First DIY GrowLed and Help needed

bizfactory said:

Looks good! Where did you find the aluminum U pieces?

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They are actually listed as C-channel. Biz.

bizfactory said:

Looks good! Where did you find the aluminum U pieces?

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I have contacted an ebay seller for aluminium profiles(C-channels in engl., thanks Aqua) and give him the needed specs. They are 2mm thick elox. aluminium, 900mm long, 120mm wide and 60mm high, 12,25$ p.p., perfect for 3 Alpine11 and the electric. The protective film is still on it, because I still needs to cut out the openings for the heat sinks. I will mount 2 safety bars on the ends so that the phosphors not touch the ground if you park it on the floor. On the back side a simple 2mm thick aluminum hole plate with 5mm holes in 8mm offset for good ventilation and heat dissipation.

Ok, after all this days i finally received everything (apart from a molex to 3 pin adapter to connect the arctic alpines to their driver which was lost and reordered today.) i was thinking to use the thermal paste which came stock with the arctic vents but while i was trying to figure out how to drill the holes for the ideal holders i noticed that is impossible to drill them without contaminating it with dentrites. so... i bought some arctic mx-4 to use after i have drilled all the holes and some isopropyl alcohol to clean up everything.
i'll throw somepictures tomorrow ...

Cali weed said:

I've been wondering about the pre applied paste myself bud, I've already purchased prolimatek pk3 and figured it's better, just wondering what the best way to remove stock paste was. Maybe I'll get it answered here. Good luck on your build!

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i've bought some isopropil alcohol.. it does not have any kind of effect on plastic metal or alluminium...

medicinehuman said:

That's to bad man.

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after all medicine... i opted for the ideal holders that you linked payed all the extras cause i could not find them anywhere cheaper ...
in the end i think its worth since i will have the possibility to avoid soldering and most of all to move everything around much more easily. so thank u...

Can't wait to see the end result bud

Hello there... i've got some end results after a few unexpected difficulties...
This is a Cxb 3590 on arctic 64 plus.I'ts the perfect size...
i've finished the smaller Cxb3070 but one of the arctics...the last one somehow ended up with larger holes after i drilled them and taped them like i did with all the others, it made me so i could not mount the cob holder... i have to try to find a solution on how to remedy this... i tried to fill the holes with some aluminium sheet but it was complicated and it didn't work...i ended my thermal paste in the end so i'll just have to finish them another day...
This is the Light with only the four Cxb 3590 on it... and it is fucking bright...

I dimmed the 2 5000k Cxb to 700ma drive the fans @ 5v ( they are practically silent as death @ 5v) even though @ 12 v they were pruducing a really good breeze but anyway they seem to be pretty cool @ 5v even very near the cob so i belive for now i'll run them like this ... if i drive the cobs a little harder i will switch them on the 12v line.
i belive 100w for now its more than enogh for the two 15 day old babies ...
this is it for now....
Thank u everyone for helping and sharing your knowledge...
will post final result as soon as its ready...

Dude that thing is gonna be fucking sick once the 3070s go on, you're gonna have one bright ass tent!! Where are the drivers? Outside the tent?

bizfactory said:

Dude that thing is gonna be fucking sick once the 3070s go on, you're gonna have one bright ass tent!! Where are the drivers? Outside the tent?

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Yes Biz the drivers are outside the tent... i really wanted them outside since they are to big and the tent is to small, for this reason i also opted for this kind of frame ,because in this space i thought woulf be nice to have the as much air circulation as possible...

beppe75 said:

... i have to try to find a solution on how to remedy this...

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Perhaps you have 2 possibilities using the next size up machine screw: re-tap to next larger size or, since aluminum is pretty soft, just try the next size machine screw and see if it will be OK in your oversized hole.

Your build looks great.

HydroDC said:

Perhaps you have 2 possibilities using the next size up machine screw: re-tap to next larger size or, since aluminum is pretty soft, just try the next size machine screw and see if it will be OK in your oversized hole.

Your build looks great.

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Thanks man, i already tried the m4 screws but they are to big and they don't even enter the holes of the ideal holder so i probably have two options 1- i drill and tap two more holes...the 3070 are small to the point to allow this
2- i use some auto taping metal screws in the same holes (hoping the give some grip)
i'll let you know how i sorted it out.

beppe75 said:

I dimmed the 2 5000k Cxb to 700ma drive the fans @ 5v ( they are practically silent as death @ 5v) even though @ 12 v they were pruducing a really good breeze but anyway they seem to be pretty cool @ 5v even very near the cob so i belive for now i'll run them like this ... if i drive the cobs a little harder i will switch them on the 12v line.
i belive 100w for now its more than enogh for the two 15 day old babies ...View attachment 3415711
this is it for now....
Thank u everyone for helping and sharing your knowledge...
will post final result as soon as its ready...

