LED coverage

[NikoGrow]

Good afternoon to all of you who will read my thread today!

As a new grower, I bought a few seeds online. I've got 2 Dr. Widow and 3 Afghan Kush.
I germinated them and put them into soil pots(indoor). However due to dumbness and lack of brain cells I killed one of the afghan's so now they are 2x2.

After reading numerous threads(stoned) I still cannot understand is my light good enough for all the plants or do I need to get extra one? Here are the product specs of the LED light itself:

Brand: KINGBO
Specifications:
Replaces a 250 watt HPS/MH
Avg. Power Draw: 120±3% watt
LED Quantities: 60pcs 5Watt Bridgelux/Epileds
LED Lens: 90°/120°Mixed
Input Voltage: AC100-240V
Frequency: 50-60Hz
Lifespan: 50,000 hours
Core Coverage at 24" Height 2.5x2.5ft
Max Coverage at 24" Height 3x3ft

Do you guys think this light can support 4 plants all the way through? Any help will be much appreciated!

Thank you for your time.

Best,

Niko

 

[HonestGR]

What size is your grow space? I don't see why it couldn't, but don't expect an extremely large yield!

What you want to focus on with any LED light is the actual wattage draw, and the core coverage.

With this being a low wattage draw, it will be challenging. I would stick with topping the plant a few times but not too many, the plants will need to be pretty close together, and you will need to have airflow between / all around them to prevent WPM.

 

[NikoGrow]

What size is your grow space? I don't see why it couldn't, but don't expect an extremely large yield!

What you want to focus on with any LED light is the actual wattage draw, and the core coverage.

With this being a low wattage draw, it will be challenging. I would stick with topping the plant a few times but not too many, the plants will need to be pretty close together, and you will need to have airflow between / all around them to prevent WPM.

Thank you for your reply.
I am using an old canvas wardrobe which I transformed into a grow tent so I could save some cash. Which means the space is not much, here: 45x110x175cm. Also had the idea of turning it to lay down so it will be using the height as a length but for now is fine.

 

[Orlando Scout]

It will work you just won't get much of a harvest, and your buds won't be very dense. It's ok tho it's your first grow you don't learn if you don't try! I would save up for a better light. In the meantime make sure your giving the the best light intensity you can.

 

[NikoGrow]

It will work you just won't get much of a harvest, and your buds won't be very dense. It's ok tho it's your first grow you don't learn if you don't try! I would save up for a better light. In the meantime make sure your giving the the best light intensity you can.

To be honest I will be happy if I harvest anything at all, overall is my first time. I only germinated all the seeds because I thought not all of them will open. However, thank you all for the tips! Much appreciated!

 

[HonestGR]

To be honest I will be happy if I harvest anything at all, overall is my first time. I only germinated all the seeds because I thought not all of them will open. However, thank you all for the tips! Much appreciated!

It will definitely work. You "may" want to defoliate to allow additional light to penetrate the canopy. You will need to read up on it a little to understand it prior to doing it. You wont have an insane yield, but where you are just looking for some.... you will get some! There are lots of lights reasonably priced.

I would aim for 32W (Actual) draw per square foot at minimum. More is always better up to a point. Make sure you put some reflective material on the walls to reflect more light back to where it is needed!

Right now your running approx 22.52W per foot squared. Based off of the average draw of 120W

 

[NikoGrow]

It will definitely work. You "may" want to defoliate to allow additional light to penetrate the canopy. You will need to read up on it a little to understand it prior to doing it. You wont have an insane yield, but where you are just looking for some.... you will get some! There are lots of lights reasonably priced.

I would aim for 32W (Actual) draw per square foot at minimum. More is always better up to a point. Make sure you put some reflective material on the walls to reflect more light back to where it is needed!

Good tip! I just went through it. Forgot to mention that I did add light reflecting foil so it spreads the light all around.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Good tip! I just went through it. Forgot to mention that I did add light reflecting foil so it spreads the light all around.

