Experimental LED/Plasma Induction Grow

[Anomoly23]

Ok all so here it is I am really taking a chance for the team here lol This is a first time grow Journal for me but not first time grow. This is however a whole new world as I used HID lights before and for this grow I will be using a combination of LED lights and Plasma induction, which really has no field tests to see how this application works for marijuana cultivation. At $145 a piece for the plasma lights it is a costly gamble but I think with all the research I have done it was a well informed one, lets hope. I was drawn to LED's because of all the controversy lately around them and the fact I see real potential and practical applications for these set ups. One of the major things for me was heat, I live in a warm area and like to grow all through the summer, LED's make this much more practical and easy to deal with in that application. Another is electricity, I expect a considerable $$$ savings as any HID light on average draws 10 to 60 more watts then they are actually rated. Meaning your 600 watt HID probably draws closer to 640 watts, and that is just one light. The Plasma inductions lamps are rated at 50 watt and are said to only draw 45watts of power, and the same case with LED's. So I am hoping to get more actual Usable light for my plants while drawing 150 to 200 less watts total. As well as straight electricity savings I will not have to work half as hard or use as much power to cool the room like when running my 600 watt HPS, which I have on deck in case of any hang ups LED Grow Light Technology has come a long way and it seems the manufacturers are getting it and I feel safer delving into this project more then I would have in previous years.Clones are coming in today and everything should be set up and going by tomorrow or Monday. I will put a pic up of the set up when it is fully ready. Wish me luck, info on all the Lighting and materials will be listed below, things could still slightly change but this is the first journal entry.

Lights: 1X Pro-Grow 250 Watt LED (Selective Switch) 2X 50 Watt Plasma Induction Lamp 4X 25Watt CFL's (2700K and 6500K)
Strain: OG Kush/BlackBerry OG
INDICA
Number of plants:6-8
Light Cycles: VEG/16-8 FLOW/12-12
Indoor using a Mylar coated 4.9x4.9x6.5 grow room/ Roughly 25 Sq ft
Soil:Fox Farm Ocean Forrest with Bat Guano and Earthworm castings/Organic Perlite mix
Pots:3.5 gallon
Ventilation: 1X 190 CFM Inline Fan and Carbon filter/1X Honeywell Air purifier
Temp:Not sure Yet But I have Heard LED Grows Thrive at around 80 degrees, but I will have to test and see.
Nutrients:Advanced Nutrients/Sensi Grow- Sensi Bloom-some super thrive


Keep it Green

 

[TorturedSoul]

What are you trying to determine with your experiment?

Do you have another grow with everything the same except that it doesn't have the two induction lamps? That would be interesting as it would help people decide whether 100 watts' worth of them would benefit their gardens.

 

[Anomoly23]

Well Since there is a lot of clouded debate around LED's and really no grows that I have seen anywhere to show any results with a plasma I am trying to combine the two and see what kind of results I can get. I am not experimenting in the classic terms with a control and all that. Since the plasma lights are new for all we know they might be the worst light ever for this application but I need to test things for myself. So this is experimental really for me cause I am going to try a bunch of different methods and tricks rather than applying the same methods as I would to an HID grow. For example I am going to try running hotter temperatures than I would normally grow in as they have found in the past years that Plants growing under LED lights tend to thrive more at 80 degrees and above. LED Lights are actually so gentle on the plants that they need higher temperatures to give them a slight amount of stress, so little things like that I will be delving into.

I also think its an ego thing because I have seen a lot of LED grows that got sub par results and then some completely fail, and as this site shows I have seen some beautiful LED grows. I think all the bad reviews LED's got in the beginning were a combination of people not adapting there techniques an the manufacturers rushing to get a product to market and not properly engineering the correct LED's. Now that has changed. I am a little scientist heart a Guess and just want to see what the potential of these lights would be if went about it properly and not half assed. And to be honest this is also to show an example of a long life span efficient running setup that anyone could run in their house, where as with HID it sometimes is just simply not possible with heat and electricity issues. This system eliminates both. There is no doubt I could have found a 50 watt bulb or equivalent that would have been much brighter more powerful than the plasma induction and the LED combination and would have worked as well, but that is not why you buy these lamps. You buy them because they are going to last you 50,000-100,000 hours, or because they emit almost no heat, no bulbs to replace, or because you are not wasting thousands of lumens on unusable light etc... The brass tax of it is you use less wattage but get the same if not more usable light than from HID's which allows you so much more possibilities with lighting ventilation. And since you do get the same usable light from lower wattage lights and they produce so much less heat I think the potential for growing big beautiful girls is only limited by how much money you want to spend. While that is true with all grows to a certain extent, there is a limit with space and ventilation when using HID's, you don't want your plants bursting into flames But I hope it goes the way I see it going in my head ending with beautiful nugs. If not well I have a big bat I am going to smash my lights with haha And i will switch back to my HID's, well see.

