Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180 - Multiple Strains - NFT Grow 4.0

Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

Sneak peek at next week's project. Power supply done. 380watt PC power supply from Fry's for $19 (after rebate), a few parts from Radio Shack and a little soldering and voila, bench power supply to run my 12v PC fans. It only draws 28 watts with 3 fans running. I'll get the system assembled and tested next week.

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This is not a beginner's DIY project, you should have some basic skills in electrical circuits. If you want to do it PM me and I can send you a link to a good site with a schematic.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

SuKaFr33 said:
you could also get a piece of ply board, attach the diamond foil some how, that way you can put it up and take it down without wasting the foil and it could be used at a later time maybe for another grow maybe in another area, but thats just my opinion though..
Click to expand...

I bought a 100 foot roll of the diamond foil. I still have 80 feet left. It will only take a few feet since the tubes are 6 feet long and 5 inches wide. I can do it with a 2 foot wide section cut into 8inch x 4 foot strips and have an inch-and-a-half overlap on the side. I have some foil tape that i can use to hold it in place.

That is now on my "to do list".
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

I should have thought of that earlier. I forget how bright these LEDs are. When the lights come on later I'll take a pic of it glowing through a double layer of diamond foil. That is on a side wall (covering a hole from the last grow). I makes total common sense now, but I didn't think of it until now. Last grow the tubes were covered in the insulated foil wrap, and never had an issue.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

Man, your diy skills blow me away. :thumb:
I have some pc power supplies I use for fans too, but nothing as sophisticated as yours. :popcorn:
Good deal covering things so those bright LEDs so it wont make things worse. OMM :)
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

Installed the new pump yesterday and what an ordeal that turned out to be. DO NOT buy the Eccoplus pump if you are going to use it in an inline application. The thing has more leaks than a Somali pirate boat after the 7th Fleet has their way with it.

I am waiting for the epoxy to cure on it to put it back into service. If it still leaks at that time I am going to bite the bullet and buy a metal cased pump designed for aquariums and ponds. This Eccoplus unit has a cheap plastic housing that develops cracks under the slightest stress. I will take a picture of it once it is fully dried, it looks very ugly now, like a flock of seagulls all shat on it at once.

I do have some positive news though, I covered the NFT with the diamond foil and did a res flush and change. I determined that the stuff in there was brown algae, still unsure of the growth on the filter though, I still think that was the beneficial fungi.

As for growth, things are ticking along fine. I will get some photos posted tomorrow morning with the comparisons. As would be expected the 360 side is cruising along nicely and the other two are looking good as well (just not as robust as the 360). But, it will all come down to the final weigh-in to see which of these three lights wins the battle for the small grow space.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

Maer said:
What did CES have to say about chelating agents and killing bene's?
Click to expand...

Maer,
This is cut/pasted from the email they sent back:

Hello Steve.
Our products will not kill off beneficial microorganisms, of course you would mix the products in concentrate, which would possibly cause a problem. As far as samples go, you might try San Diego Hydroponics and Organics, or Gorilla Gardener in Chula Vista (I know that isn't N. SD). Let me know if you have any further questions Steve...happy growing!
Peace,

Joel H.
General Manager


Looks like it is OK to use. I think their Uncle John's Blend has some good stuff in it too:

Chelated with colonies of microorganisms that aid in the pretreatment of it's organic blends of nutrients, Uncle John's Blend will deliver increases in flower and fruit set as well as an increased resistance to pathogens while amplifying overall clorophyll production. Also includes polyflavinoids and Esters providing the building blocks for tase and smell NPK Formula: 0-0-2.

I'm pretty stoked to see how their full line works together. The people at CES are quick to respond to questions too. So far I am very happy with the result they've provided and think I will continue to use their products. I sent you a link to the place online that has a great price on the 3-part. The supplements are still a bit spendy, but less than other big name brands.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

Well, that Eccoplus pump is crap. I ended up ordering a quality made external pump made for aquariums, a Pan World 50PX-X pump. Here are the specs:
Max Flow: 1110gph
Max Head: 13ft
Power: 90W
Fittings (Inlet/Outlet): 1" MPT / 1" MPT
Dimensions (L x W x H): 10" x 4" x 5"
Comparable to Iwaki: 30RLXT

I ordered it online, so in the meantime I put a 560 gph submersible in the res and it is powering everything nicely, in fact I think the other pump is going to be overkill. At least I have a solid back up and the Eccoplus will still work in a submersible setup, so down the road it may see some service in a pond or waterfall setting.

