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lighting New Lights

Sizzle Lips

Sizzle Lips

Extreme Member
Well I hope I did the right thing with this light change.In my small grow area I used 4 double 4 ft shop lights with plant and aquarium bulbs....these run 16 hours a day and I have always had fairly good results.Then I got thinking about the hydro costs.
I gave all those lights to a buddy and have now set up 4X4ft T-8 Led Grow lights in the same area.......so this means I have gone from 8 florescent tubes running to 4 led tubes.
Any thoughts on this light switch....will it work better or worse...cheaper or more expensive...heat or not so much heat...any input would be appreciated.
 
Sorry people ....i just lost 20 minutes of my life trying to get these photos right side up.....gave up.
 
led1.jpeg

 
led2.jpeg

 
 
You using them for seedlings only or for the full grow? what's the wattage?
 
These are for seedlings....will be in the house for 6 weeks until its time to harden off outside and the plant.
 
led3.jpeg

 
 
 
Seems like a pretty low wattage but I don't know much about indoor growing and lights. I only ever have my plants under lights during seedling stage before I put them out.
 
It's a pretty low wattage. Problem is, if your seedlings don't get enough light, they will stretch a lot and get very leggy. You could put the light very close to the seedling but then it's the heat that might become a problem (LEDs tend to be hotter than fluorescent tubes).
 
What I am planning on trying this year is to start the seedlings in my Aero Garden seed starting system and let the plants get established with a couple sets of leaves....transplant into cups and then place under the lights....there are 4 led bulbs at six inchs apart....better work....i gave all my shop lights away.
 
That 7:1 ratio sounds awe fully red for seedlings, should be more like 3:4 to make nice stalky thick stemmed seedlings. But, as long as they get enough light they'll grow just fine but might stretch a bit from too much red.
 
Buy a two 60w or so newer type of led growing lights, so you can keep growing them from seedlings to an adult plant ready to go outside in the spring. Higher powered led growing lights makes the plant grow very compact and they will produce side stems, even if you dont cut the main stem from the top.
 
Also i would cover all sides of that growing box with mylar or something to limit the escape of the light, also think about somekind of ventilation holes too, on the roof and in the lower side portion of the box. Look at the pictures of a commercial growing boxed to give you some good pointers about those ventilation holes.
 
 
I would just think about getting maybe two of similar type of led growing light:
https://www.amazon.com/Galaxyhydro-Waterproof-Spectrum-Hydroponic-Growing/dp/B01I4NYEYM/
 
Maybe build some kind of fixture for them and a simple lowering system to bring the lights closer to the plants if needed:
IMG_20180119_0908151.jpg

This is my simple metal chain lowering system in my grow box using metal hooks and few carabiners, easy to work with and it is simply a fool proof thing.
 
My grow box is this:
http://www.secretjardin.com/catalogue/growroom/grow-tent-hobby-secret-jardin/vintage-103x103x200-cm/bl,product,185,0
Was very cheap for the high quality you get for the money.
My advise is, that never cheap out with the led growing lights as buying the more cheap stuff will not make you happy of the results and you will end up losing money in the end. :welcome:
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys....this is my first year starting with LED's....so i will hope for the best and learn from my mistakes.....I quess I will find out soon enough if I should have kept all my other lights before giving them all away. :oops: :oops:
 
Hey Sizzle.  Based on what you have going, I personally recommend more BLUE in the spectrum. If you could, swap two of those RED LED's with two blue.  I know those things cost a lot but too much RED and you'll have  a "little shop of horrors" on your hands.... kidding !!
 
Blue for vegetative growth and red for flower( that is a generalization of course). That doesn't mean that you can get by with just BLUE's for growth and just RED's for flower.  You should balance the Blues'and Red's. More Blue's than Red's in the growth cycle, then change to more Red's than Blue's during flower and fruit. I ideally you should shop for "full spectrum" LED's and just run those from start to finish.  You can get a full spectrum LED for pretty cheap these days.
 
But if you win the lottery and have more cash to play with.... I'm going to recommend a Light Emitting Ceramic, or LEC.  I have a 315W in a 4x4 tent, and I am amazed at how well the plants do in that light. Plus, it's only 315 watts for it's fairly easy to control the heat.  Heat is a killer !!! (and so are those little Aphid fuc^kers).  Sorry for the implied expletive.
 
