LED and Temp questions

UnNatural · Feb 1, 2009

First question is how hot is too hot? In my grow box if i don't have the fan running it gets up to 97 F when i have the fan running all day when i get home its at 81 F. I'm going to get a smaller fan with a greater range of adjustability but wont be able to go get it until friday. Until then would it be better to let them go at 97F or 81 F?

Second question. I wanted to get some LED's but didnt want to spend money, so i sold a bunch of old junk and DVD's on ebay and am using that $ to get them. I was looking at these http://cgi.ebay.com/FULL-SPECTRUM-900-LED-GROW-LIGHT-PANEL-110V-Red-Blue_W0QQitemZ180325146736QQihZ008QQcategoryZ42225QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What do you think of those?

With my peppers at the state you see them below, would they get leggy with all that red or is there enough blue in there that it will be ok. Am i better off getting some all blue panels and some all red panels. I will also continue using my 2 105watt 6500k CFLs.

Pam · Feb 1, 2009

Your plants look great. Don't fix what isn't broken.

Hotpeppa · Feb 1, 2009

they look really good as is Unnatural... i wouldnt mind goodlooking plants like that...

if it was getting to hot you would notice it with the plants..

i would change one thing... keep a constant temperature... but on the other hand they look great...

IMO

caroltlw · Feb 1, 2009

UnNatural said:
Until then would it be better to let them go at 97F or 81 F?

I'd go with 81F, plenty warm and less drying out.

UnNatural said:
What do you think of those?

With my peppers at the state you see them below, would they get leggy with all that red or is there enough blue in there that it will be ok. Am i better off getting some all blue panels and some all red panels. I will also continue using my 2 105watt 6500k CFLs.

My mixed panels don't let them get leggy as long as their close enough. Almost zero heat, so not a problem. I think the separate red and blue panels are designed mainly for growing "other plants" which flower when different colored light is used. Your CFLs put off a balance of red and blue too. There's usually a higher ratio of red to blue in those panels because the red LEDs don't appear as bright with the same voltage applied.

wordwiz · Feb 1, 2009

Unnatural,

Like others have said, I would not change what is working. Also, while those LED panels will cover about a 30" sq. area, they are good mostly (Only?) for seedlings. They do not have the power to provide enough light for fruiting or ripening of pods.

I would save your money and if you really want a good LED, try one from this page.

Mike

UnNatural · Feb 1, 2009

All your replies about if it aint broke dont fix it just gave me a better solution.

The reason i'm concerned about the temps now is i added another 105 watt cfl and thats when it started getting too hot. When i took those pics it was just one CFL in there.

Was working perfectly fine with one CFL, so im going to take one out and make another box with the other one! I don't know how i didn't think of that before.

Thanks!

Hotpeppa · Feb 1, 2009

UnNatural said:
All your replies about if it aint broke dont fix it just gave me a better solution.

The reason i'm concerned about the temps now is i added another 105 watt cfl and thats when it started getting too hot. When i took those pics it was just one CFL in there.

Was working perfectly fine with one CFL, so im going to take one out and make another box with the other one! I don't know how i didn't think of that before.

Thanks!

wicked !

keep sending those nice pics... :lol:

UnNatural · Feb 1, 2009

So the general consensus is stick with CFL's and don't bother with the ebay LEDs?

wordwiz · Feb 1, 2009

I love LEDs, been promoting them for a year. With those panels you could probably grow 100 seedlings in 3" sq. pots to a real nice size for planting. But you have a great setup, why burn money? By this time next year, the LEDs will either be far more powerful for the same price or a lot less expensive for the same power.

Mike

caroltlw · Feb 2, 2009

UnNatural said:
So the general consensus is stick with CFL's and don't bother with the ebay LEDs?

Yeah. I was so busy answering the questions you posed that it didn't occur to me that NOT buying anything might a better answer. I chose to get some LEDs because of the low power consumption and availablity of a 12v version. I also only use mine for seedlings, not full grown plants and fruiting, if that's an issue for you.
c.

UnNatural · Feb 2, 2009

wordwiz said:
I love LEDs, been promoting them for a year. With those panels you could probably grow 100 seedlings in 3" sq. pots to a real nice size for planting. But you have a great setup, why burn money? By this time next year, the LEDs will either be far more powerful for the same price or a lot less expensive for the same power.

Mike

caroltlw said:
Yeah. I was so busy answering the questions you posed that it didn't occur to me that NOT buying anything might a better answer. I chose to get some LEDs because of the low power consumption and availablity of a 12v version. I also only use mine for seedlings, not full grown plants and fruiting, if that's an issue for you.
c.

I split the 2 CFLs into 2 boxes, it's working well, i'll keep that set up until i see a need for change or improvement.

Thanks for saving me some money! i was in "kid in a candy store mode"