Once the new pump comes in I will post pics of it and the shat-upon Eccoplus.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

Day 16 in 12/12:
pH 5.12
PPM: 1150
EC: 2.305
Res Temp: 66
Temp: 84
RH: 51%

I did a complete res change and flush when putting the new pump in the system on Monday. I used only CES's 3-part and their additives Plant Amp, Mag Amp and Uncle John's Blend. A note on the Plant AMp form the CES feeding chart:

** NOTE ** Plant Amp contains Organic Acids which cause a temporary low pH reading. Do not adjust pH up. The pH will rise naturally as the plant uptakes the chelated calcium in one or two days.

I had some crazy pH issues the first two weeks, which is my fault for trying to hit 5.8. No messing around with pH going forward. I'll just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't go out of range. I was showing some signs of Nitrogen def, so I attribute that to my pH issue.

The plants are all doing well. The P-Chunk is definitely stretching more than the rest. The Twilight is a medium stretch and the Gigabud is barely stretching but stacking on nodes like crazy. I think if you are looking for a plant for a SOG grow, then Gigabud would be a good choice. If I put a third tube in the box, I could do an entire run of Gigabud and not worry about overcrowding.

Under the Advanced 180W:
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The un-named 200W:
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The Advanced 360W:
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A few shots of the tops of the Gigabuds
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A shot of a Pineapple Chunk:
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You can really see the stretch on the P-Chunk and how the Gigabud's are going to be short bushy girls.

As would be expected the plants are looking bigger under the 360W, although the final weight will be the determining factor.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

stevehman said:
I did a complete res change and flush when putting the new pump in the system on Monday. I used only CES's 3-part and their additives Plant Amp, Mag Amp and Uncle John's Blend.
Click to expand...

So no more great white, no more bene's? Does that mean you did not add the bio-balls?
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

Maer said:
So no more great white, no more bene's? Does that mean you did not add the bio-balls?
Click to expand...

I'll throw some Great White in there in a few days. I loaded up on H2O2 and Hygrozyme to get rid of the algae that had grown in there. I want to let the H2O2 dissipate before I toss in some bene's, don't want to kill them off before they have a chance to grow. I'll be putting some bio-balls or similar media for them to colonize along with the hydroton in the net cups.

That is the only non-CES nute additive I will be using for the remainder of the grow. So all of the items in the pic will be the only items used.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

The peroxide will kill the algae and it will be small particles circulating through your system. Maybe run some mechanical filtration with cotton for a few days before you add the great white, you don't want algae corpses providing nutes for baddies or gumming up the works.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

420th Post





Maer said:
The peroxide will kill the algae and it will be small particles circulating through your system. Maybe run some mechanical filtration with cotton for a few days before you add the great white, you don't want algae corpses providing nutes for baddies or gumming up the works.
Click to expand...


I have the filter inline that removes a bunch of the crap as well as a foam filter on the intake of the pump. I will run the system without any bene's for a few days to make sure everything else is out of the system first. I plan on putting filter bags with filter floss in them on the return line as well as on the third "bypass" line that just runs back to the res to speed up the removal of all of that junk.

Also, I think the Zyme should remove some of the dead algae as well. My new pump is supposed to arrive on Tuesday, the res should be cleared up by then and ready for some bene's.
 
Re: Stevehman's Advanced LED 360 vs. 180, multiple strains, NFT Grow 4.0

Hi Steve - just read through your grow so far from the beginning. Lots of interesting stuff going on. I thought about doing an NFT system similar to what you have going - but I wasn't completely crazy about how tall it was from the ground, so I ended up doing an Ebb N Flo sort of system for my next grow (currently just have a single auto growing in a DWC bucket for the summer, but I'll bust out my new system when that's finished).

I've had a couple of those Eccoplus pumps so far, and they worked well enough for me (submerged), but they were really fragile and poorly constructed - cheap as hell construction. I broke one of them just trying to disconnect a fitting! I like Maxi Jet pumps quite a bit. Seem really well made and reliable - I will be using 2 of them with my new system.

I have to commend you on your DIY skills - mad props brother! :bravo:

Can't wait to follow the rest of your grow and see how those LED's compare. :popcorn:

Oh, and I'll support you for a future MOTM - I see you earning it with your contributions, and this is a great journal so far. I feel like I backed into mine a bit, but hell, I'll take it. You're right though, we need to get OMM's out of the way first. ;)

I can see you'll be the guy I should seek out when/if I start exploring ways to chill my reservoir.

Oh, and congrats on your 420th post! :thumb:
 

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