Senseimilla
Well-Known Member
Comparisons have been done. Last one I saw LED won on g/watt.
Led Users Unite!
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growmoreboy
Member
So is this a SOG grow? How many watts and what is the size? I have found that 30watts leds per sq/ft on a tracker (moving only a couple of feet) works well for veg. I also have a suspicion that to mix LEDs and HIDs would work best. When I first started using LEDs, the typical red/blue ones I did not get very good results. I wasn't till I added white spots and then a tracker that results seemed to surpass HIDs in Veg. (Plants did not stretch under LEDs). HIDs are a pain though because you need to vent the cooling tube and it just gets worse with a tracker. Not that LEDs produce no heat. They are hyped about this but the HIDs have a technology (cool tube) to remove the heat. With LEDs the heat is just added to the room so in my case the temp is barely lower. Seems to me there should be a way to remove this LED heat more efficiently. After last nights big fatty I got to work almost destroying one of my LED UFOs. Why is it that when something does not work you tend to push on it harder. My goal was to find a way to vent away the heat from a UFO. All the ones I have, have 3 fans blowing in. So I opened it up and flipped over one fan so that one blows out. It was more difficult than I imagined but I was able to do it. Now there are 2 blowing in and this switched one blowing out. Now all I would need to to hook up the blowing out one to a vent like in a cool tube. I did notice that the unit seemed to run cooler with this 2 in - 1 out configuration but it could just be the 2nd fatty. It does blow the heat up and away from the canopy. Before you try this I did scratch a wire and crack a fan casing so think about that. I was able to fix it all. Next time though I should be better at it. With my spots I haven't yet figured out how to remove that heat. They do get hot and it all adds up. Of course compared to an HID the heat output is low but as mentioned earlier the cool tube technology works well.
S1ingblade
Member
So far I have had unwelcome results with the led growing lights I'm using. I am not going to quit quite yet, if something doesn't start helping I will go back to the HID's next run.
Senseimilla
Well-Known Member
You came to the right place! Lots of knowledgable LED people here. Need to know:
a) What brand/model/wattage light you have
b) How far the lights are from the top of the plants
c) When you say 'unwelcome' results, need more explanation of what kind
d) What kind of soil/hydro/nutes/etc you using
e) Are you supplementing cal-mag?
I had great results with my LEDs, and I know others have too. LEDs are a bit different and do take some different tweaks compared to HID to get best results. I've only grown with Blackstars so they're the only ones I know for sure work
But I've seen good results with other brands and home made. Unless you bought the shittiest/cheapest chinese LED or it's outdated (mine are 2012s, I've heard previous years had more issues), it's probably something you can tweak.
dank smoker420
Well-Known Member
why did you ask if he is supplementing with cal/mag? do plants under leds need more cal/mag than normal plants?You came to the right place! Lots of knowledgable LED people here. Need to know:
a) What brand/model/wattage light you have
b) How far the lights are from the top of the plants
c) When you say 'unwelcome' results, need more explanation of what kind
d) What kind of soil/hydro/nutes/etc you using
e) Are you supplementing cal-mag?
I had great results with my LEDs, and I know others have too. LEDs are a bit different and do take some different tweaks compared to HID to get best results. I've only grown with Blackstars so they're the only ones I know for sure work
okcomputer
Active Member
I'm getting good results so far, it's just a matter of using a good quality light, making sure your wattage is not right for the space/number of plants growing, and tweaking certain things in your grow. For example, when using a soilless mix I found that a lighter mix is needed because LED's don't evaporate water as fast as HID's. So to keep my roots from staying damp and not getting enough oxygen, I use a mix with a lot of perlite. Thats just an example... But don't give up, growing should be a little bit of a challenge and the technology is here despite what anyone says.
Senseimilla
Well-Known Member
Some people (including me) believe so
Ca-Mg deficiencies seem to be a lot more common for LED grows, particularly Mg.
dank smoker420
Well-Known Member
so they would need more cal/mag than a plant under other light? i have a plant that is showing a weird cal/mag like deficiency it is only on the leaves that are closer/closest to the light which is 160w led and is 10 inches above the topsSome people (including me) believe so
eyecandi
Well-Known Member
I would disagree with the 'uses less water' quote. my Bubba Danko is drinking her 5gal almost dry daily (moisture meter is 2-4 out of a 10 all around the rootball). are you using airpots, standard plastic or ??
my own data testing shows airpots (fabric) far out perform and outyield any other soil potting solutions out there (the cost-benefit ratio is off the charts. I've yielded 2x the amount with just changing pots). they supply massive amounts of breathing to the roots and create conditions to make a massive rootball, quicker.
today's pics of the girls, a few weeks to go on the BD in the middle
View attachment 2282297
View attachment 2282301View attachment 2282300View attachment 2282299View attachment 2282298
Senseimilla
Well-Known Member
Yup -- my yields so far are about 50-100% more than for the same size normal pot. I also find late into flower mine are sucking up just as much water as under an HPS - at that point it's more the plant removing the water from the soil than the environment.
