LED Light Pods

Absolutely. I wouldn't waste your time on those light rails. My LED light currently has 1904 5mm LEDs on it, at 112 watts, and it does not measure up to a 400 HPS. Not because there isnt an abundance of light of the blue and red spectrums that plants eat, its about the way LEDs emit light and its about lumens per square foot.

Because LED lights are directional, the whole mylar/vizscren plastic idea for bouncing light to the lower branches is pretty much annulled by the directional light.

You end up with a lack of light onto the lower fan leaves, causing growth to slow underneath. If you let the plant get over 12 inches it then begins to stretch and become top heavy.

So as a vegging light say up to a foot, LEDs are fine.

The next issue is lumens per square foot. Almost none of the LED suppliers will go into this detail. Most because they do not understand the amount of light intensity plants need to speed grow, and perhaps some of them do, so they leave it out for more sinister reasons.

As I understand it, plants will veg at a fairly fast pace if you are providing them with more than 2500 lumens per square foot at the top leaves. I tested my LED setup with a light meter which says its outputting around 4000 lumens per square foot of light. It does that consistantly from about 2 inches from the LEDs to about 12 inches below the LEDs. After that it diminishes rapidly.

So my results in the grow area match the math, there is plenty of light for vegging and I can veg up a foot of bushy tight noded growth in about 2 and a half weeks from clones. I place my lamp about 2-3 inches above the top leaves and light will penetrate down to the bottom branches on anything 12 inches in depth below.

However it takes more than 10000 lumens per square foot of correct spectrum light at the top of the plants to successfully grow 'big bud'. So LEDs have a ways to go yet before being able to emulate an HPS.

The other issue with the directional light emitted from LEDs, is that you need a lot of coverage of LEDs. i.e. a 400 mH and shade can easily 'veg' (not bud) an area of 4 foot square. With LEDs if you really wanted to match the metal halide, you would need a 3 foot square of LED lights to match.

My current lamp is 60cm x 40cm and the light from that covers about 3 foot x 2 foot of grow area at just over a foot from the top of the pots (pots are about a foot high, so 2 feet from the floor). When I say 'covers', I mean, covers it as good as a metal halide would for vegging.

600 watts would be equivilant to aprox. 1500 watts according to ppl who sell the products

Click to expand...

heh yeah you see a lot of that, even much more inflated than that. Some even claim the 90 watt UFO matches a 600 HPS...

1:3 ratio is fine if all you are doing is vegging. But the thing with LEDs is that a 600 watt LED lamp is huge. Its just the same thing as I have but more of them. The overall lumens per foot output is no different so it still wont bud like an HPS or CFLs will. It will however veg a large area since the area of those 600 watt LED lamps being advertised is substantial.

Ive just purchased another couple of thousand LEDs and am making up a new light. Unlike my current light which has the 4000mcd (megacandela) blue LEDs and 8000mcd red, these are 10000 and 20000mcd LEDs. The new light will have around 3800 LEDs and covering twice the area as my current light.

So I am keen to get it finished and tested under the light meter.

Moderators, I'm sorry but this is such a scam and people are being taken advantage of.

PennyWise, your full of BS trying to sell a scam of a product. LEDs have a lower electrical efficiency than HPS which means watt for watt they run hotter than HPS (no way around thermodynamics). LEDs have a typical electrical efficiency of 20% while a HPS on a digital ballast is closer to 28-30%. NASA research has shown that the spectrum of HPS is at best 15% less efficient than an optimized spectrum. Watt for watt HPS is still more efficient for growing at a much lower price.

There is not a single peer reviewed paper that shows that LEDs give a significantly better yield over HPS watt for watt. If you're making such a claim and can't back it up then you're full of BS.

Your light puts out about 50 umol/sec of total light so over a 5x5 area the plants will receive about 20 umol/meter^2/sec of light. Full sunlight is 2000 umol/meter^2/sec of light and C3 plants like saturate at 1000. For good budding one should run at a light intensity of at least 500 umol/meter^2/sec. Photosynthesis is a linear process and this paragraph mathematically shows why your claim of covereing 5x5 feet is BS.

Man, I can go on and on and easily refute everyone of your claims. Bottom line, LEDs grow lights will not work as advertised. Anyone who has tried flowering pot plants is going to back this claim.

These BS anecdotes of getting 2 grams per watt or what ever are just that, BS.

Don't waste your money people! When people try to talk up LED grow lights the first thing one should ask is, "what are they trying to sell...?".

D'oh, where did Pennywise posts go?

I stumbled upon this blog this might help you find your answer if you click on the links on the left of the page it will take you to suppliers for more info. http://growingwithledlights.blogspot.com/:leaf:

oddicalbird said:

I stumbled upon this blog this might help you find your answer if you click on the links on the left of the page it will take you to suppliers for more info. http://growingwithledlights.blogspot.com/:leaf:

Click to expand...

