First grow: Northern Lights with LEDs

[dynamitejack]

Well the LEDs are cool but after running them for 12 hours I noticed no difference in the plants. I'm going to need about 8 45 watt panels for the amount of plants that are growing, I'm going to look for a 600 watt hps now

 

[chusett]

I'm going to keep this thread updated. I hope they work well.



Sunshine Systems makes 3 different spectrum's. Blue, mixed and red. I bought one mixed spectrum and one red.

For the first week I thought that that 2 24' floro's would do it but they didn't, hence the streaching. I'm using 2 48" floro's now with a 6500k temp.



I'm getting the LEDs in the mail tomorrow. But I'm thinking I should send back the mixed spectrum panel and get another red one instead. I like what the 48" are doing for my girls.

I have 3 10 gallon RM containers 2 for growing one for mixing their food. I did cut the holes myself I cut a piece of string to see the circumference of the netpod right under the lip and cut out a piece of cardboard about 2.9 inches in circumference. Then I cut the holes I drew with a razor like a pie and then took the razor and cut out the rest of the circle. Then I sprayed a layer of spray paint on the top and bottom of the lid. It took about 2 hours start to finish

Damnit I knew i forgot something.. i forgot my netpod covers! Im getting started with my tubs now.. ive been procrastinating lol because i suck with handicrafting. I got a holesaw from HD though so hopefully this will be as nonmessy as possible . I asked coz ur tubs also looked so big, i guess its just the closeup then. I have 13 gallon plastic tubs, they aren't your conventional choice though its the cleear plastic sterilite boxes but whatever im broke so it'll do. Quick question tho, where did u get the rubbermaids and how long across is ur rubbermaid lid? Mine is only 19.5 in and its not enough room for me to at least have 5 inches of space between each pot which is what i want. If yours the same then i guess i'll stick wit mine.

And ya i'll keep watching to see how your LED's work. For now i ordered me 3 CFL's, 105 W 5000k bulbs. Hope its enough for my 4x4 area.

 

[chusett]

and also what water pumping u using??

 

[dynamitejack]

Damnit I knew i forgot something.. i forgot my netpod covers! Im getting started with my tubs now.. ive been procrastinating lol because i suck with handicrafting. I got a holesaw from HD though so hopefully this will be as nonmessy as possible . I asked coz ur tubs also looked so big, i guess its just the closeup then. I have 13 gallon plastic tubs, they aren't your conventional choice though its the cleear plastic sterilite boxes but whatever im broke so it'll do. Quick question tho, where did u get the rubbermaids and how long across is ur rubbermaid lid? Mine is only 19.5 in and its not enough room for me to at least have 5 inches of space between each pot which is what i want. If yours the same then i guess i'll stick wit mine.

And ya i'll keep watching to see how your LED's work. For now i ordered me 3 CFL's, 105 W 5000k bulbs. Hope its enough for my 4x4 area.

and also what water pumping u using??

I got the rubbermaid containers from lowes they were like $6 each. I put two coats of spray paint on the lid the keep out the light. The deminsions are 23.9x15.9x8.7in you can see it here: http://rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd2934118

How much did you pay for the cfls?

I'm going to abandon the LEDs they don't put out nearly enough light. I'm getting a 600w HPS/MH light.

I wouldn't use clear tubs unless you put a coat of black or white spray paint on the inside and outside which would cost you more than the rubbermaid tubs.

You don't use a water pump for DWC I am running two air pumps that I bought from Petsmart.

Air pump 60 gallon These thing are silent $29.99: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753029

I got 2 36" air diffuser for each resivoir from petsmart also. I love these things because they are flexeible and don't float or need suction cups...and they make a shit ton of bubbles
http://www.thefind.com/pets/browse-marineland-flexible-bubble-wand

Hope that helps

 

[chusett]

I got the rubbermaid containers from lowes they were like $6 each. I put two coats of spray paint on the lid the keep out the light. The deminsions are 23.9x15.9x8.7in you can see it here: http://rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd2934118

How much did you pay for the cfls?

I'm going to abandon the LEDs they don't put out nearly enough light. I'm getting a 600w HPS/MH light.

I wouldn't use clear tubs unless you put a coat of black or white spray paint on the inside and outside which would cost you more than the rubbermaid tubs.

You don't use a water pump for DWC I am running two air pumps that I bought from Petsmart.

