DIY LED strip setup should drivers be all the way up?

G

GROENG

Active Member
I have a DIY led set up in place, going through second crop, during the first go round I don’t think I properly fertilized using Fox farm Ocean Forrest as a base and used very little fertilizer instead opted for putting smaller plants in large pots i.e. 5 gallons. This time around I’m using the three part base of grow big/tiger bloom/big bloom on a regular schedule. First time around I found that when I turned the lights all the way up, I ran into various nutrient and plant issues, so the question is given the specifications described below and given adequate feeding should I be able to drive the setup fully or should they be at a certain %? Here are the details.

Space size: ~8x7.5 ft 60 square feet
CO2 injection: 1500 ppm
Lighting setup: 4 of the 4x4 4 foot Samsung strips DIY setups described on led gardener

32 x 4 foot Samsung LED strips
Samsung F-Series LT-FB22B 4′ LED strips 3000k

Driver
4 x Mean Well HLG 480H-48A drivers

Lighting distance : 18-24 inches from tops

Number of Plants ~20

Medium:
Fox Farm Ocean Forrest 3-5 gallons pots

Fertilizer:
Fox farm trio at half feeding strength

Temperature ~75-80f
Humidity ~ 55%


When I go max voltage with lux meter I get about 45000 lux at plant tops, currently at about 20-24000 lux.

So I need some advice given the specs should I be able to drive near 100% given I find the proper fertilization schedule or is this too much light for the space?

Thanks in advance
 
NoWaistedSpace

NoWaistedSpace

Well-Known Member
GROENG said:
I have a DIY led set up in place, going through second crop, during the first go round I don’t think I properly fertilized using Fox farm Ocean Forrest as a base and used very little fertilizer instead opted for putting smaller plants in large pots i.e. 5 gallons. This time around I’m using the three part base of grow big/tiger bloom/big bloom on a regular schedule. First time around I found that when I turned the lights all the way up, I ran into various nutrient and plant issues, so the question is given the specifications described below and given adequate feeding should I be able to drive the setup fully or should they be at a certain %? Here are the details.

Space size: ~8x7.5 ft 60 square feet
CO2 injection: 1500 ppm
Lighting setup: 4 of the 4x4 4 foot Samsung strips DIY setups described on led gardener

32 x 4 foot Samsung LED strips
Samsung F-Series LT-FB22B 4′ LED strips 3000k

Driver
4 x Mean Well HLG 480H-48A drivers

Lighting distance : 18-24 inches from tops

Number of Plants ~20

Medium:
Fox Farm Ocean Forrest 3-5 gallons pots

Fertilizer:
Fox farm trio at half feeding strength

Temperature ~75-80f
Humidity ~ 55%


When I go max voltage with lux meter I get about 45000 lux at plant tops, currently at about 20-24000 lux.

So I need some advice given the specs should I be able to drive near 100% given I find the proper fertilization schedule or is this too much light for the space?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
You need to raise your humidity to around 75 to 85% for an "LED" grow. It's different that HID.
 
SMT69

SMT69

Well-Known Member
Google VPD chart, keep your humidity in the green zone according to your temp, I keep mine much dryer than homey suggests above but to each his own

Also with strips you can run them much closer, just make sure the light is uniform
i have mine at 10” above the tops, flux @ 60,000

In my experimenting, better to dim and lower the lights than to raise and crank um, I get better ppfd on the lowers that way, ymmv
 
Last edited:
NoWaistedSpace

NoWaistedSpace

Well-Known Member
GROENG said:
Thanks will ditch the dehumidifier, if the RH doesn’t naturally get up that high should I drop the temps?
Click to expand...
You're temps are fine, I suspect your humidity issue is causing a chain reaction of symptoms.
Your plant starts trying to compensate and will store water instead of using after a certain point, which will then cause 2 or 3 more problems. But don't take my word as the "gospel" there are many forum members that know a lot more than I. Maybe gives you a starting point.
 
NoWaistedSpace

NoWaistedSpace

Well-Known Member
GROENG said:
Thanks will ditch the dehumidifier, if the RH doesn’t naturally get up that high should I drop the temps?
Click to expand...
Don't ditch it, use it when the lights are out. I run 60% when lights are off and around 75%to 80% at 84 degrees. It is about what you can get out of your grow room. It's hard for me to run at 75 degrees, I have to run higher temps which you raise the humidity along with temps.
 
NoWaistedSpace

NoWaistedSpace

Well-Known Member
GROENG said:
Thanks so I take it that the drivers can go full throttle once the other factors are dialed in?
Click to expand...
Yes, every bit of it and then some. You basically have an 8x8 area. Kinda the base is 600-800 LED watts for a 4x4. But you don't go by "watts" with LEDs., it is about the micromoles/joule. Your lights will be over 2 micromoles/watt. Gets complicated. But yea, you're good to crank them up when you establish a "Garden of Eden" or "Paradise" habitat.
And don't "overwater", by the time you notice there is a problem, roots are suffering cause plant isn't eating right.
 
NoWaistedSpace

NoWaistedSpace

Well-Known Member
I haven't looked at the article, but I try and stay under 85 degrees if all possible. You can run higher temps with LEDs if you have to, but normally you wouldn't go over 90.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top