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lighting Grow Lights and Setup Help

Pope_of_Chilli_Town

Pope_of_Chilli_Town

Hello all,

Currently have a 130 Watt CFL ( 6400K) 8000+ Lumen Light trying to get some seedlings started as well as growing a Scorpion using the Kratky method.

Will this light be sufficient source, and do i need to add a heating source since the Light gives off barely any heat.

I am using a seedling mat to help the seedlings along.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
K is what we need to know-light wave length.
 
I find 5000 to 6500 k are best.
No matter what light source you use.
The higher the Lumens +/- is debatable according to the hours you have your lights on...
Sun burn etc.
 
Flouros in 6500 K worked best,LED's in red and blue were and are the best for my indoor starts.
I made my own panels years ago with 1 watt LEDs.
 
I still use them...LEDs last forever.
I use 400nm to 650nm mostly.
 
Feel free to E Mail me and talk about my grow.
 
Smoke
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The information you provided is not enough to give good advice.  Generally, light is discussed as lumens per square foot.  No way to say if your light is enough unless we know how much you are lighting with it.  Generally, germinating seedlings do fine under something as simplistic as 40 watt shop lights.  On temperature, some peppers germinate fine at room temp.  Others want extra heat.  If I have something really special, I put it in an egg incubator at about 100 degrees.
 
AJ Drew said:
The information you provided is not enough to give good advice.  Generally, light is discussed as lumens per square foot.  No way to say if your light is enough unless we know how much you are lighting with it.  Generally, germinating seedlings do fine under something as simplistic as 40 watt shop lights.  On temperature, some peppers germinate fine at room temp.  Others want extra heat.  If I have something really special, I put it in an egg incubator at about 100 degrees.
Click to expand...
 

Sorry,

I should have mentioned i am growing inside a grow tent that is 120X60X120.

Not very big at all.

Here are some pictures.

http://imgur.com/NanVnPn

http://imgur.com/1JWAfZU

Id also love any other tips people can give to make this a better growing set up.
 
I think you'll be fine indoors. Put a thermometer in there and see what the temps are. Around 80-83 isn't bad for germination. To hot and you may cook them. If it isn't hot enough, try experimenting with closing the door or half open. Once you get them germinated you'll need some sort of circulation, as not to dampen them off. More on all that in the growing section.

If you need more light information, take Smokemaster up in his offer. He knows what he's talking about.

Good luck.
 
smokemaster said:
K is what we need to know-light wave length.
 
I find 5000 to 6500 k are best.
No matter what light source you use.
The higher the Lumens +/- is debatable according to the hours you have your lights on...
Sun burn etc.
 
Flouros in 6500 K worked best,LED's in red and blue were and are the best for my indoor starts.
I made my own panels years ago with 1 watt LEDs.
 
I still use them...LEDs last forever.
I use 400nm to 650nm mostly.
 
Feel free to E Mail me and talk about my grow.
 
Smoke
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Click to expand...
Hey,

Whats nm when referring to LED lights?
 
On germination: Maybe germinate separate from seedlings.  I went to an incubator and about 100 degrees after having problems with something and reading an article at the New Mexico University Chili Institution.  Thing is, another article advises that growing chili do not perform as well at those temperatures.  For a simple solution, you can buy heating mats from most plant shops.  They will at least bring things above room temperature.

On light: Give a google to something like "lumens per square foot" and you will find formulas.  If you wind up at a canabus site, cut that in half.  Those boys can afford the electric bill and want to bring the frigging sun inside.

Generally, I like florescent for seedlings but if you are going to stay indoors for more than the first six or so inches, you really benefit from something that will penetrate the canopy better.  I dont know a thing about LEDS and my electric bill shows it.  I prefer a blend of metal halide and high pressure sodium.  I think with the modern LEDS you would be mch better off.  Sorry, old coot here.
 
I've got my plants under 230W (real power) of LED and unsing a rough conversion of 90lm/w that's 20,700 lumens.
 
I have everything in there from seedlings to over winters to a mature cayenne pepper. Heck I've even got a sunflower and some carrots.
 
They all doing just fine and the space is 120x120x200 with the lights probably 1.0-1.2m from top of leaves.
 
All the plants are thriving nicely and since I have double the area your 8000lm is not too bad.
 
I tend not to rely on lumes but set the height of the lights so that I get between 8000-12000 lux (cheap lux meter off ebay) at top of leaves. This seems to work for me.
 
As far as improvements a fan when they are a bit bigger and perhaps some form of humidity control. When they get some leaves and bulk up, you humidity will hit in the 90's especially after watering. It's just a mold problem waiting to happen.
 
Here is an earlier shot of my grow space (when I had 120W light source).
 
0fgfsmqe.gco.jpg

 
 
 
 
KAOS said:
I've got my plants under 230W (real power) of LED and unsing a rough conversion of 90lm/w that's 20,700 lumens.
 
I have everything in there from seedlings to over winters to a mature cayenne pepper. Heck I've even got a sunflower and some carrots.
 
They all doing just fine and the space is 120x120x200 with the lights probably 1.0-1.2m from top of leaves.
 
All the plants are thriving nicely and since I have double the area your 8000lm is not too bad.
 
I tend not to rely on lumes but set the height of the lights so that I get between 8000-12000 lux (cheap lux meter off ebay) at top of leaves. This seems to work for me.
 
As far as improvements a fan when they are a bit bigger and perhaps some form of humidity control. When they get some leaves and bulk up, you humidity will hit in the 90's especially after watering. It's just a mold problem waiting to happen.
 
Here is an earlier shot of my grow space (when I had 120W light source).
 
0fgfsmqe.gco.jpg

 
 
 
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for reply.

Does your LED light give off any heat at all?

And if not, do you use a Heat mat all year round for the plants you decide to keep in the tent?
 
 
The unit gives off enough heat to keep the tent at around 16c (it's cold here at the moment). I've also got a 1kW fan heater with a descent thermostat that tops up the heat to a relatively constant 23c. I would go higher but the cayenne is flowering and it's relatively happy at that temp. My biggest problem is humidity. Bring in natural airflow and the temp drops. Cut off the airflow and temps are stable but humidity almost always over 87%.
 
Hey,

How much did you pay for your LED light?

Because i only want to start seedlings during winter and grow them till around 6-7 inches in height, and only keep 2 plants in the tent for their lifespan.

What led light do you suggest i get?

Would a 120 watt LEd be sufficient for a few seedlings + 2 full size plants?

I have been looking up a bit of info around LEDs and it says 32 watts per square feet is ample light.

My Tent is roughly 8 square feet.

 
 
8sqft at 32W = 256W real power.
 
Might be a bit much really, but if you are wanting that and want to keep costs down then why not DIY 4 of these bad boys ...
 
5v00aqp3.fgj.jpg

 
Won't cost you too much and the have recently released the white full spectrum ones.
 
Heat matt works great. I have found that keeping soil warm is a must. T8/5 fluoros work,i have 6500k about 30cm from the tops. I will be going led in the future i think led is the way to go. Cheaper to run,and they give off better spectrum,its not always about lumens its about the PAR also.

Sent from my GT-I9190 using Tapatalk
 
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