1080w LED Inferno

[IrishBoy]

dyna-gro is great stuff. I've not used it, but the profile is there, and yes, Uncle Ben likes it.

However, UB doesn't use it.

He uses an organic soil blended with compost, horse manure, dolomite lime, Polyon (a CRF) and Alfalfa tea. That's not "all" he uses, but that's pretty close to what he does for an indoor grow. He never wastes his time pH'ing water and he strives to grow lots of healthy leaves and roots before flowering.....he keeps the N up from start to finish, in order to keep 'em green.

Please note: by keeping N "high" that does not mean over-feeding and impeding flowering....it means giving the plant what it needs in order to have healthy bud-producing sugar factories. (leaves)

We all need to remember that plants don't flower because someone mixes up "bloom nutes." Our plants flower as a result of photperiod. As long as we aren't under/over feeding, our plants will achieve their potential in their given environment.

OC+, Dynamite, or other CRF's are not the "best" way to grow. But they work really, really well! And, they are cheap and very easy....stoner proof.

I think the "best" way to grow would be something like this:

1.)grow a strain that you know intimately and have grown many times before
2.)dial in the environment for that strain
3.)dial in a custom organic soil blend that works for that strain
4.)additives, CRF's, teas.....all used as a result of experience with the chosen strain.

If you don't have that much experience.....use OC+, DM or another CRF and get a 90/100, instead of a 99.

very nice post..

i thought UB used Dyna-gro? well i know he use to use it for sure and he talked real high about it, but that was a long time ago..

ive been reading allot about nutes and what plants want and its some good reading i like it.. if you have any links you could PM or post on NPK's with plants i would love to read it..

I been looking at the DM silver bottle for orchards and think that NPK might do good. 10-10-18 i think? the more i read the more i believe its all about the K i was reading that when we give our plants those big bloom boosters were giving them 32x the P them need or want. i guess they dont really need that much P at all. its all about the K IMO seems to help with allot of stuff. like i said any good reading on this stuff i would love to look at if you had it.

man i hope that purple Bottle of DM works out great. i really like the DM for some reason? the prills just look beefer then the OC+ and are allot bigger..

 

[IrishBoy]

^^ Yep, getting that last 10 % usually costs 10 times as much or more. Diminishing returns....

no shit..lol.. i will just take a 10% cut.lol

 

[Munki]

no shit..lol.. i will just take a 10% cut.lol

^^ The definition of "Best Bang for the Buck". Great philosophy. It shields the believer from most marketing ploys.

 

[Munki]

ive been reading allot about nutes and what plants want and its some good reading i like it.. if you have any links you could PM or post on NPK's with plants i would love to read it..

I have a couple of links on Potassium and Phosphorous for your perusal...

Functions of Potassium in Plants

Functions of Phosphorous in Plants

EDIT: Updated the links to show the entire PDFs. The source for this info is the International Plant Nutrition Institute.

International Plant Nutrition Institute Publications

 

[gr0wb0i]

Irishboy, first let me say thank you, thank you, thank you. As a long time lurker and noob grower your journals have really inspired me to make the switch to LED. I'm currently using a 600w digital switchable hps/MH, but after 5 grows I'm tired of dealing with managing the heat and high cost of running an AC unit 24/7.

My questions are as follows:
1. Will a single 300w LED cover my 2x3 space and planned 4-6 plants?
2. I know you really like your 300w GLH but I also notice HTG supply now offers a 300w LED unit and I see others on the market. Having bought most of my HID equipment from HTG supply I trust them as a retailer. Do you have any other experience with other 300w units? and is the GLH unit really worth the $1k price tag over other units going for $700ish?

 

[IrishBoy]

I have a couple of links on Potassium and Phosphorous for your perusal...

Functions of Potassium in Plants

Functions of Phosphorous in Plants

EDIT: Updated the links to show the entire PDFs. The source for this info is the International Plant Nutrition Institute.

International Plant Nutrition Institute Publications

thanks allot.. very good reading their.

Irishboy, first let me say thank you, thank you, thank you. As a long time lurker and noob grower your journals have really inspired me to make the switch to LED. I'm currently using a 600w digital switchable hps/MH, but after 5 grows I'm tired of dealing with managing the heat and high cost of running an AC unit 24/7.

