Aussie High Lights – we're official

end_of_the_tunnel said:

Who else might be an authority in plant lighting

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end_of_the_tunnel said:

Long time lurker here. I have found myself frustrated with the lack of specifics in some of his own videos and one in which he was interviewed. But lets face it, the man has been involved in the publication of a lot of plant biology papers. Maybe when he and staff at Utah State have amassed and collated more datasets, then we can expect him to be more specific. Who else might be an authority in plant lighting? Erik Runkle ? But I dont think he has anything cannabis specific to say, or does he...

Since we are in the High Light thread, how about we go look at the advantages that the bluer of the pair has to offer.
I'm not sure if I can post the links, but if people go to Valoyas website and have a dig around in the Medicinal Plant section.
You will find links there to two video seminar presentations on cannabis specific lighting, that were held in conjunction with some North American producers group. One video from 2018, and another 2019. I would have to review the videos again, but this could make for good relevant conversation. I know @Prawn Connery will be interested, if not already aware. It was his posts pointing out that Italian study that got me interested too. And @Humple . Come to the 420nm side, and let the force be with you. Nah, go have a look at those valoya videos, if you like.

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hybridway2 said:

Welcome to the Forum!

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radiant Rudy said:

I think for my first stab at making a correction I'll dim down the main rig which is providing >60% of all light. I need to get a dimmer/potentiometer as the MW's im using have no dimmer function. Would you know if something like this would work?

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hybridway2 said:

A Par meter is all the sphere i need

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1212ham said:

I don't think that will work. A PWM or Pulse Width Modulation circuit is probably the only good solution other than dimmable drivers. Some control may be possible by using switches to change between two or more wiring configurations on the DC side. What voltage are your drivers?

These work just fine, but are only rated to 24v.

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radiant Rudy said:

Thanks GLA, I really appreciate your detailed response. Dr.Bugbee's conclusions did often seem like they needed more proving out. Although its classy of him to give credit to the workers doing the tasks.

Regarding the benefit of blue @450 do you think I'm providing ample blue radiance to my room through the pair of 4k vero29's?

I think for my first stab at making a correction I'll dim down the main rig which is providing >60% of all light. I need to get a dimmer/potentiometer as the MW's im using have no dimmer function. Would you know if something like this would work?


Ill check with prawn as you suggest. Thanks again.

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JOE GROWS said:

This makes you the Authority. Do not be modest

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1212ham said:

Lots of PWM circuits on ebay/amason. But we are getting off topic........

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Barristan Whitebeard said:

Do you know the exact model of the Mean Well drivers that you are using on your main rig?

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radiant Rudy said:

Thanks 1212ham, do i understand correctly that I could use that second option: "www.ebay.com/itm/12V-24V-48V-2000W-MAX-10-50V-40A-DC-Motor-Speed-Control", wire it between the driver and the cob and it would give me dimming function as long as i didn't exceed the max voltage?

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1212ham said:

Correct. Either one should work, but take the ratings with a grain of salt, especially max amps. Search for PWM controller.

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radiant Rudy said:

Hey folks I have a diy that i have upgraded once a couple years back. Ive been puzzling over why my "upgrade" seemed to diminsh rather than im,prove the quality of the plants after the "upgrade". I'm at the point where I'm considering starting over with something like these aussie high lights.

I'm growing in a 2x4x7 space. My updated rig consists of 4 cxb 3500 @ 50 w each,2 set on assive sinks on each end of a refurbished VERO optic. The optic case holds 2x 4k and 1x 3k @~80w each and 1x 1750k ~50w. Overall it draws 500+w at wall so it's super bright in my decently reflective ~2x4 space. I reckoned that maybe it's just too bright for the area and possibly thats my issue. But then I watched this vid by Ph.D Apogee guy and, i think, he points out that 2000ppfd is workable flux for cannabis if proper nutrition is supplied. So my hypothesis seems doubtful.

I'm a soil grower with a decent amount of experience and quite a few high quality grows under my belt. Im ready to move on to strips if it makes sense. Because of the collegiality here and the rigorous testing you guys get into I was hoping for some suggestions, musings etc.

so right now i'm wondering: Should I try and re-purpose my drivers in a strip build? Should I maybe just swap out that 1750 and place a 4k in it's spot? Should i sell off all the parts and get an aussie rig that matches up to my needs ? I've got some time to figure it out because of home renovations currently under way.

Thanks for any thoughts and for the informative and encouraging thread.



Towards an optimal spectral quality for plant growth and development. In this presentation Dr.Bugbee details a study, using medical cannabis plants, showing that manipulating the spectral quality of light input had neglible effect on yield , thc or terpenes. This info seems at odds with observations around riu and ads to my confusion

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Prawn Connery said:

Hi mate, it looks like you've had some pretty good advice already. I know GLA mentioned me because he knows when I first started playing with LEDs the temptation was to run them hard in a small space because I wasn't convinced (at the time) that I could get the same yields with less power.

So I started off with about 500W of F-Series Samsung LM301B 3000K LED strips in my 4x2 tent hooked to two 240W drivers. I soon discovered it was way too much light. So I dimmed them to 430W . . . then 400W . . . and finally I ended up replacing the strip lights with High Lights connected to a 320W driver that puts out about 340-350W at the boards (about 370W at the plug). That's where I'm at right now. Although I have recently added 60W of side-lighting, it doesn't affect the top growth.

I would say if anything you might have too much blue light in there with the mix of mostly 4K and 3.5K – that might be a contributing factor to your issues if you are running too much light to begin with, because blue carries higher energy and raises leaf temps more than red once the leaf has reached maximum photon absorbance/photosynthesis. Any light that is not photosynthesised will build up as heat. Your plants may show signs of leaf curling (upwards) as they try to transpire to cool down and will drink more but may also show signs of nutrient imbalance as they over-transpire. You may also see bleaching of the leaves (chloroplasts) as they overheat.

Further adding to your woes, as Cutter pointed out, is that your COBs are more likely to create hotspot – especially if they are running hard – compared to strips.

What I'm really saying is – as all growers discover sooner or later – "less is more". This goes for nutrients as well as lights. But it sounds like you are doing the right thing by adding dimmers and dialling it down. Even if your technology is a bit old, the right amount of light and environmental care should still grow nice plants.

In the long run it might be worth upgrading your lights, but in the short term you should at least try regulating the light you have to see if that makes a difference. Plenty of airflow also helps reduce heat build-up and leaf temperatures.

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Prawn Connery said:

Well yes . . . as long as you don't create hotspots in some areas and cold spots in others. The best way to avoid this is by raising the lights to help them blend a bit better, so you may not need to dim them as much, either.

Ultimately it's all a balancing act. You want the optimum amount of light for any given canopy area (grow area or footprint); you want that light to be more suited to flowering; and you want to supply your plants with the right environment (water, nutrient, temperature, humidity and airflow) to make use of that optimum amount of light. Finding the balance is the trick that comes with experience.

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radiant Rudy said:

Thank you so much. I would not have deduced too much blue on my own. I do plan to try out dimmers and then make change based on a grow with less radiance.

Since my light uses one driver for each cob would you think that dimming down only the 4ks (80 w each) and leaving the 3k and 1750 alone would be a decent starting point?

My recent grows did present the stress symptoms you describe.

Really appreciate your attention, many thanks.

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