My LED Experiment


Introduction


I have looked around many websites that grow using LEDs. None have given a concrete guideline as to how to grow with them.


Different ratios with blue vs red give you stretched or bushy buds. Some steams appear to be thin and root systems appear to look weak.


My experiment will let you see what I am using, how I am using it, and what it makes.


Goals


My goals are simple. Make a guideline as to how to have the largest yields while using as little power as possible.


Later, when I have more money in my pocket, set up a solar power system to have my grow completely off the grid.


Design


I will only grow one plant at a time. I have made a plastic box out of acrylic sheets (aka Plexiglass) that I found in my Garage. The box is L 14 in, W 15 in, H 28 in. I have chosen these dimensions because I was limited on how much sheets I have. On the inside, there will be duct wrap for reflection.


I will be using hydroponics so I can grow faster and come up with results faster. At the bottom of my box, I will have a draining system and my plants will be kept 2 inches above the water.


So far, I will have 179 LEDs. They are 5mm and range from 10K Lm to 15K Lm. At first, I will have only Red and Blue at a ratio of 6:1 respectively. The reason for this because I have found someone growing using only blue and red and said that this ratio works best.


Later, I will introduce yellow, green, white, amber, UV, and IR. These LEDs will be driven by 12v DC 500mA. 4~5 red LEDs can be connected in series, and 3 blue LEDs can be connected in series. These groups will then be connected in parallel.


Sidenote: In the future, I will be connecting a 700 mA to 1 A 12v DC power supply.


I will have a 12v CPU fan that I will be using. I will also make a $3 carbon filter on the intake and exhaust. It will be completely sealed. Later, I plan to make a steam generator for clones.


Price


Every time I spend money on this project, I will post it. I want to keep costs WAYYYY down. I know plexiglass is not cheap, but it was free . I would suggest some sort of plastic material so that mold does not build up, and so that the smell is at a minimum.


So far I have spent:
Plexiglass – Free
Ebay
25 x 5mm blue LEDs - $3.99 USD (with shipping )
25 x 5mm red LEDs - $3.24 USD “
25 x 5mm green LEDs - $2.99 USD (for the future)
110v AC to 12v DC inverter - ($1.00 x 3) plus S&H = $8.58 USD
12v PC fan - $1.55 USD
Single Seeds Sales
3x Blue Mystic (seeds) - Regular for $3.30 each. - $18.40 Total: $38.75

I'm kind of broke right now. I still have time because the seeds have not arrived. I will need to buy more LEDs.

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btw, this is my first time growing



Any advise, questions or comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Day 1

Germination.

I have just received my seeds and going to start to germinate the first one.

My technique is the paper towel method. I thought of the water in a cup method but I could not find much on the topic. This method seems to be the popular one.

Anyways, the fun starts. I am a bit worried because my LEDs are not in yet. It said 5 to 20 days to deliver. Oh well, I have a few red ones but they are not as good as the ones I ordered. It might be a temporary solution.

Any comments/advice is greatly appreciated as this is my first grow.

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No advice but def gonna be watchin, awesome idea of doing LED then solar to power them later on. If it works this will be a great way to stay off the grid

Can't wait to see the results. Are you going to do mass testing? What i mean is single color LED on some, multi on others etc?

Definitely looking forward to the information & knowledge gained through your testing

+rep man.

__________________
View my current Bubblelicious CFL SOG. Daily Pictures. Comments welcome

Dial into your plant's needs. Don't work to keep your plant alive, make it work to stay alive.

gona be watching this one for sure.why the green led's?good luck

Yea, me too. Will certainly be watching. I'm building an LED array to supplement my HIDs and am very intrigued to see how LEDs in isolation will fare. Have done quite a bit research around the net and it would seem that deep-red LEDs around 660nm wavelength, blue around 470nm and in some cases infrared is the general concensus as to your LED requirements.

48 Hours Later:

The seed finally cracked. Theres a little white root appearing inside the crack, so good news.

After 24 hours, I noticed the seed did not change at all (size or shape) so I thought I needed more water. The paper towel was a tiny bit moist, but now its soaked again.

Im going to leave it for another 12 hours until I get a definite root. I just need to ask the experts on this one, When should I start the lighting cycle? And what cycle should I use for the first week or two? I was thinking 24/0 but I think I will have massive stretching. I am limited on space but if it gets worse, I can make another place to keep the plant.

I read about the strain and it said it is a bushy plant. Maybe a 18/6 cycle to let it become bushy yet giving it a lot of growth.

So far, I have wired 60 LEDS (25 red, 30 blue). I need to wait for the rest of the LEDS to come in.

As for the green spectrum, I dont think I will use it. I guess I will put in about 10% UV though, and maybe 10% IR.

Thank you for all the advice Im probably going out to buy a pump and stuff for my setup, ill post pix when its done.

And another thing, I talked with a friend about forums in general, he advised me not to post pictures of my plants, but my setup is okay. I will be posting measurements of the plants, weight, height, leaves, etc.

as soon as it pops up to start its life

hes just being paronide ive never heard of someonegetting busted thru a forum theres just to many people and u can have all the pics u wants of plants just dont b dumb and tell people in ur local area thats how u get caught

Why green leds?

The new gen LED growlites, have blue red white or blue red orange. Green spectrum doesn't do anything to chlorophyll being as its green and reflects that color.

If you want anything to turn out decent, get some cool white spectrum(t5 bulb rack) and/or some warm white(orange)warm 100watt replacement or better cfls work great.

LEDs that I used produced bushy plants with tight internodes, and almost uncontrolled growth with the phototron pruning method.

LED only has been proven to not be worth it, yet. At least as far as I have seen.