You haven't been banned yet?

i have not tried LED's but there was a section in the questions and answers at the back of the high times mag that was talking about them and goerge said he went to a grow show in spain and there was a man there that made LED's for growing and he had proof that his worked. i dont know if it did or not. let me see if i can find that month with the website in it.

ok found it. it is the nov 08 issue and the website is www.ledsgrow.es dont know spanish or how to read the damn charts so if there is someone on here that can do that stuff than check it out and let us know if it is worth the time and money or not. atleast this website does not say you will get the equivalnt of a 400 hps

There are some good reasonably priced LED grow lights available, but everyone should know by now that the current comercially available LED grow lights mostly come in only 2 little slices of the PAR spectrum. Usually at about 470nm
in blue and 630nm in red. Therefore, LEDs are not suitable (yet) to be used as a primary light source. When LED manufacturers start making bright LEDs available in each color of the PAR spectrum, then will the technology be useful as a primary light source.

However, as a supplimental light source, I think they work absolutely fabulous. We tried growing under just LEDs and had very little success. And as everyone else seems to be reporting, it did work better in the veg area than in the bloom. The draw back was skinny stems that are not able to support bud weight. We were using all blue LEDs in the VEG, and a mix of 2 reds to one blue in the bloom.

When we noticed that this just was not going to work, we got this bright idea to move the red/blues into veg and the all blues into bloom. We also added back some of the HID lighting we were using before, HPS in bloom, and MH in veg.
What happened was like shock and awe. Suddenly the stems got hugely thick, and the leaves just got garganchuous. The plants went into a "super growth mode"

In the veg we had mounted the red / blue panels 24" above the Plants, and suspended the 1000W MH 12" under the LEDs and 12" above the plants. For the mid sized veggers, the MH is stationary, and over the larger veggers the MH is on a light mover, but all the LEDs are stationary. Above the stationary MH we have 6 - 55watt red/blue panels, and above the moving MH we have 4 - 55 watt red/blue panels.

For cloning, we are using 2 - 14watt red / blue LED panels combined with 3 - 48" T-5 flourescents. Boasting a 100% success rate there. All of our clones are making it. Havent lost one in months.

We are using 55 watt LED panels that we purchased from RF Trading on eBay. The guy's name is Frank, and he gave us super deal when we purchased like 10 - 55 watt panels at a time, $85ea + free shipping. Im sure that every order will have it's own pricing merits, so dont take this as what you will pay if you buy from RF trading. That will depend on your communication skills and the number of panels you order. Tell Frank that Dank Angel sent you.

The same in Bloom, except in bloom, the HPS lights are all on light movers under the LEDs. In the bloom though, we added the ALL blue panels, again 24" above, then the HPS lights travel just 12" below them, and 12" above the plants. We have only a couple homemade red blue panels in the bloom facing in at a 45 degree angle from the perimiter. These were made from super bright .5 watt, 5 chips LEDs from "Topbright" on eBay. Topbright is located in China, so your order could take a month to arrive.

We are getting buds the size of my fist and dense tight tastey nugs to. We didnt get that with just the HPS lights, and no-where near that with just LEDs. So I am convinced that LEDs work great as supplimental lighting added to your HID lighting. LEDs will also reduce the number of HIDs needed. I know it seems backwards to add blue to bloom and red to veg, but believe me, it worked ROCKIN ! It makes sense when you realize that adding those colors to those areas simply rounds out the light spectrum there respectively. The MH bulbs lack red, and the HPS bulbs lack blue.

You can read about this all at www.dankangel.com on the Medical Marijuana Activism page complete with photos.

Safe access to medicine. It's the law in Washington State - RCW 69.51a ( Each patient is allowed to grow 15 plants and posses up to 24 ounces of dried cured meds ). Fight for change in your state if you are not afforded the same rights.

DankAngel said:

There are some good reasonably priced LED grow lights available, but everyone should know by now that the current comercially available LED grow lights mostly come in only 2 little slices of the PAR spectrum. Usually at about 470nm
in blue and 630nm in red. Therefore, LEDs are not suitable (yet) to be used as a primary light source. When LED manufacturers start making bright LEDs available in each color of the PAR spectrum, then will the technology be useful as a primary light source.

However, as a supplimental light source, I think they work absolutely fabulous. We tried growing under just LEDs and had very little success. And as everyone else seems to be reporting, it did work better in the veg area than in the bloom. The draw back was skinny stems that are not able to support bud weight. We were using all blue LEDs in the VEG, and a mix of 2 reds to one blue in the bloom.