Have to be careful with foil as you can get hot spots as it is hard to get a smooth even surface (think of it like a magnifying glass), flat white paint works fine or even those reflective window shields (I used those on my first grow box). Varies on the strain but they can double in size (or more) when you switched to Flower (unless they are Auto seeds then you have no control). I'll let you convert to cm (it does vary slightly by light so not etched in stone as some you can't get as close as others for LED) but that wattage light I run about 15-20 inches from tops in Veg and 10-12" in Flower once they quit stretching, so gives you an idea on when to switch if regular seeds as it is very easy to outgrow your space while learning it all. You can see the boxes I started with in my Anti Journal Journal link, now I'm in a bigger space in my shed (as I fixed it up) but I still use the boxes for seedlings and smaller test plants, you can also see pics of the plants I finished in that space even though Journal was started after that first grow was done. As those boxes use a "300w" LED so probably a slightly higher power draw than your light but not by a lot more than likely (I forget the actual watt draw on those but think it was around 165w). So it will be fine for a "get your feet wet" and you will more than likely get something for your trouble, as you found a good place to get help if needed here, then you can decide if growing is for you (not for everyone as it is a lot of work and a lot of potential frustration ) and later you can invest more into it if you so choose.

 

[MassMedMan]

I don't have a calculator handy to get a better idea of your space. But, if I'm understanding the basics: you're trying to grow 4 plants with one led, which is comparable to a 250w?

If that's so, I'd go to two plants, personally I'd only grow one good one under that lamp. But, you have to start somewhere.

Leds are good and make good bud, the correct leds. I've tested plants grown under them at close to 24% THC on a strain the breeder said should hit 16-18%. But one thing I've learned over the years is you wont get nearly the coverage you want from them. I don't care what they say. More light is always better as others have said.

I don't know much about that Dr. Widow, but the Afghan kush is going to have huge fans. Be a thick plant needing good air movement. Careful there and be preventative with the mold control.

Good luck have fun and enjoy!

 

[NikoGrow]

Thank you both! Really good tips from all. As more I visit this forum and read/learn about growing, more addictive it gets. Thanks again!

 

[Nick420Guy]

Welcome Niko. Check out my journal link below. I am just finishing 1 plant in a 2x2 tent under a similar light to yours 105w actual draw. Bag seed but definately lots of Indica. I had 3 in there at one time and they would be a little crowded now if 2 weren't males. Just make sure you have lots of fresh air coming in, circulating around the plants, a good exhaust fan, and keep humidity in check and you should be fine. Here's a teaser for you of whats possible with your light. 13 tops on her and all look like the bottom pic.

The Runt top 9 26.jpg

• Nick420Guy
• Sep 27, 2018

The Runt side close up stacked 9 26.jpg

• Nick420Guy
• Sep 27, 2018

 

[NikoGrow]

Welcome Niko. Check out my journal link below. I am just finishing 1 plant in a 2x2 tent under a similar light to yours 105w actual draw. Bag seed but definately lots of Indica. I had 3 in there at one time and they would be a little crowded now if 2 weren't males. Just make sure you have lots of fresh air coming in, circulating around the plants, a good exhaust fan, and keep humidity in check and you should be fine. Here's a teaser for you of whats possible with your light. 13 tops on her and all look like the bottom pic.

The Runt top 9 26.jpg

• Nick420Guy
• Sep 27, 2018

The Runt side close up stacked 9 26.jpg

• Nick420Guy
• Sep 27, 2018

Wow! What a results man! Thanks a lot for the tips, notes taken. Will follow your grow to see the final results

 

[Nick420Guy]

Thanks Niko, anytime man. Even with my limited experience I am always glad to help when I can.

 

[Soildawg]

I am currently using the kingbo 300 and the kingbo 600 in a 2x4x5 grow tent with 2 plants staggered about 3-4 weeks and harvest about every month give of take there’s not a bad light at all I have 4 harvests underthe
Now but 4 plants under one 300 maybe to many

29B2BDC7-7D35-4A6E-B064-E47B28519864.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Sep 30, 2018

BA884F67-930C-4AC8-B21D-61373CB97ED9.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Sep 30, 2018

27AE69D2-C544-48FC-A951-27501772AA3C.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Aug 22, 2018

Wwa #2 day 48

 

[Soildawg]

I am currently using the kingbo 300 and the kingbo 600 in a 2x4x5 grow tent with 2 plants staggered about 3-4 weeks and harvest about every month give or take there not a bad light at all I have 4 harvests under-them
Now but 4 plants under one 300 maybe to many

29B2BDC7-7D35-4A6E-B064-E47B28519864.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Sep 30, 2018

BA884F67-930C-4AC8-B21D-61373CB97ED9.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Sep 30, 2018

27AE69D2-C544-48FC-A951-27501772AA3C.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Aug 22, 2018

Wwa #2 day 48

F7BC0FEE-3A86-4552-B74F-141A550720B1.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Aug 3, 2018

Other side of the first topping

 

[NikoGrow]

