Hi everyone. Mr. Nice Guy here making good on my part of the grower's feedback program. I will do the best to explain my set up in this first post.
I utilize a perpetual harvest strategy My tent is concealed in a closet Old air is vented outside CO2 is used throughout flowering - supplied by a tank and solenoid Atmosphere is controlled by a CAP 3 or 4 - it controls heat, humidity, and releases co2 when fans stop. The tent is 2'x4' - I also have a 2'x4' veg tent lit by a 125w cfl Plants are grown in 3gal grow bags Plants are watered by a top feed method with about 20% runoff Medium is coco mixed with perlite Current nutrients are pure blend pro by botanicare - I also use their full line of suppliments Waterings are every 3-4 days ph'd at 5.8 Every Friday I foliar feed Current plants are from seed FIM and LST used to keep canopy even - lower foliage has been pruned SolarStorm400 is placed 18" from canopy
That's all I can think of right now. Feel free to ask anything you want. Offer advice. Comment. I appreciate it all. I decided to make a leap and try leds because I have heat problems. I also like the idea of them being spaceage. I think leds deserve a lot more credit. I'm starting a horticulture degree this fall and I'm excited to have conversations regarding these lights.
What lighting were you using for flowering before? I hope you're not using the whole 4' length, the SS400w really won't cover that very well if you want top-shelf results. YMMV...
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.
Prior I used a 400w hps. It had a bat-wing style reflector. Horrible heat issues. I figured after buying an aircooled hood and replacement bulbs over 10 years - leds are cheaper in the long run.
High heat in my tent has affected flavor and structure - which is unacceptable.
I agree that the coverage is lacking. I am torn between a light mover or supplimental lighting to curb the effeçts of unevenness. Any suggestions? Cost is always a factor.
On a side note, I'm sure to turn the plants regularly and I'm confident it helps. I have pruned to allow every site access to light. I'm by no means a master grower - I still have a lot to learn.
Unfortunately, there may be some errors in your cost/benefit analysis.
1) It's unlikely that most LED grow lights will still be running in 10 years and even if they are there may be individual diodes that have failed by then which would reduce output.
2) Even if all of the diodes *are* still working, they still lose 30-50% of their output over their lifetime and are generally not user replaceable.
3) 400w HPS bulbs only cost between 15-75-ish dollars each. At an average of say 45 dollars that would be a 10 year cost of 900 dollars if replaced every 6 months but you'd also have a fresh bulb and less light loss at the end of the 10 years. 5 years might also be more reasonable for an expected lifespan (depending on use and other environmental conditions) for most LED grow lights and that would be 450 dollars which is cheaper than the retail cost of the SS400w.
4) The SS400w is really only about 330w actual draw (in flower mode) due to LED inefficiencies which is almost 20% less light than the 400w HPS.
5) You'll still have to deal with heat but it will probably less than a non-aircooled hood.
6) In less than 5 years there will, most likely, be better grow lights that you'll probably want to upgrade to.
That said, the CLW lights *are* very well made, using quality parts, and made in America which is all good. We've seen pretty good results from their lights in the journals here but just not quite as good as higher powered HID lights.
I'm not a fan of light movers and rotating the plants in the tent will only help so much but if you threw a SolarFlare 200W (or 2 x 100w) in that would give you more w/sqft and much better results than if you try to skimp. Long, rectangular tents are better suited for multiple lights due to the shape. If you can live with less than "the best of the best" you'll probably still be happy and since you had issues with your old light I think you'll enjoy the results either way. Optionally, you could just use 2x3 instead of the whole 2x4, you'd just have some space on one side.
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary...
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 have very good news to report. My heat issues have been eliminated over night - literally. My fans are running much less. Temps never get above 84 at canopy level. My fans shut off for 7-10 minutes whereas it used to be 3 minutes top. Besides the heat savings, these lights ultimately allow more co2 fill time. I believe less heat will make up for less light coverage. Heat stresses the plants too much.
With that said, I am definately interested in adding a light. Not sure what combination I will go with. I don't want to go over 450w of light for my space. That means a single 100w SolarFlare. Two might be an option - I have some thinking to do. Adding another light won't happen for a few weeks.
A day late but I foliar fed my plants tonight. I use a 300ppm solution with a spreader sticker added. pH was 5.9.
I have a question: I just acquired a Hanna combo meter and I'm unsure of it's functions. I've read the instructions and know how to calibrate and change functions. I am unsure about the conversion factor and temperature compensation coefficient. I need a little help putting these on the correct setting. I think the conversion factor is the relationship between TDS and EC. Higher the conversion factor the closer relation is between the two. I've read that you can divide your TDS reading by the EC reading and over a little time you will come up with the correct conversion factor. I have no idea about the temperature compensation coefficient.
I have another question: Before I got the Hanna tester I was using a cheapo sunleaves tds pen. Why are there such big differences in the readings I get between the two? I understand there is a difference when it comes to where it was manufactured. Also I think the conversion factor has to do with it.
One last quick question: When I hear others describe their EC readings its always something like 1.5 or 2.3. Is that because they put a decimal in there? For example a reading of 2589 would be described as 2.6.
I appreciate your time answering these rudimentary questions. I will probably have a few more before its over.
2 SF100w would make things more even if you put one on each side of the SS400w; the plants would still have toshare the UVB but at least it would be in the middle.
Different ppm (tds) meters use different conversion factors. Most use .7 or .5 this probably explains the difference in your two meters assuming that they're both calibrated for their conversion scale. You can change the conversion scale so they match but you then have to calibrate with the proper solution.
That's why, technically speaking, EC is the better measurement. EC is the same although display can vary as you noticed. Some display EC in millisiemens (ms) and some use microsiemens (us) and the biggest difference is in the decimal placement and maybe some rounding.
ec-tds-conversions.jpg (167.37 KiB) Viewed 3171 times
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.
That helps some but I'm still confused. From what I can tell I've been feeding heavy. But if I feed any less they show signs of deficiency. I keep my solution consistent depending on what stage of growth I'm in. Using my cheapo TDS meter the values are as follows:
I've found that with organic nutes like PBP plants like stronger solution and can deal with higher concentrations without burning. Even with a conversion factor of .7 my calculations show a very high EC for these values. For example, the EC for my full-flower nutes come out to 3.1. I know they say don't change anything if it works. But the numbers seem really high. Especially with the new meter. I want to get the most from my investment. I need the conversions to make sense. Its beginning to get very frustrating and I don't want to start from scratch to figure out what my nutriment totals should be.
Maybe some data will help with getting me on the right track. I just mixed some full-bloom nutes and took some readings.
Cheapo sunleaves TDS pen reads 2240ppm Hanna combo tester reads EC in uS rather than mS so that value is 2750. I also use CF of .5 for this meter. Hanna reading for TDS is 1376ppm.
I believe that with these data points my accurate EC is 2.7 or 2.8. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
My other issue has to do with what relationship there is between my meters. Since I believe my cheapo meter uses a .7 conversion factor and the Hanna uses .5 the difference should be 20%. It checks out if you do the math.
I'm also confused about why the ppm readings are so far apart between meters. One says the tds is 2240ppm and the other says 1376ppm. That's a pretty big difference.
I think that your cheap .7 meter is just not accurate. When was the last time it was calibrated and how old is it? Have you ever tested with a predetermined EC test solution like Hanna's 1413us solution? If your other meter reads in ms and it's calibrated AND accurate it should read about 1.4 I'd guess..
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.