Happy Growing !!
 
Jeff
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks for everyone's input........here is a little more info on the lights I am going to use........
 
led.JPG

 
Like I said I will be germinating my seeds in the Aero Garden seed starting system....then when a couple inch's tall transplant into solo cups and then under the led lights.
would i benefit from placing a 2 foot bulb like the one I have pictured below in the center of the red and blue bulbs....better for plant growth?
 
led 1.JPG

 
Just trying to find that happy medium with the lights I have to keep my boyz happy for 4-5 weeks before going outside.
 
sun1.jpeg
sun2.jpeg

 
With all that has been said on this thread....It seems people think there may be too much red...so i have added one more light to split the 4 red and blue.
I have added a 4 foot led Sun Blaster to break it up......this thing is bright....i think this should be no problem for starting and keeping plants for 6-8 weeks.
 
Like i have already said the seeds will be started in my aero garden seed starting system under led's and then transplanted and moved under those 4 footers.
 
 
I was gonna suggest some cool white LEDs, looks like you got some already! I have led strips in cool white, warm white, and rgb+cw covering a 4'x2' area. They were drawing about 77 watts. Plants seem to be doing just as well under them as the t5 and the t8. I think your setup will do fine with that other bulb down the center
 
Walchit said:
I was gonna suggest some cool white LEDs, looks like you got some already! I have led strips in cool white, warm white, and rgb+cw covering a 4'x2' area. They were drawing about 77 watts. Plants seem to be doing just as well under them as the t5 and the t8. I think your setup will do fine with that other bulb down the center
Click to expand...
 

Thats the exact same size I have been growing in 2'x4'.......I have always had great results with my fluorescent plant and aquarium bulbs   but hope this set up is better....guess i will find out.
 
I have faith! Do you have a link to the bulbs? How much did the setup end up costing? I have about a hundred into mine, but I bought dimmers that I probably didn't need
 
I paid about $150 for the 4 red and blue bulbs and the Sun blaster was just under $150....I have $300 into this and everything was from amazon.
 
Sizzle Lips said:
I paid about $150 for the 4 red and blue bulbs and the Sun blaster was just under $150....I have $300 into this and everything was from amazon.
Click to expand...
 
could have paid $200 for two hlg 65s (top of the line LED) for a better spectrum, more wattage and a light that lasts 10+ years. plus the blurple lights make it hard to see if your plants have nutrient deficiencies and disease. 
 
https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Board-Grow-Bloom-4000K/dp/B076QDKVDZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519941318&sr=8-1&keywords=hlg+65
 
out of stock now unfortunately.
 
  • Equivalent to 100Watts T5 or 150Watts of CFL or 200Watts(Actual)-450Watts(advertised) Generic Purple Lamp
 
Just trying to spread the word so people stop getting fooled that they're getting the benefits of the LED technology when they're buying outdated technology marked up to take advantage of the hype. its a myth that plants only use red and blue light for photosynthesis and yet it continues to be perpetuated. You may get OK results with blurple lights but you really aren't getting your moneys worth or even taking advantage LED tech.
 
thefish said:
 
could have paid $200 for two hlg 65s (top of the line LED) for a better spectrum, more wattage and a light that lasts 10+ years. plus the blurple lights make it hard to see if your plants have nutrient deficiencies and disease. 
 
https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Board-Grow-Bloom-4000K/dp/B076QDKVDZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519941318&sr=8-1&keywords=hlg+65
 
out of stock now unfortunately.
 
  • Equivalent to 100Watts T5 or 150Watts of CFL or 200Watts(Actual)-450Watts(advertised) Generic Purple Lamp
 
Just trying to spread the word so people stop getting fooled that they're getting the benefits of the LED technology when they're buying outdated technology marked up to take advantage of the hype. its a myth that plants only use red and blue light for photosynthesis and yet it continues to be perpetuated. You may get OK results with blurple lights but you really aren't getting your moneys worth or even taking advantage LED tech.
Click to expand...
 
We shall see ....only time will tell when I post my results...once my plants are under them.
 
 
Plants seem to be doing fine under these new led's.....started on March 3rd this pic is April 15.
 
plants april 15 18.jpg

 
 
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