nroth
Active Member
Hi everyone, this will be me and one other's first real go at growing. Without going too far into it....I looked into the LED option for multiple reasons. Main ones being small use of power, target of light wavelengths, lack of heat(closet grow), and just really wanted to build a high power led circuit.
The light consists of 24 luxeon leds, each consuming around 3watts of power. So a total of around 72watts of leds. There are 18 red, and 6 blue leds and are being driven by a 24v 4.5amp power supply which is running near it's max. The power supply is hooked up to a LED driver circuit which has adjustable voltage from where the led's barely turn on, to all the way up, which is where they are very close to. It also controls the current flowing through them, so that it doesn't change and overdrive the leds when the voltage changes. This setup is 4 rows in parallel of 6 led's wired in series. If you are curious about the circuit, here is the basic plan I followed. RGB Color Controllable High Power LED Room + Spot Lighting: circuit operation - Instructables - DIY, How To, home, tech . The led's are mounted on what seemed like a strange fancy aluminum fluorescent bulb fixture which were given to us, when they didn't know what it was at the closeout store. We cut the fixtures down into 26inch lengths and used high temp silicon to glue the leds to each fixture. Yes, those are clothes hangers holding them up....only temporary as we need to source a drill from someone.
We have two cheapo flourescent bulbs that were temporary for the first 4 days or so until I got the LED fixtures built. They are in with the LED fixture just because we figure there can't be enough light, and are rigged up messily, but I am open to any suggestions on changing the setup. There is a largish fan for circulating air in the closet, and a small fan mounted right over the led driver circuit to prolong its life.
Now to the plants....There are 13 total in there, with many of them being planted at different times over the past 10 days or so. The stems were a bit skinny, so that's when we got the fan, and have recently added dirt close up to the small clover leaves. We have also recently got some vigoro 24-8-16 all purpose plant food for vegging, and have added 1/2 a tsp to a gallon of water like it says on the container for seedlings. I am curious to how often this is to be used. It says on it every 14-28 days to use it, but it seems like people here use plant food more often.
Also, I am unsure on the watering. I am thinking about getting a hydrometer tomorrow to help, but it just seems like I am scared of overwatering, but at the same time the soil is hard to judge if it is too dry. The seedlings started off fast, but then kinda slowed down after a few days. I guess the lack of light to begin with could of been one cause. One of the more recent seedlings in the last few days has only been up while the leds have been in and has developed a much larger stem and has almost caught up with the others that are around 7-9 days old.
Overall, I'd just like some input on the whole setup, and what I could change within reason to produce better results. Anyone who would like to watch to see what a high output LED setup can do is more than welcome to keep up with this grow, but there is room for newbie error too. However, all the LED haters, go your way, I've read enough of the hating in some of the other threads. I believe alot of people would rather be able to brag about their lighting setups, than their results. It helps none with the interest and experimentation with alternative lighting methods. Thanks for looking!
The light consists of 24 luxeon leds, each consuming around 3watts of power. So a total of around 72watts of leds. There are 18 red, and 6 blue leds and are being driven by a 24v 4.5amp power supply which is running near it's max. The power supply is hooked up to a LED driver circuit which has adjustable voltage from where the led's barely turn on, to all the way up, which is where they are very close to. It also controls the current flowing through them, so that it doesn't change and overdrive the leds when the voltage changes. This setup is 4 rows in parallel of 6 led's wired in series. If you are curious about the circuit, here is the basic plan I followed. RGB Color Controllable High Power LED Room + Spot Lighting: circuit operation - Instructables - DIY, How To, home, tech . The led's are mounted on what seemed like a strange fancy aluminum fluorescent bulb fixture which were given to us, when they didn't know what it was at the closeout store. We cut the fixtures down into 26inch lengths and used high temp silicon to glue the leds to each fixture. Yes, those are clothes hangers holding them up....only temporary as we need to source a drill from someone.
We have two cheapo flourescent bulbs that were temporary for the first 4 days or so until I got the LED fixtures built. They are in with the LED fixture just because we figure there can't be enough light, and are rigged up messily, but I am open to any suggestions on changing the setup. There is a largish fan for circulating air in the closet, and a small fan mounted right over the led driver circuit to prolong its life.
Now to the plants....There are 13 total in there, with many of them being planted at different times over the past 10 days or so. The stems were a bit skinny, so that's when we got the fan, and have recently added dirt close up to the small clover leaves. We have also recently got some vigoro 24-8-16 all purpose plant food for vegging, and have added 1/2 a tsp to a gallon of water like it says on the container for seedlings. I am curious to how often this is to be used. It says on it every 14-28 days to use it, but it seems like people here use plant food more often.
Also, I am unsure on the watering. I am thinking about getting a hydrometer tomorrow to help, but it just seems like I am scared of overwatering, but at the same time the soil is hard to judge if it is too dry. The seedlings started off fast, but then kinda slowed down after a few days. I guess the lack of light to begin with could of been one cause. One of the more recent seedlings in the last few days has only been up while the leds have been in and has developed a much larger stem and has almost caught up with the others that are around 7-9 days old.
Overall, I'd just like some input on the whole setup, and what I could change within reason to produce better results. Anyone who would like to watch to see what a high output LED setup can do is more than welcome to keep up with this grow, but there is room for newbie error too. However, all the LED haters, go your way, I've read enough of the hating in some of the other threads. I believe alot of people would rather be able to brag about their lighting setups, than their results. It helps none with the interest and experimentation with alternative lighting methods. Thanks for looking!
