LED Grow Light Forum

hey rbt,

just started checking out your grow. haven't seen one with the Flare yet.

did you say you are like 8 or 9 weeks into flower?
if so, the buds look very underdeveloped. are you sure you don't have any type of light leaks? even a little led on a fan, power strip, etc?? maybe it's something to do with how old the seeds are?? have you been in there when the lights are off just to double check??

how far is the light from the tops of your plants? some of the guys with the 400 run it only 6 inches from the tops without burning. maybe you could lower it to help get the flowers as big as possible.

you could pick up a LED green headlamp that you can wear during the dark cycle if you do have to do something with your plants when lights are off.

i do like the ebb/flow setup. it's DIY, correct? i was almost set on ebb/flow and changed my mind to DWC years ago. it seems like it would be great once everythign is dialed in: set it and forget it almost which is not easy to do in hydro.

keep on growing!
RKY

rbt wrote:I have a strange question by looking at my plants I estimated a few weeks till harvest so I was trimming back the fan leaves then 3 days later I see these new little leaves sprouting right out of the middle of the bud/flower, as well I have one of the plant that was a little retarded growth from the others suddenly this plant woke up and just started a growth spurt and just begun flower intently. added Canna Boost was all. I wonder if it would be smart to take out the plants that are ready hand flush them for a few days then lets the other 2 keep going ?

I have a hard time acquiring clones in my retirement community so it looks like I am committed to what I have at hand very old seeds but they came up and don't know if they are viable for quality. Here is also a concern I am thinking bout another grow but the footprints from these LED's only seem to be dimensionally square as to accommodate the foot print of the light. so these 2x3 3x5 etc tent really get a better from the linear footprint from the HPS/HID. If I plan to do this I don't think I will go LED again just a little bad taste from marketing. The old adage once BURNT really why would I purchase a 200w veg light when any T% light for $50.00 or less so the Idea here is now get a $800.00 400w light and what let this 200w sit ? They need a trade up program I mean with 50,000 hours of life what's the amortized loss of its life and or market change with just 1 grow?

The "boost" may have helped if they needed more phosphorus. If two are ready then that sounds reasonable to me...but I wouldn't flush 3 days.

Yeah, I have to drive for clones if I don't make my own too. You can always order quality genetics and make your own clones if you have room. Speaking of genetics, I think growing 8 week indica/hybrid strains are easier than 12-14 week sativa strains so...if you do order seeds consider the flowering times too.

I think the SF series and SS800w would seem to work better in square-ish rooms but that doesn't mean they have to be perfectly square. The SS400w, for example, will be fine in a 3x2 or 2x2 shape but not a 2x4 or 3x3. I use 1000w HPS in a 4x4 or a 4x5 area so there is some wiggle room, just don't go twice the length than the depth with only one light...LED or HID. I would spend the money for HID or LED rather than use fluorescent lighting for veg but maybe that's just me. YMMV...

rkymtnman wrote:how far is the light from the tops of your plants? some of the guys with the 400 run it only 6 inches from the tops without burning. maybe you could lower it to help get the flowers as big as possible.

you could pick up a LED green headlamp that you can wear during the dark cycle if you do have to do something with your plants when lights are off.

The closer he puts it, the less area it will cover but, you're right, he should check for light leaks too.

Plants DO use green light so you shouldn't have green light on for long inside either. If you *have* to go inside at night, for a second, green is better than most but don't leave green lights on very long in a flower room.

Man, I'm sure glad you've been helping out other growers around here, it lets me rest a bit.

rkymtnman & SME Thanks so much for the quick response and suggestions
I had some time to wander through grow forums and noticed the distance of the light so I moved down to about 9"
I am not sure of the stain but believe to be some Columbian and Thai, and probably some good Mexican bag weed.
think they should go a little longer as they are thickening up?
I cut or topped some 5/6 days ago put them in a paper bag and just rolled it today no flush just to sample and WOW this might be a solution for me
some pics the right is older and cola getting bigger the ones on right back older and topped budding getting bigger, the one right lower is just taking off and starting to super sprout.

hey rbt,

do you know what to look for when you do get ready to harvest? i'm talking about trichomes. they go from clear to cloudy to amber as the plant matures.

hit up radio shack for a lighted pocket 50x microscope. you'll need it to harvest at the correct time.

are you familiar with what i'm talking about?

RKY

I am toasted after I rolled it and yea ahhh the light I made sure to block out the light you can see my filter boxes they are 4" thick and behind doors at night it is pitch black now.
I have a 60 power jewelers loop
If I expand I will need a clone and veg chamber. I live in a very VERY dry climate so temps were always concern but it appears I really don't need a carbon filter in the veg and clone chamber air exchange so a little prep and design

well I have cut and flushed 4 of the 2 and are in my shed hanging temps average here now about 50/75 deg 35% humidity
I am in the process of acquiring clones but tracing the strain for my needs and I would like to make sue the clone are ready for flower not much of a veg state if any do you have any suggestions?
I would like a strong THC & CBN as this has worked the best for extreme nerve damage if the THC degrades some all the better for me. I have some "Lemon Thai Kush" that degraded badly that helps.
I am thinking of bettering my grow and incorporating what I have in the expansion. I am considering of using this closet with a up too 2/3 weeks of flower with a cloth/perforated pot in the flow table then transferring into a 2'x4'x7' finish room with a mini chiller running 1 1/4" out -- 1' in VAV boxes between 2-1000 w enclosed that water exchange itself with make CO2 with a carb & Champagne yeast. that would make it almost free

