Andersvalide

New Member
Hey all,

I'm from Belgium, new to this forum and about to start my first grow ever. (noob warning!)

I wanted to grow just one plant since it is for personal use and I'm just curious how it all works.
I'm planning to grow in a old cardboard box from my printer which is about the size of a desktop.

The problem is that I'm just a student and I'm working with a budget. I think I have all the material I need, but I'm still struggeling with the light. Since I'm growing in a cardboard box I want to use LED lighting to reduce heat problems. All the growing LED lights are to big for my box and I've found some LED strips which may work?

bol.com | 2* 5 meter LED strip, verlichting, RGB, compleet 401564

These are 2 LED strips of 5m (16.5 feet) with 72W so a total of 144W. I can cover the whole upper side of the box with these LED lights.

Do you guys think this is going to work? Or are there other suggestions? Maybe those 1 bulb grow LED lightings, but they are just 20W or so?

Thanks
 
Hi Andersvalide -- Strip LEDs is a clever idea, but you will need much more of them to do the job. Cannabis will grow with just a little light, but it will give disappointing yields unless the light is like a sunny day--very bright!

Some suggestions: If you want to use strips, make sure that the "watts" specified is the actual watts (power) used, and not just the watt rating of the lights. For a true 72 watt output, the power supply will need to be delivering 6 amperes at 12 volts.

Also, make sure you are getting "white" LEDs, not a strip of colored LEDs that add up to white.

I think a better bet for a box would be to use multiple LED light bulbs from the hardware store, which you can place around the box to get even lighting.

Consider a dwarf plant. I'd recommend something like a Dwarf Low Flyer, a feminized autoflower that can take 24 hour a day light if you like.

Growing in small spaces is difficult! Lighting, air circulation, heat removal, light leakage and fan noise (for stealth) are all challenges!

I suggest you search here at 420magazine.com and online for "stealth cannabis growing" and "stealth grow box" to get some ideas and to avoid reinventing the wheel.

Good luck!
 
I don't think it's the right "color" from your example.
For my little clone box I have led strip like this one: Umiwe LED Grow Light Strip Plant Light with 2A Power Adapter 3 PCS Red Blue 5... | eBay

It work for veg, not sure for bloom though.

Bonne chance! :)

I didn't know you could get strips of LEDs with colors optimized for growing plants. Of course, though, that makes perfect sense.

The light strip you mention uses 2 amperes at 5.1 volts, so it is only 10.2 watts. You would want 20 of those if that was your sole light source, which would come to $540--not the best return on investment. (But maybe the equivalent length of LEDs with one, good, efficient power supply would be cost effective).
 
I didn't know you could get strips of LEDs with colors optimized for growing plants. Of course, though, that makes perfect sense.

The light strip you mention uses 2 amperes at 5.1 volts, so it is only 10.2 watts. You would want 20 of those if that was your sole light source, which would come to $540--not the best return on investment. (But maybe the equivalent length of LEDs with one, good, efficient power supply would be cost effective).

Yes my strip light is really a minimum, enough to stay alive and waiting for the real grow! :)
 
Here's a pix of my clone box, yes there's too much red! :laugh:

IMG_20170830_185007.jpg
 
Hello friend!!Do u think about simple led bulbs?Tgey are a lot better than cfls and because i am at the same situation with u i can understand u..I also grow a single plant auto at a time for my personal use at a small space..just to help you i use 30w led bulbs at 4000k and when the plant start flowering i add a 23w led bulb at 2700k(flowering)..For me they work much better than cfls and tgey dont create heat almoat at all and i suggest you to try it!!!with 30-35€ you can buy those 3 led bulbs and i believe you will like them..after few grows i will also look for a small les panel but no more than 150w,they are ok for our situation,greetings from greece man ;-)
 
Yes mate i change cfls with led bulbs and the buds are thicker and tougher!!For a single plant with 3 different bulbs of different spectrums you will be a boss ;-) just in mind, 1 at 4000k,1 at 2700k and another 1 at 6500k was my setup and work very well...
 
Yes mate i change cfls with led bulbs and the buds are thicker and tougher!!For a single plant with 3 different bulbs of different spectrums you will be a boss ;-) just in mind, 1 at 4000k,1 at 2700k and another 1 at 6500k was my setup and work very well...

Which model and size of led bulbs do you have?
 
E27 led bulbs..these tgat i use are 30 watts all and are the big one that they usually use in big storages with a big olastic in front..take of this plastic and u will have almost the double light and brightness..Search for hi power led bulbs from 30 w abd above,later i will upload a photo of mine's..
 
I'm starting to get interested in the potential applications of strip lighting for growing, mostly out of pure curiosity since I have more light than I need with my diy 3590 system. These lights in particular look like a good candidate. They come in 1', 2', and 4' lengths with an efficacy of about 187 lm/w at 4000K.

H Series Gen3 Series - Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. - DigiKey Electronics

Still have to crunch some numbers but something like this may work for your box grow.

Note to mod: I tried uploading just a screen shot of the specs to the Grow Equipment gallery but it gave me problems. Feel free to delete the above external link.
 
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