1st grow HYDRO w/ LEDs

[fireboytommy7]

Heyyy!! Hi all. Old school stoner, new grower. Love technology, pumps, you know it. So im running with hydro. Started with "Emily's Garden," added a 65 gph pump to cycle around water (only growing 2 plants). Has airstones and pump, and using Flora Nova Grow and Bloom 2.5 ml each per gallon and a capful of liquid seaweed per gallon. (makes water look disgusting). using a hanna instruments Checker 1 ph checker (saves sooo much time).

This is my grow set up.

I'm using a LED panel running about 14W. It's actally dropped more than it is in the picture. I lowered it a couple more inches, but still a good 6 inches away. Now I've heard this rivals about a 140W system or so. Right now the plants are clones, I'm on day 4. (started with clones) Thy seem to be making good progress, but should I go ahead and buy 55W LED lights instead? Perhaps they won't provide enough light during its later stages. Thanks for your help!

BTW here are what i have so far...

Day 1

Grapefruit Diesel (Left) Purps (Right) (Winner of 2004 Cannabis Cup)

Day 3

So it seems to be doing okay. Any improvements? I plan to put another reflective wall opposite the side with the thermometer/hygrometer. Thanks for your help! Enjoy!

 

[McBudz]

Cool bud. Is this going to be a journal? I can have it moved to grow journals if you'd like?

 

[fireboytommy7]

sure that would be fine. im just looking for a second opinion on the LED's though.

 

[Be Irie]

Tommy, the led technology is not quite there yet, they are getting closer all the time but they still have some work to do. I run a 125 watt LED for my veg but have been adding some cfl lighting to help them along. I flowered under just the led for two weeks then put it under the HPS because it was falling so far behind. When I put it under the HPS it took off . So, I think you out to think about adding some floros or some CFL's to help it ought. That will give you some time to think about what to do for flowering.. Check out the beginning of my led grow, if you have any questions then let me know.. Take care of those beautiful ladies...

 

[crwayneco]

I agree. Your best off running straight blue 450nm LED's for the veg w/ some cfl's on the sides to get those short fatty plants. Once you go into blooming a T5 florescent would be a good idea to add.

 

[fireboytommy7]

Hey guys! this link has been changed to a grow journal. check it out!

FIRST GROW! Hydro, Drip System, Indoors

 

[BigSmokie]

I just ordered the 55w LED's a few days ago but with what I've read about them I think I will just return it.

 

[fireboytommy7]

that would probably be a really good idea. I saw this one grow with a dude runnin 125W LED ($1800) and it was slower than a 400W MH. so yeah probably a good idea. i was actually going to go with that but it was better with MH cuz i needed the heat my area is kinda cold.

 

[Techhead]

There are a lot of negitive thoughts about flowering under LED's, but they do work. If you are going to use LED's you will have to buy one of the expencive ones with more power, and get one with more than just red and blue, but not ones that have green in them. That is just a wast of power. The ones that will work have red/orange, and some amber, but mostly power. I built my own with just red and blue, but will add orange and amber on the next run. I used 5 watt LED's and will add the orange/red, and amber in one wat units. Right now I have 213 watts of power used right at the plants, but if I was to just use the rating of the LED's themselves I could say the power is 380 watts, and I think that's how they are rated when they sell the units in a store.

 

[fireboytommy7]

cost efficiency wise though, i think HID's are better. They have mch more of an intense light. Not to mention that they emit some UV as well. LED is way too expensive if you want to have it go as fast as HID's. you need about 300W ATLEAST with LEDs and that is already like $1500. How many 1000W systems can you get with that?

 

[Techhead]

One guy said amber would make hermies, could be true, I'll have to look into that. As far as power, and using the MH's, and HPS's, I've done that, first with just a 400 MH, then with a combo 400 MH/ 600 HPS. You are also right about power needed. I have over built my power supply so I can add colors. The problem is finding the right frequencies in a style I can mount. I've been looking for deep red at 660nm, but can't find them in 1 watt mounted on a star type PCB. I have plenty of current, and would like to put in the secondary colors in 1 watt units. I have found them in the 5 watt range, and have though about taking some of the red 625nm out and replacing them. My biggest gain in this comes from the heat those hot lights gave out. Just keeping the mommies alive in the summer was tough, let alone flowering something. Now I have the problem of it being too cold, but all I have to do is put a heater in the room on a thermestat when it's below -20 outside. I have only had one run so far on the LED's, and twice it was less than 60 deg for more than a week at a time. I also started them flowering too soon, as I didn't know how tall they would get. Still I got results better than I did with just the 400 MH, but less than the combo unit. I know I'll do better on this run just the way it is.

 

[Techhead]

One last thing, cost. I built a lighting system for both my grow space, and the flowering space replacing a 1000 watt combo unit, and a 400 watt MH in the grow room. My new system cost me around $900.00, I think that's a competive price for a 220 watt flowering, and a 130 watt veggie stage (I can use half of that when only keeping the mommies alive) system that's good for 100K hours (25 years at 12 hours a day). Is that competive enough?

 

[fireboytommy7]

that does sound nice. good prices you got on those! well if thats working for you then congrats. I also did have a problem with my grow being too cold as well. THe thing is, how often i was running my heater (1500W) cost me more in the long run. The 400W controls heat and everything just fine.

 

[Techhead]

Yes the heat thing, but putting a heater on a thermistat in a small room wouldn't keep the thing running all the time. But the cool running LED's will let me keep my stuff alive all summer. Last year, just before I changed everything, in fact the reason I changed everything, I lost my favorite mommie. Lucky for me I had given a baby to a friend just a few months before. I'd hate to loose this one, it came from a friend, and has no name, but it beats Black Domina in both quantaty, and quality. It was found by another friend by pure chance. Hate to loose it.