I am currently using the kingbo 300 and the kingbo 600 in a 2x4x5 grow tent with 2 plants staggered about 3-4 weeks and harvest about every month give or take there not a bad light at all I have 4 harvests under-them
Now but 4 plants under one 300 maybe to many

29B2BDC7-7D35-4A6E-B064-E47B28519864.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Sep 30, 2018

BA884F67-930C-4AC8-B21D-61373CB97ED9.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Sep 30, 2018

27AE69D2-C544-48FC-A951-27501772AA3C.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Aug 22, 2018

Wwa #2 day 48

F7BC0FEE-3A86-4552-B74F-141A550720B1.jpeg

• Soildawg
• Aug 3, 2018

Other side of the first topping

Good results man! Thank you for sharing. I am feeling more confident with the light after reading and seeing your guys results. Keep on growing!

 

[LEDXpert]

It's better to focus more on par than watts. A lot of the inexpensive lights on say Amazon tout the LED power potential of the LEDs rather than actual wattage. So see your light said 60 5W LEDs but it only drives 120W. All that's telling you is your light is 120W and they are driving the LEDs at 40% of maximum. Harder you drive your LEDs the less efficient they get, the faster they loose their initial lumens, and typically the more heat issues you'll have.

Wattage is also not a great scientific thing to benchmark with because it doesn't account for efficiencies of LEDs used and how relevant the spectrum is. Wattage is however a good rough indicator. Better light spread of your LEDs will help with obstruction where a plant will cast shadow on plants behind it because it will fill from the other side. So best thing to use is PAR meter calibrated for LED if you can swing the cash.

Those aren't the lights I would have picked but I don't think I can name names here.

I agree with some of the wattage per sq ft talked about earlier.

Again presuming you had good LED lights, 400W of LED in a 4x4 (16sqft) would be bare minimum. Use basic math to figure out other size aragements (i.e. 2x2 would be 1/4) Any less than that is a waste of space. Make your grow smaller so each plant can get more light. 600W is your sweet spot of value for price of lighting, output production, heat load, etc. As you get higher your weights can get higher but you have to do more nutrient, more cooling, and more supplemental CO2. Plant can take more PAR it just uses it at diminishing returns. So say if you were power limited in a larger grow use 600W and if you were space limited in a grow use 800W.

 

[NikoGrow]

It's better to focus more on par than watts. A lot of the inexpensive lights on say Amazon tout the LED power potential of the LEDs rather than actual wattage. So see your light said 60 5W LEDs but it only drives 120W. All that's telling you is your light is 120W and they are driving the LEDs at 40% of maximum. Harder you drive your LEDs the less efficient they get, the faster they loose their initial lumens, and typically the more heat issues you'll have.

Wattage is also not a great scientific thing to benchmark with because it doesn't account for efficiencies of LEDs used and how relevant the spectrum is. Wattage is however a good rough indicator. Better light spread of your LEDs will help with obstruction where a plant will cast shadow on plants behind it because it will fill from the other side. So best thing to use is PAR meter calibrated for LED if you can swing the cash.

Those aren't the lights I would have picked but I don't think I can name names here.

I agree with some of the wattage per sq ft talked about earlier.

Again presuming you had good LED lights, 400W of LED in a 4x4 (16sqft) would be bare minimum. Use basic math to figure out other size aragements (i.e. 2x2 would be 1/4) Any less than that is a waste of space. Make your grow smaller so each plant can get more light. 600W is your sweet spot of value for price of lighting, output production, heat load, etc. As you get higher your weights can get higher but you have to do more nutrient, more cooling, and more supplemental CO2. Plant can take more PAR it just uses it at diminishing returns. So say if you were power limited in a larger grow use 600W and if you were space limited in a grow use 800W.

LEDXpert thank you for your comment. It really makes me think and read more regarding LED and etc. Money are a bit tight right now, but in future I would be saving for a better one and make sure to ask you guys what should I pick. I really appreciate your comment again, very professional opinion I must say. People like you make this place better. Thanks again man!

 

[gbauto]

Welcome, Niko
Ledxpert is absolutely correct. the goal is to provide enough photons of usable light to cover our grow space. Trying to have some basic guidelines helps. HID fixtures like HPS and MH need to consume approx 50w/sq ft to get enough PPFD to get good growth. Blurple style led fixtures use diodes that are not as efficient as an HPS fixture so you will need at least the same amount of actual power consumed per sq ft. Current tech diodes like QuantumBoards or light strips are much more efficient at converting electricity into photons so you can reduce the power density to 30w/sq ft to get the same PPFD over the grow space.

 

[Mars Hydro]

That light should work in your space.