Need help with lighting for autoflower.

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Daniel Lawton

Well-Known Member
VACAVILLE said:
LED Grow Light bulb, Swiftrans 24W Full Spectrum High Efficient Hydroponic Plant
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That's the best one on ebay right now, if you want a low cost E26 with great wattage. I know, because I've bought more than 10 different lights so I could measure them with a wattage monitor my friend uses for crytomining.

LEVIN 36W was good (but now gone), and Swiftrans 24W is even better (so far). But be careful, there's 2 wattages listed for swiftrans lights on the net.

I just bought 3 more of the 24W on amazon to test out the consistency. You never know with China, especially since most grow bulbs are hugely overrated. I once bought a 54W bulb that was actually 8 watts. They rate the lights by the max amperage the leds can take before they burn up.

Then they power them at whatever is cheapest and lie like dogs to customers. No engineer at the factory is going to speak up, it's China. The nail that sticks up gets hammered. I have to deal with China everyday, only serious volumes of bad customer response get them to fix something. How the swiftrans turned out so well is a tribute to their engineer.

When I measure these new 3 swiftrans, I'll post it. But I think they might also be 20W! 20W out of 24W is t he best I've seen yet. The LEVIN was 19W, however it was rated at 36W. The 19W was only good because the price was so low (the same as swiftrans, about $12).

These spotlights are really precise, so it's wise to be careful with the babies. I just burned 3 plants that had started to grow a 3rd round of top leaves by not paying attention to the fact that they got taller. Turned the folds on the top of the leaves yellow.

AK47 is very good grown under these lights, with tons of sugary trichomes. Looks as good as medical marijuana if you trim it nicely. So is Amnesia Haze.
 
D

Daniel Lawton

Well-Known Member
Just measured 3 new swiftrans: 20W, 19W, 20W.

So they're good. The markings on the box in case anyone wants to check theirs in the future:

Barcode with X001GALCWT under it. Also has another sticker that says it's Swiftrans LED Grow Light...24w Plant Grow.

I've got a just sprouted Amnesia Haze. I'll grow it with the Swiftrans. My plants typically stay really short and very green, so it only takes a few layers of leaves to find out if the light is good.
 
VACAVILLE,CA.GROWER

VACAVILLE,CA.GROWER

Well-Known Member
Daniel Lawton said:
Just measured 3 new swiftrans: 20W, 19W, 20W.

So they're good. The markings on the box in case anyone wants to check theirs in the future:

Barcode with X001GALCWT under it. Also has another sticker that says it's Swiftrans LED Grow Light...24w Plant Grow.

I've got a just sprouted Amnesia Haze. I'll grow it with the Swiftrans. My plants typically stay really short and very green, so it only takes a few layers of leaves to find out if the light is good.
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Thank you for the reply.
So how far away do you want the light from the plant tops.
I would like to know from seedling to finish if possible.
Thank you
 
D

Daniel Lawton

Well-Known Member
Play it safe with seedlings. First day after sprouting, 2 feet away. If it gets a few real leaves, 18 inches.

After that, if it spreads out, it's hard to control the distance. Some parts will be close, some far.

But it's ok for it to be within 8 inches of a few leaves at the top. If they turn yellow (and it's slowly), move it around so those leaves aren't so close. Also, don't be lazy. Take the poor plant into sunlight or at least white light, to check it out. That pinkish light isn't very good for detecting yellowing.

These rules are for the Levin 36W, but I suspect this swiftrans is a bit more concentrated in its beam. So bottom line, watch for yellowing on the leaves and move it back.

No need to be greedy, you can use 24/7 on AK47 and it'll still flower and make perfect buds, better than full California sunshine in the summer and minus the disgusting bugs.

Can't use it 24/7 on anything with Blueberry autoflower in its genetics.

But the guys who do 20/4 on these dwarf autoflowers are worrying for no reason when it comes to LowRyder #2, AK47, White Widow, Super Skunk, Amnesia Haze, and Northern Lights. All will flower with no trouble under 24/7.

There's one claim I haven't figured out. It's said that if you keep the light 24/7 during flowering, you'll keep getting white pistils and it'll be hard to judge when it's done.

Yes, that's true. But it's done when a jewelers loop shows the trichomes are all cloudy and most are bent. Not when all the pistils have turned orange.