My questions are as follows:
1. Will a single 300w LED cover my 2x3 space and planned 4-6 plants?
2. I know you really like your 300w GLH but I also notice HTG supply now offers a 300w LED unit and I see others on the market. Having bought most of my HID equipment from HTG supply I trust them as a retailer. Do you have any other experience with other 300w units? and is the GLH unit really worth the $1k price tag over other units going for $700ish?

great to see you here and welcome.. thanks for the very kind words..

Now theirs one thing you must remember not all leds are alike. they are all different theirs so many different NM to chose from you make on bad call buying a cheaper light you just threw away $700 for a descent veg light.

when buying leds do you homework and finds a few grow journals by some respected grows and see what happens, you must be careful because sometimes some grows will look real good but its really a member of that led company posting results of an HID grow playing it off as an led light. do u homework..

now i do think the one 300w will do a 2x3 area but IMO i think you would be happier with Two 180's just in case you grow different strains you can adjust for the height difference and you have more options that way. you would get more foot print without having to keep the light close.

Now i haven't tried any other 300w in the past only 90w, 126w, 180w.. but i do feel GLH has the best led out from what i have seen. their are plenty of others here who are using them and like them feel free to ask around. but yes as of led i would spend the extra money and buy his lights because they are proven to do good IMO. now i dont know about HTG never used or seen a grow done buy them, so i couldn't tell you.. but i can say is stay away from 120 degree leds they are useless unless growing SOG, look for a money back deal more then 30 days and look for a warranty at least 3 years. IMO the high the watts are in the leds the better the light is more intense light.

 

[IrishBoy]

thanks ill take a look.. yes they work very very good and will save you tons of money.. i am all about saving money and getting the job done right

 

[gr0wb0i]

Thanks again for the reply, I never even thought of using 2 180's. I normally grow the same strains but this time around I'm growing a bag of "random indoor indica" from nirvana and some Himalayan Gold so I may have varying heights. Also thanks to your suggestion buying 2 180's will actually give me more watts/usable light than the 300w would for the same price and if I decide to upgrade again later on the smaller 180 will just barely fit on the veg side of my cab.

For those deciding based on cost here is something to think about. I spent a total of $750 on my current 600w digital MH/HPS set up. This included Sunmaster bulbs a cool tube and a 8000btu portable AC unit to keep everything cool. Add in the cost of all the vent piping needed to move hot air out and cool air in and I am looking at close to $850. Now every 3 grows I'm dropping another $150 on new bulbs. PLUS my electric bill goes up $50 a month when I run that AC alone.

Even if the LED yields slightly less I see the additional cost being recouped in the first 2 years in electricity savings alone. Plus not having to worry about heat issues means I can take a long weekend holiday and not worry about "what happens if the AC doesn't come on."

 

[619ster]

LEDs are like cfl's bigger stronger brother lol

 

[IrishBoy]

I LOVE TRF!!!!

AFTER I FEED ALL THE GIRLS WITH THE TRF THEY ALL BLEW UP!! now the plant that 1st got the red DM is the best one of course, but i will say the purple DM bottle is kicking out flowers real fast its crazy their catching up quick.. the red DM bottle plants are in 2nd counting the one that was feed at the same time and the OC+ plants are in last as of right now.. its still way to earily to say things but just wanted to let you now where they stand as of now.

this right here really makes me think it was the nutes the whole time..I ve been thinking about it and it must have been from all the salts from the GH Maxi just sitting in the res because of no air stone in the hempy buckets.. because my 18gal res would just be full of salts and stuff every day even with 2 big ass air stones i would have to mix it with my paint mixer all the time, so it would be mixed up and then just go straight down to the bottom of my hempy buckets IMO. see other hydro setups might not be ass bad as long as you could clean things like DWC or soil pots would work good because it would go to the bottom and jusr run out the drain wholes. but with hempy the salts are heavy so even with you allow allot to run out allot of them stay at the bottom IMO. just from what i have seen i will no longer use GH Maxi anymore.. i will use the 3 part flora series anytime, but not the maxi.

well things are taking off at a good rate now.. so lets hope for the best and let the show start!!

 

[Setting Sun]

How tall are those girls after all this waiting?

 

[IrishBoy]

How tall are those girls after all this waiting?

lol.. like 4' or more. haven't measured them but their at least 4' or more. i think their around 9 or 10 weeks flowering..lol.. i just want this to be over with and start fresh... I was reading up on the different light times and i should finish 25-35% faster and lose 70% yield with the 10/14 light time.. dont know how true that is but read it in my ASK EDD. book. seems like allot of yield to lose from a few hours? i am afraid to touch the light timer any more and make them go hermi.

