First Grow with LED's

I've been reading these boards for a couple of months trying to learn as much as possible- thanks to all you regular contributors for the education.

This is my set up:
4x8 Tent
2 180w Jumbo UFO's
1 28w T5
Passive vents with 1 10" fan drawing fresh air in
Hygrometer
Ph tester

I acquired 8 clones just about a week ago:

5 Trinity
3 American Dream
I'm guessing they were 2-3 weeks old, they guy I got them from said to transplant immediately as they were still in cups. Transplanted into 1/2 gallon containers with
FF Ocean Forest and watered 'til some run off.

At this stage, the Ufo's are set at 2' above the plants and have been running at 50% power (2 quadrants) per the instructions I received with the lights. I'm running a 24 hour cycle.

Temp and RH in the tent are consistently about 75 and 45-50%.
They have only been given water (tap allowed to stand for 24 hours). Ph is at just about 6 as metered in the soil.

Overall the plants seem healthy.They have grown about 1/4 to 1/2" per day. I'm trying hard not to be the over zealous parent and am attributing the leaf discoloration/ curling to the shock and stress of the transplant. If it continues or worsens, I may go to an 18/6 cycle or bring the lights up 6 or 7". Some of the clones had light spotting when we got them, too. Those I put under the T5 (which I refer to as my ICU).

I've not found a lot of specifics about the strains I'm working with so any info/tips on these is appreciated.
Also, I'm not looking to engage in an LED debate- these are what I have for now but
if I can't make them work, I'll change lighting. I'm under the impression that 2 LED's
won't be enough for 8 plants anyway so, I'll be augmenting my lighting at least.
I apologize for the photo quality- the blue/red LED's really make it difficult to get the true color of the plants- I assure you they are green....

American Dream:


Trinity:


Constructive feedback welcome-
Thanks for looking!

This past week has been busy for the girls and they have all about doubled in height since 2 weeks ago.
Added 2 more Jumbo 180's midweek after a few days of upping the initial 2 lights to 3 quadrants (75% power).
Temp has risen about 5 degrees to a consistent 80 and RH is averaging at 50%.
As roots are now appearing at the drain holes, tomorrow they will be transplanted into 5 gal bags into a mix of FF OF with perlite added.
I plan to keep them in veg for another few weeks and, as this is my first grow, am being pretty conservative about
trying anything too advanced. I would like to try cloning, but will cross that bridge when I get there.
Meanwhile, I'm using the info in these forums for reference and it's been an invaluable resource. Again thanks to all those who have shared their knowledge and experience.
Here are latest pics- again taken under LED's so forgive the color distortion, they're still green!
3 American Dream:

5 Trinity

I think that 4 x 180w UFO LEDs will be more than enough for your grow space - it may even be a bit more than is needed.

Subbed to your thread as I have a vested interest in seeing just what LEDs can do - are you going all the way with just LED light?

At this writing we're leaning toward going with a 600w HPS to flower with.
The research that I've done and general opinion of folks with a lot more experience than me leads me to believe it's
just more practical. And, again given that this is my first ever grow, I'm more interested in it being successful than in having a failed, noble experiment.
I like what LED's offer but I think a lot of the marketing is hype. As a rule, I don't buy version 1.0 of anything, preferring the inevitable bugs to be worked out with time.
Just finished the transplant a short time ago. A few shots of the root systems and their new homes.
Thanks for looking-

Everyone is looking good in their new larger pots and continue to grow-
will probably veg for another 2 weeks and still researching HPS lighting options to flower under. A few shots inside the tent below.

I also took 8 cutting in my first attempt at cloning.
Using rock-wool, Clonex, make-shift humidity dome, heating pad, and a small T5. These were cut on Weds. night:

Continued growth this week and the plan is to go to 12/12 next weekend. Will be picking up a 600w HPS to
finish with.
The clones are now at about 10 days and seem to be hanging in there. Still no sign of rooting but I'm cautiously optimistic as they
are still standing:

Our switch to HPS was delayed a couple of days but got the new light
set up tonight and planning on starting 12/12 tomorrow. The taller plants in these pics are pushing 30".
Watching temp closely
as we're running without an inline ventilation fan for the moment. So far,
the oscillating fan we added seems to be holding the temp at around 80 and I'm
adjusting vents as needed.

First set of clones has started rooting at roughly 2 1/2 weeks and I'm
feeling a lot more confident with the next batch.

We're at almost a week of 12/12 and both strains seem to like the new light.
Now using Fox Farm Tiger Bloom and Big Bloom (sparingly) in every other watering.
A few leaves were showing signs of some mineral deficiency but the last feed seems to have corrected.
5 of the original 8 clones are now in soil and under the T5. The remaining 3 we'll give a few more days then may just try planting anyway.
A few shots here:

Approaching the end of Week 2 of flower and all is well.
1 of the original batch of clones is struggling but I'd be pleased with
7 of 8 making it in our first try.
1 clone from from second clone set is starting to show roots right on par at about 2 1/2 weeks.
Pics of course:

looking nice man. I was kinda wanting to see what the whole grow looked like with those LEDs. Where did u get em from?