When we noticed that this just was not going to work, we got this bright idea to move the red/blues into veg and the all blues into bloom. We also added back some of the HID lighting we were using before, HPS in bloom, and MH in veg.
What happened was like shock and awe. Suddenly the stems got hugely thick, and the leaves just got garganchuous. The plants went into a "super growth mode"

In the veg we had mounted the red / blue panels 24" above the Plants, and suspended the 1000W MH 12" under the LEDs and 12" above the plants. For the mid sized veggers, the MH is stationary, and over the larger veggers the MH is on a light mover, but all the LEDs are stationary. Above the stationary MH we have 6 - 55watt red/blue panels, and above the moving MH we have 4 - 55 watt red/blue panels.

For cloning, we are using 2 - 14watt red / blue LED panels combined with 3 - 48" T-5 flourescents. Boasting a 100% success rate there. All of our clones are making it. Havent lost one in months.

We are using 55 watt LED panels that we purchased from RF Trading on eBay. The guy's name is Frank, and he gave us super deal when we purchased like 10 - 55 watt panels at a time, $85ea + free shipping. Im sure that every order will have it's own pricing merits, so dont take this as what you will pay if you buy from RF trading. That will depend on your communication skills and the number of panels you order. Tell Frank that Dank Angel sent you.

The same in Bloom, except in bloom, the HPS lights are all on light movers under the LEDs. In the bloom though, we added the ALL blue panels, again 24" above, then the HPS lights travel just 12" below them, and 12" above the plants. We have only a couple homemade red blue panels in the bloom facing in at a 45 degree angle from the perimiter. These were made from super bright .5 watt, 5 chips LEDs from "Topbright" on eBay. Topbright is located in China, so your order could take a month to arrive.

We are getting buds the size of my fist and dense tight tastey nugs to. We didnt get that with just the HPS lights, and no-where near that with just LEDs. So I am convinced that LEDs work great as supplimental lighting added to your HID lighting. LEDs will also reduce the number of HIDs needed. I know it seems backwards to add blue to bloom and red to veg, but believe me, it worked ROCKIN ! It makes sense when you realize that adding those colors to those areas simply rounds out the light spectrum there respectively. The MH bulbs lack red, and the HPS bulbs lack blue.

You can read about this all at www.dankangel.com on the Medical Marijuana Activism page complete with photos.

Safe access to medicine. It's the law in Washington State - RCW 69.51a ( Each patient is allowed to grow 15 plants and posses up to 24 ounces of dried cured meds ). Fight for change in your state if you are not afforded the same rights.

Click to expand...

Photos are added to my profile for this post.

I wanted to add that, our clones are rooting in just 7 days under the LED, T-5 combination.

We take 6 small translucent plastic cups ( 8oz) that you can get from the grocery store, snip little holes in the bottoms for drainage, then fill them about 3/4 fill of Sunshine Mix #4. Translucent cups make it easier to see when roots appear.

We set up a station with pre mixed Dipp & Grow solution and Rootone Powder.

Using the water from our dehumidifier, we mix a LARGE plastic cup ( 16 - 24oz) with the water, 1/4 cap of Clonex clone nutrients, and 3 drops of Liquid Karma from Botanicare.

We also place 6 Rapid Rooter plugs in a cup and cover them to pre-soak in distilled water.

If you smoke ciggarettes (yuk), wash, and I mean scrub your hands and especially the fingertips you will be handling the cuttings with. Cuttings are EXTREMELY sensitive to nicotine poisening. Very few of the clones we have had that were taken by ciggy smokers have lived if they did not thouroughly scrub thier hands.
And I mean like a surgeon. Latex gloves can also be used.

Now, cut off the tops of the mother plants, right under a node with a NEW razor knife, at a 45 degree angle, cutting downward. A quick cut is best, not leaving jagged edges. VERY QUICKLY now, also cut off any leaves or stems at that node, close to the stem, and place the bottom of the cutting into the LARGE plastic cup with the clonex-Liquid Karma solution. Speed is of the essance. Take 5 more clones just like this. QUICKLY. Each clone should be at least 4 - 6" tall. I cant exspress enough how quickly this entire process needs to happen.

Now, one at a time, take a cutting out of the cup and immidiately place the stem ( covering the node ) into the dip & grow solution for about 30 seconds, while it's soaking, grab the first rapid rooter, and lightly squeeze out any water that is dripping, but do not sqeeze it dry. Use
a screw driver or wood dowel to slightly enlarge the hole in the rapid rooter plug

Take the cutting from the Dipp & Grow, and stick the bottom node into the Rootone Powder and coat the bottom of the stem with it, and be sure it is coated 360 degrees around the stem and node where you removed the leaves and stems.

Now quickly insert the coated end into the rapid rooter plug being carefull not to kink it, place the plug into one of the small cups of dirt, add more dirt to just cover the top of the rapid rooter, and water the clone in with distilled water. Be carefull and lift the lower leaves so you dont get the leaves all dirty while adding
more sunshine mix.

