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DIY LED Hydro System

I finally got the baby seedlings into the hydro today. I'm still waiting on the power supplies for my LEDs so I'm using T5's right now.
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i added nutes today at 1/4 strenght, can't wait till these little guys take off. I also added a heater and temp is steady at 67-68 degrees.
 
so I finally got my drivers and I finished my LED fixture. I got to say it came out pretty nice. Now I expect my plants to take off like crazy. They are getting nothing but nutes, oxygen and the correct photosenthisis light spectrum.

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So today is exactly 14 days since I placed my LEDs over my seedlings. I must say I am really surprised at how much my plants have grown. They also seem very healthy and strong. The stem has gotten really thick and the roots are growing like crazy. At the rate of growth I would expect it to start flowering like in a month.

I've come to the conclusion that my home made LED light not only works for reef tank but it will also work to grow plants. Not bad considering that it only cost me about $170 for all the materials.

Few pictures from this morning. look at the pictures posted on Jan 23 and look at the growth
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Great setup bro. That 70l/min pump is plenty which is a good thing. I'm at work so don't have my notes but can tell you the formula for air pump size. Good luck with it and use something like DM Zone or bleach to kill benificial bacteria in your Rez stops root rot
 
I finally got my friends PAR meter. I took some readings from 11" away with and without lenses

highest reading with lenses
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highest reading without lenses
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I always wondered if lenses could actually increase the output of light. I always remove them from my fluorescents but maybe I'm better off with them on. Hmmmmmm.
 
I'm curious what LEDs you are using and what degree lenses? Also the Blue / Red ratio?

I'm using some 3 watt LED's from china with 60 degree optics. I am running 32 reds and 16 royal blue.

I always wondered if lenses could actually increase the output of light. I always remove them from my fluorescents but maybe I'm better off with them on. Hmmmmmm.
not sure what type of lenses you would have with CF but the ones for LEDs are almost like a magnifying lense
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careful, to much quantum flux and your plants could end up in the 1920's. NO JOKE.
LOL...... just finish and mounted my big DIY LED fixture for my reef tank. This one has 192 3 watt leds, 72 white and 120 royal blue
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well plants seem to be growing A LOT everyday
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so cool, methinks someone should invest in a sheet metal bending break... i bet you could sell those if they were in a snazzy metal enclosure. :cool:

edit:
whats going on with that ventilation system above?
 
so cool, methinks someone should invest in a sheet metal bending break... i bet you could sell those if they were in a snazzy metal enclosure. :cool:

edit:
whats going on with that ventilation system above?
If I didn't have my own business all ready I would probably be looking mass production....lol the stuff above are 3 14" solatubes. I was growing my corals with natural light. I was getting some crazy growth and no electricity bill. The only reason I am going to LEDs is for the colors. Now that is another option that would work really good to grow plants indoors. The solatubes bring in a ton of light. As you can see I'm always on the cutting edge of technology..... lol
 
i just noticed the solar tubes... that's dope... those things bring in a ton of light... a friend of mine steve garrett has his tanks outside... he just put some blue light filters over the tank to get colors... google garrett's acropolis...
 
i just noticed the solar tubes... that's dope... those things bring in a ton of light... a friend of mine steve garrett has his tanks outside... he just put some blue light filters over the tank to get colors... google garrett's acropolis...
Sure I know Steve. I bought a ton of frags from him like 3 yrs ago. Yea the solatubes put out a ton of light it would be nice to see someone grow some plants with them.
 
roots are like 12" long now. I think I read somewhere that your supposed to drop the water level. Should I drop the water level?
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