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Hi Beppe!
You can take a few ZALMAN Fan Mate 2 to dim the fans between 5 and 12v. One of this fan controllers is good for 3 fans and they are rated with 6w. They have a little poti to reduce/increase the fan speed and they costs only 6 bucks.

And about the holes go with the self tapping screws they works well with the cobholders, because there is no direct contact to the chip and can not damage it. Tighten only with "feeling".

time to finish my light today...
updates later....

i took my time guys but i was busy with life and mostly trying to get these babies healthy....
since it is my first grow i had my fair share of problems... anyway...
here are the final fotos of my setup...


this is the light in flower with 4 cxb 3070 and 2 cxb 3590 3000k
by the way if someone knows why the tops of these girls are turning light green / yellowish is welcome to offer some advice...
thats it...
a big thank u to everyone who helped me to have this idea,to build this fixture and above all thank you guys for sharing your knowledge and being so altruistic.
i can say that even though the girls begin their lives under cfl for the first 10days they have grown exceptionally well taking into account the fact that i stressed them initially with low ph( as low as 4.7, my meter was of calibration) then i burned them a little when they were young then i had other problems which i have explained in the thread in my signature...so the light is doing well... i wanted to wait at least 7 more days before i flipped to 12/12 but i could not this round so... lets see how these stressed babies will perform under this led unit.
cheers.

Hey Beppe!
Solid build! Looks like big fruits in the future!

The yellowish light green shoots could be overexposed. Increase the distance to the canopy at least. 16in. / 40cm! In the growth phase rich 15.000lx on canopy height!

Solid build! Looks like big fruits in the future!
View attachment 3438665
The yellowish light green shoots could be overexposed. Increase the distance to the canopy at least. 16in. / 40cm! In the growth phase rich 15.000lx on canopy height![/QUOTE]

Thanks RandomBlame... i hope you're right about the fruits man... as i have had my fair share of problems... not too much fortunately. anyway i did not consider to be sincere that i may raise the light... i'm going to increase the distance right away and watch... as of now the light is something like 10 inch from canopy... so i'm going to increase it @ 16inch. i don't have a lux meter so i can't really know when i reach 15.000lx but i'll just have to study some more to get to know better the specs and technical characteristics of my build.( i know i have like 300W of led light ... and about 33.3 w/sqf which is a good value as per Supra recommendation, that's it ) i reckon i build it ...put it to work and thats it...
Edit ; i did raise the light but i went for around 12 inches because the girls are so bushy that i am afraid light will not penetrate in the under growth... if i see issues continue i may raise it again.
these are some fotos, they look a bit better today, not too yellow, i think i'll feed two more times before i flush and then continue with full bloom nutes, for now i'm on somekind of transition feeding schedule. (i'm following the official GH one... the one attached )
as for the growing part of this schedule which recommends
equal parts of micro.grow and bloom i am a little bit sceptical and planned to change it for next round.
ok, thats all. light results now @47 days from sprout and 7 days of 12/12...

This is how the light is performing.... i think it is doing an outstanding job if you take into account all the errors i have made with this girls.(to be fair , i have done quite an acceptable job since it is the first time i'm growing but it's also true i have never kept the girls really healthy during these 65 days)
this is day 65 from sprout and 23 of flower... my attempt @ scroging....

this are some of the main branches flowering.... they look the most healthy.

these are some of the issues i'm fighting lately....still don't know what this maybe...
notice the rusty patches along the borders of the leaves...


and some little babie buds... by the way is it normal for these to have their pistils become brown so early....
or is it some sign of nute problem...like over fertilization???

@beppe75

older leaves with green veins still, the only affected area? most likely magnesium/N def...leaning toward Mag and maybe even a little underwatering too...

Abiqua said:

@beppe75

older leaves with green veins still, the only affected area? most likely magnesium/N def...leaning toward Mag and maybe even a little underwatering too...

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they went 5 days without water...i know it's a crime, i just was not home....
so definitelu underwaterd, even though they are in 3.5 gallon hempys....
no visible damage to the roots though...
i'll water them every 2 days for now... with a ratio of 10ml Micro- 5ml Grow- 15ml Bloom of GH Flora series....
i maybe add some cal mag every second feeding( in this case i will reduce slightly the grow)
the middle grow seems the more affected... they show the most rusty spots on the leaves...
i think the temps are not helping either... i'm trying to keep them under 30C but for some hours of light on they will be over this margin... i know its not ideal but can do nothing for this round...
thanks for the tip Abiqua.