LEDs May not be all hype?

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az2000

Well-Known Member
SpaaaceCowboy said:
Az2000....that is looking impressive for only 85 actual watts....please post updates I'm curious to see how she finishes....what did you pay for that LED ?
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Thanks. I'd rather use an Area 51 RW-75, but it's in a 4' tall tent. This UFO with 3w bulbs and white backboard (no reflector) doesn't require as much distance. I can't say I'm a big fan of Blackstar. I rank it among the "rebranded chinese imports sold at a premium compared to buying direct." But, it's growing very well.

I also have Blackstar's 180w (120w actual) v2 HO (veg) light. I veged my last autoflower under it. Man, that plant was a monster. This UV UFO (what Blackstar calls "UV" or full spectrum, but is the typical "blurple" color) kept the plant more compact.

Right now I have the v2 HO 180/120w in a tent with photosensitives. I thought I'd see how it flowers since there's so much talk about white LEDs. But, it's too cool-white and I'll replace it with an A51 RW-150 in a week (when it arrives). I'll veg my next autoflower under the v2 HO. Because that's a little too strong for my 4' tall tent, I may buy a Blackstar 90w UFO in HO. (I need to call gothamhydroponics and talk to someone about it. If it's the same spectrum, etc.).

Anyway, the 135w UFO was $170. The spectrum is:

Code: 
 3x IR 730nm
18x deep red 660nm
17x red 630
 5x blue 425nm
 1x white 12000k
 1x UV 380nm
Full disclosure: I have two of these UFOs in the tent for this grow. One vegging a 4-week old. So, the one in flower probably benefits from the other fixture. And, I used a ReptiSun UVB 10.0 "mini" CFL to enhance trics.

I intend to switch to water-only cleanse on Aug. 10-15, and chop around Aug. 30. Like I said, I've grown this strain a few times and I know how the buds fatten in that 2-3 week cleanse period. This is the previous grow which flowered under the UFO (veg'ed under the 180w/120w HO, becoming a monster). Photo taken when I began cleanse (5/31). I don't seem to have a picture when I chopped 2.5 weeks later. This one would have turned out better but I got hit with a surprise acidic soil, struggled with foliar feeding while correcting the soil. But, it still produced well. About 120g. I got 180g off one grown under T5HO. I'm hoping my current one will get up to that.

IMG_20140531_154319.jpg
 
kmog33

kmog33

Well-Known Member
az2000 said:
Thanks. I'd rather use an Area 51 RW-75, but it's in a 4' tall tent. This UFO with 3w bulbs and white backboard (no reflector) doesn't require as much distance. I can't say I'm a big fan of Blackstar. I rank it among the "rebranded chinese imports sold at a premium compared to buying direct." But, it's growing very well.

I also have Blackstar's 180w (120w actual) v2 HO (veg) light. I veged my last autoflower under it. Man, that plant was a monster. This UV UFO (what Blackstar calls "UV" or full spectrum, but is the typical "blurple" color) kept the plant more compact.

Right now I have the v2 HO 180/120w in a tent with photosensitives. I thought I'd see how it flowers since there's so much talk about white LEDs. But, it's too cool-white and I'll replace it with an A51 RW-150 in a week (when it arrives). I'll veg my next autoflower under the v2 HO. Because that's a little too strong for my 4' tall tent, I may buy a Blackstar 90w UFO in HO. (I need to call gothamhydroponics and talk to someone about it. If it's the same spectrum, etc.).

Anyway, the 135w UFO was $170. The spectrum is:

Code: 
 3x IR 730nm
18x deep red 660nm
17x red 630
 5x blue 425nm
 1x white 12000k
 1x UV 380nm
Full disclosure: I have two of these UFOs in the tent for this grow. One vegging a 4-week old. So, the one in flower probably benefits from the other fixture. And, I used a ReptiSun UVB 10.0 "mini" CFL to enhance trics.

