Solacure UV bulbs

SamWE19

Well-Known Member
Has anyone used these bulbs alongside their leds? And what was your experience with then?

I’ve just bought 12 of the fixtures for my grow. Will be installing them in a couple of weeks
 

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
We use 2 of them with a Gavita 1700e.

We also use 2 for each 1000w HID in a 4 x 4.
24 inches from canopy, and 8 hours a day. We use them in both Veg, and flowering. Veg also gets 8 hours a day. If they are closer than 24 inches, they will get less duration.
 

SamWE19

Well-Known Member
We use 2 of them with a Gavita 1700e.

We also use 2 for each 1000w HID in a 4 x 4.
24 inches from canopy, and 8 hours a day. We use them in both Veg, and flowering. Veg also gets 8 hours a day. If they are closer than 24 inches, they will get less duration.
How do you have them spaced in each 4 x 4?

I feel like long tubes with large spaces between them must get really uneven coverage.

I seen the manufacturer specs show them on the outside edges of the 4 x 4 is that what you do?

Do you see much benefit from them?
 

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
I have them on each side of the 1000w lamp. 2 more than covers a 4 x 4.

Yes, there is a difference, but some strains will benefit more than others.
 

SamWE19

Well-Known Member
I have them on each side of the 1000w lamp. 2 more than covers a 4 x 4.

Yes, there is a difference, but some strains will benefit more than others.
When you have a 4 x 12 room would you still have 2 either side of the lamps so 6 bulbs or 4 bulbs?

What benefits do you notice?
 

twalte

Well-Known Member
Good article here....I cut and paste the relevant section. But you only need 1-2 watts of UVB for it to be effective according to this article.
Ultraviolet Light
To understand why ultraviolet (UV) light enhances the production of trichomes, you must first understand the main purpose of trichomes. Contrary to popular myth, the cannabis plant does not create trichomes, or THC, specifically for human consumption. Truth is that trichomes serve as a form of protection for the cannabis plant. In particular, they protect the plant from insects, molds, and UV light.

Like just about everything else on planet, cannabis plants are damaged by too much UV light. That’s why a cannabis plant will create more trichomes to protect itself if there is an increase in harmful UV-B rays. As such, supplementing UV-B light using UV-B fluorescents (commonly sold at pet stores for reptiles) in a flowering room can help boost trichome production.

This trick is particularly useful to growers who exclusively use high pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs for flowering as that technology doesn’t produce much UV-B light. However, it is important to remember that the supplementary UV-B light is just that: a supplement.

You don’t need a lot of it and too much can be counterproductive. One to two watts of UV-B light per square foot of garden space is efficient. Also, note that other commonly used lighting technologies, such as metal halide, already contain a good amount of UV-B light and do not need additional supplementation.
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Just hung up my ozone generator with the cover off today so the bulb can shine on the plants but after researching a bit find out its the wrong kind of UV so useless. It has a 185nm fluoro tube and UVB is up around 290-320 and A is 320-400.

Seems like those reptile lights are the way to go so there's another hit on the old VISA card. lol I wonder if the ballast in the ozone unit will run a reptile bulb. That would save some coin.

This Hindu Kush girl is almost done and was hoping some UV on her would turn the trichs cloudy faster so I can chop her down. She's had a hard life and deserves her rest. :)

OzoneLoRezCropped01.JPG
 

SamWE19

Well-Known Member
Just hung up my ozone generator with the cover off today so the bulb can shine on the plants but after researching a bit find out its the wrong kind of UV so useless. It has a 185nm fluoro tube and UVB is up around 290-320 and A is 320-400.

Seems like those reptile lights are the way to go so there's another hit on the old VISA card. lol I wonder if the ballast in the ozone unit will run a reptile bulb. That would save some coin.

This Hindu Kush girl is almost done and was hoping some UV on her would turn the trichs cloudy faster so I can chop her down. She's had a hard life and deserves her rest. :)

View attachment 4477326
I wouldn’t create ozone within your room. I tried that once and my plants at harvest had absolutely no smell whatsoever
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I wouldn’t create ozone within your room. I tried that once and my plants at harvest had absolutely no smell whatsoever
I don't. I may use it at the end of 30ft of 6" ducting to feed it into my exhaust stream rather than use my new carbon filter I've had for 3 years and never unwrapped. I don't worry about smell much out here in the boonies. That O3 at high doses can hurt your plants and rot your lungs out bad over time. Way worse than smoking.

Got the cat piss smell out of the car after our Tom pissed all over while taking him to vet to get his nuts off. lol His first time in a car. :)

:peace:
 

SamWE19

Well-Known Member
I don't. I may use it at the end of 30ft of 6" ducting to feed it into my exhaust stream rather than use my new carbon filter I've had for 3 years and never unwrapped. I don't worry about smell much out here in the boonies. That O3 at high doses can hurt your plants and rot your lungs out bad over time. Way worse than smoking.

Got the cat piss smell out of the car after our Tom pissed all over while taking him to vet to get his nuts off. lol His first time in a car. :)

:peace:
I tried it in my ducting once and my entire street stunk of it... hard to explain since it’s supposed to have no smell but you can tell it’s there...
My mistake for buying a commercial unit
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I tried it in my ducting once and my entire street stunk of it... hard to explain since it’s supposed to have no smell but you can tell it’s there...
My mistake for buying a commercial unit
How long was your path before it went outside? Years ago I read that at least 30ft of that expanding duct hose was needed to allow the ozone enough time to react with all the stink molecules so both get neutralized before exiting. Would depend on how much O3 your unit cranks out tho too.
The one I have is rated at 1000mg/hour I believe where even small commercial ones run around 25,000. Don't want to be in a space with one of those suckers. I have a couple of those Living Air generators too and they are lower output tho the one with 3 plates in it stinks up pretty good.

I've been growing here since I bought the place almost 20 years ago and never used odour control. Shouldn't have blown $180 on that damn carbon filter so might flog it on Kijiji or something now that home grows are legal in Canada. Too costly to ship anything from here in northern Alberta.

:peace:
 

SamWE19

Well-Known Member
How long was your path before it went outside? Years ago I read that at least 30ft of that expanding duct hose was needed to allow the ozone enough time to react with all the stink molecules so both get neutralized before exiting. Would depend on how much O3 your unit cranks out tho too.
The one I have is rated at 1000mg/hour I believe where even small commercial ones run around 25,000. Don't want to be in a space with one of those suckers. I have a couple of those Living Air generators too and they are lower output tho the one with 3 plates in it stinks up pretty good.

I've been growing here since I bought the place almost 20 years ago and never used odour control. Shouldn't have blown $180 on that damn carbon filter so might flog it on Kijiji or something now that home grows are legal in Canada. Too costly to ship anything from here in northern Alberta.

:peace:
Yeah duct run was only 2m and it was a 18000 mg/hr unit lol
 

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
When you have a 4 x 12 room would you still have 2 either side of the lamps so 6 bulbs or 4 bulbs?

What benefits do you notice?
Id use 6 of them. Sorry for the late reply.

Solacure is the most powerful down to 280nm-300nm, by far. The glass is much better vs any reptile bulbs, and is almost 20x more powerful than the Arcadia Desert Dragon 54w bulb, and is 32w, and also has a Built in Reflector Inside the Tube. UVA/B has terrible reflective abilities, and standard fixtures x Reptile Bulbs absorb much of the UVA/B.
 
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