Wholesale

54

HIGHLIGHT HORTICULTURE LTD Scala Easy Rollers Scala easy rollers are the original European manufactured patented easy rollers, they have proved so successful that they are now copied extensively by various Asian manufactures.

By using these Easy Rollers you can be sure that you are buying an article made in Italy with guaranteed characteristics in terms of the quality of its materials and the accuracy and reliability of its operation, owing to the patented upgrades that have been made over time and are included in the latest V3 model.

Each roller will hold 5KG

NEW: Easy Hooks

Holds 5kg, attach Easy Rollers to almost anything!

Distribution by: Highlight Horticulture Ltd

HIGHLIGHT HORTICULTURE LTD Airsonic GS380 Ultrasonic Humidifier The Airsonic GS380 Ultrasonic Humidifier produces 380ml water vapour per hour from its 6 litre tank, giving 15 hours of continual use at full power.

Ideal for raising humidity to the correct level, the ultra-high frequency vibrations generate an ultra-fine mist.

At less than 35dB the unit is whisper quiet and can also be run with an external hygrostat.

Distribution by: Highlight Horticulture Ltd

USES

1-2 ML/LTR

USES

2-4 ML/LTR

GROW GEAR MAXIBRIGHT Sun Systems DE Boss Reflector The Sun Systems DE Boss reflector was made specifically for double ended 1000 watt HPS horticultural lamps.

Unique double ended construction allows for maximum optical efficiency and uniformity. Full spectrum DE lamps used in this fixture focus on the red component for increased photosynthetic response.

They offer improved PAR values and increased PAR/Lumen maintenance (up to 90% PAR at 10,000 hours of operation). Deep reflector design holds the lamp heat to keep the DE lamp at optimal operating temperature. 95% reflective textured German aluminium interior with 98% reflective corner inserts offer unsurpassed uniformity, output and diffusion. Galvanized steel housing with durable powder coated finish.

Product Website: www.maxibright.com/where-to-buy

Scan here to see the DE Boss in action

MAXIBRIGHT Maxibright iPac Hobby Ballast The iPac Hobby is the latest Genuine Quality ballast in the Maxibright range.

The Hobby is a vented magnetic ballast which features a matched digital SmartTM igniter, high quality components from Venture Lighting Europe and a corrosion resistant high gloss powder coated enclosure.

Designed in the UK the iPac Hobby is wall mountable, offers cool and silent running with continuous Genuine Power output to your lamps.

Available in 400W & 600W versions the iPac Hobby will offer even more reliability, quality and value for money throughout the life of this precision wound ballast.

Product Website: www.maxibright.com/where-to-buy

PLANT VITALITY Nano Series University developed Plant Vitality Nano-Series is arriving in the UK and will be distributed exclusively by Erith Horticulture.

Utilising the horticultural equivalent of the Higgs Boson particle, Plant Vitality proudly introduce their nano-technology plant feed, creating the world’s smallest and fastest acting particles, reducing crop time and lowering the chance of infection.

As featured on the BBC’s The One Show

Product Website: www.plantvitalityltd.co.uk Distribution by: Erith horticulture

56

GROW GEAR PLAGRON Cocos A & B Cocos A&B is a highly concentrated, two component mineral basic plant food for use during the plant’s growth and flowering phase.

This liquid fertiliser contains a balanced NPK ratio, developed specifically for cultivation on all kinds of coco substrates.

Cocos A and Cocos B are separated into different bottles, preventing calcium and phosphorus from binding to each other, precipitating and becoming non-absorbable for the plant. Cocos A is also distinguished by the addition of humic and fulvic acids that change the bonding in certain minerals, making it more absorbable by the plant. Cocos A&B is fully adjusted to the Plagron coco substrates.

Do you have any questions: servicedesk@plagron.com

For additional information about Cocos A&B and other products check: www.plagron.com

PLAGRON Cocos Premium Plagron Cocos Premium is an ideal substrate for the hydroponic grower.

Fully buffered, providing a stable pH over the entire cultivation and allowing for full control over the plant’s nutrition, because of the guaranteed low EC value.

Plagron Cocos Premium is a perfect combination of buffered coco peat and coco fiber. The coco peat ensures optimal absorption of water and nutrients, reducing the risk of dehydration or nutrient loss. The coco fibers provide the desired lightness of the substrate, allowing the roots of the plant to absorb sufficient oxygen for respiration. The quality of Cocos Premium is confirmed by the RHP quality mark, which guarantees a correct buffering of the substrate.

Combine Cocos Premium with Cocos A&B for the best results.

Product Website: www.plagron.com

GREEN SCIENCE AromOzone The AromOzone single cell 8” is now available from Erith Horticulture and all good stockists.

Through Ozone Technology this UK designed and manufactured device is the ultimate in unwanted air bound pollutant control.

Scientifically geared towards annihilating problem particles from the air, not filtering but destroying, the AromOzone will destroy mould, bacteria and odour, leaving nothing but clean smelling air behind.

