LED grow strip layout

[BrokrnEyes]

I'm planning on building my first grow cabinet: Grow area build plan and a couple of the suggested I post in here as well seeing as I am using LEDS.

In addition to the grow hood of the aerogarden, I will be using 2 16.4 LED grow strips:

Blue: SUPERNIGHT® 16.4FT 5M SMD 5050 Waterproof 300LEDs Blue Light Flexible LED Strip Light ...

Red: Toogod 16.4ft/5m 300LED 5050 Growing DC12V LED Strip Light Waterproof Red Blue 5:1 for...

I want to get an orange as well but haven't been able to find one in the proper Spectrum yet on Amazon. Anyway, my plan is to have the LED strips affixed to the wall, running horizontally, making a 90 degree turn up, climb 4-6 inches and repeat the pattern. Covering all inner sides of the inside. I figure that by having the light on the walls this will encourage by shyer growth as well as penetrate all the way through the plant. I will have these start about a foot off the floor and leave them off until the plant reaches 6-8 inches for the blue and then turn on the red when the flowering stage behind.

In case it matters I'll be using white widow auto flower seeds.

 

[BrokrnEyes]

So... I'm guessing the lack of responses means I am a total genius when it comes to LED grow light layout that I've completely changed how everyone is going to grow their plans from this day forward with my handle being recorded for all time as the man who found how to make plants produce pounds rather than ounces and will win a Nobel prize in the field of cannibis cultivation! I wonder if that prize is actually Swiss chocolate wrapped in gold foil...

 

[ShiggityFlip]

I'm nervous because I don't know the output of each light. I like the idea itself though. Would enable lighting from all sides. A low wattage LED is going to have the problem of penetration. I worry that if the strips are on the wall they may not penetrate deeply enough. What if you mounted the strips with small zip ties to a piece of plastic 1" mesh fencing? Add thick plant training wire to top and bottom and you could bend this fence into any shape so the lights would be directly on the plant but the fencing would allow air to travel normally.

I am also familiar with the aerogarden in theory but not the specifics of the light and its spectrum. Marshydro sells their old style 135 true watt LEDs for about seventy bucks on a famous auction site.

 

[BrokrnEyes]

Yes the moderators had to remove the links, I was unaware that there was a policy against posting links to sites such as Amazon. Here are the specs for the grow lights:

Blue:
Light Color: Blue
* LED Type: 5050
* LED Quantity: 60 leds/Meter, 300 leds/5 Meter
* Waterproof: IP68(can be used underwater)
* Size: L500cm (5M) x W1.0cm x T0.2cm
* Package: 1 X 5 Meters / Roll
* View angle:120°
* Working Input Voltage: 12V DC
* Output power: 60W /5 Meter
* Working Tempreture:-20℃ to 50℃
* Wavelength: 450-460NM


Red/blue:
Size: L500cm (5M) x W1cm x T0.25cm
Emitting Color:red+blue
Protection Rate IP65 Waterproof
Working Voltage: DC 12V
LED Quantity:300LED,60LED/m,Red:250 pcs,Blue:50 pcs
Wattage: use DC12V 5A power for 5m
Red:blue = 5:1
Wavelength:Red : 630nm~660nm,Blue：440nm~460nm
With cable wire at the two end of the strip

The aero garden LED ultra has an LED hood that makes use of white, blue, and red lights what's an output of about 30 W. (thus, when both grow Scripps in the Garden lights are all on there'll be a total of 150 W the plant.

I should also point out that on YouTube someone posted a 10 part series demonstrating The practical use of the aero garden for growing cannabis and was able to get 2.5 oz off the plant. He admitted that he probably would've gotten three or 4 ounces if he had cropped the top but he was reporting 3 inch growth per day and wanted to see how tall the plant would max out. He did eventually throw a white LED grow strip light into his box but even with that he only had 90 W on the plant. Light penetration went all the way down to the bottom he said, and that was after he had to take the grow hood off and suspend it about a total of 4 feet off the grow back. What I'm planning is inspired off of what he did but with my own changes to improve light penetration for the plant and to hopefully give the plant the maximum potential needed to produce buds on every square inch of its branches.

 

[ShiggityFlip]

It seems the LEDs are 0.2 watts each, That is my only reservation as the intensity of light diminishes with the square of the distance from the light. So I think the LEDs would need to be less than an inch away to have any noticeable effect. I am assuming you are using the aerogarden light because you already have one?

 

[BrokrnEyes]

Yes I have two actually. As for the distance, I asked on the Amazon Q and a section for the grow lights and they said the optimal distance is between six and 8 inches from the plant. It is also worth noting that that in the YouTube video, the individual was hanging his white LED strip grow lights from the ceiling of his cabinet and along the corners to boot.

Edit: is it all right if I post the videos? It might help some visualize my plans as these are the videos that inspired me to go this route.

 

[ShiggityFlip]

I wonder about that because I am using a 260 true watt LED light with 150 individual 3 watt Leds and I keep mine about 6-8 inches away from the flowering girls. I'm not saying you shouldn't use the led strips just that you should find a way to make them as close as possible. Almost touching if you can. Thats why my idea of using the plastic hardware cloth as a scaffold, so you could bend this scaffold around the plant keeping the distance very close.

