Home Depot LED For Mother / Clone

[greenmystic]

How would an 18w usage / 75w equivalent LED from home depot work for a mother clone room? I know it's pretty low power but I have heard of folks using very low power CFLs for mother / clone. Would such an LED work? Keeping heat to a minimum is critical so the LED seems best if it will work.

 

[Plato420]

you would be better off going with a 125 watt CFL 5000k around 7000 lumen for veg . if you have clones under the other light your talking about you might get longer node length than you want. the 125w cfl as long as its placed 2-6 inches from the clones they will do better. the cfl will run hotter than an led but I would recommend doing more reasearch before you purchase anything. I would also make sure the LED your referring to is specific for growing plants other wise it might not have the proper light spectrum needed for the growth your looking for. this will help grow more buds come flowering and keep the stems to a minimum. Also the T5HO light strips are around $30 each and put out around 5000 lumen for a 4' tube these run fairly cool also. Hope this helps.

 

[greenmystic]

you would be better off going with a 125 watt CFL 5000k around 7000 lumen for veg .

Thanks for offering some advice! I understand what I'm asking about is not ideal, I just want to know if it will work. I'm limited to LED because of the heat situation. I don't plan to use this for veg, just to keep mothers and clones alive. A different light will be used for veg / flower. I have done research and don't like CFL due to the mercury in them.

 

[Plato420]

what do you think about a couple of the T5HO Bulbs? There are 2' and 4' tubes that run about $15-$35 each and would run warm to the touch, one or two of these would work im quite sure of that.

If the LED is cheap buy it and try it out. I do know horticultural LED's are expensive (999 - 1500) and combine a special light spectrum that is measured in another form other than lumens.

 

[greenmystic]

what do you think about a couple of the T5HO Bulbs? There are 2' and 4' tubes that run about $15-$35 each and would run warm to the touch, one or two of these would work im quite sure of that.

I would like to avoid any fluorescent lights. If I have to I might end up going with a lower watt CFL but I really don't want to do this for a number of reasons.

If the LED is cheap buy it and try it out. I do know horticultural LED's are expensive (999 - 1500) and combine a special light spectrum that is measured in another form other than lumens.

I will probably do that. It's not too much. It's just a flood light for about $45. I know about the horticultural LED bulbs and they will be used for all other purposes. I just don't want to spend that much to keep mothers and clones alive nor do I have the space for one in the mother and clone area. I saw the flood light and thought it might be enough light to keep them going...

 

[Pazuzu]

So you've taken the plunge and started using it? I was wondering on the outcome


Just a squirrel in this world trying to get a nug....

 

[greenmystic]

So you've taken the plunge and started using it? I was wondering on the outcome


Just a squirrel in this world trying to get a nug....

Nope, haven't done it yet.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I don't like the mercury content in florescent bulbs either. Last year I read that mercury-free CFLs were "on the way" but I don't know about the accuracy of that statement or if they've arrived yet.

But a low-wattage LED from Home Depot... Unlike most forms of artificial illumination, LEDs are "point-frequency" - IOW, you're probably looking at one wavelength of illumination. (If there are multiple LEDs in the fixture then they could have mixed wavelengths for a combined spectrum.) Owing to the fact that the eye perceives certain wavelengths as being brighter and that the wavelengths that are most conducive to plant growth, it would be my guess that you won't get much satisfaction from an LED sold at Home Depot - especially an 18-watt one.

I think that the mercury is only released if the bulb is broken or improperly recycled - not through use. I noticed that you stated "I just don't want to spend that much to keep mothers and clones alive nor do I have the space for one in the mother and clone area." If you just want to keep them alive (as opposed to active growth), it doesn't take much light at all. One or two small CFLs will keep a mother alive - you can make a mother stasis chamber out of a 30-gallon aluminum trash can and a CFL or two. (You don't even need 16 or more hours of light; the thing is to make sure the longest period of uninterrupted darkness is well under 12 hours.) Since one doesn't need a great deal of light, it is easier to "overbuy" on the wattage. What I'm getting at there is that you can take the degradation in output over time into account so that you can keep the same bulb(s) longer than the person who is using them for active growth and changes bulbs every grow.

I agree that CFLs produce heat. But - again, if you're just trying to achieve stasis ("keep the mother alive") - if you only have one or two low-wattage CFLs going, say on a 6 on / 5 off / 6 on / 7 off daily cycle, it's not going to produce a great deal of heat. That'll keep the mother from flowering and it's not likely to induce hermaphrodism (in a plant that isn't already genetically predisposed).

 

[LEDman]

greenmystic, I concur with TorturedSoul - I'd give that LED spot a wide berth, it's most probably a waste of money, as the wavelengths necessary for photosynthesis are most likely not found in these products. Horticultural LEDs have at least two sets of diodes with different wavelengths, also the individual diodes are at least 1W.

 

[Wetzel]

I agree that CFLs produce heat. But - again, if you're just trying to achieve stasis ("keep the mother alive") - if you only have one or two low-wattage CFLs going, say on a 6 on / 5 off / 6 on / 7 off daily cycle, it's not going to produce a great deal of heat. That'll keep the mother from flowering and it's not likely to induce hermaphrodism (in a plant that isn't already genetically predisposed).

