Well it looks like it's time to learn about the latest LED grow light technology. I just ordered my 400w Solarstorm and can"t wait until it arrives. I have been using Metal Halides as well as High Pressure Sodiums for 20 years now and feel like I've got things pretty much dialed in. I have always grown in sunshine mix #4 and for the most part always used indica clones. Over the years I had to downsize and am now growing in a small 7X3 foot room which is about 8 feet high. I ventilate with 4 inch ducting which is attached to a 180cfm fan with a charcoal canister.I try to keep the temperature around 76 degrees at all times even when the lights are off. I am currently using two 600w HPS for flowering and a 400w MH for vegging which are vented directly outside to avoid any heat buildup. Every 4 weeks I take six plants out of the flower room and add six from the veg space. On average I harvest about 16oz each month. I only grow indicas. I simply don't have room for Sativas! I use general hydroponic nutrients throughout my cycle and always make sure to test my PH as well as my PPM. During my last two weeks of flowering I only give the plants distilled water to flush out the residual nutrients and salts. I found over the years that this took away a lot of the harshness when being consumed. I am by no means an expert and know that I could be getting higher yields. I hope switching over to LED's will help me achieve higher yields! I will touch base again when I have my new light set up.
You seem to have your system figured out but I'm not sure what your LED plans are. How are you planning on using your new light, are you just adding the LED or replacing another light?
SME
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
I'm planning on switching over entirely to LED's provided I get good results. The main reason to switch over would be to cut my Hydro consumption. It would be great if I could bring my cost's down. Every year it gets more and more expensive to do what I like to do. I'm not sure how the LED's compare because no one that I know uses them! I'm hoping to prove to them that it's the way of the future. We shall see....
Based on results so far you'll need about the same number of watts to get the same number of grams so it seems you fell for the myth that lower power LED lights will yield as much as higher powered HID lights.
I still look forward to watching your journal progress...
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
Well my SS just arrived and am hoping to have it up and running this week! I can't wait to try it out! After much consideration and research I have decided to give organics a try. I recently purchased some hashberry seeds and plan on growing them organically in soil under my new SS. I will post some photos when I get everything all together. I'm hoping all goes well.
Well I got my SS hooked up today and everything seems to be working fine. I was surprised at how heavy the light was. There is a fair amount of heat that comes from the light but with proper ventilation I can't see it being a problem for me. It raises the temp 10 degrees in the room when it is running which is not a big issue. I went out and bought a cheaper made in China 600w LED which is now beside my SS. Up until recently I have been growing with 2 600W HID lights and therefore felt it necessary to boost my light power to 1000W. I'm only drawing 5 amps of power now for lighting. My Hashplant seeds from Mandala seeds have sprouted and will soon be moved into my grow room. I will post some pics when I figure out how to do it. So far things look promising.
Yes, the CLW lights are made very well and they use quality materials.
I hope you understand that the SS400w is really only 310w of actual power and your 600w Chinese light is probably only 450w actual power so what you're calling 1000 LED watts is really more like 760-ish actual watts. Your 7x3 room is 21 sqft so you were getting 57w/sqft with your 2x600w HPS lights and you're now down to about 36w/sqft which is less than suggested even with the powerful CLW light and not all LEDS are equal so the cheap light might also be weaker than you think...unless you're not filling that 7x3 completely that is.
Just something to think about...
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
Wow! I guess I should have done the math on the watts per square foot! Well I'm still going to move forward with my plan but maybe I should pick up another SS! That won't be for awhile. Who knew this was going to be so complicated.
Give it try and see what you think but not enough light is bad no matter what kind you use. If you have to; you can throw one of your 600w HPS lights back in there for a while but even with mixing the other LED light it's going to be harder to tell how much is due to each light. LED and HPS do work well together. CLW is pretty up front about how many LED watts vs actual draw watts but if you're new to LED it's a easy thing to misunderstand. CLW suggests 40w/sqft for the SS series so at least your close to that but 50 is better than 40, etc.
What kind of picture posting problem are you having?
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
I'm having issues with my camera. I might just abandon the camera and use my iphone. I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it because it's not the highest resolution but I can give it a try. As for my lighting I guess I will have to see how things turn out. At this point it's simply an experiment that will obviously need to be refined! I'm still working forward to the results even if I come up a little short of what I'm used too. I will sort it all out eventually.