Keep it Green

 

[Anomoly23]

I guess all in all its not that crazy "experimentally", but they are a new tech light and it will be fun to see the results

 

[TorturedSoul]

 

[boombaklot]

i have a completed grow using 1 plasma induction and 1 90w ufo growing one plant, turned out alright, but because of ac problems temps reached 100+ in my grow box stunting my plant, but i still yielded 2ozs off a 24inch plant with a 13inch cola weighing a good half oz

 

[Anomoly23]

Ok sorry for the long hiatus on the posts but I have been busy working and fighting Hell like temperatures in California. So here are some pictures, they are exactly 7 days into the grow, they are still on 24/7 light at the moment, I probably will switch them over with in the week to 16/8. They are in a grow tent from one of my previous grows so its a bit bigger than I wanted but it does the trick. I added a 54 watt 4ft T5 for some supplemental lighting, and I also have a 25 watt CFL in there along with the 250 watt pro grow and 2 plasmas. The temps have been hard to keep down but it has never got over 91 degrees in the tent which is a little high but tolerable in an LED grow. Soil PH has stayed exactly at 6.9, so everything is where it should be right now. I will probably start adding nutrients within the next two watering cycles, but they are looking good now so no need to mess with them yet. When I do I will be using Advanced Nutrients Sensi grow, and some super thrive, for veging and Sensi Bloom for flowering. This is only one of my current grows so its not as perfect as I would like but things going good for now. I am going to try and put some more pics later of the plants closer up, till then check these out.

 

[Anomoly23]

i have a completed grow using 1 plasma induction and 1 90w ufo growing one plant, turned out alright, but because of ac problems temps reached 100+ in my grow box stunting my plant, but i still yielded 2ozs off a 24inch plant with a 13inch cola weighing a good half oz

Wow that's a beautiful cola I would have loved to see what it would have become without such extreme temperatures!

 

[dirwin85]

very interested in this as i am about to flower my LED grow

 

[Anomoly23]

Ok so it has been 2 weeks on 24/7 lighting and I just switched it to 16/8 today, I also made a few upgrades to the grow. I added one of my EB and Flow tubs to use as easier drainage for the plants, I also added two T5 singles to each side of the tub. I got some hoods for my plasma lights to redirect some light to the plants. I also added a new timer because my digital timer finally bit the shit after 5 years, but I got my money worth. Raised the lights to maximum recommended height to get a wider footprint but I might end up bringing it back down if I feel its not getting enough light. I am still using a mix of superthrive and sensi grow and they seem to love it. PH is still perfect, staying around 6.7. We finally got a break in California from the heat so temps have been perfect as well. The only issue I have had and it is minor is with the plasma, it is looking like one of the plasmas is dimmer than the other but after a little time being on it seems to get just as bright. I know cheese had the same issue but I am not sure what I may have to do, but like I said after warming up it seems to get to full brightness. So far so good I have added some pictures so you can see the newest set up. For some reason my pics are not rotated, but I cant figure out how to make them right side up, sorry.

 

[dirwin85]

How do you like that 250 watt LED from hydro hut?

 

[SnowBender]

Ok so it has been 2 weeks on 24/7 lighting and I just switched it to 16/8 today, I also made a few upgrades to the grow. I added one of my EB and Flow tubs to use as easier drainage for the plants, I also added two T5 singles to each side of the tub. I got some hoods for my plasma lights to redirect some light to the plants. I also added a new timer because my digital timer finally bit the shit after 5 years, but I got my money worth. Raised the lights to maximum recommended height to get a wider footprint but I might end up bringing it back down if I feel its not getting enough light. I am still using a mix of superthrive and sensi grow and they seem to love it. PH is still perfect, staying around 6.7. We finally got a break in California from the heat so temps have been perfect as well. The only issue I have had and it is minor is with the plasma, it is looking like one of the plasmas is dimmer than the other but after a little time being on it seems to get just as bright. I know cheese had the same issue but I am not sure what I may have to do, but like I said after warming up it seems to get to full brightness. So far so good I have added some pictures so you can see the newest set up. For some reason my pics are not rotated, but I cant figure out how to make them right side up, sorry.

looking good. I am really thinking about trying some plasma induction...