I've never heard of this light schedule. Of course I am new to growing and have never cloned, but I want to start. So let me see if I understand this..... You can keep the "Mother" alive but not growing by keeping her in low light and make sure she doesn't get 12 or more hours of darkness? How little wattage? I'm assuming a cfl in the 5k range? Then what do you do when you want to take some clones? Increase the light and time exposed to it? If so, how long before you want to take clones do you do this?

Sorry for all the questions but I've got SO MUCH TO LEARN! lol

 

[TorturedSoul]

Keep in mind that if your potential mother is from a strain that hermies at so much as an unkind glance, it's probably not the best idea, lol.

I kept a plant alive over a year in a little foam cup of perlite/vermiculite in a spare bathroom lit only by a couple of CFLs. Was a combination of small light (but the light was close to the plant, IOW they weren't stretching to reach it), low number of light hours (remembering to NOT give them a full 12 hours of darkness at any one point), small root space, and very low feed schedule (almost none).

When I finally lost it, it was not through the care(sic) that it had received, but through the actions of a hungry feline, lol. As I overdid the starving thing - err... on the plant, not the feline - it would take a notion to drop leaves and several of the remaining ones would lose color as it leached nutrients from them to survive. On the rare occasions that I fed it, it would stop doing so for a while. It also put out tiny little branches - which made tiny little clones (that made presents for other people). Had I given it just a little bit more care, it would have been a great mother for someone who only needed a few cuttings now and then.

The aluminum trash can works better. For one, it's easy to hide in the corner of your basement, garage, or outbuilding especially if there are a couple other trash cans in front of it. Small hole in the bottom for a small fan, some unobtrusive slots cut out around the bottom rim so that hole can get airflow, a few small CFLs inside. Some innocent nearby noise to cover the small fan's noise. Small container with soil or soilless medium to contain the roots and help discourage growth (but enough so that you can get enough growth for cuttings by providing small levels of nutrients when you desire). Something to cover/disguise the fact that you probably sunk a screw/bolt or two in the lid to make it easier to hang light(s). Propping the lid open slightly or cutting some small slots around at or near the top of the can or lid to give the air coming in the bottom a place to exit. Even a small CFL or two produces heat and in any enclosed space it adds up. Again, intelligent placement of junk, this time to hide the light that would escape so that you don't need to deal with placing light-traps on the trash can (although a cursory inspection probably wouldn't show the difference between a bit of trash that's leaned up against the can and one that is actually attached to it because it's the hidden light-trap - up to you). Remembering to check on things once in a while. Remembering to keep your cat away from what's inside. If it becomes advantageous to do so, it would be simple to enlarge the vents, get a stronger fan, and swap in a more powerful light (no, NOT a 600-watt HPS, lol, but more/stronger CFLs or a couple small 6500K ones combined with a 70-watt or maybe a 150-watt HPS) and you are now flowering your plant; wouldn't give you much but it would give you a little that you got to grow for next to nothing in a disguised container (low-odor strain a BIG plus). It would also be simple to unplug the cord going into the can, tape the lid in place so it didn't blow off, stick it in your pickup truck, and move the whole thing to another location as a unit. Probably wouldn't do hydro for it although it's possible (humidity might be a bitch). Soil or a simple soilless (perlite, a little vermiculite so that all the water didn't drain right out, bit of peat, pinch of lime and epsom salts, simple ammendments) would be easiest as you could just add the occasional nutrients to your water. Small plant with small light doesn't need much. Would also be easier to only bother it once in a while if you were not using hydro. For a permanent location, you could set it over a hole in the floor and blow air up from there or even conceivably have both an intake and exhaust (which came from a tube or small (3"?) vent line from the top of the can where the heat would be) going through the hole and carrying any smell with it.

Remember, it's not the hours of light that you give a plant that cause it to flower - it's the hours of (uninterrupted) darkness.

 

[Wetzel]

Excellent info Tortured. Thanks

 

[BayAreaDrofessional]

@tortured

i did a setup like that in my dormroom. got super hot with the 9 cfls (only two computer fans for intake/exhaust) i had in there and eventually moved to a larger card board box. keeping it cuddy was key

 

[PhilPebbles]

you would be better off going with a 125 watt CFL 5000k around 7000 lumen for veg . if you have clones under the other light your talking about you might get longer node length than you want. the 125w cfl as long as its placed 2-6 inches from the clones they will do better. the cfl will run hotter than an led but I would recommend doing more reasearch before you purchase anything. I would also make sure the LED your referring to is specific for growing plants other wise it might not have the proper light spectrum needed for the growth your looking for. this will help grow more buds come flowering and keep the stems to a minimum. Also the T5HO light strips are around $30 each and put out around 5000 lumen for a 4' tube these run fairly cool also. Hope this helps.

Here is my CFL 1st time grow..Im in wk2 of flower and she looks great!

 

[PhilPebbles]

ps Top pictures were during veg. I flipped to 12/12 2 weeks ago..I started my grow 7/18

 

[BushyBro]

Nice plants!

 

[DgC 4Life]

nice cfl setup i need something for my mom/clones as well was that a purchased unit or wired urself....looks good