MEVOlution - DIY LED ARRAYS + RecycledOrganicLivingSoil

Hey RIU

I thought I'd try to share this time

Besides, I am less busy this coming month!

Arrays
MEvo's have both 3 strings of LEDs, two red with the middle section whites (actually one mevo has three royal blue diodes due to burning half string because of a defective driver). Reds are driven at 500mA, whites are normally driven at 700mA but one mevo has them driven at 500mA (due to that defective driver, the bastard)

Strings of reds are an equal mix of osram GD+ 660nm and cree xpe 630nm.
Strings of whites are a mix of WW 2700k, NW 5000k and CW 8000k. One mevo had some diodes replaced with xpe royal blue and xpe WW 2900k I had laying around...
All in all they draw about 160 watts

Soil
Half of it from previous grows, aged about 2years! basis is coco + nursery bark + perlite + growstones + ewc. Plus various amendments.
The other half:
2 part peat (Peat collected as a result of natural erosion and not dug from living bogs)
1 part growstones (1/3 biochar)
1 part ewc (1/3 compost)


Liming ( x gallon)
1tbsp limestone
1tbsp gypsum


Clay/rock ( x gallon)
2tbsp rock dust
2tbsp zeolite
2tbsp granite
1tbsp rock phosphate


Amendments ( x gallon)
1tbsp crustacean meal
1tbsp neem meal
1tbsp flaxseed meal
1tbsp alfalfa plus
1/2 tbsp kelp
50gr humates granules x whole media

Strains
Original ak47 femminized
+ a few of "I don't know wtf I used" (some cheap seeds anyway, regular indica dom)

12/12 from seeds
Insulated cab
Arrays are always passive cooling
rvk 150 extraction
Passive intake
Temps range 81°

What do you think that happened to them:



LEFT UNATTENDED FOR 18 DAYS AFTER LAST WATERING (DUE TO VACATION)
OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE 83-86° ????

I think they grew while you were gone.
Other than that, can't say much else, look pretty good to me.
I'm subbing now.
I'm wanting to build a panel and want to watch.
I am researching LEDs and am a ways off yet.

Jubiare.............my European brother, looks good.....subbed for the ride

Are you using blumat system to water?

I am also subbed my ROLS friend

Very cool setup! I have been recycling the same soil for 2-3 years. I reamend with homemade organic EWC, organic chicken manure, indonesian guano, kelp meal, azomite, and raw humates. I read a lot of the clackamas coot / gastanican thread on recycling soil and I suspect my mix can be improved. How did you settle on those amendments?

There is a lot to be said for recycled soil. The bud quality is noticeably better than bagged organic soil and if you make your own EWC recycling soil is amazingly cheap. Once you get the hang of it you can control the fert levels so you get big yields without the farmy overferted taste. If they fade too early you can always water in some fish hydrolysate and molasses. If they stay too green you can run a R/O water through them a week or two before harvest.

Rockymtnman

Thanks for the thumbs up, I say research and go for it for the diy vocation you have, plenty of people on RIU who can help with that!

Psuagro

Hallo friend! That's the thing, no bluemats (I do have them but they need a few weeks to get them going properly!) !

Hyroot

Hey organic fella, nice one!

SupraSPL

Well said diy fella! Actually you remind me to thanks cootz and gasganastan, they really are ahead with their practice. I do topdress with Guanos should I need a quick fix, but I have come to believe that in an organic living soil the micro herd sort it out for you in the case of "too much"

Yep they end up colonising here and there in the process, especially when you make your own castings

Teach me master, I am grass hopper to your sensei.
I had some electronics studies in school 30 years ago, and other than basic circuitry and a few of the laws and principles, most has escaped me.

All I am doing at this point is reading and weeding out info and trying to stay away from the constant redirection of my browser toward Chinese manufacturing sites.
Where is a reliable place to start acquiring good high wattage bulbs?
Not so much the specific bulbs, but who is a trusted source?
Thanks in advance

My kind of thread, subbed!

I agree! This is a great thread!

My buddy's first grow, with an LED panel using the Cree whites (like above, I think) and some red supplementation. Also using a very similar soil (credits in my sig). Here's a cola 4 weeks after flower:



Seems like LED works pretty well...

Rockymtnman

For a premade unit?

Or you are talking about diodes? Diodes can be obtained from leddna speaking of Chinese (never went that route). Or you could opt for, I'd do this, osrams, cree, Philips luxeon rebel

I am not a master my friend, I am a practitioner

The master, to me and to many, was knnabinoide from Spain.

Best thread to learn from, about the basis and the mounting is still his thread http://buymarijuanaseeds.com/community/threads/how-to-build-your-diy-led-array.117772/

You can than continue here on RIU on threads by stardustailor, guod, supraSPL, greensurfer and others!

Nice one ak84, my kind of people I say in return

Hey rrog it's a pleasure to have you popping by with your pics too. Yes, LEDs do work quite ****ing extraordinary well Ahah!

Thanks for the link.
I am going to be attempting to build my own panel. I have basic tools and am a pretty good at soldering.
I am early in research, but am starting to grasp it.

I currently am using HO T5s in multi spectrum, so the kelvin ratings, PAR, inverse square law and such make sense to me.
Nothing like seeing it live though.
I can't wait for the budding to start!
Thanks again for the link and the other members references

I like the premise of this thread, consider me along for the ride.

So, what happened to them after 18 days left completely alone?

Bear in mind with LEDs there's no risks associated with fires and the like!











I think thats incredible. OK they were young and didn't have the formed thirsty roots...

I went in there and the soil was still somewhat humid! Especially the undeveloped ones! There was a male touching the panel, it even avoided the diode itself and positioned his tip just in between two diodes Ahahah!
Ok they stretched a tad more, I left it with the arrays hung quite high.

LEDs is really a life changing reality;
Less leccy
Less heat that hits
Less water
Less nutes
Less risks for who grows underground
Less risks of fire
.....

Welcome highcocaine!

...and yes those plants have had no vegging time
3gallons rootpouch

How are you restructuring the recycled soil Jubi? Perlite?

So what your saying is the girls went eighteen days without water and where still moist with temps in the mid eighties! That's unbelievable even at 12/12......wow