You need a good jewelers loop with built in leds. They're cheap these days.

A little digital microscope of a manual microscope is more than useless. You can't focus on enough. With the jewelers loop, your eyes can help the focus, your hand holding the loop can help, and the hand holding the bud can help. So you can see much better than one of those little microscopes.

If you learn to use E26 bulbs to grow autoflowers, it's time to get some bubble hash bags. You'll have plenty of pot from now on. If you learn to make fine grade kief, you won't believe how good that stuff is.
 
VACAVILLE,CA.GROWER

VACAVILLE,CA.GROWER

Well-Known Member
Daniel Lawton said:
Play it safe with seedlings. First day after sprouting, 2 feet away. If it gets a few real leaves, 18 inches.

After that, if it spreads out, it's hard to control the distance. Some parts will be close, some far.

But it's ok for it to be within 8 inches of a few leaves at the top. If they turn yellow (and it's slowly), move it around so those leaves aren't so close. Also, don't be lazy. Take the poor plant into sunlight or at least white light, to check it out. That pinkish light isn't very good for detecting yellowing.

These rules are for the Levin 36W, but I suspect this swiftrans is a bit more concentrated in its beam. So bottom line, watch for yellowing on the leaves and move it back.

No need to be greedy, you can use 24/7 on AK47 and it'll still flower and make perfect buds, better than full California sunshine in the summer and minus the disgusting bugs.

Can't use it 24/7 on anything with Blueberry autoflower in its genetics.

But the guys who do 20/4 on these dwarf autoflowers are worrying for no reason when it comes to LowRyder #2, AK47, White Widow, Super Skunk, Amnesia Haze, and Northern Lights. All will flower with no trouble under 24/7.

There's one claim I haven't figured out. It's said that if you keep the light 24/7 during flowering, you'll keep getting white pistils and it'll be hard to judge when it's done.

Yes, that's true. But it's done when a jewelers loop shows the trichomes are all cloudy and most are bent. Not when all the pistils have turned orange.

You need a good jewelers loop with built in leds. They're cheap these days.

A little digital microscope of a manual microscope is more than useless. You can't focus on enough. With the jewelers loop, your eyes can help the focus, your hand holding the loop can help, and the hand holding the bud can help. So you can see much better than one of those little microscopes.

If you learn to use E26 bulbs to grow autoflowers, it's time to get some bubble hash bags. You'll have plenty of pot from now on. If you learn to make fine grade kief, you won't believe how good that stuff is.
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Thank you for the reply.
I have 2 AK47 going now.
They sprouted about 4 days ago.
I have them under a 26w 6500k cfl, they each are under there own bulb.
I also set them in the sunlight through the kitchen window.
I have them at 20/4, should I keep them at 20/4?
I just grow 2 plants at a time, just for a hobby.
 
D

Daniel Lawton

Well-Known Member
VACAVILLE said:
I have them at 20/4, should I keep them at 20/4?
I just grow 2 plants at a time, just for a hobby.
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No, do 24/7. AK47 is a super reliable autoflower.

Here's a tip for AK47. Keep a branch alive and let the lights continue to shine on it well past when you picked the other buds. If you still see green leaves on it, keep going.

If you're feeling greedy, tell yourself you're making all amber trichome pot, as an experiment. Nothing need be lost.


Chances are betteer than 30% the remaining branch will decide to go male and make a couple of pollen pods. If you have the light always on there, you'll likely still have a few white pistils coming out.

When you see some yellow pollen, fluff the pollen pods with the pistils, and you'll still have enough time to make mature seeds (with AK47). I've done it. I guess they call it stressing the plant to get it to go male, or something like that.

One time I saw a few pollen pods on an AK47 early on. As an experiment, I blew on them towards the flowers.

Got more than 50 seeds that way . Perfect female clone seeds I might add. They did not vary visible in genetics when I planted them.
 
VACAVILLE,CA.GROWER

VACAVILLE,CA.GROWER

Well-Known Member
Daniel Lawton said:
No, do 24/7. AK47 is a super reliable autoflower.

Here's a tip for AK47. Keep a branch alive and let the lights continue to shine on it well past when you picked the other buds. If you still see green leaves on it, keep going.