Rcb
Well-Known Member
a) What brand/model/wattage light you have
Apache Tech/AT120RB/156w
b) How far the lights are from the top of the plants
20"-22"
c) When you say 'unwelcome' results, need more explanation of what kind
d) What kind of soil/hydro/nutes/etc you using
Happy Frog,Dyna-Gro Nutes. DWC,House&Garden Nutes
e) Are you supplementing cal-mag?
yes,i only use R/O water so i have to supplement Cal-mag I use CaliMagic From Gh
Apache Tech/AT120RB/156w
b) How far the lights are from the top of the plants
20"-22"
c) When you say 'unwelcome' results, need more explanation of what kind
d) What kind of soil/hydro/nutes/etc you using
Happy Frog,Dyna-Gro Nutes. DWC,House&Garden Nutes
e) Are you supplementing cal-mag?
yes,i only use R/O water so i have to supplement Cal-mag I use CaliMagic From Gh
Senseimilla
Well-Known Member
So is it soil or hydro? You said happy frog which is usually soil and DWC which is hydro? Happy frog soil for me usually causes overwatering lockout if I don't add extra perlite.
Not familiar with the Apache LEDs.
Distance sounds about right, but may need to be higher, particularly if seedlings.
Got any pics of the problems?
Not familiar with the Apache LEDs.
Distance sounds about right, but may need to be higher, particularly if seedlings.
Got any pics of the problems?
okcomputer
Active Member
I also Use Airpots. I just find that there is no need for as much water as when I was using HPS. Theres a line between how much water the plant actually uses, and how much gets evaporated. In my small grows I notice these things based on how often I've had to go to the water store to get RO water in the past vs. present.
eyecandi
Well-Known Member
yes, the technology is mature and performance of the newer models are performing on par with a comparable HID. the differences are that with an HID setup, you are paying extra for cooling equip and electricity to run it, plus bulb changes every 6-8 months. consider those costs vs an LED panel that produces less thermal load, requiring less/minimal cooling and a 50k-100k hr lifespan. I spent more upfront for mine (@ the same as an HID with AC setup tho), but will save a lot more over it's lifetime
Senseimilla
Well-Known Member
The blackstars are the best buys. Mine grow weed just as good as any hps. You can argue that the more expensive brands have a more refined spectrum, more whites, better lenses, whatever, but i haven't seen any evidence that any other LED grows better/more weed than my blackstars, but the blackstars are 1/3-1/2 the cost of similar wattages of other companies. The only real reason to go with those other ones is if you buy into the company being around long enough to honor the superior warranty if you need it. Will they be around? Will they honor it? I wasn't willing to bet on that -- I went with blackstars. I can buy a replacement set of blackstars if all 6 of my lights for the same cost it would take to buy one set of lights for a similar wattage of the other manufacturers. Whatever I buy as a replacement will also most likely be better (not to mention new). You're welcome to spend a grand or two extra on lighting instead of buying blackstars and you'll probably feel cooler doing it, but are you going to grow any better or more weed I really doubt it. My very doable goal for this round (based on the per plant results I got with the same lights last grow) is 2-3 lbs. I could get up to 4 lbs. My 6 240w blackstars cost me a bit over $1500. They already saved me that on my first grow and I am stocked for months.
Will say it probably depends on your grow style too i grow in organically amended soil and i feel its ideal for led.
Will say it probably depends on your grow style too i grow in organically amended soil and i feel its ideal for led.
curly604
Well-Known Member
What up ill toxic, well I've used products from Vipar and from magnum I used to own a magnum 357 but man that thing was a cheap piece of shit seriously I had that thing and a spectra 290w both in my tent and the magnum looked like a toy compared to it and results said the same. Now although I have not used the magnum plus I can bet Dave or what ever his name is is back to his sketchy marketing techniques and just for that reason alone I would buy from him but when you break down the numbers the Vipar looks to be a better buy. The magnum + says it runs at 357watts or something like that but I doubt it does.....that's what they said about the first one and it only ran at 180w then you factor in that the mag plus costs 1200$ or so.....I would say that's problem nearing a 200% mark up on what he is paying....Fuck that! Looking at the Vipar unit you get 300w of true power for about half the price of the mag + so you could almost get 2 A300's for the same price. All that and I haven't really seen to much done journal wise with the mag pluses , so overall I think the choice is clear man don't put money into the pockets of people that don't give a shit about anything but money in fact its companies like magnum and many others that have held the led industry back with ridiculous lies and markups.