Hello! Overview Before I Start Planting!

[kaivorth]

How would something like this compare then? Trying to keep the power bill as low as possible =/

2-4 plants I'm thinking of starting with. If that won't do it, I understand and will look at other options. Running 4 CFL's at 23w for 12hrs a day will shoot my energy bill up $10-15 a month I'm sure.

Sounds like that 45w LED setup I showed you should suffice for 2 plants then? OR 4 CFL bulbs? Are those really my options? I'm going to return the bulb I got already, and get a better LED light for me. Any other good LED options in the 45-100w range?

Is that a solid LED setup for what I'm doing?

 

[mokel]

as far as i can tell, that's a mars hydro gen.1 led, it should work.
i don't know about the coverage but i think it should suffice for at least one plant, but again, i don't have any firsthand experience with led yet, so you might want to ask smokesara as i already recommended

 

[kaivorth]

as far as i can tell, that's a mars hydro gen.1 led, it should work.
i don't know about the coverage but i think it should suffice for at least one plant, but again, i don't have any firsthand experience with led yet, so you might want to ask smokesara as i already recommended

I plan on it, not enough posts yet to pm

 

[mokel]

wrote her a pm and linked this thread, but you can ask in the mars hydro thread without pm. she's constantly checking when online and seems like no question is left without an answer

 

[Mars Hydro]

Hi kaivorth, the effective coverage of our old model 300 is 1.5'x1.5'. The draw power is 140w. Is it enough for your grow area?

Sounds like that 45w LED setup I showed you should suffice for 2 plants then? OR 4 CFL bulbs? Are those really my options? I'm going to return the bulb I got already, and get a better LED light for me. Any other good LED options in the 45-100w range?

Is that a solid LED setup for what I'm doing?

 

[Spitz]

If you had a tent, you could veg 20/4 or 24/0 under cfl until spring. It would be pretty easy to manipulate temperatures by just controlling exhaust. Gives you time to save up for a hps or LED. Could always run autos at 24/0 too. The extended light hours might compliment the lower light source (cfl) with respect to the high daily light integral required for your plants. Cool temps will slow down growth but 45 won't kill your plant. You can veg all day long but you'll give up yield if you try to flower in that range. Good luck!

4x23W bulbs = 92W/hr. Times 12hrs/day = 1104 or 1.104 KWHr x 30days = 33KWhrs x$0.10 = $3.30

If you pay 10 cents per kilowatt hr... It would cost you less than $4 per month to run them 12/12.

 

[Teddy Edwards]

Hi kaivorth

Apologies for interrupting this productive discussion, but could you please read your PMs (User CP/Settings/Inbox)? We have been trying to give you some help and advice about using off-site links in your posts. Any problems, please PM me.

Back to the lighting matter in hand...

 

[kaivorth]

It sounds like to me LED is going to be the only way to go to save on the electric bill and still grow good stuff. I'm looking at the Mars 300 right now.

As far as temperature, I'm going to buy a storage cabinet, insulate it, and grow inside of it. I found one that's the following size:
25-3/4"L x 19"W x 35-3/4"H

Will this be big enough for 2 plants?

 

[Johnboy101]

Hi kaivorth, the effective coverage of our old model 300 is 1.5'x1.5'. The draw power is 140w. Is it enough for your grow area?

Hi @SmokeSara do you mean 1.5' (inches) or 1.5" (feet)? Obviously inches would be a tad harsh for a 300w LED?

John

Sent from my SM-T520 using 420

 

[Spitz]

Make/buy it as tall as you can afford/fit. The added height will get used up fast and the added volume will help with temperature regulation.

You want a mid sized 3W LED panel 8-15" above the plant. You need probably 6-10" to mount it. Throw in a 8" pot and you only have 8" for plant.

 

[kaivorth]

Hi @Smokesara do you mean 1.5' (inches) or 1.5" (feet)? Obviously inches would be a tad harsh for a 300w LED?

John

Sent from my SM-T520 using 420

You have that backwards.

" = inches
'= feet

Make/buy it as tall as you can afford/fit. The added height will get used up fast and the added volume will help with temperature regulation.

You want a mid sized 3W LED panel 8-15" above the plant. You need probably 6-10" to mount it. Throw in a 8" pot and you only have 8" for plant.

3W LED? I don't think that'll be nearly enough power from what I'm reading. I'm considering the GalaxyHydro 300w now. Also considering just using a larger cardboard box to grow in instead now. I'll just insulate that, and use reflective material on the inside of it. Just have to figure out how to mount the light in it. Man DIY super cheap tents are hard haha.

Is a cheap tent even worth having if I plan on having a fan next to it? That will just cool it off I'm sure. Wanted the fan to help keep the plant short

 

[Spitz]

That 300w GH is 100 x 3W LED. Give a look at the 2" styrofoam insulation. It would be cool to just build one out of that (and its fireproof) and just paint it white. Good luck!

 

[Faic]

You're confusing watts and watts. LED panels are made up of individual diodes that range from old 1-2w to last gen 3w, to the latest 5w diodes. This is different than the total wall watt draw of a LED (which is calculted by the something or other times that, that Sara can explain much better).

There's nothing wrong with cardboard grow boxes. Just think how much harder it would be if you had to like pull nails or actually saw something to make it a better size later on? Hanging a light in it, simple. Wire, peice of scrap wood, hot glue or even duct tape. Poke a hole in the box, glue or tape the wood across the top for support, wrap the wire around the wood and hang your light from it. For those safetly concious people out there, use a non conductive something between the light and the wire hanger so you don't set the whole kit on fire with a short circuit. Besides. In the future you can scoff "Growtent 5000? Hell, we used carboard boxes and duct tape!"

