A Sad Sad Grow Journal

I've ordered a COB LED light from the net. I got some surprise money as a gift. It had 5/5 stars (12 reviews) on Amazon and similar ratings on all the other sites I checked. I was hesitant to get a COB light but there is a 3 year warranty. $199 CDN including delivery.

I decided to go big. I have the potential to expand the # of plants I grow so I got a 1000W. DAMN. Woop woop! I'm way too excited about it.

I already have an extraction fan and good circulation, so heat restrictions won't be too bad (especially during the winter). I was originally going to get two 300W but it is just cheaper to get the 1000W.

I decided to go with LED for power reasons. The 1000W uses only 200W. From what I've researched, you get better plant growth from HID but I willing to sacrifice a little growth for lower heat.
 
Ok now you are getting it. Put Liquid Karma on the seedlings too if you aren't. I just germinated my outdoor in Liquid Karma and water 5ml/gal. I am also watering with the same mix on the ones in peat pucks now. I will do this until I get 3 or 4 sets of leaves then I will add PBP Grow to the mix with a ml or so of Cal/Mag. Your sad ones look much happier. The autos are looking really good. Great job. I'll checkback later. The link to my outdoor is in my signature.
 
DAY 98: Mar 25

Watered older plants.


DAY 100: Mar 27
("seedlings" day 27)

Day one-frickin'-hundred! Well this is a milestone I'll never brag about. Such little plants for 100 days old. And still in veg. :( And I don't even know the sex!

But they had a remarkable recovery from almost dead to healthy little buggers. Just a reminder from day 57:
Feb_12-5.jpg


And now
mar28-3.jpg
mar28-4.jpg


And I got my 1000W COB LED light! Happy, happy, joy, joy! I honestly waited by the door until mid-afternoon when it was delivered, lol. I wanted to play with it right away and was practically blind from the light for the remainder of the afternoon.

mar28-5.jpg


I had also put in another standard CFL so I can see the plant colours. The purple of the light distorts colour like crazy.

One of the benefits of this light over my previous set-up is that I have half the power cords. Now I just have one grounded extension cord going to the tent. Tidier and safer.


DAY 101: When I had my CFL set-up, I had issues with too much heat. Temperature at leaf level tended to be around 27 C (80 F). Now with the LEDs, temperature is 21 C (70 F). That's a little cooler than I'd like. Should I try to raise the temp a little? My research shows I'm in an ok range.
 
You are okay. My last grow never got over 66-68F. You'd be good either side of where you are at but if you can get 2-3 more up it definitely won't hurt. They are looking awesome. The autos will do their thing and your originals are just behind. They will not flower unless really stressed until you go 12/12. Get them bigger if you want to. Remember they should at least double in size after they start flowering.
 
DAY 98: Mar 25

Watered older plants.


DAY 100: Mar 27
("seedlings" day 27)

Day one-frickin'-hundred! Well this is a milestone I'll never brag about. Such little plants for 100 days old. And still in veg. :( And I don't even know the sex!

But they had a remarkable recovery from almost dead to healthy little buggers. Just a reminder from day 57:
Feb_12-5.jpg


And now
mar28-3.jpg
mar28-4.jpg


And I got my 1000W COB LED light! Happy, happy, joy, joy! I honestly waited by the door until mid-afternoon when it was delivered, lol. I wanted to play with it right away and was practically blind from the light for the remainder of the afternoon.

mar28-5.jpg


I had also put in another standard CFL so I can see the plant colours. The purple of the light distorts colour like crazy.

One of the benefits of this light over my previous set-up is that I have half the power cords. Now I just have one grounded extension cord going to the tent. Tidier and safer.


DAY 101: When I had my CFL set-up, I had issues with too much heat. Temperature at leaf level tended to be around 27 C (80 F). Now with the LEDs, temperature is 21 C (70 F). That's a little cooler than I'd like. Should I try to raise the temp a little? My research shows I'm in an ok range.

Any shots, specs on that led light?
I noticed it's blurple. Hope you didn't get Epistar chips.


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I'm considering letting my old plants grow until the autos flower and switching them all over to 12/12 together. Good idea or bad?
 
Ya. That's Epistar chips. Very high failure rate. I just finished a repair on one for a client. I opened it up to find that it wasn't even close to 1000w. It contained 6 x 70v driver's running at 700 mA. When I tested the wattage consumption it only drew 326w from the wall. By comparison I used 1750mA driver's on 37.6v COBs.
The par test.


Bad news is it may not perform as advertised.
Good news is I'll be posting a DIY conversion video.
Sorry bro.


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Fuuuuuuuck.

Well, it does have a 3 year warranty through Amazon Canada, so that is reassuring. I certainly didn't have high expectations as it was so cheap.

I'm used to measuring light in lumens, and don't have a total grasp on what the 1000W is actually measuring. It says that the power consumption is 210-230W, but I don't know how that can mean the light is 1000W.

Thanks in advance for posting a conversion video.
 
So when they say 1000w the first thing you have to understand is that they are plain faced lying to you. Actual consumption is 230w.
Luckily you can turn that into a 6 cob powerhouse when you get more cash.


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Oh! Another question....

I'm interested in growing some veggies from seed to plant in my garden this spring beside the cannabis. I suspect some people are loosing their mind and want to yell at me for it, but I wouldn't be introducing any external plants (and hence pests or diseases).

Ok people, tell me why I shouldn't...
 
I garden all summer long. I have a greenhouse and a no till plot. I get 2 harvests a year. Just setting up the greenhouse now. Starting seeds next week.
Try Halifax Seed Company for awesome seed stock.


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So when they say 1000w the first thing you have to understand is that they are plain faced lying to you. Actual consumption is 230w.
Luckily you can turn that into a 6 cob powerhouse when you get more cash.


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Isn't that standard with LEDs? I admit to having very limited knowledge but I thought they are measuring light equivalence or something? I don't understand why LEDS are measured in power usage and not by the amount of light like other light sources
 
Isn't that standard with LEDs? I admit to having very limited knowledge but I thought they are measuring light equivalence or something? I don't understand why LEDS are measured in power usage and not by the amount of light like other light sources

It's a "Chinese standard". However
Professional LED companies like Timber, Cutter and Norther Grow Lights don't advertise their COB's in watts. Watts is a unit of consumption not output. Professional companies use V/mA when talking about the COBs and the driver combination and use PAR (photosynthetically active radiation measured in micromoles) to measure the output of a light. Unfortunately Chinese LED lighting companies pprey on the ignorance of new growers and often take advantage of them.


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Thanks for the education. I'll know for next time. I bought bigger than I need, so hopefully I'll still have enough for my grows. It was a relatively inexpensive investment and I knew I was taking a chance.

Sent telepathically from my Febreze air freshener
 
Yet another question... Should I top my autos? I've heard mixed opinions on this.

Sent telepathically from my Febreze air freshener
 
I never have (but am going to top the living shit out of one this season) but if you are comfortable if you topped your photos then go for it. If not comfortable then top only one, then pull the outer branches down with a little LST and let the sun/light get deep. I am hearing this is how I think Demonic Angel got 9 ounces of an auto. Hence I am going use this technique and go for it on at least one.
 
Ok, I'm having a problem. Any diagnosis? Is this a CalMag issue? How do I treat? I'm growing in ProMix and haven't been giving nutes.
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