I would use the aerogarden hoods as they will do well put together and you already have them.

 

[ShiggityFlip]

I see now on the product description the one person whom commented 6-8" was doing cuttings which do not require much light, in my garden I use a fluorescent shop light for that. It would not be the intensity needed for flowering at that distance. I like your idea, just think these LED strips would have to be less than one inch to do any good.

 

[Cannabliss89]

If you had a larger LED hanging over the plants and used these as side lighting then I could see you doing well, but just using these strips probably wouldn't give you much of a yield

 

[ShiggityFlip]

PM sent to you about a good entry level LED the marshydro old style 130 watt lights. They are a sponsor here and that light is a steal right now at 62 shipped.

 

[BrokrnEyes]

OK so I got in contact with the guy that made the videos (mods if it's bad sorry), straight talk on YouTube is The handle if anyone wants to check them out, he says he's a medical grower living out in Colorado and that these are his personal projects that he's apparently doing at his off the grid cabin, so it's actually rather interesting seen him budget out how much electricity he can use for his grow (as a say, necessity is the mother of invention) and he told me what he's using.

He's using Lvjing 10 W LED Bar LIGHT (he says strip in the vid which does matter). Here's the stats:
Lvjing® 5PCS 0.5m/strip 10W blue light 36pcs 5050SMD Led Growing Light Strip Grow Light Bar DC 12V Aluminum Shell for Indoor Garden Greenhouse Flowering Plant Hydroponics System

Specification:
Item type: led grow light strip
Size: 0.5m per strip
Product weight: 52g
Wattage: 10W
Body material: Aluminum
Rated Hours: 50,000
Wavelength : Red 660nm;Blue 445nm
Body temperature: less than 60°C
Voltage: 12V
Warranty: 1 Year All Inclusive
Certification: CCC,CE,FCC,RoHS
Function: Stipulating the growth of plants and flowers, like medical marijuana, cannabis, tomatoes, chilly, eggplant, rose, herbs, leafy vegetables, lettuce, etc.

How dose the specific wavelength work:
* Blue(wavelength: 430nm, 554nm): Help plants grow
* Red(wavelength: 630nm 660nm): Help plants grow and flowering , and is the key for flowering plants
* IR(wavelength: 730nm): IR can help plants grow; UV(wavelength: 380nm): UV can help plants grow and kill insects. But they are very harmful to human beings, so we kindly suggest you do not use IR or UV in your grow lights, but we can add 1 or 2 pieces if you really need it in a specific situation .

Lvjing hard grow light bar, Pack of 5, 0.5M/strip, 10W/strip;
Wavelength band range: blue light of 445nm / red light of 660nm;
Blue light, 36pcs 5050SMD;
Attention: power supply or plug is NOT included, any 12V power supply or adapter is suitable. (Please contact us if you have any problems)
Add light to plants, stipulate their photosynthesis; help plants absorb nutrients, especially some trace elements; shorten the growth cycle; prevent the rampant growth of plants;

Finding out its a bar instead of a strip changes things a bit, I'm thinking now mounting the bars on the wall and wrapping the red LED strip light around the plant as you guys suggested (unless you think the output from these bars would make that moot).

 

[OttawaGreen]

10w is not enough. All that together will not produce much at all. Get a Mars 2 from our sponsor as suggested. Cheap and proven effective and will make decent yield

 

[OttawaGreen]

Keep what you got already and use it as supplemental side lighting. Then buy the most powerful Mars light you can afford.
A good estimate of yield if all is working great with your grow you could get 1 gram per watt. If you have ten watts you get 10g of yield per grow... I don't know about you, but that's not enough for me ;-)

If you want some more ideas check out my threads in sig.


Good luck!

 

[jayboat]

I have used these the weave into scrog netting, can say i think there was a little improvement.

 

[BrokrnEyes]

I'm rather surprised this thread was bumped. I decided not to go with the strip lights but I still have them so I'll probably install them into the grow box for the next row just to provide supplemental light as well as to diffuse the red glare from my main grow lights that I got before I started my grow last time. I don't expect that they will ask you for anything other then as I said ambient mood lighting but hey, every little bit will help I suppose.

 

[shotnva777]

I'm rather surprised this thread was bumped. I decided not to go with the strip lights but I still have them so I'll probably install them into the grow box for the next row just to provide supplemental light as well as to diffuse the red glare from my main grow lights that I got before I started my grow last time. I don't expect that they will ask you for anything other then as I said ambient mood lighting but hey, every little bit will help I suppose.

Found this while searching for far red supplemental lighting, to pair with my Mars Hydro ur45 supplement lights.

I'm thinking about buying the SMD3030 far red led strip lights, to stick onto the bars of my Fluence Spydr 2p. That way I can cut on the IR/FAR RED lights before the main lights cut on, as well as leave them on 10-15mins after.

I have my tent dialed in though and I'm just trying to get that extra 10% or so out of my harvest or quality of bud. I think the Emerson effect is where its at for me, paired with the full spectrum of the Fluence