Air pump 60 gallon These thing are silent $29.99: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753029

I got 2 36" air diffuser for each resivoir from petsmart also. I love these things because they are flexeible and don't float or need suction cups...and they make a shit ton of bubbles
http://www.thefind.com/pets/browse-marineland-flexible-bubble-wand

Hope that helps

ahh i see. Ya those tubs u got is def what i want, but where i live i only got a HD near me and they dont hv those tubs. I could have driven to walmart but its like 25 mins away. I'll try with my clear plastic sterilites for now and pick those up later on. I hope my clear plastic tubs are OK, since i've never seen anyone else use these tubs LOL.

As for my 3 CFLS, they are $25 each. Shelf life 8800 hours, 5000k blue spectrum veggs. I got lamp housings from HD for like $8 a peice so thats how i 'll hang those for now. I'll pickup a 400w HPS soon i guess. Btw u need 600 W, just for the 6 plants? 12 plants? Im going to hv like 12 plants too and i figured on just a 400W, a digital one. Get one of em digital aircooled ones.

As far as the DWC, i think i hv my facts wrong then, I was talkin to MC in the other thread and i think i misunderstood him, guess hes doing a drip too then.

Thanks for the info

 

[chusett]

heres the CFL's in case your wondering. Its 2 for $55 on ebay but i worked it out to 3 for $75.

 

[cannaman2.5]

I'm not trying to be an ass,but i can't understand why people waste their time with all these dinky shit lights.the yield sux dick and you get a stretchy airy fucked up crop.The cops are not gonna kick in your door cause you have a 600 or a 1000 watterand one 1000 watt doesn't produce that much heat.Plus if i'm taking the risk i'd much rather have 1.5-2lbs of pot at the end of my grow rather than 2 fucking ounces.

 

[chusett]

I'm not trying to be an ass,but i can't understand why people waste their time with all these dinky shit lights.the yield sux dick and you get a stretchy airy fucked up crop.The cops are not gonna kick in your door cause you have a 600 or a 1000 watterand one 1000 watt doesn't produce that much heat.Plus if i'm taking the risk i'd much rather have 1.5-2lbs of pot at the end of my grow rather than 2 fucking ounces.

I see your point, but at least for myself i'd see the reason as more of energy savings.. but still bottom line if u spend the money its better than buying it in the street. If it works though then i'd go with it. I do think some pple say certain LED lights work decently, or that it should be supplemented but not used alone.

 

[dynamitejack]

I'm not trying to be an ass,but i can't understand why people waste their time with all these dinky shit lights.the yield sux dick and you get a stretchy airy fucked up crop.The cops are not gonna kick in your door cause you have a 600 or a 1000 watterand one 1000 watt doesn't produce that much heat.Plus if i'm taking the risk i'd much rather have 1.5-2lbs of pot at the end of my grow rather than 2 fucking ounces.

I'm in the same boat with you. 45watt LEDs are useless I think I would need at least 200 watts to match 2 48" flouros. I'm ordering a 600 watt HPS on tuesday.

 

[dynamitejack]

Wo0t for 3 pages!

 

[cannaman2.5]

good for u get a 600...u will get your money back times 4

 

[OregonMeds]

IT's not like your DEA neighbor can tell you're running 600w hps from a distance anyway.

I hope you can return all the LED's and get your money back because you deserve better than this grow.

 

[dynamitejack]

IT's not like your DEA neighbor can tell you're running 600w hps from a distance anyway.

I hope you can return all the LED's and get your money back because you deserve better than this grow.

Damn DEA.....

I have 14 days to return the LEDs. I was really optimistic about them too

 

[chusett]

but the 600w is for your flowering i thought u were using the LED's for just vegging. Why not give it another few days and see if anything since you have the 14 days.

 

[OregonMeds]

It's not worth playing with them for veg, he could do better with $30-$50 worth of standard 4' flouro's. Might as well get that money out of the LED's so he can put it toward something truly useful even if he only vegges with the hps from now on he'd be better off.

Or invest that money in a good carbon filter and fan, since that will also be of GREAT value to anyone with a DEA agent neighbor. Certainly more valuable than the LED's energy savings over flouro's.

 

[dynamitejack]

but the 600w is for your flowering i thought u were using the LED's for just vegging. Why not give it another few days and see if anything since you have the 14 days.

I'm going the spend the extra 50 bucks and get a ballast that can opperate HPS and MH bulbs.