I guess is it really worth the extra cost to go LED with a new grow room 2 400watts = $1650.00
2 800watts = $2700.00
2 100-watt HPS with ballast and complete commercial mini water chiller misc matl's =$1300.00 With this RO & CO2 would be almost free and their are controls ready that will manage all this with a keyboard

I am pondering that now I will report on the amount of my yield and the quality & quantity I have hit 500 views by the weekend another Christmas Present for me Thanks All who tuned in I hoped I helped with your grow and experience with growing it has been good for thanks SME and I will be going down the road of all old hippies into smoke and ash to which I came LOVE & THANKS ALL rbt

rbt wrote:well I have cut and flushed 4 of the 2 and are in my shed hanging temps average here now about 50/75 deg 35% humidity
I am in the process of acquiring clones but tracing the strain for my needs and I would like to make sue the clone are ready for flower not much of a veg state if any do you have any suggestions?
I would like a strong THC & CBN as this has worked the best for extreme nerve damage if the THC degrades some all the better for me. I have some "Lemon Thai Kush" that degraded badly that helps.
I am thinking of bettering my grow and incorporating what I have in the expansion. I am considering of using this closet with a up too 2/3 weeks of flower with a cloth/perforated pot in the flow table then transferring into a 2'x4'x7' finish room with a mini chiller running 1 1/4" out -- 1' in VAV boxes between 2-1000 w enclosed that water exchange itself with make CO2 with a carb & Champagne yeast. that would make it almost free

I guess is it really worth the extra cost to go LED with a new grow room 2 400watts = $1650.00
2 800watts = $2700.00
2 100-watt HPS with ballast and complete commercial mini water chiller misc matl's =$1300.00 With this RO & CO2 would be almost free and their are controls ready that will manage all this with a keyboard

I am pondering that now I will report on the amount of my yield and the quality & quantity I have hit 500 views by the weekend another Christmas Present for me Thanks All who tuned in I hoped I helped with your grow and experience with growing it has been good for thanks SME and I will be going down the road of all old hippies into smoke and ash to which I came LOVE & THANKS ALL rbt

4 of the 2? Good meds...

You'll want to dry those plants at 50-60% humidity, if you're running 35% then only dry for a day or two before jaring.

Inspect the clones to make sure they look healthy, with active growth and fully rooted with a lot of roots showing. If they look perky and healthy and have a lot of roots you should be able to throw them in flower immediately or after a few days of veg if you want to harden them off a bit.

What is the chiller for, the nutrients or the lights? What size chiller? What is a VAV box?

2 1000w HPS lights with a chiller and 2 ice boxes with co2, in a 4x8 area, will out perform any 2 of the LED lights that you mentioned by significant margins.

hey rbt,

SME< you misread him. his finish room will only be 8 sq ft (2x4x7)

you only need a 600 watter. that would give you 75w/sqft which is on the high end of optimal w/sqft. and 600 w is the most efficient of the HID's too. so it will save a bit of money compared to the 1000w. and they run a bit cooler too.

2 rooms is really a nice setup. fairly easy to do a perpetual grow.

rkymtnman wrote:hey rbt,

SME< you misread him. his finish room will only be 8 sq ft (2x4x7)

you only need a 600 watter. that would give you 75w/sqft which is on the high end of optimal w/sqft. and 600 w is the most efficient of the HID's too. so it will save a bit of money compared to the 1000w. and they run a bit cooler too.

2 rooms is really a nice setup. fairly easy to do a perpetual grow.

Why would he try to shove 2kw in a 2x4 (that'd be 250w/sqft ) or is it 1kw for the 2x4 (still too much or not enough room) and 1kw someplace else? I'm confused.

I wouldn't use a 600w light in a 2x4 either, it wouldn't cover the 4' length. I don't like to use 1 light for a room that's twice as long as it's depth. If it was 2x3, 3x4, 4x5, 4x4, 5x5: one light.

I think he needs to rethink his design plans if he wants to use big lights. *shrug*

hey rbt,

i didn't want to bust your chops earlier but you'd need lead shielding with 2 1k's in a 2x4 area.

SME, i didn't know that about a rectangular shape issue. i figured a square reflector would be good for sq areas (obvious) but a rectangular reflector would compensate for the different shape.

like a cool tube would seem to be better for a rect shape room.

but rbt, you need to decide what your end game is? i thought i read that you want to do just a few grows per year. i want to do the same thing. vacations, life etc gets in the way. when they are in flower, you need to commit to being around them for pretty much til they are done. so figure out how much you need in finished product per grow. if you do 2 grows a year for example and you smoke an 1oz per month, you need 6 oz per grow.

so start at the end and work your way backwards to figure out how what type of setup you need

RKKY