Mist the clone and place it in a warm, clear lidded grow dome. Mist the inside of the grow dome for more humidity. The grow dome should be placed under 28 watts of - red/blue LEDs, combined with flourescent lights. Our 14 watt panels have 225 of the smaller 5mm LEDs each.

Now raidly repeat this for each of the remaining 5 clones. SPEED is essential in the entire process. I often take and set 6 clones in under 15 minuets.

For the 1st 24 - 48 hours, the clones may get wilted, and lay down or flop over the side of the cup. But if they stay nice and green, they are OK. Do not let leaves touch the inside of the humidity dome.

Keeping the humidity dome on for the first 4 - 5 days, removing it only to mist, and then romove it for up to 30 minuets per day until roots appear. Mist the clones daily while under the dome. Mist inside the dome daily. The clone chamber should be around 80 degrees farinhiet.

When roots appear, the plants should maintain under those lights without the dome. If they sort of wilt when you take off the dome, it is too early to remove it completely. Do not allow young clones to be exposed to HID lighting until they are showing good positive new growth, and while still small, keep them around 18" to 24" under the HIDs.

Our cloning success rate before using LEDs in combination with flourescent lighting was around 90 - 95%, but since supplimenting with LEDs we have gotton a 100% clone success rate.

I have gotton one clone to root under just LED lights. Goofing around in fact, I had left over rooting hormone, and I added distilled water to that, and left the stem of a clone hanging into the solution over the edge of a plastic cup, without a rapid rooter or dirt. I placed the cup under the 14 watt LED panels, with no dome. I giggled every day the clone did not die, and in just 10 days it shot out roots, and was transplanted into dirt. Go figure.

I have built and have begun testing an enhanced spectrum LED grow light.
You can see and read all about it at the following link.

http://home.comcast.net/~dankangel/site/?/page/The_X-tra_Spec_LED_grow_light/

I will be posting results and photos weekly, showing the progress of the
prototype testing.

So there are some really inexpensive LED's on ebay.

Are they all just crap? I was considering getting a couple of blue light spectrum one's just for seedlings and to enhance my grow in the early stages. I basically plan on putting the plants outdoors when the weather permits. Until then I figured I could run the blue LED's at night and allow them to get full sun during the day when it is a bit warmer.

Dumb idea?

DownOnWax said:

So there are some really inexpensive LED's on ebay.

Are they all just crap? I was considering getting a couple of blue light spectrum one's just for seedlings and to enhance my grow in the early stages. I basically plan on putting the plants outdoors when the weather permits. Until then I figured I could run the blue LED's at night and allow them to get full sun during the day when it is a bit warmer.

Dumb idea?

Click to expand...

Try Contacting [email protected]
and tell him Dank Angel sent ya.
He'll treat you right. LED's work best when combined with HID Lighting.
Blue in Bloom and red / blue in veg.
Seems backwards, but it works. Use red / blue on your seedlings.
2 reds to 1 blue. combined with t-5 flourescent.

I was thinking of getting a set from this site
link: http://www.besthomeledlighting.com/product/GL-90W?gclid=CNzdko29uJsCFVlM5QodS01CAw

what do you guys think of them? also I'm new to this so I was wondering how many of them id need for small crop

You guys need, UV in the spectrum of the LED cluster. Just blue and red isn't gonna doo it. I hade to place 9 different colors tempretures before we could flower under them...

The SPECTRA UNIT's of which I developed the Spectrum to grow and flower cannabis is tested in this topic:
https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/187131-spectra-unit-90watt-led-grow-3.html


grtz

dokkie

What about the new dj led par cans or led panels?
I don't see the difference between a "grow light" and dj lights?
I'm new to this so be kind.
They can produce 16.7 million colors and are comprised of red,blue and green(built in work lights) leds.
Some of them have same wattage as grow led lights or around 40watts.

The main difference is that they cost 1/2 that of similar wattage

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Chauvet-LEDrain-64-801668-i1398777.gc

I don't know, Just a thought. I have a friend with 4 led dj lights that I'm going to try on some bag seed.
Will keep you posted.

BTW, Who bought jorge's $22 booklet? I bought it and has lots of info, but lots of fluff....
I know I'm going to take some shots for this

i bought a few panels from led wholesellers got some clones rootin under them now. I will keep yall posted on how things are going

Hello everybody,

My interest in LED grow lights is for Algae but the mechanics are the same.

I have found some super bright 5mm led and using a PCB board of my design (12"x2" 42@ led) can use metal picture frames to build and test several designs.

E-mail me for a pdf of the pcb board. If anybody is interested in getting some e-mail me at [email protected].

I tried to attach it but it was to big.