But the fan in the grow area is not to keep things cool per se, now you're getting into ventilation. I'm also not sure what you mean by wanting to keep the plant short with a fan? Like, putting it above the fan to autotop it when it grows into the blades?

Yeah I know, but it's my day off so

To keep a plant small, you use a small container and/or feed sparingly but keep 6500k light close to the plant. Mixing light temps during stretch, some 6500's along with the 2700's keeps the stretch to a minimum.

Now,to keep a plant short, or better term, managable, you'll need to train it using various techniques like topping and low stress training (LST) so that it keeps a managable shape. If you're concerned with headroom, you'll need to master scrog'ing to keep things in a predictable vertical space, and that is an advanced technique. My word of advice here is to anticipate having your plant overgrow your space. It's your first grow, there is no reason to believe you'll keep things under control.

And if you're at all concerned with money, go CFL on your first grow. It's cheaper, less dangerous to your plants (only way to burn your plants with a cfl is to have the plant touch the bulb), and there will always be a LED light you can get once you have a decent understanding of how everything works.

 

[kaivorth]

You're confusing watts and watts. LED panels are made up of individual diodes that range from old 1-2w to last gen 3w, to the latest 5w diodes. This is different than the total wall watt draw of a LED (which is calculted by the something or other times that, that Sara can explain much better).

There's nothing wrong with cardboard grow boxes. Just think how much harder it would be if you had to like pull nails or actually saw something to make it a better size later on? Hanging a light in it, simple. Wire, peice of scrap wood, hot glue or even duct tape. Poke a hole in the box, glue or tape the wood across the top for support, wrap the wire around the wood and hang your light from it. For those safetly concious people out there, use a non conductive something between the light and the wire hanger so you don't set the whole kit on fire with a short circuit. Besides. In the future you can scoff "Growtent 5000? Hell, we used carboard boxes and duct tape!"

But the fan in the grow area is not to keep things cool per se, now you're getting into ventilation. I'm also not sure what you mean by wanting to keep the plant short with a fan? Like, putting it above the fan to autotop it when it grows into the blades?

Yeah I know, but it's my day off so

To keep a plant small, you use a small container and/or feed sparingly but keep 6500k light close to the plant. Mixing light temps during stretch, some 6500's along with the 2700's keeps the stretch to a minimum.

Now,to keep a plant short, or better term, managable, you'll need to train it using various techniques like topping and low stress training (LST) so that it keeps a managable shape. If you're concerned with headroom, you'll need to master scrog'ing to keep things in a predictable vertical space, and that is an advanced technique. My word of advice here is to anticipate having your plant overgrow your space. It's your first grow, there is no reason to believe you'll keep things under control.

And if you're at all concerned with money, go CFL on your first grow. It's cheaper, less dangerous to your plants (only way to burn your plants with a cfl is to have the plant touch the bulb), and there will always be a LED light you can get once you have a decent understanding of how everything works.

1. My apologies, you're correct about the LED diodes
2. I read that keeping a fan on a plant will make thicker stalks and shorter plants due to the plant having to resist the wind or something. Could be wrong here.
3. I thought about CFL, however I'll need 4-8 bulbs of each color range. That will put me at about $40-50 in just bulbs, let alone fixtures and ways to mount them and power them. They will also use more energy. The LED option just seems like a no brainer to jump into. Flower better, less hassle to mount, more energy efficient. I can imagine the GalaxyHydro will do 2 plants just fine.

I appreciate all the thoughts and ideas so far to help me with my build. I'll wait to find a large styrofoam box around here, buy the light and take temp readings inside of it to see if the box will be warm enough to grow in.

 

[arteekay]

I read that keeping a fan on a plant will make thicker stalks and shorter plants due to the plant having to resist the wind or something. Could be wrong here.

Nope, you're absolutely correct. Fans simulate the wind and help strengthen the stem (to support your future massive buds) and the airflow keeps fresh (new) air coming into contact with your leaves.

Even seedlings benefit from a little dance. Of course within reason, you don't want to lay 'em flat.

I give my girls a good workout at least every couple of days with some moderate wind, and the rest of the time they get at least a leaf rustle.

A good oscillating fan or two are required equipment.

The LED option just seems like a no brainer to jump into. Flower better, less hassle to mount, more energy efficient. I can imagine the GalaxyHydro will do 2 plants just fine.

I came to the same conclusion between LEDS and HID, and got out of CFL as soon as I could. I just needed better results than CFL was going to provide.

Not that I haven't seem far more successful grows here with CFL than I've done with my first grow.

 

[Faic]

A breeze will cause the stalks to thicken, but I use silica blast for that, since it also helps it fight disease and pests. A fan is crucial as Arteekay says for air exchange. But it is very important to keeping the hot air from the lights moving off the plants, and keeping up airflow to keep mold spores at bay, and your humidity under control.

 

[kaivorth]

A breeze will cause the stalks to thicken, but I use silica blast for that, since it also helps it fight disease and pests. A fan is crucial as Arteekay says for air exchange. But it is very important to keeping the hot air from the lights moving off the plants, and keeping up airflow to keep mold spores at bay, and your humidity under control.

I'll have to look into silica blast. Thanks for the information!