Windoze xp/vista/7 picture preview has a rotate function too.

 

[Anomoly23]

I love your set up it looks great. I want one of those 250w LED's. You can us MS Paint to rotate your pics. You plants look like they are loving the lights.

Thanks Cheese, Maybe next time my pictures will be right side up Ya the plants are really responding to the LED. They love that light.

 

[Anomoly23]

How do you like that 250 watt LED from hydro hut?

The LED seems to be working great, all the plants want to grow towards that thing. You really cant beat it on price either for the quality and guarantee you get. I will be purchasing another one for the next grow.

 

[Anomoly23]

looking good. I am really thinking about trying some plasma induction...


Windoze xp/vista/7 picture preview has a rotate function too.

I would recommend the Plasma, they use only about 45 watts but are so bright, and have very little heat. But I will say I don't believe they are a stand alone light. Unless you are planning to only grow one or two plants, otherwise you are going to need to compensate by purchasing more lights, which is within reason wattage wise, but they are quite pricey at $145 a pop. My suggestion is to add a plasma to an existing LED or T5 set up and you will not be disappointed. I almost wish I would have got another pro grow 250 and one plasma just to even the light spectrum because the plants just love that LED, I am so pleased with it. Another alternative though is to check out this site which actually makes a ballast induction grow light combo for horticulture and it allows you to pick from 200watt to 500watt plasma induction lamps made for growing. You can also choose from a wide variety of bulbs from 2700k-6500k and all between so you have both flowering and vegetation bulbs. When you go to the page go to the very bottom its the last product and its called the Hydroponic Induction Grow light Fixture, some good stuff there and reasonable pricing. Check out the link below

Induction Lighting Fixtures | Induction Lamps | Induction Lighting Technology - InductionLamps.com

 

[SnowBender]

Check out the link below

InductionLamps.com: Your source for all Induction Lamps and Fixtures

Sweet link. +reps+

I was think about at least a 200-300+, and hoping to do it vert style with no hood or glass.


this guy has some sweet looking dual spectrum induction lamps (and some sweet looking leds too, but oh what a gawd awefull site design.) LED4ROWTH.COM* These Highest Productivity Grow Lights Conserve Energy and Save Money, LED and Plasma Lamps

 

[Anomoly23]

Sweet link. +reps+

I was think about at least a 200-300+, and hoping to do it vert style with no hood or glass.


this guy has some sweet looking dual spectrum induction lamps (and some sweet looking leds too, but oh what a gawd awefull site design.) LED4ROWTH.COM* These Highest Productivity Grow Lights Conserve Energy and Save Money, LED and Plasma Lamps

Ya I saw this site when I was researching plasma and LEDS but it seems WAY overpriced, and the site doesn't really make me feel comfortable at all spending that much money, seems like he just threw shit everywhere to confuse you, like smoke and mirrors, or he just has a horrible web developer. He wanted $380 for the same bi spectrum lights I got at Hydroponics hut for $145 a piece, and you can only buy them in pairs. Hydroponics hut also offers a 90 day money back guarantee and I believe a two year warranty. The owner Ben is very helpful, but he sometimes takes a while to get things done.

 

[boombaklot]

looking good so far

 

[Mmmmick]

Hi Anomoly, looks like a good setup. I think the mixed spectrum could work very well for you.

re your question about topping, here is a link to a good post. The first pic shows the difference betqween fimming and topping and shows where to cut for either technique. I wait until the 4th set of leaves before doing either.

What is the FIM technique?

If you want to post your pics as images instead of links just put type ]img]your image address[/img]. reverse the bracket at the beginning.

What operating system are you running? If XP you can rotate images using the included picture viewer, icons at the bottom of the screen when viewing a pic. I believe Paint is included in XP and Vista, you can flip/rotate images in Paint as well.

 

[Anomoly23]

Awesome thanks for the link and typing out the command to put my pics up instead of links. I run a Mac, the weird thing is they are right side up on my comp, but when I download them to 420mag is when they rotate, i am not sure why or what I could do to make them right side up after I download them. anyways I hope I can get my babies as even as yours, they are just popping out the fourth set of leaves I am kind of reluctant to top at the moment because they have branched out so well on their own. I will put up some pics after I water to show how well they have branched out.