600w of Chinese LED power

CopsPop said:

This is a good thread. Have been reading for a while as I am about to dive in. I have a closet that is 6'x42" that I am going to use. I was determined to use LED from the start but all the oldtimers with their NO WAY only hi energy stuffs had me doubting my plan, even though researching says leds cover the spectrums needed. I have a couple of questions though. First when you supercrop, are you actually cutting off the tops or just "breaking" them and leaving them in place? Could you explain this in more detail. And for additional lighting, I think i read you will use t5's. I see that low wattage (24w for instance) led grow lights can be bought. What is your opinion about using those in place of cfl? Go led all the way.

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When you super crop you don't break the branch off you just damage the tissue so the branch hangs over, by doing this it causes the branch to form a knuckle at the damaged point which allows for a greater uptake of nutrients to the branch above the knuckle as well as giving a stronger support so the branch can hold more weight.
When looking for a LED unit I recommend following these rules of thumb, 60-100w of light per plant, a light for every 2x2 area you need to cover and make sure your using a light that uses 3w or 5w bulbs and provides a 6 band spectrum or more. Low wattage or red/blue only LEDs are crap and where most of the bad LED experiences come from. Just because a unit is expensive dosent make it better, look for the things I described in a unit and you will have what you need to grow quality weed

here is the video I learned to super crop from, I recommend watching it and reading as many threads on the subject as you can find before trying it yourself
[video=youtube;vacg2FZWtrk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vacg2FZWtrk[/video]

Thanks Adjorr. Video helped. I have been doing a good bit of research. I haven't bought anything yet, but plan on it real soon. In regards to my question about using leds for side/additional lighting, I wasn't referring to those little panels, but to the bulbs such as these 15 watters. http://www.advancedledlights.com/led-grow-lights/spectraboost-grow-spotlight-15w-high-intensity-led-grow-light/. 3 or 4 of these for side lights should do the trick and still get the energy savings of leds.
I am thinking for starters I will use the 6x3.5 closet for 4 or 5 plants and a nursery for clones. For now at least. I live by myself and have two rooms available if things go well. I live in Florida and hope\expect that we will see some changes in the pot laws within the next couple of election cycles. Wish it would be for recreational instead of Medical, but will take what we can get.

I haven't used those and don't know anybody who has, you might want to ask in the LED section of the forums before buying them. What are you planning on using as your main lighting source?

we talk a lot in this thread about the lights im using but I thought i'd take the time to talk about what else ive been using through this grow, so here it is my arsenal of gardening supplies

For nutrients we have sensi grow which I use in a foliar spray for feeding and have fed the soil with once early in veg, some blood and bone meal I added to the soil last week to feed during the soil until the second week of flowering when I will start using the connoisseur bloom fertilizer, ive never used it before but I used their sensi bloom formula before and according to the guy at the hydro store this is a better version of it so im hoping for good results. I also have ph down and sm-90 which is a wetting agent I add a little bit of it to all my foliar spray and watering mixes. The dolomite lime I added a small amount of it to each soil pot early on to help stabalize soil ph

For insect control I have safer's end all which I found to be effective vs spider mites but not against soil based bugs like fungus gnats. And I have Diatomaceous earth which has eliminated my fungus gant problem.

For tools I have a 40x loupe for close up plant inspection, a piece of a broken tape measure that's been in my wifes family for over 3 generations, a scalpel for topping and taking cuttings, some tape for when things go wrong, a 3 in 1 moisture/ph/light meter but I don't think its ph part works, a plastic measuring syringe, a humidty dome for when I need to do clones, a hanging work light that hangs 2 26w cfls over my humidity dome when in use, some stim root rooting powder, and my trusty spray bottle.

So as you can see a lot more goes into my garden then just the lights

edit I also have a drop test ph kit for testing water, forgot it for the picture

I have a30x magnifying glass do you think that's sufficient or do you think I should go up with the zoom?

And do you recommend the humidity dome? I hear mixed opinions

I think my 40x is a little weak I kind of wish I had a 60x. The humidity dome worked very well, but ive only used it once. I don't see how if used properly it could possibly be bad

I need to get a 30-40x loupe, I have the 420 scope and it is kinda hard to see a larger area in 60x but it is a scope though. So that could be it. Hey Adjorr them plants are looking good as hell still after 3 supercrops. You gonna flip to flower in a week or so or do another few rounds of SC? Also are you gonna be on for a bit?

training is done, im going to start decreasing light by an hour a day at the start of October until its 12/12 im running 20/4 right now. Im probably going to clean up the growth at the very bottoms of the plant some time next week to allow for better airflow, its a bit of a mess right now

Adjorr said:

training is done, im going to start decreasing light by an hour a day at the start of October until its 12/12 im running 20/4 right now. Im probably going to clean up the growth at the very bottoms of the plant some time next week to allow for better airflow, its a bit of a mess right now

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I hear ya, does decreasing light by an hr a day improve the transition from veg to flower? Or are you just checking out a different method?

Twizzlor said:

I hear ya, does decreasing light by an hr a day improve the transition from veg to flower? Or are you just checking out a different method?

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I think it reduces stress on the plant, having a sudden switch to 12/12 isn't natural and I think it would cause un needed stretch, I also think transitioning gets pistils to start appearing faster after 12/12 starts. But I cant prove any of these things it just how I do it.

Yeah I mean it's great to see the crystals at a distance and to impress my buddies lol I was thinking about switching to a 100x scope do you think that's a little over the top or should I try a 60x first

I also transition btw...just seems right. But now that I'm growing autos I've just been leaving it on a 18/6 cycle

Just read through the journal, I plan on building my first cab soon and will be using LED now that I see I won't have to spend an arm and a leg on a name brand LED. Subbed as well. Cheers.

chrishart420 said:

Yeah I mean it's great to see the crystals at a distance and to impress my buddies lol I was thinking about switching to a 100x scope do you think that's a little over the top or should I try a 60x first

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I think 100x would be to much unless it had lower settings as well, with 100x ud be looking at each individual trichrome, what you want is to be able to see a bunch of them at once so u can tell how many are amber or cloudy 40x-60x is perfect for that

And 20$ saved again thanks

chrishart420 said:

Yeah I mean it's great to see the crystals at a distance and to impress my buddies lol I was thinking about switching to a 100x scope do you think that's a little over the top or should I try a 60x first

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Get a loupe, 30-40x then get a scope that maxes at 100x, trust me a loupe is a must need, the scopes are kinda a little pain to use, but for a quick checkup on your plant a loupe is the deal.

I have a 30x loupe already but it doesn't really do what I need it to do I probably need to upgrade

chrishart420 said:

Yeah I mean it's great to see the crystals at a distance and to impress my buddies lol I was thinking about switching to a 100x scope do you think that's a little over the top or should I try a 60x first

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imo 100x is too small a viewing area and if your hand moves too much it is hard to see.

I like 45x with as large a viewing are as possible.

(Amber trichomes are 90% CBN, which is not desirable and means the trichome has basically rotted.)

chrishart420 said:

I have a 30x loupe already but it doesn't really do what I need it to do I probably need to upgrade

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Are you trying to take pictures of the trics or something? Im not sure what you are trying to do