Stealth Auto Grow - Switching from CFLs to LED

Hey guys,

My current setup is a 2.5' (width) x 1.5' (depth) x 3' (height) grow tent with a 2' 75w T5 grow light (~4000 lumens) and two high-CBD autos in 3 gallon fabric pots. I've been using roots organics soil and various DTE organic nutrients.

This is my 4th grow using this setup and I've averaged 2/3-3/4 oz per plant so far. Ideally I'd like to pull 1-1.5 oz per plant and would therefore like to switch to LED.

I've done some research and would like to purchase either the Advanced Platinum p150 or p300.

My concern is that the p150 (~90w in bloom) will not be enough light to achieve my desired harvest weight, but on the other hand my grow space is limited and I'm afraid the p300 (~185w in bloom) will fry my plants since the MAX distance from the bottom of the light to the top of the plants will be 18-20".

I'm not interested in HID or HPS, so please don't suggest either instead of LED.

Any input from those experienced with LED is greatly appreciated!

NateDerWeise said:

Hey guys,

My current setup is a 2.5' (width) x 1.5' (depth) x 3' (height) grow tent with a 2' 75w T5 grow light (~4000 lumens) and two high-CBD autos in 3 gallon fabric pots. I've been using roots organics soil and various DTE organic nutrients.

This is my 4th grow using this setup and I've averaged 2/3-3/4 oz per plant so far. Ideally I'd like to pull 1-1.5 oz per plant and would therefore like to switch to LED.

I've done some research and would like to purchase either the Advanced Platinum p150 or p300.

My concern is that the p150 (~90w in bloom) will not be enough light to achieve my desired harvest weight, but on the other hand my grow space is limited and I'm afraid the p300 (~185w in bloom) will fry my plants since the MAX distance from the bottom of the light to the top of the plants will be 18-20".

I'm not interested in HID or HPS, so please don't suggest either instead of LED.

Any input from those experienced with LED is greatly appreciated!
View attachment 3753791 View attachment 3753792 View attachment 3753793 View attachment 3753794

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holy shit

move that light up 8-12 inches now .........pour plants
never never have a light that close to a plant .....u want to leave some room for the lights to spread out combine

1 to grow a small auto plant is super simple.....just use a small planter 1 gallon.....in your case i would tell u to get a tote(something like 10 inches tall and as wide and long as the tent floor) .... fill that up and use that with soil that will keep the plant small and get u most usable area out of that as u can (if u want to do mutli plants just make a wood + or X to make 4 planters out of the tote or just simple piece of wood dividing for 2 plants ) the tote needs to be dark so light is not getting in

2 move that light up top to about 1 to 3 inch from the carbon filer

3 u will need to go to a organic feed system so flushing is not needed ............just rem watering something that small and wide u are only going to need half gallon every 2 days once in flowering every 2-3 days before flowering

u are looking at about 15 inches of room to grow the plant out ........LST training can be done looks like u been trying it ......Autos are feed based plants to get what u are talking about per plant u need room for the plant to grow (worst case u can bonzi the plant to keep from going to high)

i will help u make a good auto .......but please move that light up i feel so sorry for those plants
the lights specs they gave u for usable distance was with a buffer zone .........right now u are given the plant light in why to high of par/lumens

Hey Justugh,

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.

Secondly, I think there may be a bit of confusion. The grow light shown in the pictures is a 75w T5 fluorescent fixture. The light has to be kept within inches or else the plants stretch... or at least so I thought...

My question was whether or not I should go for a 90w or 185w LED light to upgrade my grow and improve yields. My space is small, so I'm concerned the 185w might cause light burn, whereas the 90w might just not be enough light for my 2-3 oz goal.

Nvm you're absolutely right. As close as it is right now there's no room for light to mix so there's basically stripes of red and blue light shining on the plant. I'll move it up to at least 6".

I'll definitely check out the tote, that's a good idea for maximizing root space and giving some more head room. I'm kinda into the fabric bags so I'll see if I can stitch one up myself and make it squat and long.

Thanks again man, I appreciate you sharing your wisdom!

Any input on the LED question?

NateDerWeise said:

Nvm you're absolutely right. As close as it is right now there's no room for light to mix so there's basically stripes of red and blue light shining on the plant. I'll move it up to at least 6".

I'll definitely check out the tote, that's a good idea for maximizing root space and giving some more head room. I'm kinda into the fabric bags so I'll see if I can stitch one up myself and make it squat and long.

Thanks again man, I appreciate you sharing your wisdom!

Any input on the LED question?