 

[trichtone]

Grats bro!!! Man those ladies must have a ton on pent up energy. Hopefully they explode into budding goodness.

 

[trichtone]

I was wondering...::: Does anybody else feel a bit strange after working under those LED lights after a few minutes? I got mine up n running today and as I was setting things up while under the light I began to get light headed and miscombobulated. Maybe just me but I wanted to check around. And I'm not just talking about the wierd tint of green you see after seeing that light too long. That's a bit crazy too lol!

I get the same effect as Irish. Takes awhile for my eyes to see the full color spectrum again. As Irish stated, I am getting used to it and seem to notice the effect less but it makes me wonder if that is a good thing or not. You might more sensitive to the light. Not sure if sunglasses would help or not?

 

[IrishBoy]

Grats bro!!! Man those ladies must have a ton on pent up energy. Hopefully they explode into budding goodness.

i am hoping the thing.. their all built up ready to just explode. it seems that their budding pretty fast now but it could just be the longer dark hours?

 

[Setting Sun]

I get the same effect as Irish. Takes awhile for my eyes to see the full color spectrum again. As Irish stated, I am getting used to it and seem to notice the effect less but it makes me wonder if that is a good thing or not. You might more sensitive to the light. Not sure if sunglasses would help or not?

Some of the light spectrum these lights produce can damage vision permanently if safety measures aren't taken to protect our eyes.

I use "shade 3" safety glasses, which aren't so dark that you can't see well, but provide protection from UV light.

If you use sunglasses, make sure they block UV.

I tend to be on the lax side when it comes to being concerned about safety, but not with UV and my eyes.

 

[greenfinga]

Hi all. Just wanted to congratulate Irish on yet another awesome grow! Also thought I would throw in my 2cents about the brightness of these LEDs. I only do small scale LED growing but ever since I switched to LED about 2 years ago... I've had to install a small CFL light at the roof of my tent as I find the LED light kills my eyes. I know it's not the best way of doing it but my girls still produce well and don't seem to be as bothered as my eyes were. I would really be v careful with your eyes guys - I personally would not want to damage my eyesight (as these LEDs easily can) just for the sake of a grow (even though I love growing). You may get used to it but I'm sure it's not a good thing TBH. I also find it next to impossible to see when the first pistils are sprouting under LED lights until it becomes v obvious. So by just switching to a normal light when examining my plants it not only saves my eyes but helps with identifying balls, pistils and deficiencies when they first show. Anyways... protect your eyes! At v least get some sunnys! Looking forward to seeing end of this grow. Keep it up Irish!

 

[gr0wb0i]

Hi all. Just wanted to congratulate Irish on yet another awesome grow! Also thought I would throw in my 2cents about the brightness of these LEDs. I only do small scale LED growing but ever since I switched to LED about 2 years ago... I've had to install a small CFL light at the roof of my tent as I find the LED light kills my eyes. I know it's not the best way of doing it but my girls still produce well and don't seem to be as bothered as my eyes were. I would really be v careful with your eyes guys - I personally would not want to damage my eyesight (as these LEDs easily can) just for the sake of a grow (even though I love growing). You may get used to it but I'm sure it's not a good thing TBH. I also find it next to impossible to see when the first pistils are sprouting under LED lights until it becomes v obvious. So by just switching to a normal light when examining my plants it not only saves my eyes but helps with identifying balls, pistils and deficiencies when they first show. Anyways... protect your eyes! At v least get some sunnys! Looking forward to seeing end of this grow. Keep it up Irish!

I'm a little confused. Are you saying you run the CFL when the LED's are off so you can see? are are they run at the same time and the CFL drowns out the LED light waves?

 

[IrishBoy]

Now that they have expressed their sexuality, have you considered going back to 12/12?
2 hours lost light = about 17% loss of energy, don't know how that translates to 70% losses in product, but having never had this problem, I never had to work out a solution.

b

ya i couldn't figure out how Edd. R. came up with that 70% loss in yield either? but it dosent sound fun..lol..

yes i have thought about going back to 12/12 but am afraid of them getting all confused and going Hermi.. i know nothing about changing different light times as this is my 1st time having to do this.

 

[Planter]

yay!!! im happy for ya bud.good job on bringin it back bro.