Product Website: aromozone.co.uk Distribution by: Erith Horticulture

58

HIGHLIGHT HORTICULTURE LTD Gorilla Box Fans The Gorilla Acoustic box fan incorporates a high quality Torin Sifan double entry centrifugal fan and the 18mm MDF Box is lined with 12mm fire resistant acoustic foam for quiet running.

The fans are available in five sizes from 750M3/hr to 4250M3/hr and a full range of spigot sizes and configurations can be manufactured.

An extensive range of standard size fans are available from stock.

The superior construction method includes fully sealed edge and flange joints creating an airtight, high performance fan.

Distribution by: Highlight Horticulture Ltd

HIGHLIGHT HORTICULTURE LTD Gorilla Carbon Filters These quality carbon filters are manufactured and designed to complement the Gorilla range of box fans as well as other brands of fans.

Made with Quality RC412 Carbon and using a uniformly compressed 38mm carbon bed they are designed to have a lifespan of over 12 months.

The design incorporates an inner end cone to more evenly spread the airflow through the carbon bed and a replaceable dust filter cover.

Distribution by: Highlight Horticulture Ltd

GROW GEAR H.I.D NuLife Nulife Technologies creates solutions through our innovative research and development program.

Why are we so good? The many years of commercial growing and horticultural consulting experience of our agronomic team shows in our already proven, top of the range products. Our research and development team is at the cutting edge of new product development. The latest commercial developments are rapidly refined into hydroponic products allowing you, the customer, to breathe NuLife into your plants.

Product Website: www.nulifetech.com.au Distribution by: HID

H.I.D Sicce Ultra Zero The Ultra Zero is a submersible pump designed to move water at a rapid rate with minimal noise.

It is small when compared to other pumps of its type yet will pump 3000 litres per hour to a maximum height of 3.1 metres.

Perfect for emptying tanks or reservoirs quickly without leaving an excessive amount of water behind. Features an easy access handle, accepts standard 3/4� fittings and has a removable base for easy cleaning. The body is constructed from robust Thermoplastic which will not rust or corrode. No tools are needed to install Ultra Zero, nor for routine maintenance.

Product Website: tinyurl.com/ofluac6 Distribution by: HID

H.I.D Exodus Systems Deep Water Culture is a great technique for novices and experts alike, but like any method it has its downsides.

Exodus Systems has addressed many of these issues in one fell swoop with their new DWC pots. Featuring black/white dual layered pots and lids to keep the nutrient solution cooler and other innovations such as a unique stepped 2 litre mesh basket, it has been developed to outperform the competition and be easier to use. The 27 litre inner black pot is elevated to aid drainage through the supplied tap and each pot comes with an adjustable air pump and 4� round air stone.

Distribution by: HID

60

GROW TEST - Part 2

CARBON IODINE UPDATE Following on from last issue’s filter test, here we have the results from the butane test, that give us a great idea on the total surface area, and therefore an indication of the total adsorption capabilities of the carbon.

It is fairly straight forward, the higher the number, the higher the potential rate for adsorption there is. An almost indiscriminate adsorption though. It doesn’t give us details on what quantity of that surface area is dominated by either macro, micro and meso pores: micro and meso being the ones we would be most interested in having a high percentage of. As a rule of thumb, coal based carbon will have a mix of all types of pores to varying degrees depending on the source, and coco carbon will generally be mostly micro and meso pores. Also it gives no indication of the overall charge of the carbon, which also affects how well carbon will adsorb particular VOCs. To properly make sense of these results you need to bear in mind the difference between the efficiency and the capacity of a filter. The previous issue’s tests were essentially a measure of a filters efficiency. The efficiency of a filter is mainly down to the filter’s housing design (contact time with carbon/minimal leakage)

and particle size. The Iodine test shown here is more so linked to a filter’s total capacity. A filter’s capacity is dependent on mainly the filter’s housing design and carbon pore volume (surface area/ iodine value). These are both very closely related but fundamentally different. A filter can give a high efficiency but with a short life, or a high efficiency with a long life (or vice versa). This is why a filter with a low iodine number can still be highly efficient in removing VOC’s (or vice-versa), it just won’t last as long.

Anyway, enough of all that malarky, see the table below for the results that we obtained from the various manufacturers’ types of carbon.

Any questions? Yes you there at the back folding the paper planes...

Of all the tests we have done so far, this one seemed to cause one of the largest reactions, most likely because the results over the brands weren’t what some people were expecting. So we thought we’d though we would answer a couple of those questions, and explain our reasoning.

IODINE VALUES Manufacturer

Model

Percent from Top Performer

Perfromance Percentile

Black Orchid

Buddy

1066

0

0.0

CanFilters

Original

988

93

7.3

CanFilters

Lite

974

91

8.6

Prima Klima

Eco Edition

920

86

13.7

Rhino

Professional

907

85

14.9

Ram

890

83

16.5

Phresh

Normal

864

81

18.9

Phresh

Inline

864

81

18.9

Rhino

Hobby

851

80

20.2

Prima Klima

Industry

826

77

22.5

Red Scorpion

802

75

24.8

Bulldog

786

74

26.3

407

38

61.8

Black Orchid

62

Lab Test Result (mg/L)

Even Flo

Why weren’t all the filters the same length?