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auto flower .......your going to love me
https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GL100LED-Spectrum-Growing/dp/B00FGG1HDM

order the 300 w .......if u want over kill order anything bigger


auto flower like both spectrums .....this one has a better blue mix to red (good for both flowering and veggie)
as for the amount u want it to make per plant this light can exceed that ......but auto plants are feed based so it is really not hard

ok this stretch thing
1 u can not really control it .....unless u use a all blue light to make the nodes to form closer but that limits the bud sites

2 u want the plant to stretch as it stretches it opens up bud sites on it .........with your limited room learn LST (low stress training) and keep the number of plants low
the plants will grow into to fill the space they are offered (to many makes them stay small making less bud for u)

3 if the worst case happens u can always remove the upper stalks/branches keeping the middle and lower sites making them the upper ones keeping them in the height u want them ......just rem this any time u cut the plant to wipe the area u cut with some honey (seals off the wound on the plant from getting fungi or virus in it and helps healing )

oh just for your notes

the plant leaves using LED will be greener and thicker .....it is due to the LED light have better pentration then other lights

that 300 watt will fill your whole area ......the plant will be in the high par range so u are looking at dense buds .....the fluffy to dense raito will go to like 10 90 fluffy/dense

id just like to comment one thing..I run a 130w cfl (see sig) and i couldn't run it that close. I think the height recommendations people spew are for the smaller stuff 20 W etc....not sure.

justugh said:

auto flower .......your going to love me
https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GL100LED-Spectrum-Growing/dp/B00FGG1HDM

order the 300 w .......if u want over kill order anything bigger


auto flower like both spectrums .....this one has a better blue mix to red (good for both flowering and veggie)
as for the amount u want it to make per plant this light can exceed that ......but auto plants are feed based so it is really not hard

ok this stretch thing
1 u can not really control it .....unless u use a all blue light to make the nodes to form closer but that limits the bud sites

2 u want the plant to stretch as it stretches it opens up bud sites on it .........with your limited room learn LST (low stress training) and keep the number of plants low
the plants will grow into to fill the space they are offered (to many makes them stay small making less bud for u)

3 if the worst case happens u can always remove the upper stalks/branches keeping the middle and lower sites making them the upper ones keeping them in the height u want them ......just rem this any time u cut the plant to wipe the area u cut with some honey (seals off the wound on the plant from getting fungi or virus in it and helps healing )

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Limits the bud sites? Um... no. You mean increseases it? Bud won't be growing anywhere near where the first nodes of growth in veg do. It all forms up top once you flip to flower. The more braces you can pack on in veg, the more branches you have in the end for colas.

I'm impressed. That's a nice little cab. But my .02 is to stay the fuck away from any blue red led on amazon. They use shitty epileds that are cheap and loe quality. Mine are cree xp-e and cxb3590's. Build yourself 2 extruded bar heatsink type led fixtures using around 10 small cobs per bar, like the cree 20 series or vero 10's with bare cobs. I use reflectors but that's because I have plenty of height. Run them soft like 700mA and you'll be fine to have passive cooling. (No fans) Just get thick and wide heatsinks.

Www.heatsinkusa.com

The 5.88" profile is perfect.

And one more thing. What brand carbon filter is that? It's a little 4"x8" right?

Airwalker16,

Thanks for the feedback, I'll have to do some research before I attempt assembling my own light.

Out of curiosity, does leaving out the secondary lenses allow the light to be closer since it is more diffuse? My main concern is there not being enough space between the LED and the plants, resulting in light burn. I'm not sure how real of a danger light burn is with LEDs though, I'm only going off of hearsay.

The filter I have on is a 4x8 Phresh Carbon Air Filter (150 cfm). My plants are finishing up week 4 and I can't smell a thing until I unzip the tent, so it seems to be working pretty well.

Airwalker16 said:

Limits the bud sites? Um... no. You mean increseases it? Bud won't be growing anywhere near where the first nodes of growth in veg do. It all forms up top once you flip to flower. The more braces you can pack on in veg, the more branches you have in the end for colas.

I'm impressed. That's a nice little cab. But my .02 is to stay the fuck away from any blue red led on amazon. They use shitty epileds that are cheap and loe quality. Mine are cree xp-e and cxb3590's. Build yourself 2 extruded bar heatsink type led fixtures using around 10 small cobs per bar, like the cree 20 series or vero 10's with bare cobs. I use reflectors but that's because I have plenty of height. Run them soft like 700mA and you'll be fine to have passive cooling. (No fans) Just get thick and wide heatsinks.

Www.heatsinkusa.com

The 5.88" profile is perfect.

