LED Grow Light Forum

Greetings everyone,

This is my first post as part of the CFP...

I have no experience with LEDs. In the past, I've used different combinations of CFLs and HIDs with great success. My last grow was a Northern Lights strain that produced forearm sized colas as thick as a beer can under 400w HPS light. I yielded almost 8 oz off of two plants. This grow, however, was started way later in the year than I normally would do to security considerations during the winter and early spring months. As I live in a desert, keeping temps down is critical. Hence my interest in LEDs.

First impressions... My 400w Solar Storm arrived on Wednesday, 5/29. The box was non-descript and stealthy looking but the shipping label had "California Light Works" stamped right on it. What a let down. I'm not sure how the rest of the community feels about their privacy; but for me...It is a major concern. A big part of my security plan includes doing business with only those Internet/mail order suppliers who respect and undertsand privacy. That means that they ship their products to me anonymously. After all, it only takes one Google-saavy, busy-body to blow security.

The light was otherwise packaged carefully. Despite this, one of the T-8 bulbs was shattered upon arrival. Kudos to Eleanor Murillo in CLW's Customer Service Department. She replaced the bulb with no questions and was quick about it. I had a replacement by Friday, 5/31.
I am impressed with the overall build quality and heft of the light. It's also made to order, in The U.S.A. The light installed easily and fired right up.

My Set-Up...
1 - Growlab GL60 2' x 2' x 5'3" Tent
2 - Plastic 5 gallon buckets
2 - Tetra "Whisper-40" Air Pumps
2 - Air Disc 4" round airstones.
2 - Active Air 165 CFM 4" Fans
1- Phresh Air 4" carbon air filter
1 - El Cheapo 4" Air Circulation Fan
1 - Feliz 250w 6500k CFL for seedling and veg growth
Botanicare Nutes - Pro Grow + Liquid Karma + Hydroplex
Mad Farmer Oxygenator (35% H2O2)

I'm growing 3 Arjan's Haze #1 plants. I started from feminized seeds from Green House Seeds. They've been in veg for 4 weeks now. I did some LST and FIM work on them in order to create a SOG-like canopy that is fairly even under the light. So far, I've had no issues whatsoever. The pants went immediately into a 12/12 light cycle as soon as I installed the light. So far, so good.

Welcome to the forums!

About security; I fully understand security concerns but, in this case, I think you're being overly cautious. CLW has nothing about cannabis on their site and people also use indoor grow lights to grow perfectly legal crops so there shouldn't be any red flags there. More and more states have MMJ laws too. I wouldn't worry about the company name on the box. That's *very* low risk.

I'm not a fan of 2 plants in the same bucket but you are flowering while they're small so, hopefully they'll be OK.

What kind of ppm are you running with those nutrients?


SME

That's it!! I'll say, "I'm growing Basil." Why didn't I think of that? Man, I feel better now...

My tap water runs on the hard side...about 480ppm. Botanicare's nute calculator recommends a ppm ramp up from 1137, 1296, 1306 and 1422 from weeks 1 to 4 of flowering and then 1422 all the way to week 10 when it tapers off to straight water. For week 1 of flowering, I went with 1250ppm. I checked both my reservoirs last night and the plants are really drinking it up. The write up on this strain from weedsmokersguide.com says, "Arjan’s Haze #1 absorbs more nutrients than other Sativas due to its fast metabolism so make sure you adjust accordingly." So far, everything remains lush and green so I feel that I'm in the ballpark with room to push them.

Here are the latest pics.

I've seen high powered grow lights used in salt water aquariums with coral too, I wouldn't be worried about the packaging.

My tap water is high like that too so I use RO water. Most nutrient companies overstate ppm levels to sell more nutrients but your plants seem pretty healthy so keep on keeping on...

I looked into RO systems back when I first started looking into Hydroponics. It turns out that my municipal tap water is fine for hydroponics. Fancy water filtration systems are a complete waste of time and money in my opinion. Sure, the sales guys will talk your ear off about Chlorine, dissolved solids and toxic this and that, but the truth is that NO water, RO included, is completely free of toxins. My municipal water district's annual report showed that Chlorine, in the amounts applied by their treatment plant, is almost imperceptable... completely harmless to plants and people. The high ppm readings come primarily from dissolved minerals like Ca and Mg, both of which are necessary micronutrients. I couldn't see spending the money to remove stuff my plants need, only to replace it with additives like Cal-Mag later on. So, what's your take SME? Something wrong with your tap water?

I agree and disagree. A few ppb or ppt of most contaminates probably won't hurt and it's true that an RO filter will remove stuff that's actually beneficial, like calcium and magnesium but not everyone has the same water and some are more "toxic" than others. A good RO filter *should* leave the water reading zero ppm but that doesn't mean it's pure nor does it really need to be pure. However, one of the advantages is that a nutrient formula, like the Lucas Formula, that starts off with RO water will work for everyone without having to take the different water sources into consideration. Besides it tastes better and it's not as hard as my tap water so I also use it for cooking, drinking and it helps keep my humidifier, my steam iron and anything else that uses water cleaner. For me, it's been worth the investment.

YMMV...