Thanks- may try a complete LED grow at some point in the future but for right now, I simply need to get more basic overall experience
before I start experimenting. The lights are from Prosource.

Just discovered indicators of spider mites tonight and doing damage control and a lot of reading/research.
2 plants seemed most affected. We removed all the plants and physically wiped down all noticeable traces that we could find with a magnifying glass. Steam cleaned the interior of the tent and cleaned everything.
For tonight, I've removed the dehumidifier and will let the humidity run higher than normal in the hopes that it may slow their growth.
I'm also mixing up some tobacco juice recipe that I found in a forum and I'm guessing tomorrow there will be a run to our local supply shop for some advice and, undoubtedly, treatments.
Looks like a Neem Oil/Soap mix is in my near future to stay.
I'm a bit deflated -I thought we were doing pretty well with our first attempt but we'll fight back agressively to
rid of these things!

Shitty man sorry to hear about the Mites! Sub'd + rep looking good!
Looks like you got really good veg growth out of the LED's. I'm leaning more and more towards getting a few for my veg room. My electricity bill was out of control over the summer due to the lights and having to run the AC to keep the heat down.

Thanks for the support and taking a look-
Still at war with the mites after an initial treatment of a homegrown treatment found here in the forums (apple cider vinegar, baking soda,epsom salt, etc..) Had some leaf burn and, while we may have knocked down the overall population, still spotted a few mites last night.
Went to our local shop and picked up Azamax which I applied this morning before lights out. Also picked up Neem oil which I'll be using regularly from here on out for maintenance.
I'm now suspecting that one of the original 8 we acquired, an American Dream which has been the slowest growing and producing odd leaves all along, may have been infected. It also appears to be the most infested plant. I'm told that the mites will often attack the weakest plant though, so it's just a theory. It's all part of my learning curve I suppose.
Will try to get pics this weekend with my usual weekly update.

Heading into our 3rd week of flower.
Have treated twice so far with Azamax (every other day) and while we haven't eliminated the mites, have definitely lowered their numbers. Frankly I'm amazed at how resilient the plants are- beyond some of the leaf burn from the first homegrown treatment, they look pretty good and flowers are continuing to develop.
Among other things, I've learned never to do a full foliar spray prior to lights on, too.

We now have 10 clones in soil with 3 more to be planted tomorrow.
Spent part of the day today putting up the 2nd tent where they will veg- probably under the LED's as before:

I have some commercial experience fighting mites and the only thing I ever found that worked was a commercial organophosphate insecticide called Monitor 4. If you can find it, it works like nothing else. Some people call it Stink Bomb and if it is actual commercial grade Monitor 4 (there are a few knock offs and a lot of watered down stuff) it's very potent and lethal to humans also so be careful. If your local grow store sells it you can be sure it's behind the counter. It's systemic which means it will soak into the plant through roots, leaves, anything and make the entire plant toxic and keep it toxic for approximately two weeks so as the mite eggs hatch, the new mites bite the plant and die. The great thing is that organophosphates are completely inert to the plant so there is no adverse effects on growth. It also breaks down and dissapates completely in three to four weeks unlike a lot of the residues from the soaps and sprays. Organophosphates are non-carcinogenic too.

Anyway, on a lighter note you can also check with your local gardening or grow store to see if they carry Vapona NoPest Strips. These strips release an organophosphate vapor and in a relatively sealed environment I have found them very effective at keeping mites at bay. They won't wipe out an infestation but they are a great precautionary measure and can really help keep a minor mite issue (is there such a thing) in check. They are not for use in an environment where you are going to be spending more than four hours a day and should take them down and put them in a zip loc at least two weeks before harvest.

Good luck amigo!

Happy to report no calamities since my last post and it appears that the mites are under control. I'll keep up with the Azamax spray 1x per week 'til it's gone then start up the Neem oil recipe.
The buds continue to bulk up and definitely noticing the resin starting to appear on and around the buds. In terms of overall height, the tallest of these is just about 3'.


I've set 6 of the original clone batch under the Jumbo Illuminator LED running on 2 quadrants at about 18" up. I'll be watching these closely over the next couple of days as they're still pretty small and I'm hoping I'm not taking them away from the T5 too early.

Just a quick update:
Buds continue to grow and it still appears that our mite problem is at least under control.
I've continued using the Azamax weekly.


7 of our original clone batch have been transplanted to 1/2 gallon pots and are under the LED's and appear healthy-

6 of the second batch appear that they'll make it ( 2 have been culled since I took these photos the other night.) The T-5 is now out, too.

Nice man looking good!

Thanks man-
Some better bud pics that I took last night:

Nice man looking amazing! That last pic is especially nice. Glad to see hear that you got the mites under control.