And one more thing. What brand carbon filter is that? It's a little 4"x8" right?
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these are auto plants

no need for the fancey light ......that apollo will do the job for him fine and at a good price point
(this guy is not growing for a profit supply it is personal sending more money then needed is a waste
how do i know becaused i have used that brand of light and does fine about 4 oz ....if u have the feed right .....i still use the light as a 2ndary to fill on the edges ( i have a ds xml 650 )
i have 2 matrix s 600w that apollo and one of the generics (galaxy white one one 300w)

auto plants are great .....they remove most of the varibles to growing leaving just feed

justugh said:

these are auto plants

no need for the fancey light ......that apollo will do the job for him fine and at a good price point
(this guy is not growing for a profit supply it is personal sending more money then needed is a waste
how do i know becaused i have used that brand of light and does fine about 4 oz ....if u have the feed right .....i still use the light as a 2ndary to fill on the edges ( i have a ds xml 650 )
i have 2 matrix s 600w that apollo and one of the generics (galaxy white one one 300w)

auto plants are great .....they remove most of the varibles to growing leaving just feed

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You're trippin dude. Light is so important. You'll have much much more denser bud with cobs. I promise you that. It would not be hard to build I suggest ya do it

Airwalker16 said:

You're trippin dude. Light is so important. You'll have much much more denser bud with cobs. I promise you that. It would not be hard to build I suggest ya do it

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no if i was trippin i would be in the woods near the stream ......trust me on that one (camp site all made up just for that)

with auto flowers it does not matter .........aslong as the light waves are in use able lengths

really 5 years i used all lights cfls t5 hid and leds .....with auto flowers it is all about the feed u offer it

justugh said:

no if i was trippin i would be in the woods near the stream ......trust me on that one (camp site all made up just for that)

with auto flowers it does not matter .........aslong as the light waves are in use able lengths

really 5 years i used all lights cfls t5 hid and leds .....with auto flowers it is all about the feed u offer it

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Pretty sure @Big smo would beg to differ.

I agree with airwalker...just look into just building your own cob lights. It's well worth the investment and much easier then you think. You should watch some growmau5 diy videos and you'll get it all figured out. I put off making my own cobs lights for years until I watched those videos.
I'd recommend the predrilled pin heatsinks instead though. I'm about ready to convert a similar sized grow box and put 3 cobs in it.

grow1620 said:

I agree with airwalker...just look into just building your own cob lights. It's well worth the investment and much easier then you think. You should watch some growmau5 diy videos and you'll get it all figured out. I put off making my own cobs lights for years until I watched those videos.
I'd recommend the predrilled pin heatsinks instead though. I'm about ready to convert a similar sized grow box and put 3 cobs in it.

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5 years of experiments do not lie .........it does not matter it is the feed

spidyer lights platuim light matrix lights cob lights ..........aslong as the lightwaves are in the par range str of the light will not change the yeild of the plant will only tighten the buds up ....to make a auto produce for u on a lvl jusify cost for everything it needs to be feed correctly ....the feed matters the most

all good i really do not care .....but his size grow a simple 300w light will be more then enough to make him what he wants ........he just needs to modify his feeding plan to something stronger to get the weights he wants now with the light he has

and honestly building is own to get the good parts and driver the cost of it not worth it with the over all area has to use......it is more logical to buy a 100 buck light that is known to work (even on the lowest end i never made less then 3 oz with that light on a super soil only water experiment......... best was 6 on supersoil and feed same strains same everything just one got water one got feedand water)

I'm a new grower, I'm using a 2x2x3 cabinet cause it was free.

I was going to expand my CFL setup(see bottom), but after stumbling across growmau5, I've been trying to come up with a cob build for my cabinet.

I'm planning on doing a DIY two cob setup with active heatsinks for autos. I want to use a 2700k and a 6500k cob for top lighting and 6 - 13-23w CFLs, in 3500k-4100k range, on the sides.


Currently I'm running all CFLs; 4 - 23w 6500k and 2 - 42w 2700k. I'll switch two of my 6500k for 23w 2700k at flip. I'm currently at 176w for about 6 plants.

I know my wattage is low for the amount of plants, I just put 6 random seeds in 3 pots and they all sprouted.


PS: This is my first grow, I don't even know if any of them will end up as females.

@NateDerWeise and @CoreyAcesome check out this thread and the dudes other threads

https://www.rollitup.org/t/building-a-new-grow-cabinet.910033/

As for height, I started at like 3in with 2 6500k and they stayed pretty small.
I added another 6500k and a 42w 2700k raised the lights to about 4-5 inches and they started growing better with tight nodes.

I have them at like 5-6 inches now and for a pre flower stretch that ends next Friday.
4-6 inches seems to be the sweet spot.

I like starting really low for the early life so far, they nodes are pretty tight still with the stretching. We'll see how it holds up in the long run.

@coreywebster I'm going to go with smaller active heatsinks and wire my cobs individually so I can operate eat cob independently and the CFLs will will each have a pull string or switch connected to it.