If you're feeling greedy, tell yourself you're making all amber trichome pot, as an experiment. Nothing need be lost.


Chances are betteer than 30% the remaining branch will decide to go male and make a couple of pollen pods. If you have the light always on there, you'll likely still have a few white pistils coming out.

When you see some yellow pollen, fluff the pollen pods with the pistils, and you'll still have enough time to make mature seeds (with AK47). I've done it. I guess they call it stressing the plant to get it to go male, or something like that.

One time I saw a few pollen pods on an AK47 early on. As an experiment, I blew on them towards the flowers.

Got more than 50 seeds that way . Perfect female clone seeds I might add. They did not vary visible in genetics when I planted them.
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Ok so autos dont need any dark period for alittle sleep?
 
whitebb2727

whitebb2727

Well-Known Member
You can use anything just about for lighting. If money is a problem keep using what you got and add more cfl.

I like t5. Its. Cheap and works. You can get a 4 foot 8 bulb for around 100 bucks.

These were in 15 inch wide pits under a 4 ft 8 bulb t5. Autos.
IMG_20170215_194218.jpg
I use led now. I use a unit farm led with cree and osram diodes. It works great. I also have a citizen cob light.

Hit unit farm up they got some deals going on. They may work with you on the price as well. They also make a lite model with bridgelux diodes a little cheaper.
 
IgrowUgrow

IgrowUgrow

Well-Known Member
LouixFrenchton said:
Hey man, I have one autoflower (skunk #1) under a 400w COB for reference. She was 4 weeks old yesterday.

I am well happy with it, keeps costs and heat low and she's growing perfect.

You have to be careful with distance, 2ft was too close as a seedling and got bit of light stress. 3ft possibly stretched her a little, but pre flower bud sites looking promising.

Have let her grow into the light and she's just 1.5ft from the light now, and is 55cm herself, still growing.
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So your saying a single 400w cob showed signs of light stress at 24", that's insane. Your room must be 100°, I keep my 600w platinums/800w cobs like 15" from canopy with no problem and trust me they are bright. I guess it's because of the low quality light you have or either something else is the issue. Just my 2c, good luck.
 
IgrowUgrow

IgrowUgrow

Well-Known Member
VACAVILLE said:
Thank you for the reply.
Should i just get the 400w mh/hps se
Ebay has a set for 86.00
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You could get whatever you want man, even if your a hobbiest and do this for fun it doesn't mean you can't do it right and reap the benefits. So good luck to you bud and be safe.
 
IgrowUgrow

IgrowUgrow

Well-Known Member
As for those 19w 20w and 26w swiftrans, they suck. Go for the 400w cob for 1 plant or a T5 8 bulb HO for a couple plants like 2 large plants or 4 medium-small.
 
IgrowUgrow

IgrowUgrow

Well-Known Member
I highly recommend even if you're a hobbyist to make it worth your while and do more than one plant at a time. I don't grow autoflowers because they're crossed in with Ruderalis to make them autoflower and they lose potency and are not the same quality as the original strain. Feminized seeds are also less potent and less stable so they are prone to Hermie. So you're growing a feminized Autoflower so the quality won't even be in comparison to what you could be growing. I'm just trying to help you out so you don't make the same mistake I did when I started, I did one plant and regretted it. Then I did to plants got over a pound under a 600 watt HPS using scrog in DWC bubble bucket and now I moved on to bigger and better things. Who wants to grow some of their own bud and get less than an ounce dry that will be gone in a week. I've been doing this for a while so if you have any other questions please ask.
 
IgrowUgrow

IgrowUgrow

Well-Known Member
The only Autoflower I found so far that was worth a damn is Mephisto Genetics (Sour Stomper). They are a feminized Autoflower and still reach over 20% THC up to 25%. But in comparison to my strains that are not sexed that I have to pull males from those are even inferior. I'm running Tiger Claw Gen (Illusion OG)(Lemon Squeeze), also North Coast Generic (Angel Cake Cookies), Stray Fox Genetics (Bubba Katsu x Blueberry Temple), and Old World Organics (Karma OG). These are some of the best strains I have run ever. I also have a unknown breeders strain called Blue Knight which is the best one I have and it the strongest tasting and smelling purp on the planet. It's a rare hybrid of Blueberry x Kryptonite, I had some bud from Colorado in medicine bottle and got a seed out of it. I planted it as a experiment and it ended up female but not only that it actually had amazing structure and was very stable which is very surprising. I even had a small light leak last year in which nearly all of my crop had hermies luckily it was late in flower and they had just started to Hermie but the blue knight didn't even Hermie and it blew my mind. Best strain I've ever grown/smoked/seen ever. All pics below are blue knight, had it around a year and still will. I'm going to use tissue culture technique to make sure it stays available forever even if it isn't in my rooms.
 