I intend to switch to water-only cleanse on Aug. 10-15, and chop around Aug. 30. Like I said, I've grown this strain a few times and I know how the buds fatten in that 2-3 week cleanse period. This is the previous grow which flowered under the UFO (veg'ed under the 180w/120w HO, becoming a monster). Photo taken when I began cleanse (5/31). I don't seem to have a picture when I chopped 2.5 weeks later. This one would have turned out better but I got hit with a surprise acidic soil, struggled with foliar feeding while correcting the soil. But, it still produced well. About 120g. I got 180g off one grown under T5HO. I'm hoping my current one will get up to that.

View attachment 3213112
Click to expand...
So did you get the nit deficiency before you started your cleanse period?

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Rollitup mobile app
 
A

az2000

Well-Known Member
kmog33 said:
So did you get the nit deficiency before you started your cleanse period?
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Yes, but the picture was of an autoflower. Autos are on a fixed lifecycle and begin to fade late flower. I wait until many fan leaves are yellow, then start a 2-3 week cleanse. By the time they lose all their fan leaves and trichs are cloudy (bud leaves yellowing), I chop.

The one pictured went through a serious acidic soil condition which required me to foliar feed while correcting the soil. That condition made it hard to tell when to start cleanse and chop. Wasn't sure how it would turn out but everyone who's tried it says it's the smoothest, richest smoke they've had with a deep body stone (probably because I kept it alive a week longer than normal).
 
A

az2000

Well-Known Member
SpaaaceCowboy said:
Az2000.... please post updates I'm curious to see how she finishes....
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Here are updated photos:

IMG_20140820_230950.jpg

IMG_20140821_141456 .jpg IMG_20140821_135508.jpg IMG_20140820_231038.jpg​

She's 13 weeks & 3 days (94 days) since breaking ground. About 5-10 days from harvest. I like to wait for amber trics. A lot of cloudy now, but no amber. She looks like hell partly because that's how autoflowers do at end of life, partly because I had a soil acidity problem early in flower. Not as bad as the previous grow. I think I've got it figured out (over-feeding) and the one next to her (which started flowering a week ago) should be better.

I think most people would harvest earlier. But, I like waiting. I get a deep, rich smoke and a mellow stone. I personally like that more than a mind high. Additional bonus: the buds fatten during this time.

I used UVB (ReptileSun 10.0 mini-CFL because it's a small 4' tall tent) from early- to mid-flower. About 2-3 hours a day. I attribute the increased crystals to that. I didn't use a timer. I forgot to turn it off a couple times. Once for 6-7 hours. The fan leaves had a texture like blisters, but they didn't yellow or die until much later. I'll use a timer on the next one. 15 minutes distributed across the 18-hour period for 2.5 hours in early flower, and cut back to 1-1.5 during mid flower. I stop in late flower. (I read UVB can cause amber trics in late flower.).
 
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R

Rentaldog

Well-Known Member
ajaygrowshay said:
So I've done a lot of indoor growing and have never even given a thought to using LEDs. But upon talking to a buddy of mine who lives in Canada I'm now rethinking my past beliefs that LEDs suck. He says he gets a higher gpw % with led than he does with hids and the quality tends to be better. I call bull shit. Anyone have personal experience? I'm probably gonna pick up a couple higher watt lamps and do a side by side in the near future(outdoor is taking all my damn time) so any input on the lamps will be appreciated too!
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Im nearly done drying my first ever harvest, will be curing after that. I ran a Dutch Passion Blueberry from seed in soil under a 100w Diamond Series LED (http://www.diamondseriesleds.com/100w-diamond-series-leds-extreme-3w-led-technology/). Admitidly I dont have a lot of experience as a grower, but personally I couldnt be more happy with the results.

After reading here I figured my pull would be laughable, but my little tree pumped out a lot of quality bud under that lone 100W LED. After seeing how I did, im sold. I will be buying three more separate 100W panels I believe, that or I may move up to multiple 200W's and keep the 100W for clones or mothers. Plus, I dont want to deal with the heat and extra electricity cost from HPS so LED works for me.