We got asked this by a couple of people, and even though it was explained in the original article, we thought it would be a good idea to spell it out nice and simple like: The length alone does not equate to a filter’s entire performance in terms of either airflow, or VOC removal. This is why different manufacturers recommend different length/size filters, for different airflow rates. It is a combination of the length, bed depth, carbon type and housing design that dictates its whole performance. When testing and comparing products, it is not really a good idea to ignore manufacturer recommendations and go by what you deem yourself to be most significant.

If we had selected the filters based solely on length, then some filters would have been vastly overrated for the fan we were using, and some filters would have been vastly underrated. This obviously would have given some filters an instant advantage over others, and misrepresented some of the others.

The easiest and simplest way to look at our selection process is that it is the same as that which a customer walking into a shop would be provided if they asked for a filter for that fan. They would be sold a filter based on the recommendations given by each individual manufacturer. Based on exactly this same logic, these are the size filters that we compared.

So why didn’t you use the recommended brand of fan for each filter?

For a quite a few of reasons, but we will only go over the most significant: Firstly: Not all filter companies recommend specific brands of fans for their filters. In fact the vast majority don’t. They simply specify a recommended air flow rate (and usually the very maximum one at that). Therefore if we had used a particular brand of fan across the board because one particular brand recommends that one for their filter, it would have put them at an instant advantage.

Secondly: If we had have used different fans for each of the different filters, this wouldn’t really give us any meaningful comparative data. It would be like looking at how a Range Rover pulls a caravan compared to how a Mondeo pulls a trailer. I.E you want to know how the Mondeo pulls them all to get any meaningful idea of how the different loads affect a car’s engine.

Thirdly: We wanted to use the most commonly used and sold fan across the UK. As the most commonly used and bought fan, the effects of its performance from the attached filters would be more relatable to a wider number of people.

How can relatively similar filters have different results?

This question arose from a few of these brands using the same type of carbon to do the job. Particularly the RC412 carbon. Carbon from the same source (just like everything else) gets produced in batches. The uniformity of carbon produced throughout each individual batch will be relatively high, but each consecutive batch produced will have slightly different properties, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Also a big factor in the performance of the filter is the design of the housing, and the quality of its entire production as a whole. The size of the bed, length of the filter, quality of the packing of carbon and build quality of the housing all contribute in one way or another to the overall performance and therefore give relatively different performances, even though the same carbon type is used.

And finally: Price Error: We got the average price of the Rhino Pro incorrect in the base statistic section of the last issue. It was the 8” long filter prices that we had there. Doh! The correct average price for the Rhino Pro filter we had is in fact: £103.99 Here is the performance table that takes account of these values as a percentage from the top performer, and give us the overall results of the filters:

TABLE OF PERFORMANCE Performance Percentiles Make / Model Iodine

Average

Overall Score Out of 100

Air Flow Centiles

VOC Centiles

Phresh Normal

17.5

2.5

19

13.0

87

Can Original

0

32.6

7

13.2

87

RAM

12.1

13.9

17

14.3

86

B/O Buddy

38.9

22

0

20.3

80

Phresh Inline

42.3

0

19

20.4

80

Red Scorpion

19

22.9

25

22.3

78

PK Eco

28.5

27.3

14

23.3

77

PK Industry

49.4

10.8

23

27.7

72

B/O Even Flo

30

9.3

62

33.8

66

Rhino Pro

70.8

22.2

15

36.0

64

Can Lite

76.3

26.5

9

37.3

63

Rhino Hobby

54.8

37.8

20

37.5

62

Bulldog

97.9

73.5

26

65.8

34

COMPETITION...

Here at HYDROMAG we believe spare the rod, spoil the child. But we also believe in reward for hard work. Well you’ve waited patiently, got sixty-six pages into the magazine (shame on you if you skipped), so it’s time for your pudding. And oh what pudding we have for you in this issue! In the words of our Sales and Features Manager, Nico Hill, “Gavita are supplying one of their new double-ended 750w HPS full fixtures … it is a bloody lovely light, plus bare cash money as well!”

And if your panties weren’t moist enough already, we’re also throwing in an Adjust-a-Wing as a runner’s up prize. So don’t ever let us catch you saying we don’t look after our readership! And when you’ve finished thanking us don’t forget the wonderful people at Gavita and Adjust-a-Wing, without whom we’d have looked right Bernie Madoffs. You can’t have a competition without prizes, can you? Not without getting busted at some point anyway.

THIS MONTH’S PRIZES...

Sponsored by Gavita Double ended 750w HPS full fixtures

HOW TO ENTER...

Also up for grabs...

ADJUST-A-WING 66

As of HYDROMAG ISSUE 008, there is a new way to enter competitions. You must now go to www.hydroshow.tv/competition and enter your phone number and email address in to the form. Your information will not be shared with third party companies.

*Full terms can be found at: www.hydroshow.tv/competition-terms-conditions

Test the CANNA products, give your feedback and be rewarded.

Sign up via the website.

www.canna-uk.com