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IgrowUgrow

IgrowUgrow

Well-Known Member
Btw those pictures of blue knight buds are just tester buds I don't have any pics right now of a mature plant. I will in a few weeks. Ive never been big on taking pictures.
 
LouixFrenchton

LouixFrenchton

Member
IgrowUgrow said:
So your saying a single 400w cob showed signs of light stress at 24", that's insane. Your room must be 100°, I keep my 600w platinums/800w cobs like 15" from canopy with no problem and trust me they are bright. I guess it's because of the low quality light you have or either something else is the issue. Just my 2c, good luck.
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I think it was just when they were seedlings, too powerful. I keep it 1.5ft now and it's been fine

My light has four bulbs, not two, and powerful reflective lenses
 
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D

Daniel Lawton

Well-Known Member
IgrowUgrow said:
Who wants to grow some of their own bud and get less than an ounce dry that will be gone in a week.
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He speaks the truth. The 7 autoflowers I have will typically yield between 20 and 35g dried. But you can have 6 plants at a time in california, and 3 months is about their maturity time. So 2 ounces a month with little effort?

I disagree about the light. For starters, the last cob light I bought was only 8 watts, despite claiming to be 54 watts. So you can get a bad light in any form factor, and the real choice depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

An E26 with close to 20W is perfect for growing plants to under 12 inches. The swiftrans in particular seems to be doing very well on a sprout I placed him over last night. It has a lovely green led too, so the light doesn't look as pink, and it's easier to keep an eye on the leaves.

Bottom line is, there's different motivations for growing. Some advice on the web is for people trying to make money with the pot. That advice should be different than the advice for a housewife who just wants to grow one plant, because she can now (in California).
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
VACAVILLE said:
Thank you for the help.
So do you think the 400w cob would grow just 1 autoflower or a couple of plants?
I found almost the same 400w cob on ebay for about 89.00
I do this just for fun, so really not looking to spend so much on a light.
PopularGrow 400W COB LED Grow Light Full Spectrum 90° Reflector for indoor plant
400W COB Full Spectrum Indoor LED Grow Light For Veg & Flower Indoor Plant 69.99
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those cheap cobs are junk.they use the bridgelux full spectrum diodes that have an efficiency of 14% and do not last long. if you want a good LED your going to need to pay $500 or more. T5s, HPS/MH,CMH or high end LEDs that use cree or osram diodes will all grow good plants. LEDs sold on amazon or e-bay are a waste of money. for a tight budget this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KMW7RYM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 or this https://www.ebay.com/itm/T5-HO-Indoor-Grow-Light-2-ft-8-Bulbs-DL828S-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture-Veg/222107421531?hash=item33b6a24b5b:g:wFMAAOSwpDdU2WK~ work well in a 2ft by 2 ft grow area. I have and use both of these and am happy with the results I get.do a lot of research before buying anything. don't trust forums.
 

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F

frizzayy

Member
IgrowUgrow said:
I highly recommend even if you're a hobbyist to make it worth your while and do more than one plant at a time. I don't grow autoflowers because they're crossed in with Ruderalis to make them autoflower and they lose potency and are not the same quality as the original strain. Feminized seeds are also less potent and less stable so they are prone to Hermie. So you're growing a feminized Autoflower so the quality won't even be in comparison to what you could be growing. I'm just trying to help you out so you don't make the same mistake I did when I started, I did one plant and regretted it. Then I did to plants got over a pound under a 600 watt HPS using scrog in DWC bubble bucket and now I moved on to bigger and better things. Who wants to grow some of their own bud and get less than an ounce dry that will be gone in a week. I've been doing this for a while so if you have any other questions please ask.
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Some autos I'm growing reported 20% thc n up whatcha talking about Willis ??
 
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