I cant post pictures, but most of my buds are the size of silver dollars. Some popcorn, and a few of the 'tops' were a bit bigger. Im hoping I can juice my future plants for more, seeing how this was my first grow. Im sure I messed up on a lot of stuff.

LED all the way though ;) goodluck!
 
A

az2000

Well-Known Member
Yodaweed said:
Az I think your plant has a nitrogen problem those leafs curling up like that.
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It's an autoflower at the end of its life, about 10 days of water-only. It's just what they do. I go longer than most auto growers. I take it to the end.

But, I did have an acidic soil condition which gave it signs of deficiency. That's part of the appearance too.
 
A

az2000

Well-Known Member
SpaaaceCowboy said:
Az2000....that is looking impressive for only 85 actual watts....please post updates I'm curious to see how she finishes....what did you pay for that LED ?
Click to expand...
Harvested this evening.

IMG_20140902_185356.jpg

15 weeks, 2 days. I run my auto longer than most. I think most people do 11-13 weeks. But, to get the amber trics I like, I have to go this long with this strain. They fatten a lot during those last 2-3 weeks.

I've done better using GH Flora 3-part and T5HO supplemented with a couple CFLs. I switched nutes at the same time I switched to LED. I've had some problems with the new nutes. Not sure if that's holding it back, or if the 85w (two in a tent for two plants) is too little. If it's the nutes, I don't care. It tastes so much better than it did with pure synthetic 3-part. I've almost got my nute problems figured out, so I think I could use a couple supplemental LED bulbs (those Cree 8w bulbs at Home Depot) on the flower side of the tent.

Would really like to do 6 plants in a 4x4 tent, harvesting one every 2.5 weeks, adding a seedling.
 
S

SpaaaceCowboy

Well-Known Member
az2000 said:
Harvested this evening.

View attachment 3245006

15 weeks, 2 days. I run my auto longer than most. I think most people do 11-13 weeks. But, to get the amber trics I like, I have to go this long with this strain. They fatten a lot during those last 2-3 weeks.

I've done better using GH Flora 3-part and T5HO supplemented with a couple CFLs. I switched nutes at the same time I switched to LED. I've had some problems with the new nutes. Not sure if that's holding it back, or if the 85w (two in a tent for two plants) is too little. If it's the nutes, I don't care. It tastes so much better than it did with pure synthetic 3-part. I've almost got my nute problems figured out, so I think I could use a couple supplemental LED bulbs (those Cree 8w bulbs at Home Depot) on the flower side of the tent.

Would really like to do 6 plants in a 4x4 tent, harvesting one every 2.5 weeks, adding a seedling.
Click to expand...
Plant looks real good....I like your approach on giving it extrea time to get the amber trichs.....So you say the buds fattened up even more in the end when most people would have already harvested ?

Also, are LEDs like CFLs in the fact that it takes a little longer the get amber trichs than when flowering with an HID ?
 
A

az2000

Well-Known Member
SpaaaceCowboy said:
So you say the buds fattened up even more in the end when most people would have already harvested?
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Yes. If I harvested when trichs were clear, some cloudy (3-4 weeks ago) I'd say they were 10-15% smaller. Just guessing. If I grew cash crops I'd harvest earlier to get faster turnover. But, I like the stoney high waiting. The fattening helps.

SpaaaceCowboy said:
Also, are LEDs like CFLs in the fact that it takes a little longer the get amber trichs than when flowering with an HID ?
Click to expand...
I've never used HID so I can't compare. It seems to take a week longer than when I ran t5ho. I'm doing 170w in a 2x4 tent (two plants). I was doing 300w + 40w in CFLs on the flowering side. So, could be taking longer because I'm using half the power. I'd expect better efficiency from LEDs. But, 100% better. :) I should probably add a couple 10w Cree incandescent-shaped bulbs to the flower side.
 
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