BTzGrow
Well-Known Member
Hi all, new 420Mag forum member and first time indoor grower, so if I make any noob mistakes, please help and be constructive.
I started my grow with a 22 Sun Blaze T5 light fixture. 2foot by 2 bulbs. Only read about 120PAR at a distance of about 5 inches. I was actually researching after the new year the idea of DIY COB light fixture building and found that I could make one for about $250-300. However, at the last moment, my brother FelipeBlue here found a LED fixture to caught his eye and shared with me.
It was the Black Diamond Perfect Sun Mini. Company owned and run out of Oregon it looks like, offers free shipping and no sales tax, Yeah!!!
Here's a look at what I got first and then I'll go over some PAR readings.
The fixture is well built from aluminum with no sharp corners. Most impressive is the stainless steel hanging system that has an adjustment feature that eliminates the need for the typical nylon cord with plastic ratchet.
Top -
and bottom light face -
This is my current set up for the initial first 7 days -
The web site and owner Neil recommends a 36 inch separation between light and plant to allow for getting used to the new light spectrum. I currently only have enough height in my tent to allow for a 30" separation. Still at that height the PAR readings are as follows at 30 inches: 350-PAR directly below the center of fixture, 270-PAR directly below the fixture corners and 150 in each of the corners of a 2'x2.5' Gorilla Grow Tent. This is at a distance of 30inches below the light face. Very impressive considering the T5 par readings.
At 18" below the light face the following readings are recorded. Directly below the center of the light face 800-PAR, directly below the corners of the fixture 700-PAR. The light is mounted centered in the tent so I measured the front and back walls in the center and got 225-PAR. In the corners 85-PAR. Part of this drop off is related to the angle of the reflector of most LED lights is 120degrees or 60 degrees from vertical.
At 12inches below the face of the light the PAR numbers get a little crazy. Directly below and in the center of the light the readings came in at 1400-PAR!!! Directly below the corners of the light at 12" the readings drop to 600-PAR. Back and front center of the walls is 100-PAR and in the corners about 40. The perimeter readings are very much within the range I expected given the reflector angles.
Manufacturer distance recommendations are as follows: Young plants: 2 feet away, Older veg plants:Try 18 inches away and see how they react. Flowering plants: 16 inches away, Older Flowering plants: 16 to 13 inches away.
Initially my plant seems to be very happy
and then at 5 days under the net she is pushing up quickly -
My initial idea is to use this single light fixture for my first grow and see what type of yield I get. I would be very pleased with a 1gm/watt yield. I have written Neil at Perfect Sun and ask if adding a second fixture and mounting both perpendicular to my current setup with about a 6-8 inch separation between the fixtures would increase the yield enough on a single plant grow to justify the additional capital investment. If I could see an increase of a half a gram per watt for the additional fixture that would result in an additional 2 oz maybe, which would be in my opinion well worth the investment as it would pay for the initial cost of the light.
Here's the bonus in my opinion. For a small 2x2.5 tent the cost of this light is $180 not tax, no shipping. the out of the wall AC wattage draw is 110 watts AC. That works out to be about $16.50 a month in electricity on a 18/6 light schedule. Less than $11 on a flower 12/12 schedule, about under $13 for a 14/10 flowering schedule. Even considering two fixtures those costs are significant savings in comparison to some of the other high powered options that generate lots of heat and require venting especially in a small tent. Heat equals wasted watts/electricity.
Thanks in Advance for comments and questions, BT'z
I started my grow with a 22 Sun Blaze T5 light fixture. 2foot by 2 bulbs. Only read about 120PAR at a distance of about 5 inches. I was actually researching after the new year the idea of DIY COB light fixture building and found that I could make one for about $250-300. However, at the last moment, my brother FelipeBlue here found a LED fixture to caught his eye and shared with me.
It was the Black Diamond Perfect Sun Mini. Company owned and run out of Oregon it looks like, offers free shipping and no sales tax, Yeah!!!
Here's a look at what I got first and then I'll go over some PAR readings.
Top -
This is my current set up for the initial first 7 days -
At 18" below the light face the following readings are recorded. Directly below the center of the light face 800-PAR, directly below the corners of the fixture 700-PAR. The light is mounted centered in the tent so I measured the front and back walls in the center and got 225-PAR. In the corners 85-PAR. Part of this drop off is related to the angle of the reflector of most LED lights is 120degrees or 60 degrees from vertical.
At 12inches below the face of the light the PAR numbers get a little crazy. Directly below and in the center of the light the readings came in at 1400-PAR!!! Directly below the corners of the light at 12" the readings drop to 600-PAR. Back and front center of the walls is 100-PAR and in the corners about 40. The perimeter readings are very much within the range I expected given the reflector angles.
Manufacturer distance recommendations are as follows: Young plants: 2 feet away, Older veg plants:Try 18 inches away and see how they react. Flowering plants: 16 inches away, Older Flowering plants: 16 to 13 inches away.
Initially my plant seems to be very happy
My initial idea is to use this single light fixture for my first grow and see what type of yield I get. I would be very pleased with a 1gm/watt yield. I have written Neil at Perfect Sun and ask if adding a second fixture and mounting both perpendicular to my current setup with about a 6-8 inch separation between the fixtures would increase the yield enough on a single plant grow to justify the additional capital investment. If I could see an increase of a half a gram per watt for the additional fixture that would result in an additional 2 oz maybe, which would be in my opinion well worth the investment as it would pay for the initial cost of the light.
Here's the bonus in my opinion. For a small 2x2.5 tent the cost of this light is $180 not tax, no shipping. the out of the wall AC wattage draw is 110 watts AC. That works out to be about $16.50 a month in electricity on a 18/6 light schedule. Less than $11 on a flower 12/12 schedule, about under $13 for a 14/10 flowering schedule. Even considering two fixtures those costs are significant savings in comparison to some of the other high powered options that generate lots of heat and require venting especially in a small tent. Heat equals wasted watts/electricity.
Thanks in Advance for comments and questions, BT'z