This plant has been under the the mixed spectrum for 3 days and there is no leaf growth at all.
First day under LED

After 3 days

I think you can see why I want to ditch the LEDs. Flouros grow better than LEDs

It's not worth playing with them for veg, he could do better with $30-$50 worth of standard 4' flouro's. Might as well get that money out of the LED's so he can put it toward something truly useful even if he only vegges with the hps from now on he'd be better off.

Or invest that money in a good carbon filter and fan, since that will also be of GREAT value to anyone with a DEA agent neighbor. Certainly more valuable than the LED's energy savings over flouro's.

When I order my HPS/MH ballast I'm going to order a 4" 80 cfm exhaust fan to take care of the heat and a 4" inline fan and carbon filter. I'm also going to order a digital ph meter and ppm meter.

 

[chusett]

I'm going the spend the extra 50 bucks and get a ballast that can opperate HPS and MH bulbs.

This plant has been under the the mixed spectrum for 3 days and there is no leaf growth at all.
First day under LED

After 3 days

I think you can see why I want to ditch the LEDs. Flouros grow better than LEDs



When I order my HPS/MH ballast I'm going to order a 4" 80 cfm exhaust fan to take care of the heat and a 4" inline fan and carbon filter. I'm also going to order a digital ph meter and ppm meter.

ahh i see. Yah good idea.

Right now what im going with is i ditched the 3 105w CFL's, i think they were good too but im going with a 2 lampx4ft floro set for $89.99 its pretty good. The 3 CFL bulbs, plus 3 lamp housings from HD would run about $100 anyway.

Then im going with digital 400w hps/mh light and i should be set. I dont think i need 600 like u, im afraid of burning my shit when i veg with the MH with 600. I hv 4x4 area so i think my 400 is ok.

I got my tubs from Lowes today but im pist they didnt really hv your kind. I ended up getting 14 gal ones, but im still pist because these ones are not lengthy and i cannot fit 6 fricken inches between each pot

 

[dynamitejack]

I flushed both reservoirs last night filled them with 5 gallons of water and followed the instructions bonz posted up which is 1tsp grow big per gallon and 2 tsp of big bloom per gallon. All I have is a liquid ph tester and I have kept the ph between 5.5 and 6. The plants look like they liked the flush because there was substantional growth over night but at the same time I noticed this

This is one of the largest girls you can't really tell in the picture but the leaves are turning up a little bit

Not all of the plants are spotting only 4 of them are. Should I be worried about anything? It looks to me that there may be a manganese deficiency.

 

[dynamitejack]

ahh i see. Yah good idea.

Right now what im going with is i ditched the 3 105w CFL's, i think they were good too but im going with a 2 lampx4ft floro set for $89.99 its pretty good. The 3 CFL bulbs, plus 3 lamp housings from HD would run about $100 anyway.

Then im going with digital 400w hps/mh light and i should be set. I dont think i need 600 like u, im afraid of burning my shit when i veg with the MH with 600. I hv 4x4 area so i think my 400 is ok.

I got my tubs from Lowes today but im pist they didnt really hv your kind. I ended up getting 14 gal ones, but im still pist because these ones are not lengthy and i cannot fit 6 fricken inches between each pot

I think 6500k floros are the way to go for veg, my gals likes em. htgsupply.com has a good price on a 400 watt digital greenhouse light $184 isn't bad. The only reason I'm going with a 600 watt is because I already paid $280 for the LEDs and for a couple bucks less than the LEDS I'm going to get the digital green house 600 watt HPS with MH bulb, then I'm going to move my 2 48" floros to another room for clones

If I were you I would ditch the floros and get this: http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=48930
I think it will veg better than floros and it will save you some $$$

I don't know if it is really a big deal but even the dark blue tubs let light in so I sprayed mine black, now that I think about it I think painting it white would have been a better choice. I think I have about 3" between pods, why do you want 6"?

 

[dynamitejack]

Week 2 pics:

Northern Lights

Bagseeds

I left my ph level kind of high last night to try to get some MN to the roots and it looks like it helped.

I wasn't paying attention last night when I put the NLs back on the reservoir and one of the girls roots got caught between the top of the res and the lid and she sat with no water for about 12 hours. The two bottom leafs are crispy on the ends and about 30% brown, should I cut them off? Its the plant in the first picture in the middle towards the top of the picture.