Thanks for the tip, I will definately take a look at them... apples to apples have you noticed a difference in your yields in comparison to hid's? sorry if you've answered this already, i'm tired and have a very bad short term memory...
I dim the blue a little bit, and turn the red all the way up.
This is my first go with the LED, but I'll definitely keep you posted when I harvest. I do know it vegetates better, with shorter node spacing and new growth coming off everywhere.
what's the ratio of blue to red on the LED
I'll be checking in on your grow for sure. I've found the T-5's in combination with LED produce just enough heat to keep my temps right where I want them. About 75 degrees with lights on and 68-70 with lights off. If heat wasn't an issue I would be supplementing with the 400W hps I have left over from my first grow but it just got way too hot in the growlab even with an aircooled reflector.Sup Dudes,
I'm studying now to see if the coolest combi is using a LED for Vegetation and POSSIBLY LED + HiD (or another high lumen output medium) for Flowering. I run a 90W Illuminator for the vegetation period and I had zero problems with the light, except for the initial adjustment for light height to prevent burning and bleaching, and a very green vegetation considering it's only 90W. So imagine the energy savings simply over a 1 month period (a 400W transformer, and bulb losing shitloads of energy as heat -vs- a 90W LED PCB board and some fans... .
I'll add this disclaimer before someone jumps on this point:
**The fact that I'm scrogging will play a factor seeing as I don't need so much penetration power. **
My current grow had some issues, so I added my 400W HiD to it just to give it a boost. But so far i still see the same vegetation effect as with the LED. I am hoping that when my plants kick into actual "Bud/Flower" production, the HiD benefits will be exploited by the plant..
If it's the case at least we could imagine a saving for at least half of our grow cycles using the proper LED's. And I'm not sure if the consumption is linear 90W -vs- 400W, but even if its not, there is still a huge consumption difference between the two systems. Along with a more efficient use of energy existing on the LED side.
I have welcomed the temperature rise that the HiD provides, me seeing as it's cold here now, and I can the HiD on without containment and it keeps the room just around 16 degrees, whereas outside it's about 4....
Pure...
If you're not getting "stretch" (node spacing), they have to be getting the spectrum and intensity they need/require... hmmmm good thread to follow, just what i've been looking for, some sound LED feedback..
My plants have been growing for a total of 3 weeks, 2 of which was vegetative growth, and are about a foot tall, maybe a couple inches less. Most of the growth has been nodal, so I definitely agree the plants are getting what they need to vegetate.
I'm thinking the new generation High wattage panels have come to the point where they are able to give results equal to HID. I've only been in flowering for 2 days, but I'm getting the beginnings of a ton of real nice buds already. I think the LED's can actually veg better than a metal halide or HPS. In my own, and all the other grows i've checked out, i've noticed more bud sites when vegged with an LED. This alone makes the LED a good investment, even when you flower with an HPS. I'm still real curious as to the flowering potential of my current setup though, with just LED and fluorescent light. It's still way too early to tell, but things look real promising on the flowering end.
There ya go. We will get all kind of answers, as there are many different situations. We all agree however that LEDs can and do burn plants, something that LED retailers rarely admit to. They all act shocked and blame a hot soil or your nutes.