Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
Are you top ligghting or intra cannopy?
Buddies, side-light and under-canopy LEDs
- Thread starter Prawn Connery
- Start date
Humple
Well-Known Member
Man... I just don't know yet. Been contemplating and trying to come up with a way to top-light, using whatever I have lying about. Final decision is still a ways off, because I need to redo the ventilation for the tent anyway, and give it a good cleaning. And before I get to that I need to get the outdoor veggie garden in and a greenhouse up for some autos. So much to do!
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
You can use them in the greenhouse for autos aswell. They are waterproof
Humple
Well-Known Member
This is my first time setting up a greenhouse, and really the first serious attempt at outdoor. (I did throw a few plants outside a couple of years ago, but decided beforehand that I wouldn't tend to them - it was a "let nature take its course" experiment.) This year will be our trial run, and provided it goes well, we're thinking of upgrading to a bigger, better greenhouse next year. But anyway, this year, I'm not going to bother with any light supplementation for the autos. Next year I'll run underground water and power to the new greenhouse (assuming we proceed with this plan) and that will allow some lighting to be used, if need be.
Now if my seeds would just arrive... Damn package hit the nearby USPS sorting facility on 5/17, but no movement since then. I'm otherwise a very patient man, but waiting on packages and waiting in a doctor's office are two things that drive me mad with frustration.
That looks awesome man, got me thinking about maybe trying to throw a string in each of my totes that I let my soil recycle in. It seems like it could be really useful to help keep the soil more active by growing a cover crop while things are breaking down a bit. Might be a project for tomorrow, but I love to procrastinate.
I just transplanted a couple plants to their final pots yesterday though and am trying to decide how to incorporate two strings in my 2x2.5ft tent and have a couple questions if you don't mind answering. First, is adhering them to tent walls something you would do again or should I find some other option for using as side lighting? I have 2x strings of each 4k and pc reds and I have 2x xlg-25 drivers to power each set of 2. My second question is would you mix the two spectrums for side lighting, one of each, or would you go all one or the other? Also, I am going full cycle under some highlights boards if that is a factor for your suggestion.
I know these are fairly new to you as well, but would appreciate your input as I've gathered a lot from you all already.
Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
Mate, if you are sure you want them in your tent, I would still recommend sticking them to the walls. It's only if you are unsure about removing them at some point that it will be a problem, because those 3M stickers are a bastard to get off! If you do need to get them off you'll need to rub them down with alcohol.
I like the combined spectrum of the red and 4000K, but I am going to add another row of 4000K in there, so I will have a ratio of 2:1 (currently 1:1). With the diffuser lenses on the Buddies I would mount them solely as side lighting or under-canopy. I think as a top light the lens isn't suited unless you run them very close to the plants – almost on top of them – and even then penetration would be an issue. Better to supplement the top light that is already penetrating into the canopy with side lighting to increase the amount of light throughout. That's my theory anyway.
I like the combined spectrum of the red and 4000K, but I am going to add another row of 4000K in there, so I will have a ratio of 2:1 (currently 1:1). With the diffuser lenses on the Buddies I would mount them solely as side lighting or under-canopy. I think as a top light the lens isn't suited unless you run them very close to the plants – almost on top of them – and even then penetration would be an issue. Better to supplement the top light that is already penetrating into the canopy with side lighting to increase the amount of light throughout. That's my theory anyway.
Thank you for the response, saved me from a lot of hassle it sounds like. I will be taking the tents down after this run probably, so may just hold off on rigging them up for now.
I think I may try and set them up in my soil bins still though. I have 2x4000k strings with an xlg-25 to power them so would end up with only 12 watts per bin. I'll have to see how it all works out, but I think that'll be enough to at least get things sporuted and rooting which is all I'm really after. I think these buddies could be really beneficial to the whole organic soil method. I'd end up with an active root zone (if only a few inches down, still more than just sitting after things are broken down) and plenty of green vegetation to use for either a mulch or to make teas/ferments out of. I'm actually really excited about trying this. Plus it seems to be a very easy set up. As long as I don't vegetate into my couch on my day off this weekend I should be able to knock it out. Pictures to come..
Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
Buddies got roots. Buddies Cloners are my new favouite thing. 
coreywebster
Well-Known Member
Post man brought me a little treat
Got them for a great price from Grow lights Australia
Got a slight boner.
Should work out great for my 3x3 tent once its free.
Got them for a great price from Grow lights Australia
Got a slight boner.
Should work out great for my 3x3 tent once its free.
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Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
Added another row of 4000K CRI95 Buddies to my tent. So that's a total of six strings now. I also swapped out the 60W Osram driver for an XLG-100-24 driver.
Natural light
A bit of flash
Combined spectrum, High Lights + Buddies = 95 CRI
Natural light
A bit of flash
Combined spectrum, High Lights + Buddies = 95 CRI
Mikenike
Well-Known Member
Got the whites hung last week and probably won’t hang the reds. It was pretty difficult trying to put them up with a full tent. But it looks like it’s helping the lower edges quite a bit. Nugs closest to the lights are definitely looking better than the lower middle of the canopy Will probably re-hang all of them once I reset since the strings are uneven
Grow Lights Australia
Well-Known Member
Nicely done! What driver are you using and how many strings of Buddies are there? Looks like two strings or 30W is that right?
Mikenike
Well-Known Member
Thanks I’ve got a few inquirers about when these will be available. It’s 4 strings on an xlg 75
Grow Lights Australia
Well-Known Member
According to Teknik they're ready now and on their way to Australia. As soon as we get them we'll let you know!
Humple
Well-Known Member
Finally got my Buddies up. I originally wanted to attach them to the main fixture, but that proved too much of an undertaking, so I went with side-lighting. Attached the Buddies to wire racks (former greenhouse shelving) using electrical tape, and hung them using spare straps from grow tents (I plan to switch the hangers to something else that will give me more length).
Not the prettiest setup, but it allows me to relocate the Buddies without peeling them off the tent wall. Looking forward to growing with them!
Not the prettiest setup, but it allows me to relocate the Buddies without peeling them off the tent wall. Looking forward to growing with them!
Lot's of options these days, maybe velcro or something like this?
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Humple
Well-Known Member
I actually have some velcro tape I could have used, but I wanted the ability to adjust the Buddies up and down. The velcro is definitely a legit option though!
Found out ima be stuck with my small set up for a bit longer so I decided to wire up the 4k buddies. Using 2x strings hooked up to an xlg-25. One string in each bin.
Have some flat bar that won't be used for a while so used those to stick the diodes on. Going to try and use them on my spare soil totes for now. Sprinkled a bunch of clover/nettle/fenugreek in there for now to see how it all plays out. Hoping to be able to use some of the sprouts for mulches/ferments on the next run after this harvest in a a few weeks or so. After this run is done, I will probably move them into my growing space.
Hopefully I'll be back to update as things progress in there..
Have some flat bar that won't be used for a while so used those to stick the diodes on. Going to try and use them on my spare soil totes for now. Sprinkled a bunch of clover/nettle/fenugreek in there for now to see how it all plays out. Hoping to be able to use some of the sprouts for mulches/ferments on the next run after this harvest in a a few weeks or so. After this run is done, I will probably move them into my growing space.
Hopefully I'll be back to update as things progress in there..
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Stick_man
Active Member
Got myself some buddies as well the other day. I love how versatile they are and have so many applications I want to try them in.
At the moment I have 4 string's 2 in 4k and 2 of the red I'm keeping one of each for my set-up and the other 2 will be going into a HPS set-up.
So I made a temporary rig to get them into my 4x4 until I can fix them more permanently next cycle.
The only problem is now I need more buddies
At the moment I have 4 string's 2 in 4k and 2 of the red I'm keeping one of each for my set-up and the other 2 will be going into a HPS set-up.
So I made a temporary rig to get them into my 4x4 until I can fix them more permanently next cycle.
The only problem is now I need more buddies
BlackmoreRulz
Active Member
Where do you get these red buddies?